THE COTTAGE GARDENER, 
' November 25. 
' our former notice, is the extended cultivation of fruit ns 
: an article of commerce. It is not, liowever, our in¬ 
tention to enter fully into a treatise on this subject, in 
what may be called the usual acceptation of the term, 
but simj^ly to make a few remarks on opportunities 
I which are afforded on almost every property, however 
'] small, for introducing some of the best and most prolit- 
1 able varieties, and employing the space which would 
I otherwise be neglected. As regards the systematic 
■ planting of orchards, our able coadjutor in the fruit 
' department has done, and will still continue to do, 
ample justice to this subject. 
It has often occun-ed to us, in our journeyings through 
j the different counties of England, that the hedge-rows 
j and hedge-row-bauks, with which the country is so pro- 
j fusely intersected, instead of being allowed to remain 
I as they are, a mass of tangled brambles and bryony> 
i relieved here and there with a stunted old pollard, 
' might be planted with finit-trees of such sorts and 
j varieties as would not only be useful for home cousump- 
! tion, but which might produce a considerable revenue to 
the owner. We do not mean that there should be an 
universal and indiscriminate system of planting, but 
that it might be carried out to a certain extent, at least 
in such situations as the proprietors deem best adapted 
for the purpose. We have ourselves done so, and find, 
from experience, that it is a system which may be 
followed out even to a greater extent than we have prac¬ 
tised it. We have even done more, for the approach 
to the dwelling-house is planted on either side with 
an avenue of Apples and Pears. The varieties we have 
chosen for this purpose are, of course, all choice as 
regards the (piality of the fruit; but we have also 
selected them in reference to the habit of growth of the 
trees. All the Apjjles are of a round-headed habit, and 
the Pears of a pyramidal habit of growth, and in each 
row there is an apple and pear alternately. This has 
: now been done some few years, and the trees are all 
^ well established. We leave our readers to imagine 
I ” 
I what effect this has produced : how it looks in spring, 
i the Pears dangling with tassels of the purest white, 
i the Apples decked with clusters of red and white, and 
! pink blossoms, with the “ little busy bee ” humming 
‘ from flower to flower; how in autumn, “ the pulpous 
' fruit with gold irradiate ” delights the eye and pleases 
I the taste ; and how in whiter they look as well as other 
trees do. If we are to have trees in our shrubberies, ' 
and approaches, and hedge-rows, why should they not ! 
1 be of such a kind as will be of some other use than 
merely to fill up a blank, form a blind, or afford slielter ? 
If there should be a bad fruit year the loss could not 
' be anything, for if the trees had been Ash, Oak, Elm, 
or Ijime, they would have produced as little, and 
even less. The expense, then, of such a plantation 
1 of fruit trees is nothing except the first outlay. It 
! occupies no space which could be appropriated to 
I any other crop, and it answers all the purposes tliat 
I would be expected from a plantation of timber-trees. 
And, by-the-by, speaking of timber-trees, we have in 
fruit-trees timber also; for the wood of both the apple 
127 i’ 
j 
and the pear is constantly in demand, by turners for the j 
manufacture of toys, and by cabinet-makers for inlaying. [ 
It may not be generally known that the blocks used j 
by the floor-cloth manufacturers forprintiug the designs ! 
on the floor-cloth are all made of the wood of the pear- | 
tree, so that even when the trees become old, they may 
be cut down and appropriated to some useful purpose. 
We find our space will be hardly sufficient to enable 
us to enter upon a consideration of the varieties we 
would recommend for this description of planting this , 
week; but in our next report we shall furnish lists, with 
observations. Meanwhile, our readers can be “ turning 
the matter over in their minds,” as this is now the best 
season for planting all sorts of fraiit-trees, particularly on 
light soils, and even on those of medium texture, pro¬ 
vided they are w^ell drained, which all soils for fruit-trees 
should be. Wo shall now proceed to our more legiti¬ 
mate subject, namely, a notice of wdiat has been doing 
in Covent Garden during the week. As regards prices 
we have nothing new to commrmicate. Both fruits and 
vegetables continue the same as last week, wuthout any 
alteration. We must, therefore, refer our readers to our 
last number. 
In Apples we have observed an arrival of the Royal 
Russet, a fine old English variety, and a great favourite 
in many districts. There is one objection, however, to 
the russets; they are so liable to shrivel. We have also 
noticed a considerable supply of the Summer Pearmain, 
also a fine old autumn apple, and from its fine striped 
skin a great favourite in all markets. It is this variety 
which is generally, indeed we may almost say always, 
in nurseries under the name of Royal Pearmain, a name 
w’hich by right belongs to what the Horticultural Society 
in their Catalogue call the Herefordshire Pearmain. 
The Summer Pearmain has also had its name changed, 
and we must allow with some considerable degree of 
justice too, to Autumn Pearmain, for certainly it is 
much more of an autumn than a summer variety. 
Newtown Pippins, and Lady Apples, are much more 
plentiful than they were last week; the latter particu¬ 
larly make the fruiterers’ windows very gay. We find, 
however, there is an attempt to delude those who do not 
know better, by substituting a small flat red apjfle, 
similar in size and shape to the Lady Apple, for that 
variety. Any body, however, who has carefully observed 
the true variety once will be sure to know it again. Its 
shaded side is of a fine clear lemon-colour; and that next 
the sun is of the purest and deepest crimson, the whole 
shining as if varnished. The light and dark colours do 
not blend so gradually as in most other sorts, for the 
skin of this variety is so sensitive that even a twig or 
the slightest shade of a leaf is indicated. It is, in fact, 
as sensitive as the silvei’ized plate of the dauguerreo- 
typist; and on the rod cheek of the little Lady Apple 
any device may be made by simply fastening the device 
on the fruit before it has received its full depth of colour. 
Rihstones continue plentiful, and there is generally a 
good supply of baking varieties. 
In Pears wo have had some new arrivals, such as ' 
Nelis d’Hirer and the old Crasanne, both very fine des- 
