THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
December 23. 
218 
Medlar. Of the former, the two varieties which arc 
generally cultivated are the Common Small Blade, and 
the Shro 2 ')ddre or Pru7te Damnon; the latter is the 
larger 01 Medlars, there are also several varieties, hut 
those generally grown are the Dutdi and Nottingham; 
the former is the larger, but we prefer the latter for 
flavour. 
I’he Market during the week has begun to assume 
much of a Christmas aspect; and the traveller might 
imagine himself traversing some forest on the Norwegian 
Alps, from the immense quantity of Spruce I’irs which 
arc standing about in all directions. These, to form 
“ Christmas-trees” for the amusement of Juveniles during 
the coming holidays, will be in great requisition. There 
is, generally, an air of gaiety pervading the whole; but as 
this will be considerably developed during the week that 
is to come, we shall reserve our review of this part of it 
for our next report. As our notice of fruits has this 
week extended considerably longer than we anticipated, 
we shall leave till next week any observations we would 
have made on this occasion, particularly as all that 
would have been worthy of comment will be displayed 
in tenfold importance during that which is to come. 
H. 
GOSSIP. 
A CORRESPONDENT at Birmingham writes to us as 
follows, concerning Garden Scrapers :— 
“ You have given drawings and descriptions of garden 
scrapers, which are in some respects desirable, but expensive. 
Tliey are expensive, because the making involves employing 
tlie blacksmith. I enclose a drawing of a scraper made in 
one piece of cast uron, which in my opinion lias many advan¬ 
tages. In the first place, it is cheaper tlian any wrought 
iron article can possibly be ; it is very light; is ornamental; 
fixes witli the greatest ease, and remains firm in the same 
place in my garden (a light soil) as long as I please. I 
obtained mine (and I have a good number) from Messrs. 
Thomas Jones and Sons, Ironfounders, Bradford-street, 
Birmingham. They are two shillings each, or eighteen 
shillings a dozen," 
Breadth of scraper to admit the foot, 7‘i inches ; breadth of the 
fang penetrating the ground, at the top, 3^ inches ; length of the 
fang 15 inches ; entire length from the top of the ornamental knob 
to the point of the fang, 22 inches. 
The following suggestion from the Secretary of a 
distant Horticultural Society is well worthy of atten¬ 
tion ; though wo must decline the honour of the judge- 
ship— 
“ Your useful publication being woekly spread over the 
whole of Britain, amongst hundreds of fioral amateurs, 
could it not be made the means of bringing them into direct 
competition, no matter from what part of the eountry, 
now that postage is so cheap? 
“ The way I w'ould propose is this : Fix upon some flower 
which could be packed into a small compass, and whicli 
could pass cheaply throiigh the post-office. Take, for 
instance, that popular flower the J’ansey. Name a day on 
which the competition is to take place. Supposing that you 
were to be the judge, then give notice, through means of 
your Journal, that aU flowers must he posted so as to be ; 
delivered to you at a certain time ; and throiigh the medium 
of yom’ Journal you could publish the result, together with 
any remark on new or remarkable flowers which might be 
submitted for competition. Thus might he brought into 
direct competition the amateur of all parts of the countiy. | 
I, myself, who live on the borders of Scotland, nearly 3.50 
miles north of you, might compete with the amateur of 
Kent or Bevonshire. Yorkshire, Cumberland, Norfolk, 
Essex, and the counties of Males, might send forth com¬ 
petitors. As for prizes, I think they would not be required, 
the honottr of ranldng high would be sufficient.” 
The following is a list of the Poultry Shows of which 
we are at i^resent aware. We shall be obliged by any 
of our readers sending us additions to the list, and 
giving the address of the Secretaries. 
Cornwall (Penzance), January 10th, and llth. (Secs. 
Eev. W. W. “Wingtield, Gulval Vicarage, and E. H. 
Kodd, Esq.) 
IIoNiTON, January 12th. (Sec. H. K. Venn.) 
Great Metropolitan, January 1st, 3rd, -Ith, and Tith. 
RENOVATION OF FRUIT-TREES. 
(ContinuedJrom jmge 180) 
We will now conclude tliis subject by taking the six 
classes consecutively— 
1st. Aged Trees. —The treatment of trees which are 
simply wearing-out is simple indeed ; they want “ more 
corn and less whip,” to use a groom-like jihrase. Such 
trees as we find them, under ordinary treatment, whether 
in orchards or kitchen-gardens, have been neglected for 
a length of time as to root-culture, manurings, &c., 
whilst surrounded, perhaps, by young, gross, and ram¬ 
pant neighbours, which have battened at the expense 
of these “ good old has-beens.” But it often fares with 
fruit-trees as with men: no longer pipe, no longer 
dance. However, folks are sometimes wrong about the 
“piping;” we have seen thousands of hardish-worn 
fruit-trees, in our day, which would have returned a 
much greater per centage of profit (had they received 
timely assistance,) than young and rampant trees, 
which, in the splendid exuberance of their shoots, only 
flatter to betray. People get impatient too speedily 
about these wearing trees; still they do well to think 
of jiroviding successors, for sucli is the established order 
of things. 
To come to tlie point: the soil throughout the roots 
and fibres of old-bcaring and wearing-out trees becomes | 
completely exhausted; no man can give it the texture > 
it originally possessed, or add more quality, unless j 
through the medium of surface-dressings, liquid- 
manure, or a compost of a most coaxing character 
applied to the extremities of the roots. The two most 
steady and enduring plans are—surface-dressing, and 
culture at the extremities, accompanied by a heavier 
pruning in the branches. I.iquid-manure, although 
