August 7. 
The Arch-duke, “ one of the fairest and best,” but 
; “ scarce one of twenty of our nurserie men doe sell the 
I right, but give one for the other; for it is an inherent 
qualitie, almost hereditarie with most of them, to sell 
any man an ordinary fruit for whatsoever rare fruit he 
j shall ask.”—Libellous John Parkinson! 
The Hartlip, spelt in the Horticultural Society’s 
I Catalogue “ Plartlib,” but it was not named after the 
writer bearing the latter name, but “ of the place where 
the best of this kinde is being noursed up, being between 
j Sittingbourne and Chatham, in Kent.” 
We might mention many more, but we will conclude 
I with the Bigarreciu. Parkinson spells it Biguarre, and 
; describes it as “ a fair Cherry, much spotted with white 
spots upon the pale red berry, but sometimes discoloured 
j halfe white and halfe red.” This, however, was known 
on the continent a century before Parkinson’s time ; for 
Lyte, in 1579, says that “ those Cherries that be halfe 
white be called Bigarreaus; ” and there is good reason 
for believing that this kind is the same as the Duracina 
of Pliny, for the hardness of the flesh is appropriate to 
the name, as are its various colours, for Pliny says, “ it 
is dark, and red, and green, as if always about to ripen.’’ 
We do not consider that the Potato crop is yet safe 
from the Murrain, for vegetation, this year, is a month 
later than usual, and the Potatoes at the end of August 
will be no riper than they usually are in July. If dry, 
hot weather speedily sets in the crop may generally 
escape; but that our opinion is not unsustained by facts, 
is testified by the following, extracted from a letter, dated 
Penzance, July 31st:— 
“The Potato disease is equally general, rapid in its 
effects, and destructive as in the worst of former years. 
West of Truro scarce one untainted stem has met my 
eye; though from thence eastward to Torquay, isolated 
patches alone indicate its presence. In Devonshire, 
indeed, it seems as yet very partial.” 
More than once we have had occasion to publish our 
unqualified praise of Mr. Turner’s “ Budding Knife,” 
“ Pocket Pruning Scissors,” “ French Flower Nippers,” 
and “ Ladies Pruners,” advertised in our last number, 
and we again recommend them to our readers, as being 
the most effective implements for their intended pur¬ 
poses, and of the best quality. So good have we found 
the steel of which they are formed, that we recently 
drew Mr. Turner’s attention to the defective Pruning 
Knives we are compelled to use owing to the want of 
better. The following reply justifies us in believing 
that the defect complained of will soon be remedied:— 
“ I duly received your letter, and, in reply, beg to say, I 
have put some of the Pruning Knives into hand, and that I 
believe I can make some Pruning Knives of the right sort. 
I have been in the practical part of the cutlery business for 
! nearly thirty-four years. I have, during a great part of 
that time, paid particular attention to the nature and temper 
of steel. I have some Pruning Knife blades by me some 
time, which are made of steel twenty years old. They 
are well hardened and tempered by a very singular process, 
which is the result of long observation. 
325 
“ Perhaps it may be gratifying to you to know what is the 
; process of tempering steel to which I allude. Something 
more than twenty-five years ago, I accidentally let my 
Pruning Knife fall into the garden well. It remained there 
! for a long time, but when the well was cleaned out it again 
turned up. I took and ground it up again, and never had 
I I such a good knife. Since that time I have tried many 
! su ch experiments, and in every one it has had the desired 
! effect. I find, that by having articles made from good steel 
that has been kept in a damp or wet place during a length 
of time, it has greatly improved its qualities, I have found, 
that by having goods made as aforenamed, and afterwards 
kept in a damp or wet place, the steel is always of a better 
quality. . For toughness and keeping a fine edge it is really 
astonishing. It appears to me, that steel kept in water 
always imbibes something from the water which it other¬ 
wise cannot possess. Whether it is oxygen or hydrogen, I 
have not a sufficient knowledge of chemistry to determine. 
I could write hours on this subject, furnishing proofs of 
what I have just said.—J. Turner, Neepsend , Sheffield." 
THE FRUIT-GARDEN IN AUGUST. 
Now is the time when, attention should be paid to 
that important process—the ripening of the wood in fruit- 
trees. Unless this is complete, our readers may be cer¬ 
tain that all other cultivation will be rendered useless. 
This I have proved in all cases which have come within 
my knowledge for many years, and since the commence¬ 
ment of The Cottage Gardener I have not ceased 
to inculcate the importance of it on our readers. I 
much fear, however, that its importance is still sadly 
! underrated, even by practical men; and if so, it is much 
j to be regretted, as it is not until an impression becomes 
general, and a matter of recognised practice, that real 
advancements are made in gardening affairs. 
Again, then, I say, do all you can at this period to 
promote the ripening of the wood. 
We all know what a fuss was made a score years ago 
on behalf of Pear-pruning. One cultivator would affirm 
that it was a mistaken policy to prune or nip the fore¬ 
right shoots of Pear-trees in summer—it was meddling 
too much with nature; it caused the embryo fruit-buds 
to push or sprout, and played sundry other gambols of a 
most ungardening-like character. Other Pear-growers 
had discovered that the very best plan, of all others, 
was to bend or break the spray half-through, and let it 
hang down. This practice, too, had many converts; 
but not amongst the practicals. 
Now, one great fact lies at the bottom of all this 
quackery;—the trees should not be so tempted. “ Break 
a man’s head, and then apply a plaster,” is an old say¬ 
ing ; and I feel irresistibly tempted to apply it to the 
case in hand, by referring to the fact of trees being 
incited to produce too much spray. It certainly is not 
very easy so to constitute a soil for a given tree, as to 
sustain that tree in a fruitful equilibrium in all seasons, 
dry or wet. Knowing, however, the extremes of climate 
that we Britishers have to undergo, it long since oc¬ 
curred to me, that as the over-production of spray is 
the rule in fruit-gardening, we should do well to lean to 
the moderate side of the question, and provide rather 
against rainy and growing periods than dry ones. This 
end is met best by avoiding manorial and even or¬ 
ganic matters in the compost used, and in falling back 
on surface-dressing, and mulching, in cases of drought. 
These observations may appear somewhat digressive, 
as to the point in hand, but in reality they have a close 
bearing on the subject. I will, however, come closer to 
the subject of this paper. 
Let us take the Peach and Nectarine. How loud and 
repeated are the complaints as to their failures; and 
why ? Glass walls, somebody will say, are the struc¬ 
tures that were wanted. Orchard-houses, says another, 
•' - - . *— - - ■ 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
