356 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Mabch 9, 1858. 
quite ripe and melting, excellently flavoured, and with a 
good Melon-like aroma, not unlike that found in Knight's 
Monarch. Peevost was melting, very juicy, and, though 
considerably astringent, it had a good deal of flavour, which 
was remarked to be like that of Bishop's Thumb. Even its 
astringency was not unpleasant. 
Mr. Lane, of Berkhampstead, had specimens of a Pear 
known by a great many names— Spring Beubre, Black 
Beup.re, Buchanan’s Seeing Beuere, and, we believe, 
Verulam. It is a very late variety, keeps remarkably bard 
and sound, and, it was stated by Mr. Paul, that, in some 
parts of Hertfordshire, they are ripened in the hotbeds. 
Of Apples, there were also several collections. Mr. 
Wighton, of Cossey Hall, sent White Pippin and Norfolk 
Beefing that had been kept in the same way as the Pears. 
The Norfolk Beefings were in excellent preservation. 
Dr. Davies sent the Old Nonpareil in good condition, 
and well coloured. Scarlet Nonpariel was past its best, 
I having become dry and meally. Comberton Pearmain and 
I Bromley were not considered good ; the latter is, doubtless, 
a good sauce Apple, but the Meeting has no opportunity .of 
judging of the merits of such varieties. Through the same 
gentleman specimens of the Martin N onpariel were received 
from John Whittaker, Esq., of Caldewell. This is a very 
excellent variety, so late in the season, and was raised at 
Martin Hussingtree, near Worcester, by the Rev. George 
Williams, some years ago. 
Mr. Lane, of Berkhampstead, had several varieties without 
names, none of which were of any value, except No. 1, a va¬ 
riety grown in a cottager’s garden at Berkhampstead, which 
was highly approved by the Meeting. It was quite hard and 
firm, tender-fleshed, with an excellent flavour, recommending 
it for the dessert. Also, Brownlee’s Seedling Russet, in 
the same collection, was proved to be a late Apple of first- 
rate excellence, and appears to be equally well adapted for 
cooking, and for the dessert. This is well worthy of exten¬ 
sive cultivation. 
Mr. Pearson, of Chelwell, near Nottingham, brought spe¬ 
cimens of a dessert Apple called Iveddleston Pippin, a 
variety of very superior excellence. The specimen, though 
shrivelled from being carelessly kept, possessed very high 
merit, an excellent flavour, and aroma. Mr. Pearson stated 
that he considered it the best dessert Apple in cultivation ; 
but the specimens being in bad condition, the Meeting could 
not form a sufficient judgment of its merits; still, there was 
enough to convince all present that it is a very valuable 
variety. 
The Seedling Apple from Mr. Chapman, of Isleworth, was 
not considered of any value. That from Messrs. Youell, 
of Great Yarmouth, called Webb’s Kitchen Russet, was 
highly approved, and fully maintains the high character 
I formed of it at the last Meeting. 
The next Meeting will be held on the 6th of May. 
QUERIES AND AN SAVERS. 
PLANTING A YEW HEDGE. 
“ I want to plant a Yew hedge—both as a screen and for the 
sake of shelter. Will you be so good as to let me know what 
sized plants I should get; when I should plant them ; and 
I how ; whether in a single or double line ? Will they grow 
under other trees ? And when planted, at what time of the 
year ought they to be cut in ? " —R. H. 0., Shropshire. 
[You may plant the Yew hedge now, or any time to the 
end of April. Let the plants be not under three feet, and as 
much higher as you should like to afford. After three feet 
high, the price increases according to the length of the plants; 
but the price of a hedge will not rise in the same proportion, 
j as the larger the plants are, the more room they take up, and 
the fewer of them will be required. The Yew will grow under 
) trees, and in the shade ; but if the roots of trees are allowed 
j to rob the ground, from the roots of newly planted Yews, the 
1 hedge will suffer very much that way. Trench the space for 
the hedge full two feet deep, and four feet wide, and that 
space would take a hedge six feet high at once ; but, if you 
buy Yews over four feet high, the best plan would be to 
| contract with a nurseryman for the plants and planting of 
| them, and the responsibility to rest on him for the first twelve 
months. April is the best time to clip Yew hedges, but newly j 
planted ones, and very young plants, should be thinned also 
during the first fortnight of July. The distances at which to 
plant hedge plants from one another, is regulated by the size 
of the plants. Yews ought to be closer than merely touching 
each other. If you could mulch the hedge, and give it abund¬ 
ance of water the first summer, such treatment would well ! 
recompense you.] 
PLANTING FOR SHELTER ON THE NORTH 
GO AST. 
11 A friend of mine has a house in a high and very exposed 
situation, on the eastern coast of the kingdom, where he has 
all the winds of Heaven beating upon him. TheN.E. and E., 
blowing off the sea, are particularly severe. I tell him that, 
with a little care and consideration, he might raise up a good J 
defence against these breezes, which are so trying in the 
spring months. It lias occurred to me, that if you would be 
kind enough to ask the assistance of some of your readers, 
residing on the coasts of the north of England, or Scot- j 
land, who have added experience to theory, much benefit 
might be derived from it; and we should come at the know¬ 
ledge of what plants to use in all other exposed situations. If 
you receive many communications from these localities I have 
pointed out, a digest of them, combined with your own know¬ 
ledge of the hardiness of plants introduced at an early or late 
period, would form an excellent subject for a paper in your 
interesting periodical, and likely to prove beneficial to many 
gentlemen, who, though approving a sea-side residence, find 
the breezes, at certain seasons, rather trying to the health of 
themselves and their families. 
“ One of the best trees I know of, to withstand the sea breeze, 
is the Sycamore, and, it appears to me, that were a person to 
plant a double row of them as a fence, clipping the sides from 
the first, and suffering the leading shoots to rise up, a defence 
would be formed, in the first instance, behind which the Haw¬ 
thorn, and other plants, which cannot bear uninjured piercing 
blasts of wind, might be raised as a second hedge. If a third 
were desirable, it might be the Holly; and afterwards the 
common evergreens, Pines, and shrubs, might be planted as a 
regular shrubbery. I have no doubt they would flourish, and, 
altogether, form a capital defence against the winds. Trees 
and shrubs, exposed to the sea blasts, appear as if cut by an 
instrument. Where my friend lives, which is within a few 
hundred yards of the sea, the Hawthorn hi the hedges is 
miserably deficient as a defence, and the Oaks hi the hedge¬ 
rows are shorn off, as if the intention of the owner had been to 
form bowers, open to the south and west. 
“ You may have received papers for your periodical before, I 
on the hardiness of trees as a defence against the winds; but, 
perhaps, they have had in view southern, or comparatively 
warmer situations, and so would not prove so useful as a paper 
on the subject being capable of being acted upon in the north, 
whether upon the coast, mountain, or moorland.”—A Reader 
of the Cottage Gardener. 
[We have not attempted to answer this letter, because we 
wish for information from those who have had experience in 
planting in such situations. We shall be obliged by any of 
our readers sending us information, and the more replies we 
receive, the better we shall be pleased. It will be very useful 
knowledge.—E d. C. G.] 
PLANTING POTATOES AVIDELY APART. 
My time of planting is the last week in April, or the first 
week in May, according to the state of the ground, for the 
second earliest and late sorts. I plant whole Potatoes of the 
middle size, with strong sprouts of nearly an inch long. I 
plant very shallow, covering the sets with a shovel of a mixture 
ot lime, soil, ashes, &c., which I have prepared some months 
before using; my distance of planting is a yard every w r ay. I 
earth up the Potatoes when required, with a rake ten inches and 
a half wide, having nine flat teeth, four inches long, well curved. 
This earthing up answers much better than with a hoe. I do 
not use a spade in preparing the Potato ground in autumn, 
but a fork of seven inches broad, with five narrow flat prongs | 
of nine inches long. 
