1878.] 
EARLY-FLOWERING PELARGONIUMS. 
117 
believe glass to be indispensable. A rough 
shed, with fixed roof and plenty of side ventila¬ 
tion, is, however, all that is necessary ; the 
side ventilation must be constant; and to pre¬ 
vent the ingress of birds and boys, both sorely 
tempted by Cherries, a strip of wire netting 
should be nailed inside. If the meshes of the 
wire are not large enough to keep out robins, 
flycatchers, and tomtits, who all go in for 
Cherries, it should be supplemented by some 
lengths of fisli-netting, which can be bought 
cheap second-hand. There is no need to shut 
up the house after May at all, unless early fruit 
is wanted. The pots, which must be of good 
size, should be perforated in the sides to allow 
the emission of roots, and plunged into a -well- 
drained border of light sandy loam. So treated, 
the fruit will hang on the trees from June to 
October, no fruit except the Grape lasting so 
long. 
The earliest to ripen this year has been the 
Bigarreau Jaboulay (by some pomologists 
given as a synonym of Early Lyons, but here 
the two sorts are of diverse growth, although 
somewhat alike in the fruit) a sort which lias 
been here for many years. It is a fine, large, 
and handsome Cherry. This is described by 
M. Simon-Louis, in the Guide Pratique , as a 
large fruit, heart-shaped, deep ruddy black, 
and ripe the first fortnight in June. In my 
Cherry-house, for several years, the fruit has 
ripened between the first and the third week 
in June. It is more a Guigne than a Bigarreau. 
The tree is vigorous, and in favourable situa¬ 
tions it will very likely prove a good variety to 
plant for profit, as it is certainly one of the 
earliest large Cherries in cultivation. 
Bigarreau de Shrieken is another early 
sort which promises well. It is a German 
variety, and is a Bigarreau. It has, however, 
a tendency to crack, even under glass, and pro¬ 
bably requires a very warm climate to develop 
its finer qualities. The fruit is large, colour 
a deep shining ruddy black, heart-shaped, 
with a more pronounced flavour than the Bigar¬ 
reau Jaboulay. The tree is of vigorous growth, 
and is an abundant bearer in the Cherry dis¬ 
tricts of Devonshire, near Paignton. These 
early Cherries will be of great value. 
The Early Bivers differs entirely from the 
two preceding varieties, except in precocity of 
ripening and in general excellence. It is a 
seminal variety of the Early Purple Guigne, of 
which I have some eight or ten sorts, differing 
in no degree in fruit, but diverse in growth. 
This is a delightful orchard-house Cherry ; a 
pyramidal well-grown tree in a pot is a model 
of beauty, wdien the thick clusters of fruit are 
ripe. The tree is a healthy variety of the 
Early Purple Guigne, not so liable to gum ; the 
fruit is large, but the heavy clusters should be 
thinned out to obtain size. Colour, a deep 
glossy black; flesh melting, sweet; and perfec¬ 
tion in flavour ; with a remarkably small stone 
—a very pleasant feature in a cherry. In a 
warm climate this sort would be a valuable 
orchard tree, but this district is too harsh, and 
it suffers in the open ground. As a wall-fruit, 
it is very valuable. 
The Belle de St. Troue, another of the 
series, is a pretty and interesting Cherry, of 
the family of the Griottes ; it is as early as the 
Early Bivers ; the fruit is a bright, transparent 
red in colour, with a melting and honey-sweet 
juice. This is the first year this Cherry has 
fruited with me out-of-doors. It will probably 
ripen a week earlier than the May Duke. The 
tree has a dwarf habit, though healthy. 
The sorts of Cherries, which can only be 
studied under glass, are very numerous and 
interesting; the variation in seedlings is fully 
as great as in Peaches, and an enticing study is 
open to the experimentalist; but to insure success, 
an orchard-house is absolutely necessary.—T. 
Francis Bivers, Sawbvidgeworlh .—(Abridged 
from the Gardeners’ Chronicle.) 
EARLY-FLOWERING PELAR¬ 
GONIUMS. 
HAVE never yet seen any early-flowering 
Pelargonium to beat the very old Album 
multiflorum. It is unique in colour, not 
white, but a very faint mauve. The form, how¬ 
ever, is not so round as in some of the newer 
kinds. Floribundum is also a very free-flowering 
kind, and its pip or half-open form is very 
useful, as it shows its bright petals before 
fully opening. These two early-flowering Pelar¬ 
goniums are not to be beaten in first opening, 
or in quantity of flowers. We have scarcely 
any other in quantity. Triomphe de St. Mande 
is a very fine, bold flower, and no doubt will 
become a very popular plant. At the same 
time, I would remind those who want early 
flo-wers not to forget the above two old ac¬ 
quaintances, especially Album multiflorum, for 
its uncommon colour alone. Gauntlet, too, 
, and not easily 
is not of such a 
good habit as Floribundum.— Henri' Knight, 
Floors , Kelso. 
is 
a very free-fiow T ering kind, 
beaten in its way, but it 
