1881. ] THE ECICLINVILLE SEEDLING APPLE.—VINES AND VINE-CULTURE._CHAP. XVIII, 
41 
will begin to open, and will continue to be pro¬ 
duced in succession for several weeks. 
Cuttings of the half-ripened shoots will root 
freely at almost any time of the year; and old 
plants cut back, slightly reduced at the roots, 
and again started and treated as above recom¬ 
mended, will continue to produce flowers for 
several years.—II. Chilman, Somerley Gardens, 
Ringwood. 
SEEDLING 
THE ECKLINVILLE 
APPLE. 
[Plate 534.] 
TRULY noble Apple, which takes 
quite a foremost position amongst 
our culinary varieties. The sample 
represented, without exaggeration, by Mr. 
Fitch, in the accompanying figure, was grown 
by Lewis A. Killick, Esq., of Mount Pleasant, 
near Maidstone, a gentleman who has long 
since won his spurs as an advanced pomologist 
and successful hardy fruit cultivator. Nothing 
finer in the way of Apple-culture could be 
desired—scarcely imagined. We owe our best 
thanks to Mr. Killick for supplying us with so 
excellent an example for the purpose of illus¬ 
trating the striking appearance of this highly 
meritorious variety. As its name implies, it 
was raised at Ecklinville, in the North of Ire¬ 
land, many years ago, and it has of late rapidly 
gained ground in popular favour, now that its 
fertile proclivities are more fully understood, 
thanks to Mr. A. F. Barron, by whom the 
variety was observed in almost every garden 
in Ireland, some few years ago, and its good 
qualities were made known by him in the 
Journal of Horticulture. 
The tree is an enormous and continuous 
bearer, and we believe it is also one of the very 
hardiest of apples, since it has stood without 
injury when other popular sorts have been 
seriously crippled by the late unfavourable 
seasons, and has gone on growing and bearing 
as if there had been no aberrations of climate 
to affect its health and fertility. 
The fruit is of the largest size—always 
large, but our figure of course represents a fine 
selected and well-grown specimen, as the ac¬ 
companying wood and foliage testify. Its form 
is roundish-oblate, becoming slightly angular 
about the eye, which is large, closed, and 
deeply set. Its colour is a bright but pale 
greenish yellow, a little flushed with red on the 
cheek, and sprinkled with distant russet dots ; 
it is attached by a comparatively slender stalk, 
half an inch long, set in a cavity of about the 
same depth. The skin is very tender, with a 
soft greasy feel, and is liable to sustain damage 
in packing, which somewhat militates against 
it as a market fruit; indeed, it is most suitable 
for cultivation by amateurs, on account of its 
enormous and constant cropping qualities. The 
flesh is soft, tender, and delicate, white, with a 
brisk acid flavour, not keeping long in condi¬ 
tion. It is, nevertheless, one of the best of 
culinary Apples, coming into use in September; 
indeed, it may be used off the tree, in the same 
way as Lord Suffield. The tree is of very dis¬ 
tinct bushy growth, the young shoots being 
very thick, but not very long, and generally 
terminating with a flower-bud. It bears best 
as a low bush.—T. Moore. 
VINES AND VINE CULTURE. 
Chap. XVIII. —The Varieties of Grapes. 
(Continued.J 
HE descriptions of the varieties of Grapes 
included in our Synoptical Table are 
here continued, from page 20 (1881). 
Espiran (82).—A round black vinous grape. 
Synonym: Esperione. 
Vine.—Growth very free and vigorous, but never 
gross; the young shoots being rather slender than 
otherwise, of a reddish tinge, very rugose, and when 
ripe, often having the bark distinctly streaked with 
pale and dark brown ; very fruitful. Leaves deeply 
lobed and toothed, rugose, the stalks and venation 
of a reddish hue. 
Fruit.—Bunches from 9 to 12 inches long, taper¬ 
ing, with a large shoulder, always well set; stalk 
thin, but strong. Berries medium-sized, quite round, 
marked on one side with a distinct suture, and 
often leaving the style point at the apex. Shin 
thick, very dark purple, and with a thick coating 
of bloom. Flesh firm, not very tender or juicy, and 
generally with a somewhat harsh flavour, excepting 
when very highly ripened. 
History, fc. —This is an old grape, long cultivated 
in this country. Mr. Aiton, of the Royal Gardens, 
Windsor, writing in Transactions of the Horticultural 
Society, in 1818, recommends it very strongly, and 
a very correct illustration of it is there given. 
Subsequent writers seem to have confused the 
Espiran with the Black Hamburgh, and in con¬ 
sequence it has attained a false popularity as an 
open-air grape of high quality. 
Cultural Notes. —Requires treatment very similar 
to the Black Hamburgh to ripen its fruit properly. 
The plant is very hardy and vigorous, and the fruit 
colours long before it is completely ripe, which 
makes it appear a good outdoor variety, but it is 
never so sweet or pleasant to the taste as the 
Black Hamburgh, under similar conditions. 
Season. —Mid-season. 
Merits.• —Quite third-rate. 
Ferdinand de Lesseps (56).— An oval 
white Muscat Grape. 
Vine. —Growth strong and vigorous, producing 
firm, strong wood, which is moderately fruitful. 
Leaves large, deeply-lobed, and cut, somewhat 
rugose. 
Fruit. — Bunches small, tapering, with little or no 
shoulder, and closely set. Berries below medium- 
size, oval in shape. Shin very thin and tender, of a 
pale amber, or golden colour. Flesh tender, juicy. 
