July 17, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
72? 
the rich men’s tables, and gourmands discuss the flavour 
and call their favourites by the names of countries. 
The Cretan, Samothracian, Cyprian, and so on. 
“ Two thousand years have taken us back to the 
border land between history ancient and modern. 
Another thousand, and a few more, and We shall hear 
the groans of the Hebrews in Egypt, as they drag the 
heavy stones for the massive forts of Rameses and 
Pithom, or make their daily tale of bricks under the 
sharp gaze of guards, who stand over them with rods. 
In vain they petition for relief. The work is pressing. 
Useless are all attempts at revolt. The power of 
Rameses is great ; his vigilance leaves no loophole for 
escape. But death, greater than Rameses, takes the 
mighty conqueror, and his son and Menephthah rules 
in his stead. Then a successful conspiracy is made, 
and the Hebrews, under Moses and Aaron, throw off 
the yoke of Pharaoh, and defeat him on the shores of 
the Red Sea, and we hear the songs of triumph of these 
emancipated slaves as they take their first steps in 
freedom. 
“But now unthought of difficulties appear—the 
journey to the land of promise is not one long holiday 
of pleasure. Some present privations seem harder to 
bear than the late fearful slavery, and praising the good 
old times, they revile Moses, and ask him bitterly, ‘who 
shall give us flesh to eat ? We remember the fish which 
we did eat in Egypt freely, the Cucumbers and the 
Melons, and the Leeks and the Onions, and the 
Garlic. ’ 
“And these Onions whose flavour could be better 
remembere’d than the hardships of tyranny ; can they 
be of the same species as the Onions exhibited here ? 
Certainly they are, they are grown in Egypt to this 
day, and called now by the very name used for them by 
masters and slaves when Israel was there in bondage. 
“ More than this, the designs on the ancient monu¬ 
ments show us often this very Onion. For the Onion 
was highly prized by the Egyptians, and a variety was 
grown so excellent in all its properties, that they wor¬ 
shipped it as a divinity. Shall we then find our first 
Onion in Egypt? No, there is no native plant there 
■which could have produced it, and as long as we can 
find a trace of it in Egypt it is a cultivated plant, and 
highly cultivated too. How long has it been cultivated 
there ? Three thousand years, four thousand, five, six, 
seven thousand. Seven thousand years ago, when a few 
wretched savages scattered over Europe were tearing 
from nature and each other a bare subsistence, in the 
valley of the Nile the Egyptians were enjoying a happy, 
peaceful, and sometimes jolly life. The tombs of 
Memphis are covered with pictures of feasts and games, 
dances and boat tournaments; poets are chanting verses, 
and girls are dancing with hair dressed up with plates of 
gold. Seven thousand years have passed since the 
building of the first pyramid. Yet even then Egypt 
was an old country ; its people civilized ; its architec¬ 
ture grand in idea and perfect in execution ; its language 
not only formed but reduced to writing; its agricultural 
life was rich with oxen, asses, dogs and monkeys, ante¬ 
lopes and gazelles, geese, ducks, swans, and slaves of 
Numidia. Egyptian history begins before the building 
of this pyramid perhaps three thousand years, and 
behind that again there must be an immensely older 
history, making the emergence of this civilization from 
the savage life of the cave-dweller. Where are we 
now ? 
“Ten thousand years away from the life of to-day— 
far away in Egypt, with the rich farmers on the banks 
of the Nile. Whether or not we shall meet our Onion 
there, who shall say ? Some time, in that remote past 
it was brought into Egypt, and it was brought from 
India. 
“History can tell us no more. The sacred writing 
of the Hindus, the oldest records of the Chinese, men¬ 
tion the Onion, but always as a cultivated plant. 
“If we would find our first Onion we must leave 
history and try some other line of inquiry. Let us join 
the party of some exploring botanist, and with him 
search Europe, Africa and Asia for a specimen of the 
native Onion, which some time in the long-forgotten 
past was deemed worthy of cultivation. Our search, 
like our history, gradually narrows itself, until we find 
ourselves climbing the mountains of Afghanistan and 
Beloochistan, and exploring the table lands behind the 
Hindu Kush Mountains. And there, in the birthplace 
of our race, we find our Onion—the Allium cepa—from 
which have sprung all the Onions grown all over this 
wide world.” 
Scottish Gar dening. 
Rosea. —The Rose season is now about at its best in 
the midland counties of Scotland, and I do not re¬ 
member ever seeing the plants in finer condition, in 
every way, than at present; a total absence of vermin, 
which are often ruinous to them at this season, and not 
suffering from drought or violent storms renders it a 
pleasant occupation for the rosarian to work among his 
pets. Budding is now an important matter where 
kinds are to be increased ; much of the disappointment 
which attends Rose budding, arises from the stocks 
being in poor dry sandy soil—the sap does not flow 
freely—the wood and bark becom.es dried, and death of 
the bud becomes a certainty. If the number of stocks 
are limited, and the work of mulching is not of a 
formidable character ; a good watering and surface 
dressing soon afterwards will do much to help the speedy 
union of buds. Where Roses do well on their own 
roots, the present is a good time to put in cuttings, 
young wood with a heel attached root freely, and make 
fine young plauts before autumn. The cuttings, which 
should not be lengthy, may be placed thickly in light 
soil mixed with a little sand behind a hedge or wall, 
and covered by handlights. 
Fruit Trees. —Where wall trees are expected to 
be profitable, and at the same time assume a creditable 
appearance, they should not be neglected at this season. 
We know well the theories adduced by many, of 
keeping growth on the branches till a certain period 
(generally in August) and making a wholesale onslaught 
on the young wood—clearing away what is supposed to 
be useless and retaining what is considered the best 
bearing wood for next season. Or in the case of Pears 
and other fruits which are to be spurred, a rough-and- 
ready trimming is given. We have even seen the 
hedge shears at work ; but when such is the practice, 
we do not look for the crops which are gathered yearly 
from well-managed trees. The trees should be gone 
over at least about three times during the season, 
beginning at the upper parts first, then at the middle, 
and lower part (or where growth is weakest) having 
their turn last. Where trees are on the spur system (and 
these, when kept thin and the spurs close to the wall, 
do well on every fruit tree with which w r e are acquainted) 
they have outer growths well thinned and shortened 
during the growing season, and in autumn or early 
winter the shoots are cut close into an eye or removed 
altogether when there are plenty of good fruit buds to 
furnish the branches. Peaches, Nectarines, Morello 
Cherries, Plums, and Apricots should have all un¬ 
necessary growth well cleared off, retaining the wood 
which is expected to give the crops next year, to take 
the place of the shoots now bearing fruit. Over¬ 
crowding at this season is very detrimental to the 
trees and injurious to the present crop, by excluding 
sun and air, as well as proving a preventative to next 
year’s fruiting. Dryness at the roots, vermin destroy¬ 
ing the foliage, and the removal of suckers neglected 
are also ruinous. 
Fruit Crops of the Season. —We have not 
yet seen a general report in print of the fruit crops, 
but judging from hasty glances at orchards, and an 
examination of a few, in a few of the best districts 
in England, we should suppose that small fruits, Pears 
and Plums were generally very abundant. The latter 
seems to be like a “deluge,” as we noticed in some 
Worcestershire orchards that the trees were perfectly 
burdened by the crops, and in most cases they were 
clean, and the foliage healthy. The Pershore Egg 
Plums, which bears most seasons, are exceedingly 
productive this year ; one gentlemen riding in the 
train with us had already concluded a bargain for 2,000 
pots at two shillings each ; others we conversed with 
are afraid of getting no market at all. Among Pears 
we noticed great numbers of such kinds as Williams’ 
Bon Chretien, Jersey Gratioli, Louise Bonne of Jersey, 
in great abundance ; and among these kinds at the 
Stoke school farm, near Bromsgrove, we noticed the 
old but useful Hessel Pear in great abundance on very 
healthy trees. This is a grand old Pear for northern 
parts, and at one time was found among most Scotch 
collections, it seldom fails to crop. We made an exami¬ 
nation of the trees at Stoke one morning with the super- 
intendant, Mr. McGilchrist, and was delighted to see 
the first Pear we ever knew in such promising condition. 
Soil has much to do with permanefit good results. 
About Worcester some fine crops of hardy fruit was 
noticed by us, also in Essex and Kent, especially by 
Tunbridge Wells, trees were generally very clean. 
Referring to crops in the north reports are that 
quantity is Hot general. With ourselves small fruits 
are very heavy—Gooseberries especially. We think 
when these fail anywhere there must be some fault in 
cultivation. Old bushes which were transplanted some 
three years past are weighted to the ground, and we 
have been prompted to invite some cottagers in to help 
themselves, and to relieve the branches for jam or jelly 
making ; the latter being an excellent preserve, and in 
families makes a useful and economical auxiliary to 
the household supply of condiments. The non-pruning 
system of small fruits has not found favour with us yet; 
we believe in a good addition of young wood yearly, 
and getting rid of some old branches—thus securing 
plenty of fruit of the best quality. Plums of the hardy 
classes are fairly plentiful—Victoria, as usual, well to 
the front. Apples, which were so overloaded here last 
year, are mostly thin in crop ; hardy kinds of Pears are 
abundant. We notice all the dwarf Apples of the 
Codlin kinds—Stirling Castle, Seatonhouse, King of 
Pippins, and a few others well represented in quantity— 
always supporting the argument that a selection of 
“never failing kinds ” should be in every garden, and 
to have the above sorts, when others failed, one would 
not have much reason to complain ; dwarf well-managed 
trees bear more or less every season, while orchards 
seldom do well two seasons in succession. Short firm 
growth, the less the better, on dwarf trees at this season 
with large leathery foliage is almost certain to be pro¬ 
ductive.— M. T. 
--—- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
_ 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
In our part of the country sufficient rain has come to 
moisten the ground to a good depth, and thus save us 
much labour in supplying water to Peas, Beans, and 
other crops that would have made but poor progress 
lately without this assistance. Potatos, however, 
which we could not help in this way needed rain 
greatly, for the tubers are yet smaU though they will 
soon improve now. Turnips also required water, for 
they were rather small generally, and somewhat hot in 
flavour ; all other vegetables will benefit by the rain, 
and in the event of another hot dry period it is well to 
take a few precautions. No better time could be chosen 
for applying a mulching than the present, for while 
helping to retain the moisture in the soil the manurial 
qualities pass more readily to the roots of the plants, 
and can be more quickly absorbed by them. It is a 
mistake to apply either mulching or liquid manure to 
very dry ground, and when this is done in hot weather 
in the absence of rain it is advisable to give a liberal 
supply of clear water beforehand. If old Mushroom- 
bed manure, lawn-mowings, or anything of a moisture- 
holding character be applied to the soil between rows 
of Peas, or over the roots of heavily cropped fruit trees 
the effect will be seen immediately the weather becomes 
hot again as it probably will. 
Peas are now coming in well; "William the First has 
been yielding freely, and the quality has been very 
satisfactory ; American Wonder has been doing capi¬ 
tally, and is one of our best Peas this season ; we intend 
growing more of it another year. Green Windsor 
Beans are producing good crops, but they were suffering 
from the drought, although they have been watered as 
much as possible. White Stone Turnips are turning in 
clean, and we have an instance of how thinning can be 
carried too far with these and other vegetables. Somo 
were sown in rows, and some broadcast, and in every 
case where the plants were rather close together with¬ 
out being unduly crowded, the roots are of an even size 
and just suitable for the kitchen, while those that had 
more space have grown too strongly, are coarse, and not 
so good in flavour as the others. This must not be taken 
as favouring the crowding of vegetables, but as an indi¬ 
cation that unless where excessively large productions 
are required, severe thinning must be avoided 
Strawberries are bearing moderately well, and some 
are already exhausted ; but runners are being produced 
in good numbers, and are fairly strong. These early 
runners must be looked after if it is intended to force a 
few plants next season, for the sooner the plants are 
well established, and the more roots they make before 
winter, the better are the results likely to be. Prepare 
some good fibrous yellow loam, and after placing one 
