1882 .] 
GARDEN GOSSIP. 
47 
— «3The future of Apple-growing for 
profit in a soil and climate which are con¬ 
genial to the growth of hardy fruits generally, 
is well illustrated in the gardens at Impney Hall, 
Worcestershire, where Mr Temple, three years ago, 
planted a long row of Lord Suflield Apples, the plants 
costing Is. each. The trees are now from 6 ft. to 
7 ft. or more in height, as pretty specimens of the 
pyramid type as any one could wish to possess, and 
have borne good crops of fine-looking fruits. They 
are planted as a background, to secure privacy for a 
certain portion of the garden. 
— ^Ehe influence of Artificial Fertilisa¬ 
tion was commented on by Mr. Nicoll, of Ar¬ 
broath, in recently addressing the Dundee 
Horticultural Association. He stated that Mr. 
Williams, experimenting on the Victoria regia , noted 
that a flower naturally fertilised produced twenty- 
five seeds; another, artificially fertilised with its own 
pollen, yielded sixty seeds; anolher, artificially ferti¬ 
lised with pollen from a separate flower on the same 
plant, produced a hundred seeds; while still another 
flower, fertilised with pollen from a separate plant, 
produced 300 seeds, or twelve times the number 
yielded by the naturally fertilised flower. This 
shows the importance of cross-fertilisation from at 
least one point of view. 
— ^The Agapanthus as a Bedding Plant 
deserves a prominent place in every flower 
garden, its beautiful light-blue flowers and 
dark green foliage having a very pleasing effect. At 
Ashford, the seat of Lord Ardilaun, is a bed of it 
which was formed in April, 1880, with eighteen 
small plants, which last season produced eighty-seven 
spikes of bloom, many of them bearing a hundred 
flowers each. The bed was made of fresh loam, leaf 
soil, and coarse sand; and on the approach of winter 
some dry leaves are worked in between the plants, 
and the whole covered with turfy soil. This cover¬ 
ing is partly removed in March, and the plants, 
wnich have then made some growth, form, by the 
middle of June, one mass of rich foliage and flower- 
spikes.—( Journ. Sort., 3 ser., iii., 359.) 
— £n order to arrest the progress of the 
Vine Disease in New South Wales, the 
Inspector of Vineyards advises the Govern¬ 
ment to allow no crop of any sort to be grown on 
condemned ground for ten years, and that all vine¬ 
yards in infected districts should be at once 
destroyed. 
— £The New Myrtle, Jenny Reichen- 
bach, is a dwarf free-flowering Continental 
variety, very useful for furnishing stands. It 
literally swarms with flowers in a young state, and 
the fragrance emitted from the opening flowers will 
be very acceptable to ladies.—( Gard. Chron., n. s., 
xvi., 694.) 
— $n Drying Norfolk Beefing Apples 
Mr. Culverwell tells us patience is necessary. 
The Apples should be large and firm ; they 
should be pricked well with a large needle; then 
roasted in an oven just sufficiently hot to cook them 
without bursting. They must then be allowed to 
get quite cold, be flattened a little with the finger and 
thumb ; and be returned to the oven—not too hot— 
for a couple of hours. Repeat the flattening and 
drying as often as is necessary—three or four times 
will be generally sufficient; this usually takes three 
or four days, as they must be cold each time. The 
great secret in doing them well is nicely roasting the 
Apples in the first place.— {Gard. Chron., N. s., xvi., 
763.) 
— Sis a Potting Material for Orchids, 
Mr. Turnbull, of Bothwell, has it seems utilised 
with great advantage some waste material. 
Many years since, observes a writer in the Gardener 
(1881, 568), Mr. Turnbull grew some specimens of 
certain Orchids, such as Miltonia, to the greatest 
perfection. The potting material used consisted 
chiefly of the tough roots of Luzula maxima, which 
plant, the writer believes, was top-dressed with leaf- 
mould, to encourage it to make masses of fibry roots 
for potting with. Those growers on a small scale 
who cannot conveniently get sphagnum, fibry peat, 
or other orthodox material, might find this worth 
making a note of. 
— vIThe Khododendron Avenue at Tyning- 
liame—-the Garlston Walk, or Lord Thomas’s 
Rhododendron Avenue—was originally a 
spacious avenue, a mile and a half in a straight line. 
It has now been planted with Rhododendrons, most 
of them hardy Indian varieties, many of which have 
grown to the large proportions found on the slopes of 
the Himalayas. Even during the autumn season, 
with their dark, glistening foliage, they present a 
magnificent appearance ; but when the plants are in 
flower the walk must be a glorious spectacle. 
— ®he Transparent Gage is one of the 
most delicious Plums in cultivation, not sur¬ 
passed even by that popular and excellent 
champion, Green Gage, whereas it is far superior to 
the latter as regards cropping qualities. There are 
standard trees here, writes Mr. Scott, of Herriott, 
which never fail to give a fair crop (and most years 
an abundant crop) of medium sized, prettily marked, 
and deliciously flavoured fruit, having skin so trans¬ 
parent, that by holding it up to the light, the texture 
of the flesh and even the stone itself may be seen,— 
{Gard. Chron., N. s., xvi., 686.) 
• —■ 21 Blue Chinese Primrose, or a near 
approach to it, has been sent to us by Mr. 
Canned, of Swanley. The flowers are large 
and well-shaped, of a bluish shade of mauve colour, 
making the nearest approach to a blue which we have 
as yet seen amongst the Chinese Primroses. From 
the appearance of this, and of Carter’s Holborn Gem, 
which is of nearly the same colour, we may expect 
eventually to obtain a true blue. 
— 21 presentation has recently been 
made to Mr. G. Baker, of Coombe, by the 
members of the United Horticultural Benefit 
and Provident Society, on the occasion of his retire¬ 
ment from the office of Treasurer of that Institution, 
which he has held for the last twelve years. The 
testimonial consisted of a Silver Tea-pot, Sugar-basin, 
and Cream-jug. 
— ^JfoR room decoration, Miniature 
Chrysanthemums may be obtained by select- 
