124 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 25, 1890. 
other, this becomes confusing to the nursery operators 
when they go to lift them, and not infrequently is 
disappointing to the purchasers when the trees reach 
their destination. By the card system of marking, 
confusion, if not impossible, is very considerably 
minimised, as then a private mark may be used. This 
may be entered in the fruit-tree manager’s book beside 
the order, and once seen it will be all plain sailing. 
With these details in order we proceed to the 
nursery, and here we stand beside a large plantation of 
Apple trees of all sorts and conditions. Now, we 
want a dozen, a score, or a hundred, or it may even be 
one or two bush plants, standards, dwarf horizontal, or 
fan-trained, or it may be riders so trained of, say, 
Stirling Castle. We are at once conducted to that 
part of the plantation where our wants most directly 
lie, and where those trees are found in any quantity. 
Now the real work begins, and it is seen whether we 
know a tree or not. Tne first thing to observe is 
whether the stock is clean and healthy, whether the 
tree has been often cut back, what growth it has made, 
and if matured and disposed regularly, &c. This all 
being to our satisfaction, the tree may be bought and 
the square of pasteboard affixed, and we proceed in a 
similar way all over until all have been selected. The 
selecting of fruit trees in large numbers may be 
accomplished in a very short time in any respectable 
nursery, and especially so where these are a feature. 
Where trees are wanted for any very particular 
purpose due discretion must be exercised to that end, 
and where it may be impossible to secure exactly what 
is wanted the matter must be entrusted to the nursery¬ 
man to purchase from another of the trade. It is 
usually a simple matter to get young trees of any 
variety, but where bearing trees are wanted it is quite 
different, and frequently the energies of both parties 
are taxed. This is often—too often—carried to excess, 
as many gardeners can plainly testify, for young well- 
grown healthy trees of at least most varieties in each 
class can ba had in bearing order a couple of seasons 
after planting. Take Apples for instance ; those 
purchased on the Paradise stock (if all good trees) will 
yield a handsome return in a very few years, as they 
will bear the year after planting. Take Pears again, 
on the Quince ; these are of no use unless there is 
abundant moisture at the roots, and unless feeding in 
liquid and solid form can be maintained, as the Quince 
is a veritable moisture-loving stock, and will bear at 
once if trees are purchased with that end in view. 
Plums, Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots, and Cherries 
may be had in bearing at least the second year after 
planting if even very ordinary-sized trees are purchased. 
The three former may easily be had in perfect bearing 
at the time stated above ; not, however, under the 
prevailing system of cutting hard back at planting ; 
but more of this anon. 
It always seems to me little short of idiosyncrasy in 
any practical man to demand trees of a variety of any 
special training, seeing they can so easily adapt them¬ 
selves to any shape with a minimum of trouble, 
especially so with young trees. Pan-training from 
any point of view is of all others the best for walls or 
espaliers, as any branch or shoot giving way or being 
injured is easily replaced. Indeed, for all stone fruits 
it is the most popular, and the votaries of other 
fanciful modes of training may find this seemingly 
practical digression to their loss, not to say disgust, in 
the failure of a branch or shoot, to the permanent 
injury and defacing of the tree. 
Standard trees, too, may be had of fanciful shapes— 
and there are not wanting yet examples of the “ cup 
and saucer ” but the ordinary bush form will be found 
most serviceable. Purchasers of fruit trees should 
always let the training play a secondary part to other 
matters in detail, and train to suit their individual 
tastes in all the classes, as a tree well set away, with 
equally balanced growth, can, in a young state, be 
made to yield to another mode of training with the 
greatest ease. Still it is important in any case that 
the shoots be regular, and if so, a horizontal-trained 
tree may any day be trained 11 fan ” and vice versa. 
It is not my intention to advise varieties suitable for 
different districts, as each planter must be guided to a 
great extent by his own particular requirements. It is 
always a difficult task to give advice in this matter, 
and it is at times equally thankless, for let it be done 
ever so judiciously, there will be some misunderstanding, 
and it may result in a practical bungle, yet these 
remarks would be incomplete without a little reference 
thereto. As the above remarks are calculated to 
guide the uninitiated in the selection of fruit trees, I 
will enumerate a few in each class that I have found 
reliable both in the east and west of Scotland, as 
follows Apples : Eeklinville Seedling, Lord Suffield, 
Stirling Castle, Irish Peach, Kerry Pippin, Cox’s 
Orange Pippin, Oslin Pippin, Cox’s Pomona, Pott’s 
Seedling, Devonshire Quarrenden, "Worcester Pearmain, 
Hawthornden (old and new), Cellini, Juneating, &e. 
Pears : Beurre Diel, Beurre d’Amanlis, Beurre d’Arem- 
berg, Williams’ Bon Chretien, Marie Louise, Autumn 
Bergamot, Hazel or Hessle, Glou Morceau, Josephine 
de Malines, Moorfowl Egg, Croft Castle, &c. Cherries : 
Mayduke, Morello, Bigarreau. Plums : Victoria, 
Orleans, Jefferson, Magnum Bonum, Kirk’s Seedling, 
Pond’s Seedling, Lombard, Prince of Wales. Gages 
of sorts, &c. Apricots : Moorpark, Breda, Royal, &c. 
Peaches : Royal George, Ncblesse, &c. Nectarines : 
Elruge, Violette Hative, &c. 
The latter three classes of fruit do not succeed here 
owing to the excessive rainfall and mild autumns, 
but in the east of Scotland admirable examples of trees 
and fruit are frequently met with, and at best are well 
worth a trial ; those named being specially fine out¬ 
side.— J. Proctor, Glenfinart. 
-- 
VINES AND SOIL. 
I have read lately that it would be well to let us 
know what soils Vines would not grow in. All who 
have during their lifetime lifted old Vine roots can 
easily tell some sad experiences of soil which would not 
suit Vines, and of material in which they would not 
root at all. Though Vines often do capitally in certain 
positions when planted in the natural ground, for some 
time at least, we know where failures have taken 
place after the first dry season which the roots had to 
struggle against, dryness having caused the plants to 
search for food and moisture from the subsoil, when they 
soon perished, and the result, as a matter of course, was 
the bad health of the Vines, and poor fruit. 
At this season many are forming Vine borders, and 
they leave everything so porous and open downwards 
that the roots would be better without the well-meant 
help which has been provided for them. At the 
present time we are removing soil from Vines in which 
a root is scarcely found, which they have passed by in 
search of other material. We have tested this soil 
(which we were obliged to use for borders), knowing it 
was bad, but it was much worse than we supposed. 
No plants in pots can live in it, and when mixed with 
other soil, stunted and unhealthy growth soon follows. 
Though we have had enormous crops of Grapes from 
Vines planted in the soil referred to, it was from the 
artificial manures (chiefly from Thomson’s Vine and 
Plant Manure) that we are indebted to for our supplies. 
It is very remarkable to observe how readily the 
roots draw to the feeding material. The roots inside 
the houses were freed from their bad soil last year, and 
a marked difference has taken place. While the outside 
is being done, those inside keep the Vines supplied till 
their fellows get to work again, which is one great 
advantage of double borders. 
The soil above all others which we find Vines do 
worst in, is sandy iron-looking material. The next 
worst is muddy soil, which can'be battered into bricks. 
A third is that which has been made sour and unhealthy 
by farmyard manure, or animal manure of any kind. 
When we see Vines very subject to red-spider, or very 
luxuriant in foliage, but given to shanking, the soils 
indicated may easily be found. — C. B. 
- *»$<« - 
THE CALEDONIA NURSERY, 
GUERNSEY. 
This old-established nursery is situated amidst pleasant 
surroundings, and within easy walking distance of St. 
Peter’s Port. It occupies several pieces of ground 
within a short distance of one another ; and some of 
them occupied by fruit trees and shrubs are surrounded 
and sheltered by tall trees. Messrs. Charles Smith & 
Son keep a rich and varied assortment of plants of all 
kinds to meet the requirements of the island, as well as 
for Covent Garden and other markets. 
Hardy Trees and Shrubs. 
Owing to the equable nature of the climate, a large 
number of subjects are grown in the open air which in 
England require the aid of a greenhouse to make them 
safe. The first thing that strikes the eye of a visitor 
on entering the nursery is a number of various-sized 
specimens of Cordyline australis, some of the more 
bushy-headed ones being heavily laden with panicles 
of small white berries that render the trees very 
ornamental. One tree about 22 ft. high, and not the 
tallest, is 15 ins. in diameter at 3 ft. from the ground, 
and twice that thickness at the very base. They are 
planted about in beds of tuberous Begonias, Heliotropes, 
and other subjects which were gay when we saw them in 
the last week of September. Smilax asper mauritanicus, 
on a wall close by, was gay with its red buds and 
pinkish white flowers. Clematis indivisa only loses 
its leaves in severe winters, but flowers well against 
a wall. Near it were Indigofera floribunda, and 
Solanum jasminoides, the latter being in full bloom. 
Fine also was Vitis striata with its digitate ever¬ 
green leaves, covering the wall from top to bottom. 
By the side of it, Acacia armata proves hardy, and 
Kadsura japonica variegata was on the point of 
expanding its creamy yellow flowers. Edwardsia 
microphylla and E. grandifiora were also on the wall; 
but Desfontainea spinosa and Ekeagnus macrophylla 
are grown as bushy shrubs. 
Large quantities of Euonymus japonicus in its green 
and variegated forms are grown in another part of the 
nursery. The silver and golden broad-leaved forms 
assume a fine colour, whole shoots of the latter with 
their foliage being sometimes coloured yellow. E. 
radicans and E. microphyllus, with their variegated 
forms, are also grown. The latter, with well-defined 
white margins, is exceedingly pretty and useful for 
edgings. E. fimbriatus is also hardy here ; the young 
foliage is red. The luxuriant state of Azara microphylla 
is wonderful, rendering it very ornamental. The 
usual flowering season of Pittosporum Tobira is from 
March to August, but the sweetly fragrant white 
flowers were still being freely produced. Berberis 
Fortunei was also flowering, as if anticipating the 
season. A very ornamental shrub attaining considerable 
height, with strongly undulated leaves and hoary on 
the under surface, is Eurybia erubescens. It flowers 
freely after attaining a certain height, but the foliage 
alone renders it worth growing in quantity. Myriea 
cerasifera, a shrub 3 ft. in height, was laden with 
black fruit. All of these are grown in the open ground 
without any protection whatever, and certainly were a 
picture of health. The same may be said of OsmaDthus 
Aquifolius and 0. A. illicifolius, Ekeagnus japonicus 
variegata, Choisya ternata and other handsome ever¬ 
green subjects that require the protection of a wall, 
more or less, in the vicinity of London. Here, as every¬ 
where else in the island, Escallonia macrantha was in 
full bloom. A golden-leaved Elm, a variety of Ulmus 
campestris and named U. Dampieri, is notable for its 
erect stems and adpressed golden yellow leaves that are 
highly ornamental in spring, but retain their colour to 
the last. Andromeda (Pieris) japonica is both dwarf 
and ornamental; its beautiful congener A, formosa 
requires the protection of a greenhouse in England, but 
here it may be grown like a Rhododendron, and when 
we saw the bushes with their large shining evergreen 
leaves, they were laden with well-advanced flower 
buds. The South American Embothrium coccineum 
was also thriving finely, and appeared quite at home. 
Great interest is taken by Mr. Smith, jun., in 
Himalayan and other Rhododendrons, of which he 
grows a large number of species in the open ground, 
and layers them for the purpose of getting young 
plants upon their own roots. Amongst those we 
noticed were R. Aucklandii, R. Boothii, R. Hookeri, 
R. Edgeworthii, R. Nuttallii, R. Lindleyi, R. Thomsoni, 
R. grande (better known as R. argenteum), R. Falco- 
neri, R. Griffithi, and others, all in robust health and 
in most cases set with flower buds. Several of the 
finer garden forms are also grown, including one 
named R. Aucklandii hybrida, the popular Countess of 
Haddington, and R. McNabiana. R, Dalhousiie, one of 
the parents of Countess of Haddington, and always a 
straggling grower, is also planted in the open ground, 
notwithstanding its epiphytic habit in its native 
home. 
Another popular species often grown in "greenhouses 
throughout Britain is R. formosum, better known as R. 
Gibsoni. It is equally floriferous as Countess of 
Haddington in the Caledonia Nursery. The difficulty 
of getting good peat in the Channel Islands militates 
against the extensive planting of Rhododendrons, 
otherwise a fine display might be made in any garden 
that is sheltered from the direct action of sea bieezes 
with trees. Indian Azaleas are hardy, and layered to 
produce young plants. 
A novelty in its way is the planting of Bouvardia 
Humboldtii corymbiflora to stand the winter in the 
open ground. It was 24 ins. to 30 ins. high, and 
flowering freely, as well as Alfred Neunerand President 
Garfield, the double white and double pink varieties. 
The two latter are not, however, so hardy as the first 
named, and may not outlive the winter in their present 
position. Established plants of bedding Pelargoniums 
may also be wintered, and frequently are in the open 
air. An idea of the long and equable nature of the 
