December 8, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
231 
Plum, and it cannot be stored for future consumption 
like the Apple. In this country it must therefore he 
a fruit of luxury, requiring skill and capital for its 
cultivation, which must be carried on either on walls 
or in glasshouses. Very uncertain crops are, however, 
obtained from unprotected walls in our climate, and 
my own experience has been gained for the last thirty 
years from glasshouses, during which period I may say 
that I have never known a failure. 
-- 
HANLEY, NEAR EDINBURGH. 
A few miles west of Edinburgh, in a rich agricultural 
tract of country, is Hanley, the residence , of James 
Walker, Esq. The house and gardens are, however, 
surrounded by trees, such as are usually planted for 
ornamental purposes in Scotland. 
The older and large trees consist of Limes, Sycamores 
(universally known in Scotland as the Plane), and a 
yellow variety of it called the Corstorphine Plane ; and 
also Beeches assuming noble proportions, Sweet 
Chestnut and the Scarlet Horse Chestnut. Some 
thriving young plantations, in which Conifers are 
largely planted, are very interesting. They might 
range from 10 ft. to 14 ft. in height, and include 
healthy and shapely trees of Abies nobilis glauca and 
A. concolor. The past season seems to have been 
favourable to the production of cones, as some of them 
were fruiting freely. Specially noticeable was Picea 
nigra, the Black Spruce, which, as a rule, bears heavily 
on trees only 10 ft. in height. The purplish black 
cones are real pigmies, being only about 1 in. in length, 
and cover the upper portion of the stately and shapely 
pyramidal trees in dense drooping clusters. In the 
more open space about the grounds are some fine 
specimens of Irish Yews. The golden Elder (Sambucus 
nigra aurea) is very popular in the neighbourhood of 
Edinburgh, and finds a place in many gardens. On 
sloping banks where the soil is rather dry it has a very 
fine effect. Close by the house itself are two fine trees 
of the purple Beech. In September and October last 
a fine display was produced by Clematis on the walls 
of the house. 
The herbaceous and other borders were then gay 
with many useful old-fashioned subjects, such as white 
and purple Colchicums, including C. speciosum, with 
very large flowers. The white Monkshood (Aconitum 
Napellus album) stood about 5 ft. high. A huge plant 
of Funkia Sieboldii was also in fine form ; and 
Veratrum nigrum had six spikes of bloom, each about 
5 ft. high. A few things were still flowering on the 
rockery, including Crucianella stylosa, a white form of 
Campanula rotundifolia, and Linaria purpurea 3 ft. to 
4 ft. high. 
The borders were also gay with half-hardy subjects, 
such as single seedling Dahlias, Pentstemons, Calceo¬ 
larias, Chrysanthemum La Petite Marie, and others, 
all of which were notable for the profuse way in which 
they were flowering at that late period of the year. 
The warm and dry month of September succeeding a 
cold sunless summer had no doubt a very beneficial 
effect on the liberal development of bloom. In another 
portion of the garden the air was pervaded with the 
pleasant odour proceeding from masses of Sweet Peas 
and Stocks. Amongst the subjects used for summer 
bedding proper the Calceolarias, including Sparkler, 
Golden Gem, Lemon Gem with large leaves and flowers, 
and a bright sky-blue Ageratum named Cupid, were 
very profusely flowered. 
Grapes receive careful attention at Hanley, and 
reflect credit on the skill of Mr. Bennett, the gardener. 
One house was devoted to the culture of Lady Downes 
and Alicante, the latter being a splendid sample, finely 
finished off with a bluish black bloom. In this house 
were some seedling specimens of the Tree Tomato 
(Cyphomandra betacea), which is beginning to receive 
attention in various parts of the country. The other 
structure contained Vines of Lady Downe’s, Gros 
Colmar, Foster’s Seedling, Espirian, Syrian, and Mrs. 
Pince’s Black Muscat. The latter especially were good 
samples of cultivation. Tomatos are also grown to 
some extent, including Hackwood Park and Beading 
Perfection. In the borders surrounding the kitchen 
garden were bush or pyramid Apple trees, amongst 
which four specimens of the Boyal Codlin, better known 
as the Dutch Codlin, bore good crops of large conical 
fruits, similar to the Keswick Codlin, but generally 
more or less flushed with red, and therefore the more 
handsome of the two. 
A Statice in the greenhouse, and a seedling from 
S. Holfordi, had attained large dimensions, and was 
flowering profusely. The corolla is white, but owing 
to the large size of the blue calyx, the latter gives the 
dominating and most lasting hue to the blooms. 
Lapageria rosea was flowering profusely on the roof. 
Fuchsias and Pelargoniums, including the rosy scarlet 
Ivy-leaved Chas. Turner, Vallota purpurea, Begonia 
Weltoniensis, and Petunias were very gay. Some 
double and purple-white varieties of the latter were 
particularly fine. The Caladiums were still gay in the 
stove, with their manifold crimson, white, red, and 
green markings. Perle de Brezil and Prince Albert 
Edward were well-marked kinds. Drac;ena Lindeni 
here as elsewhere proves itself a very ornamental kind. 
Vinca rosea alba, white with a red eye, although a 
congener, is strikingly distinct from the hardy Peri¬ 
winkles. The roof was richly hung with the free- 
flowering Allamanda Schottii (Hendersoni), the best of 
all the species for cut-flower purposes and general 
cultivation. The end wall of the house was very 
effectively covered with Ficus repens, than which a 
neater or more closely-clinging species could hardly be 
found. 
-- 
RENOVATION OF OLD AND 
FORMATION OF NEW ORCHARDS. 
By W. Coleman, Eastnor Castle Gardens. 
Living as I do in the-county of Hereford, boasting its 
27,000 acres of orcharding, where in days gone by 
thousands of tons of good fruit were lost, wasted, or 
converted into indifferent cider, I am able to form a 
pretty correct opinion of our own progress, and although 
less rapid than I could wish, I may say it is fairly 
satisfactory. Cider drinking among the working 
classes since I first knew the county has gradually 
decreased, consequently small parcels of the rosy Tom 
Putt and other useful Apples, alike good for cooking or 
vintage, are now stored for daily use by all the members 
of the grower’s family. If not wanted, then they are 
sold to dealers, who make a profit, for conveyance to 
retailers, who also make another profit, and that a 
heavy one, from their customers. Although a slight 
step forward, this state of the case is not quite satis¬ 
factory, neither will it be until a powerful fruit growers’ 
association, which should be the outcome of this con¬ 
ference, has established a network of markets in all 
provincial towns as well as in London markets in 
which producers, as in all parts of Paris, can meet face 
to face with consumers without the aid of so many 
middlemen. In fruit-growing counties, like Hereford, 
Worcester, Gloucester, Kent, Devon, and Somerset, 
these local markets should be well supported, as we 
gather from statistics that three-quarters of a million 
of money is sent out of England annually for Apples 
alone. If landowners, hitherto blind to their own 
interests, and legislators now take up the matter, I see 
no reason why growers should not go forth to the 
production of an article which the public must and 
will have, and so keep the money at home. Our 
climate is all that can be desired for the growth of 
fresh crisp fruit, not quite so highly coloured or so 
large as picked samples from the colonies, but large 
enough to command top prices when well grown, and 
packed, and properly marketed. There must be no 
shaking from the trees, but the cream of the crop must 
be hand-picked, and honestly packed as firsts and 
seconds. The residue or refuse, which added to the 
hest would increase expenses and pull down prices, 
would then remain at home for various purposes. 
Mr. Knight, the great physiologist and hybridist, 
who worked so much in Hereford and Salop, proved by 
analysis that some soils, even in these favoured counties 
were preferable to others for producing Apples of dense 
gravity and full of saccharine matter. The late Dr. 
Bull, of whom Hereford should be proud, following in 
his wake, corroborated all that Knight had said, 
proving, I think satisfactorily, what past generations 
of shrewd men had found out for themselves, both as 
regards the quality of the fruit and the constituents of 
the soil which should be chosen for Apples, also for 
Pears. The conclusions at which they arrived were 
these : The light thin soils will not grow the best 
Apples, therefore those who would plant a successful 
orchard must choose a deep stiff sandstone loam if they 
have the opportunity of doing so. All the orchard 
land in this country is not alike good ; indeed, some is 
very bad, but the soil here, as in Devonshire, which 
produces the best fruit, owes its fertility to the plentiful 
supply of lime from the marl or cormstone, and to its great 
depth and sustaining nature. Scientists who will may 
peruse the first part of the Herefordshire Pomona, or 
they may follow Mr. Kivers through his exhaustive 
address delivered at the Crystal Palace, but my remarks, 
* A paper read at the Chiswick Apple and Pear Conference. 
necessarily brief, will guide plain practical planters to 
the best spots for new plantations. 
Having been honoured by an invitation to contribute 
a short paper upon the Apple, I have determine 1 to 
confine myself to the West Midland orchards, in which 
some progress has been made since the first conference 
was held in 1883. Draining, grubbing, grafting, and 
planting are still going on, but much remains to be 
done before we can invite inspection. Although the 
Apple is a long-lived tree and perfectly hardy in all its 
parts save its flowers, the occupants of many of our 
oldest orchards, crippled by age, bad usage, and neglect 
are past recovery, and should be cleared away, but the 
ground they occupy should not be replanted if better 
or equally good sites can be found for new plantations. 
Other orchards again, containing thoroughly sound 
young trees, although of inferior sorts, after the 
grubbers’ axe has passed over the land, may be con¬ 
verted by grafting and resuscitated by draining and 
top-dressing. Some of our oldest orchards which date 
back to the Wars of the Roses contain a great number 
of wildings or kernel fruits of no value to the owners 
even, whilst younger plantations are crowded with 
healthy, vigorous trees, at one time supposed to be 
Norman, but now proved to be English seedlings, no 
better than the stocks used in large nurseries. Upon 
the first 1 would not spend money, as they are too old 
for grafting, too old to pay rent, too old for anything 
save loss and disappointment. The second I would 
behead and re-graft with choice varieties which have 
been proved in the locality. Confining myself to old 
orchards now existing or languishing in the western 
counties, I may close my remarks upon this head by 
saying. Cut down all useless trees, thin out the heads 
of those worth keeping ; cleanse the branches and 
stems from moss and insects ; regraft sound, healthy 
trees into good market sorts, and see that the drainage 
is satisfactory. I will not presume to inform practical 
men who may deign to read my remarks that sound, 
deep, naturally-drained orchards are better than others 
which require artificial treatment, and that a certain 
quantity of moisture in the soil is absolutely necessary, 
but on no account must it be stagnant. All gardeners 
are well acquainted with the fact that soils too dry 
produce fruit that is small and mealy, whilst water¬ 
logged soils are several degrees colder than others of 
similar texture that are free from this root-chilling 
poison. They know, moreover, that warm summer 
rains run off the surface, whilst the sun acts very 
slowly in raising the temperature of the wet subsoil in 
which deeply-seated roots soon perish, and those 
nearest the surface are little better off, as they do not 
commence fresh action much before Midsummer. 
Drainage, all good cultivators assert, is the first 
essential in the preparation of new orchards or in the 
renovation of old ones, and why 1 Well, simply because 
the removal of stagnant, if not putrid water and the 
introduction of fresh air raises the temperature of the 
soil from 3° to 5°, a condition which not infrequently 
forms the dividing line betwixt success and failure. 
So far my remarks have been confined to old orchards, 
planted haphazard upon all sorts and conditions of 
badly-prepared land, as well as in unfavourable situ¬ 
ations. The best of these may be retained for a time, 
upon the principle that half a loaf is better than no 
bread ; but the majority of them must go, and young 
ones must spring up before we can hope to realise an 
average £10 an acre, or compete with the colonists in 
our own markets. Some years, as many present know, 
have passed since horticulturists commenced agitating, 
but the good seed which was intended to put three- 
quarters of a million of money into the British farmers’ 
pockets for a long time fell upon stony ground. Some 
recently has taken root, and far-seeing landowners are 
now putting our theory into practice by offering land 
upon conditions that will induce capitalists to invest 
in fruit culture precisely as they do in coal and iron. 
In this and the adjoining counties good landlords are 
raising and distributing to their tenantry Apple and 
Pear trees by thousands. These mostly are standards 
on free stocks, the only class of tree suited to pasture 
and arable land. Nurserymen, again, who have 
brought propagation up to a fine art, are producing 
standards and dwarfs by the million, and these surely, 
in a few years, should make their mark. Meantime, a 
complete network of markets, I insist, must be created 
throughout the kingdom. 
Aspect and site being so closely dovetailed together, 
these I will not attempt to separate. All gardeners, I 
believe, are pretty well agreed that a south aspect is 
best, as trees in this position ripen their wood well, 
and produce fruit of the highest colour and quality. 
The Apple, however, being perfectly hardy, the quality 
of the soil must not be lost sight of, neither must 
altitude and shelter from north and east winds be 
repudiated. Under these circumstances, the soil being 
deep sandstone loam resting on marl, and naturally 
drained, I should not object to a point east, or any 
other aspect round with the sun to full west. The 
latter, however, I should prefer, and for these reasons : 
although western gales in this part of the country 
do some damage, it is well known that if plants are 
exposed to the first rays of the morning sun when they 
are frozen they will suffer, but if they are shaded until 
they are gradually thawed by the rising temperature of 
the air, they will stand a few degrees with impunity. 
(To be continued,) 
