374 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 13, 1892. 
FRUIT TREES BY THE 
WAYSIDE. 
When I read the note on this subject on page 352 of 
your last issue, I could not but recall to mind the re¬ 
markable spectacle, perhaps unique in England, of 
a country road, probably a mile in length, bordered 
on either side by Damson trees, growing in the 
hedgerows, and when I passed through them last 
autumn, w'ere carrying a heavy crop of fruit. That 
was within a couple of miles or so of Sw r anley, and 
I was indebted to Mr. H. Canned for the sight. Still 
I could not but think how well conducted must the 
gamins of the locality be, for I know too well that in 
myriads of districts were fruit trees thus exposed to 
public tenderness they would soon be stripped 
of branch as well as fruit. 
It is but too certain that the bulk of our people are 
yet far too indifferently trained to teach them to re¬ 
spect fruit, no matter where or whose, if it were at 
all accessible, and especially so tempting, as in road¬ 
side fruit. Besides why do we want to plant fruit trees 
in such exposed situations, when we have literally thou¬ 
sands of acres of land which would pay w T ell to plant, 
and the produce of which could easily be protected 
from damage? In the same way some hysterical people 
occasionally advocate the planting of railway em¬ 
bankments with fruit trees or bushes, utterly 
oblivious of the fact that nine-tenths of these em¬ 
bankments are composed of pure sand, or gravel, or 
clay, or chalk, or some other form of substrata which 
is entirely unfitted for the growth of fruit. Then 
they take no thought for the danger incidental to 
growers and workers on these embankments con¬ 
sequent upon the passing trains, or of the exceptional 
difficulty found in properly cultivating such steep 
inclines. 
We have such immense areas of good land which 
can easily be planted and cultivated, that it does 
seem absurd to urge the planting of fruit trees either 
in places where exposed to damage, or else where 
the lives of the workers would always be in great 
peril. It will be very long yet ere we shall be so 
driven into a corner for land as to need cultivating 
railway embankments. Every acre of land gardened 
at once gives three times the produce it did when 
farmed ; hence the more of the land converted into 
gardens the better for the nation.— A. D. 
-*t-- 
EFFECT OF STOCKS ON 
APPLE TREES. 
The budding and grafting of fruit trees on different 
kinds of stocks has developed within recent times to 
quite an art in its way, and those whoTiave been study¬ 
ing it from practical experience know what kinds suc¬ 
ceed best on any particular or given tree used as a 
stock. One of the chief objects of grafting or budding 
the Apple tree on any other stock than the Crab, 
is to reduce the vegetative vigour of the tree, so that 
instead of producing a large quantity of useless wood, 
it will develop a smaller amount of wood and come 
into a fruit-bearing condition at a much earlier 
period. Now some of the stocks are naturally so 
weak in growth that they exercise a too dwarfing 
effect upon trees in the open ground, although they 
might prove more serviceable for trees in pots. The 
French Paradise and some of the varieties of it 
which are used by fruit growers on the Continent 
belong to this class, and in this country exercise a 
too dwarfing effect on certain varieties, including 
New Hawthornden and Stirling Castle. 
A considerable number of stocks, that is, different 
kinds, are and have been under trial for a number 
of years in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural 
Society at Chiswick, and the effects on various 
varieties of Apple may there be studied, as well as 
the peculiarities of the sorts of Apple themselves. 
New Hawthornden on the French Paradise of M. 
Baltet is too dwarf to be worth growing for profit in 
the open air. The same Apple however on the 
Doucin stock, not only on the same piece of ground 
but in the same line, is strong and well set with 
flower buds. A tree of Stirling Castle on M. Baltet’s 
variety of the French Paradise is only about two 
or three feet high, while another on the French 
Paradise as grown in this country is even weaker, 
and evidently would not remain in a healthy con¬ 
dition for many years. Stirling Castle must there¬ 
fore be grown on a more vigorous stock in order to 
secure the union which will exercise a sufficiently 
dwarfing effect without actually crippling the tree 
by placing it on a stock that either cannot supply 
the requisite amount of nourishment, or forms so 
bad a union by the unequal growth of scion and 
stock that no progress can be made. The English 
Paradise and the Doucin are intermediate in their 
dv’arfing effect between the French Paradise and the 
Crab, the Doucin being the more vigorous of the 
two, and to be recommended for very strong grow¬ 
ing varieties of Apple. 
An example of a good union is that of Manks' 
Codlin upon the English Paradise. The trees are 
about 4 ft. or 5 ft. high even after being pruned, and 
the two year old shoots are closely set with spurs 
bearing bloom buds. Annie Elizabeth on the Crab 
grows very vigorously, and although fairly well 
spurred, would probably do better on the Doucin, 
which would to some extent check its rampant vigour. 
On the other hand Bedfordshire Foundling when grown 
as a bush is ascraggy or leggy-lookingplant, producing 
a crooked leading stem with very few and irregularly 
placed laterals. Trees on the English Paradise do 
not seem to be improved in habit, nor are they fur¬ 
nished with fruit-bearing spurs. Possibly it may 
give more satisfaction as the trees get older, for as 
yet they are relatively young. The Irish Peach 
is another variety which does not fruit freely in the 
young state. It has the peculiarity of producing a 
single flower bud on the tips of w'eak lateral shoots, 
while spurs in the true sense of the term are not 
produced. The strong leading growths do not how¬ 
ever terminate in flower buds. The tree gets more 
fruitful as it gets old, and produces numerous weak 
shoots. Although grown on different stocks noDe 
of them exercise any effect in causing a production of 
spurs, at least in the young state. 
Hardening |(iscellany. 
PRUNUS SINENSIS FLORE PLENO. 
The dwarf habit of this Chinese Plum, and its fiori- 
ferous character, renders it a useful subject for pot 
culture for the decoration of the greenhouse or con¬ 
servatory in the early months of the year. Flower¬ 
ing as it does in spring out of doors, it submits to 
gentle forcing, by which it may be had in bloom in 
January and February ; hard forcing would not be 
conducive to large flowers nor to their long lasting 
properties. The best plan is to bring the plants on 
slowly in a moderate heat, and, as the leaves expand, 
give ventilation on all favourable occasions to get 
colour and substance into the leaves. The latter add 
much to the general appearance of the plant, and 
the flowers are also more interesting and look more 
natural when accompanied by good foliage. The 
typical form of the plant has small, white flowers, 
but the double variety under notice has relatively 
large white flowers. They are not of course so 
large as those of the best double form of the Wild 
Cherry (Prunus Avium), as that could hardly be ex¬ 
pected when we consider the difference in size be¬ 
tween the two plants. The double Chinese Plum 
flowers freely in pots when only about 18 in. or 2 ft. 
high ; the other is a small tree. 
CYRTANTHUS LUTESCENS. 
The species of Cyrtanthus are characterised by their 
long tubular or funnel-shaped, and curved flowers. 
Few of them are at all common in gardens. C. 
M'Kenii has fragrant white flowers, freely produced 
in a cool house during the winter months. Those 
of C. lutescens are somewhat smaller, narrowly 
funnel-shaped, and produced in drooping clusters of 
two to five on scapes 12 in. to 15 in. long; the lamina 
consists of six short, revolute segments. The leaves 
are linear, slender, and about 3 in. to 6 in. long when 
the bulbs are flowering. Those who take an interest 
in bulbous plants would find in this species some¬ 
thing to contrast with C. M'Kenii, as it has clear 
yellow flowers, as indicated by the specific name. 
The large flowered C. sanguineus blooms in August, 
and therefore offers no competition with either of 
the above. 
THE ZAMONA PALM. 
Such is the popular name of Socrate exorhiza, a 
Palm which is interesting as well as beautiful, on 
account of the curious development of aerial roots 
from the base and sides of the stem giving the plant 
the appearance of standing on its toes, or as if 
propped up to prevent its falling, The stem elongates 
rather rapidly from the young state onward, but 
does not thicken in proportion to its height. The 
basal portion remains slender, as it was in the 
early stages of the seedling, while the upper portion 
thickens greatly : hence the necessity of the lateral 
propping up afforded by the strong adventitious 
roots resembling the staj r s of a ship's mast. A 
specimen raised from seeds about ten years ago at 
Kew, has a stem about 4 ft. to 5 ft. high, while the 
nearly upright leaves continue the height to 10 ft. 
The leaves are pinnate with very curious, oblique 
or somewhat trapezoid pinnae, sinuately toothed 
along the oblique edges. Some of the larger pinnae 
are divided into three or four segments. At present 
the stem is supported by 5 stout and 7 slender roots. 
CYCLAMEN PERSICUM GIGANTEUM. 
When passing through the houses recently at 
Beechcroft, Edgbaston, Birmingham (gardener Mr. 
Swain), my attention was called to a Cyclamen 
carrying flowers of various colours, some of which 
were pure white, and others of a dark magenta 
shade. Such an occurrence has not, hitherto, come 
under my observation.— J. McNab. 
CROTON LORD DERBY. 
The leaves of this variety are similar in form to 
those of Disraeli, but they are showier because more 
highly coloured. They are three lobed, the two side 
lobes being produced near the base, making the leaf 
somewhat halbert-shaped. They are closely ar¬ 
ranged upon the stem, and vary in length according 
to vigour from 6in. to I2in. The upper surface is of 
a rich, dark green with a broad, yellow band along 
the centre of the lobes, and is more or less shaded 
with crimson over the j'ellow, more particularly in 
the summer time, when the light is good. The plant 
may lack the grace characteristic of the long, narrow, 
and drooping leaved kinds, but thestiffish, horizontal 
leaves in this case are by no means stiff and formal, 
while they are at the same time highly ornamental 
for table or other decoration. The variety is grown 
amongst a collection of numerous kinds, in the nur¬ 
sery of Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill. 
ANTHURIUM ATROSANGUINEUM. 
The hybrid Anthuriums are now getting pretty 
numerous in gardens, and are serviceable on account 
of the bold character of the foliage and large spathes. 
The chief drawback to them is the amount of space 
they require, so that when space is a consideration 
preference is given to plants of smaller dimensions. 
The leaves of the hybrid under notice are heart- 
shaped, of great size, leathery, and of a rich dark 
green when young, getting paler when mature. The 
spathes are heart-shaped, and slightly wrinkled, re¬ 
calling those of A. Andreanum, but of a rich shining 
crimson. The stout spadix is creamy-yellow and 
erect. It would undoubtedly be found more service¬ 
able for large stoves and warm conservatories than 
smaller kinds which are useful for rockwork in warm 
houses and for pot work. That under notice has 
been flowering for some time past in the Forest Hill 
nursery of Messrs. J. Laing & Sons. 
SAXIFRAGA BU RSERIANA MAJOR. 
Notwithstanding the beauty and neatness of this 
Alpine, and the length of time it has been in the 
country, it is by no means so common as it might be 
in private gardens generally. It is very hardy, and 
coming as it does from the Alps, it should be planted 
in open and well-drained situations fully exposed to 
light. Sunshine will not harm it provided there is 
sufficient depth below the roots to afford a supply of 
moisture by capillary attraction during periods of 
drought. The firm and rigid nature of the leaves 
shows that the plant is well adapted for exposed 
situations, whether exposed to winds or sunshine. 
But an adequate supply of moisture during the sum¬ 
mer months is indispensable, not because a large 
amount is necessary, but the small quantity must be 
continuous, hence the danger of planting in the 
shallow pockets of an artificial rockery at low ele¬ 
vations, where the heat, more especially when re¬ 
flected from the stones of such a rockwork, is great. 
In the open the plant flowers with us in March ; but 
it may also be cultivated successfully in pots kept in 
a cold frame, as it is treated in the nursery of Messrs. 
J. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill. The flowers of the 
variety under notice are pure white, large, and pro¬ 
duced singly on stems about 2in. high. 
