January 9, 1897. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
297 
Bradford is chosen for its culture in preference to 
outlying districts is the fact that the local trade is 
brisker, and that the cost of cartage between the 
producer and consumer is not so great. Doubtless 
the surplus finds its way to London, but you must 
not lose sight of the fact that hundreds of acres in 
the vicinity of the metropolis are devoted to 
Rhubarb, and it is from these areas that a great deal 
of the regular supply of this favourite esculent is 
obtained. Any supplies that are sent from Leeds 
and Bradford would be only casual and not regular. 
-- 
CYPRIPEDIUM NANDI. 
This distinct and pretty secondary hybrid is the 
result of crossing C. callosum with the pollen of C. 
tautzianum, the latter being derived from C. 
barbatum Crossii with C. niveum. It is remarkable 
how clearly the three species used in the production 
of C. Nandi can be distinguished. The broad 
dorsal sepal partakes in general appearance of that of 
C. callosum, but is more recurved, which shows the 
influence of C. barbatum; the basal half is creamy 
white, heavily veined with pale green ; towards the 
centre it is veined and suffused with purple, the 
upper portion - being pure white. The petals are 
white, veined with green at the base, the outer edges, 
and towards the apex, being heavily suffused with 
bright purple, the whole being covered with dark 
brown spots. The lip is rich purple, veined with a 
darker shade, and partakes, to a great extent of the 
characters of C. niveum, as also does the disc of the 
column, while the suffusion of purple in the petals 
and lip show the influence of C. barbatum. 
There is a remarkable feature in the hybrids in 
which C. barbatum has been used as one of the 
parents, that in the offspring there is usually the 
purple suffusion as seen in C. tessellatum porphy reum, 
C. selligerum, C. Charles Rickman, etc. I do not 
know of any other species where there is such a 
consistent characteristic. 
C. Nandi was first exhibited at the Drill Hall, 
September nth, 1894, when it received an Award of 
Merit, coming from R. I. Measures, Esq., Cambridge 
Lodge, Camberwell. It requires the warm house 
treatment. Care must be taken to avoid drip, as its 
having a good deal of the constitution of C. niveum 
it is liable to damp, if moisture is applied in any way 
overhead.— C.J.H. 
PRUNING GOOSEBERRIES. 
In this, as in many other subjects relating to garden¬ 
ing, there are several ways of achieving success, and 
it is, indeed, impossible to dogmatise. When 
penning the article which “ Brightspade'' criticises 
I did not suppose that the system of pruning Goose¬ 
berry bushes I then advocated was the only one 
practised. “Brightspade” believes in allowing all 
the shoots to remain at full length. I do not doubt 
that they bear well enough, but here the disadvan¬ 
tage comes in. Gooseberry bushes are not very tall, 
and long shoots are sure to have their ends close to 
the ground, when the fruit becomes splashed with 
dirt and practically useless. I advised shortening 
the shoots by one third their length, which is little 
more than cutting the straggling tips off. “ Bright¬ 
spade” avers that a shoot shortened to half or a third 
its length produces a large number of shoots the 
following season. But how does that statement 
refer to the original, against which I presume it is 
levelled ?— Rex. 
As a grower of Gooseberries I have read with 
interest the reply of “Brightspade” to “ Rex.” Will 
you allow me to say both are right and both wrong ?— 
or in other words the truth lies between them. 
As a general rule Gooseberry bushes should be 
thinned, not topped or shortened, but, inasmuch as 
the various kinds differ greatly in their habit of 
growth it is difficult,if not impossible, to lay down any 
hard and fast rule. Then again soil and aspect have a 
great deal to do with the growth; and so, whilst in 
our case the trouble is to produce enough wood, in 
another case the difficulty arises from too rank a 
growth. In my own plantation, the new shoots on 
well established bushes often measure from 2 ft. to 3 
ft. in length, the consequence is they touch the 
ground; the tips strike root on the " Banyan” 
principle, unless shortened, and where they do not 
touch in winter, the weight of fruit in summer lays 
them on the ground, when the berries are simply 
coated with mud after rain. My experience teaches 
me that to cut back too hard in such cases is simply 
to produce a rank growth of lateral branches and 
very little fruit, but that a judicious pruning will 
keep them just clear of the ground and weeds, with¬ 
out destroying their fruitfulness. I quite agree with 
the writer that the judicious thinning out of the 
bushes is of the highest importance, especially in 
view of the persistent attacks of insect blight with 
which growers have had to contend of late years. 
I write not so much to criticise, as to offer my 
small contribution of practical hints, gathered from a 
somewhat extensive experience of 20 years.— Benjamin 
G. Berry. 
-- -» 1 — 
INTENSE CULTURE. 
(1 Concluded from p. 282). 
All that has been said about deep cultivation is 
applicable with equal force to hardy fruit culture, 
as anyone may prove by planting any kind of fruit 
bearing trees on land only dug one spit deep, and 
also at the same time, trees on land dug two or more 
spits deep, the difference [may not be so very much 
marked for the first year, but afterwards it will be 
seen at a glance where deep cultivation has taken 
place, the difference in the vigour of the trees, 
and the size and quality of the fruit being very 
noticeable. Market men will, perhaps, in some 
instances inform you that the expense of so deeply 
working the land is too great for them, and only those 
with plenty of capital could possibly undertake it. 
This is correct to some extent, but on the other hand 
arises the question if it would not pay such men to 
cultivate such land on a smaller scale, so that what 
they have might be done thoroughly,or in other words, 
intensely. If a man can get as much produce from 
one acre by first class culture, as he formerly did 
from two acres, he not only pays himself better 
but also sets a good example to his neighbours, and 
confers a benefit on mankind. 
One of the most notable instances of successful 
intense fruit culture that I have ever seen I witnessed 
during the past summer at Crockenhill, near Swanley, 
at which place Mr. Jonn Woods has over 600 acres 
of fruit trees, 400 acres of Hops and vegetables, and 
fifteen acres of glass. This gentleman has worked 
up to his present position from a poor boy, starting 
to work for 3d. a day. Eventually he rented a bit of 
land, and by energy and untiring industry he has 
now over a thousand acres. In a season like the 
past, his crops of hardy fruit were enormous, and of 
very large size and good quality. Under glass the 
crops of Tomatos, Grapes, etc., were equally good. 
If you were to ask Mr. Woods the secret of his 
success, he would tell you that it was “deep cultiva¬ 
tion and plenty of manure,” combined, of course, with 
his own perseverance. 
I might mention many things of interest that I saw 
at Mr. Wood’s large place, but my principle reason 
for referring to it is to show what are the possi¬ 
bilities of culture of the land when done thoroughly ; 
and there is no reason why some of the young men 
present here this evening should not be equally suc¬ 
cessful cultivators. Failures, of course, always 
occur, and L question if any man of note in our pro¬ 
fession has not had his share ; but instead of depress¬ 
ing them, the failures have acted as a spur, causing 
them to tackle the matter with a strong determina¬ 
tion to surmount all obstacles and win in the end. 
However, to return to the point, it is perhaps in 
Grape growing that we may see the greatest advance 
during the past twenty-five years, and no one will 
dispute that the culture in all its details must be of 
a very high order indeed, now, to secure success, not 
only on the exhibition table, but also for market. 
For the former purpose, very few employers would 
now permit their gardeners to have only three or 
four bunches on a vine to obtain extra fine bunches 
and berries. There must be at least a good average 
crop of fine produce ; and if a gardener can get a full 
crop of Grapes of high quality every year, that will 
make him a successful competitor, there is infinitely 
more credit due to him for his skill, than to a man 
who crops very lightly on purpose to win prizes. In 
fact, I do not think it is any real test of ability to 
obtain prizes under such conditions; but ability cer¬ 
tainly is shown forcibly when, as stated, a man 
receives high honour with Grapes grown on heavily 
cropped vines. 
The subject of Grape growing is so wide that I 
could not enter into it now; but there are a few 
points connected with it that I may briefly allude to, 
Cvpripedium Nandi. 
