490 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 3, 1897. 
macranthum, O. serratum, O. gardnerianum, O. 
tigrinum, O. flexuosum, O. dasystyle, and O. sar- 
codes are all in fine form. Particularly noteworthy 
are the Miltonias, including the pure M. Candida and 
the rich M. morelliana atropurpurea. These are 
only a few of the many choice things to be seen at 
the " Frond,” Uddingston, N.B. Mr. Ewing has his 
boilers so placed that he heats his dwelling along 
with the Orchid houses, this being both economical 
and effectual. 
Mr. Ewing is one of the best known botanists in 
the west of Scotland, has long held the honourable 
position of vice-president of our Natural History 
Society of Glasgow, and his extensive knowledge of 
the flora of the West is largely taken advantage of. 
— Visitor. 
-- 
ENGLISH ORCHARDS. 
(Continued from page 474). 
In passing I would mention, as indicating the care 
and thoroughness with which the investigations were 
made and recorded, that, although I have received 
several hundred letters in reference to the reports, in 
no instance has their accuracy been called into ques¬ 
tion. I had previously gone over much of the ground 
myself, and it was a great satisfaction to me to find 
how closely my instructions that the condition of the 
orchards examined should be described with exacti¬ 
tude and without embellishment were being followed. 
One had need have something that will give rise to 
a feeling of satisfaction in connection with the 
orchard question, for the record is one that can 
hardly fail to fill the mind with profound regret. It 
brings into strong relief the fact, that while in the 
whole of the counties fruit is grown in private gardens 
and in many market garden plantations in accordance 
with the most advanced practice, orchards have for 
the most part been so neglected as to have become a 
blot upon the landscape and a discredit to their 
owners. I shall not weary you by reading any con¬ 
siderable proportion of the reports ; but to convey an 
adequate idea of the state of things that now obtains, 
it will be necessary to give a few shorts extracts from 
those on the counties specially favourable to the pro- 
Stable cultivation of fruit. 
Kent. 
As you are well aware, it is a quite comnlbii oc¬ 
currence to speak of Kent as the “ Garden of Eng¬ 
land,” and, so far as our hardy fruits are concerned, 
it might justly be described as the " Garden of the 
World,” for nowhere can Apples, Cherries, Pears, 
and Plums be grown to a higher degree of perfection 
than within its boundaries. It is a matter of common 
knowledge that the most advanced practice obtains 
among a section of the fruit growers of Kent. Yet what 
do we find ? For an answer to the question I must 
turn to the report on the county : “ An orchard of 
standard Apples sdon gave me material for survey ; 
the field Was one of some twenty acres, and the trees 
seemed to be about fifteen years old. I was struck 
by their miserable appearance. In the whole field 
there was hardly one that looked healthy, and with 
but few exceptions they were dying of canker, being 
covered with great gaping wounds and leafless 
branches. Some were bearing fruit, but in appear¬ 
ance and quality it was of the most wretched descrip¬ 
tion. It will go into the market, of course, stunted, 
■specked, and discoloured as it is, and come into 
competition with large, fresh-coloured American 
produce.” 
In the reference to another district we are told, 
•> I came upon as instructive an example of how not 
to do it in fruit growing as could be found in the 
whole kingdom. A peculiar whiteness on the trees, 
as though they were silvery with a fall of summer 
snow attracted my attention, and on getting amongst 
them I found, as I expected, that they were attacked 
by American blight. But what an attack ! The 
sight of those trees, thick with heavy masses of the 
loathsome pest on trunk, limbs, branches, and spurs, 
will not quickly fade from my memory.” Speaking 
of the common black Plum which is so largely grown 
in some parts of Kent, more especially in the Ash 
and Sandwich districts, the report states, and I quote 
it as bearing upon a point to which I shall have to 
refer later: " We have heard the old story about 
plums rotting on the trees. We shall hear it again 
until some of the hundreds of thousands of trees, the 
produce of which a wise public will hardly buy at 
any price, are swept a* ay or grafted with sorts that 
the public want. ” If we find, in the fair county o 1 
Kent, trees dying in consequence of their having been 
improperly planted or from insect infestation, and of 
orchards that are unprofiable because they consist 
of inferior varieties, it is not surprising to find in pro¬ 
ceeding westward that the orchards of Sussex, 
Hampshire, and Dorset are also in a wretched plight. 
I do not, however, purpose detaining you with ex¬ 
tracts from the reports on these orchards. 
Four Leading Western Counties. 
The four great fruit-producing counties in the W T est 
of England are Devonshire, Hereford, Somerset, and 
Worcestershire, and it is in these that the greatest 
need for improvement exists. These four counties 
contain about 97.678 acres of orchards, and, not¬ 
withstanding the highly favourable character of both 
soil and climate and the facilities that exist for the 
disposal of the produce, not one-fourth of this large 
area gives an adequate return. Here we find not only 
trees that are unproductive through age, starvation, 
or some other form of indifferent management, but 
thousands that, in consequence of the inferiority of 
the varities, bear fruit that is utterly useless, except¬ 
ing it be to make bad cider. In the formation of 
many of the Apple and Pear orchards, trees that had 
sprung from the pips distributed through the medium 
of the refuse from the cider or perry press were 
planted, and there they have remained until the 
present day, giving neither pleasure or profit to their 
owners, and without anything being done to im¬ 
prove them by the simple process of grafting. 
With regard to the capabilities of Hereford as a 
fruit-producing county, we are told that “almost 
every holding in Herefordshire could produce 
magnificent fruit for home use or for supplying the 
market if the trees were given proper attention and 
the right varities grown. The soil is naturally rich 
and fertile, resting on the old red sandstone in many 
parts of the county, and the colour of the fruit 
when ripe is very bright and striking.” The manner 
in which the great natural advantages of the county 
are in too many instances utilised may be gathered 
from the following statement in reference to the 
Leominster side of the county : “ With the exception 
of gardeners, no one appears to trouble much about 
the orchards, except when the faggot heap needs 
replenishing. Then the farmer turns his attention 
to his orchards, and the dead wood is cut out of the 
trees, with also, it may be, many of the large limbs. 
I never saw worse mutilated trees than those met 
with in one or two orchards .... Canker, 
American blight, lichen, dead wood, and general care¬ 
lessness are only too apparent on almost every side. 
Young trees that should be producing full crops of 
the largest Apples may be seen in a dying condition, 
through sheep or young horses having gnawed off all 
the bark on the trunk. The tree-guards are in many 
instances of the most primitive description, and 
practically worthless. Hundreds of young trees are 
literally choked by a mass of thorns or small branches 
of forest trees tied up in a bundle round the stems. 
This rough and ready method certainly answers the 
purpose of protecting the young trees from sheep, but 
in a year or two nettles, thistles, and other noxious 
rubbish grow up amongst this protecting material, 
reaching almost as high as the trees, thereby exclud¬ 
ing all moisture from the roots.” 
With regard to the orchards in another part of the 
county, it is stated " I found on measurement trees 
only fifteen feet apart, and, as a matter of course, the 
heads were literally interwoven with each other. . . 
When the tops get into this very congested state, all 
the enemies natural to fruit trees hold high revel, 
devouring foliage, blooms, and even the points of the 
shoots, until all the food at hand is exhausted. These 
wasted orchards are a standing menace to other 
growers who exercise proper care with their trees, as 
they are practically a nursery for all sorts of injurious 
pests, which spread and attack other orchards in the 
vicinity.” 
As Hereford has long been known for its cider, it 
follows as a matter of course there should be a refer¬ 
ence to that beverage, and, so far as it relates to the 
produce of the farm orchards, here it is : " There 
seems to be a general opinion that farmers in Here¬ 
fordshire do not make such good cider as they did 
years ago. It is not surprising there should be a 
decline in the qua'ity of the beverage when, as I had 
more than one opportunity of seeing, they neither 
take the trouble to keep the varieties separate when 
grinding up the fruit, nor to throw out the rotten fruit! 
They in many cases smash sound and rotten Apples 
all up together, consequently the liquor is injuriously 
affected. More might be stated about the slovenly 
manner in which some of the farmers make their 
cider, but the marvel is that men can be tempted to 
drink the unpalatable stuff. There is no reason why 
they should Dot manufacture the most delicious cider 
and perry, for the county is specially suitable for 
producing fruits for conversion into these beverages ; 
and I was informed by one of the most successful 
makers of cider and perry, whose name is familiar, 
that both are annually becoming more in demand as 
a summer beverage by all classes. ’ There is, I am 
anxious to state, much excellent fruit grown for 
market in the county, and large quantities of cider 
and perry of the highest class manufactured ; but the 
farmers’ orchards are on the whole in a most dis¬ 
reputable condition, and the cider produced is of 
inferior quality, with no evident signs of improve¬ 
ment. 
(To be continued.) 
-* 4 -- 
VARIATIONS OF SEEDLINGS FROM 
FRUIT.* 
No doubt raising seedling fruit has for many years 
been a matter of great interest to those who have 
entered all forms of fruit culture ; and pomologists 
have attempted, with more or less success, to secure 
improved varieties of fruit, with rather less than more 
success. One name, that of Andrew Knight, has 
achieved a lasting reputation in England, and the 
name of Van Mons in Belgium is equally well known 
as the raiser of numerous Pears, the greater part of 
which have not retainei the position he claimed for 
them. The Pear known by his name, the “Van 
Mons,” (Leon le Clerc) was not a seedling, but 
named by the raiser (Leon le Clerc) as a compli¬ 
ment, the compliment being returned by a Pear 
named Leon le Clerc (Van Mons), a very inferior 
fruit, and fit only for the kitchen. 
The number of Pears described by And e Leroy 
and Dr. Hogg testify to the persistent attempts of 
seedling fruit raisers to obtain Pears of superior 
quality. It is natural to suppose that for this pur¬ 
pose the fruit selected for sowing would be of the 
best quality, and yet how disappointing are the 
results. New fruits appear and disappear in regular 
order, for whether the failure is caused by soil or 
climate, it is seldom, indeed, that varieties carefully 
cherished by the raiser fulfil the description given of 
their qualities. 
The eccentric differences observable in Pears alone 
are exasperating. Crossing with sorts possessing 
superior qualities does not appear to give any special 
results ; there is always the element of chance, and 
the careful experimenter is beaten by a chance- 
grown seedling. The Duchesse d'Angouleme, a 
most popular Pear in France, the climate being 
better suited for its development than England, was 
found in a farm garden near Angers ; the Beurre de 
Ranee was also derived from a small village garden 
in Flanders. There is a strange adherence to the 
prototype in some Pears, the Jargonelle for instance. 
This Pear is a standard of excellence of some. U nder 
the name of Epargne it is sail by Andre Leroy to 
have been a popular Pear in France in the year 
1580. During this long period there does not appear 
to have been an exact reproduction. Synonyms 
there are in plenty, Leroy gives twenty-two, but 
there is not a single hint of any of these synonyms 
being seedlings. 
One of the oldest known Pears in England, the 
Autumn Bergamot, said to have been introduced by 
the Romans, has seedlings in plenty, and a long list 
of synonyms, but apparently no exact reproduction. 
The seedlings are earlier and later, larger and 
smaller, but none are exactly like the propotype. 
Another popular Pear, the Marie Louise, persists 
in keeping the place it has gained ; and has 
numerous synonyms, but no seedlings which exactly 
reproduce the original. This Pear, from its excel¬ 
lent quality, must have been a source of many 
experiments. Of other typical Pears which have 
not been reproduced the following will be familiar 
examples:—Williams' Bon Chretien, Louise Bonne 
of Jersey, Glou Morceau, Doyenne du Comice, 
Passe Colmar, and Easter Beurre, though they have 
been in exis'ence long enough to have produced 
many seedlings. I have raised seedlings from these 
varieties, and have not gained a single fruit like the 
- A paper read recently at a meeting of the Horticultural 
Club, Hotel Windsor, Victoria Street, S.W. 
