316 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
January 12 , 1901. 
and put in the youDg plants at a distance of from 
20 to 22 in. between the rows, 15 in. between the 
plants in the row. If the weather is dry at the 
time of planting give a good watering. On the 
approach of hard weather in the winter time, wheel 
on manure and spread it in between the rows a few 
inches thick. The winter and spring rains will wash 
the nutriment into the soil, and enough straw will be 
left to keep any heavy thunder shower from splash¬ 
ing the soil up on the fruit. If farmyard manure 
cannot be got, then a little soot and poultry-yard 
manure, lightly pointed in with a digging fork, is a 
good thing. No digging between the rows should be 
practised, as it destroys the most of the fibrous 
roots. When the fruits are at their final swelling 
any liquid manure diluted with water will help them 
greatly. After the fruit is all gathered, and the 
standards and slings lifted, go over every plant and 
cut all dead leaves and runners off; then hoe and 
and rake, and follow the same routine next season. 
It is a well known fact that all varieties of Straw¬ 
berries do not do so well in some districts as others, 
so that they have to be tested often, but two varie¬ 
ties that do well in most districts are Royal 
Sovereign and Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury. 
THE CHRISTMAS FRUIT TRADE. 
When Mr. Geo. Monro, V.M.H , delivered his 
lecture on “The growth of the fruit trade," at the 
Drill Hall, about a year ago, the figures he quoted 
to show the extent of the fruit trade during the year, 
but especially at Christmas, caused many to open 
their eyes in wonder. The Standard in a recent 
article furnishes some further facts that have been 
gleaned on this same subject. It deals mostly with 
the fruit trade at the Christmas season. All the 
year round the fruit trade in London is prodigious, 
but at the Christmas season it develops in the most 
astonishing manner, and necessitates the services of 
a large staff of workers day and night to grapple with 
the gigantic shipments which come to hand. Most 
of the fruit brought to the wharves and docks is sold 
by public auction at Pudding Lane and Monument 
yard. Oranges are literally consumed by hundreds 
of tons. Millions of these fruits are disposed of 
yearly, and most of them come from Spain. 
From 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 are imported 
in December, chiefly for the Christmas trade. 
Each box is marked with the number of 
fruits it contains, this being usually 420 or 714. 
The best are marked with the letter C., 
signifying that the fruit is sound. The Valencia 
Oranges have for long held the foremost position for 
quality, but those now coming from Jaffa, Jamaica, 
and Denia are catching the popular palate. Lemons, 
Grapes, Apples, Pears, Bananas, and Nuts, are also 
sold in large quantities in the city sale rooms. 
During late years the arrivals of dried fruits have 
been exceedingly heavy, and this year the quality has 
been uniformly good. Dates from the Date Palms of 
E ; ypt and the north African States, particularly 
Tunis, are cheap and sell liberally. The Tunis Dates 
are now being put up in neat little boxes which seem 
to attract the public more than the Tafilat’s which 
come in boxes of about 50 lbs. and are sold at the rate 
of from 60s. to 70s. per cwt. Figs can be had either 
in the flat, pressed state, or dry, but retaining their 
natural shape. The latter are dearer, but Figs are 
said to be plentiful this year, so that prices rule 
lower. Bosnian, Californian, or French Prunes 
(Plums) are ample and good. 
Some Nuts, such as Barcelona and Spanish, are 
dearer than usual, and Brazils may even be termed 
high priced. It is stated by some of the best men in 
the trade that higher prices did not rule twenty-five 
years ago. Walnuts from Naples and Grenoble are 
plentiful. Chestnuts from France and Italy, and 
also a goodly supply of Almonds, Kent Cob-nuts and 
Cocoanuts, are offered at moderate prices 
Canadian red skinned Baldwin Apples are popular, 
as are the Kings and Spys. Prices run from 15s. to 
203. a barrel of three bushels each. New York fruit 
sells at about the same prices. Apples of all kinds 
sure put up by thousands of barrels, and arrivals come 
thick and heavy. There are also some fine English 
Apples on the market, in half bushel packages, and 
no difficulty is found in selling them at 4s. 6d. per 
package. Pears from France and California have not 
been so plentiful; and though there are some mighty 
fine samples cf Glout Morceau from Paris, yet they 
can only be bought by the well-to-do. The big 
berried Gros Colman, grown by English producers 
and turned out of the vineries in huge quantities, 
are the finest Grapes in the market. They are packed 
in baby-baskets that hold about'6 lbs. of fruit each. 
The Alicantes come in goodly quantities from the 
Channel Islands as well as from the home vineries. 
Cranberries from Russia are a cheap and appreciable 
acquisition at this season. They are much like our 
Red Currants. 
There is hardly a shop or fruit store where 
Bananas are not to be seen. They have sold at two 
a penny on many occasions, and the importations are 
still heavy. It is worthy to note that few retailers 
now buy the fruit green, the supplies being so 
regular. 
Dealers in green fruit, as most of the undried fruits 
are termed in the trade, agree that the supply will 
be equal to the demand. All fruits are well repre¬ 
sented, but the growing consumption has now 
assumed such proportions that, though new centres 
of supply are being opened every year, yet, in time, 
the demand may exceed the supply,after which values 
would improve. The development of the fruit trade 
in the United Kingdom is an excellent sign, for the 
increased consumption of fresh fruits must tend to 
the increased health of the community. 
-—-*•- 
MY GARDEN IN PRETORIA. 
By Lady Lily Greene. 
Now that the Roses have faded from our gardens at 
home, and the Honeysuckle has disappeared from 
the hedge-rows, I cannot help thiokiag, with a cer¬ 
tain feeling of “ recollection and fond affection," of 
my beautiful little garden in Pretoria, and contrasting 
the autumn here with that at the other side of the 
world, in our newest colony. 
Ob, those Roses ! How shall I describe the beauty 
and luxuriance with which they grew ? There were 
masses of them everywhere, though the Rose hedges 
of long ago that one had beard of and read about 
have almost disappeared. Still, one’s own and one’s 
neighbour s gardens so closely adjoined that they 
produced the same effect, for every house in 
Pretoria had its garden, and every householder grew 
Roses, in greater or lesser degrees certainly, but 
there they were. The annual Rose show seemed so 
unnecessary, for all our gardens were Rose shows in 
themselves twice a year. And not only Roses, but 
many other home favourites flourished in riotous 
profusion. Once a free-flowering annual got into the 
garden it was impossible to get it out again. Little 
Phlox Drummondi and Petunias kept popping up 
amongst the grass of the croquet lawn, showing 
flowers almost as soon as leaf, and making one feel a 
perfect butcher for allowing them to be mown over. 
Baby Nicotiana affinis and Violets appeared in all 
sorts of unexpected and unsuitable places, and it was 
very hard having to pull them up. The old- 
fashioned Verbena crawled about everywhere, 
making lovely patches of colour in out-of-the-way 
corners, and brilliant Gaillardias were almost too 
much for one's patienpe. They would grow where 
they were not wanted. It was not only the flowers 
that chose their own quarters. My thrifty mind and 
tidy eye were often much exercised at finding a Cape 
Gooseberry fl mrishing in a bed of Cannas, or a 
Tomato all a-growiDg and a-blowing amongst the 
Geraniums, tor the> really seemed to grow in a night, 
and to be well established before they were found 
out. My northern soul rejoiced much over the Gar¬ 
denias, Tuberoses, Poinsettias and Hibiscus, which 
all in their turn looked beautiful ; to say nothing of 
the maoy-shaded Bougainvilleas and quaint Grena- 
dillas which climbed all over the house, or helped 
the Bignonia venustaand Banksia Roses to cover the 
arches and summer-houses of my garden. The first 
two named did full duty in the matter of perfume, 
which, alas! can be said of very few flowers under 
the hot African sun, which beats down on them 
during so many months of the year. The careful 
gardener used to make little parasols for his Carna¬ 
tions and other treasures in summer, and in winter 
used to cover up his Norfolk Pines and Palms with 
no less care ; for we had very sharp and cruel frosts 
sometimes during May and June. But as there was 
no rain to speak of, and the ground was quite dry, 
the frost was not so dangerous as one might expect. 
During the winter months a very great trouble was 
the want of water, or, rather, not so much the want 
of it, for it is all there, as the difficulty there was in 
getting it. There were artificial furrows running by 
the side of the roads, down which water was 
always supposed to flow; but as all garden watering 
was done by a system of irrigation, the simplest 
plan was to dam the stream, turning it into my gar¬ 
den, and let it spread through various little water¬ 
courses. It was splendid practice for the amateur 
engineer to plan these streamlets to the best advan¬ 
tage, and so make the most of the supply before a 
furious neighbour " came along " to know what had 
happened to prevent his supply coming in. It is true 
I had standpipes dotted about the garden, and it was 
the duty of a " boy " to stand at the end of a hose 
all day long and direct a well-aimed shower over the 
beds, but we all know of what little use a light 
shower is on a hot day. Besides, one would do any¬ 
thing to avoid having an untidy Kaffir spoiling the 
appearance of one's best Cannas and hearing his 
melancholy drone mingling with the cooing of the 
ring-doves. 
A Kaffir cannot work quietly. If there are two or 
more “ boys " together they will chatter and laugh, 
like the big babies they are, at the tops of their 
voices all day long ; if one is by himself he will 
drone a little bar of three notes without, apparently, 
pausing for one minute, even to take breath. It is 
useless to try and stop them. They are good- 
hearted creatures most of them, and mean well, but 
oh ! how stupid ! 
It is said that the birds in South Africa have no 
song. One certainly used to miss our lovely home 
songsters, telling us that " summer is coming, I know 
it, I know it." But still there was plenty of bird life 
to speak to us, and tell us how much they were en¬ 
joying themselves in their beautiful surroundings. 
The doves kept up a delicious scolding and cooing 
from dawn till sundown, besides many other birds of 
lovely plumage whose names I never fully arrived at; 
some, I am afraid, with rather a bad reputation, such 
as the butcher bird, blue jay, and others. The South 
African domestic cock was a most unorthodox speci¬ 
men of his kind, for he seemed to prefer crowing 
from sunset to sunrise, instead of during his legiti¬ 
mate hours; but who could blame him for wishing 
to join in the chorus of other sounds that came forth 
at sunset ? There were frogs of every species 
croaking, crickets chirping, beetles humming, etc., 
to such an extent that “ silent night ” was an un¬ 
known quantity during the summer months. I 
believe night adders were amongst those who made 
night hideous. Snakes there were, too, in plenty, 
though it was my good fortune to come across only a 
very few. Two found their way actually into the 
Agency House during the time I was living in it, and 
one appeared occasionally in the verandah amongst 
the Palms and Maidenhair Ferns, which I prided 
myself flourished better with me than with my 
neighbours. But my friends had many and gruesome 
tales to tell of their adventures with, and visits from, 
various unholy reptiles. Lizards we had in plenty, 
and chameleons ; very pretty they looked as they 
darted about, and proved an endless amusement to 
the dogs, who persistently hunted and chased them 
up the tree-stumps, and when they did succeed in 
catching one, which very rarely happened, seemed 
to find them a far more succulent morsel than the 
locusts, which, although nasty and prickly, they 
were unable to resist. 
We were not very well off for trees. I had no 
satisfactory shady ones in my garden. Three weep¬ 
ing Willows did their best, but they made the place 
very untidy with their little twigs or tears, which 
they were always shedding. Blue Gums, of course, 
there were in abundance, but whoever took a book 
and “ lazed " under a Gum tree ? The silver Oaks, 
as our greenhouse Grevilleas have come down, or 
grown up, to be called, made a pretty contrast in 
greens with the Loquats, which, with their sweet 
flowers, dark leaves, and brilliant fruit, almost 
rivalled the ever beautiful Orange and Lemon trees, 
which were never idle, always showing promise of 
flower and fruit at the same time. The Peach and 
Pear trees in spring were unspeakably lovely. No 
English orchard could rival the wealth of blossom 
they displayed, but the fruit was most disappointing, 
as is the case with a great deal of the fruit in the 
Transvaal. I grew Strawberries for the sentiment 
of it, but they might as well have been coloured 
Pumpkins for all the flavour they had. Figs and 
Grapes alone remained a joy, as they could not be 
surpassed in any climate. It was extraordinary how 
the butterflies loved their dessert as well as their 
nosegays. All sorts of these lovely insects of every 
