944 
TUB GARDENING WORLD. 
November 14, 1903. 
will be found free-cropping varieties. The Plum succeeds in a 
good loamy soil, with a fair amount of lime, mortar rubble, etc., 
avoiding fresh, manure for any stone fruit, too rich a sod only 
favouring a strong growth, and also favours gumming. 
Pic ton, Devonshire. James Mayne. 
Hardy Trees and Shrubs. 
The Renovation of Rose Beds.—It isi practically certain 
that, in every garden the queen of dowers is grown either in 
large or small numbers, it matters not, whether as standards, 
bushes,, climbers, creepers, or whichever form is preferred ; 
but, the favourite method now seems to be the cultivation of 
dwarf bushes, in beds or masses, and it is with this particular 
class 1 that 1 propose dealing. It is obvious, that after the 
bushes have been planted and allowed to remain through suc¬ 
cessive seasons without any further attention than, an annual 
pruning and occasional top-dressing or feeding, they must in 
time become weakened and need invigorating. The present 
is an excellent, time for accomplishing this, and if beds of 
mixed varieties are grown, the, labels should first of all be 
securely attached to, the plants, A shallow trench should be 
taken out on a spare piece of ground as near at hand as 
possible, and the Roses carefully lifted with a, fork without 
damaging the, roots. Lay them in. the trench in a slanting posi¬ 
tion and well caver with soil, so, that frost cannot, get to the 
roots', and if sharp weather should set in the tops should be 
covered with straw or some other similar material. When, 
the beds are empty a thorough trenching should be given, 
working in plenty of decayed farmyard or other suitable 
manure. When replanting, a good-sized hole should be taken 
out, so that one is enabled to, spread out the roots, and dis¬ 
tribute them evenly over the bottom of the hole. A little of 
the finest soil should be worked amongst the roots with the 
hand, pressing it down lightly, and after filling in the ret¬ 
ina,inder the whole should be trodden, firmly about, the plant. 
Very much depends on how a, Rose is planted as t,o, its ultimate 
success, and nothing is more detrimental than cramming the 
roots in tightly together and planting loosely. Any broken, or 
damaged roots should be cut cleanly off with a sharp knife,. 
After the planting is completed a, good mulching of some dry 
manure should be given, and on the approach of severe weather 
some straw or bracken should be placed over and amongst, the 
branches, which will bring the plants through the winter safely. 
Colletia cruciata (syn. bictonensis).— Among the many 
trees, and shrubs at our disposal, there are some, well worth 
cultivating on account of their peculiar 1 construction or habit,, 
and though they may net, in, all cases be, valuable for the beauty 
of their flowers, the distinctive appearance renders them 
worthy of inclusion,. The, above Colletia, is one, of these, andi 
no other hardy shrub that, I am acquainted with is more sin¬ 
gular. It, forms a dense, compact bush from 4 ft. to 6 ft. in 
height, with deep green,, flattened stems, which are terminated 
with sharp, spines, and though described by some as flowering 
during the summer months', the flowers do not appear in this' 
locality until the first week in November. These are white' in 
colour and produced in such large quantities a,s, to render the 
shrub conspicuous. C. spinosa or ferox is much more slender 
in growth, and is best, treated as a wall shrub, where it will 
grow taller than the preceding variety, and also, flower 
abundantly. 
Sambucus nigra pyramidalis.—This also has a very peculiar 
habit, and, considering the distinct, growth, one would expect 
to see it more frequently met, with. Like, the majority of 
Elders, it is a quick grower, and soon forms ,a tall, dense grow¬ 
ing shrub, with stiff upright, stems, which are clothed with 
very dark green foliage. It, can, be pruned hard down an¬ 
nually, and is, easily rooted from cuttings'. The, weeping form 
of 'Sambucus nigra, is also, worthy of a, place in. any collection, 
as the branches droop gracefully, and when grafted on to a. 
good length of stem it is suitable for placing in a prominent 
position. 
Rosa alpina pyrenaica.—For planting on sloping banks or 
at the margin of the shrubbery this is a charming Rose, and 
a,t this season of great value for the bea.uty of its coloured 
foliage. The flowers, which are produced during the summer 
months, are single and bright pink in colour, and, unlike R. 
alpina, the, stems, are thickly clothed with reddish-purple 
spines. It, is seen, to the best advantage when planted in a 
small group and kept pegged down, the only attention ne¬ 
cessary being to* thin out the old wood lightly. 
A. E. Thatcher. 
Aldemham House Gardens, Elstree. 
Pear Gansel’s Bergamot. 
Pliny, to whom we are indebted for a, great deal of informa¬ 
tion as t, 0 ' the condition of ‘horticulture in the time of the 
Romans, tells us in his fifteenth book how greatly the Pear 
was esteemed in those days, not only as a, fruit-, but also- for 
the purpose of making wine. No doubt the Romans introduced 
cultivated Pears into England, but this is not certain, and, 
although they are mentioned by all our early writers, the real 
date of their introduction seems to be lost, in obscurity. Robert 
of Gloucester, writing in the reign of He,my III., describes 
Worcester as being famous for “ fruite,” and several other 
ancient writers have remarked how well adapted Worcester¬ 
shire and the adjoining county of Herefordshire were for the 
growth of Pears and Plums. In both these counties the Pear 
attains to the dignity of a timber tree, and specimens of huge 
size and noble proportions are of very frequent occurrence. 
This autumn the writer was rambling through an orchard 
attached to an old farm-house near Hartlebury, whose owner 
takes an especial delight in the cultivation of Pears, and many 
were the fine examples he pointed out. In addition, the front 
of the house (facing due south) was covered with a fine speci¬ 
men of Gansel’s' Bergamot, from which -were gathered a few 
magnificent fruits. This tree, I was informed, was worked on 
the free stock about twenty-five years ago by the present 
owner’s father, and, though not a, heavy cropper, generally 
bears some fruit each year. As regards flavour, it is certainly 
quite equal if not superior to Beurre Superfin, being extremely 
aromatic and melting as well as very juicy and sugary. How¬ 
ever, its shy bearing habit will always prevent it becoming 
popular, but wherever plenty of space is available this variety 
certainly deserves a wall, and its fertility will he improved if 
the tree is double grafted. 
At the Pear Conference in. 1885 no lessi than fifty dishes of 
Gansel’s Bergamot, were exhibited, and it is included amongst 
the thirty-six varieties which were exhibited the greatest 
number of times. I have seen this Pear growing in several 
Worcestershire gardens, and the report in eveiy case has been 
that its quality is superb, but its fertility poor. I should add 
that in this same orchard to which I have referred a, row of 
Doyenne du Cornice standards are about 20 ft. in, height, but 
this season are quite barren, wdiile Nouvelle Fulvie, which was 
illustrated quite lately in The Gardening World, crops splen¬ 
didly on an outhouse facing south-west. The soil is a, strong 
loam, but not deep, as the sandstone ro-ck crops up almost to 
the surface in some parts of the orchard. A. G. 
Blackberries at Sixpence. —The bad weather is still having 
its effeit on the imports of fruit to Newcastle. Very little 
has been doing during the-week, but there has been a good 
arrival of Blackberries, which are retailed at 6d. a pound. 
Apples are a little freer in supply, the eating variety being 
retailed at from 4d. to 6d. per pound, and cooking Apples from 
2s. to 3s. per stone. From Jamaica there have come a case or 
two of Grape fruit—a cross between the Orange and the Lemon 
—and they are meeting with a fair demand at 3d. and 4d, 
each. 
