506 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
June 13, i903. 
hooked sticks, or the thrush and blackbird will soon find an 
entrance. On shallow soils it. may be necessary to apply a 
good watering once or twice a. week to bearing plants to keep 
them going, and look out for mice, which should be trapped, 
as they nibble around the finest fruit just a-s they begin to 
ripen, and will often bite oh a. great quantity and carry to a 
heap unless they are kept under. The variety St. Joseph will 
fruit well into the autumn if the flower spikes are kept pinched 
out up to the end of July. 
Raspberries. —This crop has greatly benefited by the late 
rains, and promises well, and, if tank water can be spared and 
labour to put it. on, such would be of much service to them at 
this date. Old stools usually throw up many more canes than 
are necessary to retain for next year’s crop, so a free hand is 
required to thin them out, reserving the medium-size growths 
in preference to extra strong ones. Work the hoe frequently 
between the rows', cutting iqr all suckers that stray far from 
home, and apply a mulch of half-decayed manure. These re¬ 
marks are applicable to the autumn-bearing kinds as well ; 
doubly so as regards thinning out the growths, as, unless, sun 
and air can penetrate among the fruit, much of it fails to 
ripen, and is more liable to' decay should wet weather set. in 
at the time of ripening. 
The Peach Wall. — The recent, warm weather has altered 
the appearance of these trees during the past fortnight, growth 
being clean and healthy. Attend to the tying in of young 
shoots in the direction required for a well-balanced tree, pinch¬ 
ing out the points of any extra, robust ones, so. a.s to favour 
the. weaker ones below, allowing late-planted or weakly trees 
to grow at will (if growth is not so strong as. could be wished) 
for a. few weeks longer. Stop extension shoots a, few leaves, 
above the fruit if such have tilled their allotted space, or that, 
will be cut. out as soon as the fruit is cleared off ; and keep 
the trees free of that horrid pest, black-fly, by timely applicar 
tions of abcl or quassia, extract, as. before mentioned in these 
calendars, and to ward off' red spider, another pest to. the fruit 
grower; frequent hosing or syringing of the trees is. the best 
preventative. 
Remove superfluous fruit before too great a strain has been, 
placed upon the trees through stoning. One fruit to 1 every 
6 in. is not. too heavy a. crop for healthy trees outdoors ; weaker 
trees ought not to. carry more than, half that number, or some 
much less, it. depending upon variety and state of tree, which 
the gardener or grower can best, determine. Wall trees, from 
now onwards require a. bountiful supply of water at the root 
eveiy few weeks; it. is no use. to trust, on the rainfall for trees 
in this position, and farmyard drainings are of much value 
when diluted with clear water ten or a, dozen times, its bulk. 
A ligth strawy mulch should be laid on soils, of a. light nature, 
so. as to retain the moisture in the ground as long as possible, 
but it is doubtful whether mulching cold heavy land does not 
do more harm than good ; it prevents the aeration of the 
soil at a time when it is necessary for the well-being of the 
trees. Jambs Mayne. 
Bicton, Devonshire. 
Letters to the Editor. 
Fruit Frowing and Orchard Planting, 
To the Editor of The Gardening Would. 
Sir, —It is positively amusing to see the position which that 
individual, “A. W.,” takes in attempting to pose as the world’s 
educator, a post for which he, as an embryo pomologist, is 
eminently unqualified and ill-fitted. What sort of philosopher, 
prophet, or jocular genius does he profess to he? Because no 
person on earth can either make head or tail of any of his state¬ 
ments. In glancing over his last communication I notice that 
his feeling towards all mankind is of a somewhat opprobrious 
nature, as he positively affirms that no person on earth save him¬ 
self is endowed with sufficient brain power or reasoning faculty 
to be able to grasp the full meaning of the great theory which 
he is propounding. Then it is amusing to see how carefully he 
avoids answering any interrogation addressed to himself, and to 
note the candour and serene complaisance with which he asks 
me to furnish information on points on which the people would 
naturally expect he himself to impart knowledge. 
To one simple inquiry as to what earthly advantage would 
there be in cramming ten thousand fruit trees into a limited 
space in the middle x>f a ten-acre field, while the other eight acres 
were lying in such a slovenly state that they could not be 
regarded as anything better than waste ground, “ A. W.’s ” reply 
was, “Wonderful conclusions.” Wonderful conclusions indeed! 
“ A. W.” has succeeded with his facetious statements to com¬ 
pletely dumbfounder your amateur and unprofessional readers, 
and in their bewilderment and disorganisation they are looking 
fair quarry at the situation and wondering what earthly advan¬ 
tage there can be- in completely turning a. well-appointed and 
profitable orchard into a promiscuous chaos of confusion. 
Then, Mr. Editor, to what prerogative can recourse be had, 
as no person on earth is inveigled to concur with hampered, 
congested, and “ pegamoid ” Bucklebury ? When “ A. W. ’ so 
fallaciously and facetiously affirms that there are to be seen 
around Bucklebury several hundreds of acres of orchards planted 
at 3ft. apart, he is apt to engender a feeling of distrust. Then as 
to the conveyance of the fruit from the middle of these veritable 
unsubdued and impenetrable thickets, I opine, this is effected by 
means of an aerial route. “ A. W.” expresses a warm conviction 
that his colossal scheme is certain to become the method of the 
future, but equally confident am I that long will be the wait and 
conflicting the reports ere it gains universal popularity or becomes 
generally adopted. “A. W.” completely but unwittingly detracts 
from the value of his gilt-edged book when he acknowledges that 
any assertions he has made that are not in my way of thinking 
can well be passed over. Well, as I have been at loggerheads with 
him on nearly every statement contained therein, I opine the 
whole thing can well be passed over. 
St. Fort. John C. Peebles. 
The Metropolitan Public Gardens Association. 
Open Spaces. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sut,—At the. monthly meeting of the Metropolitan Public 
Gardens Association, held at 83, Lancaster Gate, W., the Earl of 
Meath (chairman) presiding, it was stated that the Earl of Mans¬ 
field had kindly consented to become a vice-chairman. It was 
agreed to make endeavours to secure and lay out the neglected 
disused graveyard of St. George the Martyr, Holborn, situated in 
Hunter Street, as a much-needed addition to the adjacent public 
garden. It was decided to approach the Corporation as to main¬ 
taining the churchyard of Christ Church, Newgate Street, the 
association having obtained permission from the vicar to lay the 
ground out., subject to. its maintenance being secured. It was 
reported that the. appeal against the decision of the Consistory 
Court, allowing building operations on the churchyard garden of 
Holy Trinity, Stepney, was in course of being heard by the new 
Dean of Arches. It was agreed to offer to plant trees in Bedford 
Row, and on a site opposite the Foundling Hospital. Letters 
were read from fifteen of the metropolitan borough authorities 
assenting to the proposal made by the association to secure power 
for them to plant and maintain trees in thoroughfares similar 
to that possessed by urban authorities outside the metropolis. 
Seats were granted for a site on Turnham Green. Correspondence 
was read with the owners of St. Peter’s Square, Hammersmith, a 
fine enclosure If acres in extent, now in danger of being built 
over, who, at the request of the association, named a price— 
£12,500—at which they would sell the space for the purpose of a 
public garden. It was agreed to again communicate with the 
Hammersmith Borough Council, and with the London County 
Council, more especially as the latter authority has recently 
rescued similar squares in Stepney from the hands of the builder. 
It was reported that the opposition to the Bridewell disused 
burying ground Bill had been successful, the Bill having been 
rejected on second reading in the House of Commons by 118 to 71, 
and the important principle adopted that the House declined to 
sanction a private Bill, in contravention of general public statutes 
concerning open spaces, for enhancing the value of a private 
estate. Amongst a number of proposals under consideration -were 
schemes for the acquisition of Springfield Park, Upper Clapton, 
towards which the Hackney Borough Council had voted £10.000. 
the Horticultural Society’s garden at Chiswick, some fields belong¬ 
ing to Eton College on the. border of Hampstead Heath, and the 
Norfolk Square area, Islington, and for the preservation of the 
garden and other interesting features of the Clifford's Inn pro¬ 
perty, which had in the course of the month been bought by a 
member of the association. The Earl of Meath. 
