54 
THE OAKDENINQ WORLD. 
January 16. 1904. 
is. still a great many failures with them, and having served 
where they have been successfully grown in large numbers, I 
will just givei a. few hints hew to grow them with success. 
Proceed about the end of March or first week in Apr il if 
weather is favourable by preparing beds 4 ft. broad with 18 in. 
for alley in, a, position facing" west, if possible. Commence by 
lifting' one variety at a. time and tearing them up, retaining 
the suckers for planting, which will be, practically speaking, 
plants with a few roots to each. Plant in the prepared beds, 
9 in. between plants and 1 ft. between the rows, and make each 
plant firm at root, after planting. Give a good watering if the 
ground is any wa,y dry ; if not, a, slight shower overhead every 
afternoon will be refreshing till they begin, to root. The beds 
will require to be kept free from all weeds ; any that are 
noticed had better be pulled out by hand, and hoe between the 
rows every, ten days or so. Cut off all runners at the first 
joint from the plant as, they appear. They will require to, be 
syringed overhead every evening at 5 p.m. to keep down their 
great enemy, red spider, and if the ground get® any way dry a 
creed watering with ho®ei or through the rose of a watering can 
will be required; and about the end of July and .August give 
waterings with diluted cow manure, because you most 
grow plants and treat them well before you can ex peet 
any return. 
They will require to be lifted and planted in Iranies 
facing south about, the first week in Septenroer. A 
few can be potted up and wintered in tire late Peach 
house for a few early flowers in spring. Each plant 
will require to he lifted with as good a hall as possible. 
The frames will require to, be prepared as follows, 
Place in the. bottom of the frames about 1 ft. of 
Spruce branches for drainage, and over that about 
1 ft. of dung. Old hotbeds will be the most, useful; 
then, fill up with a mixture of turfy loam, one part, 
and half leaf-mould, with quarter part wood ashes 
added. Of course, it depends on, the depth of the 
frames, but. 1 ft. of soil is sufficient to plant them in. 
They will require -to b© planted firmly and 9 in. apart, 
and ought to be 3 in. from the glass. If the soil "s 
any way dry they will require a good watering, and 
to be shaded from strong sunshine for a few days. 
After that air freely on all good days and night®, but 
on tlie appearance of severe weather cover with mats 
at night,, and if it, is severe frost and snow they had 
better remain on during the day also until the return 
of good weather. 
In, February and March, if dry, give- a good watering 
and air freely, and I can. safely say there ought, to. 
be bloom in abundance. After March the- usual 
hardiness. Still, it was but too- evident that the hulk of the 
varieties were much past, their best, and failed to demonstrate 
the keeping properties which usually characterise the Maid¬ 
stone fruit. When these show how adverse have been climatic 
conditions for them, it- is easy to- understand how unfavourable 
have- they been generally elsewhere. Good late-maturing 
Apples, whether for dessert or cooking, if of real edible merit 
late in the winter, are- always well worth keeping for exhibition, 
because t hey serve to demonstrate properties and good methods 
in storing, with which all Apple growers and consumers may 
not be familiar. Fruits that look ever so- handsome, but long 
since have passed their edible- best., are far better consumed 
earlier than kept f-o-r any purpose-. 
It is still interesting to- note, however, that while we have 
been obtaining immense quantities of Apples from Canada and 
the United States, fruits- finely coloured and very clean and) 
handsome, yet have these been of unquestioned indifferent, 
edible quality, eating, or cooking, dry, mealy, and wanting 
flavour. Even some- well-kept late green home-grown Apples 
that, could not compare with these imported fruits in appear¬ 
ance- yet were far more juicy, pleasant, to- eat. and superior for 
routine will need to be thought of for another year. 
The following varieties- I -consider -the best, for any 
garden, large or small—namely, Marie- Louise-, 
double-, clear mauve; Lady Hume Campbell, similar to- the 
above but larger ; De Panne., lavender-purple, double-; Co-mte 
Brazza, double-, white, best in spring ; Princess o-f Wale®, single, 
blue, very 1-c-ng stems, and about the- finest -single-. One- place 
I served in we- grew 3,000, composed of the above- varieties, 
a.nd oo-uld gather forty bunches .every week in spring time, 
and all grown in cold frames. Mons. Meg. 
Late Kept Apples. 
What might, have been under more favourable conditions a 
very fine collection of late-kept Apples- was shown just recently 
at the Drill Hall R.H.S. meeting. Probably no one but 
Messrs-. Bunyard and Co-., of Maidstone, c-o-uld put up 100 dishes- 
in distinct varieties o-f Apples just now, and especially in such 
average go-o-d condition. But so- many of the samples, it was 
evident, were- much below tlie-ir ordinary form, and they told 
in eloquent appearance o-f the uncongenial nature-of the season 
through which they had been brought to- maturity. That, somei 
of the varieties had kept much better than others, there- could 
he no doubt, was due largely t-o late maturation or to greater 
Cyi uipedium insigne. (See p. 51.) 
cc-oking purposes,. That fact, helps to show us how much in 
Apples- we should distrust colour and what is regarded as 
beauty. Ostensibly these are marketable features. As a test 
of real excellence- they are to. be distrusted. High colour and 
great beauty are seldom conjoined to the highest flavour or 
juiciness-, without which the- fine-st Apple is, poor indeed. 
Many gardeners object to these long, indeed much over-kept 
Apples- being shown, in apparent so-und condition, because their 
employers seeing them naturally require their gardeners to 
keep the varieties just as- well. They ignore the fact that if 
many of these fruits shown so- late were put on their tables, 
they would refu-s-ei t-o- eat them o-n the ground that all flavour 
and excellence had departed. In that respect keeping too long 
and exhibiting so- late varieties that are so much deteriorated 
is c-ert.a.inly misleading. Again, the demand for Apples in a 
private garden is incessant, and unless there happens to be an 
unusually heavy crop, i-s greater than any gardener can. well 
cope with. To serve the table- and the- kitchen, yet, to have 
some exceptionally late is impossible. Again, how few gardens 
have a, fruit room on,-such high-class modern line® as the Messrs. 
Bunyard have? A store thoroughly up to date, such as is that 
at Maidstone, also forms a very important element in Apple 
keeping. A. D. 
