•218 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 18, 1905. 
be made smooth and formed like an egg quite close top and 
bottom. A little hay, and sometimes horse droppings, are 
mixed with clay, as it holds together better, and if the hands 
are kept wet while making it secure, no trouble is experienced 
in getting it in place. James Mayne. 
Bicton Gardens, Devonshire. 
That Seedless Apple. 
It is apparent to- everyone that the Press—not horticultural 
—is being used for 1 the purpose of booming this supposed 
wonder. 
The latest story from one source is that several fruits of 
this seedless Apple were recently sold in Covent Garden for 
30s. each. 
This yarn is denied in another quarter, and it is stated that 
a Mr. Shearn, who has some of the fruits, has not sold an}’, 
but proposes to hold an exhibition, to which people will be 
admitted on payment of a small sum. The fruits will be then 
cut and the story proved. The money derived will be given 
to the King's Hospital Fund. 
The object is certainly a good one, and it is to be hoped 
that people will turn up in thousands. But, taking the matter 
from a sensible point' of view, let us review the facts as have 
been reported. 
A well-known American writer states that he has seen Pears 
with scarcely any core or seed, but so far the story of the 
seedless Apples i's to him only, hearsay. A company is said to 
have been formed for the exploitation of the fruit. 
According to a. gentleman connected with the St. Louis Ex¬ 
hibition the fruits are not entirely seedless or coreless. 
The fruit is small, insignificant in appearance, and poor in 
flavour. The calyx is abnormal, extending to the centre, so 
that it offers a resting place for insects and fungus diseases. 
Coming to home writers, we gather from them some of the 
most absurd rubbish that has ever been written. One paper 
possesses a correspondent whose imagination is weird in the 
extreme'. 
We are told that 1,000,00U trees will be in existence by the 
end of the season, and, further, that there will be 500,000 
pipless Apples on sale next spring. Note the definite number 
of fruits. The value of this marvel will be understood, we are 
told, when it is known that there are 20,000,000 trees of the 
common kind in this country. We are told that this won¬ 
drous Apple is codlin-moth and frost proof. 
The bloom is said to be a puzzle to botanists, because, in¬ 
stead of a typical Apple bud, this tree bears peculiar tufts of 
tiny leaves, and it is from these tufts that the fruit appears. 
The greatest botanist in England is said to have expressed 
himself unable to explain the phenomenon. Who, may I ask, 
is this greatest botanist? 
W e are told that the raiser can eliminate' the seeds from all 
and any kind of Apple; arid it may be stated here that it is 
possible that the number of seeds can be reduced by inter¬ 
breeding, but not by any mechanical means. 
Some years ago I remember an American stating that by 
layering Peach branches down so that the tip became the root 
base, and the other end the top, the resulting fruits would be 
seedless. 
A big fruit grower in the U.S. challenged this writer to bring 
him such a tree. Needless to say lie never came. Such non¬ 
sense is on a par with the yam concerning yellow Primroses. 
When quite a lad I was informed that by planting Primroses 
upside down coloured flowers would be produced. Although 
young and guileless, I never had the temerity to test the stupid 
story. 
So far as is known, very few fruits are seedless, and these 
are not due to man’s efforts. The Washington Navel Orange, 
# . . o o 7 
grown in California, was found in Brazil. The Sultana and 
Currant is also seedless, and likewise the Japanese Persimmon. 
Luther Burbank has produced a Plum that has no hard 
stone, the kernel alone being present. Leonard Coates, a well- 
known American, states that he bas seen experiments made in 
California, but although the size of Peach stones, etc., was 
reduced, they were never eliminated. 
Returning to the Apple, a Covent Garden broker is reported 
to have said that the fruit sometimes has a seed, but not in 
the centre. 
This solitary seed appears just under the skin, and it is 
explained that such a seed probably got there from another 
tree. 
Such rank nonsense is past comprehension, for the most 
ignorant will surely understand that an AjJple tree cannot 
shoot its seeds about like a Squirting Cucumber. Even if it 
could, are we to believe that such a seed would strike an Apple 
hard enough to enter the skin? 
Further, even were such a thing possible, would the damaged 
Apple heal over the wound so that no trace of entry could be 
found ? 
Coming to common sense, we find that Mr. S. D. Willard, 
well known in the U.S., considers that, providing the pipless 
and coreless Apple is in existence, it is probably a sport, and 
therefore liable to sport back. He states that he cannot see 
any advantage in growing such a fruit, but, as Bamum once 
said, the people live to be humbugged.” 
Mr. Willard says that if the fruit lias merit, why has the 
raiser not advertised it, and asked prominent experts to come 
and see it growing? 
And herein is sound sense. Who is the raiser? No one 
appears to know. The Press has got hold of a windbag and 
chewed it up, so that it has become convinced that the air 
inside was solid. 
Dame Rumour was ever a lying jade, and the rumoured 
Apple must be relegated to her back-yard until something de¬ 
finite comes along. 
We recently learned that a new Potato was being sent out 
in Ireland, the name it rejoiced in being Michael Davitt. Yet 
all inquiries have failed to locate the wondrous Potato. Appar¬ 
ently this also was raised by an imaginative Press man. 
“Cal.” 
Two Fine Lachenalias. 
Two fine garden forms of Lachenalia were exhibited at the 
meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on the 28th ult. 
by F. W. Moore, Esq., Glasnevin, and J. T. Bennett-Poe, Esq., 
Holmwood, Cheshunt. That named Brilliant had large, rich 
yellow flowers ornamented with reddish-purple margins on the 
expanded apices of the inner segments. These flov T ers were of 
large size, and, judging from their colour and size, might have 
been the product of L. tricolor quadricolor x L. Nelsoni or L. 
aurea. The other variety was named Jean Rogers, and was 
notable for its vigorous habit of growth, being over 1 ft. in 
height. In the early stages the outer segments are more or 
less tinted with red, but this shade gradually disappears when 
the flowers are fully expanded, giving ‘place to yellow. An 
Award of Merit was accorded each of these varieties. 
Primula Queen Alexandra. 
The above is the name of a handsome double variety of the 
Chinese Primula. The flowers are of a soft blush-pink and 
double, in the same way as those which are universally raised 
from seeds. A group of over 100 plants was exhibited at the 
Royal Horticultural Hall on February 14th by Mr. W. Palmer, 
F.R.H.S., Andover Nurseries, Andover, Hants, who was 
accorded a Silver Banksian Medal for the group. 
The leaves are of the ordinary palmate-form, and light green 
with green leaf-stalks. The plants were mostly in 32-size 
pots, but a few of the larger ones were in 24-size pots. The 
plants themselves formed pyramidal masses of foliage and 
bloom 15 in. to' 20 in. high as they stood in the pots. The 
same variety was exhibited by Mr. Palmer in London last 
year, so that we have had ample evidence that he understands 
their cultivation and brings the variety to great perfection.. 
The plants are, of course, annually raised from seeds, and thusj 
grown on in the usual way. 
