502 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  14,  1900. 
Espaliers  for  Currants  and  Gooseberries  may  be  taken  to  any 
reasonable  height,  according  to  individual  circumstances,  from  4  feet 
to  5  feet  being  a  u-eful  height  for  ordinary  purposes.  For  anything 
aV-ove  4  feet  I  prefer  an  upright  method  of  training,  a  shoot  being 
taken  along  the  lowest  wire  horizontally,  and  others  run  up  from  it  at 
intervals  of  9  inches.  Thus  trees  planted  at  6  feet  9  inches  apart  will 
have  four  upright  branches  on  each  side  of  the  central  shoot,  and  this 
is  enough  if  the  trellis  is  to  be  covered  in  a  reasonable  time. 
Oveicropping  while  the  trees  are  filling  up  should  be  avoided,  as  it 
is  apt  to  weaken  the  growth  ;  but  if  properly  fed  from  the  surface  by 
ndeans  of  top-dressing  with  farmyard  manure,  very  fine  fruit  may  be 
taken  during  the  first  few  years.  As  to  the  trees  to  plant,  those  in 
the  second  year  from  the  cutting  are  best,  and  if  ordering  from  a 
nurseryman  it  is  well  to  say  for  what  purpose  they  are  required. 
Three  shoots  only  are  needed  ;  the  centre  one  should  be  shortened  to  a 
foot  or  less,  the  side  ones  an  inch  or  two  beyond  the  place  where  the 
first  upright  ^hoot  is  to  be 
taken,  provided  of  course 
the  trees  are  strong  enough 
to  allow  of  this. 
If  weak  cut  back  all 
three  of  the  shoots  to  a 
lew  eyes,  as  it  is  only 
waste  of  time  to  leave  in 
wood  that  is  undeveloped, 
and  consequently  will  not 
break  strongly.  In  the 
formation  of  the  branches 
“  make  haste  slowly”  is  an 
excellent  maxim.  Pinch 
the  upright  shoots  at  every 
wire,  and  the  horizontal 
branches  at  every  foot. 
This  will  prevent  having 
to  cut  away  useless  wood 
at  pruning  time,  and  insure 
a  well-balanced  flow  of  sap. 
It  is  well,  too,  to  pinch  the 
former  a  day  or  two  in 
advance  of  the  latter. 
I  am  not  an  advocate 
for  very  close  pruning  in  the  case  of  these  espaliers,  for  as  mentioned 
the  extra  foliage  is  an  advantage;  hut,  then  on- the  other  hand,  if  the 
trees  are  allowed  to  get  too  thick  the  whole  advantage  of  the 
system  is  lost,  as  this  latter  consists  in  a  great  measure  in  the 
freedom  with  which  air  and  light  play  about  the  growth  and  fruit. 
A  very  light  and  cheap  trellis  will  suffice  fcr  the  purpose.  In  my 
own  case  I  have  six  wires  at  intervals  of  9  inches,  wdth  light  iron 
standards  at  about  10  feet  apart,  also  a  straining  post  at  each  end.  I 
have  not  the  exact  cost  by  me  n''W,  but  I  know  it  was  not  much  more 
than  Is.  per  yard  run  for  material,  and  any  handy  labourer  can  fix  it. 
The  whole  should  be  painted  a  couple  of  coa's,  and  if  the  wires  are 
tightened  occasionally  by  means  of  the  ratchet  arrangement  on  the 
straining  posts,  the  fence  will  last  for  an  indefinite  tim.e. — 
n.  II.  Eichards. 
- - 
Strawberry  Trafalgar. 
Though  many  new  Strawberries  have  come  to  the  front  during 
the  past  decade,  none  has  caught  the  popular  fancy  to  such  an 
exceptional  degree  as  Eoyal  Sov'ereign.  A  few  years  after  its 
introduction  and  while  the  stock  was  yet  comparatively  expensive, 
it  was  being  grown  on  every  hand,  until  at  the  present  moment 
it  would  probably  be  a  difficult  task  to  find  a  garden  without 
Royal  Sovereign,  or  a  market  grower  who  did  not  consider  it  one 
of  the  best  varieties  in  cultivation  for  early  use.  On  its  introduction 
the  late  Mr.  Laxton  considered  it  the  best  early  variety  he  had  raised, 
and  such  it  has  undoubtedly  proved  itself  to  be.  Now  Messrs. 
Laxton  Bros,  bring  forward  Trafalgar  and  say  that  “it  promises  to 
make  a  useful  market  as  well  as  table  fruit,  as  it  is  equally  as  good  at 
the  end  of  the  season  as  Royal  Sovereign  is  at  the  beginning.” 
At  the  Drill  Hall  on  Tuesday,  June  5th,  when  Strawberry  Trafalgar 
was  exhibited  by  the  Bedford  firm,  it  was  recommended  for  an  award 
of  merit  by  the  Fruit  and  Vegetable  Committee  of  the  Royal  Horti- 
cultural  Society,  and  the  illustration  (fig.  135)  represents  a  tvpical 
fruit.  The  variety  resulted  from  a  cross  between  Latest  of  All  and 
Frogmore  Late  Pine,  and  the  ffiabit — robust  yet  compact — is  inter¬ 
mediate  between  the  two  parents.  The  plant  is  a  free  producer  of 
large  to  very  large  pointedly  conical  bright  scarlet  fruits.  The  flesh  is 
white,  firm,  and  richly  flavoured.  The  leaves  are  often  five-lobed,  and 
are  smooth  and  leathery,  with  a  downy  footstalk.  The  plants  staged 
on  the  occasion  named  carried  a  heavy  crop  in  various  stages  of  develop¬ 
ment,  but  the  flavour  though,  as  has  been  said  rich,  was  not  so  luscious 
as  it  will  be  when  the  plants  are  grown  under  the  more  natural 
conditions  that  suit  the  late  fruiting  Strawberries  so  well. 
- - 
Tlie  Gardener’s  Assistant.” 
This,  the  first  volume  of  a  series,  professes  to  be  in  some  sense  a 
continuation  of  “  Thompson’s  Gardener’s  Assistant,”  of  which  three 
editions  have  already  appeared,  in  1859,  1878,  and  1884  respectively. 
While,  however,  acknowledging  its  indebtedness  to  Mr.  Robert  Thompson 
of  Chiswick,  and  the  late  Mr.  Thomas  Moore  of  the  Chelsea  Botanic 
Garden,  for  the  basis  of  the  idea  (viz.,  a  comprehensive  treatment 
of  practical  horticulture  for  professional  gardeners),  it  is  so  far  as  this- 
present  volume  goes  almost  an  entirely  new  work.  On  comparing 
it  with  the  older  editions  the  fact  becomes  at  once  apparent,  and  upon 
turning  to  the  preface  it  is  admitted  by  the  writer  himself. 
But  while  every  change  in  modern  literature  and  journalism  cannot 
be  regarded  as  making  necessarily  for  good,  there  is  no  denying  that 
in  this  case  the  presiding  genius  of  the  undertaking  has  in  every 
respect  advanced  upon  his  models  ;  and  this  is  noticeable  not  merely 
in  latter-day  points  connected  with  science,  such  as  cross  fertilisation 
and  hybridisation  (in  which  a  new  school  of  specialists  is  arising),  or 
in  the  matter  of  recently  introduced  novelties,  or  even  in  respect 
of  Orchidomani.i,  of  which  there  is  a  premonition  promising  greater 
glories  to  come.  To  speak  exactly,  except  in  the  department  of  tools 
and  instruments,  very  little  of  the  original  work  remains.  Neither  in 
style,  treatment,  nor  arrangement  are  the  old  models  preserved  on 
imitated,  and  the  result  is  that  we  meet  with  an  improvement  on 
every  side. 
Clearly  the  English  scientific  mind  is  emerging  from  the  dry-as-dust 
stage  and  condescending  to  simplicity.  It  may  be  a  sign  of  degeneracy 
in  us  that  we  cannot  emulate  the  feats  of  our  grandfathers,  who 
devoured  the  leading  articles  of  “  The  Times,”  drank  port  wine 
ad  libitum,  and  perused  patiently  the  black-letter  law  books  or  the 
philosophical  reflections  of  Sir  Thomas  Browne.  In  matters  intellectual, 
as  in  matte! 8  mechanical,  the  earlier  tendency  is  towards  overloading 
and  complexity,  the  later  towards  neatness  and  lucidity.  And  this 
applies  not  only  to  ideas,  but  also  to  language,  so  that  while  the  amount 
of  our  store  of  knowledge  has  increased  the  length  of  our  sentences- 
has  declined. 
Of  these  tendencies  the  present  volume  is  a  striking  example.  If 
it  has  not  exactly  cons' ructed  a  royal  road  to  the  goal  at  which  its- 
readers  aim,  it  has  at  least  so  macadamised  and  rolled  the  path  that 
the  readers  will  not  be  unnecessarily  impeded  upon  their  journey. 
Whether  it  be  the  question  of  the  calendarial  operations,  or  of 
descriptive  and  physiological  botany,  or  of  the  fascinating  subject  of 
hybridisation,  or  of  garden  entomology  (which  is  delightfully  treated), 
or  of  “garden  friends,”  or  of  the  chemistry  of  garden  soils  and  of 
manures,  one  is  impressed  with  the  ease,  the  clearness,  the  compactness, 
and  the  general  “  modernity  ”  of  the  treatment  and  the  information. 
Moreover,  it  is  no  small  lecommendation  that  the  authorities  for  much 
of  the  knowledge  embodied  in  its  pages  are  still  alive,  and  have  had  a 
direct  or  indirect  influence  upon  its  production.  It  is  beautifully- 
illustrated  (often  in  colour),  and  is  in  every  way  more  in  the  nature  of 
a  work  for  perusal  than  for  reference.  Amid  the  torrent  of  imported 
works  we  have  here  an  ample  vindication  of  the  practical  and  yet 
flexible  character  of  the  national  intellect,  of  which  we  may  be  proud. 
Ihe  Cider  Making  Industry. — We  are  informed  that  an 
International  Congress  respecting  the  cider  industry  is  to  be  held  in 
Paris  from  October  11th  to  13th.  The  organising  committee  appeal 
to  pomologists,  growers,  and  authorities  of  all  countries  to  give  the 
conference  the  benefit  of  their  knowledge  and  experience  as  regards 
the  following  questions,  which  are  proposed  for  discussion  :  —  1,. 
Raising  and  planting  Apples  and  Pears  for  cider  and  perry.  2,  Prin¬ 
ciples  on  which  to  form  a  selection  of  the  beet  varieties  of  fruits  for 
wine  or  cider.  3,  Experimental  orchards  and  stations.  4,  The  teaching 
of  fruit  growing.  5,  Drying  and  preserving  wine  fruits.  6,  Use  of 
yeasts  in  cider  making.  7,  Extraction,  filtration,  sterilisation  of  must. 
8,  The  spirit  present  in  cider  and  perry.  9,  Tha  cider  and  cider  Apple 
trade  in  Prance  and  elsewhere.  All  communications  in  connection 
with  the  conference  should  be  addressea  to  Mons.  Jourdain,  21,  Rue 
Mayet,  Paris. 
*  “The  Gardener's  Assistant.”  A  new  edition  by  William  Watson, 
assistant  curator,  Royal  Gardens,  Kew.  The  Grestam  Publishing  Co.,  25, 
Farringdon  Avenue,  London,  E.C. 
Fig.  135. — Strawberry  Trafalgar. 
