June  24,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
555 
Next  comes  the  Muscat  house,  planted  the  same  day  as  the  last- 
mentioned,  and  treated  in  the  same  way,  with  equally  successful  results, 
and  the  Vines  are  now  bearing  a  splendid  crop  of  useful  Grapes. 
The  remainder  of  the  vineries  are  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  late 
Grapes,  for  which  there  is  a  large  and  increasing  demand.  The  varieties 
best  suited  for  this  purpose  are  found  to  be  the  Muscat  of  Alexandria, 
Black  Alicante,  Gros  Colman,  Lady  Downe’s,  West’s  St.  Peter’s,  and 
Raisin  de  Calabre.  Other  varieties  are  grown,  but  those  named  succeed 
the  best. 
The  Vines  in  these  houses  vary  in  age  from  one  to  thirty  years,  and 
all  are  more  or  leBS  grown  and  worked  on  the  extension  system.  Soil  for 
the  Vine  borders  is  obtained  from  the  Great  Park.  It  is  of  good  quality, 
having  plenty  of  fibre  ;  to  this,  aDd  also  to  the  fact  that  red  spider  is 
unknown  on  the  Vines  at  Frogmore, 
must  be  attributed  the  heavy  crops 
of  excellent  fruit  annually  grown. 
Pines  at  Home. 
Frogmore  has  been  the  home  of 
the  Pine  Apple  since  the  formation  of 
the  gardens,  and  much  has  been 
written  from  time  to  time  during  the 
past  fifty  years  on  the  success  at¬ 
tending  its  cultivation  in  the  Royal 
Gardens.  That  that  success  has  not 
in  the  least  diminished,  the  splendid 
condition  of  the  plants  and  their 
noble  fruits,  prove  most  conclusively. 
The  varieties  mostly  grown  are 
Smooth  Cayenne  and  Charlotte  Roth¬ 
schild.  The  method  of  cultivation 
chiefly  adopted  is  the  planting-out 
system,  and  that  it  is  attended  with 
success  the  photographic  illustration 
(fig.  117,  page  567)  affords  ample 
testimony,  though  it  does  not  do 
justice  to  the  fruits. 
The  suckers  for  planting  this  pit 
were  taken  from  the  parent  plant  on 
the  15th  of  October,  and  the  photo¬ 
graph  was  taken  as  well  as  it  could 
be  the  following  September,  eleven 
months  from  the  time  of  planting. 
This  shows  a  greatly  improved  method 
of  growing  the  “  kiDg  of  fruits  ”  over 
that  which  existed  a  few  years  since, 
when  two  or  two  and  half  years  were 
considered  necessary  to  grow  and 
ripen  a  good  Pine.  Half  the  secret 
of  success  lies,  as  most  gardeners 
know,  in  planting  large  healthy 
suckers. 
The  number  of  plants  grown  in 
the  pit  is  seventy-five,  of  which 
seventy  threw  up  within  three  weeks 
of  each  other,  and  only  five  fruits 
weighed  less  than  5  lbs.,  the  average 
being  7£,  but  some  weighed  over  9  lbs.  The  pit  (like  others)  is  40  feet 
long  by  12  feet  wide,  with  two  rows  of  6-inch  pipes  back  and  front. 
The  bottom  heat  is  wholly  obtained  by  the  aid  of  leaves  rammed  as 
tightly  as  possible  to  a  depth  of  4£  feet.  This  body  retains  a  good  heat 
for  eighteen  months.  On  this  a  layer  of  loam  7J  inches  deep  is  placed, 
adding  a  good  sprinkling  of  bonedust. 
The  soil,  which  is  neither  too  dry  nor  too  wet  when  used,  is  well 
trodden  down,  and  the  suckers,  after  having  a  few  of  their  bottom  leaves 
trimmed  off,  plan*ed  very  firmly.  They  are  closely  Bhaded  until  roots 
have  been  formed  and  growth  commences,  when  shading  is  entirely 
done  away  with.  Water  is  given  very  sparingly  in  the  winter,  and  the 
plants  give  a  good  account  of  themselves  the  autumn  following.  Other 
pits  are  treated  in  the  same  way,  so  that  a  good  succession  is  always 
maintained. 
Queens  are  also  grown  in  quantity  for  spring  and  early  summer 
supply.  Suckers  are  usually  taken  off  in  August,  and  potted  in  6-inch 
pots,  in  which  they  remain  until  the  following  March,  when  they  are 
shifted  into  their  fruiting  pots  (12-iuch).  They  are  plunged  in  a  pit  of 
leaves,  with  genial  bottom  heat,  encouraged  to  grow  freely,  and  at  the 
end  of  summer,  when  growth  is  completed,  more  air  is  given.  In 
Fig.  109.— Libocedrus  decurrens  ( page  550), 
December  the  plants  are  placed  in  the  fruiting  pit,  where  rather  more 
bottom  heat  is  at  command,  and  where  all  usually  throw  up  early  in 
February,  giving  useful  fruit  through  the  spring  and  summer  months. 
The  number  of  fruits  grown  year  after  year  vary  a  little,  but  the  usual 
number  cut  is  about  200,  weighing  from  3  to  9  lbs.  each. 
At  the  foot  of  the  Pine  pits  outside  are  narrow  borders,  and  it  is 
wonderfal  how  useful  these  borders  are  in  spring  for  the  growth  of  early 
Peas  and  Cauliflowers,  afterwards  coming  in  for  Tomatoes  in  summer 
and  salad  in  winter.  With  only  fifty  acres  of  land  no  space  can  be 
wasted. 
Peaches  and  Nectarines. 
There  are  seven  houses  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  these.  The 
soil  being  of  rather  a  heavy  texture  it  suits  the  Peach  admirably,  and 
crops  under  glass  are  scarcely  ever 
known  to  fail.  Tbe  number  of 
Peaches  produced  in  the  houses  last 
year  amounted  to  nearly  200  dozens. 
The  varieties  found  to  succeed  best 
and  give  the  greatest  returns  are 
Stirling  Castle,  Violette  Hdtive,  Gros 
Mignonne,  Bellegarde,  Premier,  and 
Royal  George,  with  Walburton  Admir¬ 
able  for  late  use.  A  few  trees  of 
Waterloo  are  grown,  but  as  a  full 
crop  of  this  variety  is  not  to  be 
depended  on  it  is  only  grown  for 
extra  early  work.  These  are  generally 
started  early  in  January,  and  ripe 
fruit  picked  in  May. 
Of  Nectarines  the  earliest  by  far 
is  Cardinal,  the  last  new  one  of  Mr. 
Rivers.  It  is  well  adapted  for  grow¬ 
ing  in  pots  for  early  work.  A  few 
trees  not  introduced  into  heat  until 
January  afforded  ripe  fruit  early  in 
May,  as  many  as  three  dozen  fruits  on 
a  tree.  The  second  early  is  Early 
Rivers,  then  comes  Lord  Napier,  these 
never  failing  to  give  perfect  satisfac¬ 
tion.  Pineapple,  Elruge,  and  Victoria 
follow,  with  the  like  result.  Of  these 
120  dozen  were  picked  last  year.  The 
Nectarines  are  grown  side  by  side 
with  the  Peaches; 
Melons. 
These  are  in  great  demand  during 
the  summer  months,  and  are  in  con¬ 
sequence  produced  in  large  quantities. 
They  have  six  houses  and  a  number 
of  pits  devoted  to  their  growth,  some 
houses  producing  three  crops  a  year. 
A  common  mistake  in  growing  Melons 
is  to  give  them  too  large  a  body  of 
soil.  All  the  Melon  borders  at  Frog¬ 
more  have  been  reduced  to  half  their 
former  size,  saving  much  time,  and 
requiring  much  less  soil  and  heating  material,  while  giving  far  better 
returns  in  number  and  quality  of  fruits.  The  varieties  esteemed  the 
most  are  some  raised  during  the  past  few  years  in  the  Queen’s  gardens. 
Frogmore  Orange  comes  in  first,  a  white  flesh  with  Orange-like  exterior  ; 
Royal  Favourite,  admired  for  its  robust  constitution  and  splendid 
cropping  quality,  combined  with  high  flavour.  The  Lady  is  thought 
much  of  on  account  of  its  delicious  flavour  and  robust  growth.  Many 
of  the  older  ones  are  also  grown,  and  experiments  often  carried  out 
with  the  view  of  obtaining  improved  varieties.  The  number  of  fruits 
obtained  varies  from  year  to  year,  but  the  average  is  550,  a  daily  supply 
being  kept  up  from  April  until  the  end  of  November.  The  plants,  as 
a  rule,  are  grown  about  2J  feet  asunder,  and  confined  to  one  stem. 
This  illustration  (fig.  118,  page  568),  represents  one  of  these  plants,  of 
which  there  were  over  fifty  more  like  it,  grown  in  a  narrow  pit. 
Strawberries. 
Forced  Strawberries  are  in  great  demand  during  tbe  spring  and  early 
summer  months,  and  a  daily  supply  is  kept  up  from  early  in  February 
until  fruits  are  to  be  had  from  warm  borders.  Forced  Strawberries  are 
sent  to  her  Majesty  wherever  she  may  be,  whether  in  the  South  of  France 
