October  10, 1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
351 
the  varieties  is  required,  as  the  name  of  any  is  given  by  a  glance  at  the 
fruit,  or  by  the  growth  of  the  free  if  it  is  not  in  bearing,  without  even 
any  reference  to  the  numbered  labels. 
Let  us  first  look  over  the  trees  to  ascertain  which  combine  with 
excellence  of  quality  the  highest  free  bearing  propensities,  not,  of  course, 
endeavouring  to  name  all,  but  simply  those  that  strike  us  as  being  of  the 
beet.  A  few  words  as  to  the  condition  of  the  trees  will  be  of  interest  to 
many  readers,  and  so  primary  attention  shall  be  given  to  this  point.  As 
has  been  said,  they,  are  planted  by  the  side  of  a  long  nursery  road,  three 
trees  of  each  being  seen  in  the  majority  of  cases,  though  occasionally 
there  may  be  more  or  less  ;  ranging  in  height  from  4  to  6  feet,  they  are 
all  pictures  of  health  and  good  management.  The  training  has  evidently 
been  with  the  object  of  keeping  the  trees  open  to  permit  of  the  easy 
penetration  of  light  and  air,  the  advantages  of  which  are  readily  per¬ 
ceptible  in  the  fine  shoots  and  the  tough  leathery  texture  of  the  dark 
green  leafage.  Each  branch  has  abundance  of  room  for  development, 
and  grown  in  such  a  manner  trees  of  this  form  may  be  termed  ideal  ones 
for  the  garden  of  limited  area.  Obviously  their  fruiting  depends  on  the 
open  training,  as  if  they  were  allowed  to  become  nothing  less  than  a 
tangled  mass  of  useless  spray  they  could  not  possibly  bring  to  perfection 
such  crops  as  they  produce  yearly. 
Considerable  variation  is  noticeable  in  the  weight  of  the  crops,  but 
every  tree  had  on  it  a  fair  number  of  fruits.  Periodical  liftings  are 
accorded  the  trees,  thus  to  a  great  extent,  at  any  rate,  insuring  their 
safe  removal  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  orders.  Many  persons  visiting 
the  great  fruit  show  at  the  Crystal  Palace  recently  would  perceive  and 
admire  the  beautiful  fruits  staged  by  this  firm,  and  doubtless  they  will 
be  glad  to  know  that  several  of  these  were  gathered  from  the  trees  to 
which  special  attention  is  now  being  called,  proof  that  will  be  amply 
sufficient  to  show  the  treatment  given  is  of  the  best  and  the  most  suited 
to  the  well-being  of  the  trees.  This  season,  as  is  well  known  to 
gardeners  and  fruit  growers,  has  been  conducive  of  very  rich  colouration 
of  fruits,  especially,  perhaps,  of  Apples,  and  those  at  Langley  are  no 
exception  to  the  rule,  for  rarely  have  they,  taken  as  a  whole,  been  seen 
better  in  this  respect— indeed,  some  kinds  that  can  boast  of  scarcely 
any  colour  in  other  years  have  this  time  put  on  so  much  as  to  render 
them  almost  unrecognisable.  It  is  surely  needless  to  say  that  no  vestige 
of  insect  pest  is  observable  throughout,  which  is  another  point  in  favour 
of  the  health  of  the  trees.  Wasps,  it  was  noticed,  had  been  hard  at 
work  on  the  best  fruits  all  over  the  ground,  and  it  had  been  necessary  to 
net  all  such  as  it  was  thought  desirable  should  be  saved.  Thousands 
of  wasps  had  been  killed,  but  thousands  yet  remained,  and  war  was 
constantly  being  waged  for  their  extermination. 
Turning  now  to  the  varieties,  we  have  not  gone  many  steps  ere  we 
stop  before  a  tree  loaded  with  yellow  fruits  of  fair  size,  and  which  on 
tasting  we  find  of  splendid  flavour.  Every  year  it  carries  fine  crops, 
and  is  known  by  the  name  of  Barton’s  Incomparable.  No  other 
description  than  that  it  ia  a  grand  improvement  on  the  well-known 
Golden  Pippin  will  be  needed  by  readers  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture. 
As  a  keeper  Barnack  Beauty  is  in  high  favour  with  the  manager  of  the 
Veitchian  fruit  museum  as  it  may  be  had  in  excellent  condition  until 
May,  and  is  moreover  suitable  alike  for  dessert  or  cooking.  Another 
that  has  the  same  attributes  except  Christmas  is  about  the  end  of  its 
tether,  is  Calville  Bois  Bunel,  which  is  of  exceedingly  beautiful  appear¬ 
ance,  and  evidently  of  very  great  merit.  Though  large.  Belle  de  Boskoop 
is  a  dessert  variety  belonging  to  the  first  rank,  and  the  same  may  be 
said  of  Mrs.  Barron.  Conspicuous  for  its  handsomeness  ia  Baumann’s 
Bed  Reinette.  This,  however,  is  not  its  only  good  point ;  on  the 
contrary  it  is  of  good  flavour,  and  in  addition  may  be  kept  in  good  con¬ 
dition  until  May.  A  variety  named  Christian  Manson  was  prominent 
on  account  of  its  fine  habit.  In  addition  it  keeps  well,  and  ia  of  good 
flavour.  Though  Alfriston  has  been  grown  for  generations  it  is 
nevertheless  a  splendid  Apple,  and  seldom  has  it  been  seen  to  better, 
advantage  than  this  year.  Not  so  well  known,  and  deserving  of  much 
attention,  is  St.  Edmund's  Pippin,  a  free  cropping  Apple  of  great  merit ; 
King  Harry  being  another  of  which  the  same  may  be  said.  Reinette 
d’Amas^on  is  of  taking  appearance,  and  fine  for  dessert,  as  well  as  being 
a  good  keeper.  With  the  latter  attribute  is  Praise  de  Hoffinger,  but  this 
is  a  culinary  variety.  The  crimson  cheeked  fruits  of  this  are  very  pleasing. 
Others  not  very  extensively  cultivated  are  Rouleau  Rouge,  Passom  de 
France,  Akera,  and  Beauty  of  Stoke,  all  of  which  ought  to  be  noted 
for  future  planting. 
Besides  those  mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraph  there  are  very 
large  numbers  of  others,  and  mostly  much  better  known  to  the 
majority  of  growers.  These  include  Gold  Medal  (said  to  be  a  grand 
Apple  for  the  Midlands),  Seaton  House  (one  of  the  best),  American 
Mother,  Manchester  Pippin,  Bramley’s  Seedling,  Blenheim  Pippin 
(magnificent),  Sandringham,  Peasgood’s  Nonesuch,  Potts’  Seedling,  Cox’s 
Orange  Pippin  (this  cropping  in  a  marvellous  manner  under  all  forms  of 
training),  Lane’s  Prince  Albert,  Madderley,  Cornish  Aromatic,  King  of 
Tomkiu’s  County,  Gascoigne’s  Scarlet  Seedling,  Dr.  Harvey,  Lady 
Henniker,  and  King  of  Pippins.  Sufficient  will  now  have  been  named 
to  show  the  extent  and  diversity  of  this  border  of  fruit  trees  in  relation  to 
Apples,  so  now  a  move  may  with  ad  vantage  be  made  to  see  the  other  kinds . 
If  Pears  are  not  so  numerous  as  Apples,  they  are  nevertheless  of 
very  fine  quality,  though  the  specimen  trees  do  not  look  so  well  as  the 
Apples.  This  is,  however,  easily  explained  by  the  fact  that  all  the  trees 
were  lifted  very  late  in  the  spring  of  the  present  year,  and  have  not  yet, 
in  appearance,  at  any  rate,  quite  recovered  from  the  effects.  Not  that 
it  seems  to  have  affected  their  crops  of  fruit,  as  all  are  in  splendid  con¬ 
dition  in  this  respect.  Scores  of  varieties  are  grown,  and  amongst  them 
were  noticed  Beurr^  Fouquerary,  Louise  Bonne  of  Jersey,  Brockworth 
Park,  Flemish  Beauty,  Doyenn6  Boussoch,  Triomphe  de  Vipnne,  Gansel’s 
Bergamotte,  and  Fondante  d’Automne,  these,  of  course,  being  but  a 
moiety  of  the  whole.  The  fruits  ranged  above  the  average  in  size,  of 
fine  colour,  and  excellent  flavour.  Thousands  of  young  trees  of  different 
varieties  were  seen  at  intervals,  some  only  about  2  or  3  feet  in 
height,  but  each  was.  parrying  its  burden  of  fruits  that  were  more 
conspicuous  for  their  size  and  beauty  than  for  numbers,  though  of 
course  from  such  young  stock  none  could  expect  big  crops. 
So  much  time  was  spent  amongst  the  Apples  and  Pears  that  Plums 
could  receive  but  scant  attention,  not  nearly  so  much,  indeed,  as  their 
superb  condition  deserved.  Taking  into  consideration  the  fact  that  it 
was  getting  somewhat  late  for  Plums  when  the  pilgrimage  was  under¬ 
taken,  the  show  of  fruits  was  really  a  highly  creditable  and  a  splendid 
lesson  as  to  which  varieties  are  the  best  for  late  fruiting  purposes. 
Though  late  and  not  in  large  numbers  the  quality  was  wonderful,  and 
one  or  two  of  the  luscious  fruits  proved  very  refreshing  about  noon  of 
what  was  an  almost  tropical  day.  Included  amongst  the  best  were 
Belle  de  Septembre,  Pond’s  Seedling,  Late  Transparent  Gage,  Coe’s 
Golden  Drop,  Brahy’*  Gage,  Bryanston  Gage,  and  Blue  Imp^ratrice. 
Damsons,  too,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  receive  a  very  large 
share  of  attention,  it  being  essential  that  extensive  numbers  be  grown 
to  meet  the  yearly  demand.  Despite  the  constant  murmurings  that 
fruit  growing  cannot  pay  in  this  country,  more  and  more  trees  are 
being  planted  every  year,  plainly  proving  that  some  persons  at  any  rate 
have  faith  in  the  industry.  The  splendid  trees  grown  by  this  firm 
thoroughly  entitle  them  to  the  high  position  they  hold  in  the  fruit  world, 
and  after  a  visit  to  Langley  one  cannot  be  surprised  in  learning  that 
more  trees  are  required  every  year  to  insure  the  proper  fulfilment  of 
the  many  orders  received  during  the  autumn  and  spring  months. 
Passing  now  from  the  trees  in  fruit  we  come  to  those  from  which  all 
crops  have  been  gathered,  and  that  have  been  prepared  for  sale  tbi* 
season.  They  are  numbered  by  the  thousand,  and  comprise  all  kinds 
of  hardy  fruits.  There  are  trees  for  walls  trained  in  espalier,  fan, 
cordon,  and  other  styles,  bush  tree«,  half  and  full  standards  ;  in  fact,  all 
shapes  that  are  now  in  vogue.  One  might  continue  walking  through 
these  trees  for  hours  and  be  always  meeting  something  fresh,  so  much  so 
that  the  interest  has  no  time  to  flag,  and  the  mind  is  continually  storing 
knowledge  that  cannot  fail  to  be  of  use  in  future  practice.  To  parti¬ 
cularise  here  all  the  forms  that  are  grown  would  be  an  impossibility, 
unless  the  whole,  of  the  pages  were  commissioned  for  the  purpose,  so  it 
must  suffice  to  say  that  all  are  grown  well,  make  splendid  wood  and 
buds,  and  that  none  is  allowed  to  leave  the  nursery  unless  to  all  appear¬ 
ances  in  a  perfect  state  of  health,  and  such  as  is  likely  to  give  every 
satisfaction  to  the  purchaser.  At  the  Southfields  Nurseries,  Fulham,  where, 
as  previously  mentioned,  Mr,  Morle  is  located,  are  to  be  seen  some  of 
the  finest  examples  of  trained  trees  to  be  found  anywhere,  more  especially, 
perhaps,  of  stone  fruits,  and  those  alone  are  worth  a  journey  to  see. 
In  commencing  these  notes  it  was  the  intention  of  the  writer  tO’ 
make  references  to  the  Orchids  under  the  charge  of  that  veteran 
hybridist  Mr.  Seden,  and  to  the  perennial  and  other  plants  that  are  sn 
well  grown  and  known  by  Mr.  Hanley,  but  the  fruit  demanded  so  much 
attention  that  they  cannot  be  properly  dealt  with  now.  Such  being  the 
case,  we  must  postpone  a  chat  about  these  until  after  a  future  visit,  simply 
saying  that  in  both  departments  the  plants  are  in  that  splendid  con¬ 
dition  which  denotes  a  thorough  understanding  of  their  particular 
wants.  The  atternoon  was  rapidly  drawing  to  a  close  ere  we  had  made 
the  rounds,  and  then  it  was  found  that  several  acres  had  been  missed, 
but  these,  with  those  mentioned  in  the  earlier  portion  of  this  paragraph, 
must  stand  over.  The  day  had  been  an  enjoyable  one,  replete  with 
instruction  and  interest  ;  and  the  next  visit  will  be  look^  forward  tOi 
with  the  greatest  pleasure  by — Scrutator. 
CARDIFF  CASTLE. 
I  WAS  pleased  to  read  the  interesting  remarks  on  the  gardens  of  this 
well-known  place,  which  lately  appeared  in  the  pages  of  the  Journal  ,oj 
Horticulture  from  the  fluent  pen  of  “  Nomad.”  Since  those  lines 
appeared  in  print  another  stranger  has  visited  the  gardens  for  the 
first  time,  who  had  often  heard  of  the  splendid  examples  of  Apple  and 
Pear  tree  culture,  but  was  not  prepared  to  see  such  perfect  specimens  of 
good  culture,  and  all  in  the  best  of  health.  Imagine  Pear  trees  grown 
in  a  natural  state  in  bush  form,  30  feet  or  more  in  height,  every  branch 
being  loaded  with  fruit  almost  as  thick,  and  certainly  larger,  than  the 
traces  of  Onions  I  afterwards  saw  being  sold  in  the  streets  of  Cardiff. 
The  trees  are  so  heavily  laden  with  fruit  that  several  large  poles  have  to- 
be  placed  round  each  tree,  and  ropes  fastened  round  them  to  prevent 
the  branches  being  broken  off  by  the  great  weight  of  fruit. 
There  are  two  things  in  connection  with  these  trees  to  which  I  would 
draw  attention.  First,  as  regards  the  stocks  on  which  the  Apples  and 
Pears  are  worked.  I  found,  with  the  exception  of  one  Pear  tree,  which 
was  worked  on  the  Quince,  all  are  on  the  free  stock,  a  living  proof,  if 
one  were  needed,  that  it  is  the  best  in  suitable  land.  Another  practical 
lesson  most  ably  taught  is  the  system  of  grafting.  Some  of  the  trees 
originally  planted  were  not  suitable  varieties,  so  were  headed  down  and 
grafted  with  good  varieties,  not,  as  some  writers  advocate,  one  graft  to  a 
tree,  but  probably  forty  would  be  nearer  the  mark,  with  the  result  that 
in  two  or  three  years  they  were  again  well  furnished  trees,  carrying 
heavy  crops.  Many  tons  of  fruit  are  gathered  annually,  of  both  Apples 
and  Pears.  The  trees  are  comparatively  young,  having  been  planted  as 
maidens  by  Mr,  Pettigrew  about  twenty  years  ago.  May  he  tend  to 
their  wants  for  many  years  to  come  is  the  wish  of — A  Yorkshireman. 
