April  14,  189<S 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTIGULTURF  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
323 
at  least  they  might  take  a  much  larger  share  than  they  now  do  of 
supplying  the  people  with  this  wholesome  fruit. 
I  have  said  that  fruit  growing  in  this  country  can  be  made  to  pay. 
1  have  tried  to  show  you  what  I  daresay  most  of  you  already  know, 
that  many  fruits  can  be  grown  in  this  country  superior  to  and  com¬ 
manding  a  higher  price  than  those  of  the  foreign  producer.  Then 
M^hy,  you  may  ask,  is  there  such  diversi'y  of  opinion  as  to  whether 
fruit  growing  is  profitable  or  not?  And  why  do  we  hear  of  so  many 
failures  ?  I  suppose  the  answer  would  be,  they  failed  for  lack  of 
knowledge,  and  to  a  certain  extent  this  would  be  correct.  Technical 
education,  or  rather  the  want  of  it,  has  been  the  favourite  cry  of  late 
as  the  cause  of  our  decline  in  other  branches  of  industry  besides  fruit 
growing.  Well,  if  technical  education  means  the  thorough  mastery 
of  all  details  bearing  on  a  particular  trade,  I  say  it  is  a  good  thing. 
In  fruit  growing  no  great  success  will  ever  be  attained  without  it ; 
but  in  my  opinion  the  things  most  wanted  are  a  little  more  brains,  a 
little  more  enthusiasm,  more  energy,  foresight,  and  business  aptitude, 
and  above  all  a  capacity  for  taking  full  advantage  and  acting 
upon  the  knowledge  we  already  have  by  reading,  observation,  and 
practice. 
It  is  not  the  knowing,  but  the  doing  that  will  ever  achieve  anything. 
For  instance,  what  gardener  but  has  known  from  the  earliest  years  in 
his  profession  that  if  a  fruit-bearing  tree  is  healthy  looking,  but  not 
fruitful,  that  in  lifting  or  cutting  its  roots  will  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten 
bring  it  into  a  bearing  state  ?  Yet  we  find  thousands  and  thousands  of 
trees  all  over  the  country  in  a  fruitless  condition,  and  allowed  to  go  on 
from  year  to  year.  In  how  many  private  gardens  do  we  find  that  if 
the  produce  of  the  trees  covering,  or  rather  about  half  covering,  the 
walls  were  sold  it  would  bring  more  than  would  pay  for  time  and 
material  to  tie  and  prune  them.  It  is  sad  to  see  such  grand  positions 
so  unprofitable;  but  how  can  it  be  otherwise  when  we  find  borders  in 
many  cases  composed  of  soil  that  has  been  there  for  perhaps  a  hundred 
years,  and  which  are  annually  dug  and  sometimes  trenched  to  within 
2  feet  of  the  wall.  What  can  such  trees  do  but  send  down  strong 
wood  roots  to  make  strong  unfruitful  growth  ?  Does  every  gardener 
not  know  that  the  more  abundant  the  small  fibrous  roots  of  a  fruit 
tree  are  the  more  abundant  will  the  crop  be  if  well  fed  ?  Yet  how  few 
act  upon  this  knowledge  in  an  intelligent  way.  No ;  it  is  not  so 
much  knowledge  we  need  as  a  something  to  spur  us  up  to  do  what  we 
know  should  be  done;  something  to  give  us  more  dash  and  go-ahead, 
more  rooting  out,  pulling  down  and  building  up,  more  independent 
thought  and  backbone,  a  greater  love  for  work — hard,  intelligent, 
persevering  work- — putting  as  it  were  our  best  foot  foremost,  and 
depending  on  the  strength  of  our  right  arm.  This  is  what  is  needed. 
I  have  never  yet  heard  of  a  case  where  a  man  possessed  of  these 
qualities  was  known  to  fail.  These  were  the  qualities  of  the  men  who 
founded  some  of  the  largest  market  establishments  around  London  and 
the  south,  and  who,  mind  you,  had  not  the  advantage  of  a  gardener’s 
training,  but  were  brought  up  to  and  made  their  living  at  other  trades 
and  professions. 
About  the  best  and  heaviest  crops  of  market  Grapes  I  have  yet 
seen  were  grown  in  the  north  of  England  by  a  man  who  up  to  middle 
life  had  been  a  wheelwright.  By  far  the  largest  and  most  flourishing 
markec  establishment  in  Scotland  was  started  about  ten  years  ago  by 
a  young  man  from  a  city  office.  Now  he  has  nearly  10  acres  covered 
with  glass,  grows  annually  close  on  100  tons  of  Tomatoes,  60,000  pots 
of  Chrysanthemums,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  other  things.  These 
men  were  enthusiasts,  loved  their  work,  and  gave  it  their  whole¬ 
hearted  attention ;  and  though  they  had  everything  to  learn  as  they 
went  along,  and  many  failures  and  obstacles  to  surmount,  by  per¬ 
severing  hard  work  they  were  successful,  as  all  who  follow  their 
footsteps  will  be.  continued.) 
CANKER  AND  PRUNING. 
I  HAVE  been  reading  your  remarks  to  a  correspondent  on  canker  in 
fruit  trees,  on  page  314.  From  what  I  observed  on  the  6th  inst.,  I  feel 
inclined  to  ask  if  rough  pruning  is  not  one  of  the  causes  of  canker? 
Standard  Apple  trees,  about  twelve  years  old,  were  being  thinned  out  with 
a  saw,  and  the  jagged  saw-cut  left  unsmoothed  with  a  knife.  In  places 
the  saw  had  gone  nearly  through  the  branch,  which  had  then  been  either 
pushed  off,  or  the  branch  was  twisted,  so  that  the  bark  was  peeled  off  from 
1  to  4  inches  in  length.  The  whole  of  these  branches  could  easily  have 
been  removed  with  a  sharp  knife,  which  would  have  left  the  cuts  clean,  and 
the  whole  process  workmanlike.  The  only  use  the  knife  had  been  put  to 
was  pushing  its  point  into  the  stem  just  below  the  head  of  tree,  and  draw¬ 
ing  it  steadily  down.  Is  not  this  a  case  of  inviting  canker  ? — Iv.  C. 
[Such  rough  mutilation,  miscalled  pruning,  as  that  described,  is  pitiable, 
and  affords  direct  means  of  access  to  the  spores  of  the  canker  fungus 
(Nectria  ditissima)  to  take  possession  of  the  trees.  The  spores,  however, 
do  not  abound  equally  everywhere,  and,  moreover,  we  entertain  a  strong 
belief  that  all  Apple  trees  are  not  in  the  same  degree  liable  to  invasion  by 
the  enemy.  Sound  cultural  methods,  intelligently  carried  out,  are  of  the 
first  importance  in  fortifying  trees  and  plants  against  their  attacking 
foes.] 
Weather  in  London. — The  Easter  holidays  may  be  said  to 
have  been  passed  in  fine  weather,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  we  had 
some  heavy  showers,  with  a  little  thunder,  on  Saturday.  Good  Friday 
was  a  glorious  day,  the  sun  shining  from  an  almost  cloudless  sky.  There 
was  a  slight  breeze  that  made  the  day  very  pleasant.  On  Easter  Sunday 
there  were  one  or  two  slight  showers,  but  Bank  Holiday  was  a  beautiful 
day,  being  bright  and  warm  until  the  evening,  when  it  commenced  to  rain 
between  seven  and  eight  o’clock.  On  Tuesday  it  was  cold  in  the  morn¬ 
ing  but  became  warmer  later.  There  was  a  high  wind  all  day.  On 
Wednesday  it  was  genial  and  summer-like. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — On  the  morning  of  the  5th  inst. 
7°  of  frost  were  registered,  but  there  has  been  none  since.  The  week 
was  throughout  one  of  April  weather.  Westerly  winds  have  prevailed, 
showers  have  i  alien  every  day,  and  the  temperature  has  generally  been 
high  for  the  season.  Vegetation  has  made  a  rapid  advance,  hedges  and 
trees  are  tinged  with  green,  and  there  is  ample  promise  of  fruit  blossom. 
— B.  D.,  S,  Perthshire. 
-  Sowing  Vegetable  Marrows. — I  find  the  middle  of  April 
a  suitable  time  for  sowing  the  seeds,  employing  3-inch  pots.  Place  one 
crock  at  the  bottom  of  each  pot,  over  that  a  layer  of  fibry  turf.  Fill 
up  with  a  rich  compost  of  loam,  leaf  soil,  and  decayed  manure.  Make 
a  hole  in  the  centre  with  the  finger,  dropping  in  one  seed,  cover  it> 
and  make  level.  Use  the  compost  moist.  Stand  the  pots  together  in  a 
warm  house  or  vinery,  shading]  with'  paper.  A  few  light  syringings 
with  tepid  water  will  probably  suffice  until  germination  ensues,  when  a 
position  close  to  the  glass  must  be  afforded,  and  shortly  afterwards  a 
similar  positioffin  a  cold  frame. — E. 
-  Profitable  Fruit  Growing. — This  subject  seems  to  be  of 
perennial  interest  to  all  who  are  engaged  in  horticultural  matters,  and 
papers  are  frequently  being  read  in  different  parts  of  the  country  at 
gardeners’  meetings.  Of  the  more  recent  ones  that  have  been  brought 
to  our  notice  was  that  of  Mr.  Duncan  Buchanan,  Forth  Vineyard,  Kippen, 
which  was  read  before  the  members  of  the  Ayrshire  Gardeners’  Mutual 
Improvement  Association  on  March  31st  and  April  1st,  1898.  The 
essayist  dealt  with  the  subject  in  a  practical,  comprehensive,  and 
exhaustive  manner,  and  many  valuable  points  were  given  that  ought  to 
be  generally  adopted.  The  Ayr  Observer  gives  the  text  of  the  paper, 
which  we  are  confident  many  readers  would  be  glad  to  read,  and  we 
therefore  reprint  it  in  an  abridged  form,  commencing  on  page  322  of 
this  issue.  The  continuation  will  appear  in  an  early  issue. 
-  Wolverhampton  Horticultural  Club.  —  At  a  recent 
monthly  meeting  of  above  Club  Mr.  J.  Martin  of  Messrs.  Sutton  and 
Sons  gave  an  instructive  lecture  on  the  Gloxinia.  In  the  course  of  his 
remarks  Mr.  Martin  stated  that  the  Gloxinia  was  introduced  into  this 
country  in  1739,  but  not  generally  grown  until  about  twenty  years  ago. 
The  normal  varieties  and  the  fertilisation  and  selection  which  has  given 
us  the  flower  in  its  present  improved  form  were  described,  and  lengthy 
details  were  given  as  to  treatment,  both  as  regards  the  culture  for 
decoration  and  for  exhibition  from  the  time  of  sowing  the  seed  until  the 
blooming,  which  he  said  can  be  easily  done  in  six  months.  As  to 
varieties,  the  lecturer  recommended  Her  Majesty,  Beading  Scarlet,  Azure 
Blue,  and  others.  A  good  discussion  followed,  and  questions  were  asked 
by  members,  to  which  Mr.  Martin  replied. 
-  Londoners  on  Bank  Holiday. — There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  Londoners  as  a  class  have  a  lively  sense  of  the  importance  of 
enjoying  their  Bank  Holiday,  and  the  number  of  travellers  by  every 
available  means  of  locomotion  on  those  days  is  astounding.  As  a  nation 
we  are  said  to  take  our  pleasures  sadly,  but  the  inventor  of  that  thought 
would  alter  his  opinion  if  he  went  to  Hampstead  Heath  on  either  of  the 
three  summer  Bank  Holidays.  Of  holiday-makers  Appy  Ampstead 
claimed,  it  is  estimated,  on  Easter  Monday  upwards  of  100,000.  Other 
popular  resorts  are  Kew  Gardens,  the  Zoological  Gardens,  the  Crystal 
Palace,  Epping  Forest,  each  of  which  was  very  largely  patronised,  while 
the  day  being  so  fine  and  genial,  the  seaside  secured  a  heavy  contingent. 
All  the  parks  and  commons  were  enjoyed  by  thousands  of  juveniles,  and 
with  neither  these  nor  their  elders  can  it  be  said  that  they  were  taking 
their  pleasures  sadly.” — South  Londoner. 
