December  8,  189s*. 
435 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
if  the  farmers  of  Ireland  could  he  induced  to  plant  Bramley’s  Seedling, 
that  country,  even  the  western  counties,  could  be  immensely  developed. 
No  American  fruit  can  be  produced  better,  larger,  or  more  finely 
coloured  than  Bramley’s  can  be  grown  in  Ireland.  I  think  the  fruit 
forwarded  to  the  Editor  will  bear  me  out  in  this  statement.  Let  us  see 
what  he  says  on  this  matter. — Wm.  Bardney,  Osmasion  Manor,  Derby. 
[The  Apples  arrived,  without  any  name,  some  days  in  advance  of  this 
communication.  We  wrote  to  Mr.  Bardney  to  the  effect  that  if  they 
were  not  grand  specimens  of  B  amley’s  Seedling,  wo  suspee'ed  the 
variety  was  the  result  of  a  cross  between  it  and  Mere  do  Menage — this 
Because  of  the  remarkable  colour  of  the  fruit,  some  being  dark  crimson 
and  others  as  bright  as  Cox’s  Pomona,  but  as  large  again  as  good 
average  samples  of  this  variety.  The  largest  weighed  20g  ozs.,  the 
remainder  averaging  just  under  1  lb.  each.  We  have  only  once  seen 
Bramley’s  to  equal  them  in  size  and  colour  combined — namely,  at  one 
of  the  R.H.S.  Crystal  Palace  shows — and  these  were  the  produce  of 
young  trees  grown  in  the  South  of  England.  There  are  no  transatlantic 
Apples  in  the  London  market  at  the  present  time  to,  in  all  points, 
equal  these  firm,  fine,  brilliant  Bramley’s  from  Ireland,  nor  do  we 
expect  to  see  them  surpassed  during  the  season.  Mr.  Smith  is  con¬ 
gratulated  on  his  success,  and  he  should  call  his  residence  Avallonia. 
Grafting  Apples. 
Mr.  Bardney’s  reference  to  the  cutting  down  the  old  frees  “  within 
‘3  or  4  feet  of  the  ground,”  suggested  that  he  had  possibly  resorted  to 
bole  grafting  in  the  same  manner  that  we  have  successfully  seen 
practised  by  Mr.  Merryweather,  the  great  Bramley  man,  at  South- 
well.  We  thereupon  requested  him  to  favour  us  with  a  sketch.  He 
has  done  so,  as  in  fig.  73,  and  further  obliged  with  the  following 
•communication : — 
Herewith  I  enclose  you  a  sketch  of  the  method  of  grafting  to  which 
you  refer.  In  many  cases  I  have  found  it  very  useful.  You  will  notice  I 
place  the  grafts  very  closel}'  together,  in  fact  not  more  than  1  \  inch  apart. 
The  reason  for  putting  them  in  so  closely  is  to  catch  as  much  as  possible 
of  the  first  flow  of  sap,  and  thus  prevent  the  bark  or  cortex  from  d3’ing 
hack  while  helping  in  the  formation  of  thecalius  plate  over  the  w'ound. 
As  these  grafts  begin  to  develop  and  appear  so  crowded,  as  it  is,  one  wi'l 
interfere  with  the  proper  growth 
of  another,  the  weaker  should 
be  thinned  out. 
When  the  grafts  commence 
growing  I  advise  the  t3'ing 
round  the  tree,  besides  the 
inserted  grafts,  short  canes  to 
which  tho  growths  may  be 
secured  to  prevent  their  being 
blown  out  by  tho  wind,  which 
they  are  liable  to  belore  they 
are  established  ;  these  supports 
should  be  left  say  for  three 
or  four  years. 
With  regard  to  your  inquiry 
rc  tho  formation  of  the  callus 
plate  over  the  horizontal  wound 
of  the  bole,  this  naturally 
always  depends  upon  its 
diameter  and  the  vigorous 
habit  of  the  variety  which  is 
grafted  upon  it,  but  in  all  cases 
the  precaution  should  be  taken 
to  cover  the  whole  cut  with 
grafting  wax  at  the  time  of 
grafting. 
Another  plan  of  grafting 
moderately  old  trees  which  1 
have  found  very  successful  is 
that  of  cutting  the  tree  off  as 
before,  giving  the  wound  a 
protective  covering,  then  wait¬ 
ing  for  the  young  adventitious 
shoots  to  develop  below,  and 
graft  upon  these  when  strong 
enough  for  the  purpose,  which 
will  be,  as  a  rule,  in  the 
Fig. 73— Mr.Merryweather’s System  following  year.  These  grafts 
of  Crown  Grafting.  are  not  so  liable  to  blow  out 
.  a  ,  ,  with  the  wind,  but  the  former 
References. — A,  the  head  of  tree  removed  below  ,,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 
the  branches  ;  B,  stock  or  stem  ;  a,  scions  me^od  .  would  probably  be 
or  grafts ;  h,  grafting  wax.  more  satisfactory  in  old  trees. 
—  H.  Merryweather. 
We  happen  to  have  a  sketch  (fig.  74)  showing  the  cut  off 
cankered  head  from  a  moderate-sized  Apple  tree  and  grafting  on  the 
resulting  young  growths.  It  was  sent  by  Mr.  Abbey,  not  as  a  new, 
but  useful  method  of  changing  an  obviously  worthless  tree  into  a 
healthy  one  for  hearing  good  fruit.  We  have  practised  it,  and  also 
inserted  buds  in  the  young  stems  in  the  summer — end  of  July  or  early 
August,  instead  of  waiting  till  the  spring  for  grafting.  If  the  buds 
fail,  grafting  can  be  done  all  the  same. 
Tae  stem  of  the  tree  shown  appears  free  from  canker,  as  stems 
often  are  when  the  heads  are  “  eaten  to  death  ”  by  the  fungus.  We 
have,  however,  seen  cankered  stems  grafted  with  Bramley’s,  and  in  tie 
course  of  time  completely  covered  by  new  cambium  layers  manu¬ 
factured  by  the  strong  leafage  and  deposited  till  the  ground  was 
Fig.  74.— Re-grafting  on  Young  Branches  from  Stock  or  Stem. 
Referenc  s.  -  C ,  head  of  tree 7 ‘eaten  up”  by  canker  fungus.  D,  healthy  stem  ;  c. 
growths  the  result  of  heading  ;  d,  whip  or  tongue  grafted  ;  e,  clayed  ;  f,  crown 
of  stock  waxed. 
reached.  The  old  stems  were  thus  encased  with  new  matter — wood 
and  bark — and  a  new  lease  of  life  given  to  the  trees,  on  which  not  a 
speck  of  canker  was  seen  for  years,  but  fruit  was  borne  in  abundance. 
As  a  renovator  of  old  Apple  trees  by  grafting  we  know  of  no  vaiiety 
to  excel,  if  equal,  Bramley's  Seedling.  If  Mr.  Merry  weather  had 
discovered  the  full  value  of  his  favourite  Apple  soon  enough  he  would,  pre¬ 
sumably,  have  had  one  of  his  sons  named  Bramley,  though  this  would 
not  have  made  any  of  them  worthier  men  than  they  are.] 
WINTER  WARMTH  AT  SWANLEY. 
A  New  Zonal  and  a  Lovely  Begonia. 
It  was  quite  in  accordance  with  the  usual  state  of  affairs  that  it 
should  be  pouring  with  rain  when,  a  week  or  two  ago,  I  called  at 
Canneli’s.  The  occurrence  is  chronic.  Nevertheless,  not  only  myself 
but  everybody  at  the  Homo  of  Flowers  was  cheerful.  Rain  is  wanted 
very  badly  ;  besides,  winter  flowers  show  up  their  capabilities  for 
imparting  warmth  and  brightness  to  tho  best  advantage  when  external 
surroundings  are  at  their  worst.  Tlio  Zonals  were  brilliant,  making 
mockery  of  dulness  and  depression.  Only  a  person  in  whom 
cantankerousness  has  developed  into  second  nature  could  walk  through 
the  houses  of  them  without  a  "smilo  of  satisfaction.  The  one  which 
took  my  fancy  most  as  an  almost  ideal  winter  Zonal  was  Mrs.  Simpson, 
white  with  salmon  centre.  This  graceful  lad}'  has  perfect,  habit.  But  a 
dozen  hardly  a  whit  inferior  could  be  made  up  by  naming  the  follow¬ 
ing: — Alfred  Tennyson,  rosy  red  ;  Chaucer,  salmon  red  ;  Conan  Doyle, 
salmon  ;  Comtesse  do  Morelia,  orange  with  white  centre  ;  Crabbe,  rosy 
magenta ;  Ian  Maclaren,  salmon,  lighter  centre  ;  King  of  Crimsons, 
crimson:  Lord  Reay,  purple  ;  Niagara,  white  ;  The  Sirdar,  the  newest 
and  best  scarlet ;  and  W.  E.  Corden,  scarlet.- 
Apart  from  (or  even  including)  these  about  the  most  beautiful  plant 
in  the  nursery  was  Lemoine’s  Begonia  Gloire  do  Lorraine.  This  has 
been  referred  to  in  the  Journal,  but  no  one  has  said  enough  in  its  praise 
yet.  The  colour — a  delicate  rose — is  brilliant  without  being  dazzling, 
the  habit  is  splendid,  and  the  floriferousnes3  something  to  wonder  at. 
The  foreman  was  divided  between  admiration  of  the  beauty  of  the 
flower  and  anno)rance  because,  owing  to  its  extreme  fecundity  of  bloom, 
it  is  difficult  to  get  stock  from  it.  Like  Impatiens  Sultani.  every  little  bit 
begins  to  bloom,  and  each  of  the  myriad  twigs  pushed  forth  exhibits  two 
expanded  flowers  and  a  bud.  I  should  be  sorry  for  the  cantankerous  man 
if  he  tried  to  keep  up  his  character  beside  this  exquisite  plant. — W.  Pea., 
