286 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
October  5,  1899. 
cannot  be  questioned,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  it  would  or  could  have 
been  held  without  the  previous  Chiswick  Conferences  stimulating 
cultivators  and  generally  showing  the  way. 
On  the  occasion  referred  to  the  ancient  City  Company  achieved  a 
notable  triumph,  the  first  of  the  kind  for  making  its  influence  felt  on 
the  fruit  growing  community,  and  apparently  the  last,  for  after  the 
great  pomological  display  it  appears  to  have  sunk  into  obscu¬ 
rity  so  far  as  regards  any  inPuence  it  might  exert  in 
affording  stimulus  to  the  fruit-predueing  power  of  the  kingdom* 
Whether  it  will  ever  wrake  up  again  and  make  itself  more  than  a 
name  amongst  growers  of  the  most  heal'h-giving  and  wholesome  food 
for  the  millions  of  citizens  remains  to  be  seen.  Very  different,  and 
befittingly  so,  has  boon  the  policy  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
This  Society  might  have  limited  its  action  to  the  routine  woik  of  its 
Committees  and  disseminating  information  to  the  ever-increasing 
number  of  Fellows  through  its  Journal ;  but  it  does  much  more,  for 
with  the  practical  co-operation  of  friends  who  are  interested  in  the 
fruit  growing  industry,  it  continues  the  autumn  Shows  at  the  Crystal 
Palace  that  have  grown  into  great  fruit  tournaments  of  a  nat:onal 
character.  These  autumn  exhibitions  appeal  to  a  large  and  important 
section  of  horticulturists  as  powerfully  as  the  Temple  Shows  in  early 
summer  do  to  another  great  section,  and  both  displays  have  a  power¬ 
fully  atlractive  force  on  the  public.  We  thought  the  crowd  on  the 
opening  day  of  the  Palace  Show  (which  is  reported  on  other  pages) 
greater  than  ever  ;  but  this  may  be  because  the  exhibition  was  more 
compactly  arranged,  ar.d,  in  effect,  improved  ;  at  least,  this  seemed  to 
be  the  prevailing  opinion. 
Whether  each  or  any  of  these  national  fruit  exhibitions  is  a 
triile  larger  or  smaller,  better  or  worre,  than  others  which  have 
been  arranged  in  the  famous  building,  is  a  matter  not  worth 
discussing.  They  must  to  some  extent  vary  with  the  seasons.  It 
is  enough  to  say,  and  the  fact  is  s:gnificant,  that  they  never 
fail,  but  are  always  successful,  whether  the  seasons  are  wet  or 
dry,  and  crops  generally  heavy  or  light;  if  they  are  heavy  the 
fruit  is  apt  to  be  small  and  cheap  ;  if  the  crops  arc  light  the 
individual  fruits  run  larger  and  are  dearer.  At  the  recent  show 
the  samples  were  large  enough  for  all  practical  purposes,  and  not 
a  few  were  of  enormous  size,  while  there  was  a  notable  absence 
of  what  is  known  as  trash. 
At  the  luncheon,  which  was  by  no  means  equal  to  the  show, 
the  President,  Kir  Trevor  Lawrence,  Bart.,  said  he  had  been  travel¬ 
ling  on  the  Continent,  and  nowhere  could  he  find  fruit  in  the  least 
approaching  our  best  home-grown  samples,  especially  Grapes  and 
Apples.  Our  fruiterers’  shops  were  far  Vetter  furnished  than  any 
the  President  had  seen  abroad,  and  these  he  evidently  regarded  as 
hardly  worth  the  name.  Moreover,  at  a  meeting  in  the  Board  Room 
of  the  Crystal  Palace  for  considering  the  question  of  the  repre¬ 
sentation  of  British  garden  produce  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  in  1900, 
French  delegates  expressed  their  astonishment  at  the  size  and  colour 
of  the  Apples  and  Grapes  in  the  show. 
We  have  referred  to  the  luncheon,  and  only  mention  it  again  for 
the  purpose  of  alluding  to  the  most  interesting  function  °of  the 
occasion — the  public  presentation  of  the  Victoria  Medal  of  Honour  to 
Mr.  James  Douglas.  As  a  member  of  Council  when  the  sixty  medals 
were  bestowed  Mr.  Douglas  was  rot  eligible  to  receive  one,  as  there 
can  never  be  more  than  sixty  recipients,  as  corresponding  with  the 
years  of  the  great  reign  thus  commemorated.  On  the  death  of  Mr. 
M.  Dunn  Mr.  Douglas  was  enrolled  among  the  sixty,  and  by  no  one 
lias  the  honour  been  more  richly  merited.  Another  medal  now' 
remains  foi  disposal  by  the  death  of  Mr.  T.  F.  Rivers,  and  many 
names  have  been  mentioned  in  connection  -with  the  vacancy,  but 
most  frequently  an  omission  has  be<n  noted,  not  of  a  name,  but  of 
a  class.  Among  our  great  market  gardeners  it  is  said  that  not 
one  Victoria  medallist  is  to  be  found.  We  have  not  referred  to  the 
list,  but  simply  register  a  report  that  passed  around  at  the  great 
show,  where  market  fruit  was  so  well  represented. 
We  have  been  asked  to  refer  to  a  few  alleged  “  slips  ”  in  judging, 
hut  we  prefer  to  leave  allusions  of  this  nature  to  others  who  may 
be  more  intimately  acquainted  with  cases  that  may  be  thought  to 
need  public  comment.  Our  object  is  to  emphasise  the  fact  that  great 
progress  has  undoubtedly  been  made  in  the  growth  of  home  grown 
fruit.  We  rejoice  in  the  success  of  the  last  great  show,  and  con¬ 
gratulate  the  exhibitors  and  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  on  its 
production  and  arrangement  in  tb.er.oble  transept  of  the  Crystal  Palace. 
THE  HARVEST  OF  THE  AUTUMN. 
Once  more  the  mellow  days  of  autumn  are  with  us,  each  one  seems 
perceptibly  shorter  than  that  which  preceded  it,  the  nights  are  cool 
and  damp,  the  days  a  fair  sample  of  the  restless  changes  of  weather  which 
our  fickle  climate  supplies.  Boisterous  gales,  torrents  of  rain,  bright 
sunshine,  and  dead  calm  form  around  us  a  series  of  “lightning 
changes”  which  stir  to  energy  the  lusty  Briton  who  only  a  few  weeks 
ago  looked  worn  and  jaded  under  the  influence  of  a  fierce  summer’s 
sun.  The  grain  has  again  been  safely  garnered,  and  the  fields  of 
stubbles  are  being  rapidly  transformed  in  appeal ance  by  those  who 
have  put  their  hands  to  the  plough. 
The  harvest  of  the  garden  has  scarcely  begun,  though  the  tender 
Peas,  crisp  Lettuce,  small  fruits,  early  Plums,  Potatoes,  and  numerous 
other  vegetables  have  for  a  long  time  supplied  us  with  a  varied  bill  of 
fare  ;  but  these  are  not  the  great  crops  which  we  store,  they  only  con¬ 
tribute  to  the  needs  of  the  hour.  Just  now  King  Apple  reigns 
supreme,  though  the  elements  have  dealt  roughly  with  him  of  late, 
for  the  orchards  and  fruit  gardens  are  in  many  places  strewn  with 
“  fallen  Kings.”  ’Tis  a  sad  time,  indeed,  for  many  who  have  watched 
and  been  thankful  for  their  fine  crops,  but  it  is  one  of  the  many 
difficulties  which  the  “tillers  of  the  soil”  must  perforce  contend  with. 
The  Apple  crop  is  very  patchy  this  year,  though  in  some  instances 
the  results  are  better  than  was  at  one  time  anticipated. 
In  an  orchard  I  recently  visited  trees  of  that  fine  early  autumn 
Apple  Queen  Caroline  were  carrying  a  splendid  crop  ;  the  fruits  were 
large,  clear,  and  bright,  and  found  a  ready  sale  at  good  prices. 
Barchard’s  Seedling  was  also  cropping  grandly.  It  is  an  attractive 
Apple  with  a  bright  crimson  cheek,  and  is  juicy  and  sweet.  Cox’s 
Orange  Pippin  is  not  generally  a  success  this  year;  it  is  a  pity 
a  variety  of  such  superb  quality  cannot  be  induced  to  crop  more 
consistently.  One  also  meets  with  so  many  trees  of  it  which  canker 
badly,  even  when  growing  in  goed  soil  and  a  situation  which  seems 
to  be  an  ideal  one.  How  much  better  grower  Cox’s  Pomona  is  !  ■  I 
have  this  year  met  with  fine  crops  of  it,  and  although  not  a  high-class 
dessert  variety,  it  is  by  no  means  to  be  despised  for  eating  raw,  and  it 
is  a  good  ccoker  too.  Old  Northern  Greening  and  Dumelow’s 
Seedling  are  bearing  good  crops,  and  neither  has  been  much  injured 
by  the  recent  gales,  as  they  do  not  yet  part  easily  from  the  branches. 
Gathering  will  now  need  constant  attention,  so  that  each  variety 
may  be  stored  in  good  condition.  When  allowed  to  ripen  on  the  trees 
Apples  develop  their  fullest  and  most  exqui-ite  flavour ;  when  plucked 
too  early  they  quickly  lose  the  r  crispness,  are  not  good  in  flavour, 
and  will  not  keep  well.  A  little  close  observation  will  soon  teach 
anyone  just  the  right  stage  at  which  to  gather.  When  the  colour 
brightens  quickly,  and  the  green  parts  gradually  change  to  yellow, 
the  ripeness  of  maturity  has  arrived,  and  the  autumn  harvest  of  the 
king  of  hardy  fruits  is  ready  for  the  hand  of  the  gatherer.  If  left 
longer  on  the  trees  they  will  soon  begin  to  fall,  and  cheat  the  grower 
of  bis  full  reward.  At  this  stage  they  part  readily  from  the  branches 
as  the  gatherer  performs  his  work.  When  much  pulling  and  twisting 
is  necessary  it  is  a  sure  sign  that  they  ought  to  tarry  yet  longer  on 
the  trees.  Very  late  varieties  should  be  left  on  the  trees  as  long  as  it 
is  safe  without  fear  of  injury  by  frost. 
Baskets  lined  with  soft  woollen  material  should  be  employed  for 
gathering,  as  it  is  a  great  pity  to  see  choice  fruits  badly  bruised  through 
being  carelessly  gathered  or  tumbled  into  unlined  baskets.  For 
common  varieties  in  orchards  the  specially  made  gathering  bags 
frequently  employed  in  Kent  maybe  tolerated  because  they  help  to 
expedite  the  woik,  but  they  ought  not  to  be  used  for  choice  or  large 
fruits  which  are  easily  bruised.  In  well  appointed  gardens  there  is 
usually  an  extensive  fruit  room,  which  if  not  large  enough  to  hold  all 
the  fruits  produced,  generally  affords  space  for  the  finest  samples. 
These  should  be  placed  in  thin  layers  on  shelves  covered  with 
e’ean  white  paper  or  straw.  Choice  samples  w'hich  need  to  be  pre¬ 
served  as  long  as  possible  ought  to  be  placed  in  drawers  and  kept 
perfectly  air  tight.  A  good  way  of  securing  the  latter  condition  is  to 
wrap  each  fiuit  separately  in  tissue  paper,  then  surround  with  cotton 
wool,  arrange  the  fruits  in  layets,  and  finish  with  a  few  sheets  of  wool. 
Some  cultivators  have  found  that  both  Apples  and  Pears  keep 
fresh  and  plump  wdien  wrapped  in  tissue  paper,  and  embedded  in  finely 
powdered  charcoal  placed  in  a  drawer.  When  large  quantities  are 
grown  in  orchards,  sheds  and  other  substantial  buildings  may  be 
turned  to  good  account  for  storing.  First  line  the  floors  and  walls  with 
a  foot  thickness  of  clean  straw,  and  place  the  Apples  upon  it  in  layers 
not  exceeding  2  feet  in  thickness;  if  they  are  only  half  that  thickness 
there  will  be  less  decay  in  the  fruits,  but  with  only  limited  room  for 
storing,  the  2  feet  layers  are  often  a  necessity.  The  surface  of  the 
heaps  ought  to  be  left  uncovered  for  a  few  weeks,  but  when  sharp  frosts 
are  anticipated,  a  thick  covering  of  straw  should  be  given,  which  will 
generally  make  all  safe  during  severe  weather.  Barrels  lined  with 
paper  are  also  convenient  receptacles  for  storing  Apples ;  if  placed  in 
carefully,  the  surface  covered  with  straw,  and  the  barrels  kept  in  a 
cool,  dark,  dry  rcom,  or  frost-proof  shed,  1  have  found  the  fruits  keep 
