November  16,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
423 
represented  in  fig.  78.  It  is  an  excellent  variety.  The  shape  is 
fiattisb,  with  prominent  ridges  on  the  crown,  which  gradually  dis¬ 
appear  as  the  base  of  the  fruit  is  reached.  The  half  open  eye  has  erect 
segments,  and  is  set  in  a  deep  basin.  The  stalk  is  very  short.  The 
colour  is  bright  red  on  the  sun  side  and  yellow  on  the  shaded  side. 
Both  this  and  Ben’s  Red  have  received  awards  of  merit. 
Pears  are  usually  considered,  and  it  must  be  admitted  with  some 
justification,  as  a  fickle  crop,  and  this  year’s  reports  from  various 
•quarters  have  recorded  very  different  results.  It  may  be  accepted  that 
those  varieties  that  have  done  really  well  this  year  will  thrive  satis¬ 
factorily  in  the  majority  of  seasons.  Of  these  Princess,  Petite 
Mirguerite,  Directeur  Plardy,  Emile  d’Heyst,  Br.  Jules  Guyot,  Con¬ 
ference,  Durondeau,  and  Fondante  Thirriott  were  unquestionably  the 
best.  Others  have  borne  comparatively  good  crops,  but  none  to  equal 
the  above.  Of  Pears  Mr.  Bunyard  estimates  his  stock  at  100,000,  this 
total  including  young  and  old  trees  of  all  shapes.  Marguerite 
Marillat  is  a  Pear  of  many  desirable  qualities,  which  received  an 
award  of  merit  from  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  some  weeks  ago. 
Notwithstanding  the  exceptional  excellence  of  the  Apples  and 
Pears,  the  Plums  and  Cherries  are  probably  superior.  Of  the  latter 
the  stock  of  young  and  old  trees  of  varied  forms  is  enormous,  and  yet 
Mr.  Bunyard  affirms  that  he  can  scarcely  meet  the  demand.  A  new 
piece  of  grouud,  occupied  by  Cherries,  has  been  christened  Klondike 
by  the  men,  and  the  hopes  of  the  firm  are  that  the  name  will  prove  a 
true  one.  These,  with  the  Plums,  comprise  all  the  best  varieties.  Of 
the  latter  the  numbers  of  the  most  popular  sorts  run  into  thousands 
and  the  growth  they  have  made  during  the  past  dry  season  is  nothing 
short  of  remarkable.  The  shoots  are  clean,  straight,  and  very  firm  in 
texture.  Peaches  and  Nectarines  occupy  a  goodly  share  of  attention 
and  space,  but  their  numbers  do  not  range  so  high  as  in  the  case  of 
the  kinds  previous  mentioned.  Then,  too,  there  are  the  Logan  Berry, 
Wine  Berry,  the  Guinea,  and  other  Raspberries,  Gooseberries,  Currants, 
red,  white,  and  black — in  fact,  every  kind  of  hardy  fruit  except 
Strawberries,  which  are  at  Chdtern  Hundreds,  and  pot  Vines,  which 
are  at  Maidstone.  We  must  not  leave  the  fruit  without  a  word  about 
the  new  Black  Currant,  Boskoop,  which  is  regarded  with  much  favour 
at  Allington.  It  is  a  grand  cropper,  and,  what  is  perhaps  more 
important,  it  is  fiee  from  the  mite. 
It  has  been  assumed  by  some  persons  that  Messrs.  Bunyard  &  Co. 
•confine  their  energies  strietly  to  fruit  tree  production.  This,  however, 
iifc'by  no  means  the  case,  as  several  acres  of  ground  in  the  different 
nurseries  are  devoted  to  shiub  and  tree  cultivation,  while  of  hardy 
flowers  the  collection  is  singularly  complete.  Everyone  who  goes  to 
Allington  in  the  summer  to  see  the  fruit  ought  to  spare  a  little  time 
for  |he  flowers  and  the  Conifers,  as  they  are  a  never  failing  source  of 
interest  and  instruction. — R.  H.  R. 
FRUIT  TREES  IN  ROTS. 
[Continued  from  page  350.) 
Now  for  a  few  examples  of  what  has  actually  been  done  at 
Gunnersbury  House  in  the  way  of  succession  of  crops  in  one  house  in 
the  course  of  a  single  year,  and  of  the  other  uses  to  which  these 
erections  have  been  put,  such  as  wintering  plants  that  are  not  hardy. 
In  the  first  place,  the  trees  that  are  eventually  to  fill  three  houses 
may,  until  the  fruit  is  set,  be  kept  in  one  house,  with  much  consequent 
•economy  of  space.  Then  upon  the  ground,  beneath  the  foliage  of  the 
trees,  and  between  the  pots,  boxes  or  pans  of  Hyacinths,  Tulips, 
and  Daffodils  can  be  placed,  and  grown  in  this  position  until  they  are 
required  elsewhere  when  in  bloom.  Shelves  are  provided,  too,  for 
Sirawberries  in  pots,  and  these  can  be  grown  all  through  the  forcing 
s  ason. 
W  hen  the  fruit  has  all  been  gathered,  and  the  trees  have  become 
sufficiently  hardened  to  be  taken  out  of  doors,  another  crop  should 
follow  at  once.  For  this  purpose  I  would  recommend  Melons,  but 
Cucumbers  or  Tomatoes  might  of  course  be  selected.  Another  good 
use  to  which  to  put  one  of  the  available  houses  is  to  fill  it  with  pot 
Vines  to  be  fruited  in  the  autumn,  small- herried  kinds  that  are  grown 
f  r  their  flavour,  such  as  the  Frontignan  varieties,  the  Strawberry 
Grape,  or  Dr.  Hogg.  If  Vines  are  raised  at  home  for  fruiting  in  pots 
in  the  spring,  they  may  now  be  brought  into  one  of  these,  houses 
from  which  the  early-forced  trees  have  been  removed.  By  the  end  of 
September  the  house  that  was  devoted  to  Melons  will  be  again  empty, 
and  may  be  filled  with  such  plants  as  Chrysanthemums. 
These  are  only  a  few  of  the  many  alternatives  that  may  be 
adopted,  and  others  will  readily  suggest  themselves  as  suitable  in 
different  cases.  In  my  own  case  in  particular,  for  the  fruit  ripened 
during  the  year  1898  in  one  house,  the  routine  was  as  follows: — The 
pot  trees  were  started  on  December  1st,  1897 ;  by  the  end  of  May  the 
fruit  had  all  been  gathered,  and  the  house  was  well  ventilated  until 
the  end  of  June,  when  the  trees  were  all  taken  outside.  The  house 
was  then  immediately  prepared  for  a  crop  of  Melons,  which  were 
planted  on  hotbeds  ;  the  plants  had  in  the  meantime  been  grown 
on  elsewhere,  and  thoroughly  established  in  6-inch  pots,  so  that  the 
Melons  lnd  all  been  cleared  out  by  the  enl  of  September.  Figs  in 
pots  were  then  brought  in  from  other  houses,  where  they  were  some¬ 
what  overcrowded,  or  had  to  make  room  for  Strawberries  in  pots ; 
these  were  about  ripening  their  fruits,  after  the  gathering  of  which 
they  were  retained  to  ripen  their  wood,  and  before  the  1st  of  December 
had  been  removed  to  another  house.  Three  crops  had  thus  been 
nroduced  in  one  house  in  the  course  of  twelve  months,  though  the 
Figs  were  beginning  to  ripen  when  brought  in. 
In  another  house  the  succession  has  been  as  follows,  in  the  first 
place,  early  forced  Cherries  in  pots,  ripening  throughout  May,  then 
dessert  Plums  in  pots  for  the  late  summer  and  early  autumn,  followed 
by  Chrysanthemums  brought  in  at  the  end  of  September.  There  are 
two  divisions  devoted  mainly  to  Strawberries  ;  here  we  have  in 
rotation  early  Strawberries,  Figs  in  pots,  followed  by  late  Strawberries, 
such  as  St.  Joseph,  fruiting  in  the  autumn,  and  thus  secure  from 
frosts.  Other  examples  could  be  quoted,  but  these  are  sufficient  to 
illustrate  the  way  in  which  we  secure  a  succession  of  crops. 
Whether  forcing  is  adopted  or  not  the  orchard  house  culture  of 
pot  trees  is  equally  to  be  recommended.  If  the  house  is  divided  into 
three  divisions  forcing  can  be  taken  up  with  a  certain  prospect  of 
success,  and  the  period  during  which  any  particular  fruit  can  be 
supplied  will  bo  greatly  lengihened.  Of  course,  if  a  larger  number  of 
divisions  is  at  command,  much  more  can  be  done. 
At  Gunnersbury  House  we  have  five  divisions  devoted  mainly  to 
fruit  trees  in  pots.  The  first,  Peaches  and  Nectarines,  begin  to  ripen 
at  the  end  of  April,  and  continue  in  a  regular  succession  till  the  end 
of  July;  there  is  a  break  during  August,  as  the  demand  during  that 
month  can  easily  be  supplied  from  the  open  wall,  but  with  September 
the  supply  from  the  pot  trees  begins  again  and  continues  until  about 
the  middle  of  October.  For  very  early  forcing  we  find  that  Nectarines 
are  far  more  suitable  than  Peaches.  Cardinal  and  Early  Rivers  are 
the  first  Nectarines  to  ripen,  coming  in  the  order  in  which  they 
are  mentioned  here.  Plums  begin  to  ripen  during  the  first  week  in 
June,  and  stand  the  forcing  remarkably  well,  producing  very  good 
crops  till  the  middle  of  J illy  followed  by  the  unforced  trees  at  the 
beginning  of  September  and  continuing  until  nearly  the  end  of  October. 
Cherries  are  forced  in  quantity,  the  first  ripening  in  April,  and  the 
Fia.  78. — Apple  Mbs.  Phillimore. 
crop  continues  until  the  earliest  varieties  on  the  open  walls  are  almost 
ripe.  A  separate  house  must  be  devoted  to  them,  as  they  require 
different  treatment  from  Peaches,  Nectarines,  and  Plums.  One 
division  is  devoted  to  the  early  forcing  of  pot  Vines. 
Apples  and  Pears  receive  comparatively  only  a  small  amount  of 
attention  under  glass.  No  attempt  is  made  to  force  them  on  in  any 
way.  Round  the  sides  of  the  larce  houses  Tomatoes  have  been  grown 
in  pots,  ripming  in  June  and  July;  this  helps  to  fill  up  any  vacant 
space.  Strawberries  on  shelves  are  introduced  into  nearly  every 
house  that  is  forced  ;  two  divisions  are  entirely  given  up  to  them,  and 
the  supply  from  inside  and  outside  together  extends  over  about  nine 
months  of  the  veir. 
The  early  Fig  supply  commences  during  the  latter  half  of  February  ; 
the  supply  of  late  Figs  continues  throughout  the  autumn  months, 
finishing  by  the  end  of  November.  The  Peaches,  Nectarines  and 
Plums  are,  as  a  rule,  allowed  to  flower  and  set  their  fruit  in  the  same 
house,  standing  closely  together,  and  occupying  one-third  only  of 
the  space  that  they  are  destined  to  occupy  subsequently.  The 
Cherries  must  on  no  account  be  put  into  the  same  house  as  those  just 
referred  to. — J.  Hudson,  Gunnersbury  House,  Acton. 
