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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
November  23,  1899. 
about  the  “  Abuse  of  Variegated  Plants  and  Shrubs  iu  Gardens.” 
This  seemed  at  least  to  show  that  in  gardening,  as  in  so  many 
other  walks  of  life,  there  is  still  a  pronounced  tendency  to  go  from 
one  extreme  to  another.  The  sombre  hues  presented  by  our 
shrubberies  caused  planters  to  make  heroic  attempts  to  brighten 
them  by  the  introduction  of  shrubs  of  brighter  colour.  These  were 
perhaps  not  always  employed  with  good  taste  and  discrimination, 
but  they  at  least  gave  pleasant  variety,  and  invested  with  ever- 
changing  interest  many  monotonously  dreary  spots.  We  do  not 
want  to  see  the  ornamental  grounds  of  either  large  or  small  gardens 
dotted  in  an  unmeaning  way  by  variegated  shrubs,  but  masses  of  them 
at  well  chosen  points,  or  isolated  specimens  on  lawns,  give  the  needed 
touch  of  brightness  and  relief  to  the  many  shades  of  greenery  around. 
As  a  nation  we  have  learned  to  appreciate  the  cheering  influence  of 
being  surrounded  by  bright  and  varied  colours  far  more  than  did  our 
ancestors,  and  further  education  in  the  art  of  colour  blending  will  in 
time  teach  us  how  to  dispose  the  wealth  of  colour  at  command  to  the 
best  advantage. 
The  well-known  Aucuba  japonica  is  a  handsome  shrub,  which 
might  with  advantage  be  more  freely  planted,  as  it  grows  freely,  is 
easily  kept  within  bounds,  and  is  as  attractive  in  appearance  as  many 
Crotons.  If  a  male  plant  or  two  is  planted  near,  bright  scarlet  berries 
are  also  plentifully  produced.  To  grow  it  to  perfection  a  deep  loamy 
soil  is  needed,  and  a  situation  open  to  full  sunshine.  It  is  not,  how¬ 
ever,  unsuitable  for  planting  on  a  sunny  bank,  but  on  very  dry  seasons 
it  then  suffers  through  drought,  and  the  leaves  produced  are  small,  but 
highly  coloured. 
The  Golden  Privet  is  one  of  the  brightest  of  evergreen  shrubs;  it 
grows  freely,  is  quite  hardy,  and  forms  a  beautiful  clump  for  a  lawn  or 
the  foreground  of  a  shrubbery.  Hedges  of  this  bright  Privet  are  seen 
in  London  suburban  gardens;  it  is  also  grown  as  standards,  which 
are  effective  in  appropriate  positions.  The  Golden  Yew  makes  a 
fine  hedge,  infinitely  more  attractive  than  the  green  variety.  Masses 
of  Golden  Yew  are  also  wonderfully  attractive  in  spring,  and  are 
shown  up  to  advantage  against  a  background  of  common  Yew. 
The  true  English  Yew  does  not  seem  plentiful  ;  it  throws  out  long 
branches,  and  forms  a  wavy,  graceful  outline,  whereas  the  type  of 
Yew  generally  met  with  grows  into  a  more  compact  bush,  pretty 
enough  in  a  young  state,  but  not  nearly  so  graceful  in  appearance 
when  grown  to  a  large  size  as  some  occasionally  seen  in  old  gardens. 
Two  beautiful  Thuias  (Arbor  VitEes)  are  the  well-known  aurea  and 
Vervaentana  ;  the  latter  is  of  a  fine  bronzy  colour.  Being  formal 
growing  shrubs  they  are  not  suitable  for  massing,  but  are  excellent 
for  planting  singly  on  lawns,  or  in  prominent  positions  in  borders  and 
flower  beds,  where  full  exposure  insures  good  colour.  The  golden 
and  silvery  Cupressus,  Retinospora  aurea,  Thuiopsis,  golden  and  silver 
variegated,  are  each  suitable  for  similar  positions. 
Variegated  Hollies,  though  expensive  and  very  slow  growing, 
should  find  a  place  in  all  gardens  of  pretension,  as  they  present  such  a 
cheerful  appearance  throughout  the  autumn  and  winter.  As  a  rule 
they  ought  to  be  planted  as  isolated  specimens,  where  nothing  will 
interfere  with  their  uniform  development.  Where,  however,  expense 
is  not  a  great  consideration,  a  iarge  bed  should  be  filled  with  Hollies  of 
various  sizes  planted  6  feet  apart,  with  a  groundwork  formed  of 
small  plants  of  Retinosporas  and  an  edging  of  Erica  carnea.  A  novel 
and  striking  arrangement  is  thus  produced,  which  is  attractive  at  all 
seasons. 
On  dry  sunny  banks,  where  there  is  an  ample  background  of 
greenery,  the  Golden  and  Silver  Elders  present  a  beautiful  picture  in 
the  spring  months.  They  are,  moreover,  so  easily  established.  I 
have  frequently  covered  bare  spots  by  simply  sticking  strong  shoots 
and  branches  deeply  into  the  soil  during  the  autumn  months.  Acer 
Negundo  variegata  and  Cornus  mascula  vaiiegata  are  two  sterling 
deciduous  shrubs  with  which  to  brighten  the  sombre  hues  of  ancient 
shrubberies.  The  former  being  by  far  the  stronger  grower  is  suitable 
for  planting  in  standard  form ;  the  latter  makes  a  good  bush  or  a  neat 
standard,  but  should  always  be  given  a  position  in  the  foreground  of 
a  shrubbery.  Prunus  Pissardi,  with  its  coppery-red  leaves,  if  planted 
at  a  short  distance  from  an  Acer,  or  near  a  Golden  Elder,  is  shown 
to  advantage.  The  Copper  Beech  forms  a  handsome  stately  tree  for 
planting  on  an  extensive  lawn,  near  a  lake,  or  among  a  belt  of  treea 
skirting  a  park.  The  many  comparatively  new  forms  of  Japanese 
Maples  and  Oaks  with  colours!  leaves  are  rich  in  attractive  and 
peculiar  shades  of  colour,  as  well  as  quaint  and  elegantly  formed 
leaves. 
Enough  has,  1  think,  been  written  to  show  that  there  is  a  wealth 
of  material  at  our  command  for  making  our  lawns  and  shrubberies 
attractive  at  all  seasons  by  the  aid  of  trees  and  shrubs  with  variously 
coloured  leaves,  but,  to  complete  the  picture,  flowering  shrubs  in 
variety  are  needed.  These  I  hope  to  treat  of  in  due  time. — H.  D. 
NOTES  ON  APPLES. 
Which  is  the  Best  Late  Apple  ? 
Is  a  question  I  have  been  asked  a  number  of  times  lately  ;  but  it  is 
one  to  which  I  do  not  feel  able  to  give  a  decided  answer.  Pearson’s 
Newton  Wonder  with  me  is  really  a  first-class  Apple.  It  is  an 
excellent  grower,  comes  into  bearing  early,  and  the  blossom  appears 
to  be  hardy  for  resisting  late  spring  frosts.  The  fruit  attains  a  good 
size,  and  in  appearance  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired,  while  it  keeps  in 
good  condition  with  me  longer  than  Bramley’s  Seedling  and  some 
other  late  varieties,  and  its  flavour  is  excellent.  In  the  spring  of  1892 
I  grafted  two  old  trees,  and  on  October  13th  this  year  I  gathered 
26  stones  of  fruit  from  them,  and  there  would  have  been  more 
but  for  the  effects  of  boisterous  winds.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  show  the 
handsome  fruits  to  anyone  who  favours  me  with  a  call.  Last 
March  I  grafted  eight  other  old  trees  with  it,  and  the  average 
growth  from  the  grafts  is  over  4  feet.  Does  auy  reader  know  an 
Apple  called  Perkins’  A1  ?  If  so,  I  should  esteem  it  a  favour  if  he 
would  give  his  experience  of  it  as  a  cropper,  keeper,  and  cooking 
quality. — T.  Welch,  The  Gardens,  Grove  Hall ,  Retford. 
Splitting  of  Apples. 
The  splitting  of  the  skin  and  the  flesh  of  Apples  is  not  a  very 
common  occurrence,  so  far  as  my  experience  goes,  but  this  season  two 
instances  have  occurred  with  me.  The  varieties  were  Golden  Noble 
and  another  very  similar  to  it  as  regards  colour  and  the  texture  of  the 
rind.  When  exposed  in  the  open  market  the  rind  of  the  fruits  was 
covered  with  an  oily  substance,  but  when  kept  in  a  darkened  room  for 
few  days  a  few  of  the  fruits  were  found  to  be  ruptured  both  in  a  lateral 
and  longitudinal  direction,  right  to  the  core,  in  wide  gashes,  and  the 
texture  of  the  flesh  became  quite  juiceless  and  mealy,  with  no  apparent 
change  in  the  colour,  even  after  several  days  kept  under  the  same- 
conditions,  excepting  a  tinge  to  red  encircling  the  fruit  adjoining  the 
skin,  while  also  the  unctuous  matter  previously  alluded  to  had 
disappeared.  The  room  in  which  the  fruit  was  kept  is  a  comparatively 
cool  and  dry  one,  consequently  the  cracking  in  question  can  hardly 
be  considered  as  arising  from  endosmose,  similar  to  that  phenomenon 
affecting  thin-skinned  Grapes.  The  country  peasants  call  such, 
affected  Apples  “fuzz-balls.”  Perhaps  some  of  your  correspondents 
may  be  able  to  give  a  true  explanation  of  the  matter.  What  does 
Mr.  Abbey  say  ?— W.  G. 
Colour  in  Apples. 
Certainly  colour  in  Apples  has  this  season  been  singularly 
bright,  and  for  the  home  counties  no  one  has  shown  more  brilliant 
colour  on  fruit  than  Mr.  C.  Flerrin  did  recently  from  Dropmore. 
Mere  de  Menage,  Bramley’s  Seedling,  Baumann’s  Red,  Gascoyne’s 
Scarlet,  and  many  others  gave  wonderiul  colour,  Bramley’s  richer  than 
any  of  the  variety  I  had  ever  seen,  yet  these  fru  ts  were  grown  on 
ordinary  garden  bush  trees  and  had  no  chemical  applications  made  to 
them.  The  colour  was  entirely  the  product  of  the  season. 
What  is  the  cause  of  this  remarkable  colour  development  ?' 
Doubtless  the  same  causes  which  paint  the  decaying  tree  foliage  in 
such  wonderful  hues,  paint  the  skins  of  the  fruits,  for  the  colouration 
is  only  on  the  surface.  But  sunshine  alternating  with  showers  and 
brisk  winds  seem  to  be  ac  ive  agents.  Colour  is  a  valuable  market 
commodity  without  doubt,  and,  as  Mr.  Molyneux  has  shown,  greatly 
helps  to  render  Worcester  Pearmain  such  a  capital  market  Apple.  But 
we  seem  to  get  this  rich  colour  very  much  after  all  at  the  expense  of 
flavour  and  of  keeping  properties.  High-coloured  fruits  of  any  variety 
rarely  or  never  have  that  same  excellent  flavour  that  good  developed 
but  less  brilliant  fruits  have.  Even  very  richly  coloured  Cox’s  Orange- 
do  not  give  such  high  flavour  as  do  others  even  from  the  same  tree 
but  less  exposed  to  the  sun. 
Then,  how  few  highly  coloured  fruits  keep  well.  Certainly  our 
best  keepers  are  those  having  green  coats  or  russetty  ones.  The 
chief  exception  is  found  in  Striped  Beefing,  but  even  the  fruits  of  that 
