548 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  21,  1899. 
trial.  E.  lusitanica  is  the  tenderest  of  the  set,  and  will  only  do  in 
favoured  localities.  Calluna  vulgaris  is  represented  in  gardens  by  a 
large  number  of  varieties,  most  of  which  are  worth  growing. 
The  free  flowering  qualities  of  the  different  species  of  Arbutus, 
together  with  their  deep  green  foliage,  and  oftentimes  handsome  fruit, 
warrant  them  the  place  of  distinction  they  are  often  given  in 
gardens. 
The  Rhododendron  is  almost  too  large  a  genus  to  take  here. 
Everyone  is  familiar  with  the  gorgeous  displays  made  by  the  larger 
grow'ng  species  and  varieties  of  evergreen  and  deciduous  sections, 
but  many  of  the  small  growing  choice  species  are  rarely  seen.  Of 
these  mention  must  be  made  of  the  two  new  Yunnan  species, 
vunnanense  and  rubiginosum,  the  winter  flowering  dauncum, 
R.  ferrugineum,  glaucum,  Smirnowi,  racemosum,  myrtifolium,  and  the 
curious  little  lepidotum.  Mention  should  also  be  made  of  R.  indicum 
var.  amoenum ;  this  is  quite  hardy  as  far  north  as  Chester,  and 
does  better  outside  in  beds  than  when  grown  in  pots. 
Added  to  the  plants  mentioned  belonging  to  Ericaceae  there  are 
the  members  of  Yacciniaceae,  principally  peat-loving  plants,  the 
Skimmias  and  other  subjects,  the  whole  going  to  form  a  most 
interesting  collection,  a  strong  point  in  its  favour  being  the  large 
number  of  showy  and  free  flowering  shrubs  contained. — W.  D. 
APPLES. 
All  the  Year  Round. 
Some  time  ago  in  a  Kentish  village  I  was  shown  an  Apple,  which 
is  known  locally  as  the  All  the  Year  Round  Pippin.  This  name 
doubtless  applies  to  the  keeping  qualities  of  the  variety,  the  samples 
of  which  when  shown  to  me  were  a  year  old,  and  yet  firm  and  crisp. 
The  Apple  is  something  after  the  character  of  a  small  Cox’s  Orange 
Pippin,  and  of  fair  flavour,  even  at  that  age.  It  would  be  interesting 
to  know  whether  any  reader  of  the  Journal  has  any  knowledge  of  an 
Apple  of  this  name  or  character.  The  tree  from  which  the  fruit  was 
obtained  is  an  ancient  one,  but  it  is  the  only  instance  where  I  have 
met  with  it. — G.  H.  H. 
Splitting  of  Apples. 
I  was  glad  to  observe  (page  495)  that  your  esteemed  contributor 
Mr.  G.  Abbey  dwelt  at  length  upon  the  “splitting”  and  “cracking” 
of  Apples.  He,  however,  perhaps  inadvertently,  remarks  his  surprise 
at  my  statement,  “  not  a  common  occurrence  ;  ”  but  in  the  next 
paragraph  contradicts  himself  by  remarking  that  “  the  splitting  of 
Apples  is  not  very  common.”  It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that  I  was 
fully  cognisant  of  the  cracked  and  scabbed  condition  too  often  found 
affecting  both  Apples  and  Pears  in  our  orchards. 
Apropos  of  endosmose,  I  may  remark  that  recently  a  few  fine 
specimens  of  Peasgood’s  Nonesuch  Apples  came  under  my  notice. 
They  were  sent  to  me  from  Hereford,  and  after  having  been  kept  in  a 
warm  and  dry  room  for  a  few  days,  to  my  surprise  they  split, 
consequently  I  am  somewhat  puzzled  as  to  the  real  cause,  unless  it 
was  owing  to  the  more  than  ordinary  amount  of  gas  heat,  kept 
up  for  several  hours  in  each  evening  in  the  room ;  and  it  is  said  that 
gaseous  matters  can  be  transmitted  through  the  porous  skin  of  fruits. 
Curiously,  however,  several  other  varieties,  including  Golden  Noble, 
Emperor  Alexander,  and  other  thin-skinned  varieties  were  not 
similarly  affected. — W.  G.  _ 
I,  like  “  W.  G.”  (page  442),  have  had  Apples  of  the  Codlin  type, 
such  as  Lord  Suffield,  Lord  Grosvenor,  Golden  Noble,  and  others,  in 
the  condition  he  described.  I  cannot  really  say  what  is  the  cause  of 
splitting,  but  a  preventive  is  not  to  keep  the  varieties  out  of  their 
season.  Perhaps  evaporation  of  the  essential  acids  may  have  some¬ 
thing  to  do  with  splitting.  The  flesh  becomes  mealy,  and  if  this 
mealy  portion  be  tasted  there  is  found  to  be  very  little  of  the  acid 
left  that  would  almost  set  the  teeth  on  edge  earlier  in  the  season.  It 
appears  to  me  that  through  evaporation  ot  the  juice  of  the  fruit  the 
cells  become  filled  with  air,  which  causes  the  flesh  to  swell  and  burst 
the  rind. 
We  have  a  worse  disease  than  splitting — namely,  spotting  over 
the  rind.  If  the  fruit  be  not  used  soon  after  spotting  begins  it  may 
be  thrown  away.  Warner’s  King  suffers  very  much  from  the  effects 
of  spotting.  The  present  year  has  been  one  of  the  worst  that  I  can 
remember  for  the  hardy  Luit  grower.  What  the  late  spring  frosts 
spared,  the  wasps,  birds,  and  gales  have  nearly  ruined.  The  titmouse 
or  bluecap  and  blackbirds  are  the  greatest  enemies  that  the  gardener 
has  to  contend  with  in  his  efforts  to  grow  hardy  fruits. — 
G.  P.,  Hesslewood,  Hull. 
The  Best  Late  Apples. 
I  was  pleased  to  see  Mr.  T.  Welch  pass  such  a  favourable  opinion 
on  Newton  Wonder.  Bramiey’s  Seedling  is  a  fine  Apple  where  the 
soil  and  surroundings  are  suitable;  but  I  prefer  Newton  Wonder 
as  a  better  shaped  fruit.  For  keeping  I  do  not  find  much  to  choose 
between  the  two  when  they  are  placed  side  by  side.  There  is  not 
much  to  be  said  against  Dumelow’s  Seedling  as  a  culinary  variety  and 
good  keeper.  New  Northern  Greening  is  a  very  useful  Apple,  but 
not  large  enough  for  me.  If  any  person  requires  an  Apple  for  keep¬ 
ing  qualities  alone  he  must  plant  Winter  Greening,  known  also  as 
Easter  Pippin,  Ironstone  Pippin,  French  Crab,  and  some  other  names. 
I  have  taken  prizes  the  following  August  after  gathering  with  the 
above  variety  in  very  good  condition.  Alfriston  is  a  good  late  Apple, 
frequently  keeping  well  into  May.  Betty  Geeson  is  another  good 
keeper.  If  planters  would  confine  themselves  for  later  varieties  of 
Apples  to  Newton  Wonder,  Alfriston,  Dumelow’s  Seedling,  Lane's 
Prince  Albert,  and  Bramiey’s  Seedling  they  would  not  he  far  w’rong. 
When  planting  on  cold  or  uncongenial  soil  lay  the  roots  on  the  sur¬ 
face,  cover  with  6  to  9  inches  of  the  best  soil  that  can  be  obtained, 
stake  securely,  mulch  with  4  to  6  inches  of  half-decayed  manure,  and 
success  may  be  expected  to  follow. — G.  Picker,  Hesslewood . 
Kentish  Pippin, 
I  am  obliged  to  “  W.  S.”  (page  513)  for  his  reply  re  this  App'e, 
and  by  his  description  I  feel  sure  it  is  the  same  kind  I  mean.  Doub:- 
less  there  are  many  seedling  forms  of  Blenheim  up  and  down  the 
country  under  various  local  names,  and  many  are  only  very  little  different 
one  from  the  other,  but  the  Apple  in  question  is  at  least  distinct 
enough  to  warrant  its  being  named.  I  for  one  should  be  very  pleased 
to  add  it  to  my  list  if  I  could  obtain  scions.  I  remember  it  doing 
well  in  a  low-lying  orchard  that  almost  every  season  was  flooded  by 
the  Frome,  that  troublesome  and  turbulent  little  river  that  has  flooded 
Bristol  so  many  times,  and  have  also  seen  it  in  the  locality  named  by 
“  W.  S.”  in  his  courteous  note,  and  all  up  the  Severn  valley.  Some  of 
these  days  one  of  our  big  fruit  nurserymen  may  get  hold  of  it  and  send 
it  out  under  a  new  name ;  such  things  have  happened,  and  with  less 
worthy  kinds. — H.  R.  Richards. 
Hoary  Morning  and  Kentish  Pippin  or  Col.  Vaughan. 
If  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  so,  the  above  and  all  others  of  a  like 
quality  should  be  consigned  to  the  rubbish  heap,  for  nothing  retards 
British  fruit  culture  more  than  growing  Apples  of  second  and  third- 
rate  quality.  Better  far  grow  a  few  varieties  of  unquestionable  merit 
than  an  orchard  full  of  those  that  have  nothing  to  recommend  them 
but  their  looks.  Why  anyone  can  wish  to  grow  Apples  of  a  mediocre 
quality  when  trees  of  such  splendid  sorts  as  Cox’s  Orange  Pippin  and 
others  can  be  had  just  as  cheaply,  and  take  up  no  more  room,  I  cannot 
understand.  Then,  again,  as  to  price.  Cox’s  are  never  to  be  bought 
here  retail  for  less  than  5s.,  and  are  usually  6s.  per  stone,  whilst 
Apples  of  the  quality  of  Col.  Vaughan  go  begging  at  2s. — F.  Boyes, 
Beverley . 
P.S. — Your  correspondent  “  W.  S.,”  in  last  week’s  issue,  mentions 
an  Apple  grown  in  the  West  of  England  as  Kentish  Pippin,  which  he 
thinks  might  he  a  seedling  Blenheim  Pippin.  He  states  the  fruit  was 
repeatedly  sent  away,  but  no  one  could  name  it.  I  would  ask  him  to 
send  a  few  frnits  to  the  Editor.  Anyway,  if  the  variety  be  a  named 
one  it  can  certainly  be  identified,  and  if  a  really  good  seedling  it  ought 
not  to  be  lost. — F.  B. 
Apples  in  Holderness,  East  Yorkshire. 
Holderness,  on  the  East  Coast,  owing  to  its  exposed  position, 
catching  as  it  does  those  terrific  winds  fresh  from  the  North  Sea, 
cannot,  by  any  stretch  of  imagination,  be  considered  an  ideal  locality 
for  hardy  fruit  growing.  Nevertheless,  at  Winestead  Hall,  the  seat  of 
H.  J.  Reckitt,  Esq.,  M.P.,  some  very  fine  Apples  have  been  grown 
this  season  by  Mr.  R.  Kirby,  the  gardener  there.  Young  pyramid  trees  of 
many  leading  kinds  of  both  dessert  and  culinary  Apples  were  planted 
one  year  and  ten  months  ago.  The  soil  is  of  a  rather  holding  nature, 
what  gardeners  usually  call  a  good  bodied  loam,  with  a  clay  subsoil. 
The  ground  was  well  trenched,  the  trees  placed  on  the  top,  and 
the  roots  covered  with  new  loam,  forming  small  mounds.  They  are 
well  mulched  twice  a  year,  kept  watered  when  necessary.  They  have 
mostly  carried  some  grand  fruit,  but  one  tree  of  Warner’s  King  carried 
six  magnificent  examples,  the  largest  weighing  2  lbs.  when  gathered. 
It,  with  others,  was  shown  at  Beverley  Chrysanthemum  Show,  and 
received  a  special  prize.  I  am  aware  this  is  not  a  record,  as  I  see  in 
Mr.  Bunyard’s  excellent  catalogue  mention  of  one  32  ozs.,  but  this 
was  Kent  grown. 
Much  has  been  done  in  improving  the  culture  of  hardy  fruits  of 
late  years,  and  I  mention  the  above  example  in  the  hope  that  intend- 
ng  planters  may  not  be  deterred,  even  though  they  may  not  have  the 
best  of  positions,  climatic  and  otherwise  to  assist  them,  from  trying 
what  they  can  do.  Wonders  may  be  worked  by  intelligent  and  pains¬ 
taking  gardeners.  Another  example’witnessed  by  myself  and  many 
more  was  afforded  by  the  hardy  fruit  at  Hesslewood  this  autumn, 
grown  under  conditions  anything  but  favourable,  naturally,  by  Mr. 
Picker.  It  was  a  sight  he  might  well  be  proud  of,  and  I  hope  he  will 
excuse  the  writer  if  he  also  feels  a  little  conceit  in  counting  himself 
as  one  of  the  friends  of  such  an  able  grower  of  hardy  fruits. — G. 
