June  18,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
£>59 
Peaches  and  Nectarines  is  carried  on  with  a  varying  degree  of 
success,  and  under  the  old  and  generally  recognised  system  one  or 
more  houses  have  to  be  kept  entirely  for  that  purpose,  and  the  same 
trees  are  forced  year  by  year.  Practically  speaking,  such  houses 
are  monopolised  by  the  trees,  as  it  is  impossible  to  use  them  for  any 
other  purpose  except  the  period  during  which  the  trees  are  destitute 
of  leaves,  and  even  then  they  can  only  be  used  for  the  temporary 
accommodation  of  plants.  Here,  theD,  the  economy  of  pot  culture 
is  obvious.  Suppose  we  have  a  span-roofed  house  affording  room 
for  a  hundred  trees  in  12-inch  pots,  these  may  cost,  say,  10s.  each, 
and  the  average  yield  under  proper  treatment  will  be  from  six  to 
ten  fruits  each.  The  market  price  of  early  fruits  is  such  as  will 
pay  for  the  trees  the  first  year,  and  at  the  end  of  June  they  may  be 
stood  outdoors,  and  the  structure  utilised  for  growing  Melons  or 
Tomatoes,  which  will  be  over  in  time  for  the  reception  of  the 
fruit  trees. 
Again,  continued  hard  forcing  soon  has  a  perceptible  effect  on 
the  vigour  of  planted  out  trees,  and  in  this  respect  gardeners  are 
often  in  an  awkward  predicament  They  must  have  the  fruit,  and 
perhaps  owing  to  various  circumstances  have  only  one  house  which 
can  be  forced,  but  with  trees  in  pots  arrangements  can  be  made  so 
that  a  change  may  be  given.  If  furtherevidence  be  wanted  suppose, 
as  is  often  the  case,  a  large  planted  out  tree  fails.  The  loss  is 
serious,  as  it  may  monopolise  the  whole  of  the  house,  no  fruit  is 
forthcoming,  and  the  gardener  has  to  account  for  it  He  may  do 
so  satisfactorily  or  he  may  not,  but  with  pot  trees  this  risk,  and 
indeed  it  is  a  risk,  is  reduced  to  a  minimum,  for  if  even  half  a 
dozen  trees  fail  it  is  natural  to  expect  that  the  deficiency  is 
made  up  by  the  remaind'  r.  Further  still,  the  roots  being  under 
direct  control  the  requirements  of  the  trees  can  be  more  closely 
studied,  the  result  being  finer  fruit.  Perhaps  this  method  of 
forcing  has  not  been  adopted  much  owing  to  the  lack  of  suitable 
varieties,  but  now  no  such  reason  can  be  given,  for  thanks  again 
to  the  Sawbridgeworth  firm  we  have  Early  Rivers  Nectarine,  one 
of  the  best  flavoured  in  cultivation,  and  ripening  its  fruit  a  fort¬ 
night  before  Lord  Napier  ;  but  earlier  still  is  Cardinal,  which  was 
splendidly  shown  at  the  Temple  show,  and  figured  on  page  493  of 
the  Journal  of  Horticulture ,  though  the  latter,  which  is  only  of 
recent  introduction,  is  not  yet  generally  known. 
From  argument  let  us  turn  to  i  lustration.  Visitors  to  the  Drill 
Hall,  Westminster,  on  the  occasion  of  the  last  meeting  of  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society  will  remember  the  fine  examples  of  Nectarines 
in  pots  shown  by  Mr.  Jas.  Hudson,  gardener  to  Leopold  de  Roth¬ 
schild,  Esq.,  at  Gunnersbury  House,  comments  on  which  led  to  an 
invitation  resulting  in  a  visit  to  see  the  trees  at  home.  Pot  fruit 
culture  is  yet  in  its  infancy  at  Gunnersbury,  but  sufficient  has  already 
been  accomplished  to  satisfy  both  Mr.  Rothschild  and  his  gardener 
that  the  experiment  has  turned  out  a  success  From  evidence 
shown  our  conclusions  are  that,  whether  looked  at  from  a 
financial  point  of  view  or  only  as  a  means  of  ob  aining  fine  fruit 
for  the  dining-room,  fruit  culture  in  pots  gives  a  good  return  for 
the  outlay. 
Curiosity  led  us  to  inquire  what  prompted  the  experiment,  and 
we  were  informed  that  Mr.  Rothschild  was  so  taken  up  with  a  fine 
exhibit  of  fruiting  trees  he  saw  at  a  show  that  he  at  once  deter¬ 
mined  to  go  in  for  it.  In  this  he  received  the  co-operation  of 
Mr.  Hudson,  the  result  being  that  three  span-roofed  houses  were 
erected  and  trees  purchased  to  fill  them.  Two  years  have  elapsed 
since  a  start  was  made,  and  Gunnersbury  now  presents  an  admirable 
illustration  of  the  success  of  a  system  so  little  adopted  in  private 
gardens.  The  early  house  accommodatfs  sixty  trees  in  12-inch 
pots,  Peaches  taking  up  one  side  and  Nectarines  the  other  in  equal 
numbers.  These  were  started  early  in  December,  and  fruit  was 
gathered  on  the  30th  of  May.  The  average  in  the  early  house  is 
about  six  fruits  to  a  tree,  and  at  the  time  of  our  visit  many  of  the 
latter  were  stripped.  Among  the  Nectarines  Early  Rivers  is  pre¬ 
dominant,  and  Mr.  Hudson  considers  it  to  be  quite  three  weeks 
earlier  than  Lord  Napier.  In  addition  to  the  above  named  are 
Dryden,  a  large  kidney  shaped  fruit,  and  Advance,  the  earliest  of 
the  green- fleshed  Nectarines.  Throughout  the  samples  are  large 
and  richly  coloured,  fully  illustrating  their  adaptability  to  pot 
culture. 
Turning  to  the  Peaches  we  learn  that  Waterloo  and  Early 
Beatrice  were  picked  at  the  end  of  May.  Of  these  Mr.  Hudson 
speaks  very  highly,  being  of  rich  colour  and  fine  flavour.  In 
addition  to  the  above  are  Early  Grosse  Mignonne,  Hale’s  Early, 
Condor,  Early  Silver,  and  Early  York,  but  at  Gunnersbury  the 
latter  is  not  so  satisfactory  as  those  preceding.  Not  a  blank  was 
noticed  amongst  the  trees,  and  throughout  the  foliage  was  clean, 
verdant,  and  robust — characteristics  of  good  culture. 
In  the  second  house  a, re  a  similar  number  of  trees,  carrying  an 
average  of  ten  fruits  each,  and  though  yet  hard  and  unripe,  rich¬ 
ness  in  colour  is  apparent  throughout.  Thfsu.  Mr  Hu  Ison 
informed  us,  wtre  started  about  the  middle  of  January,  or  six 
weeks  later  than  the  early  house.  Several  of  the  varieties  already 
mentioned  are  here  included,  and  in  addition  Dr.  Hogg  is  bearing 
large  firm  fruits.  Sea  Eagle  does  well  in  pots,  and  is  remarkable 
for  its  colour  and  size,  and  Mr.  Hudson  also  speaks  well  of  Crimson 
Galande  and  Stirling  Castle.  Nectarines  are  equally  represented, 
amongst  which  are  Lord  Napier,  Stanwick  Elruge,  Byron,  Pine¬ 
apple,  and  others,  illustrating  their  adaptability,  respectively  and 
collectively,  to  the  conditions  under  which  they  are  grown. 
No  better  object  lesson  could  be  given  than  the  late  house  of 
the  variety,  which  can  be  accommodated  in  a  small  structure,  for 
though  only  33  feet  long  and  33  feet  6  inches  wide,  we  found 
Apricots,  Apples,  Cherries,  Peaches,  Nectarines,  Pears,  and  Plums. 
In  the  cultivation  of  Apricots  in  pots  there  appears  to  be  much  yet 
to  learn  ;  but  Mr.  Hudson  is  fully  engrossed  in  the  new  departure, 
and  will,  we  feel  sure,  succeed.  Cherries  are  a  grand  crop,  bearing 
superb  clusters  of  fine  fruit  of  such  varieties  as  Early  Rivers,  May 
Duke,  Frogmore  Bigarreau,  and  Guigne  Annonay.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark  that  this  year  Bigarreau  de  Schreken  Cherries  outdoors  were 
gathered  on  the  same  day  as  the  earliest  in  pots.  Among  Apples, 
Mr.  Hudson  considers  Cox’s  Orange  Pippin  to  be  the  best  for  pot 
culture,  and  the  trees  bring  to  perfection  an  average  of  six  or  seven 
fruits  on  each.  Ribston  Pippin  and  Washington  are  also  spoken 
highly  of.  Plums  look  healthy,  and  are  carrying  good  crops  of 
fruit.  Grand  Duke,  a  dark  purplish  blue  Plum,  is  highly  eulogised, 
as  also  is  Golden  Transparent  Gage,  a  most  delicious  late  fruit. 
Included  also  in  the  collection  are  Monarch,  Coe’s  Golden  Drop, 
and  Kirke’s. 
Pears  bring  to  perfection  a  crop  of  about  six  fruits  to  a  tree, 
but  Mr.  Hudson  finds  them  considerably  more  trouble  than 
Peaches  and  Nectarines,  the  crop  being  less  certain.  Doyenne 
du  Comice,  Durondeau,  and  Conference  we  learnt  do  well,  and 
are  good  for  the  purpose  ;  but  Pitmaston  Duchess  is,  under  pot 
culture,  a  very  shy  setter.  Mr.  Hudson  is  making  experiments 
with  several  varieties  in  order  to  find  out  the  most  suitable. 
Peaches  and  Nectarines  are  here  grown  for  autumn  use,  and  carry 
from  eight  to  twelve  fruits  on  a  tree.  Throughout  the  fruit  is 
swelling  satisfactorily  on  such  kinds  as  Nectarine  Peach,  Gladstone, 
Barrington,  Exquisite  and  Golden  Eagle,  and  Nectarines  Victoria, 
Pineapple,  and  others.  The  trees,  we  learnt,  are  potted  annually, 
and  fed  with  stimulants  after  the  fruit  is  swelling. 
Mr.  Hudson  is  thoroughly  engrossed  in  the  new  departure,  and 
has  already  acquired  from  experiment  much  useful  knowledge 
respecting  the  pot  culture  of  fruit  trees.  On  one  point  he  is  deter¬ 
mined,  as  also  is  the  writer,  that  for  the  early,  economical,  and 
successful  forcing  of  Peaches  and  Nectarines,  no  system  equals  that 
of  growing  the  trees  in  pots.  Whether  this  opinion  will  be 
generally  entertained,  and  the  method  of  culture  universally 
adopted,  is  of  course  for  the  future  to  decide. 
It  would  not  be  fair  to  close  any  notes  relating  to  fruit  at 
Gunnersbury  without  making  reference  to  a  splendid  crop  of  Lord 
Napier  Nectarine,  quite  the  finest  show  seeD,  just  now  ripening 
something  like  400  fruits  on  one  tree,  and  occupying  the  whole  of 
a  lean-to  house.  The  fruits  are  regularly  distributed  over  the  tree, 
large  aud  richly  coloured,  while  the  foliage  is  free  from  pests  of 
any  k  nd,  giving  ample  evidence  of  the  utility  of  this  variety  as  a 
heavy  cropper. — G.  H.  Hollingwortii. 
“THE  LEAFY  MONTH  OF  JUNE.” 
At  this  period  of  the  year  atmospheric  influences  are  of  the  most 
inspiring  character.  The  stately  trees  by  which  I  am  environed  have 
reached  the  utmost  fullness  of  their  glorious  foliage,  and  our  glens  are 
filled  with  myriads  of  wild  flowers,  of  which  one  fair  family  has  no 
sooner  faded  than  another  appears.  No  longer  do  we  discover  the  deep 
byacinthine  blaze  dreaming  around  the  roots  of  the  trees,  and  filling  the 
forest  with  an  aspect,  not  soon  to  be  forgotten,  of  vaporous  blue  ;  the 
glory  of  the  Hawthorn,  which  I  termed  in  a  previous  article  “  The  Bride 
of  the  Woodlands,”  has  passed  into  another  form  of  existence,  in 
harmony  with  the  generous  tendencies  of  Nature  ;  perhaps  not  so 
attractive  to  the  outward  vision,  but  more  providential,  especially  to 
those  sweet  singers  of  the  woods  and  waysides,  whose  songs  are  sung,  as 
Shelley  has  told  us  in  his  poem  on  the  skylark,  “  with  unpremeditated 
art.”  On  our  western  coasts,  whence  we  look  across  the  summer  seas  to 
the  Isle  of  Man,  Scilla  verna,  also  sometimes  called  S.  maritima,  ba9 
found  in  the  Sea  Pink  a  graceful  successor  ;  while  at  long  intervals  the 
wild  Orchis,  with  its  racemes  of  intensely  purple  flowers,  reigning  in 
solitary  state  among  the  Heather  and  Heath,  suddenly  towers  into  view. 
Geranium  Robertianum,  to  which  I  alluded  in  a  former  contribution 
to  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  as  one  of  the  most  delicately  beauti'ul  in 
habit  of  all  our  wild  flowers,  has  of  late  established  it  self  with  my 
permission — may  I  not  also  say  to  my  great  gratification  ? — on  the  north 
wall  of  my  garden,  where  it  rivals  its  companion,  the  Linaria,  in  effect. 
Independently  of  the  unobtrusive  sweetness  of  its  blossoms,  there  is  a 
marvellous  symmetry  in  the  formation  of  its  leaves. 
While  I  am  specially  fascinated  by  the  wild  flowers  at  this  season, 
