September  17,  1896. 
JOURXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
273 
93ame,  and  of  the  right  sort  of  trees  and  bushes,  and  come  into  the 
neighbourhood  and  show  how  to  plant  them. 
A  public  discussion  of  the  subject  in  our  gardening  papers,  and 
notably  in  “  our  Journal,”  which  has  such  a  large  circulation  amongst 
the  sort  of  county  people  who  have  the  greatest  influence  on  country 
life,  I  mean  the  clergy,  the  farmers,  the  tradesmen,  as  well  of  the 
many  professional  gardeners  who  are  most  intimately  brought  into 
nontact  with  the  cottage  gardeners,  the  allotment  holders  who  will  profit 
by  such  discussion,  will  do  much  good.  As  we  older  gardeners,  who  are 
called  upon  to  do  the  most  of  the  judging  of  these  allotments  and  cottage 
gardens  and  their  products  know,  there  is  too  great  a  sameness  in  the 
products  of  these  gardens,  and  especially  so  as  to  Apples. 
At  a  local  show  where  I  was  assisting  in  the  judging  the  fruit  section 
was  a  very  large  one,  particularly  in  Apples,  but,  and  here  is  the  point 
of  this  note,  the  preponderance  of  dishes  of  five  were  of  Lord  Suffield. 
Now,  as  we  all  knew,  Lord  SuflSeld  is  a  very  fine  Apple,  and  comes  out 
well  as  an  exhibition  fruit,  but  it  is  only  an  enlarged  Keswick  Codlin — a 
soft-fleshed,  short-keeping  sort,  and  only  useful  over  a  very  limited  space 
of  time.  It,  therefore,  seems  to  me  that  a  word  should  he  said  to  these 
cottage  gardeners  and  allotment  people  not  to  over-plant  this  variety, 
but  to  go  in  for  later  varieties,  of  which  there  are  so  many  now,  and  to 
plant  only  those  varieties  which  do  well  in  their  respective 
neighbourhoods. 
I  desire  to  emphasise  that  last  statement,  because  every  practical 
gardener  knows  that,  no  matter  how  well  one  particular  kind  of  Apple 
does  in  one  particular  neighbourhood  or  locality,  it  is  no  rule  to  go  by, 
for  that  this  particular  Apple  may  often  fail  in  a  locality  with  different 
eoil  and  climate  to  that  in  which  it  does  well ;  and,  therefore,  when 
planting,  however  much  we  may  desire  to  plant  some  popular  sort,  it  is 
wise  not  to  plant  too  extensively  of  it  to  the  exclusion  of  those  varieties 
which  are  known  to  do  well,  but  to  plant  in  full  measure  the  well  tried 
fiorts,  and  then  to  add  the  novelties,  I  abstain  from  mentioning  names 
of  varieties  of  modern  Apples  and  comparing  one  sort  with  another, 
because  I  do  not  want  to  set  anybody’s  back  up,  but  content  myself  by 
telling  the  following  story,  which  was  told  to  me  by  a  brother  of  the 
craft. 
A  gardener  from  the  south  came  into  the  east  Midlands,  and  found  a 
local  Apple  doing  so  well,  bearing  so  abundantly,  that  he  made  arrange¬ 
ments  for  a  supply  of  grafts  the  following  grafting  season.  He  was 
supplied  ;  headed  down  many  trees,  putting  the  grafts  in.  Time  passed  ; 
fruit  should  come — it  didn’t.  Result :  A  failure,  comparatively.  Reason 
why  ?  Different  soil  and  climate,  no  doubt.  Lesson  :  “  Make  haste 
slowly.”  And  now,  what  is  my  lesson  ?  Do  not,  oh  !  ye  little  gardeners, 
plant  too  many  Lord  Suffields  ;  but  after  planting  Lord  SufBeld,  go  on 
to  plant  the  later  sorts,  and  inquire  and  look  for  yourselves  what  sorts 
do  well,  and  plant  them  and  prosper.  This  applies  to  more  fruits  than 
Apples,  even  though  I  have  based  my  note  chiefly  on  them,  because, 
when  all  is  said  and  done,  they  are  essentially  the  poor  man’s  fruit.— 
An  Old  Provincial  Judoe. 
A  Gigantic  Apple  Crop. 
While  the  home  harvest  of  Apples  is  anything  but  a  good  one,  and 
promises  to  be  at  the  best  but  half  an  average,  owing  to  the  unfortunate 
change  in  the  weather  after  an  open  spring,  which  came  just  as  the  buds 
were  at  the  critical  point  of  fruiting,  the  yield  in  Canada  is  so  great  this 
year  as  to  beat  all  previous  records,  and  the  farmers  are  wondering  what 
they  will  do  with  the  plethora  of  fruit  of  which  the  bounty  of  Nature  has 
made  them  the  possessors.  There  will  be  a  great  many  Canadian  Apples 
here  during  the  coming  season,  but  the  question  which  is  interesting 
exporters  just  now  is  the  price  they  are  likely  to  get  for  them. 
Already  there  have  been  sales  in  London  and  Liverpool,  but  these 
have  been  of  the  early  kinds,  soft  and  mostly  unattractive  in  appearance, 
and  not  having  keeping  qualities.  The  prices  realised,  from  Ts.  to  93.  a 
barrel,  are  not  'representative  of  those  likely  to  be  obtained  for  later 
shipments  of  keeping  fruit,  showing  colour  and  soundness ;  and  there 
are  many  shippers  in  Montreal  who  discountenance  altogether  the 
sending  of  this  soft  fruit,  as  it  has  a  tendency  to  lead  future  markets  in 
an  unprofitable  direction,  and  there  are  few  men  on  the  other  side  who 
are  likely  to  forget  the  disaster  which  overtook  the  sales  of  autumn  fruit 
in  England  a  few  winters  back,  when  freight  was  often  not  recovered, 
while  only  in  few  instances  was  the  prime  costs  netted  at  the  sales  in  this 
country. 
The  export  trade  is  conducted  mainly  by  middlemen,  who  buy  from 
the  farmers  and  take  the  risk  of  consigning  for  public  auction  here,  and 
it  is,  therefore,  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  them  to  know  what  the 
probable  course  of  the  market  will  be  here,  as  farmers  have  the  use  of 
the  cable  as  well  as  they,  and  regulate  their  demands  according  to 
English  reports.  There  is  a  big  surplus  to  export  this  year,  however, 
present  estimates  placing  the  crop  from  Canadian  orchards  at  something 
like  3^  million  barrels  ;  yet,  though  the  quality  of  the  fruit,  especially 
the  later  varieties,  is  superb,  farmers,  who  have  seen  their  trees  so  laden 
that  all  have  had  to  be  propped  up  to  save  the  boughs  from  breaking, 
while  many  have  had  the  unusual  process  of  thinning  applied  to  them 
to  give  the  fruit  a  better  chance  of  perfecting,  have  grown  frightened  at 
the  superabundance,  and  have  begun  plunging  their  crop  on  the  Montreal 
market. 
Last  week  the  price  current  on  the  spot  was  so  low  as  75c,  per  barrel, 
the  highest  price  reached  being  1.50  dob,  which  would  allow  shipment 
here  at  a  profit,  all  costs  included,  to  sell  about  103.  per  barrel.  From 
all  the  Apple  growing  centres  on  the  American  Continent,  the  fruit 
is  pouring  into  the  ports,  the  reports  from  Maine  and  the  State  of  New 
York  being  as  roseate  as  those  from  Ontario  and  Quebec.  Those 
who  have  usually  the  handling  of  the  fruit  are  completely  staggered  at 
the  quantity  forcing  itself  forward  by  every  incoming  freight  train,  and 
it  is  inevitable  that,  in  the  plethora,  farmers  should  have  to  accept  low 
prices.  The  Continent  of  Europe  has  not,  as  a  general  rule,  much 
this  year  to  send,  and  the  Apples  that  have  come  from  Portugal  have  not 
reached  any  startling  prices. 
Our  own  crop,  taken  all  round,  is  not  of  a  character  to  hold  the  field 
long ;  and  consumers  may  look  upon  the  bounty  of  Providence  in  the 
Dominion  as  extended  to  them,  as  the  prevailing  high  price  for  Apples 
— Tasmanians  and  Australians  have  been  out  of  the  way  now  for  some 
time — will  be  speedily  broken  when  the  transatlantic  liners  begin  to 
discharge  in  earnest  their  heavy  cargoes  of  fruit.  One  firm  has  contracted 
for  30.000  barrels  from  one  district  alone,  and  it  is  likely  that  imports 
into  Liverpool,  Glasgow,  Bristol,  and  London  will  ere  long  reach  very 
large  proportions.  Why  is  the  English  farmer  out  of  all  this  abundance  ? 
Because  he  lets  his  Apples  grow — if  they  will.  The  Canadian  farmer 
makes  them  grow. — The  Globe.”) 
A  GARDENEKS’  TOUR  ON  CYCLES. 
An  enjoyable  and  instructive  day  was  spent  by  the  gardeners  of  Park 
Place  on  August  25th,  when  their  yearly  visit  to  several  notable  gardens 
took  place.  Novelty  was  given  to  the  excursion  by  the  fact  that  it  was 
undertaken  on  bicycles,  by  which  means  several  places  were  seen  which 
otherwise  could  not  be  visited  in  one  day.  Mr.  P.  Noble,  son  of  Mrs. 
Noble  of  Park  Place,  headed  the  party  numbering  fifteen,  who  rode 
through  Maidenhead  to  Taplow,  where  they  stoppei  to  visit  the  pretty 
establishment  known  as 
Berry  Hill. 
Although  but  32  acres  in  extent.  Berry  Hill  enjoys  a  reputation  for 
exceptional  beauty.  The  party  entered  at  the  gardener’s  cottage,  the  walls 
of  which  were  covered  with  Ivy-leaved  “  Geraniums  ”  and  the  variegated 
Hop.  These,  and  a  beautiful  bed  of  Cannas  in  front  of  the  cottage,  were 
much  admired. 
The  glass  houses  were  next  seen,  and  a  pretty  little  greenhouse  espe¬ 
cially  noticed.  Fuchsias  trained  up  the  roof  and  profusely  covered  with 
bloom,  their  pendent  blossoms  being  seen  to  great  advantage  hanging 
from  the  roof  ;  also  some  very  fine  Cannas  with  immense  trusses  of 
flower  beautified  this  house.  An  old  Bougainvillea  glabra  occupied  a 
house  to  itself.  A  pretty  stove  and  a  house  of  excellent  young  Crotons, 
together  with  a  large  healthy  collection  of  Calanthe  Veitchi,  were  the 
chief  things  of  interest  under  glass. 
The  flower  garden  was  then  visited,  and  a  lovelier  sight  could  not 
well  be  imagined.  Down  one  side  runs  a  wide  mixed  border  of  perennial 
and  annual  flowers,  giving  a  pleasing  background  to  the  more  brilliant 
cut  out  beds.  Some  of  the  larger  beds  were  filled  with  Cannas, 
magnificent  alike  in  flower  and  foliage.  Some  very  chaste  beds  were 
formed  with  scarlet  Begonias  and  the  variegated  Poa,  planted  alternately 
each  way.  A  gateway,  leading  from  the  lawns  to  the  glass  houses,  was 
completely  overarched  with  two  beautiful  drooping  Beeches  much 
admired. 
The  lawns  slope  down  to  a  lovely  little  lake  surrounded  by  fine 
specimen  trees,  and  beds  and  borders  of  Helianthus  and  other  perennials. 
At  one  end  of  the  lake  is  a  pretty  rock  garden,  and  the  frame  of  one  of 
the  celebrated  Burnham  Beeches.  The  inside  of  the  tree  had  been 
destroyed  by  fire,  leaving  the  shell  only,  and  this  is  so  placed  that  a  dozen 
people  can  stand  inside. 
Some  fine  views  can  be  seen  from  several  parts  of  the  grounds,  which, 
after  admiring,  the  party  bade  adieu  to  Berry  Hill  and  cycled  on  to 
Dropmore, 
a  beautiful  estate  justly  famous  for  its  large  collection  of  Coniferous  and 
other  trees  and  shrubs,  which  is  a  perfect  paradise  for  the  arborist.  The 
woods  and  grounds  are  intersected  by  a  maze  of  paths  and  glades,  and 
the  visitor  may  see  at  every  turn  some  beautiful  Conifer  or  shrub,  not 
only  planted  in  the  most  conspicuous  positions  but  growing  under 
exactly  the  same  conditions  as  its  English  neighbours.  Paths  run  every¬ 
where  amidst  banks  and  thickets  of  Rhododendrons  and  Azaleas,  or 
through  stretches  of  ground  pink  with  Heather.  A  magnificent 
Araucaria  imbricata  72  feet  high  and  with  branches  sweeping  the  ground 
deserves  special  notice,  also  a  clump  of  six  of  the  same  species.  A  fine 
Cedrus  atlantica,  a  rare  old  example  of  the  Himalayan  Spruce  (Abies 
Brunoniana).  and  a  splendid  avenue  of  Cedrus  Libani,  half  a  mile  in 
length,  were  greatly  admired. 
One  of  the  many  woodland  paths  leads  up  to  a  knoll  where  lovely 
views  are  obtained  over  a  vast  expanse  of  wooded  hill  and  dale,  with 
Windsor  Castle  for  a  central  object.  A  flower  garden  formed  in  an  open 
space  in  the  woods  makes  a  pretty  and  secluded  retreat.  In  it  were 
some  large  standard  Fuchsias,  the  stem  of  one  ancient  tree  measuring 
12  inches  round. 
In  the  glass  department  special  note  was  taken  of  some  fine  crops  of 
Peaches,  one  tree  of  “Nectarine  Peach  ”  having  some  of  the  finest  fruit 
the  writer  has  seen.  Close  to  the  glass  houses  is  a  small  museum  of  very 
interesting  Japanese  art  and  workmanship,  brought  from  Japan  a  hundred 
years  ago  by  the  Earl  of  Granville. 
Reluctantly  leaving  Dropmore,  the  party  proceeded  to 
Windsor  Castle, 
and  were  favoured  with  a  sight  of  the  East  Terrace  and  its  lovely  gardens, 
and  thence  to  the  Royal  Gardens  at  Frogmore,  where  the  party  vas 
