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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  28,  1897 
manner  either— with  the  result  that,  taken  as  a  whole,  a  finer  lot  of 
examples  of  the  best  culture  could  not  be  wished  for  by  anyone. 
Last  season  22,000  trees  were  trained  in  espalier  and  fan  shapes,  and 
this  season  this  number  has  been  exceeded.  Xo  better  testimony  than 
this  can  be  needed  as  to  the  excellence  of  the  trees  when  it  is  remembered 
that  it  is  the  result  of  less  than  twenty  years’  efforts.  Pearson’s  trained 
trees  are  acknowledged  as  being  in  the  front  rank,  and  there  they  will 
stay.  The  pyramids,  too,  are  models,  while  double  grafted  Pear 
standards  are  magnificent.  A]iples,  Plums,  Damsons,  in  fact  all  fruits, 
are  there  in  various  forms.  Of  some  varieties,  such  as  the  grand  Newton 
Wonder  Apple,  the  numbers  are  nothing  short  of  remarkable,  but  those 
that  are  known  to  be  lacking  in  quality  are  not  grown.  As  with  the 
large  fruits,  so  with  the  small.  There  are  Gooseberries,  Currants,  and 
Raspberries  in  thousands,  and  again  both  in  the  form  of  bushes  and 
trained,  and  all  good.  Weeds  are  not  appreciated  at  Chilwell  any  more 
than  they  are  at  Lowdham,  and  very  few  were  noticed  in  the  tour  round 
the  whole  of  the  quarters.  Soon  Chilwell  as  a  fruit  nursery  will  be 
almost  a  thing  of  the  past,  but  Lowdham  follows  as  the  healthy  offspring 
of  a  sturdy  parent,  and  will,  it  is  anticipated,  more  than  maintain  the 
best  traditions  of  the  firm. 
Under  Glass  at  Chilwell. 
When  one  is  at  Chilwell  and  wishes  to  see  any  flowers  other  than 
outdoor  Roses,  one  will  have  to  leave  Mr.  A.  H.  Pearson  for  either  Mr. 
Charles  or  Mr.  Duncan  Pearson.  If  Daffodils  are  the  object  of  the 
visit,  the  latter  will  be  the  guide,  for  of  these,  with  seeds  and  Dutch 
bulbs,  he  has  made  a  speciality.  For  other  things  it  is  Mr.  Charles 
Avho  is  the  guiding  star.  No  one  would,  of  course,  think  of  visiting  at 
this  time^  of  year  without  looking  at  the  Chrysanthemums,  and  these 
we  examined  until  the  necessity  of  striking  matches  to  see  a  bloom 
warned  us  it  was  time  to  stop.  Rut  before  this  stage  was  reached  we 
had  seen  many  varieties,  including  the  twice  honoured  Madame  G.  Bruant, 
which  received  the  award  of  merit  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  and 
the  first-class  certificate  of  the  National  Chrysanthemum  Society  on 
October  12th,  when  it  was  shown  by  Messrs.  J.  R.  Pearson  &  Sons.  It 
is,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  reference  to  the  engraving  (fig.  62),  a  large 
Japanese,  of  which  the  centre  colour  is  silvery  white  and  the  extremities 
of  the  florets  soft  rosy  mauve.  The  other  varieties  we  cannot  now  name, 
but  the  collection  comprises  every  new  and  old  variety  worth  growing. 
The  plants  are  in  splendid  condition,  and  denote  the  excellence  of  the 
cultuial  methods  to  which  they  are  submitted. 
First  amongst  the  other  collections  of  plants  grown  must  be  noted  the 
Zonal  Pelargoniums,  which  are  making  a  grand  disfday.  Then  there  are 
fine  Grapes  hanging  over  huge  banks  of  i^Iaidenhair  F ern,  a  long  span- 
roofed  house  of  iMarechal  Niel  Roses,  hundreds  of  pots  of  graceful  Aspa¬ 
ragus,  vigorous  old  plants  of  Stephanotis,  with  scores  of  others,  besides 
the  Orchids.  For  these  the  Chilwell  nurseries  are  not  very  widely  cele¬ 
brated,  but  there  are  many  good  ones  there  thoroughly  well  grown.  The 
collection  of  Chatsworth  Coelogj-ne  cristata  is  amongst  the  best  in  the 
country,  while  other  kinds  are  little  inferior.  It  was  only  a  brief  glance 
we  could  give  to  the  houses,  and  the  references  must  be  very  short  ;  but 
we  look  forward  to  visiting  Lowdham  and  Chilwell  in  the  summer  of  some 
coming  year,  when  the  notes  must  be  more  commensurate  with  the  excel¬ 
lence  of  the  glass  department. — IMetropolitan. 
GRAPES  •  SHANKING. 
Shanking  may  be  looked  upon  as  an  indication  that  the  Vines  are 
not  in  perfect  health,  although  their  general  appearance  might  lead  to 
an  opposite  opinion.  Several  reasons  have  recently  been  put  forward  as 
the  cause  of  this  most  injurious  and  perplexing  malady.  As  it  is  brought 
about  from  various  and  opposite  causes  it  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  to 
deal  with. 
There  appears  to  be  a  consensus  of  opinion  that  the  fault  rests  with 
the  composition  of  the  border  and  the  absence  of  food  material  from  it. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  chemical  composition  of  the  rooting 
medium  has  an  important  influence  upon  Vines  and  their  fruit ;  Imt,  at 
the  same  time,  I  hold  that  the  mechanical  condition  plays  an  e({ually 
important  part  in  the  health  of  Vines  and  their  immunity  from  disease. 
In  some  instances  it  may  be  absolutely  necessary  to  have  a  complete 
renewal  of  soil,  but  in  many  cases  it  is  a  waste  of  labour  and  material. 
Shanking  is  caused  by  the  Vines  receiving  a  check  at  a  critical  period 
of  their  growth,  and  such  check,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  is  brought 
about  either  by  an  excess  or  a  deficiency  of  water  in  the  soil  in  which  the 
roots  of  affected  Vines  are  established.  Doubtless  the  evil  may  be 
attributed  to  other  causes,  such  as  too  much  or  too  little  food  material, 
but  without  water  Vines  cannot  obtain  the  requisite  minerals,  and  an 
excess  of  it  causes  injury  to  the  roots.  I  have  frequently  noticed  that  in 
low-lying  districts,  where  there  is  some  difficulty  in  providing  efficient 
drainage,  and  also  in  naturally  well-drained  situations,  where  the  soil  is 
of  a  light  or  sandy  description,  that  shanking  is  most  prevalent. 
I  can  from  experience  bear  testimony  to  the  advantages  to  be  derived 
by  the  renewal  of  Vine  borders  if  they  are  properly  and  efficiently  drained, 
but  what  constitutes  efficient  drainage  in  one  case  may  not  be  so  in 
another,  although  a  somewhat  similar  one.  I  venture  to  state  that  if 
Vines  were  planted  in  good  ordinary  garden  soil,  under  similar  conditions 
to  hardy  fruit  trees  growing  outside,  that  they  would  produce  more 
satisfactory  results  than  they  do  when  the  roots  are  confined  to  what  is 
often  comparable  to  a  huge  tank  from  which  the  air  is  partially  excluded, 
causing  the  soil  to  become  sour  and  inert. 
It  is  an  acknowledged  fact  that  soil  is  improved  by  exposure  to  the 
atmosphere.  We  dig  or  trench  our  land  in  winter  and  cast  it  up 
roughly  in  order  to  expose  as  large  a  surface  as  possible  to  the 
pulverising  influence  of  the  atmosphere,  which  not  only  improves  it  in 
texture,  but  also  renders  soluble  some  of  the  valuable  plant  food  that  it 
contains.  I  do  not  suggest  that  Vine  borders  should  be  treated  in  this 
manner,  but  consider  it  would  be  beneficial  to  leave  them  exposed  to  the 
atmosphere. 
There  appears  to  be  a  wide-spread  belief  that  the  roots  of  Vines 
are  very  susceptible  of  injury  by  frost,  hence  the  prevailing  custom  of 
covering  outside  borders  with  a  heavy  coating  of  decaying  vegetable 
matter,  which  is  injurious  rather  than  beneficial.  When  the  roots  of 
Vines  are  established  in  well-made  borders  the  soil  with  which  they  are 
covered  will  afford  all  the  protection  that  is  requisite.  Cases  could  be 
cited  in  which  Vines  have  been  improved  by  increasing  the  supply  of 
water  to  the  roots,  but  still  more  could  be  quoted  where  they  have  been 
practically  ruined  by  an  excess  of  it. 
Instances  are  frequently  occurring  in  which,  when  there  is  a  change 
of  gardeners,  the  Vines  fail  to  succeed  during  the  first  year  or  two  under 
the  new  management.  This  may  not  be  from  any  lack  of  knowledge  of 
the  requirements  of  Vines  generally,  but  simply  from  failing  to  com¬ 
prehend  the  conditions  under  which  those  taken  charge  of  are  growing 
and  treating  them  accordingly.  For  example,  a  border  composed  of 
sandy  soil  and  a  large  proportion  of  jiorous  material  would  require  more 
water  than  one  with  a  heavier  soil,  which  is  more  retentive  of  moisture, 
especially  if  the  former  were  raised  above  the  level  of  the  surrounding 
land. 
-ludicious  watering  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  health  and  growth 
of  the  Vine.  When  the  wood  is  approaching  maturity  the  supply  may 
with  advantage  be  diminished,  but  care  must  be  exercisd  never  to  allow 
the  soil  to  become  too  dry,  as  in  man^  instances  the  Vines  suffer  from  an 
inadequate  supply  of  water,  injudiciously  withheld  for  the  purpose  of 
hastening  the  maturation  of  the  wood;  It  is  most  injurious  to  allow  the 
soil  to  become  quite  dry,  as  such  treatment  causes  the  destruction  of  the 
fibrous  roots,  the  consequences  being  ill-health  and  shanking. — W.  Neild 
PLANTING  APPLES  —  LATE  VARIETIES 
WANTED. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  during  the  last  ten  years  enormous 
numbers  of  fruit  trees  have  been  planted  in  the  United  Kingdom. 
On  looking  at  the  agricultural  returns  I  find  that  the  acreage  under 
small  fruit  culture  has  been  more  than  doubled  during  that  period. 
There  is,  however,  plenty  of  room  for  a  still  further  extension  in  the 
matter  of  planting,  for  we  have  to  provide  for  the  wants  of  a  rapidly 
increasing  population,  as  well  as  to  largely  diminish  the  enormous 
quantities  of  fruit  sent  to  us  from  other  lands.  We  have  also  to  take 
into  consideration  the  number  of  old  orchards  still  in  existence,  which 
will  soon  have  to  be  destroyed  because  their  owners  will  find  that  the 
worthless  fruit  they  produce  will  not  pay  for  growing  now  that  many 
young  orchards  are  coming  into  bearing,  and  proving  what  fine  samples 
can  be  grown  in  this  country  when  intelligent  culture  is  pursued. 
Fortunately,  such  fine  fruit-growing'  counties  as  Kent,  Hereford¬ 
shire,  and  Worcestershire,  have  long  been  alive  to  the  importance  of 
fruit-growing,  and  began  to  plant  in  earnest  a  few  jmars  ago  ;  but  there 
are  many  counties  in  the  Midlands  which  have  not  followed  their 
example.  In  many  parts  of  Warwickshire,  situated  away  from  the 
manufacturing  centres,  both  soil  and  climate  are  favourable  fur  fruit¬ 
growing.  This  can  easily  be  seen  by  noting  the  fine  crops  produced 
in  private  gardens  where  good  varieties  have  been  planted  and  well 
cared  for.  This  ought  to  urge  farmers  and  landowners  to  take  up 
the  matter,  seeing  that  the  county  is  within  easy  reach  of  so  many 
great  manufacturing  towns.  I  have  met  with  a  few  good  orchards  in 
the  county  ;  none  of  them  were,  however,  large,  and  in  the  majority  of 
instances  the  trees  are  far  from  young.  In  December  last  I  assisted 
in  awarding  the  prizes  in  the  fruit  and  vegetable  classes  at  the 
Birmingham  Agricultural  Show.  The  grand  Potatoes  staged  showed 
what  the  British  farmer  could  do  in  that  direction,  but  when  we  came 
to  the  two  or  three  classes  provided  for  fruit  the  state  of  affairs  was  not 
ver^'  satisfactory.  In  the  larger  class  for  a  collection  of  Apples  only 
one  exhibit  was  staged ;  this,  fortunately,  being  in  every  way  a  good 
one,  showed  conclusively  that  the  little  interest  taken  by  farmers  in 
fruit  culture  cannot  be  excused  on  the  score  of  their  having  either  an 
unsuitable  climate  or  soil. 
It  is  to  be  hoped,  therefore,  that  fruit  culture,  as  an  adjunct  to 
farming,  will  in  the  near  future  be  taken  up  with  as  much  spirit  in 
the  ^lidlands  as  it  has  already  been  in  the  Southern  counties.  The 
time  for  planting  is  now  upon  us,  and,  fortunately,  an  ample  stock  of 
fine  trees  can  be  obtained  at  home  without  having  to  draw — as  in  so 
many  other  instances — upon  the  ever-ready  foreign  supply. 
When  the  planting  of  fruit  trees  is  contemplated  on  either  a  large 
or  small  scale.  Apples  should,  I  think,  come  in  for  a  large  share  of 
consideration.  For,  whether  we  look  in  the  markets  or  in  the  fruit 
rooms  of  private  gardens,  we  usually  find  the  supply  of  good  Apples  is 
not  too  plentiful  during  March  and  April.  Early  and  midseason 
Apples  have  been  largely  planted  in  many  districts,  but  the  late  ones 
