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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  13,  1902. 
Sottery  he  sends  forth  from  his  little  factory  at  the  side  of  the 
ourt.  The  Eose  garden  is  Lady  Elton’s'  special  pride,  tenderly 
eared  for,  as  all  else,  by  Mr.  Mason  and  his  able  assistants. 
Hallam  is  buried  here  at  the  old  church,  and  the  whole  place  is 
redolent  with  some  of  the  sweetest  passages  of  Tennyson’s  “  In 
Memoriam.” — Alan  Cheales. 
*  *  * 
Than  the  question  of  a  fruit  supply  for  these 
Our  Fruit  islands,  it  must  be  granted,  if  any  excuse  was 
Supplies.  wanting,  that  few  subjects  are  more  necessary. 
few  more  important,  or  more  generally  talked 
over  and  differed  about,  or  more  complicated  by  the  existing 
state  of  our  National  Policy.  Well,  while  it  must  be  allowed, 
without  a  moment’s  hesitation,  that  with  regard  to  breadstuff, 
the  staple  food  of  the  counti'y.  Free  Trade  for  the  prosperitj' 
and  safety  of  our  dense  population  must  stand,  this  is  by  no 
means  the  case  with  so  important  a  commodity  as  our  fruit 
supply-  Indeed,  I  will  venture  to  say,  it  is  a  reflection  on 
English  industry  and  English  intelligence  that  such  a  .state  of 
things  should  be  allowed  to  exist  to  the  annual  loss  of  millions 
of  pounds  sterling,  which  foreigners  pocket,  as  their  iDrofits,  of 
the  fruit  supply  we  could  grow,  and  grow  better^  at  home. 
Being  curtailed,  however,  this  week,  I  must  defer  a  discussion 
of  the  phases  of  this  broad  question  till  the  next  issue  of  the 
J ournal . — Herepoudshire  Incumbent  . 
It  is  fifty  years  since  I  first  took,  and  learnt 
Hardy  Winter  from  the  Journal  of  Horticulture,  then  better 
Flowers.  known  as  the  “  Cottage  Gardener,”  and  as  the 
Editor  tells  me  that  he  wishes  to  have  a  note 
from  old  friends  for  the  Spring  Number,  I  am  sending  a  few  lines 
about  the  flowers  which  ornament  my  garden,  and  might,  with¬ 
out  much  trouble  or  cost,  ornament  any  English  gardens  in 
January  and  February.  I  am  writing  on  the  last  day  of  February, 
which  has  been  a  cold  and  stonny  month,  with  twenty  days’  con¬ 
tinuous  frost,  several  nights’  minima  having  been  below  lOdeg. 
Cyclamen  Coiun,  in  which  I  include  varieties  sold  as  C.  ibericum 
and  C.  Atkinsi,  shows  its  coloured  buds  regularly  about  Christmas 
Day.  As  it  ripens  seeds  plentifully  at  the  end  of  summer,  and 
the  plantlets  generally  come  up  round  the  parent,  a  little  care 
will  produce  a  large  stock  in  a  few  years.  Colonies  of  a  dozen 
in  conspicuous  places,  planted  4in  deep,  amongst  stones  only, 
want  to  be  left  alone.  Eound,  glossy  dark  green  leaves  mark 
the  type,  the  varieties  generally  having  marbled  leaves,  but  all 
come  promiscuously  from  seed,  as  also  do  various  colours  of 
flowers,  from  dark  crimson  to  white.  The  Winter  Aconite  need 
hardly  be  mentioned,  though  I  never  saw  it  flower  more  profusely 
than  this  year.  It  begins  about  the  same  time  as  the  Cyclamen, 
and  thrives  over  the  roots  even  of  Elms  and  Limes,  and  on  banks 
which  would  be  otherwise  bare.  It  increases  rapidly  from  self- 
sown  seed,  and  till  the  end  of  May  its  after-growth  smothers  the 
surfa.ce  so  entirely  that  it  is  better  to  confine  it  to  spaces  where 
nothing  else  will  flower.  My  Aconite  banks  are  a  boon  to  my 
neighbours’ _  bees,  which  are  enticed  out  by  them  whenever  the 
sun  shines  in  the  early  year.  An  inch  of  leaf  mould  in  October 
ensures  a  good  flowering.  Then  come  Snowdrops.  When  I  was 
a  boy,  gardens  were  content  with  one  kind,  but  bulb  catalogues 
now  offer  about  twenty.  I  have  tried  them  all,  and  find  some  far 
better  suited  to  the  soil  than  the  old  Galanthus  nivalis,  which 
was  always  shabby  here.  G.  Imperati,  a  variable  name  is  far 
larger  and  more  robust,  and  equally  early,  and  soon  fills  a  garden 
if  frequently  divided  and  allowed  to  sow  its  seeds.  Other  excel¬ 
lent  flowers  are  G.  Alleni  and  G.  Whittalli.  October  Snowdrops 
I  have,  but  do  not  want  Snowdrops  till  after  Christmas. 
Of  the  Crocuses,  Irises,  and  Hellebores  my  remarks  must  be 
reserved  until  another  Aveek. — C.  Wolley  Don,  Edge  Hall, 
Malpas,  Cheshire. 
*  *  * 
Many  Avell-remembered  incidents  crowd  the 
A  Pleasant  memory  as  I  look  back  over  the  past  fifty  years 
Memory.  of  an  active  life.  Some  stand  out  more  pro¬ 
minently  than  others,  as  they  have  associations 
which  set  them  apart  as  noteworthy  pages  in  the  Book  of  Time 
kept  folded  down.  One  of  these  was  in  the  form  of  a  journey  from 
Manchester  to  Wakefield  to  attend  a  Tulip  Show ;  the  time,  early 
in  the  Eighties.  On  the  Saturday  previous  the  annual  exhibition 
of  the  National  Tulip  Society  had  been  held  in  the  Botanical 
Gardens,  Manchester,  and  the  late  Eev.  F.  Tymons  (of  Dublin),  the 
late  Mr.  Thomas  Moore  (of  Chelsea),  and  I  had  attended  the  same, 
and  were  the  guests  of  the  late  Mr.  Samuel  BarloAV,  at  his  resi¬ 
dence,  Stakehill  House,  Manchester.  The  Wakefield  Tulip  Show 
was  on  Monday,  and  we  four  travelled  from  Castleton,  by  Lan¬ 
cashire  and  Yorkshire  EaihA'ay,  to  Wakefield.  On  arrival  Ave 
found  our  way  to  the  show,  and  met  there  the  Eev.  F.  D.  Homer 
and  Ben  Simonite,  the  judges.  An  enormous  amount  of  interest 
•  gathers  about  a  Lancashire  or  Yorkshire  Tulip  Show.  The  old- 
time  procedure  in  the  matters  of  staging  and  judging,  the  eager¬ 
ness  of  the  exhibitors  as  they  await  the  awards  of  the  censors, 
the  criticisms  to  which  both  flowers  and  awards  are  subjected, 
the  quaint  Tulip  talk — were  all  notable  characteristics  of  the 
event.  The  prizes  awarded,  judges  and  exhibitors  took  their 
Avay  to  a  neighbouring  hostelry  to  dine,  and  I  shall  not  readily 
forget  hoAv  amused  the  Eev.  F.  Tymons  was  in  observing  the  York¬ 
shire  custom  of  handing  round  as  a  first  course  the  batter  pudding, 
baked  under  the  beef,  the  joint  itself  folloAving  as  a  second  course. 
During  dinner  pleasant  talk  of  Tulips  abounded ;  the  stream  of 
Tulip  lore  ran  freely.  Dimier  over,  there  came  a  perambulation 
of  Tulip  gardens,  and  particularly  of  those  of  the  brothers  Gill. 
One  of  them  Avas  a  Avorking  shoemaker,  and  he  shoAved  me  how 
he  had  broken  through  the  AA’all  of  his  workroom  and  put  in  a 
loAv  AvindoAV,  so  that  he  could,  as  he  sat  at  Avork,  see  the  length 
of  his  Tulip  bed,  and  note  the  gradual  colouring,  and  finally  the 
'maturing,  of  the  flowers.  This  was,  indeed,  an  indication  of 
floricultural  enthusiasm,  and  I  wondered  how  many  journeys  were 
made  from  the  shoemaker’s  bench  to  the  Tulip  bed  during  the 
day!  Later  came  handshaking  . and  fareAvells,  and  a  railway 
journey  back  to  Manchester.  Of  the  four  who  journeyed  from 
the  country  of  the  White  Eose  to  that  of  the  Eed  Eose,  Frederick 
Tymons — most  genial  of  clergymen — Thomas  Moore  and  Samuel 
BarloAV  long  since  receiA^ed  their  call  to  cross  the  shining  river; 
the  tAvo  judges  and  myself  remain  for  a  time  longer.  Shall  we 
Avho  stay  for  a  Avhile  and  then  go — shall  we  some  day  join  those 
Avho  have  gone  before  in  a  land  of  such  fascinating  beauty  and 
delight  that  imagination  fails  to  picture  it,  and  there  meet  again, 
and,  amid  flowers  of  eternal  freshness,  renoAv  friendships  severed 
in  this  mortal  life  ?  Let  us  hope  so  ! — Eichabd  Dean. 
*  -X-  * 
Eecently  I  have,  by  a  very  common  form  of 
Fruit  and  Vege-  evolution,  become  an  “amateur  gardener,”  and 
tables  in  Small  have  acted  on  the  method  of  arrangement  I  am 
Gardens.  about  to  recommend  in  the  department  named. 
It  has  been  Avith  a  painful  feeling  that  I  have 
noted  the  utter  Avant  of  system  and  the  confusion  that  reigns  in 
the  attempts  to  grow  fruit  and  vegetables  in  small  gardens.  They 
look  as  if  some  demon  of  disorder  had  showered  them  down  from 
the  aei’ial  regions  in  the  very  perfection  of  disorder,  so  that  the 
fruit  tree,s — Apples  in  particular — should  injure  the  vegetables  as 
much  as  possible,  and  vice  versa.  They  render  Avorking,  also, 
as  incoiiA^enient  as  possible.  Let  us  consider  that  the  area 
of  ground  that  can  be  devoted  to  fruits  and  vegetables  be, 
say,  36yds  by  20yds,  and  having  a  south  aspect.  Along  the 
northern  margin  I  Avould  plant  a  roAv  of  pyramid  Apple  trees,  9ft 
apart  ;  at  each  end,  and  at  rihht  angles  with  the  back  row,  I 
would  do  the  same.  That  AvouId  give  as  many  Apples  as  might 
be  a  desirable  proportion ;  but  if  more  be  desired,  then  plant  tAvo 
or  three  rows  at  equal  distances  between  the  two  end  lines.  If 
Pears  are  desired,  a  row  or  tAvo  might  be  devoted  to  them,  and 
if  no  other  space  be  available  for  Easpberries,  Gooseberries,  and 
Currants,  the  boundarj^  line  of  Apples  might  be  sufficient  without 
the  intermediate  ones.  The  latter  could  be  devoted  to  the  small 
fruits.  But  if  a  separate  space  is  available  for  them,  they  are 
more  conveniently  protected  from  birds  if  placed  in  a  quarter 
by  themselves.  If  a  length  of  wall  be  available,  some  Plums  and 
Cherries  may  be  planted ;  but  these  fruits  can  be  bought  cheaply, 
and  Pears  and  dessert  Apples  put  on  the  Avail. 
*  *  * 
By  such  an  arrangement  of  the  fruit  trees  and 
Openness  bushes,  there  are  open  spaces  for  the  vegetables 
Necessary  in  in  roAvs  running  north  and  south.  In  order  that 
Gardens,  there  be  easy  access  for  barrows,  and  for  doing 
the  work  connected  with  vegetable  culture,  no 
trees  or  bushes  should  be  planted  on  the  south  boundary,  where 
they  can  throAv  shade.  Single  upright  cordon  Apples  are  to 
be  recommended  for  the  intermediate  lines  on  account  of  the 
little  space  they  occupy,  and  I  find  them  very  fruitful  under  high 
culture.  To  prevent  the  fruit  from  them  being  shaken  by  storms 
of  Avind,  drive  a  line  of  Gift  larch,  or  any  other  hard-wooded  stakes, 
along  the  roAvs  at  7ft  apart,  and  along  their  tops  fix  stout  round 
rods,  driving  a  nail  through  them  into  the  posts,  to  which  tie 
the  cordons,  Avhich  may  be  alloAved  to  run  to  7ft  in  height.  These 
cordons,  if  not  pi'uned  too  closely,  yield  good  crops  of  fine  fruit. 
The  fruits  of  large  kitchen  Apple  trees,  on  good  soil  and  well  fed, 
run  to  11b  each.  I  would  briefly  refer  to  a  few  cultural  points 
regarding  Apples. 
*  *  * 
Cultural  Points 
Regarding 
Apples. 
I  think  the  English  Paradise  stock  the  best  for 
small  gardens.  In  ijlanting  the  trees  I  do  not 
think  much  manure  should  be  mixed  with  the 
soil  to  a  greater  depth  than  Sin  or  so :  nor  is  it 
desirable  to  have  the  trees  Avhen  planted  much  above  the  ground 
level  unless  the  soil  is  very  strong  and  in  a  wet  locality  with  a 
bad  subsoil.  But  on  a  good  open  subsoil  there  is  no  need  for  high 
planting,  the  crops  being  very  apt  to  suffer  in  times  of  drought. 
On  the  Paradise  stock  Apples  require  to  be  Avell  fed,  and  I  think 
it  preferable  to  feed  from  the  top  with  short  stable  manure  and 
forking  in  some  substantial  artificial  manure.  The  mulch  should 
be  left  on  all  summer,  and  in  dry  weather  the  soil  should  be  kept 
moist.  Trees  planted  in  rows  as  has  been  recommended,  are 
easily  got  at  either  by  hose  or  water-pot,  and  to  make  more  sure 
of  crops  every  season  too  heavy  crops  should  not  be  indulged  in. 
It  results  in  inferior  fruit  Avith  less  certainty  of  crops  every 
season. — Daa'Ld  Thomson. 
