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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  12,  1902. 
bloom,  and  wliich  just  allows  room  for  a  person  to  walk  under¬ 
neath  the  roof.  However,  a  large  quantity  are  grown,  including 
early  flowering  varieties,  seedlings,  also  the  best  market 
varieties.  Some  are  as  bush  plants,  Avhile  others  are  for  three 
or  five  flowers  in  Sin  or  9in  pots.  They  are  not  so  vigorous  as 
tho.se  seen  in  England,  and  are  much  dwarfer.  There  were  a  few' 
promising  .seedlings,  wliich  will  no  doubt,  after  further  trial,  be 
heard  of  later  on.  Mons.  Clement,  another  market  grow'er,  has 
two  specialities,  Roses  and  Chrysanthemums.  The  latter  are 
grown  in  pots  and  in  beds,  but  covered  wuth  glass;  the  plants 
carry  about  five  blooms  each.  He  also  tries  a  limited  number 
of  new  varieties,  and  judging  from  what  I  saw'  there  he  wall  find 
some  of  the  Australian  varieties  w'ill  give  good  results,  and  be  as 
good  for  market  as  any  French  kinds.  What  he  favours  most  is 
a  dwarf  groAver,  a  full  flow'er  and  stiff  flower  stem. 
Mon.sieur  Lemaire  was  next  visited.  He  has,  perhaps,  three 
acres  of  “  Mums  ”  in  pots,  and  they  are  all  arranged  for  covering 
with  gla.ss.  These  are  in  Gin  or  7in  pots,  carrying  about  five 
flowers  each.  The  number  of  plants  treated  this  Avay  may  be 
estimated  at  45,000.  The  plants  looked  w'ell,  Avere  dAvarf,  AA'ell 
grown,  and  did  not  consist  of  many  varieties. 
The  most  important  nursery  establishment  in  Paris  is  Vil- 
morin,  Andre  and  Co.,  and  “Mums”  are  not  by  any  means 
forgotten,  for  there  is  a  portion  of  the  nursery  devoted  to  them. 
A  quantity  are  grown  in  7in  pots,  similar' to  plants  already 
referred  to,  and  they  also  groAv  a  quantity  of  specimens  in  12in 
pots,  and  carrying  thirty  or  forty  blooms  each.  The  hou.ses 
wliich  Avere  small,  Avere  portable,  and  Avere  so  arranged  that  the 
length  could  be  added  to  to  any  extent.  This  firm  has  raised 
some  seedlings  they  speak  very  highly  of ;  biit  the  season  Avas 
not  sufficiently  advancetl  for  me  to  gi\'e  any  definite  opinion, 
but  they  certainly  had  great  promi.se  of  being  good. 
Knglish  GroAwers. 
One  of  the  most  succes.sful  groAA'ers  of  Japanese  Mums  ”  of 
recent  years  in  England  is  Mr.  W.  Mease,  gardener  to  Mr.  Alfred 
Tate,  DoAA'nside,  Le«,therhead.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  his 
large  collection,  and  I  really  thought  they  AA'ere  in  the  pink  of 
condition.  The  plants  Avere  arranged  in  roAvs,  and  the  greate.st 
^re  Avas  bestoAved  on  them.  There  Avere  also  Avell  built  houses 
being  got  ready  for  their  reception.  These  AA'ere  groAvn  princi¬ 
pally  m  9in  and  lOin  pots,  and  the  plants  ranged  from  4ft  to  9ft 
high  ;  the  number  Avonld  be  from  1,000  to  1 ,500. 
Another  groAver,  Mr.  C.  J.  Salter,  of  Chrysanthemum  fame, 
gardener  to  Mrs.  T.  B.  HayAvood,  Woodhatch,  Reigate,  had  a 
very  large  eollection.  Perhaps  1,100  plants  Avere  groAvn  for  large 
blooms.  The  plants,  I  believe,  Avere  taller  than  usual.  I  .saAv 
this  collection  on  several  occasions,  and  they  AA'ere  a  fine  sIioav 
Avhen  in  floAver.  It  Avas  this  groAver  that  spoke  so  highly  of  the 
Australian  A'arieties  .some  years  ago. 
I  .saw  many  other  collections  in  various  .stages  of  groAvth,  -but 
what  Avill  be  of  the  greatest  interest  iioav  to  the  members  Avill  be 
the  blooms,  so  I  Avill  noAV  deal  Avith  the  shoAvs  held  during  the 
season^  of  the  best  blooms,  Avhere  I  AA'as  an  eye-Avitness,  and,  in 
many  instances,  it  Avas  an  “  eye-opener.” 
CTo  be  continued.) 
Feeding  Wall  Trees. 
From  the  pre.sent  time  oiiAvards  through  the  summer  all  Avail 
fruit  trees  make  great  demands  on  the  soil,  especiallv  in  the 
matter  ot  moisture,  and  as  food  can  only  be  conveyed  to  the  roots 
irough  the  medium  of  the  soil  moi.sture,  it  is  an  important 
matter  to  secure  an  abundance  for  all  the  demands  of  the  plants 
or  trees.  Trees  on  easterly  AAalls  are  liable  to  suffer  sooner  than 
others,  but  many  causes  combine  to  prevent  the  soil  receiving 
due  amounts  of  moisture,  hence  trees  on  all  aspects  mu.st  be 
examined  Avhen  the  fruit  has  .set  and  is  prepared  to  .sAvell. 
It  is  first  neces.sary  to  moisten  the  soil  Avith  clear  AAater,  and 
then  give  a  liberal  supply  of  liquid  manure.  The  manure  ought 
not  to  be  applied  to  young  trees,  but  the  moisture  in  the  soil 
should  be  maintained.  As  a  further  aid  to  retaining  the  soil 
moisture  a  inu Idling  of  manure  laid  over  the  roots  is  of  great 
a.ssi^stance,  it  prevents  rapid  evaporation.  Water  may  be 
app  led  Horn  tune  to  time  over  the  manure,  which  will  earn' 
doAvn  .soluble  matter  into  the  soil. 
Thinning  Fruit. 
®  apparent  noAv  w  ith  all  species  of 
iheiL°L"  n  ^  trees  on  Avails,  and 
ce,  small  restiicted  trees  in  the  borders,  such  as  bush,  espalier, 
^d  pyramid  trees,  are  benefited  by  the  fruit  being  thinned  It  is 
not  passible  to  thm  largo  bush  and  .standard  trees,  but  the  smaller 
treated,  are  in  every  way  benefited, 
he  truit  not  only  attains  to  a  larger  size  and  better  qualitv.  but 
the  strain  upon  the  trees  is  greatly  lessened.  The  fruit  buds  for 
the  succeeding  year  have  a  much  better  chance  of  plumping  up, 
and  results  are  better  in  every  way  — S  n  i  «  n, 
On  Fruit. 
{Continued  from  page  466.) 
GroAfiiing,  Gathering,  Ripening,  and  Keeping  Fruit. 
In  the  storage  of  fruits,  it.  has  been  observed  that  sw'eating 
affects  the  qualities  of  Apples  more  than  other  fruit,  probably 
because  they  are  oftener  kept  in  bulk,  and  under  more  varying 
conditions ;  therefore,  in  these  remarks,  w'e  shall  refer  particu¬ 
larly  to  Apples.  When  fruit  is  placed  in  thick  layers  of  over 
Gin  or  Sin  in  depth  a  free  circulation  of  air  is  much  impeded, 
especially  Avitli  fruit  on  the  ground,  or  on  closely  fitting  floors, 
Avhen  air  has  access  only  to  the  upper  side  of  the  heap. 
The  air  in  such  cases  becomes  saturated  with  the  escaping 
moisture  of  the  fruit,  and  there  being  but  little  cir¬ 
culation  through  the  centre  and  loAver  part  of  the  heap, 
the  moisture  increases,  and  the  accumulation  of  heat  is  some¬ 
times  so  great  as  to  lead  to  fermentation.  In  a  little  while  the 
combined  results  of  evaporation  and  fermentation  is  the  rotting 
of  the  fruit.  Nor  is  this  the  only  injurious  consequences  of 
sweating  in  the  heap,  for  there  are  most  likely  to  be  tAvo  pro¬ 
cesses  of  fermentation  proceeding  at  the  same  time. 
Aside  from  that  caused  by  the  excess  of  humidity,  which 
makes  the  fruit  sometimes  greasy  to  the  touch,  there  is  a 
deteriorating  action  of  the  same  influence,  breaking  up  the 
structure  of  the  fruit  itself.  The  sweating  of  fruit,  therefore, 
cannot  be  too  much  deprecated  or  guarded  against. 
The  Colouring  of  Fruit. 
In  Apples,  especially  the  familiar  red  varieties,  it  is  found 
that  some  are  but  little  coloured ;  these  are  ahvays  such  as  are 
mo.st  shaded  whilst  grow'ing.  In  a  number  of  varieties,  one 
side  Avill  be  found  larger  than  the  other ;  the  larger  side  is 
that  next  the  sun,  in  consequence  of  more  sap  floAving  to  that 
side.  This  difference  is  more  apparent  in  some  sorts  than  in 
others.  The  same  irregularity  is  observed  in  Pears.  The 
fullest  or  ]arge.st  side  of  the  fruit  is  almost  invariably  that  w'hich 
is  most  warmed  and  influenced  by  heat  of  the  sun. 
Through  the  Avhole  range  of  orchard  and  garden  fruits,  the 
place  to  find  the  largest.,  ripest,  and  sweetest  specimens  is  Avhere 
the  sun’s  rays  have  most  influence.  The  precise  nature  of  the 
cau,ses  AA’hich  lead  to  this  one-sided  enlargement  of  certain  kinds 
of  fruit  is  not  fully  ascertained.  Colour,  it  is  Avell  knoAvn, 
exerts  an  influence  on  the  absorbing  poAvers  of  any  substance  as 
regards  heat.  Several  dark  colours  increase  this  poAver,  and 
greater  radiation  folloAA’s  as  a  consequence. 
In  substances  of  a  given  colour,  rougher  or  more  uneven 
surfaces  admit  more  heat  than  smoother  ones.  Fruit  loses  its 
colouring  matter  when  ripened  on  the  tree,  and  Avhen  the  rate 
of  evaporation  is  increased  at  the  time  the  fruit  is  changing 
from  groAving  to  ripening,  or  directl.y  after  the  growing  is 
complete.  Gathering  early  results  in  the  retention  of  nearly 
all  the  colouring  matter,  and  the  fruit  afterAvards  becomes  much 
brighter  and  more  highly  coloured.  This  is  a  point  of  much 
importance,  and  should  be  better  understood  than  it  is  by 
fruit  gro Avers. 
Earl.v  Gathering  Prolongs  Keeping. 
If  early  gathering  AA'as  more  generally  practised,  many  of 
the  conditions  damaging  to  fruit  would  be  prevented.  When 
the  rate  of  groAvth  is  very  slow',  it  is  safer  to  gather  fruit  a 
little  before  it  has  done  growing,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  more 
difficult  to  check  or  arrest  the  incipient  decay  characteristic  of 
the  first  stages  of  ripening  or  melloAving,  than  to  retard  or  in 
any  marked  degree  prevent  its  commencement.  Early  gather¬ 
ing  insures  the  best  results  in  keeping. 
Fitness  for  gathering  is  not  ahvays  clearly  indicated  by  out¬ 
ward  appearances ;  but  fruit  for  keeping  should  nev'er  be 
alloAved  to  hang  on  the  tree  as  long  as  it  wTll.  A  test  recom¬ 
mended  by  experienced  Pear  grow'crs  is  Avhen  the  stem  parts 
easily  from  the  fruit  spur.  If  this  is  correct  in  regard  to  Pears, 
it  ought  to  be  of  Apples  also.  But  there  are  many  Amrieties 
W'hich  it  Avould  not  be  safe  to  trust  to  such  a  test;  some  sorts 
Avill  hang  on  long  after  they  are  fit  to  gather. 
During  the  process  of  growth  the  seed  cavity  serA’es  as  a 
reserv'oir  for  holding  a  supply  of  juices,  but  when  groAvth  has 
nearly  ceased  the  moisture  disappears  from  this  cavity,  and  it 
becomes  empty  and  comparatively  dry.  This  condition  affords 
tAvo  modes  of  judging  of  the  degree  of  maturity  the  fruit  has 
attained.  One  is,  the  slight  rushing  sound  the  seed  makes  Avhen 
the  fruit  is  shaken,  and  the  other  is  to  open  some  of  the  fruit 
as  soon  as  this  holloAv  state  of  the  seed  cavity  can  be  detected, 
and  if  the  seed  has  changed  to  a  pale  broAvn  colour,  it  may  be 
assumed  that  the  fruit  is  fit  to  gather.  It  is  not  so  safe  to  Avait 
till  the  seeds  are  a  dark  brown. 
The  general  condition  of  the  leaves  as  to  colour,  and  the 
degree  in  which  they  adhere  to  the  branches  also  afford  means 
of  estimating  the  state  of  maturity  of  the  fruit.  After  fruit  is 
gathered  its  resistance  to  evaporation  is  increased  by  ev'ery  suc¬ 
cessive  reduction  of  temperature  doAvn  to  32deg  Fahrenheit, 
when  evaporation  and  the  wasting  of  the  fruit  cease  together. 
Generally,  the  temperature  of  cellars  and  fruit  rooms  is  not, 
and  need  not  be,  kept  down  to  that  point. 
