282 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  26,  1901. 
varieties,  in  regard  to  their  cropping  qualities  and  general  behaviour. 
If  this  is  done  each  year  such  noes  must  prove  of  great  value,  and 
their  value  will  he  greatly  enhanced  if  we  can  also  visit  other  localities, 
compare  the  results  which  well  known  varieties  exhibit  under  various 
conditions.  Gardeners,  when  taking  a  new  charge,  are  apt  to  rely 
upon  the  sorts  which  succeeded  well  in  gardens  where  they  formerly 
practised,  but  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  some  varieties  succeed 
splendidly  in  certain  districts,  but  are  comparative  failures  in  others, 
A  short  time  ago  I  spent  a  few  pleasant  hours  in  conversing  with  a 
gardener  and  fruit  grower  of  great  experience,  who  has  practised  in 
many  counties,  but  in  his  present  position  he  gives  a  very  poor  account 
of  Bramley’s  Seedling,  averring  that  with  him  it  seldom  crops  well. 
Now  I  have  always  found  this  to  be  one  of  the  finest  and  surest 
croppers  among  late  varieties  when  grown  as  a  standard  and  given 
plenty  of  room.  Gascoigne’s  Scarlet  Seedling  is  another  variety  of 
which  my  friend  fails  to  grow  good  crops,  but  as  I  write  I  have  before 
me  a  splendid  bush  tree  loaded  with  exceptionally  fine  fruit,  and  the 
same  tree  has  borne  heavy  crops  during  the  last  few  years,  and  yet 
continues  to  make  plenty  of  growth.  This  to  my  mind  is  a  great 
point  in  its  favour,  for  while  some  varieties,  such  as  Stirling  Castle  and 
Lord  Suffield,  become  stunted  in  growth  as  soon  as  they  crop  freely, 
Gascoigne’s  retain  vigour  enough  to  grow  heavy  crops  to  full  size.  I 
ought  to  add  that  the  soil  in  which  my  friend’s  trees  are  grown  is 
considerably  lighter  than  that  in  which  the  fruitful  bush  is  growing. 
In  the  case  of  any  strong-growing  young  trees  which  have  failed  to 
bear  a  good  crop  for  two  or  three  years,  root-pruning  should  he  resorted 
to.  Such  should  at  the  present  time  he  marked,  and  at  the  first 
opportunity  during  October  or  November  have  a  trench  taken  out 
around  them  and  a  few  of  the  stronger  roots  severed.  If  this  is  done 
before  the  leaves  have  fallen  young  roots  will  quickly  form  after  the 
trench  is  filled  in.  When  once  the  trees  are  brought  into  a  fruitful 
condition  by  such  means,  root-pruning  is  not  often  again  necessary, 
except  in  the  case  of  bushes  or  trained  trees  pruned  on  the  restriction 
system.  But  I  have  wandered  somewhat  from  the  ideas  I  had  in  mind 
when  I  started  to  pen  these  notes.  I  then  intended  to  treat  of  the 
condition  of  various  popular  kinds  of  Apples  and  Pears,  as  I  have 
grown  or  seen  them  this  season  in  the  midland  counties,  but  as  my 
pen  ran  on  I  could  not  forbear  from  dropping  a  timely  hint  about  the 
necessity  of  root-pruning,  for  just  at  this  season  one  can  judge  to  a 
nicety  which  trees  really  need  it. 
Among  early  Apples  two  varieties  have  proved  especially  valuable 
for  market  purposes,  as  their  high  colour  has  insured  a  ready  sale  ;  I 
refer  to  Devonshire  Quarrenden  and  Worcestershire  Pearmain.  Both 
have  cropped  well,  and  although  the  former  is  not  one  of  the  most 
regular  croppers,  it  ought  still  to  be  planted  in  both  private  and  market 
gardens,  as  it  is  good  in  flavour,  and,  though  small,  most  attractive  in 
appearance  when  well  grown.  Beauty  of  Bath  has  borne  heavy  crops 
of  handsome  fruits,  but  one  cannot  speak  very  highly  of  its  flavour, 
and  the  two  varieties  previously  named  are  bought  up  more  readily  in 
the  markets.  Bismarck,  The  Qu  en,  and  Warner’s  King,  for  supplying 
fine  culinary  Apples  from  the  end  of  September  till  the  end  of 
November;  the  above  are  a  grand  trio,  that  ought  to  be  grown  in 
every  garden.  They  are  heavy  and  consistent  croppers,  and  Bismarck 
is  a  rosy  and  particularly  handsome  fruit.  I  have  recently  met  with 
many  fine  bunches  of  each,  that  were  carrying  heavy  crops  of  very 
large  fruits,  and  i  r  each  case  the  owners  lamented  the  fact  that  they 
had  so  few  trees  of  these  varieties.  Thei  market  man  should  plant 
them  largely,  for  although  they  come  in  competition  with  Canadian 
Apples,  their  s  za  and  appsarance  make  them  successful  competitors. 
Cellini,  Beauty  of  Kent,  and  King  of  Tompkins  County  are  also  hand¬ 
some,  which  have  this  year  borne  very  heavy  crops.  The  first  of  the 
vrio  ought  to  have  the  fruits  thinned  early  in  the  season,  otherwise 
they  will  not  swell  to  nearly  their  ncrmal  size.  Allington  Pippin 
proves  to  be  a  sterling  dessert  kind  for  November  and  December  use  ; 
all  exhibitors  should  certainly  grow  it,  as  it  attains  to  a  large  size  and 
is  of  an  attractive  appearance.  Of  the  good  qualities  of  Cox’s  Orange 
Pippin  I  need  say  nothing,  as  everybody  esteems  it  for  dessert  purposes, 
hut  if  I  mistake  not  it  has  not  often  borne  so  good  a  crop  as  this  year. 
Lady  Sudeley,  New  Hawthornden,  Lane’s  Prince  Albert,  Lord  Derby, 
and  Ni-wtown  Wonder  are  varieties  which  have  fully  sustained  their 
good  cropping  qualities. 
In  regard  to  Peats,  my  decided  opinion  is  that  it  is  years  since  we 
had  so  good  and  abundant  a  crop  generally.  Why  Pears  are  not  more 
largely  p'anted  for  market  purposes  is  somewhat  of  a  mystery,  seeing 
that  even  in  times  of  glut  they  command  a  far  better  price  than 
Apples.  There  are  plenty  of  fine  varieties  which  succeed  splendidly  as 
pyramids  and  bushes,  and  why  catalogues  should  state  that  so  many 
of  them  require  a  wall  is  somewhat  puzzling.  As  an  example  let  me 
take  Thompson’s,  one  of  the  best  flavoured  Pears  in  existence.  Not  a 
hundred  miles  from  Birmingham  I  know  of  a  gigantic  tree  which  is 
roped  with  fruit  to  such  an  extent  as  I  never  before  saw  a  tree,  and 
they  are  as  clean  and  promising  in  appearance  as  anyone  could  wish. 
I  firmly  believe  that  the  tree  will  yield  40  bushels  of  fruit.  Marie 
Louise  d’Uccle,  Marie  Louise,  and  Josephine  de  Malines,  also  do  well 
as  pyramids.  Beurre  d’Amanlis,  Pitmaston  Duchess,  Beurre  Diel1, 
Beurre  Bose,  Louise  Bonne  of  Jersey,  and  Emile  d’Heyst,  will  all 
succeed  as  standards  or  pyramids  in  the  warmer  districts  of  the 
midlands  where  the  soil  is  deep  and  well  drained.  I  have  met  with 
large  trees  of  each  of  these  varieties  carrying  splendid  crops  this  season. 
Williams’  Bon  Chretien  and  Jargonelle,  almost  everybody  knows,  are 
splendidly  adapted  for  the  same  form  of  culture.  With  branches 
thinly  disposed  the  fruit  ripens  well,  and  there  is  usually  not  much  to 
complain  of  on  the  score  of  size  when  the  necessary  feeding  receives 
due  attention.  All  trees  when  they  have  set  a  heavy  crop  ought  to 
receive  a  good  coating  of  manure  if  none  was  applied  during  the 
previous  autumn  or  winter. 
A  long  time  will  elapse  before  all  the  “  gifts  of  the  earth v  have 
been  “  safely  gathered  in,”  but  the  ruddy  glow  and  golden  tints  of 
handsome  fruits  will  assuredly  be  lavishly  displayed  in  the  churches 
and  chapels  of  our  land  at  this  festival  time,  when  our  thanks  and 
praise  are  rendered  to  the  “Giver  of  All.” — H.  Dunkin. 
- - - 
Gardening  at  Ijoxton  in  Olden  Times. 
Hoxtqn  was  a  favoured  home  of  some  of  the  most  noted  gardeners 
in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  One  of  the  earliest  of 
these  was  Gourle,  who  flourished  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  and  whose 
name  has  come  down  to  us  in  an  anagrammatic  form  attached  to  the 
Nectarine  he  successfully  raised — viz.,  the  Elruge.  George  Ricketts, 
Pearson,  and  William  Darby  are  all  three  mentioned  in  Gibson’s 
curious  account  of  gardens  near  London,  in  December,  1691.  Ricketts 
cultivated  more  than  190  kinds  of  Tulips,  and  he  possessed  the  richest 
and  most  complete  collection  of  flowering  trees  and  shrubs  in  the 
kingdom  ;  Pearson  had  the  best  assortment  of  Anemones  about  London, 
and  sold  “  them  only  to  gentlemen  ;  ”  and  Darby  was  known  as  one 
of  the  first  in  England  to  cultivate  exotic  plants.  He  was  succeeded 
by  John  Cowell,  in  whose  garden  flourished  the  Cereus  and  the 
Glastonbury  Thorn.  A  great  American  Aloe  was  bought  by  Darby 
when  it  was  twenty  years  old,  and  it  remained  in  his  garden  for  forty 
years,  after  which  it  came  into  Cowell’s  possession.  When  it  was 
seventy-two  years  old  it  began  to  open  its  crown  for  flowering,  and  in 
June,  1729,  it  flowered  magnificently.  Large  numbers  of  visitors  were 
drawn  to  the  gardens  to  see  this  curiosity. 
Another  noted  Hoxton  gardener  was  Benedict  Whiimell ;  but  the 
most  distinguished  of  the  fraternity  was  Thomas  Fairchild,  who,  by 
the  judicious  bequest  of  the  small  sum  of  £25,  has  succeeded  in 
preventing  his  name  from  ever  being  forgotten.  Fairchild  united  a 
love  of  science  with  the  practice  of  his  art,  and  contributed  a  paper  on 
the  motion  of  sap  in  plants  to  the  Royal  Society,  which  was  printed  in, 
the  “  Philosophical  Transactions.”  His  grounds  were  afterwards  known 
as  Sflby’s  Gardens,  and  extended  from  the  west  end  of  Ivy  Lane  to 
the  New  North  Road.  Here  he  cultivated  a  vineyard  as  late  as  1722, 
which  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  last  in  England. 
Fairchild,  by  his  will,  dated  February  21st,  1728,  “gave  and 
bequeathed  to  the  trustees  of  the  charity  children  of  Hoxton,  and  their 
successors,  and  the  churchwardens  of  the  parish  of  St.  Leonard, 
Shoreditch,  and  their  successors,  the  sum  of  £25,  to  be  by  them  placed 
out  at  an  interest  for  the  payment  of  20s.  annually,  for  ever,  for  the 
preaching  of  a  sermon  in  the  said  church  of  St.  Leonard,  Shoreditch, 
by  the  lecturer  of  the  said  parish,  or  such  other  person  as  the  said 
trustees  and  churchwardens  and  their  successors  should  think  proper, 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  Tuesday  in  every  Whitsun  week  in  each  year, 
on  some  subject  relating  to  natural  history.”  Among  the  noted  men 
who  have  delivered  the  lecture  may  be  mentioned  Dr.  Stukely ;  the 
Rev.  William  Jones  of  Nay  land;  the  Rev.  Samuel  Ayscough;  and 
Dr.  Wilber  force,  when  Bishop  of  Oxford.  In  1750  Stukeley  made  a 
note  in  his  journal  of  a  visit  to  hear  the  lecture  ;  and  as  the  passage 
gives  us  a  picture  of  the  state  of  the  neighbourhood  of  Hoxton  at  that 
date,  we  will  quote  it  here: — “I  went  with  Dr.  Folkes  and  other 
fellows  to  Shoreditch,  to  hear  Dr.  Denne  preach  Fairchild’s  sermon  on 
the  Beautys  of  the  Vegetable  World.  We  were  entertained  by  Mr. 
Whetman,  a  merchant,  at  his  elegant  house  by  Moorfields,  a  pleasant 
place,  encompass’d  with  gardens,  stored  with  all  sorts  of  curious 
flowers  and  shrubs,  where  we  spent  the  day  very  agreeably,  enjoying 
all  the  pleasures  of  the  country  in  town.” 
Hoxton  was  once  noted  for  balsamic  wells,  and  a  book  was  written 
upon  them.  Sir  Philip  Skippon,  writing  to  Ray  (December  13th,  1667), 
refers  to  “  the  sweet-smelling  earth  found  in  Captain  Massey’s  garden, 
at  Hogsden;”  and  eighteen  years  afterwards  Sir  Hans  Sloane,  in  a 
letter  to  Ray  (November  10th,  1685),  gives  a  full  account  of  the  earth, 
and  an  analysis  of  the  water  found  “  near  the  new  square  at  HokesdoD.” 
Whatever  charms  Hoxton  may  once  have  possessed,  they  are  all  gone 
now,  and  yet  not  a  great  number  of  years  ago,  a  London  merchant 
purchased  ground  there,  and  built  himself  a  house,  which  was  finished, 
and  fitted  up  with  an  elegant  conservatory. — Histobicus. 
