October  10,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
339 
Outdoor  Peach  Trees. 
Perpetual  Strawberries. 
The  healthy  and  handsome  pyramid,  or  bush,  Peach  tree 
figured  on  this  page  has  been  trained  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  S.  T.  Wright,  superintendent  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society’s  gardens  at  Chiswick.  The  tree  is  one  of  about 
thirty  or  so  that  are  growing  in  a  sheltered  area  between 
a  span-roofed  Muscat  vinery  and  a  cottage,  near  the 
entrance  gates.  The  trees  are  attended  to  with  the  usual 
amount  of  consideration,  but  I  do  not  suppose  they  receive 
any  pet  attention.  Yet  here  we  see  a  bush  than  which 
nothing  finer  could  be  either  desired  or  produced.  At  the 
time  when  the 
photograph  was 
taken,  in  early 
September,  the 
subject  illus¬ 
trated  bore  a 
heavy  crop  of 
average  sized 
fruits.  Many 
of  these  can  be 
seen  by  in¬ 
specting  the 
branches,  as  re¬ 
produced  in  the 
illustration. 
Where  shel¬ 
tered  spaces 
exist  (and 
where  do  they 
not  V)  in  gar¬ 
dens,  may  not 
the  Chiswick 
lead  be  fol¬ 
lowed  in  the 
matter  of  plant¬ 
ing  bush  Peach 
trees  for  open 
air  culture  1  In 
the  South  the 
practice  is  all 
too  scarce,  and 
yet  with  mode¬ 
rate  care  a  fail- 
return  of  lus¬ 
cious  fruits 
could  be  regu¬ 
larly  ensured. 
Besides  Peach 
Dr.  Hogg,  there 
are,  in  the 
Chiswick  out¬ 
door  collection, 
the  varieties 
Early  Ascot, 
Gross  e  Mig- 
nonne,  Early 
Crawford, 
Rivers’  Early 
York,  Early 
Alexander, 
Hale’s  Early, 
Dymond,  Pine¬ 
apple,  Elruge, 
Crimson  Ga- 
lande,  Belle  de 
Doue,  Early 
Beatrice,  Early  Albert,  Early  Alfred,  Goshawk,  Alexandre 
Noblesse,  Early  Louise,  Condor,  and  Waterloo.  The  best 
Nectarine  appears  to  be  Early  Rivers  ;  others  include  Bal- 
gowan,  Murray,  Lord  Napier,  Advance,  and  Pineapple. 
Most  of  the  trees  are  growing  vigorously,  and  all  are  clean 
and  perfectly  free  from  disease  or  pests.  A  few  have  made 
too  rampant  growth,  resulting  in  unfruitful  wood  ;  but  the 
proper  cultural  practices  will  be  employed  to  check  this 
exuberance.  At  any  rate,  outdoor  Peaches  as  bush  trees  are 
demonstrated  to  be  one  of  the  most  successful  features  of 
fruit  culture  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  gardens  at 
Chiswick. — J. 
Our  next  number  will  contain  a  full  and  interesting  report  of  the 
Crystal  Palace  Fruit  Show,  and  will  be  illustrated  with  fruit  subjects. 
A  story  used  to  be  told  of  an  enthusiastic  lover  of  Straw¬ 
berries  that  he  went  down  to  Cornwall  in  spring,  and  then 
followed  the  Straw-berry  north  to  Aberdeen,  as  the  birds  of 
prey  are  said  to  follow  the  lemings  in  their  migration  in 
Sweden  and  Norway.  This  is  not  necessary  now,  seeing 
anyone  may  have  Strawberries  every  day  from  June  to 
November.  Many  new  Strawberries  are  issued  every  year,  but 
they  have  no  interest  for  me  ;  I  would  not  have  had  Messrs. 
Laxtons’  new  variety  even  if  they  had  offered  it  this  year. 
For  I  am  not  a  rich  man,  and  my  garden  is  small,  and  I 
require  a  good 
deal  of  rent  and 
return  from  the 
flowers  and 
fruits  I  give 
board  and  lodg¬ 
ing  to  in  my 
garden.  My  old 
friend,  Mr. 
Camm,  some 
time  ago  wrote 
some  capital 
papers  on  Irises 
in  the  Journal, 
and  exhorted 
gardeners  to 
grow  them 
more ;  but  I 
cannot  afford 
space  for  plants 
which  will  give 
me  a  return  for 
one  week  only 
in  the  fifty-two, 
and  take  up 
room  where 
other  things 
may  be  grown 
which  yield  a 
longer  return. 
Iris  Ksempferi, 
which  does  well 
in  the  damp 
edge  of  my 
pool,  is  an  ex¬ 
ception  to  this. 
So  my  princi¬ 
pal  flowers  and 
fruits  are  Roses 
and  Straw- 
berries  fro  m 
June  to  Novem¬ 
ber,  Violets  and 
Apples  fro  m 
September  to 
April.  Of  course 
I  have  some 
other  flowers 
and  fruits,  but 
always  give  pre¬ 
ference  to  those 
which  give  the 
longest  return. 
Last  year,  as 
I  stated  in  the 
Journal,  I 
gathered  a  dish  of  Strawberries  (it  was  sometimes  a  small 
one)  every  day  from  mid- June  to  November.  This  year  I 
have  more  plants,  and  have  not  only  gathered  a  dish  every 
day  out  of  doors  from  June  6th,  but  during  September  have 
been  able  to  give  a  good  dish  away  as  well,  almost  every 
day ;  for  St.  Joseph  Strawberry  fruits  much  more  freely, 
and  has  much  finer  berries  in  September  and  October  than 
in  August.  My  mode  of  culture  has  been  as  follows : 
Strong,  well  rooted  runners  with  a  good  ball  of  soil  are 
planted  from  the  open  ground  for  new  beds,  as  early  as 
possible,  July  if  I  can  manage  it.  Firm  ground  that  has  not 
been  dug  for  some  months  is  selected ;  2  feet  from  plant 
to  plant  is  allowed,  and  4  feet  from  row  to  row.  They 
are  hoed  and  watered,  of  course,  as  may  be  required,  and 
all  runners  and  flower  trusses  are  suppressed  as  soon  as 
