November  14,  1901.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
441 
Fruit-growing  in  the  Channel  Islands. 
On  November  6  there  was  a  fairly  large  attendance  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Devon  and  Exeter  Gardeners’  Association  to 
hear  a  paper  prepared  by  Mr.  F.  J.  Fletcher,  of  Guernsey, 
on  “Fruit  Growing  in  the  Channel  Islands  for  the  English 
Market.”  The  chair  was  taken  by  Mr.  W.  Charley,  of  Won- 
ford  House  Gardens.  The  paper  was  read  by  Mr.  Harry 
Yodden,  of  Jadoo,  Limited,  who  spends  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  year  among  the  market  gardeners  of  Guernsey 
and  Jersey.  He  mentioned  incidentally  that  one  of  the 
large  growers  in  Jersey  has  this  year  harvested  a  very  heavy 
and  profitable  crop  of  the  Tomato  Flying  Dutchman  from 
seed  he  had  from  Messrs.  Yeitch,  of  Exeter.  Mr.  Fletcher, 
in  his  paper,  said  the  best  quality  of  Guernsey  produce  was 
equal  to  the  best  English,  for  which  it  was  often  sold  in  the 
scribed  the  gathering,  packing,  and  despatching  of  Tomatoes 
to  England,  and  expressed  the  opinion, that  Tomato  growing 
was  not  so  profitable  in  the  island  as  in  years  gone  by.  But 
there  were  some  croakers,  kid-glove  growers — young  gentle¬ 
men  from  England —  whom  he  could  not  pity. 
The  growing  of  Grapes  in  Guernsey  was  almost  as  im¬ 
portant  as  Tomato-growing,  and,  on  the  whole,  growers  were 
very  successful  with  their  fruit.  Unfortunately,  there  was 
no  record  of  the  weight  of  Grapes  exported,  but  he  would  be 
putting  it  at  a  low  estimate  if  he  said  over  1,000  tons  were 
exported  annually.  The  climate  and  soil  seemed  to  suit  the 
Vine  almost  to  perfection,  and  the  crops  were  grown  with 
far  less  labour  than  English  gardeners  would  think  possible. 
The  Guernsey  Grapes  were  good  in  flavour,  but  somewhat 
smaller  than  the  English  ones.  The  flavour  was  accounted  for 
by  the  fact  that  the  Vines  get  much  more  sunshine  than  the 
English,  though  grown  in  a  poorer  soil.  The  size  was  greatly 
influenced  by  the  weight  of  crops  allowed  to  each  Vine.  At 
A  GROUP  OP  SMITH’S  CLEMATIS. 
shops,  though  the  ordinary  quality  of  Guernsey  fruit  was  not 
quite  up  to  the  standard  of  the  ordinary  English.  In 
Guernsey  ordinary  Tomatoes  they  did  not  get  the  full  flavour 
of  the  home-grown,  while  in  Gueinsey  Grapes  they  got  more 
sugar,  but  the  size  was  smaller.  In  his  opinion  (reports  the 
“  Exeter  Gazette  ”)  every  advantage,  barring  that  of  climate, 
was  in  favour  of  the  English  grower  and  against  the 
Guernsey  grower,  the  chief  of  many  advantages  being  that 
England  was  full  of  trained  and  practical  gardeners,  though 
the  Guernsey  gardeners  were  an  industrious  class. 
As  an  instance  of  the  growing  industry  in  Guernsey  he 
mentioned  that  in  July  last  630  tons  of  Tomatoes  were  dis¬ 
patched  to  England  in  one  week,  and  during  the  past  six 
months  7,000  tons  had  been  transmitted.  The  season’s  crop 
was  probably  worth  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  money. 
In  Guernsey  the  only  fruits  grown  in  quantity  were 
Tomatoes,  Grapes,  and  Melons.  Figs  were  fairly  plentiful, 
but  there  was  not  much  demand  for  them  in  England.  Mr. 
Fletcher  went  on  to  explain  minutely  methods  employed  in 
the  production  of  the  Tomato.  The  great  difficulty  ex¬ 
perienced  was  that  of  the  unfavourable  soil.  He  further  de- 
one  time  stone  fruits  flourished  in  Guernsey,  but  to-day  they 
were  scarce.  Peach  culture  under  glass  was  spreading,  and 
in  favourable  localities  was  likely  to  pay  well ;  but  in  other 
localities  the  trees  refused  to  thrive.  Strawberries  did  well 
in  sheltered  localities,  but  were  grown  only  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  supply  local  demand. 
- - 
Trained  Clematis. 
The  accompanying  illustration  of  balloon-trained  pot  Clematis 
depicts  the  exhibit  staged  by  Messrs.  Richard  Smith  and  Co., 
of  Worcester,  at  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Show,  held 
in  the  Inner  Temple  Gardens,  last  May.  It  gives  a  capital  idea 
of  the  floriferousness  of  the  plants,  and  shows  the  possibilities  of 
the  Jackmanni  section  of  the  genus  for  decorative  purposes. 
We  cannot  commend  the  formal  method  of  training,  but  would 
suggest  using  the  plants  for  trellises  indoors,  and  to  be  informally 
supported  on  light  wire  frames  or  stakes.  The  varieties  com¬ 
posing  the  group  were : — Marie  Lefebvre,  Madame  Van  Houtte, 
Sensation,  Glory  St.  Julian.  Beauty  of  Worcester,  Mrs.  G. 
Jackman,  Nellie  Moser,  Excelsior,  and  Fairy. 
