f  eptcjiiber  6,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
219 
specimen  of  the  nobility  of  thii  country.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the 
land  is  let  on  yearly  tenancy,  and  the  same  families  have  been  known 
to  occupy  larms  to  the  fourth  generation. 
There  are  two  names  connected  with  fruit  growing  in  the  county 
which  I  ought  to  mention,  the  first  that  of  Pillinger,  nurseryman,  of 
Ctiepstow,  whose  business  dates  back  to  the  year  1779,  and  is  at  the 
present  time  carried  on  by  a  member  of  the  family  ;  and  that  of 
James  Smders  of  Abergavenny,  which  also  dates  back  about  a 
hundred  years.  The  present  proprietor  is  Mr.  Philip  Shaw,  who 
has  kindly  supplied  me  with  much  information.  There  is  not 
the  slisihtest  doubt  but  that  many  of  the  larger  and  better  of  the 
old  orchards  were  planted  by 
Ihese  firms. 
Much  of  the  good  work  in  the 
]mat,  too,  can  be  traced  to  a  better* 
class  of  agricultural  labourer,  who 
was  formerly  to  be  found  in  coun¬ 
try  districts,  and  it  is  surprising 
what  an  amount  of  work  such 
men  have  done  In  some  places 
1  have  found  traces  of  miniature 
nurseries,  where  the  Crab  stocks 
iTai^ed  from  the  woods  have  been 
planted  and  grafted  with  the 
varieties  which  best  succeed  in 
the  neighbourhood.  Many  large 
orchards  have  been  planted  and 
kept  up  in  this  way.  1  remember 
one  man  whom  I  knew  many 
years  ago  ;  he  was  only  a  farm 
labourer,  whose  ordinary  clothing 
was  a  smock  frock,  and  yet  there 
are  seveial  large  orchards  which 
■owe  their  origin  to  this  man. 
At  the  present  time  much 
interest  has  been  taken  by  the 
Tecnnical  Instruction  Committee 
of  the  County  Council  in  en¬ 
deavouring  to  improve  the  state 
of  things  in  the  county  and 
throughout  the  whole  of  South 
Wales.  Instruction  in  the  plant¬ 
ing,  iiruning,  and  general  man¬ 
agement  of  fruit  trees  is  given  in 
nearly  all  the  villages,  and  during 
the  past  two  seasons  lecturer  and 
demonstrations  in  cider  making 
have  been  delivered  in  many 
places. 
I  have  already  referred  to  one 
or  more  of  the  local  varieties  of 
Apples,  but  there  are  many  others, 
some  of  which  may  be  heard  of 
at  some  future  date.  One  that  is 
only  known  m  the  district  where 
I  live  is  very  similar  to  Bismarck. 
Another  (and  I  do  not  think 
anyone  can  beat  this  lor  a  name) 
is  called  Afal  bach  coch  y  Vandra, 
or  The  little  red  Apple  of  the 
Vandra.  Id  is  a  very  heavy 
cro['ping  variety,  but  its  best 
recommendation  is  its  long- 
keeping  qualities. 
Beiore  bringing  my  paper  to 
a  close  I  should  like  to  add  a 
word  or  so  as  to  the  filling  up  of 
vacancies  or  the  renovation  of  old 
oicharus.  I  know  this  is  contrary 
to  the  advice  given  by  some,  but 
1  want  you  to  remember  that  we 
live  in  the  hilly  districts  of  South  Wales,  and  that  we  have  not,  as 
you  have  in  many  parts  of  England,  thousands  of  acres  of 
level  country  suitable  for  the  formation  of  fru  t  plantations. 
The  sites  chosen  by  our  forefathers  hrve  been  the  very  best  on  the 
holding,  es[)ecially  with  regard  to  soil  and  shelter.  I  consider  it  far 
better  in  such  a  case  to  uo  to  the  expense  of  carting  fresh  soil  to  give 
the  trees  a  good  start,  than  to  lay  out  an  altogether  new  orchard  in  a 
far  m  ire  exp  s  d  situation  where  the  soil  may  not  be  so  suitaMe. 
For  many  years  I  have  carefully  maiked  the  results  of  such  renovations, 
and  I  iiave  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  where  the  work  has  been  done 
well  such  results  have  been  quite  satistactorv.  —  (^Paper  read  by 
Mr.  J.  Basham  before  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society.) 
Platycodon  grandifloruni  semi-duplex. 
It  has  long  been  acknowledged  that  Sir  Trevor  Lawrence’s  garden 
at  Burford  Lodge  most  be  a  veritable  treasure  house  of  novelties,  for 
from  one  or  other  department  thereof  excellent  plants  are  con¬ 
stantly  being  shown,  and  with  equal  regularity  being  honoured  by 
the  committees  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society.  On  the  occasion 
of  the  meeting  held  on  August  28th  at  the  Drill  Hall,  one  of  th^ 
most  conspicuous  exhibits  was  from  Mr,  W.  Bain,  gardener  to  Sir 
Tfevor  at  Burford.  It  was  a 
number  oi  flcwerirg  branches  of 
Platycodon  gmdifiorum  semi- 
duplex  (fig.  68), 'i  he  superb  semi- 
double  rich  purple  flowers  of 
which  attracted  an  exceptional 
amount  of  attention  from  the 
public  as  well  as  the  Floral  Com¬ 
mittee;  the  latter  recommended  a 
first-class  certificate.  The  flowers 
on  the  growths  were  from  3  to  4 
inches  across,  but  these  were 
secondary  ones,  the  central  blooms 
being  evidently  too  far  gone  to  be 
shown. 
Alnwick  Seedling 
Grape. 
This  Grape  has  been  shown 
in  very  fine  condition  this  season, 
and  at  Shrewsbury  and  elsewhere 
the  bunches  were  magnificent. 
Its  well  known  fault — that  of 
not  swelling  properly — prevents 
its  being  always  produced  in  the 
best  condition  by  private  growers 
on  a  small  scale,  and  I  have  seen 
it  in  one  or  two  places  this  season 
so  badly  done  as  to  be  a  disgrace 
to  the  grower.  Yet  with  a  litth 
care  it  is  very  easy  to  get  a  proper 
set  of  berries,  and  if  it  is  grown 
at  all  this  care  ought  certainly  to 
be  given. 
I  have  frequently  had  splen¬ 
did  bunches  of  Alnwick  Seedling 
without  artificial  fertilisation,  but 
it  is  not  to  be  depended  upon. 
The  work  of  fertilisation  may, 
however,  be  greatly  lessened  by 
thinning  the  flowers  before  they 
are  open.  At  first 
sight 
this 
Fig.  68. — Platycodon  gsandiflorcm  semi-ddplex. 
seems  wrong  practice,  inasmuch 
as  the  more  flowers  there  are  open 
at  the  time  these  are  setting  the 
more  pollen  there  will  be.  But  it 
is  not  the  absence  of  pollen  that 
prevents  this  fine  Grape  setting, 
as  most  growers  are  aware,  and 
anything  that  tends  to  strengthen 
the  principal  flowers  will  have  a 
good  effect  upon  the  setting.  This 
the  earlv  thinning  undoubtedly 
has,  and  besides  strengthening 
the  flowers  it  leaves  them 
farther  apart,  so  that  air  plays  more  freely  about  them,  drying  the 
pollen  early  in  the  day  and  insuring  the  loosening  of  the  capsules. 
These  remarks  may  appear  hardly  in  season  just  now,  but  those 
who  take  an  interest  in  their  crops  will  not  object  to  them.  A  more 
seasonable  question  is  how  to  lay  on  the  colour  that  is  such  an 
ornament  to  this  fine  variety.  From  fear  of  cracking  thin-skinned 
sorts  too  many  growers  fail  to  give  the  requisite  moisture  to  ac 
Grapes  at  the  finishing  stage;  yet  in  the  best  places  nowadays  it  is 
not  unusual  to  see  the  hose  running  on  the  borders  where  Madresdeia 
Court,  Foster’s  Seedling,  and  other  noted  sorts  are  finishing,  iiree 
extension  of  the  laterals  at  the  expense  of  trimness  prevents  any 
injury  being  done,  and  the  berries,  having  ample  supplies  to  raw 
