September  27,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
291 
Groups  at  Sljrewsbury. 
I  THANK  your  correspondent  “D.,”  page  269,  for  his  courteous  and 
timely  correction  of  my  mistake  as  to  the  groups.  His  assumption 
that  I  did  not  consult  the  schedule  is  the  right  one,  and  I  only  made  one 
inspection  of  them.  I  find,  however,  both  by  speech  with  other 
gardeners  who  saw  them,  and  also  by  correspondence  with  others,  that 
I  was  not  singular  in  my  conclusion  that  they  went  right  through. 
Mr.  Adnitt,  one  of  the  hon.  secretaries,  wrote  correcting  my  error,  and 
I  owe  him  and  “  D.”  my  best  thanks  for  so  kindly  putting  me  and  the 
matter  right. — N.  H.  P. 
Apple  Lady  Sudeley. 
Mr.  Gardiner,  on  page  272,  mentions  this  remarkably  handsome 
Apple,  also  a  valuable  bint  as  to  the  pruning  of  it,  and  with  every  word 
I  thoroughly  agree.  I  met  with  splendid  samples  a  short  time  ago  when 
in  Ireland,  the  crops  on  somew'hat  young  trees  being  extra  heavy.  As 
a  proof  of  its  quality  I  particularly  noticed  that  the  wasp  had  made 
this  Apple  their  particular  choice.  Some  fruits  were  gathered  and 
eaten,  the  flavour  being  most  appetising  indeed,  and  the  flesh  of  such  a 
texture  as  to  make  it  a  favourite  with  all  Apple  lovers.  It  certainly 
does  need  to  be  better  known  to  cottagers  and  amateurs,  and  our  Irish 
friends  speak  of  it  in  large  terms. — P. 
A  Chat  about  Pears. 
In  Mr.  H.  H.  Raschen’s  interesting  and  instructive  comments  upon 
Pears  (page  269),  exception  was  taken  to  Beurre  Capiaumont  as  being 
of  not  sufficient  merit  to  be  worthy  of  cultivation.  Surely  your 
correspondent’s  experience  of  this  variety  ^nust  be  of  a  very  limited 
nature,  or  the  fruit  was  produced  under  unfavourable  circumstances ; 
as,  excepting,  perhaps,  for  its  comparatively  small  size,  I  have  always 
been  led  to  believe  that  for  flavour  it  could  always  command  a  place 
on  the  dessert  table.  Especially  was  this  the  case  when  I  myself  grew 
it  against  a  garden  wall — south-west  aspect — in  South  Warwickshire, 
and  was  then  considered  to  be  one  of  the  best  flavoured  amongst 
several  of  other  first-class  varieties.  In  Dr.  Hogg’s  “  Fruit  Manual  ” 
the  following  extract  says — “Fruit,  medium  sized;  flesh,  pure  white, 
delicate  and  fine,  buttery  and  melting,  with  a  rich,  vinous,  and  sugary 
flavour.  A  dessert  Pear  of  good  quality ;  ripe  in  October.  The  tree  is 
hardy,  vigorous,  and  an  abundant  bearer,  and  succeeds  well  as  a 
standard  on  the  Quince.  It  is  well  adapted  for  the  northern  parts  of 
our  island,  where  I  have  seen  it  bearing  abundantly  as  a  standard.” 
Not  a  bad  testimony  in  its  favour  I  infer,  and  this  apart  from  its 
attractive  appearance.  ~ 
Exception  is  also  taken  to  Trout  or  Forelle,  and  which  Dr.  Hogg’s 
description  tends  to  repudiate — viz.,  “  Flesh  white,  delicate,  buttery 
and  melting,  with  a  rich,  sugary,  and  vinous  flavour.  An  excellent  Pear, 
in  use  from  November  till  February.  The  tree  is  hardy  and  a  good 
bearer.  Mr.  R.  D.  Blackmore  says  it  is  very  small  and  hard  at 
Teddington,”  thus  evidently  not  succeeding  everywhere. 
On  the  other  hand  your  correspondent  favours  Brockworth  Park 
or  Bonne  d’Ezee,  which  the  “  Fruit  Manual’s  ”  estimate  so  far  ignores  as 
follows  : — “  Flesh,  white,  coarse  grained,  and  inclining  to  gritty,  half¬ 
melting  and  juicy,  with  an  agreeable  perfume.  This  is  only  a  second 
rate  Pear.  Mr.  Blackmore  says  it  is  a  very  poor  thing,  and  useless 
at  Teddington.”  I  may  add  that  the  foregoing  is  also  my  own  estimate 
of  the  Pear  in  question. 
I  am  not  acquainted  with  Fertility,  another  variety  which  is  also 
deprecated  by  Mr.  Raschen  as  a  Pear  of  best  quality,  and  prefers 
Brockworth  Park.  The  description  of  its  merits  in  the  “  Fruit  Manual  ” 
is  as  follows  : — “  Flesh,  half- melting  or  cracking,  very  juicy  and  sweet, 
with  a  rich  and  highly  perfumed  flavour,  similar  to  that  of  Williams’ 
Bon  Chretien,  but  not  so  powerful,  and  with  more  briskness.  This, 
for  market  garden  and  orchard  planting,  is  one  of  the  most  profitable 
Pears  that  can  be  grown.”  Like  H.  H.  Raschen,  I  too  was  surprised 
at  R.  Atkins’  depreciation  of  Beurre  d’Amanlis  and  Madame  Treyve. 
Evidently  bis  soil  and  position  must  be  unfavourable  to  these  generally 
invaluable  varieties.  In  conclusion,  I  would  remark  that  Mr.  Raschen 
recommends  Easier  Beurre,  an  excellent  late  Pear  on  a  favourable  soil 
and  position.  Mr.  Blackmore,  however,  says  that  at  Teddington  “  it 
cracks  and  spots,  and  is  very  seldom  good.”  It  is,  however,  not 
altogether  surprising  that  there  should  exist  such  a  great  diversity  of 
opinion  regarding  the  comparative  merits  of  Pears,  considering  that  no 
kind  of  fruit  is  more  influenced  by  soil  and  position  than  the  Pear,  and 
much  good  should  arise  from  these  comparative  estimates  of  the  fruit 
cultivated  under  diverse  circumstances.—  W.  G. 
Mr.  Bnnyard  to  Mr.  Raillem. 
Replying  to  “  W.  R.  Raillem’s”  queries  in  recent  issues  of  your  paper 
— first,  as  regards  the  sudden  and  complete  disappearance  of  aphides — I 
have  frequently  noted  this,  perhaps  for  weeks  it  has  been  necessary  to 
keep  the  Vermorel  sprayer  at  work,  when  suddenly  all  the  millions 
that  previously  swarmed  depart.  I  believe  this  to  be  due  to  a  fall  of 
temperature  ;  sending  the  atmosphere  too  cold  for  them — such  “  wintry 
weather”  is  not  unusual  even  in  summer. 
Secondly,  as  to  colour  in  fruit.  It  is  certain  after  many  years’ 
experience  that  neither  soil,  culture,  nor  sun  power,  alone  or  combined, 
give  our  hardy  fruit  that  high  colour  which  we  all  like  to  see  ;  but  T 
believe  that  the  autumnal  rains  and  dews,  combined  with  a  fair  windy 
time,  are  great  and  even  necessary  factors.  So  far  this  year  we  have 
had  the  first  three,  but  I  expect  colour  will  not  be  put  on  until  we  get 
some  good  rains  and  stiff  winds.  Possibly  ozone  is  the  active  agent. 
Fruit  here  is  two  or  three  weeks  later  than  usual,  and  the  Palace 
Show  will  not  find  Kent  at  its  best. — George  Buntard. 
Certificating  Potatoes. 
The  infallible  “A.  D.”  deserves  my  gratitude.  It  had  never  struck 
me  that  were  I  a  member  of  the  Fruit  Committee  of  the  R.H.S.  its 
actions  would  be  above  criticism,  but  as  “  A.  D.”  savs  as  much  it  must 
he  true.  Yes  ;  perhaps  it  is  unfortunate  for  the  R.H.S.  Fruit  Committee 
that  I  am  so  distant  from  London,  but  it  may  be  fortunate  for  myself 
that  it  is  so.  Yet,  sarcasm  aside,  will  “A.  D.”  tell  us  what  is  to  be 
gained  by  certificating  two  varieties  of  Potatoes  of  which  all  growers 
know,  and  which  have  become  immensely  popular  without  any 
assistance  from  the  Fruit  Committee  ?  It  certainly  does  not  say  much 
for  the  vast  experience  of  this  body  that  the  merits  of  the  Potato 
should  remain  unrecognised  for  nearly  twenty  years.  “  A.  D.”  writes 
of  the  “  old  body  ”  and  the  “  present  body.”  I  know  of  no  distinction 
between  the  “old”  and  the  “present,”  unless  “A.  D.”  wishes  to  infer 
that  he  was  not  a  member  of  the  former  but  is  of  the  latter.  It  is 
certain  that  the  awarding  of  certificates  to  such  old  and  popular 
varieties  as  those  mentioned  can  only  depreciate  the  value  of  certificates 
generally.  If  it  is  not  too  late,  and  the  Fruit  Committee  are  anxious  to 
certificate  the  best  and  moat  popular  kinds  of  fruit  and  vegetables, 
let  them  take  into  consideration  the  Plums  Green  Gage  and  Victoria, 
with  Muscat  of  Alexandria  and  Black  Hamburgh  among  Grapes,  Marie 
Louise  of  Pears,  and  Ne  Plus  Ultra  among  Peas. — W.  J.  Godfrey. 
Ill  Orcliardland. 
Under  the  above  title  your  esteemed  correspondent  “  G.  H.  H.” 
(page  270),  writes  a  pleasant  article,  which,  if  carefully  perused,  must 
cause  food  for  reflection,  and  perhaps  be  the  means  of  bringing  out  new 
ideas  on  several  points  adduced.  Referring  to  the  enormous  fruit  crops, 
I  think  all  Liverpool  gardeners  will  agree  with  me  that  never  has  so 
much  good  and  cheap  fruit  been  seen.  Strawberries  throughout  were 
of  the  highest  quality,  while  Plums  have  been  so  abundant  that  baskets 
containing  about  24  lbs.  of  the  finest  fruit  could  have  been  bought 
almost  at  the  purchaser’s  own  price. 
The  thinning  of  Apples,  too,  is  a  subject  demanding  immediate 
attention  from  those  who  wish  for  the  best  prices.  And  this  leads  on 
to  another  thought — viz.,  the  ravages  of  the  codlin  moth,  which  have 
been  the  cause  of  endless  trouble  to  the  majority  of  cultivators  this 
season.  Trees  carrying  heavy  crops  have  been  full  of  the  cloudy  wool. 
I  feel  certain  that  much  of  this  might  be  avoided  if  there  were  fewer 
fruits  resulting  from  judicious  thinning.  The  varieties  that  appear  to 
have  been  the  worst  infested  are  Lord  Suffield,  Lord  Grosveuor,  and 
Potts’  Seedling,  the  enemy  being  in  much  stronger  force  where  thinning 
had  not  been  carried  out  at  all.  Not  only  have  I  seen  it  in  several 
gardens,  but  some  good  fruits  which  I  saw  from  Hereford  bore 
unmistakeable  signs  of  the  pest.  If  spraying  is  to  help  to  mitigate  the 
evil,  by  all  means  let  the  information  be  spread  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  land  by  means  of  the  pages  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture, 
technical  education  committees,  and  gardeners’  improvement  societies. 
The  mention  of  Potatoes  makes  one  long  to  be  in  the  position  that 
“  G.  H.  H.”  speaks  of  with  regard  to  the  dreaded  disease,  as  ominous 
reports  come  from  various  parts  of  Lancashire  and  Cheshire,  and  the 
breadths  of  Potatoes  with  their  blackened  haulms  denote  its  presence. 
In  Ireland,  too,  there  seems  to  be  the  same  cry.  The  beneficial  results 
of  spraying  I  have  seen  for  myself,  and  a  note  seems  to  be  struck  which 
ought  to  bring  up  a  good  discussion— viz.,  the  lifting  of  Potatoes  early. 
You  may  hear  farmers  say  that  labour  prevents  it  being  done,  and 
with  the  scarcity  experienced  this  season  it  would  have  been  difficult ; 
but  I  cannot  help  thinking  with  “  G.  H.  H.”  that  it  is  well  to  have  the 
crop  up  as  soon  as  growth  is  completed  and  not  leave  them,  as  is  the 
case  so  often,  to  stand  the  heavy  autumn  and  winter  rains.  The 
mystery  regarding  the  tuber  is  not  confined  to  any  one  district,  but 
appears  to  be  general.  A  very  old  grower  asked  me  the  same  question, 
which  was  so  ably  brought  forward  in  the  Journal,  but  I  was  unable  to 
answer  satisfactorily.  Perhaps  the  scientific  readers  will  answer  what 
to  my  mind  appears  to  be  a  knotty  point  ? — R.  P.  R. 
