482 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  29,  1900. 
quite  as  much  room  for  improvement.  Mrs.  Pince]  is’  decidedly 
the  best  flavoured  among  the  varieties  generally  grown,  but  it 
can  seldom  be  relied  upon  to  keep  after  the  early  part  fof 
December.  It  is,  moreover,  not  a  variety  which  the  majority  |of 
cultivators  succeed  in  growing  satisfactorily.  Under  some  con¬ 
ditions  it  sets  badly,  and  does  not  always  produce  bunches  freely, 
but  those  who  have  mastered  the  details  of  its  culture  do  not 
complain  of  its  behaviour  in  these  respects.  It  requires  a  little 
more  heat  than  most  other  late  sorts,  should  have  a  well  drained 
border^  and  the  laterals  be  not  less  than  18  inches  apart.  It  then 
produces  strong  shoots  which  ripen  well  and  carry  plenty  of  bunches. 
Alicante  has  the  great  merit  of  being  easily  grown,  bears  enormous 
crops,  and  sets  with  certainty.  It  keeps  well  till  Christmas,  but  the 
skin  is  tough,  and  the  flavour  only  second-rate.  If  Alicante  only 
possessed  the  exquisite  flavour  of  Mrs.  Pince  it  [would  be  a  j  grand 
Grape  indeed. 
Gros  Colman  must  certainly  be  termed  the  king  of  late  Grapes 
as  far  as  appearances  go,  for  the  noble  berries  and  shapely  bunches 
always  command  attention.  It  has  also  a  thin  skin  if  not  given 
much  fire  heat  during  the  ripening  period,  but  many  market  growers 
apply  fire  heat  freely  to  toughen  the  skin  in  order  that  the  Grapes 
should  travel  well.  The  toughened  skin  is,  however,  usually  obtained 
at  the  expense  of  colour,  for  Gros  Colman  colours  splendidly  when 
only  a  slight  amount  of  fire  heat  is  given  during  the  ripening  stage, 
though  the  Vines  should  be  started  early  with  fire  heat.  Large 
quantities  of  Colmans  are  placed  on  the  markets  during  the  autumn, 
but  to  my  mind  the  flavour  then  is  poor,  almost  distasteful ;  but  the 
berries  being  juicy  and  having  plenty  of  flesh,  are  said  to  be  good  for 
invalids.  What  a  grand  Grape  Colman  would  be  if  it  possessed  the 
flavour  of  Black  Hamburgh  or  Madresfield  Court.  I  suspect,  however, 
that  raisers  have  before  now  tried  the  experiment  of  crossing  it  with 
one  or  other  of  those  two  fine  flavoured  Grapes. 
The  preceding  remarks  bring  to  my  mind  a  good  late  Grape  which 
I  saw  exhibited  recently,  and  which  does  not  seem  to  be  very  well 
known.  I  think  it  is  named  Royal  Leamington,  and  was  exhibited 
by  Mr.  Crump,  Witnash,  near  the  pretty  Midland  town  from  which 
it  derives  its  name.  The  variety  is  supposed  to  be  a  cross  between 
Alicante  and  Gros  Colman.  In  appearance  it  greatly  resembles 
Madresfield  Court,  and  after  tasting  it  I  feel  sure  it  must  have  some 
Madresfield  blood  in  it,  as  in  flavour  it  was  much  like  that  fine  Grape, 
and  is  certainly  the  best  flavoured  late  Grape  I  have  seen  with  the 
exception  of  Mrs.  Pince.  Royal  Leamington  appears  to  be  a  good 
keeper  too,  as  the  bunches  I  saw  during  the  last  week  in  November 
were  as  fresh  and  plump  in  the  berry  as  Lady  Downe’s.  The  latter 
Grape,  though  excellent  in  flavour,  does  not  seem  to  be  much  grown 
now,  probably  because  both  bunches  and  berries,  as  a  rule,  are  rather 
small ;  still,  it  is  well  worth  growing,  although  the  skin  is  thick,  for 
it  can  be  kept  in  good  condition  till  April.  The  consideration  of  late 
keeping  Grapes  is  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  gardeners  generally, 
and  I  think  might  with  advantage  he  dilated  upon  by  some  of  the 
many  noted  cultivators  who  peruse  the  pages  of  the  Journal  of 
Eoi'ticulture. — H.  D. 
- - - 
Distances  for  Fruit  Trees. 
One  ot  the  greatest  mistakes  made  when  planting  fruit  trees  is 
that  of  placing  them  too  closely  together.  A  systematic  method  as 
to  the  distance  between  certain  forms  of  trees  must  be  adopted,  as  the 
various  kinds  of  fruit  differ  in  their  habit  of  growth.  The  forms  in 
which  they  are  trained,  and  the  stocks  upon  which  they  are  grafted, 
influence  the  amount  of  space  required.  As  a  rule,  it  is  the  better 
plan  to  give  too  much  than  too  little  space  for  the  ultimate  require- 
ments'of  the  trees,  because  there  is  then  no  fear  of  failure  resulting 
from  one  tree  encroaching  on  another.  Numbers  of  good  trees  are 
spoiled  from  this  cause — the  initial  mistake  of  planting  too  thickly. 
It  is  a  wasteful  method  all  through,  involving  extra  labour,  a  larger 
number  of  trees,  impoverishment  of  the  soil,  unshapely  specimens, 
overthrows  the  balance  of  growth,  and  finally  results  in  a  diminished 
crop,  if  not  a  total  failure. 
On  the  other  hand,  look  at  trees  that  have  had  light  and  air  freely 
playing  all  round  and  through  them  from  the  time  they  were  planted 
until  reaching  their  full  development.  They  will,  if  judiciously 
managed  as  to  the  annual  pruning  or  thinning,  be  models  in  shape, 
healthy,  sturdy,  and  fruitful,  provided  spring  frosts  do  not  injure  the 
blooms  and  destroy  reasonable  chances  of  fruiting.  The  cultivator 
who  plants  thickly  may  have  in  view  the  removal  of  a  portion  as 
soon  as  they  are  likely  to  encroach  on  their  neighbours.  Those,  how¬ 
ever,  who  are  inclined  to  do  this  should  first  of  all  plant  permanent, 
trees  at  the  proper  distance  apart ;  then,  with  a  view  to  making  the 
most  of  unoccupied  space,  and  obtaining  a  temporary  supply,  extra 
trees  may  be  jdanted,  to  be  removed  eventually  and  used  elsewhere. 
It  may  be  interesting  to  some  intending  planters  to  know  what 
are  the  proper  and  generally  recognised  distances  which  the  most 
successful  cultivators  adopt  and  follow.  Taking  first  standard  trees, 
comprising  Apples,  Pears,  Plums,  and  Cherries,  these  naturally 
require  to  extend,  no  formal  pruning  being  carried  out,  hence  give 
them  at  least  24  feet.  Pyramidal  trees,  including  Pears,  Apples, 
Plums,  and  Cherries,  may  be  planted  6  to  12  feet  apart,  according  to 
the  kind  of  stock.  Pears  on  the  Quince  stock  may  be  6  feet  apart. 
If  on  the  Pear  stock  and  planted  at  this  distance  root-pruning  would  be 
necessary,  or  it  would  he  impossible  to  induce  the  strong  growths  to 
be  fruitful.  Without  root-pruning  12  feet  space  between  will  bo 
necessary.  For  pyramidal  Plums  a  distance  of  6  feet  as  a  minimum, 
and  12  feet  as  a  maximum,  is  necessary.  Pyramid  and  bush  Cherries 
are  usually  grafted  on  the  Mahaleb  stock,  and  if  the  trees  are  grown 
6  feet  apart  they  must  be  root-pruned  occasionally. 
Pyramid  and  bush  Apples  can  be  grown  6  feet  between  the  trees 
if  they  are  on  the  Paradise  stock  and  root-pruned.  Allow  double  the 
space  if  not  root-pruned.  Horizontally  trained  Apples,  Pears,  Plums 
and  Cherries,  whether  grown  on  walls  or  wires,  should  be  20  feet 
apart,  including  Apples  on  the  Crab  stock,  and  Pears  on  the  Pear 
stock,  but  Pears  on  the  Quince,  and  Apples  on  the  Paraaise  stocks 
may  be  12  to  15  feet  apart.  Upright  cordon  Pears,  Apples  and 
Cherries  ought  to  be  3  feet  apart  and  diagonal  cordons  2  Ret.  For 
the  latter  18  inches  in  many  cases  is  sufficient,  but  the  spurs  must  ‘ 
be  kept  closely  in.  Peaches  and  Nectarines,  also  Apricots  for  walls, 
fan  tra  ned,  require  20  feet  distance  between  them. 
Currants  and  Gooseberries  as  bushes  in  the  open  are  best  with 
6  feet  of  space  between  them.  Red  and  White  Currants  and 
Gooseberries  grown  on  walls  or  wires  as  cordons  must  have  each 
cordon  branch  9  inches  to  a  foot  apart.  Single  cordon  trees  plant 
foot  apart.  Upright  cordons  are  the  best.  Planting  at  the  proper 
distances  lays  the  foundation  of  success,  but  it  will  be  of  little  use 
if  the  trees  individually  are  not  kept  well  thinned  out  from  the 
first  so  that  the  branches  may  develop  under  the  good  influences  of 
unlimited  room.  This  is  the  next  matter  of  importance.  Gooseberries 
and  Currants  are  frequently  planted  between  standard  fruit  trees, 
where  they  succeed  well  and  do  not  obstruct  the  peimanent  trees. 
The  proper  distance  for  jlantingthem  in  this  position  is  5  or  6  feet, 
removing  the  bushes  nearest  the  trees  as  soon  as  signs  of  crowding 
are  apparent. — E.  Barrow. 
