March  7,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
199 
Apple  Diamond  Jubilee. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  held  on  February 
26tb,  in  the  Drill  Hall,  Westminster,  the  Fruit  Committee  recommended 
an  award  of  merit  to  the  large-sized  culinary  Apple,  of  which  our 
illustration  gives  a  fair  impression.  As  will  be  noticed,  the  eye  is  open, 
and  set  in  a  large  regular  basin,  bearing  a  marked  resemblance,  as  we 
have  already  noted,  to  the  well-known  Alfriston.  Diamond  Jubilee  has 
a  flattened  base  and  short  fleshy  stalk,  inserted  obliquely.  The  fruits 
shown  at  the  Drill  Hall  were  not  much  coloured,  being  mostly  green  or 
greenish-yellow,  with  a  little  red  on  the  sun-exposed  side.  The  variety 
is  described  as  bearing  well,  and  being  of  free  growth.  This  Apple  was 
exhibited  by  Mr.  A.  J.  Thomas,  fruit  grower,  Rodmersham,  Sitting- 
bourne,  Kent. 
- - 
Apple  and  Pear  Culture. 
The  cultivation  of  Apples  and  Pears  is  one  of  increasing  importance, 
as  was  recently  stated  by  Mr.  Crump  of  Madresfield  Court,  before 
the  Kidderminster  Gardeners’ 
Society.  In  the  second  part  of 
his  subject,  Mr.  Crump  spoke 
of  orchard  planting,  remarking 
that  the  many  dreadfully  neg¬ 
lected  orchards  to  be  seen  in 
the  county  would  not  help  them 
very  much  commercially.  Farm¬ 
ers  seemed  to  be  well-nigh 
incorrigible  in  that  respect. 
They  would  insist  upon  planting 
orchards  on  turf  or  with  crops, 
losing  sight  that  the  grass 
sucked  most  of  the  goodness 
out  of  the  land,  and  conse¬ 
quently  left  the  trees  to  die  of 
starvation.  The  Duke  of  Bed¬ 
ford  had  recently  been  making 
some  extensive  experiments  on 
that  question,  and  it  was  shown 
that  young  trees  planted  on 
open  land  made  fifteen  times 
more  growth  than  when  planted 
on  grass.  The  surface  of  the 
ground  ought  to  be  kept  quite 
clear,  or  the  fruit  crop  was  sure 
to  be  compromised.  Bush  trees 
should  be  planted  in  the  autumn, 
and  cut  fairly  well  back  in 
March.  Root-lifting  was  not 
necessary  with  standard  trees ; 
and,  personally,  he  would  plant 
all  bush  trees.  If  he  could 
afford  to  make  the  experiment 
he  would  plant  400  bush  trees  on  an  acre  of  land,  and  he  felt  sure  that 
the  result  would  be  most  satisfactory.  They  ought  to  pay  more 
attention  to  that  question,  seeing  the  large  sums  whioh  were  paid  for 
foreign  supplies.  He  saw  from  the  Board  of  Trade  returns  that  last 
July  English  dealers  paid  |to  foreign  growers  £7000  for  Strawberries, 
and  £65,000  for  Currants;  in  August,  £39,000  for  Apples  ;  September, 
£70,000  for  Apples  and  £85,000  for  Pears;  October,  £190,000  for 
Apples  and  £48,000  for  Pears  ;  and  in  November  £300,000  for  Apples, 
and  all  in  a  year  when  it  was  said  fruit  had  been  a  glut  on  the  market. 
That  meant  that  quite  £500,000  had  been  sent  to  foreign  growers  for 
Apples  and  Pears  in  one  half-year. 
English  growers  must  try  and  improve  the  quality  of  the  Apples  and 
Pears  grown.  They  were  greatly  handicapped  in  the  matter  of  distri¬ 
bution.  The  remedy  was  not  easy  to  find,  but  he  believed  it  would  be 
found  in  the  principle 'of  co-operation.  They  could  not  trust  the  English 
grower  to  grade  his  fruit,  for  he  was  guilty  of  placing  the  large  fruit 
on  the  top.  Foreigners  paid  much  attention  to  the  question  of  grading, 
and  in  a  barrel  of  Apples  they  would  find  the  fruit  uniform  in  size  ; 
each  Apple  was  the  counterpart  of  the  other.  Fruit-growers  ought 
to  send  their  products  to  one  centre,  where  it  could  be  properly 
graded  and  distributed.  That  could  only  be  done  on  co-operative 
lines.  If  retailers  could  rely  upon  getting  good  fruit  properly  graded 
and  sent  on  short  notice  from  such  a  centre  he  felt  sure  that  the 
scheme  would  be  a  success.  In  that  way  they  would  be  able  to  deal 
with  the  question  of  railway  rates,  for  such  a  central  body  could 
insist  upon  terms  as  favourable  as  were  given  to  the  foreigners. 
During  the  glut  of  last  year  he  did  not  believe  that  the  consumers 
had  obtained  fruit  any  cheaper  than  in  former  years.  Growers  had 
wasted  it  and  retailers  had  kept  up  the  prices.  Mr.  Crump  gave 
information  as  to  the  value  of  certain  manures,  and  spoke  of  the 
best  ways  of  dealing  with  the  winter  moth  and  other  insect  pests. 
Lane’s  Prince  Albert  was  the  most  successful  fruit-bearing  Apple 
tree,  and  Cox’s  Orange  Pippin  was  a  splendid  dessert  fruit  for 
cottagers’  use.  Among  the  Apples  almost  exclusively  grown  in 
Worcestershire  were  the  Carnation  Rose  and  the  Sack  Apple.  The 
fruit  might  be  kept  in  barrels  like  Potatoes,  but  that  was  done  at 
the  expense  of  the  flavour.  The  best  method  was  to  use  cellars  where 
a  uniform  temperature  oould  be  obtained. 
Seasonable  Work  in  Plant  Houses. 
{Concluded,  from  page  152.) 
Firm  potting  may,  as  a  rule,  be  considered  absolutely  essential  to 
success  in  plant  growing  ;  but  how  elastic  the  term  is,  and  the 
varying  conditions  under  which  a  greater  or  lesser  degree  of  firmness 
are  beneficial,  are  important  factors  which  the  plant  grower  must 
study  and  act  upon.  In  the  culture  of  plants  which  are  grown 
principally  for  the  beauty  of  their  foliage,  and  when  the  aim  is  to 
get  that  folinge  as  large  and  strong  as  possible,  a  rough  compost 
and  the  loosest  form  of  potting  practicable  is  usually  the  best.  Let 
me  take  as  examples  such  noble  leaved  plants  as  Alocasias  and 
Marantas,  which  are  rapid  growers  and  need  abundance  of  water. 
If  the  compost  is  used  in 
a  very  rough  state,  and  the 
pots  or  pans  well  drained,  only 
enough  pressing  is  necessary  to 
form  the  soil  into  a  connected 
whole,  so  that  the  roots  may 
pass  from  one  part  to  another. 
The  iuterstices  are  then  quickly 
filled  with  fleshy  roots,  and  the 
large  quantities  of  water  needed 
pass  freely  away.  A  close 
or  firm  soil  for  such  plants  would 
result  in  the  decay  of  the  young 
roots  and  unsatisfactory  top 
growth.  The  same  remarks 
apply  to  some  extent  to 
Caladiums,  for  although  they 
are  often  grown  in  a  rather 
close  compost  to  get  them  in 
perfection  with  large  highly 
coloured  leaves,  comparatively 
loose  potting  answers  the  best, 
as  the  immense  quantities  of 
water  thez  necessary  pass 
freely  away,  and  rapid  clean 
growth  is  the  result.  Gesneras, 
Tydrnas,  and  Achimenes  may 
also  be  classed  as  plants  which 
succeed  the  best  when  grown 
in  loose  open  compost  through 
which  water  and  air  pass  freely, 
and  although  they  are  cultivated 
principally  for  the  beauty  of  their  flowers,  the  production  of  strong 
growth  is  never  detrimental  to  floriferousness,  provided  such  growth 
receives  the  necessary  exposure  in  regard  to  light  and  air. 
Palms,  Dracaenas,  and  Crotons,  on  the  other  hand,  although  grown 
for  the  beauty  of  their  foliage,  are  plants  which  need  potting  firmly. 
One  reason  for  this  is  that  the  cultivator  aims  to  produce  as  large  and 
healthy  a  specimen  as  possible  in  a  comparatively  small  pot,  and  it  is 
only  by  packing  the  soil  closely  that  this  can  be  accomplished. 
When  such  plants  are,  however,  planted  in  a  border  where  there  is 
plenty  of  room  for  the  roots  to  ramble,  quicker  and  more  vigorous 
growth  may  be  secured  by  making  the  soil  less  firm. 
All  plants  which  are  cut  back  hard  each  year  are  usually  best 
potted  just  when  they  are  starting  into  growth.  If  the  bulk  of  the 
old  soil  is  then  shaken  away,  the  roots  shortened,  and  fresh  soil  added, 
young  roots  are  quickly  sent  out  and  satisfactory  top  growth  is  made. 
In  the  case  of  old  plants  of  the  various  species  and  varieties  of 
Adiantums  I  prefer  to  pot  just  before  the  crowns  begin  to  unfold  their 
young  fronds.  Since  I  adopted  that  plan  I  have  found  the  plants  so 
treated  make  stronger  fronds  than  when  the  usual  plan  of  repotting 
when  the  young  fronds  were  starting  was  practised.  When  young 
plants  are  potted  on  without  being  disturbed  at  the  roots,  potting  may 
of  course  be  done  at  any  time. 
Turning  to  plants  grown  in  greenhouses  or  other  cool  structures 
firm  potting  may  as  a  rule  be  termed  the  order  of  the  day. 
Pelargoniums  of  all  descriptions  require  potting  extra  firmly  to  secure 
short-jointed  floriferous  growths.  Fuchsias  of  different  varieties  may 
with  advantage  be  treated  on  different  lines.  Some  grow  very 
strongly  and  need  very  firm  potting,  others,  such  as  Molesworth  and 
Apple  Diamond  Jubilee. 
'■A 
