January  28,  1904. 
JGURi\AL  CF  liOLlTZGULTUKB  A.ND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
11 
Pears  in  Belgium. 
(Concluded  from  page  GO.) 
In  our  country  districts  we  are  confronted  everywhere  with 
the  bare  walls,  usually  black,  of  barns,  granaries,  cowhouses, 
stables,  coach-houses,  poultry  houses,  and  outhouses  generally, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  walls  of  dwelling-houses,  which  would  not 
only  look  much  better  covered  with  the  handsome  foliage  and 
still  handsomer  fruit  of  Pear  trees,  but  would  be  a  considerable 
source  of  profit.  Where  there  is  any  risk  of  cattle  coming  into 
contact  with  the  trees,  they  might  l)e  on  tall  stems  Avith  some 
w'ire  netting  round  the  base  to  keep  off  such  animals  as  sheep, 
which  are  fond  of  gnaAving  the  bark  of  young  trees,  to  say 
nothing  of  rabbits.  A  feAV  short  stout  stakes  round  the  root, 
forming  a  sort  of  fence,  might  be  an  additional  protection  to 
the  trees  for  the  first  feAv  years. 
W’here  there  is  no  danger  from  animals,  dAvarf  trees  are 
better  than  standards,  as  a  greater  amount  of  Avtdl  space  is 
covered  in  that  Avay  ;  but  better  than  either  for  high-boarded 
fences,  or  the  high  Avails  of  outbuildings,  is  the  system  of 
cordon  Pears — a  sy.stem  but  little  lAractised  in  Belgium  as  far 
as  my  experience  Avent — than  Avhich  there  is  no  other  method 
for  covering  high  Avails  more  quickly.  The  trees  are  5ft  to  6ft 
high  Avhen  plants — if  three-year-old  trees  are  bought — and 
will  run  up  another  2ft  the  fir.st  season  and  2ft  or  more  the 
second  season,  by  the  end  of  Avhich  they  Avill  be  8ft  to  10ft  high, 
even  allowing  for  a  little  cutting  back  Avhich  some  varieties 
need,  and  this,  remember,  not  Avith  one  or  two  isolated  branches 
Avith  large  bare  spaces  in  betAveen,  but  over  the  Avhole  space 
allotted  to  the  trees.  Thus  the  unsightly  Avail  of  an  outbuilding 
10ft  high  might  be  quite  covered  up  in  tAvo  years.  Even  Ivy 
Avill  not  do  this  in  the  same  time,  as  it  is  a  sIoav  groAver  till  it 
gets  established. 
In  the  case  of  farm  buildings,  or  stables  and  coach-houses 
of  an  ordinary  country  house,  AA'here  there  are  several  men  and 
boys  about,  thei’e  is  ahvays  the  risk  of  losing  some  of  the  fruit, 
and  doubtless  some  small  portion  must  ^ften  be  lo.st.  In 
Belgium  this  difficulty  does  not  enter  into  the  matter  so  much, 
as  it  is  a  country  of  small  farms  and  peasant  proprietors,  Avhere 
the  people  about  the  buildings  are  for  the  most  part  the  oAvner’s 
OAvn  family. 
Tlie  risk  of  lo.ss,  hoAveAmr,  even  in  this  country  may  be 
reduced  to  a  minimum  by  planting  late  autumn  or  Avinter  Pears, 
Avhich  are  not  toothsome  Avhile  on  the  tree,  and  it  is  just  these 
late  Pears  Avhich  pay  best  for  a  Avail — if  it  is  a  sunny  one — as 
in  some  summers  they  do  not  develop  their  best  flavour  in  the 
open.  Men  and  boys  Avho  Avill  not  hesitate  to  pick  a  ripe  Pear 
and  eat  it  Avill  generally  stop  short  at  putting  Pears  in  their 
pockets  and  taking  them  home  to  steAV. 
I  may  have  Avritten  as  if  all  Avails  Avere  sunny,  and  therefore 
suitable  for  late  Pears,  as  it  is  no  use  i)utting  such  Pears  on 
any  but  a  south-east,  south,  or  .south-AA  est  Avail ;  but  even  a 
north  Avail  Avill  do  for  some  of  the  early  hardy  Pears,  Avhile  an  east 
or  a  Avest  Avail,  more  particularly  the  latter,  Avill  suit  most  of 
the  October  and  November  Pears.  Where  the  Avail  Avill  only  do 
for  August  and  September  Pears,  of  course  the  immunity  from 
loss  referred  to  above  Avill  not  exist. 
As  regards  stocks,  Avhether  the  Pears  are  cordons,  dAvarf- 
trained,  or  standard-trained,  tliey  should  be  on  Quince  stocks, 
unless  the  soil  is  of  a  very  dry,  .sandy,  gravelly,  or  chalky  nature, 
always  excepting  the  case  of  those  feAv  Pears  Avhich  are  not 
a  success  on  the  Quince  .stock  in  any  soil.  W'here  the  soil  is 
so  dry  as  not  to  suit  the  surface-rooting  and  moisture-loving 
character  of  the  Quince  .stock,  then  the  trees  should  be  on  the 
Pear.  The  objection  to  the  Quince  stock  for  standards  in  the 
open,  namely,  that  the  Quince  has  not  a  sufficiently  .secure 
attachment  to  the  soil — not  strong  enough  anchor-roots,  in  fact 
— Avhile  the  point  of  union  of  the  Pear  and  Quince  is  ahvays 
liable  to  give  Avay  in  a  high  Avind  unless  the  trees  are  .staked — 
an  impracticability  Avith  standards  of  any  size— does  not  iupply, 
of  course,  to  trees  secured  to  a  Avail,  Avhether  standard-trained 
or  othei'Avise. 
Boarded  Avails  or  fences  havm,  as  a  rule,  to  be  either  tarred 
or  painted  every  feAv  years.  The  frequency  of  this  is  lessened 
Avhen  the  Avails  are  covered  Avith  foliage,  as  they  are  less  exposed 
to  the  alternations  of  rain  and  scorching  sun.  Still,  it  lias  to 
be  done  sometimes,  and  this  may  seem  at  first  sight  an  insuper¬ 
able  difficulty  in  groAving  Pears  on  Avails  or  fences  of  this 
cliaracter.  I 
Some  years  ago  I  had  to  have  all  my  garden  Inick  Avail  re-  1 
pointed  Avitli  cement,  and  as  my  Peaches,  Apricots,  and  Plums 
came  off  unscathed  in  the  process  it  may  be  as  Avell  to  say  hoAv 
I  managed  them,  for  if  trees  can  go  through  such  an  ordeal 
Avithout  injury — and  surely  a  bricklayer  among  fruit  trees  is 
a  veritable  bull  in  a  china  shop — there  is  no  reason  Avhy  trees 
.should  receive  any  damage  from  the  painting  or  tarring  of  a 
boarded  fence,  though  it  must  be  confes.sed  the  business  is  a 
nui.sance.  . 
If  the  Avork  is  done  in  late  October,  Avhich  is  about  the  lea.st 
inconvenient  time,  labour  may  be  spared  by  doing  no  autumn 
nailing-up  or  tying  in  till  it  can  be  done  for  good,  Avhile  if  the 
painting,  Ac.,  is  done  in  the  early  spring — and  the  latter  part 
of  March  is  the  very  late.st  time  at  Avhich  it  should  he  done — 
the  usual  Avinter  or  autumn  nailing  up  may  be  deferred  till 
after  then,  though  the  pruning  should  be  done  at  the  usual  time, 
it  being  possible  to  tell  Avhat  Avood  must  be  cut  out  for  Avant  of 
space  Avithout  actually  nailing  or  tying  it  in. 
Whenever  it  is  done,  the  Avhole  of  the  trees  must,  of  cour.se, 
be  unfastened  from  the  AA'all,  the  branches  tied  carefully 
together  in  convenient  .sheaves — not  too  tightly,  or  blossom  buds 
Avill  be  broken  off — and  the  bundles  of  branches  pulled  tAvo  or 
three  feet  from  the  Avail  by  attaching  them  by  a  cord  to  stakes 
driven  into  the  ground,  or  to  other  trees  conveniently  near, 
It  seems  a  good  deal  of  bother  on  paper,  but  it  is  not  so  much 
as  it  appears  Avhen  i-esolutely  taken  in  hand,  and  it  .should  be 
borne  in  mind  that  it  need  not  be  done  more  often  than  once 
in  four  or  fiAm  years. 
If  a  man  is  a  benefactor  to  his  country  aaIio  makes  tAvo  ears 
of  Avheat  groAV  Avhere  only  one  greAv  before,  he  is  also  a  bene¬ 
factor  Avho  in  any  Avay  increases  the  produce  of  his  ground  by  using 
space  Avhich  has  never  been  used  before,  even  if  it  is  only  for 
such  comparative  luxuries  as  Pears.  The  time  is  coming  Avhen 
Ave  shall  make  more  use  of  our  resources---agriculturally  and 
horticulturally — than  Ave  have  done  in  the  past.  I  knoAV  of  a 
very  successful  exhibitor  of  Pears  Avho  groAvs  nearly  the  whole 
of  his  shoAv  fruit  in  such  positions  as  have  been  described  above. 
Ab  uno  disce  oinncs. — A.  Petts. 
Early  Rivers  Cherry. 
This  seedling  Cherry  Avas  raised  by  the  late  Mr.  Rivers  from 
Early  Purple  Gean.  The  tree  fiivst  produced  fruit  in  1869,  and 
received  a  F.C.C.  from  the  R.H.S.  in  1872.  It  is  an  abundant 
bearer,  the  fruits  being  generally  ripe  at  the  end  of  June,  or 
before.  Messrs.  Rivers  and  Son’s  description  is :  “  Large, 
black;  very  hardy,  early,  and  rich;  small  stone.  This  fine 
Cherry  is  hecoming  more  popular  every  year,  and  has  proved 
the  most  valuable  kind  for  market  planters.  Standards  pro¬ 
duce  large  crops  of  handsome  fruit  ready  for  gathering  early 
in  July  out  of  doors;  it  has  been  thoroughly  tested  in  the 
Kentish  orchards,  from  one  of  Avhich,  in  the  season  1899,  the 
fruit  realised  32s.  per  bushel  of  481b  net.  In  the  orchard  house 
it  ripens  the  second  Aveek  in  June,  and  Avill  hang  for  a  month.” 
Messrs.  Bunyard  and  Co'.,  Ltd.,  say  that  it  is  one  “of  the  be.st 
for  forcing  or  for  the  Cherry  house,  and  valuable  for  Avail ;  as 
an  orchard  tree  it  requires  close  pruning  for  three  or  four 
years,  and  then  forms  a  grand  tree.  The  fruit  makes  a  very 
high  price  in  the  market.”  They  add  the  subjoined  note  in  their 
catalogue:  “The  culture  of  Cherries  in  a  cheap  cold  house, 
constructed  for  the  purpose,  is  both  profitable  and  interesting. 
OAving  to  the  birds,  it  is  seldom  they  are  presei'ved  until 
thoroughly  ripe.  Linder  house  culture  Cherries  attain  a  size  and 
colour  seldom  seen,  Avhile  the  flavour  is  most  delicious.  All 
that  is  required  is  to  prevent  aphides  by  timely  fumigation, 
keep  the  roots  Avell  supplied  Avith  Avater,  admit  fresh  air  fx'eely, 
and  syringe  frGC|uently  in  the  early  .stages  of  groAvth.” 
The  Dodecatheons. 
Some  of  the  members  of  the  Dodecatheon  genus  have  been 
introduced  into  this  country  from  the  Avestern  hemisphere  more 
than  a  century,  and  the  American  CoAvslips  are  among  the  hand¬ 
somest  of  hardy  flowers.  \Vhy  they  are  called  by  this  fanciful 
name  is  not  so  easily  understood.  Certainly  they  belong  to  the 
same  family  as  the  CoAvslips,  but  they  have  no  resemblance 
Avhatever  to  the  latter  floAvers.  They  belong  to  the  Primulacese, 
and  in  groAving  them  it  is  most  beneficial  to  associate  them 
Avith  such  plant.s  as  Primulas,  Soldanellas,  and  Cyclamens. 
Where  any  of  these  genera  Avill  flourish  they  are  eciually  happy. 
If  a  bed  is  set  apart  after  due  preparation  for  Primulas  the 
Dodecatheons  may  be  depended  upon  to  flourish  as  Avell.  It  is 
necessary  that  the  position  selected  should  be  a  moi.st  and 
shady  one.  W'e  have  seen  Primulas  planted  in  .sunny  positions, 
and  unless  constant  and  copious  supplies  of  Avater  are  given 
them  during  a  dry  season  they  are  literally  baked.  They  succeed 
remarkably°Aveil  on  the  rockery,  planting  them  in  shady  places, 
readily  establishing  themselves,  and  floAvering  very  freely.  Some 
groAvers  recommend  for  their  successful  culture  light  peaty  soil. 
Wuth  that  treatment,  hoAvever,  Ave  do  not  agree,  kno’.ving  well 
