Mar:h  2\  1904. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
251 
Book  Notice. 
Tlie  Iruit  Garden.^ 
The  fruit  garden  is  one  of  the  three  main  departments  of 
horticulture,  and  to  our  )nind  it  is  superior  to  the  other 
tAvo,  i.e.,  those  of  flower  culture  and  vegetable  groAving. 
Fruit  culture  demands  much  the  greater  skill  and  more  extended 
experience,  for  Avlhle  mistakes  in  flower  and  plant  culture,  or 
in  vegetable  gardening,  can  be  remedied  generally  Avithin  one 
season,  the  same  cannot  be  accomplished  Avith  ruined  fruit  trees. 
The  book  before  us  ought  to  find  a  place.  It  deals  Avith  this 
great  subject  in  a  very  useful,  though  not  altogether  in  the 
Inost  comprehensive  Avay.  Every  tree  or  shrub  AAliose  fruit  is  of 
value  in  dietary,  is  included  in  the  list  of  subjects  upon  Avhich 
hints  are  given.  The  reference  to  any  one  of  them  is  of  the 
simplest,  since  the  book  is  alphabetically  arranged.  Though 
3Ir.  George  Uunyard  and  -Mr.  Owen  Thomas  aro  the  principal 
authors,  they  arc 
by  no  means 
alone.  Mr. 
Bunyard  repre¬ 
sents  commer¬ 
cialism  ;  Mr.  O. 
Thomas.  profes¬ 
sional  private  gar¬ 
dening  ;  and  ar*e 
there  tAvo  better 
knoAvn  or  better 
qualified  men  in 
their  respective 
realms  ? 
But  Mr.  James 
Hudson,-  of  Gun- 
nersbirry  •  House, 
Avhose  experience 
extends  con- 
siderably  over  a 
generation, 
perhaps  nearly  a 
generation 
and  a  half,  is  also 
draAvn  upon  for 
special  informa¬ 
tion,  and  Mr.  W. 
Watson,  of  Kbav, 
furnishes  a  de- 
scripth'e  chapter, 
entitled,  “  Tropical 
Fruits,  and  Hoav 
to  GroAV  Them.” 
Our  OAvn  veteran 
contributor  Mr. 
George  Abbey, 
executed  the 
numerous  draAv- 
ings,  illustrating 
hoAv  to  prune,  pot, 
or  ti’ain  the  trees, 
and  Avhicli  very 
materially  add  to 
the  utility  of  this 
book,  Avhich  is 
also  Avell  illu.s- 
trated  by  half¬ 
tone  blocks. 
The  breadth  of 
treatment  is  shoAvn 
by  the  fact  that 
there  are  extended 
chapters  on  fruit 
culture  in  America,  in  France,  and  in  the  Channel  Islands ; 
chapters  Avhich,  avo  Amnture  to  think,  Avill  be  amongst  the  best- 
appreciated  by  considerable  numbers  of  subscribers.  Insect 
pests,  of  course,  compel  attention,  and  the  ncAver  subjects  of 
Avholofruit  preservation  and  the  best  means  for  fruit  storage 
arc  amply  described,  both  by  text  and  illustration.  And  carry¬ 
ing  the  utilitarian  aspect  to  a  legitimate  conclusion,  the  later 
pages  are  entirely  devoted  to  outline  draAvings  of  fruits — fruits 
of  all  kinds — to  shoAV  to  what  extent  the  produce  from  the 
same  variety  Avill  vary.  The,se  outline  draAvings,  beginning 
Avith  Apples  and  ending  Avith  StraAA berries,  occupy  from  page 
397  to  page  496,  or  99  pages  altogether. 
FolloAving  the  cultural  notes  given  under  each  chapter  there 
aro  .selections  of  varieties,  amounting  to  100  in  the  case  of 
Apples,  69  of  Pears,  32  of  Peaches,  43  of  Plums,  Bullaces  and 
*  “  The  Fruit  Garden  ”  by  Geo.  Bnny.ard,  V.M  II.,  and  Owen  Thoma.s,  V.M.H. 
London  :  PublLshed  at  the  Office  of  “  Country  Life,”  Southampton  Street,  Covent 
Garden,  W.C.,  190'.  Price,  2is. 
Damsons,  and  14  of  Xectarincs.  These  varieties  are  all  describt  il 
with  skill  and  accuracy,  and  what  is  of  great  value  from  a 
practical  gardener’s  point  of  viesv,  some  words  are  usually 
giA'cn,  de.scribing  the  character  of  the  tree  as  a  grower  and 
bearer.  An  attempt  has  (widently  been  made  to  superscribe 
and  supplement  the  “Fruit  Manual”  Avhicli  lias  been  in  need 
of  revision  for  some  years.  .\s  a  Avork  of  referenccA  (|uite 
as  much  as  a  guide  to  the  cultiA'ator,  thy  “Fruit  Garden”  can 
therefore  be  recommended.  In  this  place,  too.  one  must  con¬ 
gratulate  the  editor  (Mr.  H.  H.  Thomas)  on  the  painstaking 
care  evinced  in  the  text  and  arrangement,  and  though  slips 
may  be  discovered  (Ave  notice  that  Thompson  Pear  is  given 
as  Thompson’s)  the  book  augurs  Avell  for  the'  future  A\ork  of 
our  younger  editors. 
One  could  have  dc-.'ired  that  more  of  the  commercial  eleir.ent 
Avero  included;  facts,  that  is,  Avhich  relate  to  rentals,  railway 
rates,  labourers’  Avages,  cost  of  trees  on  given  areas,  average 
estimated  returns  from  various  crops,  and  much  more  could 
have  br'.-n  said  about  the  disposal  of  produce  on  the  markets. 
The  day  has  come  Avlien  evt  n  professional  private  gardeners  (for 
Avhom  the  book  is 
mainly  Avritten) 
desire  to  knoAV  and 
learn  beyond  their 
own  particular  in¬ 
terests,  and  on  na¬ 
tional  grounds  the 
inclusion  of  these 
facts  Avon  Id  have 
been  greatly  Avel- 
cqmed.  The  ques¬ 
tion  also  arises 
A'.hetlu'r  such  a 
book  Avon  Id  not 
have  added  to  it.s 
u  n  d  o  u  b  t  e  d  1  y 
high  value  and  to 
its  purpose,  to 
have  had  classifica¬ 
tion  ‘-chemes  in¬ 
cluded  for  the 
A'arions  fruits.  No 
mention  is  made 
of  P  r  o  f  e  s  s  o  r 
Waugli's  “  .Syste¬ 
matic  Pomology,’’ 
but  it  Avon  Id  not 
have  swelled  the 
.size  of  the  Avoi'k 
greatly  to  have 
given  some  space 
to  so  important 
a  subject,  and  it 
Avoukl,  moreover, 
have  awakened  a, 
new  interest  in 
the  study  of 
pomology,  espe- 
c  ally  among  the 
younger  cultiva¬ 
tors,  and  others 
A\  ho  are  intere,sted. 
In  his-  short 
treatise’  upon  the- 
Apple,  Mr.  Bun- 
y  a  r  d  r  e  c  o  m- 
mends  the  utili¬ 
sation  of  roof- 
s  p  a  c  0  s  Av  h  e  r- 
e  V  e  r  this  is 
available  and 
within  the  range 
of  practicability. 
In  cold  and  northern  districts  he  thinks  the  Apple,  at  least  the 
finer  A-arieties,  Avell  deserves  Avail  space,  and  in  the  south  of 
Scotland  is  by  no  means  infrequent  to  cultivate  the  softer-fruited 
varieties  on  the  garden  Avails.  Referring  to  outdoor  Peaches, 
on  Avails,  Mr.  Owen  Thomas  is  of  opinion  that  gardeners  do 
not  fully  appreciate  the  adaptability  cf  this  tree  in  the  list 
of  hardy  fruits,  and  names  a  number  of  .Midland  counties 
Avherein  it  succeeds  in  the  open.  Yes,  and  here,  again, 
Scottish  gardeners  have  persevered,  and  w  e'  can  nu  ntion  a. 
number  of  places  where  splendid  Peach  crops  are  gathered 
from  open-air  Avall.s  in  every  faA’onrable  season.  Indeed,  this 
practice  of  Peach  culture  on  open  Avails  in  the  North  is  largely  a 
matter  of  necessity,  in  the  absence  of  sufficient  glass-house 
protection. 
In  his  list  of  Apples  Mr.  Bunyard  omits  the  Melrose,  Avhich 
Ave  occasionally  have  sent  to  us.  and  Avhich  is  an  early  dessert 
Apple  of  good  eating  (nialit.AU  though  no  good  for  travedin.g, 
and  Avhich  soon  passes  out  of  season. 
Stocks  as  Pot  Plants.  See  page  24!). 
