168 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
August  20,  190?. 
Figs  under  Glass. 
Eahly  Forced  Trees  in  Pots.  —  The  trees  may  be 
placed  outdoors  when  the  wood  is  ripe,  hut  they  must  not  he  so 
treated  if  there  is  any  doubt  about  this,  keeping  them  under 
glass,  Avith  a  free  circulation  of  air.  These  are  matters  in  A\hich 
the  cultivator  ivill  need  to  exercise  judgment.  In  either  case 
encourage  surface  roots  by  dressings  of  manure  and  rough  loam 
in  equal  parts,  adding  a  sixth  of  old  mortar  rubbish,  and  a  sprink¬ 
ling  of  dissolved  bones.  See  that  those  placed  outdoors  do  not 
root  from  the  base  of  the  pots.  Cut  off  all  roots  that  have  passed 
into  the  plunging  material,  top-dress,  after  which  give  a  good 
watering,  and  they  will  only  need  v'ater  afterwards  sufficient  to 
keen  the  foliage  in  health.  Where  trees  have  to  be  bought  orders 
should  now  be  placed.  The  trees  should  have  stems  about  a  foot 
high,  and  well  formed  heads,  with  the  growth  fairly  thin,  and  the 
wood  ripened  to  the  points  of  the  .shoots.  The  best  varieties  for 
early  forcing  are  St.  John’s,  Early  Violet,  Yv'hite  Ischia,  and 
Brown  Turkey. 
Earliest  Planted  Out  Trees. — In  the  earliest  houses 
the  trees  will  now  be  ripening  their  wood,  and  ivatering  may  be 
discontinued,  air  being  given  very  liberally.  If,  however,  the 
second  crop  is  not  yet  ripened  moderate  moistiire  in  the  soil  lyill 
be  necessary,  with  a  free  circulation  of  warm  air  to  insure  a  high 
quality  of  the  fruit.  When  the  fruit  is  off  cut  out  the  growths 
not  recpiirecl  for  bearing  or  furnishing  the  trees,  and  take  prompt 
measures  against  insects. 
Unsatisfactory  Trees. — Where  the  trees  grow  ram¬ 
pantly  and  produce,  their  crops  of  fruit  root-pruning  should  be 
resorted  to,  confining  the  roots  to  a  narrow  border  of  3ft.  to  4ft. 
Avidth.  A  trench  taken  out  at  this  distance  from  the  stem  after 
the  fruit  is  gathered  Avill  check  the  tendency  to  a  late  groAVth, 
assist  Avith  ripening  of  the  avoocI,  more  particularly  if  the  groAvths 
are  thinly  disposed,  and  the  points  of  the  shoots,  instead  of  being 
closely  tied  in,  are  alloAved  to  groAV  up  to  the  glass.  If  the 
drainage  be  defective  it  Avill  be  necessary  to  lift  the  trees  in  the 
autumn  as  soon  as  the  leaves  commence  falling,  and  replant  in 
fresh  soil.  Place  in  Din  to  12in  of  drainage,  roughest  at  the 
bottom  and  smallest  at  the  top,  and  on  this  lay  3in  thickness  of 
old  mortar  rubbish,  freed  of  old  laths  and  other  pieces  of  Avood, 
smashed  and  sifted  Avith  a  ^in  sieve,  using  that  remaining  in  the 
sieve,  the  finer  particles  being  used  for  mixing  Avith  the  soil  to 
the  extent  of  one-sixth.  A  3in  drain  must  be  proA’ided  beloAv 
the  drainage  to  carry  off  superfluous  water.  Turfy  loam,  in¬ 
clined  to  be  strong  rather  than  light,  forms  a  suitable  compost, 
adding  to  it  the  one-sixth  of  old  mortar  rubbish  before  mentioned, 
and  a  bushel  of  ground  coprolites  to  every  cartload  of  loam.  In 
replanting  ram  the  compo.st,  Avell  incorporated,  thoroughly  about 
the  roots,  spreading  them  out  evenly  Avell  up  to  the  surface,  and 
with  soil  betAveen  each  layer,  so  as  not  to  liaAm  all  the  leaves 
together.  This  Avill  insure  steady  progressive  groAA’th,  short- 
jointed,  fruitful  Avood,  a  solidified  compost  duly  supplied  Avith 
nutritive  elements  securing,  Avith  judicious  A’^entilation  and 
management,  solidified  groAvth  and  large  heaA'y  fruit.  Should 
the  drainage  be  good  it  Avill  only  be  necessary  to  detach  the  roots 
as  adA'ised,  confine  the  roots  to  the  narroAA'  border,  and  remove 
some  of  the  old  soil  from  amongst  the  roots^  supplying  a  top- 
dressing  AA'ith  the  soil  above  stated. — Grower. 
Fruit  Supply— Crops  and  Prices. 
Plums  and  Damsons  alike  have  failed  all  over  the  country  with 
depressing  unanimity.  Just  noAv  the  fair  fields  of  Kent  are 
yielding  a  beggarly  but  Avelcome  harvest  of  Eivers’  Prolifics  and 
Kent  Czars,  both  blue  Plums,  but  varying  very  considerably  in 
size,  the  last-named  variety  being  the  larger  of  the  two.  They 
are,  hoAvever,  only  commanding  the  moderate  price  of  from 
6s.  6d.  to  7s.  per  sieve  of  241bs,  the  demand  being  far  from  brisk 
on  account  of  the  price,  Avhich,  compared  AA'ith  that  of  fruitful 
seasons  is,  of  course,  very  high.  There  are  Plums  even  dearer, 
ba.'kets  of  big,  luscious-looking,  violet-tinted  Plums  from  France 
realising  from  10s.  Cd.  to  12s. 
The  budding  Apples  shared  the  fate  of  the  Plums.  Conti¬ 
nental  groAvers  have  been  alive  to  the  situation,  and  hence 
Italian  Apples,  Avith  something  of  the  high  pink  and  olive  com¬ 
plexion  of  the  dark  'daughters  of  the  country,  are  to  be  seen 
outshining,  in  appearance  at  least,  the  rather  sour-looking,  but 
much  approved  KesAvick.  The  foreign  supply  is,  however,  not 
appreciable!  where  big  markets  like  Manchester  are  concerned, 
and  so  Apples,  like  all  other  fruit,  are  also  dear,  the  price  of 
English  fruit  ranging  from  18s.  to  30s.  per  CAvt.  The  Italian 
Apples  are  quoted  at  5s.  Gd.  per  basket  of  221bs.  Italy  is  also 
supplementing  the  poor  supply  of  Green  Gages,  and  the  Avhole- 
sale  dealers  are  asking  about  8s.  6d.  for  baskets  containing  from 
141b  to  161b. 
A  fcAv  people  may  feel  inclined  to  accept  the  Tomato  as  a 
substitute  for  fruit,  and  if  so,  they  Avill  be  pleased  to  learn  that 
this  bright-hued  vegetable  is  arriving  in  Manchester  from 
Guernsey  at  the  rate  of  about  4,000  baskets  a  day,  and  is  being 
sold  Avholesale  at  the  low  price  of  from  3d.  to  4d.  per  lb. 
Fruit  Crop  in  Blairgowrie  District. 
A  record  despatch  of  fruit  in  BlairgoAvrie  district  was  made 
recently,  Avhen  about  360  tons,  mostly  Raspberries,  Avere  railed. 
The  record  for  one  Aveek  last  year  Avas  fully  250  tons^  and  the 
preAuous  year  fully  200  Aons.  The  large  increase  this  year  is 
due  to  the  greatly  extended  acreage  under  fruit  cultivation. 
Growers  are  now  realising  that  the  crop  is  to  be  much  shorter 
than  expected,  and  some  have  been  endearmuring  to  buy  from 
others  in  order  to  prevent  difficulties  in  the  event  of  their  being 
unable  to  complete  their  contracts.  From  tAvo-thirds  to*  three- 
fourths  of  the  total  Raspberry  crop  has  now  been  railed,  and 
picking  Avill  continue  for  at  least  a  fortnight  yet.  The  highest 
price  realised  so  far  is  £43  per  ton,  free  on  rail.  At  this  time 
last  year  they  Avere  selling  at  from  £20  to  £23  per  ton.  StraAv- 
berries  are  finished,  except  a  ferv  late  A’arieties,  which  are  being 
sent  off  in  small  lots.  They  can  noAv  command  from  £33  to  £35 
per  ton,  against  £24  to  £25  last  year. 
Fruit  Crops  in  the  Hexham  District. 
The  season  for  the  smaller  bush  fruits  is  rapidly  drawing  to 
a  close,  and  has  been  one  of  the  poorest  for  many  years.  Straw¬ 
berries  have  been  a  fairly  good  yield,  though  the  anticipations 
formed  about  a  month  ago  have  not  been  fully  realised,  this 
being  doubtless  oAving  to  the  Avant  of  Avarm,  bright  sunshine. 
OAving  to  the  late  frosts.  Gooseberries,  Raspberries,  Black  and 
Red  Currants  have  been  very  disappointing  in  many  instances, 
the  yield  being  a  very  meagre  one.  In  some  gardens,  Avhere  the 
Red  Currant  bushes  Avere  in  sheltered  places,  the  crop  has  been 
fully  up  to  the  average.  In  feAV  years  have  Black  Currants 
reached  such  a  high  price  as  this  year,  Avhile  another  effect  of 
the  scarcity  of  fruit  has  been  the  enhanced  demand  for  Rhubarb, 
Avhich,  along  with  such  fruits  as  the  Raspberry,  makes  excellent 
jam  or  jelly.  Of  the  larger  or  tree  fruits.  Plums  are  almost  an 
entire  failure,  and  Apples  and  Pears  are  much  beloAv  an 
aA'erage,  though  there  are  Apple  trees  of  the  later  varieties  well 
covered  Avith  fruit. 
Fruit  Famine  in  Cambridgeshire. 
The  general  scarcity  of  home-grown  fruit  this  year  amounts  to 
almost  a  famine  in  the  famous  Green  Gage  and  Plum  groAving  dis^ 
tricts  of  south-Avest  CVvinbridgeshire.  So  complete  Avas  the 
destruction  of  the  crops  by  the  spring  frost  that  in  some  orchards 
there  are  absolutely  none,  Avhile  in  others  two  or  three  on  a  tree 
is  all  that  can  be  seen.  Only  tAvo  years  ago,  of  Green  Gages  alone 
the  consignments  from  the  villages  of  Aleldreth  and  Alelbourn 
from  the  little  station  on  the  G.N.R.,  AA-hich  Serves  the  tAvo  vil¬ 
lages,  amounted  on  tivo  clays  to  30  tons  each,  and  one  week’s 
return  Avas  140  tons  of  Gages  from  this  .small  station.  For  the 
occupiers  of  small  homesteads  Avith  orchards  attached,  of  whom 
there  are  ciuite  a  number  in  the  villages  hereabouts,  it  is  a  serious 
loss  indeed.  In  a  fruitful  year  an  orchard  Avill  pay  nearly  the 
whole  year’s  rent  of  a  homestead.  But  this  year  it  Avill  mean 
£100  rental  for  a  house  Avorth  in  itself  £20,  and  no  produce  from 
the  orchard.  As  a  rule,  orchard  land  Avhich  is  fairly  planted,  will 
make  about  £10  an  acre  rent,  which  is  a  very  good  thing  for  the 
landlord,  and  also  for  the  tenant  in  a  good  or  even  average  year. 
The  more  enterprising  growers  who  have  land  available  for  adding 
to  their  planting,  adopt  the  expedient  of  planting  Gooseberries 
or  small  fruit  beneath  the  young  Plum  or  Apple  trees,  and  for  a 
few  years  this  is  a  source  of  profit.  This  year,  owing  to  the 
famine  in  stone  fruit.  Gooseberries  have  made  an  exceptionally 
good  price,  and  have  made  a  half  crop  of  this  fruit  Avorth  about 
as  much  as  a  full  crop  of  an  ordinary  season.  But  these  groAvers 
may  be  counted  on  the  fingers’  ends,  and  in  all  the  older  home¬ 
steads  there  is  no  compensation  whatever  for  a  disastrous  season. 
Apples  and  Pears  are  almost  as  bad  as  Plums.  In  one  case  in  a 
village  adjoining  the  centre  of  the  Green  Gage  orchards  referred 
to,  a  AA’ell-knoAvn  groAver  of  Apples  e.stimates  that  in  an  orchard 
from  which  in  a  good  year  he  gathers  2,000  bushels  of  Apples,  he 
Avill  this  year  only  have  about  10  bushels,  or  one  Apple  this  year 
for  every  200  in  a  good  year.  For  the  growers  of  stone  fruit 
there  is  consolation  in  the  fact  that  the  fruitless  trees  are  in  a 
fine  thriving  condition,  and  are  making  rapid  groAvth,  and  give 
promise  of  being  in  a  good  bearing  condition  for  another  year. 
Apples  are,  hoAvever,  the  exception  to  the  rule,  and  do  not  look 
at  all  healthy.  Fortunately  for  the  manufacturers  of  jam,  there 
has  been  a  plentiful  crop  of  Strawberries  and  a  fair  crop  of  Rasp¬ 
berries,  and  the  consumer  of  fruit  is  not  likely  to  suffer  so  much 
