‘5 ; i
:!
have been grown on particular grounds, in particular years ; but 20 cwt. is considered a largo crop and
ra the r more than half that quantity the usual one, with a total failure three years out of five, so that tho
average produce is not more than 5 cwt. per acre. Williamson thinks th e failure, happening so often
may be owing to tho excessive productiveness of the successful years, owing to the mode of priming, by
which “ the whole nourishment of th e tree is expended in the production of fru it.” He recommends
leaving tho trees ra the r more m a state of nature, and, from experiments in his own garden, thinks a
regular crop in succession will thereby be obtained. {H o r t. T ra n s ., vol. iv. p. 152.)
4677. T/ie R e v . G . Sw a yn e , having had a plantation of filberts, which for th e twenty years of thcir existence
had produced very little fruit, began to suspect a want of male blossoms. He therefore selected
a number of catkins from the common hazel, and suspended them over th e scarlet blossom of his filberts-
and the result w-as, that the first year he had more fruit than he had during the twenty preceding years.
To prove that it was owing to the farina of the male blossoms, ho tried some with and some without this
assistance, and found the fruit produced as the male blossoms applied. He taught this mode to a neigh-
bourmg farmer’s wife who had a row of barren trees, and she was “ much delighted ” w ith the plan ; put
It in execution the n ex t day, and the same season sent her instructor 6 lbs. of very fine filberts from four
old stunted trees th at had not borne one for many years. {H o r t. T ra n s ., vol. v. p. 316.)
4678. In s e c ts . Several insects feed upon th e leaves of filberts, but without doing them much injurv
Great quantities of the nuts are, however, destroyed by the maggot or larva of the nut-weevil ('Balaniniis
p. 494.). The egg is inserted in th e fru it through a hole,made by the long snout
of th e female : it is there hatched, and th e larva feeds upon the kernel, which continues notwithstanding
to ripen, and the nut falls from th e tree a t the same time as those not infested. The only remedy against
this injury is to examine the nuts after they have been gathered, and carefully to remove all those that
have been perforated. The perfect insect makes its appearance early in the month of August and mav
then be shaken from the hazel trees.
4679. T a k in g the crop. “ The maturity of th e fruit is indicated the cup turning brown, and by the
nuts, winch have also become brown, readily quitting the husk. House a quantity for keeping • gather
them in bunches as they grow. If a portion, after being properly dried, be laid in boxes, and covered with
dry sand to exclude the air, it will tend to preserve th e kernels from shrinking ; and they will thus keep
well for a m onth or two.” Braddick kept nuts two years by closing them up air-tight in emptied butter-
firkms, and placing these in a cool cellar.
Sect. V. N a tiv e , o r neglected F ru its , deserving C u ltiva tio n .
4680. Though somc of o ur native fr u it s recommend themselves by their already known
utility, as_ the cranberry ; yet others, as the sorb, haw, &c., are only mentioned with a
view of directing scientific horticulturists, of leisure and means, to try what can be done
in improving them. We shall enumerate them in the order of stone-fmits and bcn-ics.
4681. The sloe is the T r im u s sp in ó sa L . {E n g . B o t. 842.) ; Icos. Monog. L . and B o sà c c v J . Ripe, it
makes an excellent preserve; unnpe, th e inspissated juice forms the Germanocacfo,and affords an almost
indeliffie ink used to mark linens. It is used in home-made wines, to communicate the colour and rough-
n e s s q tre d p o rt; and the leaves are employed to adulterate the teas of China. Knight and others
cqnsideryhe sloe as the parent of the bullace (P . insititia), and all th e varieties of the common plum
p ru n u r tH f r ^ shrubbery plant the sloe is most ornamental, blossoming before all others of the
4682. The hird-cheri'y is the V r h n u s T a d u s L ., Gé rasus V à d u s Dec. {E n g , B o t. 1383.) The fru it is
nauseous to most palates ; b u t infused in gin or whiskey it greatly improves these spirits, and is onlv
¿irpassed by an infusion of peach-leaves. A few trees, therefore, are desirable, especially in Scotland and
Ucland. In shrubberies, its long upright spikes of white flowers, which appear early most ornamental. r r j in the season , are-
4683. The m o u n ta in -a s k is the V ijru s a u c u p á r ia E. B., Sórbus a u c u p á r ia L . { E n g . B o t. 337.); Ic o sá n .
u i - r e n t . E . and H o /c e c e J . T h e berries are eaten in some parts of Scotland and Wales, and afford an
to ? .' “ . t o t e spirit. _ Grafted op the serrice-tree^ as is freabie
meaiy berries " i th mpch less acid than those of the mopntain-ash These trees are most
™ * t o t e t o f e t a g a p t e e iro rc h a rd s
T ipdl : s i f e s t t a ! ‘ ‘“ t o » " ' t o " i P u n td la . Monog. L . and G ro ssy lic ca ,
t e cu ltifS im , t l e h f h V t o tta “ more acid than tho common red c n r ra n t; b n t by crossing
uommim bramhle, T liihm J ru tich su s L. (E n g . B o t. 715.) ; 'lo o t. P o lyg . L . and R o s to v J
1 lie fiuit IS powerfully acid and astringent, forms agreeable pies and tarts, medicinal gargles, and may
"'to
also be used raw. Tbere are several species and varieties, all to be found in our hedges and woods ; and
most of which were collected together, and planted in the garden of th e Horticultural Society.
4687. Th e c lm id h e rry (RiiiMS ChamcEmbrus L., E n g . B o t. 716.) {Jig. 813.). In some parts ot the High-.
landsof Scotland,the fruit
is also called roebuck-ber-
ries or knot-borries, and
they are perhaps the most
grateful and useful kind
of fruit gathered by the
Scotch Highlanders. On
the sides and near the
bases of the mountains it
may be collected for several
months in succession.
It is not cultivated
without difficulty, and it
seldom yields its fruit in a
garden. By raising from
seed, and again from the
seeds of plants so raised,
and so on for six or eight
g enerations,perhapsat the
same time crossing the
flowers with those of tbe
bramble or raspberry, this
plant might possibly become
a valuable accession
to the kitchen-garden. Its
berries are ripe in September.
(See a curious
liaper in Caled. H o r t. M em ., vol. i. p. 383.) In Lapland and Sweden the fruit is much prized, and used
lor a great variety of purposes. D r. Clarke found it medicinal. {Scandinav ia, chap. xv.)
4688. T k e d w a r f c r im so n bramble { llu ln c sa r c iic u s , E n g . Bat.XfiSG.) (,/?g. 814.) produces an excellent
berty, found only on the highest and wildest mountains of Scotland. By successional sowing of the
seeds on different levels, doubtless it r lig h t be brought down, step by step, to live and produce fruit on
jilains, and in appropriate parts of gardens. “ The /¿ilbus árcticus produced fruit in the garden of the
Horticultural Society almost as abundantly as a bed of strawberries. It was planted in peat and its
crimson blossoms were very ornamental.” {R . T .)
4689. The d ew h c n y {VUlms cw 'siu s, E n g .B o t . 'm . ) (j?g.815.). the stone bramble {V-hbus sa xa tilis , E n g .
B ut. 2233.) (/ig.816. a ), aud the u p r ig h t bramble suberécius, E n g . B o t.2 h 7 2 .) (/^ .8 1 6 . b ), afford
agreeable acid and aromatic fruits, which come in late in the season, and merit attempts with a view to
accommodating them to habits of cultivation. The same remarks will apply to a plant common in the
woods of Russia and Poland, and which Dr. Clarke has figured, and named Cripsfa ; but which appears
to be a species of Eilbus, and probably a variety of suberectus.
4690. The Am e r ica n sn ow b e r iy is the Ga u lth e ria s e rp yU fu lia P h ., Y a c c in ium h isp id u lum L ., and
Chiogenes of Salisbury; B e c a n . Monog. L . and Ericccs J . “ At Shaw-hill, near Halifax, it produced
fruit abundantly, planted under a north wall, shaded behind by high trees, in a border of sandy p eat;
ancl it succeeded pretty well in nearly a similar situation a t Chapel Allerton, during the eighteen
years of my residence a t that place, often ripening its berries ; b u t they being little esteemed, I only
preserved a patch of it as a ra re plant. T h e flavour of th e fruit, however, is exceedingly agreeable to
some persons, being strongly perfumed, like ea u dc not/au, or b itte r almonds, and mixed with a pleasant
acid. I now regret that I never tried th e berries baked with sugar in a t a r t : if gathered before they
arc too soft, they may, no doubt, be preserved in bottles, like cranberries, and possibly prove a valuable
addition to our winter fruits of that sort.” { S a lisbw y , in H o r t. T ra n s ., vol. ii.)
4691. T he p u r p le or common bilbe rry , or w h oHlebe rry {Wacctnium M y r tillu s L ., E n g . B o t. 456.), is
another bog-plant common in Britain and th e north of Europe. The berries are gathered iu autumn
for making tarts ; in Devonshire they are eaten with clotted cream ; in Poland they are ripe in July,
and, being mixed with wood-strawberries, and eaten with new milk, are considered a great delicacy.
In the Highlands of Scotland they are eaten with milk, and made into jellies. They m ay be successfully
cultivated in a shady border of bog-earth.
4692. T he r e d b ilbe rry , o x c row b e r r y , Y a c cm ium V itis idw 'a L . {E n g . B o t. 598.). The fruit is acid and
somewhat bitter, but makes a very good rob or jelly, which in Sweden is eaten with all kinds of roast
meat, and forms a sauce for venison, which is thought superior to currant jelly. In Wales we have experienced
it to be an excellent addition to roast mutton. It may be cultivatecl in a moist shady border
of bog-earth, like the commou bilberry.
4693. The broad-leaved w h o rtlebe rry {V a c c h iium am c e 'n u 7 n E .,B o t.R e p .\3% .) is cultivated a t Enghien,
in the Due d ’Arcmberg’s garden, and the fruit used in the same way as the cranberry. {Neill, in U o rt.
Towr, p.322.)