MISCELLANEOUS. THE INTERCOLONIAL FRUIT SHOW.

Otago Witness, Issue 2202, 14 May 1896, Page 8

MISCELLANEOUS. THE INTERCOLONIAL FRUIT SHOW.

Tte Lyttelton Times corsespondent writes U follows on this subject — " The display t apples, pesrs, and peaches from the th Island is the best seen in Wellington. Xfcie i 0 ftlao a very fine oollectioa of grapes

from Otago, and a good display from Messrs Sison'a, Wileon'p, and tho Styx Company's boxes. I saw anaoDgst them plates of Boston id' sets, Adam pearmains, Me rifcfc's pearmainp, Rcinette dv Canada, northern spy, and StuFmer pippins whioh for size and colour could not be surpassed, Mr Black more told me, anywhere in the world. He had arranged also from Canterbury several dishes of apples for export, and they too were very flue, both table and culinary. There were also some magnificent pears, yew much. le?s in numbers, but very large, well grown, and of a quality equal to anything in,the world. Rtriged along the wall were some 50 boxes of apples und pears, for the most part beautifully packed, for export, in neat, wellmade bexf s, each fruit wrapped in paper. They will form a striking part of the show tomorrow for the general public. For quantity and quality of apples and pears there h no collection equal to that of Cantotbury. For quality alone, however, you cannot get anjtbii g better than a collection of apples (Bismarck?, Emperpr Alexanders, Jonathans, Mnir's red, northern spy, and Hoover*) from Oamani, and a grand collection of apples, pears, aud openair grapes from Central Otago. Evaporated fruit from the south makes a splendid appearance — great purple, highly-streaked prunes, delicate daintv-skidned apricots, apples and pears -lying in symmetrical delicacy in ideal b xes. The cider i from the Styx in bottle and caik has admirers. The Nor oh Island make< "a gcod show, but there is noth r n^ like tu< f-e 68 Canterbury plates. It is noticeable that in colour the northern fruit beats yonra, but the experts tell me that flavour by no means follows beauty. From Wanganui there is a grand collection of evaporated vegetables Bhown by tbe Evaporatiog Conapsny of that ilk— cabbage, savoy cabbage, turuips, carrots, ce'ery, &c, all looking clean, freth, aad appethiog. Mr goler, of Wanganui, has of course his u»ual collection of wines. Ttiere are some magn'fictnt samples of bottled fruits from the western town. It is too late for tho northern open air grapes, and the grapes from Central Otago were nearly all upoiled in transit ; so it come to pass that the vine is represented chiffly.by hotho^e pi-apes There is a buuch of black Hamburg from Southland wtigbing 17£'b. This and other branches of the collection were especially cared for in transit by Mr BUckuiore and his nv=n. Nelson, it is curious, is not repreiented in any appreciable way." ROSES. In the Ga-den Mr C. J. Gr»h\me, of Ciojdin, starts an idea which he observes h&s no originality about it, but which may be useful to many amateur rose-growers He suggests that others be at.ktd to answer the questions which he has given and replied to as below :—: — " Which are the six or eight most fer^etualflowering roses ?— Pi-rsonallv, -I would give La France, Gloire de Dijon, Belle Lyonnaise, Homeric, Hon. E. Gitford, Viscountess Folkestone, Marie Van Houtte, C\»rles Lefebvre. 2. Which are the six swettest-aotmted roses ?—? — La Fiance, Madam de Watteviile, Mrs John Laing, Viscountess Folkestone, M»rie Baum«rm, Celine Forestier. 3. Which are the six best red roses ? — Marie Baumann, Ulrich Brunner, Charles Lefebvre, Dupuy Jamain, Xavier Olibo, A. X Williams. 4-. Which are the six best pink or red-coloured roses ? — La France, Mra J<hu Laing, Baroness Rothschild, Her M-je>ty, H. Tchultheis, Marquise de Castellane. 5 Whioh are the six'best cream or white roses ?— Merveille de Lyon, Hon. E. Gifford, • Inntcente Pirola, Bou'e de Neige, Viscountess Folkestone, niphetos. 6. Six boat yellows?— G-'oire de Dijon, Marechal Niel, Bel'© LyoutTa'se, Madame Falcot, Fcancisoa Kruger, Broile de Lyon. 7 Six best teas ?— Catherine Merme^ ComUsse de N«.caillao, Marie Van Houtte, Madam de Wateville, Souvdiir d'Elise, Madam Lambard. 8 Six best Noisettes ? — Marechal Nifl, Lwnarque, Celine Forestier, Caroline Kuster, Reve dOr, Bouquet d'Or." BLACK CURRANTS. How few amateurs seem to understand the pruning of black ourrants. Pruning in the ordinary sense of the word is needlesß, and should merely consist in thinning out useless growths, not cutting bard back as is tbe oußtom in many small gardens. Black currants waat plenty of feeding, such as a mulch of decayed manure. When flwt commencing their culture, well dig the ground, manure it freely, and plant only young trees whioh give the most prolific crop*. The three best varieties are black N»ple», Carter's champions, and Lee'a prolific, This fruit is universally esteemed, and bears abundantly. THE CALIFORNIAN VIOLET. A splendid violet is this .new addition to a fragrant family. . It is a distinct advance upon all other violets, though scarcely so richly perfumed as the double Marie " Louisa, most precious of all, particularly in scent. As yet, says a writer in a Home paper, it has had little trial except in frames ; but I think that as an all-round violet Califi rnia will be welcomed. A vasoful of it is before me as I write, the flowers gathered in a DevoHsbi-e garden; they are very large, one being about l£in across, single, with, the upper petals rather wide apart, aa we see in' the dog violet that dyes ih» wayside b*nk in primprose time. California is not unlike th»t familiar wilding, and the flower is born on a long stem ; it is a graceful and beautiful novelty. FERNS IN WINTER. Ferns, which are so much valued for the greenery they afford, are quite an much valued in winter as summer, as the fronds may be out now rind intermingled with flowers as well as at any time. As the growths are now fully matured and hardened, they will not shrivel so soon as they did when young and tender in the spring and summer. At the same time it will be best if they are kept out of draughts of cold or dry air as much as possible at this season. I They should not be kept in a very warm room or hothouse before being cut, as a cool atmosphere will suit themxbest. The maiden-hair fern its the most useful of all to cut, and every frond may be cut off the plants of it by the end of winter, as it is always best to allow a complete new growth in the spring, which comes up fresh and uniform, but no attempt should be made to force any of them into growth at present, or until winter is past. Ooly clean water should be given to ferns at present, and they must be watered with eire, as a little too much or too little will iDJure them very much. GOOD LATE APPLES, We ought, above all things, to get good late apples. The fact of an apple doing well locally is no reason why it should be generally grown, as in the market it has to undergo comparison with varieties of rare quality and keeping properties. Classification into dessert, kitcheD, or any other kiud is misleading. We only want a few good «p j'es You can cook a Newtown and a Calvcl- Bline, and eat them as you prefer. Amongst the best cooking apples I know are the ribsfcon, Cox's oracge, and the Blenheim ; but probtbly nothing I can say will counteract the evil effect of the fat catalogue with its show of innumerable names, and the result is that there are few apples worth marketing in England after the glut of the early kinds is L past. We hardly ever see a good sample of Cox's pippin in the London market, and in its case no one need fear not setting a good pries t&sag time.— A. P. in the Field,

GARDENING ON BOARD SHIP. The ship Mowban, ou leaving Belfast for the Columbia river, United States, took on board as ballast 20 0 tons of Irish soil, which, when levelled off, mide quite a Btr»tch of ground, and as the soil of Ireland is proverbblly fertile, the ship's company proceeded to put it to good use by planting a stock of cabbages, leeks, peas, bean*, and ao on, in it. ' Tho seeds came up all right, and the plants flourished finely, and, wh»n the, ship was in the tropics, grew with great rapidity. The crew aud ship's apprentice^ amused themselves by weeding and cultivating the plants, I aud all had gre'n vegetables to their heart's content. As thoy came round the Horn the garden was replanted, and bytha time they reached the equator everything uai a-bloom, and rII the hands fea-teel on freshly gathered vegetabloa daily. The only drawbacks in she garden were tho weeds, which grew so rapidly that they could hardly be kept down, and the drove of pigs which were kept in the farmyard attachment, and which on several occasions, when the ship wsw bucking into a nov'easter and rolling heavily, brok« out of bounds and made serious iuroads on tbe garden. Tho last pig waa killed and served up with green vegetables just before the Mowhan entered the Columbia river. On the arrival of the Mowhau at Portland, U.S.A., tho Irish soil was discharged on the wharf, and piled up neatly, so th*t any exiled patriot who de-ired a bit of the "oulJ sod " could be accommodated.