346 THE GARDENER. [Aug. 



of the stock that engage the attention of the visitor. Reaching the 

 entrance gate, situated on the Bransford road, I was brought for a few 

 minutes to a dead standstill, admiring a broad carriage-drive or avenue 

 a mile and three quarters long. Tliis noble approach is planted on. 

 either side several rows deep with a choice and varied collection of 

 Coniferae. This, I understand, is not intended to be a permanent 

 arrangement. All are saleable, and as vacancies occur the empty spaces 

 are filled, so as to produce a continuous feature. The nursery is again 

 divided into sections by walks of a less pretentious character, and it 

 may surprise a stranger when told that in the aggregate the entire 

 length amounts to 26 miles. Fifty acres are specially set apart for the 

 growth of fruit-trees, and 52,000 are annually trained for walls and 

 espahers; so great is the demand in this department, that 150,000 to 

 200,000 stocks are yearly required to meet the consumption. Where 

 the outlet is for so large a quantity of trees is a mystery to me, and I dare- 

 say to others as well. We might reasonably suppose that enough is 

 propagated to supply the wants of Great Britain and Ireland. A spe- 

 cimen of each kind is grown in the nursery, and even this caution does 

 not satisfy Mr Smith's particularity ; he appoints a person on whom 

 he can depend to collect the seeds and grafts, so it is hardly possible, 

 unless by carelessness, that they can get confused. 



Coniferous plants are grown extensively, whether as to species or var- 

 ieties, including recent introductions. Tor instance, it is not common 

 to see at one place Abies nobilis grown by thousands, not a stunted 

 little struggling object among them, no side shoots being compelled 

 to accept the office of a leader. The secret why all are so vigorous 

 is this, that ]\Ir Smith has cone-bearing trees, so that his entire stock 

 consists of seedling plants. There is a Picea, called magnifica, and 

 by some persons robusta, but it does not appear to me to differ from 

 nobilis ; certainly a little more glaucous in colour, but that may arise 

 from some peculiarity of soil ; independent of any such concurrence, 

 I feel satisfied that there are several varieties. During my hasty visit 

 — something between a walk and a run — the following plants 

 appeared to me to deserve special attention ; not that they are new, but 

 because of their individual merits and their applicability for villa 

 decoration, as well as for other places of greater extent. We have first 

 Juniperus drupacea, possessing a graceful outline and a somewhat droop- 

 ing habit. Juniperus nana is an admirable plant for the rockwork, 

 as it scarcely or ever exceeds 12 inches in height. Juniperus 

 Chinensis variegata is very distinct from the common Chinese Juniper, 

 and as the variegation is constant, and the habit ornamental, its value 

 is much increased. 



Here for the first time I met with Pinus Cembra variegata, a sport. 



