THE FLOHIST. 271 



MESSRS. PAULS' NURSERY. 



Cheshunt is a quiet agricultural village thirteen miles from London 

 on the high road to Hertford and Ware. 



Half an hour's ride from London by the Eastern Counties Railway- 

 brings us to the Waltham or Cheshunt stations : the Nurseries of 

 Messrs. Paul and Son, to inspect which was the object of our visit, 

 are distant two miles from the former, and one mile from the latter. 



The first object that strikes one on entering this " Garden of 

 Roses," for so it may be called, is a wall of considerable length, with 

 a north aspect, covered with Ayrshire, Sempervirens, and Boursault 

 Roses. Notwithstanding the unfavourable aspect and position in 

 which these Roses are placed — for the soil over their roots is paved 

 with oyster-shells, and covered with cinder-ashes to a considerable 

 depth — they grow most luxuriantly, and produce myriads of flowers. 

 Indeed, the wall was one sheet of bloom when we saw it. 



Thinking it might prove useful to those who may have similar 

 situations to plant, we have copied the names of the leading varieties, 

 which were, Ayrshire : Ruga ; Multiflora : Laura Davoust, very 

 fine ; Sempervirens : Leopoldine d'Orleans, Felicite perpetuelle ; 

 Noisette : Cadot, Cerise, Grandiflora ; Boursault : Gracilis, Elegans, 

 Amadis, and Mermis. Under this wall is a choice collection of Al- 

 pine and herbaceous plants, arranged alphabetically, and kept con- 

 stantly in pots. Turning from this department, we enter a broad 

 gravel- walk, leading from the gate through the centre of the Nur- 

 sery. On the right-hand side are several plant-houses, one devoted 

 to Camellias exclusively, one to Geraniums, one to miscellaneous 

 plants, and three to Roses. In front of the plant-houses are three 

 ranges of pits, and an additional range, many feet long, heated on the 

 tank system. 



On either side of the main walk is a narrow border filled with 

 herbaceous plants and Roses ; of the latter, one only of a sort is 

 kept here, being intended as specimens. Some of these Rose-trees 

 are of prodigious size, the heads measuring from fourteen to twenty- 

 five feet in circumference, and the quantity of bloom they produce is 

 past all calculation. Of these fine trees, Hybrid Chinese : Fulgens, 

 Coccinea superba, Blairii, and Belle Thurette ; Alba : New Blush 

 Hip ; Ayrshire : Ruga ; and French : Due d' Orleans, were most con- 

 spicuous. The girth of the stem of the last mentioned was 12£ 

 inches at three feet from the ground. But stay ! we are moving 

 amongst sundry beds of dwarf autumnal Roses growing on their 

 own roots, and these must not escape our attention. We see two 

 or three beds, six feet w r ide, devoted to each family, and a row of each 

 of the leading varieties, containing three plants of a sort, is planted 

 there ; and fine specimens they are. The top bed is formed of Noi- 

 settes ; the best of which seem to be, Solfaterre, Le Pactole, Bouton 

 Nankin, Clara Wendel, Eclair de Jupiter, Comtesse de Tolosante, and 

 Pamila alba. 



The next two beds are occupied with Bourbons, and how splen- 



