40 THE GARDENER. [Jan. 



The houses are next most important, in which the lover of exotic and rare 

 plants can with interest spend a little time. On entering the lowest of the 

 bottom range is an excellent specimen of Lapageria alba in full vigour, and 

 delighting in its present position. It is trained on a trellis suspended a couple 

 of feet from the glass, the dimensions of which are 24 feet by 8 feet, and is 

 thickly covered with strong young shoots, and 520 expanded blooms on it at 

 present. It has only been planted six years. Here is a nice plant of L. rosea 

 and Rosea superba. On the back wall are two hale old Lemon-trees that are 

 very prolific, and are trained on a trellis against the wall, thickly covering it, 

 measuring 26 feet by 12. Adjoining are the vineries, — the early house, Black 

 Hamburg; and the late or succession house filled with Lady Downes and Mrs 

 Pince — each house measuring 36 feet by 18. The Peach-house is also in this 

 range — a "lean-to," like the vineries, and of the same dimensions. The 

 varieties are Royal George and Noblesse ; also the Solway Peach, from which 

 has been gathered fruit weighing 10^ oz., and measuring 11| inches in circum- 

 ference. In this house is a very good collection of British Ferns, comprising 

 some good forms of Scolopendriums, Athyriums, Lastra3as, Polypodiums, &c., 

 amongst which a lover of those plants would find something to his interest. 



The Camellia-house comes next. The plants seem truly at home ; all are 

 planted out and progressing favourably. About half-a-dozen of the larg- 

 est plants are 16 feet in height and 10 feet in diameter. The varieties are 

 alba-pleno, Lady Hume's Blush, Valtevareda, Coletti ; imbricata, Marchion- 

 ess of Exeter, Donckelaarii, Saccoi nova, Targioni, and Mathotiana ; all well 

 covered with buds. In this house is growing a grand piece of Asplenium mar- 

 inum, the admiration of many eminent Fernists, with fronds measuring 20 

 inches in length; and in a frame is a fine plant of Todea superba, 3 feet across ; 

 alsoTrichomanes radicans, Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense, and Disa grandiflora. 

 This is a very lofty structure : and on the roof, high above the Camellias, is a 

 plant of "Wistaria rosea that blooms most profusely ; its myriads of lavender- 

 coloured bunches of blossom make a very efifective show in the early spring. 

 The flowers are larger and more fully developed than when grown out of 

 doors. 



On the other side of the kitchen-garden are the other houses. On entering 

 the large stove the eye soon rests on a splendid specimen of Adiantum Far- 

 leyense, 8^ feet in diameter, and flourishing amazingly ; also a nice plant of 

 A. gracillimum, 3 feet across, arranged together among some noble plants of 

 Cycas revoluta, Pandanus Veitchii, Cocos Weddleyana, Aralias, Curculigos, 

 Marantas, Crotons, Eucharis, and a grand plant of Anthurium Schertzerianum, 

 6^ feet through. This plant, unlike many, is not a collection of single crowns 

 potted together to obtain a specimen, but is one solid mass of crowns united 

 together by years of steady growth. A few other varieties, such as Palmeri, 

 Wardii, and Williamsii, add a little variation to this grand exotic, all of 

 which are progressing admirably. On the roof of this house is trained Tpoma^a 

 Horsfallise, that blooms profusely and lends a charm to the gaiety of the house ; 

 also on the roof is Allamanda Hendersonii and cathartica, Cissus discolor, and 

 Passiflora princeps and gossyppifolia. The latter is very rare and interesting ; 

 it was brought to this place from Borneo. The flower is similar to most of its 

 species, but smaller, and of a pure white colour, the blooms not much bigger 

 than a shilling, which are expanded only in the early morning. In a smaller 

 stove, devoted to young plants, are some good things in the way of Crotons, 

 Dracaenas, Gardenias, &c. There are upwards of twenty-four varieties of Cro- 

 tons grown : most noticeable are Disraeli, Lord Derby, lacteus, Mortii, irregu- 



