JOURNAL OP HOBTICULTDBB AND COTTAGE GABDENEH. 



[ NoTcmber 21, 1867. 



its beautiful and distinctly coloured leaves, and is certainly one 

 of the finest of the Tricolor section. Edith Pearson, again, is 

 another beautiful kind, remarkably compact in habit, and with 

 flat leaves and a brilUant-coloured zone. For small beds and 

 the edgings of large ones this variety is most desirable, and 

 when better known will, no doubt, become very popular. Sir 

 Kobert Peel with a very broad richly-coloured zone, Ben Hine 

 in the way of Sophia Dnmaresque, and Waverley, are also very 

 fine ; the last-named was even superior to Sophia Dumaresque, 

 judging from the two grown in juxtaposition. The Second 

 Mrs. Balwidda, which, however, is not of Mr. Pearson's raising, 

 is another promising kind with a fiery zone. Of the Bronze 

 and Gold section, Bronze Perfection, remarkable for the re- 

 gular outline of the leaves, and Queen of Bronzes for its fine 

 iold foliage, are varieties of decided merit, besides which a 

 very pretty seedling, called Autumn, was growing in a bed on 

 the lawn, and in a frame with others two promising seedlings, 

 one raised from Flower of Spring, and another from Italia 

 Unita. Pearl, of which the foliage is variegated with white, 

 hut having a dark zone breaking through between the green 

 and the white, formed a pretty bed, especially where allowed to 

 produce its soft-coloured light cerise flowers. 



Among hybrid Nosegays, two of the most conspicuous were 

 Chilwell Beauty, partaking of the character of Amy Hogg, and 

 having fine trusses of large magenta flowers, and Alfred Pear- 

 son, very free-flowering, and having unusually large trusses of 

 cherry rose-coloured flowers. The leaves are marked with a 

 deep zone. Chevalier Bayard is another hybrid Nosegay, with 

 fine trusses of flowers nearly of the same colour as Stella, but 

 far superior in shape. This seems to be an admirable kind 

 for bedding. As a free-flowering bright orange scarlet kind 

 William Ingram is likewise excellent. Besides the above there 

 ■were numerous other varieties grown iu small beds for trial, 

 and several of which exhibited considerable merit, though not 

 equal to the kinds named. 



A lawn and beds adjoining Mr. Pearson's residence, alto- 

 gether about an acre in extent, besides Pelargoniums grown 

 for their fohage and flowers, was planted with choice Conifers, 

 conspicuous among which were two fine specimens of Arbor 

 Vit.T, Wellingtonias, Cupressus nutkaensis, not with horizon- 

 tal branches as so commonly seen, but with these ascending, 

 and Cupressus Lawsoniana 10 feet high and 4^ feet in circum- 

 ference round the stem at the ground. It was planted in 1858, 

 and withstood the severe frost of 18C0, although plants of the 

 same species were killed in other places in the neighbourhood, 

 owing, probably, to a less hardy variety having been distributed. 

 As a further proof of the hardiness of this fine Cypress it may 

 he remarked that near Nottingham the thermometer fell in 

 that winter to 13° below zero, and old Oak trees and 10,000 

 Eoses were killed. 



The general stock, which is distributed over several nurseries, 

 is very large. Of Chinese Junipers there is one of the largest 

 stocks in the trade, the plants being of various ages and in 

 fine health. Thuja aurea. Golden and Irish Yews, together 

 with the most desirable Conifers and Taxads are also exten- 

 sively grown, as well as Golden Hollies, Khododendrons, and 

 other shrubs, and ornamental and forest trees. Among the 

 latter was an Elm, remarkable for the straightness and rapidity 

 of its growth. In a short avenue the stems of some trees of 

 this Elm, though only planted thirteen or fourteen years, 

 measured at between 5 and C feet from the ground 6 feet 

 5 inches and 5 feet 9 inches in circumference, whilst those of 

 Ulmus amcricana and campestris only ranged between 2} and 

 3 feet in girth. Trees of it cut down iu the Marquis of Exeter's 

 park, at Burghley, were found to have made twice as much 

 timber as the common English Elm. It is known at Chilwell 

 as the Siberian Elm, and all the stock was originally obtained 

 from the layers of an old stool which existed there in Mr. 

 Pearson's grandfather's time. 



The permanent orchards, 74 or 75 acres in extent, oiifered 

 several features of interest, not the least remarkable being the 

 diilerence in the growth of the trees where the upper layer of 

 the new red sandstone comes near the surface, which it does 

 in one orchard. Prune Damsons, Damsons, and White Bul- 

 laces were being gathered by hundreds of bushels ; and of Pears 

 there were several gigantic trees, some of them bearing heavy 

 crops. Thus, Marie Louise in one orchard was worked on a 

 Warden Pear tree measuring between 4} and 5 feet in circum- 

 ference of stem, and some 40 feet high. Beurre de Capiaumont, 

 likewise worked on a large old tree, was about 50 feet high ; 

 and of the old Grey Beurn' there were several very large trees 

 tearing heavily. The Crawford had borne a very heavy crop ; 



and Aston Town and Beurre d'Amanlis were loaded with fruit, 

 the latter doing better as a standard at Chilwell than any other 

 of the continental varieties. Walker's Summer Broadend 

 Apple, said to be a very useful kitchen variety, was also bear- 

 ing very abundantly ; so, too, was Prince Englebert Plum, 

 which is excellent both for dessert and kitchen use. It is 

 especially useful for pies and tarts, yielding an abundance of 

 highly coloured juice, without the astringency of the Damson. 



The nursery where the young fruit trees are grown for send- 

 ing out occupies a piece of ground sloping a little towards the 

 south, and fifteen acres in extent. To keep out the game 

 which abounds in the neighbourhood, and which proves very 

 destructive, Mr. Pearson surrounded it with a low 4 J -inch 

 brick wall set in dolomite lime. This wall is without but- 

 tresses, but to give it strength to resist the wind it is built 

 in lengths cf 10 yards, alternately advancing and retreating in 

 the annexed fashion — ' I I \ > \ the short cross wall 

 being only a yard in length. The ground is intersected by a 

 broad road through the middle, and subdivided into pieces of 

 convenient size by paths at right angles, with gates in the 

 wall at the ends of all the principal paths. Here there is a 

 large and healthy stock of the best varieties of Apples, Pears 

 both on the Quince and Pear stocks. Peaches, Apricots, ]?lums. 

 Cherries, and other fruit trees, and the wall space is taken 

 advantage of for training trees in various forms. To prevent 

 mistakes, and for reference when names become lost, Mr. Pear- 

 son has planted two trees of every variety of fruit tree — a 

 precaution which, if more generally adopted, would obviate 

 much of that confusion which unfortunately still prevails in 

 the naming of fruits. 



Long as this notice has been, there is much besides at the 

 Chilwell Nurseries to interest the horticulturist, but which for 

 the present at least must be passed over; but the gardener and 

 amateur who may visit the nurseries will find in Mr. Pearson 

 one who, in addition to a genial hearty manner, possesses a 

 fund of information which he is ever ready to impart. 



Mr. Foster's extensive works at Beeston, where all the wood- 

 work of glass houses is cut out by machinery, so as to fit 

 together with great accuracy, are also well worthy of a visit. 

 The machinery for cutting mortices, bevils, planing, itc, is 

 very interesting. Mrs. Foster, it may be added, is very suc- 

 cessful in managing, with very little assistance, a conservatory 

 in which, besides Black Hamburgh and Eoyal Muscadine Vines 

 bearing an excellent crop, there were some fine specimen Ca- 

 meUias, such as Bealii 5 feet high, Keticulata 7 feet high, and 

 Mathotiana G feet high, though these were not more than seven 

 years old from the graft. There was likewise a fine plant of the 

 Double White in an 18-inch pot, and some smaller plants had 

 made shoots nearly 2 feet in length in the year. 



THE CYLINDER VINERY. 



If I mistake not, some hints respecting a structure under 

 the above name have appeared in your columns ; no detailed 

 description of it has, however, been given. The same ingenious 

 gentleman who invented the ground vinery, has by a happy 

 thought projected this economical and admirable structure for 

 the cultivation of Grapes ; and to prevent his invention being 

 pirated and patented by some little extra work being added to 

 it, of no utility except to form the groundwork cf an appli- 

 cation for a patent, he has made his cylinder vinery a patented 

 invention. 



A month or two since a hexagonal cylinder vinery was erected 

 in the nurseries at Sawbridgeworth, under the sanction of the 

 inventor, by Mr. T. F. Eivers, and so simple is the structure 

 that it was put up and completed by twelve o'clock of the day 

 it was commenced. This structure is, indeed, so simple as 

 to be difficult to describe ; but, as was said the other day by 

 an amateur from a distance, it is worth a day's journey to see. 

 The hexagonal form is that which I shall attempt to describe, 

 but these vineries may be built with eight or ten angles, or 

 even more, if a greater number of Vines is wished for, the 

 number of angles determining the number of Vines that can 

 be planted in a vinery with advantage, the hexagonal cylinder 

 allowing space for five, the octagonal for seven, and so on. 



The hexagonal vinery I have alluded to is built with six 

 slight posts of the best Fir timber, 3J inches by IJ, standing 

 9 feet out of the ground — 10 feet is the height suggested by 

 the inventor. These posts are firmly fixed in the ground by 

 ramming, and attached to each other by strong galvanised wire 

 passing through them. They are placed at angles so as to fonn 



