DecomtKr 19, 1887. 1 



JOUUNAL OF HOBTIODLTURE AND OOTTAiiE GABDBNEB. 



459 



Hullett, iSse. The article was one of a series which I was com- 

 miasioued to write ei^ht inoaths before the appearance of the 

 cue which gave ri^e to sn much diKcuHsion. Hitijerto X have 

 used the only name which jjerhaps I slioiild use in the mutter, 

 but as Mr. liivors introduces the initials of my name, I now 

 sign myself — W. Kohisson, f.L.S. 



[Here the correspondence on this subject closes. — Eds.] 



TURN MOSS MARKET GARDENS, 



STIlKTFOni), NEAP. MANCUESTER. 



TriERE market (.'irdens being celebrated for the qnautity and 

 <iuality of the frnit and vegetables grown in them for the 

 supply of the Manchester market, a short description of some 

 of the crops I saw there may prove interesting to your readers. 

 Mr. Doran's Ruccessful mode of cuUivating the I'ine .\pplo iind 

 the Vino under dillioulties may also be instructive to many. 



The gardens are situated about four miles from Manchester, 

 and are about ton niimUca walk from the Stretford station. It 

 is certainly one of the worst situations for a garden that conld 

 anywhere be found, bein;; very Hat, low-lying, and surrounded 

 by pools and ditches of stagnant water. This is one of the 

 worst evils Mr. Doran has to contend a:;ainst, for freciuently in 

 wet weather the stoke-holes have to be constantly relieved of 

 ■water, which there is no means of draining oS in the usual 

 way. In order to keep the lires going men are frequently em- 

 ployed in removing the water, and during the long period of 

 incessant wet weather we had in the autumn and winter of 

 1860 this must have been a very serious item of expense. It 

 ■will, therefore, be perceived that gardening operations at Turn 

 Moss have to be carried on under great dillioulties. 



I shall in the first place just go through the houses, only 

 stopping to describe what I consider will prove interesting. 

 Commencing at Mr. Doran's dwelling-house, which is situated 

 at the west side t^f the gardens, the first stru.-tures useil for 

 horticultural purposes are four span-roofed Peac!'. and Nectarine- 

 houses, each '^'^ feet long by 11 wide. The trees are planted at 

 each side of these houses in raised borders, and the stems are 

 brought through the side walls just below the wall plates. The 

 trees are in a very healthy state, and when I last saw them 

 were loaded with fine frnit. These houses are filled in the 

 winter with Strawberry jilants for forcing. Two thousand pots 

 are annually forced in the large Muscat-house, which I shall 

 presently describe. 



The next house is a half-span, CO feet by 12. The border in 

 which the trees are growing is nearly on a level with the front 

 wall of the house, and their stems are brought through the 

 wall in the same way as in the four houses described .above. 

 The roof faces due south. The back wall is certainly made the 

 most of ; it is built of sods, and at the time it was built small 

 plants of the common Moss Kose were placed between the 

 layers of turf. They grow very freely, seem to enjoy their 

 position very much, and early in spring produce large numbers 

 of beautiful buds, which find a ready sale in Slanehester at a 

 Tery remunerative price ; so that in this case Mr. Doran not 

 only obtains a fine crop of early Peache.i, but also a profitable 

 crop of flowers. The wall in the first instance would not cost 

 much in building; one crop of llose-bnds would more than 

 pay for it. This is what I consider making the most of every- 

 thing. 



After leaving this structure the next that we enter is the 

 large JIuscat-houso, a span-roofed one, 65 feet long and 23 feet 

 wide. It is strange to me liow Mu=cals, or, indeed, almost 

 any other kind of Grape, conld be grown successfully in such 

 a position as this, where tho foundations of the house are 

 nearly on a level with the largo ditches of stagnant water close 

 by. On my suggesting the advantages I considered would be 

 gained by building the side walls of the houses 3 or 4 feet 

 higher, so as to be able to raise the borders to that extent above 

 the natural level of the ground, Mr. Doran told me that the 

 winds from tho south-west came across there with such force, 

 that if the houses were any higher than they are the wind 

 would sweep them away. By this it will be seen that Mr. 

 Doran has to contend with two most destructive ag-'nts^wind 

 and water. The house, also, is badly heated. Altogether, 

 therefore, it is astonishing how such good results can be ob- 

 tained under snch difficulties ; it is certain they can only be 

 secured by constant attention. The Vines in this house are 

 beginning to show the ill effect of their extremely wet quarters. 

 Were it mine I should destroy them, do away with the side 

 lights, which ore about 3 fe iaihes in height, and fill up that 



space inside with a good border, in which I would plant a fresh 

 set of Vines. I imagine I hear Mr. Doran saying on reading 

 this advice : "It is all very good, -Mr. V.'ills, but where am I 

 to force my two thousand Strawberry plants .' and where are 

 the thousands of puuuots of small salad to be grown, and tho 

 large quantity of well-ripened pot Vines, which are cultivated 

 for Bale in this house ?" My reply would at once be, ■•Why, 

 build another house /or Strawberry forciug, and another for the 

 growth of your pot Vines, and make up your beds for small 

 salads in a hou«e of less importance.'' " Eat, then," would say 

 Mr. Doran, " you have forgotten how much money I make out o( 

 this house with Tomatoes." " Granted ; but hear me further. 

 Grow your Tomatoes in pits, of which you have a la;gs number 

 just suitable for the purpose. In their present condition not 

 more than half a crop can be expected from the Vines, and this 

 not of a first-rate character ; but alter the house in the v.ay I 

 have described and great res^ults would be realised." 



There is a bench about 20 inches wide all round the house, 

 level with the bottom of the side lights. On this the Straw- 

 berries are forced, and a tine sight they are when in fruit. The 

 floor of the house is principally covered with small salad 

 during the spring ond early summer raont'ns. Pot Vines are 

 grown in a row ou each side of the walk which runs along the 

 centre of the house. 



Leaving this house I entered the fruiting Pine-pit, which is 

 Mi feet long by 19 feet w:de, with a division in the centre. 

 Here a magnificent eight met my view — a sight worth going o. 

 long distance to see. Tliero were about four hundred Pines, 

 all of one kind (Montserrat), the tops of the crowns ap- 

 pearing as level as if they had been clipped over with a pair of 

 shears. Mr. Doran has kindly furnished me with his excellent 

 mode of cultivating the Pine -\|iple, but I could not do it 

 justice within the limits to which this communication must be 

 confined, and it is, besides, worthy of forming the subject of a, 

 separate paper. 



Crossing the brook I came to a lean-to vinery, fiC feet by 

 12, in two divisions ; one planted with Muscats, the other with 

 lUack Hamburghs. In the.se excellent Grapes are grown. 

 Leaving it I entered a winter Cucnmber-honse, which is 

 (JO feet by 12. Here fine crops of Cucumbers are produced all 

 through the winter and spring months. The next house I 

 entered was also devoted to the cultivation of winter Cucum- 

 bers. It is spau-roofed, liG feet long and 14 wide. Mr. Doran 

 has here introduced, for giving botiom heat to his Cucumber 

 plants, a material which I think likely to prove valuable for 

 this, or, indeed, any other purpose where bottom heat is re- 

 quired. It is cotton waste, a sort of refuse obtained from the 

 cotton mills, beiug the husks of the cotton pods and the refuse 

 of the cotton. It affords a considerable bottom heat for a great 

 length of time, and is a v.aluable manure when decomposed. 

 My attention was called to this valuable material for horticul- 

 tural purposes twelve months ago by a mill owner and eminent 

 horticulturist in the neighbourhood of Clitheroc. Mr. Doran 

 speaks very highly of it, and considers it a grand discovery. It 

 can be obtained very cheap in the ueighbonrhood of Manchester. 

 The Cucumber plants appear to like the heat from the cotton 

 waste very much ; they were in excellent health, and promise 

 to produce an abundant crop of fruit. The variety which 

 Mr. Doran grows has been raised on the place, and is called 

 Turn .Moss. That it is a most exceli.^' ' Cucumber for winter 

 work I can say from experience, for I ;iave gi'own nothing else 

 for the last seven years, and have scarcely been with .ut a Cu- 

 cumber of good quality at any time during that period. 



Near this last Cucumber- house is another Muscat-honse, 

 0.5 feet by 10, in the centre of which is a raised bed covered 

 with a fine lot of healthy pot Vines for sale : and next to this is 

 a Elack Hamburgh-house, 144 feet by 10, w'.iich also contained 

 a fine lot of pot Vines. In this house there was a splendid 

 lot of finely ripened Grapes. The bunches were not large, but 

 handsome, averaging about It lb. each ; the berries were large 

 and beautifully coloured, and the flavour all that could be 

 desired. I thought it was not a Hamburgh ; Sir. Doran said 

 it had long been there, and known under the name of Tom 

 Moss Bliick Hamburgh ; buth the wood and the foliage were 

 more like the .\licante (Meredith's). \VhatCTer kind of Ham- 

 burgh it may be, it was a most luscious Grape, and cl first-rale 

 quality. In this opinion I am supported by Mr. I'etch, one of 

 our best Grape cultivators, who was with me at the time of my 

 visit. Tho Vines had been planted many years, and a great 

 portion of the roots were outside, and, notwithstanding the ex- 

 cellent results which Mr. Doran has obtained from these Vines 

 in one of the most onsuitabie places in the country for the 



