Jane 80, 1867. ) 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



4->7 



It is like a huge cavity hewn out of a eolid rock. The walla 

 are formed of a kind of ru;;ged stone adapted for rookwork, 

 called tufa, brought from Matlock, in Derbyshire. This is a 

 loose and porous kind of stone, formed by depositions from 

 springs usually calcareous, hut becoming harder on being ex- 

 posed to the air. In the arrangement of this house a natural 

 appearance has been successfully combined with effect — here 

 bold pieces of rock clothed with Lycopods or Ferns jut out; 

 there we find a recess overshadowed with the fronds of various 

 Ferns ; and in another place the projecting rock forms an arch, 

 from beneath which gushes a stream of water that makes its 

 exit by a subterranean passage. Among the Ferns which find 

 a congenial abode among the crevices of the rockwork, and in 

 nooks overhung by higher portions of rock, may be mentioned 

 Neottopteris vulgaris, or the Bird's-nest Fern ; Asplenium 

 Veitchii, a plant of exquisite beauty ; A. cicutarium, Didymo- 

 chlsona truncatula, Adiantum formosum, Lastrea decomposita, 

 Davallia dissecta, D. canariensis, or the Hare's-foot Fern, &c. 

 Associated with the Ferns are a few other plants which naturally 

 delight in the same situation, such as Ficus repens trailing over 

 the stones, and creeping by the side of the rocky streamlet ; 

 Dioscorea discolor, SelaginellaWildenovii, S. flexuosa, S. csesia, 

 Calla aithiopica, and a few other ornamental plants vrith fine 

 foliage. 



The conservatory is at the south-west corner of the mansion, 

 and is in communication with the dining-room, and other 

 apartments. It forms a triangle, two sides of which are 3G feet 

 in length, and it is 20 feet wide at the base. In the borders there 

 was a fine collection of vigorous Camellias, with luxuriant dark 

 green foliage, some in bloom, and others just bursting into 

 flower. I also noticed Epaerises, ilonochajtum ensiferum, and 

 a large stock of Linum trigj'num, covered with a mass of 

 bloom. It would be instructive to the readers of this Journal 

 if Mr. Rawbone, the head gardener, would record in its pages 

 the mode of treatment by which he flowers the plant in such 

 perfection at midwinter. The gorgeous Camellias in the back- 

 ground, and the Linums, interspersed with Poinsettias and other 

 gay-flowering plants, rendered the conservatory as brilliant at 

 the time of my visit (December '20th), as other conservatories 

 generally are in summer. 



There is a range of houses near the conservatory, and on 

 proceeding from the latter, the first is a greenhouse 30 feet 

 long by 18 feet wide, well filled with healthy plantt; of Erios- 

 temons, Polygalas, the much-neglected yet beautiful Correas, 

 and hut.'e plants of Azaleas, 6 to 8 feet high, trained iu the pyra- 

 midal form with the utmost exactness. Among the sorts cul- 

 tivated were Sir H. Haveloek, Chelsoni, Criterion, Brilliant, 

 Imperialis, Virginalis, Le Lion de Flandres, President, and 

 Amcena, the last the most useful of all for early forcing purposes. 

 The second house is the early vinery, which had been just 

 started; the wood was in excellent condition. It is 31 feet 

 long by 17 feet wide, and is planted with Black Hamburgh, 

 Euckland Sweetv,'ater, and Golden Hamburgh. 



We next enter the Peach-house, 40 feet long and 17 feet wide. 

 The trees are trained under the roof to two trellises, one row 

 of dwarfs in the front, and a row of standards behind. In 

 the cultivation of the Peach and Kectarine, as well as of the 

 Vine, Mr. Rawbone seems to develope no ordinary amount of 

 skill. It was partly from this house and the early vinery, that 

 the coUectiou of fruit came which took the first prize at the 

 Eoyal Botanic Society's Show last July. A superficial ob- 

 server might almost mistake the Peach trees for Lord Suftield 

 Apple trees, the short-jointed sturdy wood, and the bold pro- 

 minent buds with which the trees were covered, more resembled 

 those of the Apple tree than of the ordinary Peach. The 

 borders, which are 34 feet deep, rest upon 2 feet of drainage. 

 Mr. Rawbone uses a rather adhesive soil — a very strong turf — 

 with not a particle of manure, a quantity of rough lime rubbish 

 being intermixed with it, and the whole very firmly trodden 

 down. Last autumn he had occasion to root-prune two young 

 trees that were growing too luxuriantly, and so firm was the 

 border, that he was obhged to use a pick to remove the soil from 

 about the roots. 



The last house in the range is a late vinery of the same di- 

 mensions as the first, and the varieties grown were Lad}- 

 Downe's, Alicante (Meredith's variety!, White Tokay, Muscat 

 of Alexandria, Trebbiano, and Black Hamburgh. There is 

 one set of Vines planted in front, another along the middle of 

 the house, trained to the pillars that support the roof, and a 

 third against the back wall. The last during the past season 

 bore fruit within a few inches of the ground. ^Vhen I saw the 

 Vines the fruit was all gathered, and notwithstanding the fine 



fruit and heavy bunches that had been grown during the last 

 season, they promised to do equally well in future. I can 

 give no conception of the strength and size of the Vines, though 

 they have only been planted three years. With fruit from 

 them Mr. Rawbone took the first prize for Trebbiano and Ali- 

 cante, and the second for Muscats, at Liverpool, in the autumn 

 of 18GS, and last November he also took the first prize for Ali- 

 cante, and a like award for Trebbiano, at the same place. The 

 two bunches of Black Alicante weighed 9 lbs., and the two 

 bunches of Trebbiano 11 J lbs. The latter were said to be the 

 finest Grapes ever exhibited at Liveipool. 



As there has been such a prolonged contest in these pages 

 as to the formation of Vine-borders, I will state the manner in 

 which those at Woodseat are formed. If I remember aright, 

 the borders are raised considerably above the goneral level. 

 There is in the first piace a depth of 2 feet of drainage, con- 

 sisting of broken bricks and rough hme rubbish left quite 

 open, with drain-pipes underneath, and the bottom concreted. 

 The surface of this lower stratum of drainage is also concreted, 

 and drain-pipes are laid on the concrete, on this nnother foot 

 of rough mortar rubbish, and then the border, 3} feet deep, com- 

 posed of turf thinly pared from an old pasture, a little horse- 

 manure, and a good proportion of old plaster, brick rubbish, 

 and broken bones. The borders are 17 feet wide inside, and 

 8 feet wide on the outside. Seven feet in width of the inside 

 border is devoted to the Vines on the back wall, and the re- 

 maining 10 feet to those planted in the front. Mr. Rawbone 

 practises the bit-by-bit system of border-making, which is so 

 frequently recommended in this Journal. The inside borders 

 were made first, and the roots had well filled and permeated 

 the whole of the inside mass before the outside borders were 

 added. The same attention has been paid to drainage on the 

 outside as within. The outside border is G inches lower at the 

 back than the inside border, and gradually slopes towards the 

 front. 



The next house we enter, for Pines and stove plants, is 

 50 feet long and 17 wide, with a narrow path along the centre. 

 The front part is entirely devoted to Pines, some just pushing 

 into fruit, and others for succession. They looked remarkably 

 healthy, and were particularly distinguished for thic!;, sturdy, 

 compact foliage, rather than lanky leaves, many not being more 

 than 2 feet long. The back part of the house was filled with 

 stove plants, fine examples of health and vigour. Among the 

 most conspicuous were Sphaerogyue latifolia, a very beautiful 

 specimen ; Cyperus alternifolius variegatus ; Rivina humilis, 

 covered with a profusion of crimson berries, a most useful 

 plant during winter for dinner-table decoration and for con- 

 servatory embellishment ; Dipladenia amabilis ; Bougainvillasa 

 glabra; Eucharis amazonica, smothered with masses of pure 

 white blossoms ; Begonia carnea, a well-known favourite ; Ixora 

 javanica, very fine ; I. acuminata, I. salicifolia, I'ractena ferrea, 

 D. Cooperi, and D. terminalis. intermixed with huge Crotons 

 of various sorts, Alocasias, Thyrsacanthus rutilans, &'C. On 

 the roof was trained a plant of Thuubergia Harrisii, gaily 

 covered with purple flowers, a very useful stove climber. 



In front of the house just referred to was another pit of the 

 same length, full to overflowing with many kinds of plants for 

 spring and summer decoration, besides other pits devoted to 

 Cinerarias, Primulas, herbaceous Calceolarias, and thousands of 

 bedding plants, all arranged so as to effect the utmost economy 

 as regards space. 



At the back of the vineries is a Mushroom-house heated from 

 the same medium as the vineries, iu which Mushrooms are 

 grown by the bushel. Mr. Rawbone told me that he found Cut- 

 bush's Milltrack Mushroom spawn to run the quickest and 

 yield the heaviest crops. 



We have now traversed most of the houses, and returning 

 towards the terrace front of the mansion, I will take the reader 

 along several of the walks of the pleasure grounds ; and though 

 my visit took place in midwinter, when deciduous trees were 

 stripped of their foliage, and vegetation genersiUy presented 

 but a cheerless aspect, yet in my rambles I made many notes 

 of general interest. The terrace front faces the south-east, 

 and commands many interesting views. The mansion is a 

 little elevated, and the park slopes gently to the railway, which 

 is skirted by a belt of Scotch Firs and other trees of the Pine 

 tribe. Through the vale run the rivers Churnet and Dove, 

 and a little farther on the former terminates its course and 

 joins the Dove ; on their banks graze many sheep and cattle, 

 which give interest to the landscape. On the opposite side of 

 the valley is a long range of hills, called Heaton Woods, their 

 summits almost enveloped in the clouds, and covered with 



