February 24, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



145 



escere fo?tu ; ter fruges fundens, tria tern pora monstrat arandi," 

 which we translate — " The true Lentisc always green, and 

 always teeming, is accustomed thrive to grow heavy with pro- 

 duce ; thrice pours forth its produce; thrice points out the 

 season for gathering." It would snffice to justify our trans- 

 lation that Cicero was speaking poetically, but, besides, we 

 may add that " fcetus " and " fruges " are used in the classics 

 for produce of many kinds, and " aro — arandi " — is to gather 

 as well as to plough. That our translation is correct has 

 the conclusive evidence that in Chios, the Greek island where 

 the ehrub is cultivated, there are now three harvests of its 

 resin. The first incisions in its bark are made from the 

 loth to the 20th of July, the second about the 27th of August, 

 and the third about the 25th of September.] 



THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S 

 ACHING TOOTH. 



My friends call me a conservative old fogy, because I in- 

 veterately oppose all charjges. I disregard their impudence, 

 and I rejoiced to see that I have brother " conservative old 

 fogies," who are quite in accordance with Rousseau, where he 

 says — " I oppose the removal of an old post if I have long been 

 accustomed to see it." I once knew another " conservative old 

 fogy," who declared " a letter was not worth having new, for he 

 paid nothing for it." I called upon him one morning and found 

 him with his face tied up. He said he was going to the 

 dentist to have an old tooth removed. I remonstrated. I urged 

 that he had bad it so many years — that it had been so service- 

 able — that it was a prominent tooth — that he might use it for 

 ten or eleven years longer; but these conservative represent- 

 ations did not convince him ; his reply was, " It is always 

 aching." I fear that that is the reply the Council of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society will make to all who urge upon them the 

 retention of the Chiswick Garden. — G. 



GARDENS AND GARDENING AROUND 

 HAMBURG.— No. 4. 



MESSRS. ERNST & VON SPRECKLESEN'S NURSERY, ALTONA. 

 This nursery, which is situated on the same road as that of 

 Messrs. Booth, but a little nearer Altona, is chiefly devoted 

 to seed cultivation, in which the firm do a large amount of 

 trade, chiefly by export. The display of Asters at the time of 

 our visit was very fine, every colour being arranged in beds by 

 itself. Some beds of the Dwarf White Chrysanthemum variety 

 were very fine. The double sorts of Zinnias were also ex- 

 tremely fine ; indeed, we never saw finer, the flowers being 

 very large and as regularly double as any Aster. If these 

 gentlemen would only supply us with seeds which would pro- 

 duce as many gocd flowers we should be satisfied. It is need- 

 less, however, to give a long list of the many plants grown for 

 seed here. They are principally annuals such as we have 

 noticed, and which in the mass produce a most gorgeous dis- 

 play ; by their beauty, as seen from the high road, they attract 

 a considerable amount of attention. 



DR. ETATSRATH BAUR'S, BLANKENASE, HOLSTEIN. 



This is one of the first places which would attract the at- 

 tention of the passenger by steamers up the river Elbe. It 

 stands prominently forward as some place of note by the fine 

 appearance of the trees and plantations, with the pleasant 

 winding walks therein, and the terrace 200 yards long by the 

 river's bank, with the rockwork in the background, and several 

 high and rather quaint old towers on the highest ground, from 

 the top of which very fine and extensive views of the surround- 

 ing country and that of Hanover may be had. The house 

 stands high above the river, and a good way from it. The 

 views from the various points are very fine. The gardens are 

 chiefly remarkable for their extreme neatness and fine order, 

 the grass being quite as fine as any in England. Fuchsias in 

 the houses were well cultivated, and we observed some very 

 fine plants of Cycas revoluta, &c. The flower garden which is 

 of pretty fair size, was well filled with the usual plants in good 

 array. Artemisia argentea, as an edging, looked very charm- 

 ing. The obargartner is Herr Bosenberg. 



HERR J. C. GODEFFROY'S, DOCKENHUDEN, BLANKENASE. 

 This is a fine noble place of considerable extent, with very 

 neat and beautifully-kept grounds, pleasantly situated on the 

 banks of the river, of which there is a fine view from the houBe, 



standing, as it does, at a considerable elevation above the 

 river, and some distance off. The fine old Lime trees and 

 the shrubs (Thujas, ire), with the finely-kept walks winding 

 up and down along the slopes by the river, give to this place 

 a great charm. The chief feature, however — that in which it 

 stands prominently forward, is the magnificent display of bed- 

 ding plants in the flower garden. A space of some two or three 

 acres is devoted to this style of gardening, and very seldom 

 have we seen better-tilled beds, or a more brilliant and profuse 

 show of colour, and withal well arranged. 



It would be tedious to describe in detail the various arrange- 

 ments, and not particularly instructive. The ground is of the 

 old geometric form (square or nearly so), cut up into figures, 

 with a fountain in the centre, where some hundreds of gold 

 fish were sporting. Some of the scroll pattern and ribbon 

 flower-beds were exceedingly rich in flowers ; the display of 

 Verbenas was something remarkable, being such as it seems now 

 an impossibility to secure in this country. The constitution 

 of the Verbena seems weaker than it was in olden times, and 

 the plant far more difficult of cultivation. Purple King, our 

 leading sort, was here outstripped in every point by a seedling 

 raised by Herr Sanders, the intelligent obergartner, and which 

 is the same as Purple King in colour and habit, much larger in 

 the flower and truss, and retains the same fine definite purple 

 hue to the last. We anticipate for this a front place. As a 

 white, La Candeur was quite its equal in every respect ; and as 

 a scarlet, Miss Trotter stood out well. Some lines of Mrs. 

 Pollock Pelargonium were very effective, and the various groups 

 of Cannas, Castor Oil plants, &c, were all that could be desired. 

 Part of the flower garden is on gravel, part on grass, of which 

 there is a considerable extent. Nowhere have we ever seen 

 more smooth and finely-kept lawns than here ; they were as 

 smooth as any carpet, and not in all England do we believe 

 could there be found any lawn to surpass in neatness, and in 

 the fineness and quality of the grass, those under Herr Sanders' 

 care. In connection with this we have to note a very neat and 

 efficient mode of preserving the edges. The keeping grass 

 edgings neat, straight, or true to form, it is well known, is a 

 very tiresome and difficult matter. They will, in spite of the 

 greatest care in cutting, get quite out of form. Herr Sanders 

 obviates this by providing a permanent edging of thin sheet 

 iron, 3 inches wide, which ib fixed along the edge just level 

 with the top of the grass, and nothing can exceed its neatness. 

 The cost of such an edging cannot be great, and the neatness 

 secured, and the saving effected in edging, must be well worth 

 the outlay. 



Pish — goldfish, may not have much to do with gardens, yet 

 they are frequently to be found there, and serve as an article 

 of adornment. Gardeners do not often have the rearing of 

 them, yet we cannot refrain from noticing them as seen at this 

 place. These pretty creatures are reared by the thousand for 

 sale, about five thousand being disposed of every year. In a 

 shallow stream of water in the park, about 20 feet in width, 

 they are reared and fed— there thousands of them could be 

 seen at a time ; and on standing on the small wooden bridge, 

 whence their food is thrown into the water, and stamping one's 

 foot so as to make a slight noise— the signal for their call to 

 meals— it is a wonderful sight to see the thousands upon 

 thousands of these creatures that come swimming forward in 

 obedience to the call, until the water is lividly scarlet and gold 

 with their dazzling-coloured bodies. It is wonderful also to 

 notice the silent (to us) communication that must be going on 

 amongst them, to watch the first comers on finding out the 

 false alarm, return and stop the upward progress of the later 

 and more distant voyagers. What a pretty and interesting 

 feature in a park is this ! 



FLOWER POTS. 

 It frequently happens that advice given by various writers 

 on the same subject is somewhat conflicting, but I believe 

 that most authorities agree that it is objectionable to place pot 

 plants, such as Pelargoniums, &c, on solid level board shelves. 

 Almost every cultivator of pot plants is aware that a free 

 current of air through the drainage to the roots of the plant is 

 indispensable for healthy, luxuriant growth, and to obtain that 

 desideratum it is requisite, according to the present make of 

 flower pots, to place them upon some porous Bubstance, or to 

 raise them a little from the shelves on which they are placed. I 

 am inclined to think that the inconvenience and trouble of 

 doing so might be obviated if the maker3 of flower pots would 



