338 



JOUENAL OP HOBTICULTUBE AND OOTTAGK GAKDENEB. 



[ May 20, 1889. 



bnt their stems, which are of extraordinary thickness. They 

 had become so large that they overshadowed the place, and a 

 sharp remedy was applied— the saw. By the side of a continu- 

 ation of the walk along which the large Portugal Laurels are 

 growing, besides many other fine specimen shrubs, is a re- 

 markably handsome Evergreen Oak, 25 feet high. It may here 

 be remarked, that large trees and shrubs are frequently re- 

 moved at this place, but they are never carried on wheels, being 

 always dragged by horses on a sledge of iron with rings at the 

 corners. 



The next place entered was the old kitchen garden, which is 

 walled in, and contains a house -ii) feet by 17, in two divisions, 

 Bsed as a vinery and house for Ferns and softwooded plants, 

 the Vines young plants, mostly of new varieties. The plants 

 in the houses as well as the out-door department were well 



managed by Mr. B , the gardener in charge, and everything 



was very clean and neat. By the side of one of the walks on 

 a rather steep incline there were V-shaped drains of brick-on- 

 edge at the sides, with the Box edging rising above the brick on 

 the border eide. These drains, which are neat, and merely 

 require a brush-out to keep them clear, are also used by the 

 sides of the drives where required, and are not readily damaged 

 by carriage wheels. Another kitchen garden, the principal one 

 for the supply of the establishment, is enclosed by close well- 

 kept Thorn hedges, and covers 2J acres. The aspect is not 

 the most favourable, as the ground slopes towards the north, 

 and although the full sweep of the wind from that quarter is 

 broken by eminences, still, more shelter is desirable. The 

 ground, too, is heavy, being a marly clay, but very good crops 



are obtained, though, Mr. S , the gardener, remarked it 



was sometimes annoying to find his neighbours bringing their 

 early Peas, &c., some while before he could do so ; however, he 

 had the compensation in summer and autumn of his crops 

 remaining longer ia use. A thrce-tined fork, with the tines a 

 little flattened-out at the bottom, is found very useful for 

 digging, as the soil is too heavy for four-tined steel forks, and 

 the same tool is also much used in the neighbouring Hop 

 plantations. The whole of the ground had either been cropped 

 or was in course of preparation. The Strawberries were not 

 very strong, probably owing to the last hot dry summer, 

 but the pyramid Pear trees were in fine condition, and pro- 

 mised to bear heavy crops. Sutton's Kingleader Pea, of which 

 there were several rows, was in bloom, which it is here found 

 to be nine or ten days sooner than Sangster's No. 1, of which a 

 few rows had been sown at the same time. For cleaning and 

 stirring between the rows of vegetables, as well as for the 

 ground elsewhere, a thrust-and-draw-hoe is found a very ser- 

 viceable and expeditious implement. 



Pits and frames in a back garden were filled with fruiting 

 Cucumbers, Hamilton's Market Favourite being the variety 

 preferred, and a large stock of plants for bedding-out in the 

 flower gardens, as Pyrethrum Golden Feather, Oxalis cornicu- 

 lata rubra, Japanese Honeysuckle, Alternantheras, Lobelias, 

 and Tricolor-leaved and other Pelargoniums ; of tbe latter 



Eebecca and Excellent are favourite kinds. Mr. S has 



also a seedling with large trusses of scarlet flowers, and which 

 he described as being of a free-flowering rather dwarf habit ; 

 and among several other seedlings is one raised from Le 

 •Grand, which he has called King Alfred, more compact in truss 

 than its parent, more orange in colour, but with smaller flowers. 

 He had, besides, several promising seedling Tricolor varieties 

 in one of the houses, and a seedling golden-leaved Lobelia with 

 nearly white flowers. The houses just referred to form a small 

 range, in three divisions, 90 feet long by 10 wide, and are used 

 as vineries, for gron ing plants for rooms, and for forcing Kidney 

 Beans, &o. Black Hamburgh is the Grape chiefly grown here, 

 but there are, besides. Vines of the Koyal Muscadine, Lady 

 Downe'p, Black Prince, and Canon Hall Muscat. 



The principal flower garden, laid-out by Mr. Eyles, of the 

 Eoyal Horticultural Society's Gardens, South Kensington, is 

 -at once simple in its design, well adapted to the situation, and 

 capable of being rendered eti'ective both in winter and spring. 

 Though it is not possible to render the details intelligible with- 

 out a plan, its main features consist of a semicircular terrace 

 garden in front of the house, with a low stone wall, having 

 vases on it at intervals, two wings parallel to the front of the 

 house, and a series of beds at the side, corresponding with 

 circles planted with standard Khododendrons, beyond which, 

 towards the outside, is a border swept out to correspond with 

 the circles, and planted with evergreen Berberries and varie- 

 gated Hollies. At present the beds are occupied with Arbor- 

 vitce, Irish Yews, Euonymuses, and other plants, and bulbs 



now over, which will shortly give place to the bedding-ont 

 plants. From this garden fine views are gained southwards, 

 the village church coming in in the foreground, and the hills 

 on the Sussex coast in the distance, with wooded hilly country 

 between. On the lawn 12-inch mowing machines used by one 

 man were at work, these being found more economical than 

 larger sizes with two men. 



It is, however, in a private garden that the most remarkable 

 features of the place are to be found, and of these the most 

 interesting are the cylinder vineries and double walls of glass, 

 both of which are " Obsekver's " own inventions, or rather 

 two of his inventions, for he is fertile in these, and to him we 

 are indebted for the ground vinery and other useful contrivances. 

 The cylinder vinery was fully described in pages 386 and 387 of 

 vol. xiii., and a representation was there given of one of the 

 hexagonal form. These vineries may, however, be made with 

 four, six, eight or more sides, and of various sizes, but the 

 octagon form is that which their inventor appears to prefer, 

 and from its approach to the circle is probably stronger than 

 those with a less number of sides. He has examples of several 

 kinds and sizes, but that which we shall select is an octagon 

 9 feet in diameter and 14 feet high. The posts at the angles 

 are of deal, and being boiled in creosote may be expected to 

 last many years ; although less than 4 inches wide by Ij inch 

 thick, from being connected with each other by three-eighth- 

 ineh iron wire, and firmly fixed in the ground, the frame- 

 work they form is so strong that it can hardly be shaken by a 

 man's strength, and neither it nor the glass has suffered from 

 winds, althouf h the position is rather exposed. To give greater 

 strength, at 7 feet high there is a slight top framing of deal 

 like the posts, and glass above that again. The glass used is 

 21-oz., in squares 20 inches by 15, which are slid down the 

 grooves in the posts, and oiiginally they simply rested on each 

 other, but it was found that owing to the varying thickness of 

 the glass they rattled with the wind ; and to obviate this thin 

 stripsof copper bent at right angles are introduced at each corner 

 of the square of glass, and firmly fix it in the groove. The top 

 is quite open, but it is found that the temperature in the octa- 

 gon is from 10' to 15° higher than outside, but at night it is 

 very nearly the same, both outside and inside. It is, therefore, 

 evident that the octagons will not protect from frost, though 

 affording a higher day temperature ; and in proof of this it may 

 be mentioned that the Vines in them wherever wet with dew 

 had had their young leaves blackened by a sudden May frost, 

 severe enough also to brown the Laurel. In future it is intended 

 to use a covering of hop sacking boiled in Creosote, an excel- 

 lent material, to prevent injury from this cause. The pecu- 

 liarity of the cylinder vinery as regards ventilation was pointed 

 out in page 387 of the volume previously referred to — namely, 

 that the glass touching the ground no air enters below, but 

 that there is constantly a current of cool air descending 

 by the centre and currents of warm air ascending by the 

 sides. While the fruit trees in such cylinders enjoy a day 

 temperature higher than they would have in a given place, that 

 heat is given by natural means, and they are fully exposed to 

 light, dew, and to the free air. Accordingly, we are informed 

 by "Observer" that be has found the fruit ripened under 

 these circumstances is possessed of a higher flavour than that 

 produced in glass structures in which the atmosphere is con- 

 fined by closed roofs. It is not for Vines only that the cylinder 

 vineries are employed, but Peaches, Plums, and Cherries are 

 also grown in them, and give promise of bearing fine crops ; 

 they might, therefore, be more appropriately termed fruit 

 cylinders. 



Whatever advantages the cylinders present are also possessed 

 by the double walls of glass, which are "Observer's" latest 

 invention in fruit culture, and they afford not only a higher 

 day temperature by 6°, but greater protection from frost, for 

 wherever the Vines were covered with glass they were un- 

 injured by the frost before mentioned, and this in the walls 

 as well as in the ground vineries, whilst elsewhere the young 

 shoots were browned and blackened. The construction of the 

 double walls is very simple ; they consist of two surfaces of 

 glass inclined towards each other, but open at top. The width 

 at bottom is G feet (3 inches, at top 2 feet ',) inches, but it is in- 

 tended to increase the amount of incline so as to put on a pro- 

 tection of hop sacking more conveniently in case of necessity. 

 Their construction in other respects is similar to that of the 

 cylinders, the glass being made to slide down in grooves, and 

 the squares being of the same size — namely, 20 inches by 15, 

 The sashes are let into a groove in the stone base, and strain- 

 icg wires pass through the woodwork at the base, and are there 



