362 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



( October 31,1665. 



bnt is at present too younR and tender to be decided upon. 

 Wlierever the eye rested, it rested on beauty ; and I thought 

 the fair world had seldom seemed more fair than when looked 

 upon from the rock-basin of Heytor. 



Descending from the huge rock, we passed on our way to 

 another moorland home, and as we went we stopped at Wide- 

 eombe hill to examine one of the " hut circles " or remains of 

 the stone dwellings of the ancient Britons. These remains are 

 very scanty in their rude proportions, but they occur constantly 

 on Dartmoor ; and from the imaginary buildings which we are 

 able to erect from these ruined basements, they seem to agree 

 with the description that Ciesar gives of the houses of the 

 Britons, and with the representations of the British cabins as 

 depicted on the Antonine column. All that in most cases is 

 now left is a single course of large stones, rudely put together 

 in a circle varying from about 12 to 30 feet in diameter. The 

 door-jambs may be traced ; they also are of stone, and placed 

 nearly at right angles to the outline of the circle. 



Given these; premises, a wide field is left for the imaginary 

 architect. Some see the tree-clothed hills, on which not a 

 shrub is left, dotted aboiit with circular buildings, in form like 

 a soldier's teut, with the cheerful smoke cui'ling up from a hole 

 in the centre of the roof, while peaceful flocks and herds adorn 

 the smiling landscape around ! Others see the dwelling-places 

 of our forefathers hidden beneath a thatch of the boughs of 

 living trees, planted round the hut and bent to their purpose — 

 a sort of " wood of Dunsinane " — beneath which a pastoral 

 rather than a warlike people are hidden. — For me, I wonder 

 ■where the people came from to live in the huts, where they 

 are gone to, and how they managed to exist at all in such 

 ileak and desolate regions, where in 1865 there is no post 

 office, no butcher nearer than seven miles ! Mayhap they cUd 

 as a moor-lad told me they were now sometimes reduced to do : 

 " When us," he said " hasn't got no mate to ate, us shoots the 

 hathefeUs (heath fowl or black-cock) and ates they, and in 

 summer us seeks the Hurts fWhortleberriesj across the riding 

 bogs ; they Hurts make good dimiplings." 



Not far from Widecombe we took up our residence in a 

 cottage beneath the frowning shadow of Hamildon hill. Dark, 

 gloomy, and portentous looks this hill in a storm, and even in 

 Kunshine it only condescends to break into a grim smile ; yet 

 it is rich in flowers and Ferns. Down its rough sides streams 

 trickle thr-ough narrow gullies, and it is these gullies that form 

 the best hunting ground. In one, just above 'V\'ooder House, I 

 found what seems to be a new variety of Athyrium Fihx-fcemina ; 

 it is very finely serrated, in irregular pinnse and pinnules, and 

 fcoth frond and pinna; are forked. I also found a dwarf Blechnum 

 spicant, a neat compact little plant, with tiuy fertile fronds 

 of not more than 2{ inches in length. I had never met 

 with this variety before, and I only found a few plants, but 

 they grew in the locality of large Elechnums and gave every 

 promise of being ti-ue. By the side of the mountain stream, 

 interspersed with lichen-covered rock, were small bogs where I 

 found two plants of Pinguicula vulgaris ; directly the tiny 

 plant was gathered its pale green leaves curved backwards length- 

 ways ; the leaves of one of the specimens were veined a deep 

 reddish purple. The flower was of a pale lilac, with the lower 

 part of the cup orange veined with brown. At first sightil mis- 

 took the plant for Pinguicula lusitanica, but I believe I have 

 rightly named it P. ^"ulgaris. Trailing over the moss, and over 

 the stones on all sides, I found Campanula or 'V\'ahlenbergia 

 hederacea. I had been told that I might find the Sibthorpia 

 europaja, but I hunted for it in vain ; in Cornwall it was as 

 common as the little Ivy-leaved Bell-flower is on Dartmoor. 

 On the drier rocks I found several beautiful Mosses and 

 Lichens ; amongst the latter was the Coral Spha'rophoron 

 (Sphffirophoron coralloides) ; seen under a lens the coral 

 appears like a brilliant scarlet fungus growing in cup-like 

 form on a pale green rock ; on the same stone was the Elk's- 

 hom Cup-lichen (Scyphophorus alcicorais), and, scattered 

 about several others equally curious. 



The hedges about Widecombe were still — though my visit 

 was in September and October — bright with many a flower. 

 The 'Viola palustris was fxill of blossoms, the dark purple lines 

 showing clear against the pale lilac of the flowers. The little 

 yellow star of Hj-periciua humifusum still lingered near the 

 white-starred Sedum album or the more rare Sedum dasyphyl- 

 lum. I fancied that the tender purple stem of the S. album 

 sought for shade more than the better protected dasyijhyUum, 

 but it may only have been fancy. 



On the moor I only found the Ericas cinerea and tetralix, 

 with quantities of CaUuna vulgaris intermixed. We bought 



some heather-scented moorland honey, having often heard its 

 praises sung ; but though it had certainly a strong scent and 

 taste, I found neither very pleasant. We bought it at the 

 Widecombe shop ! — for Widecombe is not behind Manaton in 

 civiUsation so far ; nay, I think it is a httle in advance, for 

 while we were bartering for honey, a tea-pot, oil, and flour, a 

 poor girl came in, with a face sorely swelled, asking to see the 

 master. " Is it particular business ? " said the lady of the 

 incongiuous wares. " Perhaps you wish a tooth extracted ? — 



Mr. will attend to you presently." I made my escape — 



but was immediately attracted by a beautifully divided Asple- 

 nium adiantum-nigrum, much hke the Chudleigh one, in the 

 opposite wall ; I went back to borrow an old knife to root it 

 out, and was followed by the " master "' with a bricklayer's 

 trowel (for he was mason as well as dentist, &c.), who offered 

 his assistance in a most gallant manner, " but," said I, " the 

 poor girl ?" " It should have been seen to a month ago," 

 returned my friend, with an air as though he should say " She 

 has bided her time, she must now wait mine." Alas, poor 

 jaw 1 — but the dentist and I extracted two promising roots 

 of A. adiantum-nigrum, and I only hope that he managed the 

 tooth as dexterously, 



Pieturning to our cottage by the fields and river, I came on 

 an upland bog covere 1 by huge Osmimdas, and near at hand 

 were some monstrous plants of Athyrium Filix-foemina — some 

 pm-ple-stemmed, some white ; they were nearly, if not quite, 

 4 feet high ; I believe the variety to be that of davallioides. 

 A little further on I found purple-stemmed A. Filix-fcemina 

 rh.fticum, and, stiU further, a large Pteris aquilina very much 

 forked. One of the great characteristics of the Dartmoor Ferns 

 is this tendency to fork. I have found nearly all of the Ferns 

 of the moor forked ; Fihx-mas, Filix-fu;mina, Blechnum spicant, 

 Asplenium trichomanes, Aspleuium adiantum-nigrum ; the 

 Lastrea dilatata and L. oreopteris are exceptions. During a 

 fortnights himt, I only found two jilants of Polystichum 

 angulare, and not one of Polystichum acideatum. One of the 

 two plants is the usual form, the other is, I believe, the variety 

 alatum, the very small pinnides being joined to the rachis 

 by a decided wing ; but the plant is yet very small, so that I 

 fear to speak with decision. — Feen-hcntkess. 



P.S. — Since the above was written, there has been found in 

 a sequestered part of Becky Fall, or rather in its neighbour- 

 hood, a clump of Polypodium phegopteris. 



NOTES ON GRATES. 



I SEE in the Gardenirs' Chronidc, of October 7th, a person 

 is advised to plant the Barbarossa in a house where Black 

 Hamburgh and West's St. Peter's Grapes are grown, as it does 

 not require so much heat as a Muscat. I think it is impossible 

 to give worse advice than this, for if any Grape requires strong 

 heat it is the Barbarossa. However good-looking and well-co- 

 loured it may be, it is seldom high-flavoured, because it hardly 

 ever receives enough heat. At Sir Edward Walker's, of Mans- 

 field, where it is grown with more heat than is generally given to 

 Muscats, I found it the best flavoured black Grape in the house, 

 and it was compared with Black Hamburgh, Lady Downe's, 

 and Black Alicante ; and, let me add, this is the only place at 

 which I have found it of first-rate excellence. Nothing is more 

 disappointing than a badly-selected lot of Vines, and I would 

 caution any one against planting Barbarossa, Black Alicante, or 

 even Lady Do\sTie's, if he is not prepared to give sufficient 

 heat to ripen Muscats in the same house. If I were planting a. 

 late vinery, these three and Muscat of Alexandria are all I 

 shcaild select, as West's St. Peter's is generally inferior in flavour. 



I am more than ever pleased with Muscat Hamburgh, when 

 grafted on the Black Hamburgh, as an early Grape. With me 

 it fruits as freely, and colours as well as the Black Hamburgh. 

 To try if it would ripen in a cold house, one was planted in the 

 large orchard-house, which is 90 feet by 30 feet, and has no 

 artificial heat. Though planted late in spring it has reached 

 the top, and a bunch only 4 feet fi'om the ground ripened per- 

 fectly, though a good deal shaded by the Peach trees. I have 

 now no doubt that it will require no more heat than a Black 

 Hamburgh, and I know that it will sell for one-half more money 

 in the market. Trentham Black has again proved better and 

 earher than Black Hamburgh in the same cold house, so we 

 have three first-rate black Grapes, which will ripen with little 

 or no artificial heat. 



Duchess of Buccleuch Grape has proved with me in every 

 respect superior to Chasselas Musquc, richer in flavour ; and 



