Novombor 7, 1865. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



385 



of the level land bordering on the Medway being flooded. One 

 of the tributaries cif that rivor has spread itself over the ad- 

 jacent flats for a mili^ or more wide in places. 



These heavy falls of rain following a ])criod of unusnally diy 

 hot weather have given the season a somewhat tropical cha- 

 racter, espocially as the dry period was jireceded by a similar 

 wet one, and that again by the hot dry month of June. It 

 would he idle, I fear, to deduce anything from this unusual state 

 of things, as it may ho completely reversed another year ; but 

 it would he well to ask somu of your many readers, who keep a 

 register of the rainfall of their respective districts, if they ever 

 before experienced so much rain in so short a time ? Of course 

 it is needless to ask the ciuestion of those residing amongst the 

 Cumberland and Westmoreland liills, nor, in fact, of any of 

 those bordering on the west coast, where the rainfall is so hea\'y ; 

 but I believe so very wet a jioriod is without precedent for 

 many years in this part of England, the most of the rain fall- 

 ing in what appeared to be thunder-showers. I hear of some 

 whoso registers show even greater rainfall than at Linton Park ; 

 would some of your readers bo Icind enough to report their 

 experience, that a comparison may bo made ? — J. EoBSOX. 



VINES OX A GLASS-FRONTED WALL. 



In an obtuse angle where two open waUs join we have a 

 White Frontiguau Grape Vine facing south-east, and a Black 

 Hamburgh facing east. This year the Grapes are ripe, and 

 very fine, but in ordinary seasons they do not ripen. We 

 have been thinking of putting glass over the A'ines, as they 

 are established there, having been planted about thirty years. 

 Would glass over them ripen the Grapes in ordinary sea- 

 sons ? and if so, what sort of a house would you recom- 

 mend, having regard to economy as well as efficiency? The 

 walls are 10 feet high. Would glass the same height iu 

 front, with a short span roof, be advisable ? We have some 

 old spare lights that are !) feet long, would they be of any use 

 in the construction '? and what ventilation would yoii advise ? 

 It we use the old lights in an rrpright position, what width 

 from the wall would you advise ? Would it be better to use 

 the old lights for a roof, and make a lean-to house with them ? 

 and in that case, would it be a good plan to have a small light 

 between every light to open for ventOatiou, something after 

 the same plan as in the Paxton houses ? — Ixquieee. 



[We have no doubt of the Grapes ripening in general seasons, 

 where there is a fair amount of sunshine, if you attend to 

 ventilation early enough, and take it away soon enough to 

 shut up a certain amount of the sun's rays. This season 

 is not a critei'ion to go by. We have seen Grapes in Bedford- 

 shire, on the open wall, that would have passed for hothouse 

 Grapes, hut we cannot expect many such seasons, and, there- 

 fore, the glass wonld be an advantage. We think that the 

 different plans you iiropose have each their own advantages, 

 and that their superior fitness is more dependant on your own 

 taste than on anything superior in the plan of malung the 

 most of your nine-feet spare lights. Thus you might have 

 a nice upright fruit-house on the Trentham plan, from 4} to 

 5 feet iu width, by having a short double span for the roof, 

 the apex some 15 inches above the top of the wall, and half 

 of the span to open for a ventilator. Tour nine-foot sashes 

 could then stand on a stout rail or plate, suiiported on posts 

 1 foot above the surface of the ground, and a board could be 

 hinged there for bottom ventilation. 



If you adopted the Paxtonian system, and your sashes are 

 strong, you could dispense with rafters. Have merely a re- 

 ceiving-board beneath the coping for one end of the sash, and 

 a strong rail on posts, 2 feet from the ground, and 5 feet from 

 the wall, to support the other end, fixed in its place by screws. 

 Small sashes 4 or 6 inches wide, or even a board if the sashes 

 consisted of large squares, could go between sash and sash. 

 The front could be boarded up or covered with asphalt, water- 

 proofed calico, itc. Of coui'se, you could build a wall if you 

 liked. By this plan, however, your glass will join the roof 

 at a very acute angle, and for a foot or two there you will not 

 easily get at it. To neutralise that we would have a small 

 lean-to hip there, especially if you decided on rafters — say 

 larch poles cut down the middle ; and if that hip, whether of 

 wood or glass, were some 1.5 inches wide, yon could have the 

 house all that wider, and you would have more room. If that 

 lean-to hip were 15 inches wide, or even 18 inches, the top 

 tmderneath the coping, and the lower pai"t just over the top of 

 the front sashes, these could be placed so as to give you a 



house of from fi to 7 feet in width. The front wall might bo 

 of boards, bricks, or whatever you pleased, and should be about 

 2 feet high from the ground. With such a lean-to hip of wood, 

 luit better if i>artly of glass, we would have '.> inches of it to 

 open for ventilation, and a similar space in the front wall open- 

 ing — say by means of a hinged boai-d, and then wo would fix 

 all the sashes at once. 



You cannot have all the advantages by any one mode. Pre- 

 suming that you wonld not Ukc to make ventilators in the 

 hack of your wall, your simplest phiu would be to fix one end 

 of your sashes below the coping, the other end on a rail or 

 plate from 4 J to 5 feet from the wall, and from 18 to 21 inches 

 from tlie ground, closing that space with anything the most 

 handy. Fix the sashes, with from 3^ to 4-inch openings be- 

 tween them, and fill that opening at first \vith a thin board 

 hinged on, cut into two lengths, so that you can give air to the 

 top part first. This would cost very little, and yon could alter 

 it afterwards by merely imfastening the sashes.] 



WEST HOUSE, CONGLETON. 



TiiF. Rf.sidexck Of James Pearson, Esq. 



Wkst HonsE, originally the property of Mr. Patterson, lato 

 Governor of the Bank of England, is one of those pretty su- 

 burban villas of moderate extent and iu good keeping, tliat are 

 occasionally to be met witli in the environs of large manu- 

 facturing towns. I had the privilege of calling at this place a 

 few days ago while on a ramble through the neighbourhood, 

 and the extreme kindness which I received from the worthy 

 proprietor, and the affability and attcution of Mr. Chaddock, 

 the head-gardener, rendered the visit most agreeable. 



It struck me forcibly that iu tliis age of travelling, many 

 have an impression on their minds that in order to see what is 

 grand and beautiful we must take tedious journeys from home. 

 I remember about twelve months ago being much pleased with 

 an interesting article by Mr. Eobson, in the pages of this 

 .Journal, in which he strongly recommended gai'deners to visit 

 places far from home. I then agreed in the main with all that 

 ho said, and being acquainted with most of the places men- 

 tioned, I can vouch for the rich treat there is in store for any 

 gardener wishing to explore those districts. The wealthier of 

 our neighbours not specially interested iu the progress of 

 horticulture, and yet requiring a little relaxation from the com- 

 mon avocations of life, seek out spots famous either for health 

 or pleasure ; they resort to some noted watering place on 

 the British coast, or they seek out some inland spot remark- 

 able for its scenes of attraction and beauty. They must either 

 go to the Vale of Clwyd, the Lakes of Windermere, or Walton- 

 on-the-Nase ; but it is a certain fact that, great as are the 

 means of travelling, and the cheap excursions offered by the 

 different railway companies, it is not always convenient for 

 gardeners to leave their places for many days together, nor 

 have they all the means to do so. My residence being the 

 charming village of Biddulph, about four miles south-east of 

 Congleton, I determined to call upon some of my neighbours ; 

 so after an early dinner I sallied forth, resolved to seek out 

 near home some of those places where gardening is cherished, 

 and having jotted down a few notes by the way, I here present 

 them to the readers of The Journal of Hokticultup.e. 



The first part of my journey being performed on foot, I was 

 anxious to make the best of it, so I chose the way past Bid- 

 dulph Hall, an old-fashioned mansion situate on the summit of 

 a high hill, but lying partly in ruins. As I stand by the old 

 dilapidated place a glorious scene of unrivalled beauty appears. 

 To my left, and only about a quarter of a mile distant, hes Bid- 

 dulph Grange, surrounded by the far-famed gardens of James 

 Bateman, Esq. ; a little further on stands the venerable village 

 church, surrounded by its old Yew trees, and beneath the shade 

 of which and the shadow of the old spire, many of "the rude 

 forefathers of the hamlet sleep." In the churchyard there are 

 some ancient tombs, bearing crosses, pickaxes, swords, &c. A 

 little beyond stand Knypersley church and schools, built by the 

 late respected owner of Knypersley Hall, Mr. Batem,an, sen.; 

 and a little distance from the church are the gardens renowned 

 forMr. J. Bateman'slarge collection of Orchidaceous plants, and 

 where the visitor finds himself at once transported from the 

 bleak district around into the wild luxuriance of a tropical 

 world. In addition to the Orchids is the span-roofed vinery 

 nearly 200 feet long and 20 wide, and there are many houses of 

 smaller dimensions. Near this place rises the famous river 

 Trent, as also a branch of the Dane. Before me at the other 



