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JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAKDENER. 



[ September i, 1866. 



refers to the last two fruits, his success Las indeed been great. 

 He does not mention in what part of the world this "relic of 

 primaeval Paradise " is situated. I, whose lot is cast in the 

 south of England, have bed so little sun to ripen off my fruit, 

 that Peaches exposed to full light under glass, and thinned so 

 severely that six are the maximum in an 11-inch pot, and nine 

 in a 13-inch one, have in general been poor in flavour, and 

 Badly deficient in sweetness. French Galande is as usual the 

 most satisfactory ; Nsctarines sweeter than Peaches; Apricots 

 better than either ; and indeed any one who has never tasted 

 a Peach Apricot from en orchard-house can scarcely be said to 

 have tasted one at all. 



" Constant Eeadeb " must not be offended at the freedom 

 with which I have handled his communication, for in all pro- 

 bability our tastes may differ as to what " exquisite flavour " 

 really is. I confess myself in the matter of ripe Peaches some- 

 what hypercritical and exacting. — S. B. 



THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S 

 GARDEN, CHISWICK. 



A consideeable period has elapsed since the Chiswick gar- 

 den has received more than a passing notice in these pages ; 

 but at the present time it offers many features of interest to 

 the practical horticulturist, and others which would recom- 

 mend it to the mere sight-seer as well. Thus the Vines in the 

 conservatory are alone worth a journey to Chiswick to see ; 

 then there are the bedding plants on each side of the broad 

 walk leading from that structure to the iron tent, and consti- 

 tuting a beautiful spectacle, as well as an admirable means of 

 comparing the merits of rival varieties. Then, again, at right 

 angles to the walk just referred to, there is another, having on 

 each side beds of plants used in sub-tropical gardening, and 

 terminating in the old main walk, between which and the 

 northern boundary wall a new pinetum has been planted. We 

 have thus described three sides of a square, the interior of 

 which is principally occupied by the arboretum, where there is 

 a valuable collection of ornamental trees, which, so long as 

 they shall be clothed in their leafy dress, are a study of them- 

 selves, and many of them when touched with the mellow tints 

 of autumn, are even more beautiful than now. Yes, there is a 

 beauty in autumn leaves ; they are often dearer to us in their 

 old age than in their pride of youth, and though the feelings 

 which they conjure up may not be untinged with melancholy, 

 we have the knowledge that when spring returns the leafless 

 branches will be clothed with fresh verdure, and that nature 

 has but rested. But to return to the garden ; there is still one 

 more feature which renders it attractive at this time of year, 

 and that is the extensive collection of fruit trees, which, not- 

 withstanding the adverse season, are in good bearing. 



Entering by the gate opposite Turnham Green Church, and 

 passing along the walk leading past the cilice, or council-room 

 as it is still called, and which completes the fourth side of the 

 square before alluded to, on each side is a ribbon border, 90 or 

 100 yards in length, which until the late rains was very effec- 

 tive, but now the plants in some of the lines have grown rather 

 tall and leafy as compared with others, and have, therefore, 

 somewhat spoilt its regularity. It is thus planted — 1st row 

 next the walk, Cerastium tomentosnm ; 2nd, Tropaeolum Lob- 

 bianum, orange ; 3rd, Purple King Verbena ; 4th, Mrs. Pollock 

 Pelargonium ; 5th, Bose Queen ; 6th, Stella, on one side of the 

 walk, Punch on the other ; 7th, Calceolaria viscosissima. 

 Beyond this ribbon border on the side next the arboretum is a 

 collection of Phloxes, many of which are very beautiful. Here, 

 too, used as an edging, was a pretty seedling Lobelia, raised by 

 Mr. Bowie, gardener to Earl Tankerville, at Chillingham Castle, 

 and which is in the way of Paxtoci, but more compact in 

 habit, and with a greater proportion of white in the flowers. 

 Having reached the end of this walk, we turn to the left and 

 enter the conservatory, which now offers a spectacle which 

 is probably to be met with nowhere else in this country. It 

 is completely clothed with Vines from the bottom to the top 

 of the lofty curvilinear roof, and they are loaded with fine 

 bunches of black, red, and white Grapes, in various stages of 

 ripeness. The Frankenthal, the most robust and healthy of 

 the Black Hamburgh varieties, is the most numerously planted, 

 and the bunches are remarkably fine, especially those near the 

 young wood ; on Aramon, received here under the name of 

 Burchardt's Prince, there are noble bunches with large jet 

 black berries densely covered with bloom. It comes in in suc- 

 cession to the Frankenthal, and requires a longer period to 



ripen. It is of excellent flavour, and onelof the best varieties 

 for hanging late, but as yet is scarcely known in this country. 

 There are splendid bunches of Barbarossa, which when ripe 

 will probably weigh 7 lbs. each, remarkably fine bunches of 

 Muscat Hamburgh, and a good crop as well ; Black Prince, 

 very good, but not yet ripe;. Black Monukka, remarkable for 

 being seedless ; and Jura Black Muscat, larger in bunch than 

 the Black Frontignan, and quite as early. Of white Grapes, 

 there are very fine bunches of Chasselas Musque, Muscat of 

 Alexandria, advancing towards ripening, and Chasselas Vibert, 

 earlier than the Boyal Muscadine, and a good variety for pot 

 culture in a cool vinery. A Frankenthal Vine trained on the 

 east end is worthy of remark, on account of its extraordinary 

 production of fine bunches. 



The curvilinear vinery, where a collection of Muscat Vines 

 was planted some five years ago for comparison— an experiment 

 which ended in all but two or three being found identical, is a 

 model of productiveness, the Vines being loaded with a very 

 heavy crop of large bunches. Besides the Muscat of Alex- 

 andria, to which the reputed varieties have been referred, the 

 Canon Hall is very fine, and Troveren Frontignan is bearing 

 good-sized bunches. In the lean-to adjoining is a collection 

 of dwarf standard Fig trees in 10 and 12-inch pots in fine 

 bearing, and a number of plants of the Bat-tailed Badish, with 

 pods which for length are fully equal to those exhibited at 

 recent meetings. A Vine-pit contains a numerous collection 

 of Chasselas Grapes in pots for fruiting next season, so that 

 they may be compared under similar circumstances ; and in 

 the long narrow house into which the glass wall was converted 

 some years ago there are about 150 varieties, chiefly for trial, 

 whilst in front are cordon -trained Peach trees. 



The orchard bouse reflects great credit on Mr. Barron's 

 management ; it is a model of neatness and careful culture, 

 and the time occupied in examining the well-trained trees and 

 their excellent crops of Apples, Pears, and Plums was spent as 

 pleasantly, if not more so, than among what are usually con- 

 sidered the more ornamental subjects of the garden ; but in 

 reality what can be more ornamental than a well-fruited orchard- 

 house tree ? Of Apricots there were still a few, although the 

 most of the crop had been gathered, but it had been, we believe, 

 a fair one. In a Cucumber-pit, where there is a heavy crop of 

 different varieties, there was one called Huntingdonian, a very 

 handsome white-spined sort, with fruit from 20 inches to 2 feet 

 in length, and an excellent bearer. 



Near the vineries a quarter of pyramid Pears, presented 

 some years ago by Dr. Hogg, were in fine bearing; and it 

 may also be here stated that the Pear trees on the walls, 

 which have always been well managed and very productive, as 

 well as the dwarf espalier trees, are also bearing good crops. 

 Though Peaches and Nectarines have this year suffered severely 

 in most places from spring frosts, the crop here is tolerably 

 good — a circumstance which must be ascribed to the care taken 

 in protecting the blossom, for few places near London are 

 exposed to greater vicissitudes of temperature than Chiswick, 

 which in severe frost is almost invariably some degrees colder 

 at night than the higher ground at Acton and Ealing, whilst 

 in summer the heat is also greater than is generally registered 

 in these localities. Spring frosts are very destructive at Chis- 

 wick, for a body of cold air seems to, and no doubt actually 

 does, plunge by its superior gravity downwards into the valley, 

 and destroys the blossoms, whilst on the higher ground these 

 remain safe. 



The plant-houses, which some years ago were almost denuded 

 of their valuable contents, are again, it is most pleasing to 

 state, gradually being replenished, and additional structures 

 are being put up : thus, advantage has been taken of part of 

 the old north wall as a back to a lean-to now in progress, 

 86 feet long by about 10 feet wide. This will prove a very 

 inexpensive house, and it will be of great utility for growing 

 Pelargeniums and other plants for the Society's meetings and 

 for general purposes of decoration. Another span-roofed house, 

 we believe, is also about to be commenced. 



In a curvilinear-roofed stove, besides a number of well- 

 grown Palms, Zamias, Musas, Crotons, and a nice bank of 

 Ferns at the back, we observed about thirty varieties of Lan- 

 tanas, the best and most showy of which were M. Bongiere 

 and Conqueror ; likewise Torenia asiatica, which, though intro- 

 duced upwards of twenty years ago, is even now not so much 

 grown as it deserves to be. Another house, a lean-to, contains 

 a large number of Dracaenas, many of the individuals having 

 the foliage very finely coloured, and a similar house is devoted 

 to a collection of Azaleas, of course presenting nothingr.to 



