182 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



r Murch 0, 188&, 



and the gardener, and even the pcdefitrian, may consult the 

 almanack with f^ent advnntnRc ere tliey commence operations. 

 — John I'erkins, ThornlMm Uardrnt, SiiffvlU. 



LAXGTON, 

 The Skat of John James FAnQi:n.vnsox, Esq. 



Amono the pleasant reminiscences of my horticultural visit 

 to Dorcetsbire last summer, tlie pleasure I experienced in in- 

 specting the frariltns at Liington. is still fresh, notwithstanding 

 that some months have since elapsed. Grnlifyiug as it is to 

 Bee horticulture practised with skill, and carried on in a spirit 

 worthy of the art, and I may also add the word science, for it 

 must be acknowledged to be both, it becomes almost a duty to 

 record instances that come under notice, where the teachings 

 of science are api lied in aid of jiractical experience. It was 

 through the interest of my kind friend, Mr. Eadclyfte, that 

 I was enabled to visit, and to be introduced to Mr. Knox, 

 the gardouer ut Lungtou, and to him I have to tender not only 

 acknowledgments for the opportunity of seeing the place, but 

 also a sincere apologv- for the delay in forw.arding my notes to 

 the Editors, knowing that it was expected that I should do so. 

 Iwas fully aware for some time that the space in " our Journal " 

 would be required for important matter, and it happened, too, 

 that many circilmstances at the time combined to prevent 

 putting my notes into a form suitable for publication. 



The drive from Rnshton to Langton, though not exceeding 

 three miles, is both beautiful and interesting; the undulation 

 of the country rendering it beautiful by the variety of scenery 

 presented at every successive turn of the road, interesting espe- 

 cially in summer, by the fine appearance of the crops on the 

 arable land, and the luxuriance of the herbage in the meadows 

 and pasture fields, testifying to the high character of the agri- 

 culture for which the county of Dorset is famous. This is par- 

 ticularly ihe case along the valley of the Stour, the slopes on 

 both sides of the stream vividly calling to mind the lines of the 

 enthusiastic poet in his eulogy- of England — 



" Wrinn with culture, the thick clustering fields 

 Prolific teem." 



This is no ideal picture, it is an actual result obtained by the 

 intelligence and perseverance of the occupiers of the land, 

 several of whum I have had the pleasure of meeting in com- 

 pany, and whom I have found to be thorough-going, kind- 

 hearted Englishmen. Their good tillage is, doubtless, favoured 

 by considerate and equitable landov.ners, and supported by a 

 sturdy and hard-working peasantry. These remarks are in- 

 tentionally introduced from the fact that the condition of the 

 Dorsetshire labourers has recently been brought prominently 

 before the public in an imfavourable light. However true may 

 be the particular instance that has been the cause of so much 

 comment in the London and other newspapers, it is evidently 

 illogical to apply the case of an individual to a whole class. 

 Hence honourable and worthy gentlemen, their employers, 

 have been brought into disrepute (indirectly, it is true) for 

 causes from which they are as free from censure as those who 

 have been so ready to invoke it. I have more than once seen 

 many of the Dorsetshire labourers at their daily work, and 

 assembled together oh the Sabbath in the House of God, clean 

 and neat in their attire and person, attentive to the duties that 

 led them there in company with their employers, and others 

 above them, independent but respectful and cheerful in de- 

 meanour. I have also visited some of them in their cottages, 

 clean and comfortable homes, inspected their productive and 

 well-managed garden plots, admired their ingenuity and thrift 

 in the care of their bees and pigs, and have witnessed the 

 honest pride with which they have related with many words 

 how they won a prize for honey, another for Potatoes, and so- 

 forth at the ncigbliouring local shows. 



Langton is situ.ited one mile from the town of Blandford. It 

 is the seat of John James Farquharson, Esq., a gentleman 

 much beloved and respected by all classes, and an old and 

 ■valued friend of Mr. lladclyfTe's familj". The residence is pala- 

 tial, and of costly construction. It was designed by the dis- 

 tinguished architect, Cotterell, and was the last built under his 

 direction before his death. It took five years in construction, 

 and cost, it is said, £100,000. The internal arr.ingements of 

 the mansion are most complete, and the stables, with the other 

 necessary oflices of a first-class establishment, are on a corre- 

 sponding scale of excellence, the whole construction being that 

 of a master mind, and the materials the best that wealth and 

 art coidd put together. Mr. Farquharson, or as he is generally 



denominated, "the good old squire," is an octogenarian, and is, 

 it is to be hoped, in good somid health. Txmg may he he pre- 

 served to the count}' of Dorset, and neighbourhood of Dlandiord. 

 Besides for his hospitality, the county ow es him a debt of grati- 

 tude for hunting the whole county at his own cost, with his 

 celebrated fox hounds. One can tell pretty well the character 

 of a gentleman by the conduct of his scr^■ant.s. From them 

 I received the most polite attention, especially from Mr. Knox, 

 formerly with the Duke of Northumberland, at Ahiwick Caatle, 

 and now Mr. Farquharson's head gardener, and truly it is no 

 idle compliment to speak highly of an intelligent, industrious, 

 and hard-working man, who seems to have nothing so much at 

 heart as his employer's interest. Mr. Knox fully shares in the 

 distinction gained by his countrymen, our northern brethren, 

 in their successful fruit culture, the vineries and Tine-houses 

 being a marked feature in the horticulture of Langton. A cir- 

 cumstance of which I was afterwards informed is deserving of 

 note. So careful and anxious is Mr. Knox, that the plants 

 under his care, particularly the fine specimens to he presently 

 noticed, are strictly attended to, that he does all the potting 

 and re-potting with his own hands, notwithstanding that he 

 has sutlicient help at his command. 



Under such efficient guidance, I now note what the various 

 houses contained. The tirst is occupied chieBy by tropical and 

 sub-tropical Ferns ; specimen plants of the following were con- 

 spicuous, both for size and healthy ap|iearance— Woouwardia 

 radicans, Adiantum formosum, Asplenium nidus, Adiautum 

 trapeziforme, Dlcchnum australe, and some of the Lycopods. 



The second house, a vinery, was occupied by Bhuk Ham- 

 burghs, and Vines in pots for dessert and dinner-table de- 

 coration, and the third by finc-foliagcd plants. Among them 

 the following well-known species were remarkable — Dracaena 

 ferrea, D. terminalis, Caladium argyrites, C. Chantini, C Bel- 

 Icymeii, C. bicolor splendens, C. pictum, DicfTenbachia picta, 

 Croton variegata, Tradescantia discolor lineata, with some of 

 the most distinct Begonias. The fourth house was devoted to 

 Melons, the kinds in cultivation were Meredith's Cashmere, 

 Scarlet Gem, and a seedling of Mr. Knox's (green). The sixth 

 was a Pine stove for succession ; the seventh a forcing stove for 

 various subjects ; the eighth wns for Pines then being cut. The 

 fruit in this stove was one of the most interesting features of 

 the place, on account of the size, weight, and flavour obtained. 

 Many of the Pines when measured were found to he 12 and 

 IB inches in height, thus attesting the perfection of the culti- 

 vation. 



One may devote particular attention to the cultivation of one 

 kii'.d of flower or fruit, or to a class of plants, or to the intro- 

 duction of ornamental species, that would give a novel and im- 

 proved appearance to the garden (and, indeed, striking and 

 even great results have been obtained by the concentration of 

 the energies of distinguished men upon the subject to which 

 they have devoted their especial care — instances of this are 

 evident in the case of the Eose, Gladiolus, Strawberry, 

 Orchids, Ferns, and Conifers) ; but if I were asked, " In what 

 department of horticultural art have the most useful, aud the 

 greatest general services been rendered?" I should without 

 hesitation reply, " In the kitchen and fruit garden.'' 'When, 

 therefore, these departments show the highest development, so 

 fur as the present state of gardening admits, a corresponding 

 feeling of satisfaction predominates. Such was my impression 

 while looking over the kitchen garden at Langton, at a time 

 when the greater portion of the principal crops were approach- 

 ing maturity. The fine climate of Dorsetshire is assuredly 

 favourable to these departments, and last season particularly 

 so ; and not at Langton only, but in other places which I had 

 the pleasure of seeing, the remark holds equally true. Among 

 them I may mention Bryanstone, the seat of Lord Portman, 

 where the superb condition of the wall fruit, and the produc- 

 tiveness of the crops were, to me, matters of astonishment. 

 To single one case out of many : several roots of different 

 kinds of Potatoes were dug up at random in my presence in 

 different parts of the garden, and the jield was in everj- instance 

 not less than twenty-five good-sized tubers, in many thirty ; 

 and as many as forty, and even forty-five, were coimted on one 

 root. Had his lordship's courteous permission to take notes of 

 what I saw during my inspection been received in time, I should 

 have felt bound to have forwarded you those notes. I can now 

 only offer my best thanks to Mr. Leach, the head gardener, for 

 his kimlucss, and the great trouble he took in showing me over 

 the sjilcndid gardens and grounds at Bryanstone. 



The Strawberry crop at Langton last summer was light, 

 owing, no doubt, to causes that have aheady been sufficiently 



