286 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



( April 17. ISM. 



grow on the parent plant or not. In any caso, whether the top 

 be struck or not, it should bo pinched out at the time stated, 

 in order to cause the plant to furnish itself nicely at the base. 

 If this precaution is not taken there is some difficulty in 

 judging of the habit of the plant the first seasou. 



In planting the seedlings out choose a nice open piece of 

 ground, and plant thim in rows about 3 feet apart, and at 

 2 feet apart in the rows. As soon as the plants have taken 

 hold of the soil all the points should ho again i>inched out ; this 

 will increase the number of shoots more tlian tenfold, and 

 about the second week in July the plants will produce a mag- 

 nificent display of bloom. ^Vhen the cutting is taken off a 

 label should be put to each plant and cutting so that no mis- 

 take may take place, and if the colours are noted down as the 

 flowers are produced, the plants may be so placed that wheu in 

 bloom their colours may harmonise in the beds, and prove 

 more effective than would otherwise be the case ; or if the 

 seedlings are planted out on a border indiscriminately, nothing 

 produces a more pleasing effect to the eye than the varied 

 colours of several hundreds of seedling Verbenas in mass. 



I find old seed always vegetates quicker than new ; for this 

 reason I always keep a year's seed in hand. If the seed is 

 sown iu pans or pots these should be prepared as recommended 

 for Pelargoniums. The same sort of soil will suit the Verbena 

 and Pelargonium, but the seed of the Verbena must be sown 

 quite "2 inches deep. 



The plants must be well watered after they are planted out. 

 If there is a slug or a .snail anj-where it is sure to find out a 

 seedling Verbena, and the only sure way to get rid of these 

 troublesome marauders, is to catch and kill them. The best 

 time to do this is about 11 p.m. I then generally find them 

 very busy enjoying their supper at my expense ; and although 

 they are not very pleasant to handle, I find the only way you 

 can be sure of destroying them is to pick them up and drop 

 them into a vessel containing a little hot water or lime. 



I hope to produce some varieties this season that will please 

 even " D." of Deal, who has given us his ideas on the merits 

 and demerits of the best Verbenas sent out up to the present 

 time. "D., Deal," is qnite right in stating that of the new 

 varieties sent out every year many do not come up to the re- 

 quired standard, either for bedding-purposes or lor pot-culture; 

 but he is not right in stating Purple King to be the best bed- 

 ding Verbena out. JIany of the varieties sent out by Messrs. 

 E. G. Henderson during the last five or six years are equal to 

 Purple King in point of habit and profusion of bloom. The 

 reason more of the Verbenas sent out do not possess the de- 

 sirable habit of Pui-plo King is, that the latter is the most 

 shy of all Verbenas in producing seed. Last summer, however, 

 its character was verj' much altered, and we may hope to see 

 another year varieties of other colours with the habit of Purple 

 King. — J. Wills. 



(To be continaed.) 



PHIZES FOR ALLOTilENT GARDENING. 



I iNTENn offering at the next exhibition of our local floral 

 and horticultural society prizes for the best and second best 

 cultivated allotment gardens, but being doubtful what the 

 points of excellence should be, I venture to ask you for advice. 



I propose that the gardens shall contain an area of not less 

 than "iOO and not mure than -lOO yards ; that they shall have 

 belonged to the exhibitors for at least six months previous to 

 the show, and have been cultivated by the owners themselves, 

 or, at all events, without paid laboui-. 



Flowers and vegetables, of course, must be grown, and the 

 smaller fruits also ; but in this cold climate (close to the sea, on 

 the north-east coastj, other fruits, except probably Apples and 

 Pears, are out of the question. Order and neatness must form 

 essential points of excellence. 



Will you give me your advice as to the conditions I should 

 make?— S. I. R. 



[We think the terms you propose for prizes for gardens are 

 very good. In awarding prizes for such gardens good culture 

 should form the first feature, bulk of cropping from the land a 

 second feature, and neatness and good keeping the third feature. 

 It will tend to give more satisfaction to all concerned if the 

 number of lands of vegetables for competition be stated — say 

 twelve varieties ; and the kinds of fruit should also be specified, 

 or there will be heartburnings. As the result of some expe- 

 rience, if we gave prizes for the best cultivated and the neatest- 

 kept allotments, we should have them judged on general prin- 



ciples, independently of varieties of vegetables and fruits ; but 

 even then the satisfaction would not be so general as would 

 follow the giving prizes for the best collection — say ten or 

 twelve kinds of vegetables, best of fruit — say six kinds, and 

 best of flowers. It should always be kept in mind in judging 

 cottagers' produotions that bulk of good eatable matter should 

 bo a primary consideration. A Cauhflower for a gentleman's 

 table will be most esteemed when small and compact ; for a 

 cottager it will be best if hrmish and close, though as large as 

 a little parasol.] 



VISITS TO GARDENS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. 



Pia:STON HALL, AYLESFORD, NEAR MAIDSTONE. 

 THE SEAT OK EUWAKD L. BETTS, KSQ. 



TnERE does not seem much advantage to be gained by visit- 

 ing a garden in the mouth of April, in the midst of a downpour 

 of rain such as even in this " pluvious " season one has seldom 

 seen equalled ; and probably the vision of a respectable and 

 more than middle-aged parson tnidging through it, with um- 

 brella overhead, and dodging in and out of houses, and peering 

 into this or that frame and pit, was more suggestive of mental 

 hallucination than of anything else. A long-made and often- 

 deferred promise, however, induced me to make the attempt ; 

 and business having brought me to Maidstone, which is o^y 

 a few minutes by rail from Aylesford, I made tlie attempt, ami 

 did it ; but I thought as my little daughter and I trudged up to 

 the Hall, Well, I dare say we shall be taken for some respect- 

 able kind of tramps, who chose such a day because they thought 

 no one would be hard-hearted enough to refuse them. I need 

 not say how we were looked at — we certainly were not turned 

 away. Of this, however, I am certain, that if a garden at such 

 a time is worth looking at, if all is in order, and neatness prevail, 

 then you may be quite sure that things are done well, and that 

 if you can drop in at a more convenient season you will in- 

 fallibly find much that is worth noting : and such was the case 

 here. Mr. Bradley is evidently up to the mark, and all I saw 

 showed that he understood what was wanted, and had it done. 

 He knew exactly what his employers wanted, and set himself 

 to meet their wishes ; and this is what I conceive is a gardener's 

 work — not to have whims and crotchets of his own, but to study 

 hip employers, and, if they choose even to have whims and 

 crotchets, to humour them. 



Preston Hall was the seat of the old Kentish family of 

 Miluer, and came into possession of Mr. Betts upwards of 

 twenty years ago. The present mansion is entirely new, and 

 is a very handsome edifice, built of the finest Kentish rag, and 

 in the palatial or Italian style. Its rooms are beautifully pro- 

 portioned, and all that wealth and taste can supply are to be 

 found in the reception-rooms, which contain, pur excellence, 

 some chefs il'o-uvre of our first modem artists. In the dining- 

 room, a handsome oak room beautifully carved, are some 

 marvellously fine paintings ; on panels on either side is the 

 second scene from "As You Like It" by Maclise, fidl of his 

 marvellous drawing, and with less of his defects than in any 

 of his works. The contrast between the brawny Charles, the 

 wrestler, and the stern and supjile Orlando is admirable ; 

 while Rosalind suggests the idea that he could not fail to win 

 when her smiles favoured him. An exquisite Clarkson Stans- 

 field, representing the port of La Rochelle, " fair city of the 

 waters," hangs next to it — a masterpiece indeed ; while on the 

 other panel is a beautiful Cope, representing the patient Gri- 

 selda claimed as the Prince's bride. On the other side of the 

 room is a fine landscape by Creswick, " Clearing up after a 

 Shower," which many will recollect in the Academy, the figures 

 by Bottomley ; and on the other side of the fireplnce is a won- 

 derful sketch by Maclise. The space was not filled up; and 

 so one day, with a piece of charcoal and a bit of chalk out of 

 the billiard-room, he drew a masterly group, which Mr. Belts 

 with rare good taste has allowed to remain, and has had it 

 glazed over ; but perhaps the gem of the room, though hung too 

 high up, is the magnificent painting of Sir Edwin Landseer, 

 familiar to many from the engraving, of " The Hills above 

 Braemar ; ' a magnificent stag, with some hinds, and the high- 

 land hare, displaying all the artist's masterly handling. Here 

 are also fine portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Betts, Sir Morton Peto 

 (Mrs. Betts's brother), and Mr. Betts's father. But here am 

 I writing about paintings instead of gardens. Let my excuse 

 be, that it was raining so tremendously that we were fain to 

 keep under shelter for a -while ; and so my little gossip is par- 

 donable, I hope. 



