300 



JOUlNAIi OF HOBTICULTORE AND COTXAGE GABDENER. 



[ Ootobcr 14, IMt. 



in miuy gardeos, and the opinion is prsralent tbat " C. C. E.'8 " 

 oomjiluiut is real ; xtill &1I ijay il iu u tin* Pea, and all say. and 

 this iuoludes " C. C. E.," that tbcy will urow it again. Siuli 

 is wy experience, which I may here parenthetically recjni. 

 The vendors' ruiptuke was in accepting the resDlt of tho hot early 

 summer of 1868 as their sole guide. 



Of the other, or old garden, it must safTice to pay tbat it may 

 bo alxiut an acre, and it coutnius uiimherH of truit treen, a 

 little lawn, choice thrubs, and an apiary, and, like every oihcr 

 part of the grounds, is iu lirst-rate order. If 1 recollect rightly, 

 the total number of trees in this interesting garden is close 

 on 2000, and the varieties 2o0. All are healthy, and many of 

 tbem bearing splendid crops of fruit. I saw a fine line of 

 Lord Burgblcy Apples, some of them wiib a few fruit on, also 

 Mr. Gladstone, not iu a fruiting state. Some bushes of Cox'.'i 

 Oranpo Pippin were maguitieeut; and amongst Pears, Ijeurie 

 JDiel, Jjeurtu SUperliu, aud Louise Bonne of Jersey, were very 

 attractive. 



" O. C. E." has a few vertical cordon Peach trees which be 

 does not like, and a few diagonal cordon Fears which he docs 

 like. Bush and pyramidal trees are bis forte ; he knows, or 

 shortly will know, all about tbeee. Pnming in diHerent ways 

 tried, and ctfects carefully noted, manures the same, time of 

 blooming and every peculiarity observed for future guidance, 

 he will thus acquire a mass of information of much value ; and 

 not alone for himself, but for all who care to know, I am sure 

 he will care to tell his experience. Of flowers, there is nothing 

 remarkable except u plant of Pampas Grass with upwards of 

 sixty uublo spikes of inflorescence. 



Before takiug leave of tho garden I must not omit to notice 

 how extremely creditable the whole place is to " C. C. E.'s " 

 active man Bentley. Bentley thinks much of bis garden and 

 muob of his master, and herein is the secret of success. 



1 will just for one moment step out of the garden into the 

 workshop. Here order prevnils — a splendid lathe, tools of all 

 kinds, and all used, for in this line " C. C. E." is justly cele- 

 brated. He must verily inherit the spirit of iiord Brougham 

 when he exclaimed, " If I had been born a shoeblack I fhould 

 not have been satistit d until I was the best shoeblack in Eng- 

 land." Hera, too, were arranged volumes of the Journal, and 

 everything at hand for a man of business. In the village are to 

 be seen fine new schools just erected, the result of his energy. 

 Altogether I am much pleased with this place, and with nothing 

 more than the kind and hospitable manner with which I, a 

 plain working gardener, am entertained on my occasional visits, 

 except it was the advantage I recantly had of hearing him from 

 his place in the sacred edifice adjoining — in this as in every 

 undertaking earnest — deliver a powerful extemporaneous dis- 

 course from a text always applicable to all persons, under all 

 oiroumstanoes, at all times, and here it is : " What I say unto 

 you I say unto all — Watch ! " — J. W. 



ENGLISH-SAVED STOCK SEED. 



THnoDon the kindness of Mr. Dean, of Ealing, I have been 

 enabled to give the above a good trial along with other kinds 

 o£ Stocks, including the East Lothian. They were sown about 

 the middle of April, and treated in every respect the same' as 

 imported seed, but the difference of the plants in vigour of 

 growth and continuance ef flowering was remarkable — so much 

 80, that some of the individual spikes tbat were exhibited at a 

 local flower show were pronounced by the judges to have been 

 those of the Large-flowered Brompton. One kind tbat attracted 

 much attention was of a canary colour, the plant producing 

 fonr or five large trusses of very lasting bloom ; another was 

 prettily mottled and shaded with light blue, being undoubtedly 

 quite new in colour. The habit of the plant was tho same as 

 in the preceding kind. These two partake of the character of 

 the lai-ge-flowering German Ten-week, but are very much 

 superior. 



Tho Pyramidal Large-flowering scarlet, purple, and white 

 Stocks were very fine, some of the flowers being as largo as 

 thoso o£ the Brompton, but coming into bloom at the same 

 time as the varieties previously referred to, and should the 

 weather continue mild they will flower until Christmas. A 

 white variety which was a few weeks later iu blooming is now 

 very fine, being somewhat like the White East Lothian, but of 

 more compact growth, aud it will be fine to succeed tbat variety. 



I will add that all the kinds produced a good proportion of 

 doable flowers, but not quite cent, per cunt., as stated in your 

 nofflberof August I'Jth respecting the Etst Lothian Stocks, 



though unquestionably they are valuable introdnctione, and 

 will be very generally cultivated. They are still very tine with 

 me, producing about 80 per cent, of double flowers, and of this 

 proportion I think no person could reasonably complain. — 

 E. W£LSB, Palace Gardens, Armagh. 



WELLINGTOKIA GIGANTEA. 



[A connEBi'ONDENT, in reply to Mr. Robson's inquiry in 

 page 1U8, respecting the WulliugtoDia, has written to us imder 

 the signature of "'JnE ILvsteb ijAnoENER," tbat he has 

 several trees of this spiciea measuring respectively 20, 23, 24, 

 27, 29, and 32 feet in hei>;bl, the bead of ilie last-named tree 

 covering a space 2C feet iu diameter. The whole of them are 

 iu perfect health, without any of the appearances of premature 

 decay, as described by Mr. Kobson. " TnE Master GAiibENEB " 

 also justly asks if a tree .12 feet high and 2G in diameter is not 

 one of unusual size? Me mentions, however, bating seen at 

 other places much smaller trees in an unhealthy condition, 

 which he attributes to the dryness of the season. He likewise 

 states he has Cryptomcria Lol bii 2lj feet high, and justly 

 enough regards it as a very tine tree, although it has latterly 

 formed four leaders, which be thinks check its growth, and he 

 would like to know what to do with them. He also askg it 

 slightly digging with a fork over the roots of Conifers is likely 

 to do barm, as he has hundreds of fine specimens, and the 

 appearance of the beds they are growing in is of much conse- 

 quence. We forwarded our correspondent's letter to Mr. 

 Kobson, and append his reidy, hoping also to bear again from 

 "The Master Gardener" on the Welliugtouia and othet 

 Conifers, of which he has such fine specimens. — Ens.l 



TiTE specimen of Wellingtouia 32 feet high, and 20 feet in 

 diameter of head, is certainly one of the finest, if not the very 

 finest, iu the country ; and I am glad that neiiher it nor the 

 other large ones mentioned show any sign of debility, which I 

 had beard of elsewhere, and in one case seen here. I therefore 

 hope tho cases where a premature decay has set iu may be 

 traced to some local cause, for which there may be a remedy. 

 I trust, nevertheless, that your correspondent will describe 

 more fully the character of the soil and situation his trees are 

 growing in, and give every needful information, as it is quite 

 possible many of us may have planted the Wellingtouia in un- 

 suitable situations ; and although it ma}' flourish for a time, 

 yet in the course of a few years it fulls a victim to some latent 

 disease, which, like consume tion. carries off the subject after 

 he has enjoyed a few years of more robust health than tbat 

 often accorded to individuals destined for a more prolonged 

 existence. Whether this be so or not remains to be proved by 

 those who planted the tree soon after its introduction to this 

 country, or, in fact, who have the largest specimens. In this 

 county (Kent), Messrs. HoUingworth, of Turkey Mills, near 

 Maidstone, have in their grounds some very fine trees, abont 

 2S feet high, and I believe in the garden of the High Sheriff, 

 Mr. Kidgway, at Fairlawn, there is a specimen 30 feet high, 

 which a few years ago I knew to be a remarkably fine tree, one 

 similar to the last being in the garden at Bedleaf, where, as 

 well as at Fairlawn, are some excellent examples of ornamental 

 trees and shrubs. It would be a great boon to intending 

 planters if more particulars about this remarkable tree were 

 pulilished. 



The Cryptomeria Lobbii mentioned by " Thb Master Gi«- 

 DENER," is also a fine plant; but tho difference between it 

 and C. japonica is so very slight, if any, tbat the tree is pos- 

 sibly one of the latter species which was introduced some 

 rears before tbat named after the enterprising traveller Lobb. 

 There are many fine trees of C. japonica in the country. One 

 that was growing in the grounds here (Linton Park) was up- 

 wards of 41 feet high, when it was broken asunder by a high 

 wind in February, 1867 ; it was as straight as an arrow, and 

 although close-growing, its spread was hardly more than 8 feet 

 in diameter anywhere, being a perfect spire. The plants of 

 C. Lobbii here seem so determined to produce seed vessels, 

 that their growth is certainly impeded. 



I would advise that from the tree with four leaders all of 

 these should be removed but one, but do not cut them back too 

 closely to the stem or origin ; and if not cut immediately, do 

 not cut tbem at nil, but bend tbem back and tie them in to the 

 stem they came from ; I mean the tips of the leaders. It is 

 better to do this than cut them at any season except August, 

 as most Conifers bleed so much, and tying-back effectually 

 stops competition with the proper leader. 



