October 21, 1869. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTDRE AND COTTAGE GARDENKB. 



319 



observe that all these prompt-blooming seedlings prodnced 

 double flowers of all shades of colour and very interesting. 

 This is, however, reckoned not a good harbinger, as the.v seldom 

 prove robust-growing, or give in after seasons flowers of a tine 

 character. In the month of July the seedlings were severely 

 attacked with white mildeiv, which, if it had not been arrested 

 by copious dressings of soot, would liave destroyed them all. 

 When transplanted they were computed at twenty thousand, 

 rather more than less. Many of the weak growers have " gone 

 to the wall," but plenty are left. 



I have many years since given my method of treating Rose 

 hips, but have thought it would be interesting at the present 

 day to repeat it, as many young Rose-growers may not be aware 

 how easily Rises are raised from seed. Seedling Roses are 

 always fall of interest, for although not one in a thousand may 

 be worthy of a name, so numerous and good are our varieties, 

 yet as no two are likely to re.semble each other, they keep alive 

 a pleasant hopeful feeling. — T. Rivers. 



larvae of the Tipulidio have been very numerous this season, 

 destroying our Lettuces, Cabbages, and Endive. There is no 

 remedy for them but hand-picking, I believe. — D., Deal. 



LATE G'RAPES. 



Seeing your reply last week (page 311), on late Grapes for a 

 Tinery, and among those recommended, Mrs. Pince, I beg to 

 State I purchased a guinea plant when it was first sent out ; it 

 is now a good strong Vine. I had twelve bunches on it this 

 season. I have not one perfectly-set bunch in the twelve, not 

 much more than the half of the berries perfect, the other small 

 seedless berries. I do not condemn the Grape, for I hear of 

 some having it good, bat if it do the same nest year I am 

 resolved to do away with it. 



The Editors soy they regret they cannot recommend a better 

 light Grape than Trebbiauo. I confess we are very short of good 

 late white or golden-coloured sorts forming to Lady Downe's 

 fitting companions. There is Thomson's new White Lady 

 Downe's. I saw good-formed bunches of it at the International 

 Show at Edinburgh, but could not speak of or against its 

 merits ; but there is another seedling from Lady Downe's 

 raised by Mr. Melville, at Dalmeny Park, which was exhibited 

 at the Edinburgh Show, and highly thought of by many, but, 

 singular to say, repudiated in the south. It is called Melville's 

 Golden Prince. I have been eye-witness to the growing and 

 habit of this Grape, and believe it will prove the most fitting 

 companion to the Lady Downe's of any Grape yet raised. It 

 will undoubtedly be very much larger in the bunch than Lady 

 Downe's, as it shoulders well, and apparently will hang as well. 

 It has a firm flesh no doubt; but where shall we find a late- 

 hanging Grape without? The Golden Prince is a much finer- 

 flavoured Grape than the Lady Downe's, having a distinct 

 Muscat flavour, the Muscat being one of its parents. — William 



BlIiBELL. 



THE LARVA OF THE COCKCHAFER. THE 

 "VER BLANC" OF THE FRENCH. 



I SEE in the Journal of last week that your correspondent 

 "T. B. A. Z." says it is a matter of question whether this pest 

 lives on the roots of grass or on the earth itself. I never 

 heard that it was a question, but I can give pretty positive 

 proof that it is not an earth-feeder. Some years ago, when I 

 was at Versailles with my friend Mr. Standiah, we saw whole 

 quarters of Wellingtonias destroyed by this abominable pest. 

 M. Bemond, in whose nursery they were, pulled up one or two, 

 and the bark was gnawed off all round. This year I was in the 

 garden of M. Jamin at Bourg-la-Reiae. Quantities of his 

 Strawberries were dying, and in clearing away the earth the 

 Marauder was found, having cut right through; while, at 

 Fontaiuebleau, my friend M. Soachet was obliged in his new 

 garden, where he wished to grow Rhododendrons, to dig the 

 soil completely out and make a regular fortification round, so 

 as to keep out the intruders, for they gnawed through the roots, 

 and indeed frequently destroyed good-sized shrubs. Indeed, 

 we might a priori argue that it was so, for what else are those 

 strong mandibles for ? — not, we may be sure, for eating earth. 



The rook is our great friend in destroying these pests. In 

 this neighbourhood they used to be very abundant, the Maple 

 trees being completely stripped by them ; but since the great 

 iacrease of rooks at Eastwell Park and other places in the 

 neighbourhood, they have greatly decreased ; so that, notwith- 

 standing that "keeping rooks," as the small boys call their 

 occupation in spring, may be an expense to the farmer, they 

 are his true friends, destroying numbers of these grubs. The 



GYMNOSTACHYUM PEARCEI AND 

 VERSCHAFFELTI. 



Op the many lovely plants introduced of late years, no twe 

 are more worthy of notice than these. I have found them in- 

 valuable both for the decoration of the stove and the dinner- 

 table. 



Daring the summer I have visited several large gardens, and 

 I was very pleased to hear how highly they were spoken of, and 

 to see such care bestowed on them. The foliage is so ex- 

 quisitely marked with a thick crimson network, and they can 

 be so easily grown, that when they become known they will be 

 universal favourites. 



I grow my plants in large pans with plenty of coarse charcoal 

 for drainage ; soil, peat, silver sand, and cocoa-nut fibre refuse, 

 with a little charcoal mixed. In this they succeed admirably, 

 and very quickly make large plants. The flowers, also, are 

 very pretty. A valuable property is, that they succeed well m 

 baskets of my own construction. I suspended one here and 

 there about my stove. A few weeks ago whilst showing a 

 gentleman round, he said he had never seen Gymnostachyum 

 Verschaffelti grown in baskets before, and that the colour was 

 more distinct than in plants grown in pans. He said every 

 leaf was a complete bouquet. 



G. Pearcei is the coarser species, having a tendency to grow 

 more upright than G. Versehafi'elti, and the colour of the leaves 

 is very deep. G. Verschaffelti has succeeded the better of the 

 two with me in baskets ; the foliage is more closely veined, bnt 

 both are gems, and attract the eye directly one comes near 

 them. Their appearance is very chaste and beautiful. — F. P. L. 



GARDENS IN EAST ICENT.— SYNDALL PARK, 



The Seat of W. Hall, Esq. 

 The picturesque county of Kent, with its range of chalk hills, 

 in some parts overlooking the wide-spreading and undulating 

 surface of the fertile weald, and at others rising into preeipiees, 

 washed by the murmuring surge, offers a rich and varied 

 scenery, of whose beauties the eye never tires. The northern 

 slopes of these hills are in many parts intersected by valleys, 

 which run onwards till they gradually open out into the low- 

 Iving marshes that bound the greater part of the north coast of 



K9>lt. 



One of these valleys or dales forms the western boundary of 

 Syndall Park. From this dale the park rises somewhat ab- 

 ruptly to a considerable elevation, on which are the mansion 

 and principal gardens. It is probably owing to the fact that 

 the most important fronts of the mansion face the south, east, 

 and north, that no part of this sunny western slope is in- 

 cluded in the dressed grounds. 



The gardens, in which great alterations and improvements 

 have been effected daring the last few years, consist of three 

 distinct and separate parts — the glass houses or forcing garden; 

 the pleasure grounds, consisting of lawns, terraces, and flower 

 garden ; and the kitchen and fruit gardens. A slight sketch of 

 each department will be offered in the order in which they are 

 named. 



The forcing garden may be described as a parallelogram ex- 

 tending from west to east, with the houses facing the south; it 

 is so completely enclosed by a wall as to be quite shut off from 

 the ornamental grounds, to which it is very near. A hip- 

 roofed range 280 feet long by 15 feet wide, is the chief feature 

 here. The formality of its surroundings prevents its being 

 viewed externally from an ornamental point of view, but for 

 general utility and fitness for the purpose to which its several 

 compartments are applied, no exception can be taken to it. It 

 is divided into two parts, of which one is employed for the cnl 

 tivation of plants, the other for that of fruits. Entering from 

 its western extremity we como first to the Orehid house. Th* 

 collection of Orchids is being gradually formed, and most of the 

 plants are too young to call for any special mention. All 

 appeared healthy ; the fine and abundant pseudo-bulbs of the 

 present year's growth, which were hardly matured at the time of 

 my vi.-it in August, fully attested the vigour of the plants 

 and the care exercised in their treatment. A flourishing Passi- 

 flora qaadrangularis covered the back wall. 



