3£0 



JOUKNAL OF HORTICULTUaE AND COTTAGE GAKDENER. 



( October ai, 1M9. 



The next house is a stovo containing some magnificent 

 plAnt8. Amongst the most conspicuoua were a line Martinezia 

 caryolaifolia, llar«nta illustris, Maranta splenciida, and a very 

 fine beautifully-coloureJ Bpecimen of the magnilioent Maranta 

 Veitohii. There was alao a fine Bpecimen of the striking Ca- 

 Udium Belleymei, and a very fine Phytelephis macrocarpa. Of 

 other Bpeoimeus claiming a notice, amongst a host of choice 

 plants were Pavetta borbonica ; the beautiful Screw Pine, 

 Pindanas elegantiasirous ; Cyanophyllum magnilioum, and 

 Aathuriam regale. Nor must I omit to mention some fine 

 plants of the leading kinds of Achimenee in bloom. 



The drat objects that attracted my attention on entering the 

 oext compartment were some good examples of Eucharia 

 amaaoniea in splendid bloom ; the purity of its colour, and 

 delicacy of its perfume, render this beautiful plant a general 

 favourite. The plants were growing in a cool house of large 

 dimeneions, being probably as large as the stove and Orchid 

 house combined. Its centre is traversed by a pit or raised bed, 

 in which some large Camellias, a huge Brugmansia, and other 

 plants, were flourishing. The centre of this bed is occupied by 

 a circular basin and fountain. Some plants of the pretty 

 Ptnicum variegatum were in hanging baskets, suspended from 

 tke roof. This beautiful variegated Grass is one of the most 

 useful and ornameutal plants in cultivation, its creepiDp; and 

 branching habit of growth, and its peculiar property of emitting 

 roots and branches from every joint, render it useful in many 

 ■ways, and it may be trained iu any form according to fancy. 

 The best method is to till a pyramidal or globe-shaped wire 

 trellis with moss, and to fasten it to a pot in which two or 

 three plants of Panicum are growing; all that is then required 

 is abundance of water and constant attention to the training, 

 ■for the more closely the young shoots are tied-in to the moss, 

 the more quickly do they become attached to it by their roots. 

 A fine specimen may alao be formed in a few weeks by mixing 

 a few handfuls of light rich soil with the centre mass of moss, 

 and planting a number of young plants in the moss itself. A 

 Tecoma jasminoides trained to the roof was also noticeable 

 for the profusion of its flowers. The back wall was entirely 

 covered with Passifloras and Camellias, with the exception of 

 the space required for a door leading into a fernery. 



This fernery is a square building having a span-roof glazed 

 with rough plate glass, and resting on walls of solid masonry. 

 That ample light is thus obtained was fully indicated by the 

 healthy appearance of the Ferns. The house is quite plain, and 

 baa side stages, and a square flat central stage, all of slate 

 slabs. The group of Ferns in the centre is tastefully arranged 

 in the form of a raised mound, whose highest part is crowned 

 by a fine Cycas revoluta. Ferns are also planted under the 

 stages amongst fragments of rock ; and suspended from the 

 roof are many different kinds in baskets. 



Leaving the plant houses, we come next to two vineries, one 

 a Muscat house, and the other containing a number of the lead- 

 ing kinds of Grapes. The whole of the Vines have made fine 

 rods, and will, doubtless, carry some fine fruit next season, 

 vfhich will be their first fruiting year. The next compartment 

 is a fruiting Pino stove, containing a splendid lot of plants, 

 principally Queens. Beyond this is the last house of the range, 

 80 feet long, tilled in the winter months principally with Azaleas. 

 The site of this house was formerly occupied by one of smaller 

 dimensions, in which grew a Black Hamburgh Vine. When 

 the old structure was removed the Vine was allowed to remain, 

 and it now spreads over two-thirds of the trellis of the new 

 house, presenting a singular appearance, for owing to the new 

 faoQsa being much wider than its predecessor, the stem of the 

 Vine stands out in the centre of the house away from the sides. 

 The crop was one that would have delighted the heart of an 

 advocate of the extension system, for here were three hundred 

 fine bunches of Grapes on one Vine, thoroughly developed, in 

 the highest state of excellence, and without the slightest flaw in 

 berry, bunch, or colour. I need hardly allude to the healthy 

 appearance of tho foliage, as it will he quite apparent to ail 

 who understand Grape culture, that a Vine carrying a crop of 

 such high excellence must necessarily have not only healthy 

 foliage, but a vigorous root action. Such a splendid sight as 

 this Vine presented would convert almost any unbeliever in the 

 merits of the extension system, for surely the crop of a single 

 rod, even if its ten or twelve bunches have attained an ex- 

 traordinary size, can never be of such interest, or make such a 

 demand on the skill of its cultivator, as a Vine similar to that 

 growing here. I noticed, too, a number of strong young Vines 

 in pots, comprising most of the leading varieties. They are an 

 important feature in tliis establishment, as the earliest Grapes 



are obtained from pot Vines. The honse is conneoted with a door 

 of the mansion by a glass corridor, by which means the entire 

 range is available to the family in all weathers. Tho sides of 

 the corridor were principally filled with Orange trees loaded 

 with fruit, and along with them was a fine specimen of Chamie- 

 rops humilis. The supply of water is abundant, and the ar- 

 rangements in connection with it are excellent, as each honse 

 throughout tho range has its separate tap. 



After leaving the principal range, an object of interest pre- 

 sented itself in the shape of some model pits of precisely the 

 same shape as the larger houses ; in fact, they may best be de- 

 scribed as miniature hip-roofed houses having a passage ander 

 the hip, with a pit in the front part, having pipes for bottom 

 heat, in which plants can either be plunged in pots or planted- 

 out. There are four of these pita, which are used for pro- 

 ducing Melons and Cucumbers on trelli^es, and the earliest 

 crops of Grapes from pot Vines. Tho method of supporting 

 the Melon fruit growing on the trellises adopted by Mr. GifkinB, 

 the gardener, is so novel and ingenions, as to be worth de- 

 scribing. A circular piece of sheet tin about '.I inches in di- 

 ameter is made slightly concave, and its centre is perforated 

 with some small holes to prevent the accumulation of moisture. 

 My meaning will, perhaps, be plainer, if I compare this part of 

 the support to a cream-skimmer minus its handle. Two long 

 flat pieces of tin about an inch wide are soldered to opposite 

 sides of its rim, these flat side pieces or handles having a hole 

 punched at every half inch throughout their length ; and two 

 pieces of stout wire having a hook at ench end complete this 

 simple but very effective apparatus. When a Melon needs 

 support an end ol each wire is hooked through one of the holes 

 in the sides, the support is slung to tho trellis wire by the other 

 hooks, and the fruit is placed in the support, which can be 

 raised or lowered at will by means of the holes in the sides. 



In a line with the pits just referred to are the succession 

 Pine pits, full of vigorous plants, in various stapes of growth. 

 A third range of pits, having the ordinary sliding lights, used in 

 spring for producing forced vegetables and flowers, were tilled 

 with well-coloured examples of Golden Coleuses, Achimenes. 

 crimson and yellow Celosias, and various other useful plants. 

 The whole of the glass buildings in this enclosure are efficiently 

 heated by one of Ormson's tubular boilers. Against the wall 

 at the south side of the enclosure opposite tho houses, are two 

 useful sheds formed of a wooden framework, covered at top 

 with canvas shading, and open at the front and ends. These 

 sheds were filled with Camellias, Ericas, and a variety of 

 New Holland plants. The collection of Azaleas in pots is 

 healthy and extensive ; most of the plants were fine sym- 

 metrical pyramids. 



In addition to the area occupied by the glass buildings, con- 

 siderable space is also devoted to beds of those classes of 

 flowers most useful for supplying cut blooms, such as Car- 

 nations. Liliums, Gladioluses, and Koses. 



A door in the south wall opens into the dressed ground ; 

 from this point a wide expanse of lawn dotted with Pinnses, 

 and clumps of huge old Oaks and other deciduous trees, sweeps 

 by the south front of the mansion round to the terrace and 

 flower garden at the east front. The south lawn is belted with 

 groups of shrubs and plantations of llhododendron?. Under 

 some of the Oaks there were from thirty to forty large Camellias, 

 growing in tubs ; they were very noble specimens, all of them 

 being nearly 12 feet high. The dark green hue of the glossy 

 foliage of these huge plants was very beautiful ; but when such 

 foliage forms a background for the multitude of blossoms of 

 which they are already giving promise, the effect must be 

 splendid. 



The flower garden, occupying the entire length of the terrace, 

 is composed of two sets of beds precisely similar in design, each 

 of which fills nearly half the space of the terrace. Each design 

 may be described as an elongated scroll, forming a number of 

 semicircles, and sweeping boldly and gracefully round at its 

 ends, having a large oval bed in front of its centre, while 

 circular beds of a proportionate size are placed opposite each 

 semicircle. The whole of the beds are laid out on turf; they 

 were well filled with plants, and the effect was gny and pleas- 

 ing. Water is conducted to the terrace by pipes underground 

 and the beds are quickly watered when necessary by a hose 

 and jet. A small conservatory is attached to the south front 

 of tho mansion, and it is there that the large Camellias find a 

 home iu the colder months of the year. Two large logs of 

 wood, one on each side of the conservatory, were covered with 

 several varieties of the new Clematises, which were perfect 

 masses of floral beauty, one of the logs over which climbed 



