November 25, 18G9. ] 



JOUaXAL OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENEK. 



415.: 



IG in height. Truly a noble range ! The first houses on each 

 Bide are plant stoves; the second on the left is for Muscat 

 Grapes ; the third tor early Grapes ; and the fourth and fifth 

 are Peach houses. On the right, the second house is a mixed 

 vinery ; the third is for late Hamburgh Grapes ; the fourth is 

 a late vinery ; and the fifth is an intermediate Peach bouse. 

 This, then, is the extent of the glass structures, to which we 

 shall again allude more fully. 



To the front, then, of this last magnificent range of hot- 

 houses lies the kitchen garden, which within the walls occupies 

 an area of about four acres, with about two acres additional 

 outside the eastern boundary wall. The shape of the gurjeu is 

 that of an oblmg, bounded on either side by substantial brick 

 ■walls, about 10 feet in height, the northern one, as just stated, 

 being covered with glass. Along the front of the houses is a 

 splendid wide border for the Vines and Peaches, and from this 

 point the ground slopes gently to the south. When standing 

 on the centre of this top walk in front of the houses, a pretty 

 picture is before us. Leading from the top, straight through 

 the centre of the kitchen gardens, is a fine broad gravel path, 

 with pretty borders of flowers on either side, planted "ribbon 

 fashion," the pretty colour of Viola cornuta telling to much 

 advantage, and it is seemingly a plant well suited for the place. 

 Another walk from west to east, crossing this at right angles, 

 is made similarly ornamental. Round the walls there are the 

 usual borders for early vegetables, i-c, and on the walls very 

 good young examples of fruit trees, such as Pears, Apricots, 

 Plums, Cherries, and Apples. To the training and nailiug of 

 fruit trees on walls considerably more attention is paid in most 

 gardens in the north than in the south. The same form of 

 training it may, however, be observed is adopted for every 

 species of tre? — viz., the fan-shaped, which, although it may be 

 exceedingly well adapted for snoli as Plums and Cherries, 

 is not at all well suited for the Pear. The vegetables in the 

 various quarters were all in first-rate condition, with scarcely a 

 weed to be seen. Everything here, indeed, is so neat and trim, 

 and the work finished off in such an orderly style, that to walk 

 in a vegetable garden like this is a pleasure. 



Outside the bottom or south wall of the kitchen garden runs 

 a parallel terrace walk, with a pretty ribbon border of flowers. 

 Here the ground slopes cousilerably in its natural condition to 

 the banks of the river, which runs along a', the bottam. Th B 

 eloping portion has, therefore, been converted into a number of 

 short steep terraces or banks, with a level space about 80 feet 

 in width at the bottom, where a very pretty geometric flower 

 garden is laid out. We must say we are not much enraptured 

 with the style of these terraced slopes ; they serve to remind 

 one irresistibly of earthworks or fortifications. We admit the 

 difficulty of dealing with the ground in this case in a more 

 tasteful manner, owing to the confined space. The central 

 main walk leading through the kitchen garden is continued 

 in a straight line, through these terraces and the flower garden, 

 on a steep slope to the banks of the river, which is crossed by a 

 pretty bridge, and beyond which is the pinetum, leading up to 

 the front of the Castle. The pinetum, although of good extent, 

 owing to the specimens being as yet quite young, presents no 

 feature worthy of particular notice. 



(To be continued.) 



half-dozen than those he has selected. I do not quite agree 

 with him as to the soil, but if he has succeeded, why then by 

 all means let him go on with it. Such freaks as he complains 

 of in his bulb o; Stuart Low are to me utterly inexplicable ; I 

 have met with them in my own garden, and believe the best 

 plan would be to replant the young bulbs as they come up 

 without removing the old corm, and let them take their 

 chance. — D., Deal. 



GLADIOLUSES FOR SMALL GARDENS. 



I WAS much interested by the very sensible remarks of your 

 correspondent who hails from Chester-le-Street on this point, 

 and it is because of this interest that I venture to suggest to 

 him that he might do a little better in his selection of the 

 varieties that he intends to invest in for this season. Pour of 

 those he has named are excellent ; but I would alter every one 

 of them, and would make my six to be Adolphe Erongnia't, 

 Shakespeare, Meyerbeer, Thomas Methven, Ulysse, and Madame 

 Furtado, and those, I think, would cost about the same as those 

 he has mentioned. I would substitute Shakespeare for Princess 

 Mary of Cambridge, because I believe it to be a better-consti- 

 tntioned flower and a model of a spike. If, however, the exhi- 

 bition he has in view be late, then I would take another white. 

 Norma, as Shakespeare always blooms early. Milton is a very 

 imperfect flower ; the individual blooms or pips are too far 

 apart, and it very rarely shows a fall face. Meyerbeer is a 

 splendid flower, brilliant in colour, and as a spike there is no 

 Gladiolus to beat it. Then Ulysse is, both for colour and 

 form, one of the very best of our more recent flowers. I 

 venture to think that your correspondent will find this a better 



have investigated, I have 

 I the selection of sorts not 

 ' W. T." has split on the 



GROWING CELERY IN BEDS. 

 I FOK one very willingly respond to the request of your 

 Welsh correspondent, " W. T.," page 378, and state my ex- 

 perience on this, to me, very satisfactory mode of Celery- 

 growing. Like " W. T.," I have a large family to supply from 

 a small garden, and this is the system which enables me to 

 meet the demand for this particular vegetable, and gives me 

 land, which by the single-trench plan it would otherwise occupy, 

 to produce in increased quantity supphes of other requisites. 



I have frequently heard pooh-poohed by gardeners the plan 

 of growing Celery in beds; they have tried it and failed, and 

 without trying again have condemned it. The first time I 

 tried it I failed, but I remembered the old saying, "that 

 nothing beats trying but doing;" I went on again and suc- 

 ceeded, as I am sanguine " W. T." will do in his very next 

 lesson. 



In every case of failure which I 

 found th« cause to be the same — viz., 

 adapted to this mode of culture. ' 



same rock. With a foot of good manure and good after-at- 

 tention, half his crop is comparatively worthless. With less 

 than half that quantity of manure, and very possibly less after- 

 attention also, I may safely assert I have not ten heads out of 

 a thousand but that would satisfy the most fastidious Celery 

 connoisseur. 



The Celery is grown in beds, and is the fourth consecntive 

 crop off the same plot of ground. The variety is Turner's Incom- 

 parable (true). My beds are -il feet wide ; they are thrown out 

 early in spring about 9 inches deep, and 3 or i inches of rough 

 leaf mould and decayed vegetable mould are then wheeled in. 

 At the end of March, or when the weather is suitable, they are 

 filled with bedding plants planted -i or 5 inches apart — Caloeo- 

 larioB, Verbenas, and Petunias; indeed, most plants from seeds 

 and cuttings which are required for the flower garden. These 

 are sheltered by canvas or mats, &c., and turn out in fine con- 

 dition at bedding-out time. If not required for this purpose, 

 the beds will give a valuable crop of early Potatoes, which are 

 worth the little protection, and are always acceptable. I do, 

 not mention this method because there is anything novel in it, 

 but because there is something good in it. I have tried it year 

 by year for protecting flowers and vegetables, and in the absence 

 of more elaborate contrivances, I find it answers well, and is 

 worthy of more general adoption. 



Before planting the Celery, manure, to the depth of about 

 5 inches, is spread in the trenches ; not rich, rank stuff, but 

 sweet and well-decayed manure, and vegetable refuse also well 

 decayed and friable. Rich, fresh manure grows plenty of stuff 

 to trim-off for the rubbish-heap ; cool sweet men ire produces 

 the quality which is esteemed at the table. 1 plant a foot 

 apart all ways, and have four rows in each bed. Copious sup- 

 plies of water are given, occasionally liquid manure, about onoe 

 a-fortnight, and previous to watering I give a good sprinkling 

 of common salt sufficient to whiten the ground. This I 

 believe to be of paramount benefit, and to this more than any- 

 thing else I attribute the excellent quality of the Celery. I 

 have never used it so freely as I have this year, and have 

 never had so satisfactory a crop. 



The Celery fly (Tephritis onopordinis), which is often so de- 

 structive, I combat with soot. As soon as I see the first blister, 

 the plants are kept thoroughly blackened for a few days. The 

 Celery seems to enjoy this as much as the fiy detests it. It 

 should be applied, if possible, when the dew is on the leaves. 

 The soot is of no use as a cure when the grubs have become 

 established ; it is solely a preventive, and if not applied in 

 time is useless except as a manure. 



I do not earth-up on the little-by-little system, but permit 

 the plants to attain their full size, or nearly so. and then make 

 almost a finish of it at once. If I were asked why I like this 

 plan better than gradual earthings-up, I should reply. Because I 

 have given both plans many and fair trials, and I find the one- 

 earth tystem answer far the beet. This year half a dozen 

 plants bolted soon after being planted cut, and I knew the 



