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JOURNAL OP HOBTICULTUBB AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 5, 1874. 



and Pinna Morinda and others would have been much taller ; 

 but as it was, the latter was from G5 to 70 feet high, and 

 5 feet 9 inches in circamterenee at 5 feet up. Pinus patula, a 

 fine long-leaved species, was upwards of 30 feet high, and the 

 spread of its branches attained a circumference of upwards of 

 120 feet, and its trunk was 6 feet at the usual height of 5 feet 

 up ; a fine specimen. Salisburia adiantifolia, 40 feet high. 

 Cedrus Deodara also 40 feet, with not so much of the pro- 

 pensity to merge into the Lebanon type as is manifested in 

 Bome places. A deciduous Cypress was 30 feet high, while an 

 Oriental Plane was 70 to 75 feet high, with a girth of 12 feet — 

 a fine tree, yet not more so than a venerable Silver Fir growing 

 In a rather low situation, that was from 85 to 90 feet high 

 with probably 15 feet or more gone from the top of it. This 

 had also a girth of bole at the ordinary height of 5 feet of 

 nearly 10 feet. Magnolia tripetala, 35 feet high, had a fine 

 head. Intermixed with the above or adjoining were plants of 

 Rhododendrons of the true arboreum and Smithii section at- 

 taining the proportion of trees. One fin" -^ lO I noticed, and 

 was told by Mr. Palmer that it was 24 feci high, with a stem 

 nearly 4 feet in circumference ; while a more bushy specimen 

 of the same kind had a circumference of head of 55 feet, and 

 a height of 12 feet. Other crimson varieties were from 18 to 

 20 feet high; also R. Faleoneri, Aucklandii, campauulatum, 

 Maddeni, &e. 



Interspersed were Phormium tenax, 7 feet high and as much 

 through ; Bamboos 18 feet high ; and the Snowdrop Tree, 

 Halesia tetraptera, that had the appearance of having been be- 

 headed by the wind, but had a stem of 4 feet 6 inches in girth, 

 and bloomed freely. That useful Gape plant, Agapanthus 

 umbellatus, seemed as much at home as the native Grasses. 

 Berberis nepalensis, a specimen not often met with, and differ- 

 ing widely from the japonica or Fortuni section, was also in 

 a flourishing condition 10 feet high ; while a Lucombe Oak 

 adjoining tho fernery was about 65 feet high, and with a stem 

 of 9 feet G inches in circumference. In another place Chimo- 

 nauthus fragrans formed a fair-sized tree, and Cotoneaster 

 frigida approached the same proportions, being 25 feet high 

 and nearly as much through. Ever and anon the eye rested 

 on some noble specimen of choice or well-grown Ferns, 

 Lomaria magellanica being quite at home, as much so as 

 Osmunda regalis, of which specimens rivalliug in size many 

 Laurel bushes, were to be met with ; and now and then a 

 tropical character was given to the picture by fine specimens 

 upwards of 8 feet high of Dracosna indivisa, which, I was in- 

 formed, flowered annually, and had stood out several winters. 

 Yucca reourvawas also present, and a species of Leptospermum 

 was upwards of 8 feet high and nearly as much through. Ac- 

 companying these were fine plants of Azalea indica alba ; and 

 Gunnera seabra, so often employed in flower gardens where 

 striking foliage is wanted. 



Embothrium cocciueum was said to be a mass of scarlet when 

 it is in flower, and near to the same place were some good 

 examples of Pinuses, P. patula being very fine; while Abies 

 Kiempferii was still more remarkable, being 18 feet high and 

 14 feet through, healthy and vigorous. In many places it is 

 only with difficulty that it can be kept alive ; I think we have 

 one here (Linton Park), that has been planted some eight or 

 ten years, and certainly it has not grown more than as many 

 inches, but at Carclew the tree is as robust as a Douglas Fir. 



In the pinetum proper are Deodars showing a less tendency 

 to merge into the Lebanon type of Cedars than others do else- 

 where ; P. insignis, of timber size ; the pretty Abies Bruno- 

 niana, with its Fern like foliage, that will hardly attain the 

 dimeusioos of a large tree. Not so, however, Abiea Alberti, 

 which promises to equal Taxodium sempervireus in size, while 

 exoelUng it in rapidity of growth, as one here was not much 

 short of 20 feet high ; Taxus adpressa, a very dark-foliaged 

 species, about 10 feet high, not having been planted many 

 years ; and even the rarely-to-be-met-with Umbrella Pine of 

 Japan, Sciadopytis verticillata, was in a healthy and promising 

 condition, although it had not been planted many years; it 

 had, however, as well as eveiything else previously mentioned, 

 proved quite hardy, and was clothed with its fine tropical- 

 looking foliage all over. Perhaps, however, a more promising 

 tree is the New Zealand Dacrydium with its dense broad head 

 of a dark green colour. Still more likely to form tall fine trees 

 were Thujopsis dolabrata and T. dolabrata variegata, both of 

 which had, I think, attained the condition at which they start 

 into upright growth, while all the Japan Rotinosporas were 

 doing well. Abies canadensis, the Hemlock Spruce, wag 50 feet 

 high, with a circumference of stem of about 3 feet ; Cryptomeria 



japonica, from 45 to 50 feet high and 5 feet in circumference of 

 stem ; while there were several promising plants of C. elegans 

 upwards of 8 feet high, which assume the same bronze-co- 

 loured hue in Cornwall that they do elsewhere. Piceagrandis, 

 said to be true, measured 7 feet ; Abies firma, a comparatively 

 new species, 8 feet and promising ; Abies orientalis, 25 feet 

 high, and Picea Nordmanniana the same height and everyway 

 promising ; Abies Menziesii, 50 feet high, with a stem 4 feet 

 in circumference ; Picea grandis, 36 feet high, and stem of 

 3 feet in girth ; Araucaria imbricata, 35 feet high, bat on the 

 whole not so much at home as some of the other Conifers, 

 more particularly Cupressus macrocarpa or Lambertiana, which 

 was from 55 to 60 feet high, and with a stem 8 feet in circum- 

 ference at the usual height ; the Douglas Pine and Pinus 

 insignis, the former 75 feet and the latter 70 feet high, with 

 each a girth of nearly 8 feet of bole. Growing near to these 

 fine specimens was a Cork tree of 40 feet high, and a specimen 

 of deciduous Magnolia of the same height, and with a stem 

 pwards of 4 feet in girth. 



Some noble Oaks of the Lucombe variety deserve special 

 notice; in fact these fine trees standing amongst others, com- 

 mon Oaks, a little way from the mansion would seem almost 

 to excel them alike in the length of bole and its girth, as I find 

 the following measurements kindly taken for me by Mr. Palmer 

 testify. No. 1 from 75 to 80 feet high, and 9 feet 9 inches in 

 circumference ; No. 2, same height, and 10 feet in circumfer- 

 ence ; Nos. 3, 4, and 5 same height, and 12, 9 feet 8 inches, and 

 11 feet each respectively in circumference; while Nos. 6 and 7 

 were from 70 to 75 feet high, and 10 feet 6 inches and 9 feet 

 respectively in girth ; No. 8 being from 65 to 70 feet high, and 

 9 feet 3 inches in girth, the circumference in every case being 

 taken at 4 or 5 feet up, and where no undue swelhng increased 

 the size ; in fact these trees look almost as large at 30 or 

 40 feet up as where measured, and it is seldom we meet with 

 such fine ones. The foliage does not begin to fall till January. 

 Some very good specimens of Cupressus macrocarpa were also 

 shown me, likewise others of the Hemlock Spruce and Taxodium 

 sempervireus, the latter, as is the case everywhere, very pro- 

 mising. Eugenia apiculata was also good outside, its upright 

 growth and clear evergreen foliage equalling that of a large 

 Box tree. A fine Oak that partially shaded the fernery pre- 

 sented a bole of quite 40 feet without a branch, and was also 

 of great thickness ; while near to it was a cut-leaved Alder, 

 Rhamnus alnifolia, a fine tree, as was also Abies Morinda or 

 Smithiaua, the latter rivalling the native Spruce in robust 

 growth. The Magnolias were particularly fine, M. tripetala, 

 Soulangeana, Thompsoni, and others being all good. To the 

 lover of Ferns I may mention that on each side of the margin 

 of an ornamental piece of water of an oblong shape were 

 growing two of the finest plants of Osmunda that were perhaps 

 ever seen, one being opposite the other, standing clear of 

 everything, one of them at least in the full sun ; yet they were 

 as even a pair as could be wished for. 



We now retrace our steps to the kitchen garden, and there 

 find that Mr. Palmer has turned to good account a material 

 which occurs abundantly in the neighbourhood — quartz or 

 spar, broken pieces of which are used as an edging, and its 

 white sparkling appearance has a good effect. The garden 

 proper has perhaps a greater descent than might be wished ; 

 but in other respects it is correctly placed, and the glass houses 

 are commodious. First of all I was shown into a stove, in 

 which Orchids that required considerable heat were grown, but 

 another house kept much cooler contained by far the most 

 important collection. I noted a magnificent Alocasia metallica, 

 a dense mass of foliage from 7 to 8 feet through, and too large 

 to move to any show ; it was growing in a large pot which had 

 been further enlarged by a strong wire hoop surrounding the 

 rim, by which means turf of a peaty nature was supported 

 round this noble specimen. Anthurium regale was also good 

 and large, as was that fashionable Fern, of which by far too 

 much notice has been taken in my opinion, Adiantum farley- 

 ense. Maranta spathulata was also good, as was Pteris nm- 

 brosa. 



Notable among the Orchids in the cool house was Disa 

 grandiflora, a large plant, with six spikes of bloom upon each 

 spike, having some half-dozen fully expanded blooms out at 

 the time of my visit, with others to follow, and the flowers 

 resembling large outdoor Irises, or rather the old Tigridia 

 pavonia flowers. Mr. Palmer keeps the plant much cooler 

 than is generally done, and had a mass of young plants stand- 

 ing in a cool frame over a pool of water. I hope he will give ua 

 all a lesson on the growth of this important plant, for it is sel- 



