28 



JOURNAL OF HORTICBLTaBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 13, 1876. 



mixed vinery filled with fruitful Vines, and the next house ia 

 the late vinerv, 80 feet in length. The roota are eonfiued to 

 the inside horder, which ia only 9 feet wide ; but, clearly, 

 Buflicient, for a larger and finer crop of Grapes has seldom 

 been produced. Blnck Alicante is in its best style, and the 

 berries of Gros Gnillaume on the Black Hamburgh stock are 

 as black as jet. Lady Downe's is represented by fine bunches 

 and pplendid berries. Madresfield Court hari shrivelled, but no 

 Grape is richer; it is a valuable variety, but not to be relied 

 on for late keeping. Mrs. Pince is not quite satisfactory ; the 

 crop is heavy, bunches fine, berries large, and flavour good, but 

 not one bunch is nearly well coloured. It is grown on its own 

 roots and is a'so grafted on the Lady Downe's and Black Ham- 

 burgh stocks. On its own roots it is the best flavoured, on 

 Lady Downes the largest, and on Black Hamburgh the 

 sweetest ; but on all the fruit is brown — a great drawback to 

 an otherwise good Grape. Trebbiano and White Nice are 

 represented by heavy crops of fine clean fruit, and on the last- 

 named stock is a vigorous cane of Duke of Buccleuch, The 

 back wall of this grand house of Grapes is covered with Black 

 Hamburgh Vines, which afford useful fruit for kitchen pur- 

 poses. This heavy crop of Grapes has been perfected by 

 copious waterings and rich top-dressings. Mr. Buck has never 

 before given the border so much water and never had the crop 

 BO fine. He ceased watering when the fruit commenced ripen- 

 ing, and the top-dressing prevents evaporation and preserves a 

 dry atmosphere. The Grapes were ripe at the end of Septem- 

 ber, and the crop is best at the warm end of the house. The 

 most useful kinds for late keeping are Lady Downe's and 

 Black AUcante. 



Contiguous to the range just noticed is the orchard house. 

 This very fine span-roofed structure was erected by Mr. Foster 

 of Beeston ; it is 74 feet long by 30 feet wide. The house 

 contains a narrow border all round, with two central borders 

 each 6 feet wide, the central path being between these, and 

 there is also a path between them and the outside borders — 

 that is, three paths and four borders. The central borders are 

 principally occupied by standard Peach and Nectarine trees, 

 and planted out in firm soil. The heads of these trees are 

 large and open, and are studded with spurs to their centres, 

 each tree perfecting eight to ten dozen of fruit. The borders 

 are not dng, and the roots are pruned biennially. The remain- 

 ing space is occupied with pot trees of Peaches, Plums, Cher- 

 ries, and Apples, the trees being in a high state of frnitfulness 

 and in exuberant health. The soil used is turfy loam and 

 crushed bones, supplemented with surface-dressings of horse 

 droppings and kiln dust. Vines are trained up the pillars, and 

 are arched across the paths at wide intervals ; they yield 

 superior Grapes, and do no injury to the trees beneath. The 

 house is now heated, and the heating has greatly improved its 

 value, the crop being now certain, however dull may be the 

 autumn or inclement the spring. It is a fine house admirably 

 managed. 



Entering the walled kitchen garden we find still more glass, 

 plant houses, pineries, and Peach case. The plant houses, 

 three in number, were erected by Mr. Ormson as "feeders" 

 to the conservatory. Each house is 30 feet in length by 1.5 feet 

 in width, lofty, and with central and side stages. The central 

 house is heated for stove plants, the others being kept at 

 greenhouse tempej-ature. In the latter are healthy collections 

 of Heaths, Camellias, Rhododendrons, Plumbago capensis on 

 globes, very fine; Primulas, Cinerarias, &o. On the roof of 

 one house is trained Passiflora edulis, heavily fruited, but the 

 temperature is insufSeient to ripen the crop. The roof of the 

 stove is covered with AUamandas, Bougainvilleas, and Clero- 

 dendrons, which flower profusely and afford shade to the 

 Ferns and Orchids. In this house are many Palms, com- 

 prising Kentias, Geonomas, Cocos Weddelliana, and other 

 choice kinds ; and in brilliant garb is Aphelandra Eoezliana. 

 The house is further gay with Poinsettias, Eucharises, and 

 Euphorbias. 



There is yet another low range of span-roofed pits, one 

 being devoted to Ferns, another to Nepenthes, Orchids, and 

 table plants, the roof being covered with Stephanotis, and 

 others to Pines. 



The pineries consist of two succession pits 40 feet long, and 

 a larger fruiting house. These pits are sunk below the ground 

 level — heat economisers — the roofs only being exposed. The 

 Pines are not grown at a high temperature, and the plants are 

 in Bnperb condition, some of the Smooth Cayennes of fifteen 

 months old having fruits cf from .') to 8 lbs. weight. Queens 

 and Black Jamaicas are also grown. The visitor to EoUeston 



is sure to want a second look at the Pines, for they are un- 

 usually healthy and fine. At the back of this range is a nar- 

 row propagating house 80 feet in length, heated by the mains 

 which supply heat to the pineries, or, in other words, heated 

 for almost nothing, for instead of encasing the pipes with saw- 

 dust they are covered with glass, a sunk path affording access 

 to this most useful pit. 



On the south well of this garden is a Peach case 130 feet 

 long by 8 feet wide. Along the front is a row of espaliers 

 3 to 4 feet high, and the back wall is covered with healthy 

 young trees. The trees are thinly trained, and consist of all 

 the beet sorts, and yield a great supply of valuable fruit. 



The kitchen garden is five to six acres in extent, and is heavily 

 cropped, the Raspberry quarter being particularly neat, and it 

 certainly must be productive. The canes are trained to wires 

 5 feet high, the rows being that distance apart. Strawberries 

 are largely grown, the staple sorts being President and Keens' 

 Seedling, two thousand of which are annually prepared for 

 forcing. 



In the frame ground is a pot vinery 30 feet long. The 

 Vines are started in November, the pots being plunged in tan, 

 and the canes trained round sticks to induce the buds to break 

 regularly. There is also a Cucumber house of the same length, 

 containing hundreds of Poinsettias and Eucharises; a Ca- 

 mellia house 45 feet long, and 2000 superficial feet of pits for 

 the forcing of Potatoes, Asparagus, &a. Such is a rapid glance 

 of the gardens at RoUeston. Tbe demands of the establish- 

 ment are considerable, but it will be seen that Sir Tonman has 

 afforded adequate means that the supply can be produced to 

 his own satisfaction and with credit to his gardener. 



The root-stores and fruit-room just erected by Mr. Buck 

 demand notice by their size and completeness. The fruit-room 

 is 50 feet in length by 30 feet wide, and 10 feet high. The 

 walls are hollow, having 3-inoh cavities ; the roof is hipped, 

 and lined with dry sawdust, and the floor is cemented. Thus 

 the building, being over a cellar, is rat-proof, frost-proof, and 

 damp-proof. It is surrounded by three rows of shelves for the 

 fruit, with a rack at the top of them for bottled Grapes. A 

 central tier of shelves will occupy the body of the building.. 

 These, with the roof, are well made of smoothly planed deal, 

 the whole of the woodwork being stained and varnished. A 

 simple and efficient system of ventilation is provided by slides 

 in the roof. This is a model fruit-room, its size, construction, 

 arrangement, and high finish of the workmanship being all 

 noteworthy. 



Beneath are the root-stores. The centre is occupied with a 

 pit 8 feet wide and 3i feet deep, with walls of 9-inoh brick- 

 work. This is surrounded by a path 2 feet 6 inches wide, and 

 next the walls all round are a series of bins 3 feet wide built 

 of single bricks, some of the smaller compartments being 

 lined with cement for preserving nuts. Over the tins are 

 tiers of shelves for the thin storing of seed Potatoes. For 

 roots of all descriptions and in almost any quantity, for the 

 gentle forcing of Rhubarb and Seakale, and for Mushrooms in 

 summer, this cellar is admirably adapted, and is a valuable 

 appendage to the garden. It is entered by a sunken door 

 near the end, and at the other end is a slanting " shoot " for 

 pouring in the roots. At the back of the building is the 

 garden stable, and cart shed. In addition to this there is 

 a capacious and well-heated Mushroom house with stone 

 bins. 



Sir Tonman has also recently erected convenient and sufE- 

 cient rooms for the under gardeners, the foreman having 

 separate apartments, and every necessary attention for their 

 comfort is provided. 



Another striking feature of EoUeston is the museum. It 

 adjoins the block of buildings last noticed, and is entered 

 from one of the vineries. There are not many readers even of 

 ' ' this end " of the Journal but who would enjoy an inspection of 

 this rich museum, while those of the " other end "' would revel 

 amongst the thousands of birds familiar and rare, home and 

 foreign, which are arranged and classified in beautiful order. 

 Altogether the gardens of Rolleston are instructive. That 

 they are well nauaged can hardly be otherwise when we 

 remember the experience and antecedents of Mr. Buck, who 

 was trained at Hawkesyard Park and Keele Hall, and has held 

 his present charge for sixteen years. His father was gardener 

 to T. R. Hall, Esq., of Hollybush, for thirty-four years; his 

 grandfather was gardener to Lord Middleton, and his great 

 grandfather was gardener to the Emperor of Hussia. I have 

 to thank him and Mrs. Buck for their attention, and especially 

 to acknowledge the hospitality of Sir Tonman Mosley. EoUes- 



