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JOURNAL OF HORTICDLTDRE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB, 



1 Hoy -21, leii. 



famed for flatness and fens. The scenery is of a very pretty 

 undulating character between the grounds and kitchen garden. 

 The pleasure grounds are not very extensive — about seven or 

 eight acres — but from the pleasing manner in which they are 

 laid out and planted cue would fancy they occupied a much 

 larger space of ground. The kitchen garden is rather dis- 

 appointing, hardly what might be expected from the style of 

 the mansion and the houses in the village, which ai'e models 

 of their kind. There is a stream of water which passes through 

 the kitchen garden, and by the side of this water Mr. Dell has 

 planted a quantity of Phormium tenax, or New Zealand Flax. 

 It seems at home and is growing freely ; it is very useful for 

 tying plants or fruit trees, being extremely strong and durable. 

 Among early crops I noticed a good breadth of WiUiam I. Pea, 

 which is spoken highly of for early work. As a Lettuce for 

 spring and winter use nothing is found equal to Hicks' Hardy 

 Cos. Strawberries are largely grown. President and Alice Maude 

 are the sorts depended upon for large supplies. Apricots on 

 walls promise to be a moderate crop. Apples, Pears, and Chenies 

 are showing well. The glass erections are very much scattered, 

 and although there is a good number of them they have not 

 such a neat nor imposing effect as they would have if they 

 were more compact. There is a number of Bolton's plant pro- 

 tectors made use of ; they are handy for Lettuce, Cauliflowers, 

 early Carrots, and also for hardening-off bedding plants. Great 

 numbers of plants are required for the flower gardens. Among 

 plants grown by the thousand are Golden Feather, Alter- 

 nantheras of sorts, Mesembryauthemum cordifohum varie- 

 gatum. Geraniums Lady Plymouth, Christine, Mrs. Pollock, 

 Triomphe de Stella, Bijou, and a new sort called Striking, 

 with a dark horseshoe leaf. 



The first vinery we will name is a late house, 15 feet wide, 

 ;>0 feet long, planted with AUcaute, Trebbiano, Eowood Muscat, 

 and Madrestield Court, aU showing well. The Vines in this 

 house are strong and promise some large bunches. The hot- 

 water pipes in this vinery are laid flat all over the surface of 

 the house, and are considered to answer better than when they 

 are all placed in front, as in many houses. The next is a span- 

 roofed house, 100 feet long by 18 feet wide, divided into three, 

 with a path down the middle. The first is used as a vinery 

 and planted with Lady Downe's and Alicante — these ai'e young 

 healthy Vines, giving every promise of splendid crops. In the 

 middle division are Cucumbers and Melons, Cucumbers on the 

 north side doing well, sort Telegraph ; these bear weU aU the 

 winter. They are planted out, but are only allowed about 

 4 inches of soU to grow in, by placing slates below the soil, so 

 that the roots cannot enter the bottom material. Stimulants 

 can always be given in the shape of rich surfacings. Melons 

 are grown on the south span on the same principle. After 

 they are set rich surfacing is made use of, and by this means 

 the fruit quickly attains a large size. At the end are AUcantes 

 again and young Vines of Muscats, all looking uncommonly 

 healthy. In front of this range is a frame, 100 feet long by 

 12 feet wide, in divisions, heated by hot water, used for striking 

 cuttings, growing-on young plants, forcing Kidney Beans, 

 Strawberries, &c. In all the houses there is a great quantity 

 of shelves for Strawberries, of which about two thousand are 

 forced every year. Alice Maude and Pi'esident are the two 

 most depended on for a supply. 



Going from this range of glass towards Mr. Dell's bouse there 

 is another range. The first is a span-roofed greenhouse, in 

 which are some magnificent plants of Azaleas well-grown and 

 neatiy trained, Heaths, Camellias, and others. The nest is a 

 span-roofed stove, used in winter for forcing flowers to supply 

 the conservatory. In the back yard is placed a span-roofed green- 

 house, in which are numbers of useful plants such as young 

 Azaleas, Heaths, &c., and near to this is placed a small plant 

 stove, .\mong other useful plants there is Dracajua nobilis, a 

 small-growing variety with pretty red leaves ; Davallia Moore- 

 ana, a fine, large-growing new Fern ; .\splenium Belangeri, 

 and many others suitable for dinner-table decoration. There 

 are also frames for bedding plants, Strawberries, Potatoes, 

 Carrots, Eadishes, and such like. 



In the gardens there is another range of glass, in which are 

 two Peach houses, each .50 feet long, with fine crops of fruit ; 

 also a Fig house, 25 feet long, with young bushes of Fig trees 

 planted in square boxes in front made of bricks ; a vinery, 

 ;J0 feet by 10 wide, principally Black Prince and Black Ham- 

 burgh ; an early vinery, 25 feet ; another vinery, 30 feet by 10 

 wide, planted with Muscats, all showing well. Mr. Dell the 

 skilful gardener may well feel proud of such a well-kept place. 

 .\U was in good order, and characterised by great neatness 



everywhere. There is abundant evidence everywhere that Mr. 

 Tumor takes great interest in the comfort of his servants and 

 dependants. Mr. Dell's pleasant house is a proof of it, well 

 situated, and commanding a good look-oat over the gardens. 

 This is as it ought to be, but in many places the gardener's 

 house is pLicedin any out-of-the-way corner. — J. Smith, Ezton 

 Park Gardens, Rutland. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 



Every gardener must have seen the flowers of a whole row 

 of the yellow Crocus cut off at one and the same time. Many 

 have maintained that it was done by a night frost, but we 

 always believed that it was the work of srAp.Kows at break of 

 d.ay, before the gardener was at work. This opinion is now con- 

 firmed, and the same devastation committed on other flowers 

 and by other birds is proved. Many communications on the 

 subject are published in Natun' from perfectly reliable wit- 

 nesses. One gentleman testifies to the sparrows destroying the 

 yellow Crocus, but he never noticed that they destroyed the 

 white or blue varieties. Others have seen sparrows and finches 

 similarly nip-ofi' the flowers of Primroses and Polyanthuses. 



The Fruit and Flower Show of the Nokih of Ibeiand 



HoKTicnLTDRAi SOCIETY, to bo held in August, ought to be 

 successful, for the prizes are offered to every class, from the 

 cottagers to the extensive growers of the rarest plants. We 

 will quote but two instances. The Lord-Lieutenant gives a 

 ,i;lO cup for the best eight bunches of Grapes, and C. M'Garel, 

 Esq., £20 for a dessert of twelve kinds of fruits. 



Skemons :s Stones. — Vfe have the following from an 

 American contemporary : — "A nut dropped by a squirrel fell 

 through the opening in the middle of an old millstone which 

 lay upon the ground, and, being thus protected, grew into a 

 thriving sapling that shot-up through the opening. In a few 

 years it had increased so that it filled the space and was firmly 

 wedged to the sides of the heavy stone. StiU it grew, and in 

 a few years more, little by little, it lifted the entire weight 

 clear from the earth, so that a man could sit beneath it. All 

 was done by atom after atom, borne by the sap to the growing 

 trunk. Think of this, my little man, puzzling over 'long 

 division ' in arithmetic ; little by little of thinking and work- 

 ing will take you through fractions, rule of three, and those 

 terrible problems at the end of the book, by-and-by ; but 

 be sure that the little by little is not neglected. And yon, 

 hardworking lad on the fai'm, or in the shops, look at Frank- 

 lin, Watts, Morse, Field, Lincoln, Grant, and thousands more 

 who have lifted the weight of circumstances that would hold 

 them down like millstones, and who have by their steady per- 

 severance risen above their fellows, easily bearing their bur- 

 dens ; and ' keep pegging away.' " 



NOTES ON VILLA and SUBURBAN GARDENING. 



The planting of all properly-prepared bedding stock may now 

 be proceeded with under favourable circumstances. Begin 

 with Calceolarias, Verbenas, Scarlet Geraniums, &c., leaving 

 Heliotropes, Lantanas, Anagallis, and such things as are injured 

 by frost until the planting of the hardy kinds is completed. 

 If the arrangement is on grass, warm colours, as scarlet, purple, 

 orange, and their shades should prevail ; but on gravel, which 

 is a warm colour, the cold colours, as blue, yellow, and 

 white, which for gardening purposes take the place of green, 

 would have to be placed in the beds containing warm colours, 

 and vice versa. Colours thus arranged will have a far more 

 imposing appearance than when thrown together at random. 

 Hence each colour has its contrasting one close by, as scarlet 

 and white, purple and yeUow, orange and blue, and so on of 

 their different shades ; and while they mutually enhance the 

 briDiancy of each other, the group, as a whole, is far more im- 

 posing than it could be under an indiscriminate mixture. 



In the planting of plants in groups there are three things 

 which deserve particular notice. First, to place all the plants 

 with their tops pointing to the north; secondly, to plant all 

 strong-growing plants very shallow — that is, with the ball Httle 

 more than covered with soil ; and thirdly, to plant weak-growing 

 plants deep, so as to make them grow luxuriantly. 



These rules, simple as they are, are of considerable importance, 

 for if plants are not placed with their tops to the north the 

 points of the shoots when pegged-down vriU not assume an erect 

 position J while if luxuriant plants are planted deeply they grow 

 still more luxuriantly and Hower but Uttle ; and if delicate- 

 growing plants are not placed deeply the roots get parched-up 

 and they quickly perish. 



