Jnly ■£), 1875. J 



JOURNAL OF UOfiTIOULTUfiE AND COTTAQE GABDENBK. 



91 



hibition were received tha*, weather favouring, BUcoesB was 

 certain. 



And a success it was. Five loaf; tables were filled with the 

 loveliest Hoses of all kinds. There were in all lOl.'J out blooms 

 shown, and when to this number are added the lioses in pots, 

 those who had not the pleasure of beiug present may faintly 

 guess at the splendid appearance the live tables, presumed to 

 be the finest of the kind ever held in Scotland ; certain it is 

 that in Loudon and elsewhere in the provinces of England, 

 where Koses are supposed to grow in greater prolusion, we have 

 seen very ambignous exhibitions in every way inferior both as 

 regards variety and excellence. And not only so; but a week 

 or ten days ago the Roses — local blooms at least— would have 

 been very superior to what they were yesterday ; wind and rain 

 having played sad havoc with many a cherished tree. But 

 this notwithstauding, the show of Rjses from Galloway was in 

 the highest degree creditable ; and not until yesterday could we 

 have believed that the province would have produced such a 

 brilliant display of every kind of the lovely flower. 



Besides those sent for competition there was a table-load 

 " for exhibition only." Messrs. Kerr & Fotheringham's display 

 was very large and beautiful ; that of Mr. Service, Maxwelltown, 

 was also good ; and the " exhibited " Roses from Kenmure 

 Castle and Monreith were also very much admired. In the 

 centre of this display was a miniature cottage, " Wigtown Lodge, 

 Barnbarroch," the handiwork of Mr. Henderson, the forester. 

 It was decked out with walks, and made gay with Roses ; and 

 during the day it had hosts of admirers. The Judges put a 

 "commended" ticket upon it. A Yucca gloriosa, from Logan, 

 was said to be as fine a specimen as is in Britain. 



IN THE WEST COUNTRIE.— No. 2. 



ME. CURTIS'S NURSEBY, TORQUAY. 



My impressions of Torquay had been derived from varions 

 sources — from the remembrances of those who ever spoke of it 

 with sadness as the last earthly home of those they had loved, 

 where they had been taken to wither and to die ; from those, 

 too, who had gone there in the full fioodtide ot health and 

 life, and had brought back from it glowing accounts of its 

 beauty and salubrious climate, and also from those who have 

 spoken of the facility with which tender plants are cultivated 

 there ; and it was, then, with a wonderment of what I should 

 find it to be that the day before the Exeter Show I determined 

 on visiting what in a horticultural point of view I had ever 

 connected with the Tea Rose, and with that most charming of 

 all English-raised Roses, Devouiensis. 



It were idle for me to attempt the description of its scenery, 

 and I might get a rap across the knuckles too ; for I think 

 I have a dim recollection that a certain awful personage who 

 affixes "G." to hia papers did, some years ago, in the Journal 

 tell of his wanderings in these western parts. Suffice it to say, 

 that although I had heard much about its beauty I was in no 

 way disappointed. The lovely coast scenery of Bathcombe 

 Bay and Ansty's Cove must be seen to be appreciated. Living 

 as I did so long in our bleak eastern coast, where nothing but 

 the Tamarisk will thrive, it was indeed a treat to see the coast 

 clothed to the water's edge with luxuriant foliage, and the 

 beautiful contrast of the white sand and the rich red of the 

 rocks, and to hear the cuckoo and the blackbird close to the 

 very shore. Are not all these things written in the guide 

 books ? and therefore I must mention those things which per- 

 tain to our beloved flowers. Mr. Curtis most kindly met me 

 at the station and took me to see what he has not unworthily 

 Btyled the Devon Kosery, for there is very little else thought 

 of or cultivated here than the Rose. In these days, when ten 

 and twelve acres and more are devoted to the culture of the 

 Rose, Mr. Curtis's of seven may seem small ; but there is much 

 to interest a Rose-grower in the collection that he has gathered 

 together. He himself comes from a family in whom a love of 

 flowers is hereditary, and Mrs. Curtis is a true helpmeet for 

 him in what is both a matter of profit and a labour ot love ; 

 and it is this long connection with horticulture that makes 

 him so well up in Rose lore. His nursery is intersected by 

 the railway, and his gardens on the north side contain, besides 

 his Roses out of doors, his range of houses which are devoted 

 to the culture of Roses in pots, especially Teas ; and as Tor- 

 quay is a winter residence his object is to arrange his flowers 

 that he shall be able to cut them during the winter months. 

 He has one span-roof in which the Roses are planted out very 

 close, and, running up, cover completely the roof. These were 

 then nearly all out of flower, and the lights were taken off to 

 harden the wood. Two new houses had been built 1.30 feet 

 each in length, and they were filled with a choice collection of 

 Roses in pots, which were evidently intending to make a bril- 



liant and beautiful display by-and-by — not large overgrown 

 plants, but compact half-specimens. Among his favourites 

 were Catherine Mermot. Davoniensis, Marie Van Houtte, Sou- 

 venir d'un Ami, Adam, Niphctos, &c. We agreed as to Duchess 

 of Edinburgh that it has very little it any Tea blood in it, and 

 is little else than au improved Cramoise Saperieure. There 

 was a long border in which the new Hoses were planted, but 

 owing to the backwardness of the season many of them were 

 not in flower, and in those that were we could not discover 

 any very great merit. Thomas Mills is brilliant in colour, and 

 as it is very vigorous may be a useful garden Rose. Duoheas 

 of Edinburgh (Bennett) will, I fear, not be a favourite; it is 

 so very easily spoilt by wet, and neither hero nor elsewhere 

 have I seen a good bloom of it this season. Capitaine Christy 

 promised well, but it is, I fear, also very easily spoiled. I 

 have not seen for some time a finer piece of standards ; and it 

 would appear others thought so also, for Mr. Curtis had an 

 order for four thousand from one firm alone — a firm, by-the- 

 by, which has 140,000 Roses on Manettis. 



We had much pleasant chat about Rosea. Mr. Curtis thinks 

 highly of the Celine and of a stock called Donna Maria, while 

 he is cultivating another ot which we may perhaps hear more 

 by-and-by. He did not apparently think so highly of the 

 seedling Briar as some do, although the French have used it 

 for a long time for their Tea Rosos, which are so largely grown 

 here. He stated amongst other things in connection with 

 Rose culture that he remembers well a thousand varieties 

 being grown by his father in Esses, and this before the race 

 of Hybrid Perpetuals was known ; of these no more than five 

 or six are grown now. It was, I believe, he who introduced 

 Brennus, still a handsome summer Rose ; while of late years 

 Bessie .Johnson, a sport from Abel Grand, has emanated from 

 this nursery, and Mr. Cartis was the principal distributor of 

 Climbing Devonieneis, although it does not owe its origin to 

 him. He is very strong against the scentless Roses, and said 

 Victor Verdier ought to come under the hangman's hand, as 

 to it we owe the many beautiful but scentless Roses which even 

 with this defect we cannot do without. In talking of Cloth of 

 Gold he mentioned the case of one he knows in Jersey, which 

 was planted at the base of a rock, and which ran over and 

 covered a surface of 00 feet and was every season filled with 

 bloom, and was indeed a grand sight. I have heard of one 

 belonging to a tenant of Mr. Baker of Exeter, which is grown 

 on his cottage and pruned every year with a hook as high as 

 he can reach. 



After lunch we had a pleasant drive to see the lovely coast 

 scenery of Bathcombe Bay and to call on my old friend Mr. 

 Gosse, and whom I sincerely regretted to miss. He has a 

 charming little villa, where he rejoices in the culture of Orchids 

 and various other plants ; and as the day was fine and the 

 view of the coast lovely it is one to be gratefully remembered, 

 and I only regretted that an engagement at Exeter compelled 

 me to hurry away from my kind friends and hospitable enter- 

 tainers, and I also regretted that the time at my disposal did 

 not permit me to visit Mr. Veitch's nursery. — D., Deal. 



CATEKPILLAKS AND GOOSEBEEBY TREES. 



Ddbing the present year the Gooseberry crop is one of the 

 largest in my recollection, but it has been sadly marred by the 

 ravages of caterpillars. Many specifics for this I have heard 

 recommended, and it would be well if discussiou in the columns 

 of your Journal should lead to one infallible remedy. Of all 

 that I have hitherto heard recommended some growers take 

 exception and pronounce them worthless. It has sometimes 

 occurred to me that many failures might result from the care- 

 lessness or want of skill in the operator trying the experiment. 

 I have heard many assert that they have kept then- Goose- 

 berry bushes intact from caterpillars by simply placing in the 

 centre of each a bunch of Gorse or Heath, whilst others who 

 have tried the same have pronounced it inoperative. 



The most certain remedy which has cume under my per- 

 sonal experience is to dust freely the lower portions of the 

 trees and the ground around with powdered fresh lime. This 

 invariably prevents the first attack, and if a little care be 

 exercised in the later stages tho few which survive the opera- 

 tion of the lime may be easily removed. Of coarse in a very 

 wet season the lime is apt to be washed away and its effect 

 weakened by the rains, and it would be well to renew it 

 later on. 



Recently, whilst on a visit to the Lake district, I was shown 

 a garden where there was such a wealth of Gooseberries that 



