Noveml)er 11, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



429 



cuttings ; yet Mr. Booth has succeeded in saving a few hun- 

 dreds of seeds which are to be distributed in the spring. 



In addition to the structures devoted to fruit culture are 

 also some spacious plant houses. Two of these are .^0 feet 

 square with unusually flat ridge-and-furrow roofs, one of them 

 being glazed with rough glass. These houses are admirably 

 adapted for growing huge specimens, and it was in them that 

 Mr. Hirrison perfected the Orchids, Ferns, &a., for which 

 Osmaston was once famed. In the houses are healthy and 

 valuable, if comparatively small, plants, which are principally 

 grown for decorative purposes, as the furnishing of rooms, S:z. 

 They comprise Dracaenas, Palms, Pandanusee, Ferns, and 

 other ornamental plants. Amongst the latter some plants of 

 Todea snperba are in splendid order, and Dichotoma japonica 

 variegata is in a flourishing state. Another of Mr. B. S. 

 Williams's new plants, Anthnrinm variegatum, is greatly 

 valued as a table plant, being distinct, elegant, and of easy 

 culture. Calanthes are well grown, and Urceolina pendula is 

 extensively cultivated as a bright-coloured autumn-flowering 

 plant which has been recently noticed by Mr. Abbey. Another 

 house contains Azaleas, of which there is a large collection, 

 with hundreds of Primulas, Cinerarias, Solanums, etc., for the 

 conservatory. These are also useful ranges of brick pits, 

 which with their contents I cannot here detail. 



The walls of the garden are well covered with fruit trees, 

 especially Pears, and the crop is exceedingly fine. There 

 were probably many sacks of Marie Louise alone, and other 

 standard sorts are grown on an extensive scale. A wire trellis 

 on the French system, about 100 yards in length and 15 feet 

 in height, is also covered with Apples and Pears, and the crop 

 is vei7 large. Sixty sorts of Apples are grown ; one named 

 Spencer's Seedling being remarkably handsome, prolific, and 

 esteemed as a valuable kind. Fruits are grown also on bushes, 

 which were laden with produce; and the excellent and com- 

 plete fruit room was at the time of my visit being fiUed to 

 repletion. 



Strawberries are admirably grown at Osmaston, and I have 

 never seen such fine fruit as has been produced at this place, 

 especially of President and Oscar. Grove End Scarlet is grown 

 for preserving, and for this purpose the old sort has still no 

 equal. The plants are planted early in soil trenched 3 feet 

 deep, and enriched with manure and bones. They produce 

 fine crops of very large fruit the first year, and prodigious crops 

 of smaller fruit the second season, and are then destroyed. 

 The plants would continue to bear longer and bear well, but 

 by no other mode can Mr. Booth obtain such a full return of 

 fine fruit as on the two-years system. He therefore clears 

 and plants a given space of ground every year, as being the 

 most profitable practice in Strawberry culture. 



Vegetable culture is also conducted with the same care as 

 fruit and plants, and as an instance of attention in this depart- 

 ment Mr. Bjoth saves his own seed of a few standard sorts 

 of Peas, selecting only the finest pods, and he finds the very 

 best results follow this mode of selection. He finds William I. 

 the best of all early Peas, and Hair's Dwarf Mammoth the 

 most valuable of all late kinds. Of Celery, which is largely 

 grown, the most approved sort is Leicester Bed. The arrange- 

 ments and appointments of this garden are very complete, and 

 the management is as good as the means. 



I now in conolnsion, and as briefly as possible, revert to 

 the ornamental features of Osmaston. The lawns and pleasure 

 grounds are about 50 acres in extent, and are rich in trees, 

 shrubs, and Conifers. The terraces are extensive, the fountains 

 attractive, and the surrounding scenery — the heavily-wooded 

 h i lls and valleys of verdure, with a glimpse of water through 

 every vista — imposing. But I will first proceed to the 



EocKERY. — Our route is by a fine Yew hedge, and we pass 

 golden piles of Hollies and many a valuable Conifer. Eventu- 

 ally we see a solitary rock, as if bursting its prison house 

 the earth, then another and another. Following their track 

 amongst the shrubs we come to a cavernous entrance. We 

 stoop instinctively, but there is no occasion for stooping, for 

 the entrance is ample. On either side the stony passage are 

 fissures — yawning rifts, as if torn asunder by some superhuman 

 power; passing these we enter the rock-bonnd dell. The 

 rockery at Osmaston is not a huge pyramid of stones which 

 we walk round to admire, or wonder why they were so placed. 

 It is an amphitheatre, and we stand stiU and wonder that it 

 is really a work of art. In the centre of the enclosure is an 

 irregular stream of water ; at its edge are Sedges and water 

 plants, massive boulders protrude through its sides covered 

 with Lichens and half hidden by Ferns. On drier knolls are 



Pampas Grass, and scattered about in apparent abandonment 

 are mammoth stones. Heaths, Ferns, Azaleas, and Conifers. 



The sides of the amphitheatre are rugged rocks, clothed 

 with foliage and draped with Alpine plants in great variety. 

 In one corner AraUa Sieboldi luxuriates, in another Yuccas 

 protrude from the fissures. On a knoll is Sciadopytis verti- 

 cillata in excellent health, and the distinct Cephalotaxes in 

 variety partially hide with their rich foUage the ponderous 

 walls of rocks. A variegated Maple is dotted in here and 

 there to give light to a somewhat sombre scene, and warmth 

 of colouring is imparted by the glowing crimson of Ampelopsis 

 Yeitchii. What a fiery plant is this when in its last autumn 

 garb ' As a trailing, climbing, pendant plant for rock?, roots, 

 walls, or trees it has no equal as a summer covering plant, 

 green in spring, and of glowing richness in antumn. On the 

 rocks at Osmaston it was precisely at home. We ascended 

 from the dell by rough stone steps, and to look down on the 

 scene below — the cascades, rocks, and foliage chaotically inter- 

 mingled, one is not surprised that Mr. Parham considers the 

 work as one of his greatest triumphs, for this natural-looking 

 and wild picture is entirely artificial. The rocks were moulded 

 by Mr. Parham, and the plants planted and tended by Mr. 

 Wright and his gardeners Mr. Harrison and Mr. Booth, and 

 the work does credit to them all. The whole work is complete ; 

 it was projected and carried out ekil fully, and is kept and 

 tended tastefully. 



From the rockery we pass to the terraces. There are three 

 tiers of these, each extending about 100 yards. On the lawn 

 portion of them are planted standard Rhododendrons, standard 

 Portugal Laurels, very fine; also American and other orna- 

 mental plants. They are further graced with fountains, and 

 here and there a few beds of fiowers ; but flowers are sparingly 

 used, and wisely so, on this dignified frontage, with the bold 

 nature of the adjacent scenery. The terrace wall is covered 

 with climbing plants, and on the walls of the mansion are 

 Magnolias, a yellow Banksian Rose, 30 feet high, which flowers 

 freely, and an equally fine plant of Marechal Xiel. 



Conifers at Osmaston are extensively planted, and many 

 fine specimens are to be seen. Xot only the lawn and pleasure 

 grounds contiguous to the mansion, but even the more distant 

 woods are rich in many valuable plants of this nature. Mr. 

 Wright is a great patron of ornamental trees, and with a con- 

 siderable knowledge of them, combined with sound taste, he 

 is constantly adding to the ornamentation of his estate. 

 WeUingtonias may be seen by hundreds, one specimen which 

 I noticed being about 36 feet in height, and is 5 feet round the 

 stem at 2 feet from the ground. It is perfectly furnished, and 

 in robust health. That is only an example of many others. 

 Cryptomeria japonica is of the same height, and exceedingly 

 dense. It is a wonderfully fine specimen of this fine Conifer. 

 Pinus Morinda is in grand condition and similarly fine. There 

 are also fine examples of P. Xordmanniana and Piceas nobilis, 

 amabOis, pinsapo, and others. Thujopsis dolabrata variegata is 

 freely planted, and the well-furnished specimens 8 feet in 

 height are very attractive. All the new and choice Eetinosporas 

 are included, and are growing freely, and there are perfect 

 cones of Irish Yews. Deodars and Cedars of Lebanon are 

 numerous and fine, many of these having been successfully 

 removed by Mr. Booth when 20 to 30 feet high. Time, care, 

 and fresh soil are insisted on, and no hurrying or rough hand- 

 ling of the trees and roots is permitted in the removal of 

 large trees, and it is rare indeed that a specimen has failed 

 to grow. 



This is but a cursory glance at the ornamental grounds of 

 Osmaston, which are full of fine views and features which 

 space does not permit me to detaU. 



The exit from the grounds is through an avenue of Limes 

 and WeUingtonias, of which the terminal landmark is the 

 village church. But this Lime avenue is not quite satisfactory, 

 and affords an instance of the soundness of the remarks of 

 Mr. Allis when he recently urged the importance of having 

 all the trees of the same variety, and recommended as the 

 best TiUa rubra. The trees are not all of the same variety, 

 and they consequently vary in size and outline, tut when- 

 ever we come to the kind recommended, the tree is not 

 only much larger than others of the same age, but is more 

 handsome in shape and outline. It is certainly a matter of 

 great importance in avenue-planting to have all the trees of 

 the same variety, as securing the uniformity of growth which 

 is so essential. 



There are many trees and Conifers which I have not noted, 

 but there is one which I did not see in the grounds which is 



