568 



JOURNAL OF HORTI-CULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ December 23, 1876. 



In like manner we have sometimes need a bit of board not 

 larper than the opened hand, on which neat httle flat branches 

 of Laurel or other evergreens can be nailed on, jointing in all 

 directions, and perhaps the junction in the centre can be con- 

 cealed with some rosette or other becoming ornament. Such 

 a mass of evergreens can be hung in the centre of any large 

 space of naked wall, as a string from the cornice would hardly 

 be noticed, and it is quickly put np. 



Another way of preparing a small star for any particular 

 place is to procure large flat leaves of the Portugal Laurel 

 and sew them on to a piece of thick paper or cardboard star 

 fashion, the points of the leaves all projecting outwards and 

 much beyond the paper to which they are sewn. Of course this 

 is lady's work, and a little practice is wanted to do it neatly ; 

 bat such stars are very useful in this — a small thread will 

 enffice to hang them up against a wall. Neither is their 

 utility limited to that purpose, for we often use them on the 

 dinner table, placing them under candlestick stands or any- 

 thing else that seem to want such a vase. Usually we have 

 two or more sizes, which with oare last several days at the 

 dinner-table ; but for hanging-up against a wall there ought to 

 be flowers, either natural or artificial, in the centre to conceal 

 the needlework. 



Fruit has by soma been introdneed into such decoration, 

 but I am no advocate for it, unless some special purpose, as a 

 thanksgiving decoration or something of the kind, call for 

 it ; nevertheless, I know it is often made use of. I believe 

 my first essay at such things was in forming the date 1828 

 with uicply coloured Apples, through which a wire was forced 

 and bent to the required shape, and it being for a ball- 

 room on the last night of the year, a little contrivance was 

 required to enable the 8 to be converted into a 9 after mid- 

 night. Since that time there has been wonderful changes in 

 such matters, and sometimes Oranges and other fruits are 

 fixed where I wonid be more inclined to call them grotesque 

 than pretty ; but I fear I must beat a retreat in this matter, 

 or someone will be asking if the whole thing is not more gro- 

 tesque than beautiful ; but as something of the kind is always 

 looked for some time during the winter, whether it be the 

 dressing of a Christmas tree, the embellishment of the church, 

 or ihe decoration of the ball-room, all of which are more or 

 less indebted to the greenery in which the gardener deals, the 

 above remarks on the way such things may be worked-up may, 

 perhaps, be of service to those who may not have had much 

 experience that way. — J. Eobson. 



SUMMER PINCHING AND PRUNING. 



I WISH to elicit the opinion of orchard-house cultivators 

 (particularly those of the north), on the propriety or im- 

 propriety of summer pinching. Here I have for some years 

 entirely abandoned the practice with the best result. I have 

 healthy trees, well-ripened wood, and abundant crops. My 

 trees grow freely. I soon have the wood close to tlie glass 

 bearing admirably. The only pruning they have is the head- 

 ing-down of the too vigorous shoots after the fall of the leaf 

 and the cutting-out of shoots where I think them too much 

 crowded. 



My trees are chiefly in 15-inch pots, and ai e repotted every 

 second year with sods and a little bone dust ; they are also 

 freely watered with weak liquid manure al! through the 

 summer. 



Some years since I was struck with the remark of an 

 itinerant Scotch gardener, who, when excla'miug against 

 summer pnxning, offered this illustration : — "It pits them oot 

 o' temper ; did ye ever see a clippet Thorn hedge with a crop of 

 haigs (haws) ?"— T. G,, Clitheroe. 



COLE ORTON HALL.— No. 2. 



THE SEAT OF SIR GEORGE H. BEAUMONT, BAET. 



On page 416 this celebrated garden was referred to and 

 some of its features were described, its poetry quoted, its 

 Conifers mentioned, and its flower garden engraved. Before 

 noticing the useful — the fruit-growing — department, for which 

 Cole Orton has long been famed, a few other ornamental trees 

 and some other attractions of the place merit a brief notice. 



How fine the trees are the accompanying engraving testifies. 

 The Elm, even for an Elm, is a giant ; the Holly — a massive 

 cone, its lower branches sweeping the grass — is a most worthy 

 specimen ; the Cryptomeria a model of health, and the dark 



Araucarias contrasting with the light stone mansion , and which 

 partly surround it at regular intervals, constitute striking 

 features in these richly-ornamented grounds — grounds which 

 are not merely ornamental, but are memorials of those who 

 were eminent in art, science, and literature, and who enjoyed 

 the solitude of this garden. 



I have mentioned the memorials in " tree and stone " of 

 Scott, Coleridge, Wordsworth, and others, and worthy of 

 special note is the living arch of Limes, the avenue of these 

 trees leading to the monument erected in honour of Sir Joshua 

 Reynolds. At the entrance are busts of Raphael and Michael 

 Angelo. The avenue is ornamentally paved with coloured 

 pebbles and tiles. The Limes on either side are straight 

 columns, their branches arching overhead delineating in a 

 strikingly natural manner the nave of some vast cathedral. At 

 the end is the urn, on which is inscribed at the request of Sir 

 G. H, Beaumont — 



" Ye Lime trees ranged before this hallowed urn, 

 Shoot forth with hvely power at. spring's retnm 

 And be not slow a stately j^Towth to rear 

 Of pillars, branching off from year to year, 

 Till they have learned to frame a darksome aisle 

 That may recall to mind that awful pile 

 Where Reynolds, 'mid oar country's noblest dead. 

 In the last sanctity of fame is laid; 

 There, though by right the excelling painter sleep, 

 Where Death and Glory a joint sabbath keep, 

 Yet not the less his spirit would hold dear 

 Self-hidden praise and frir.ndship's private tear 

 Hence on my patrimonial grounds have I 

 Kaised this frail tribute to his memory. 

 From youth a jealous follower of the Art 

 That he professed, attached to him in heart : 

 Admiring, loving, and with grief and pride 

 Feeling what England lost when Reynolds died." 



This attractive memorial was not only raised in honour of a 

 great painter, but another painter. Constable, subsequently 

 made it the scene of one of his finest works, which was sold to 

 Louis Philippe, the late King of the French, for 650 guineas. 



1 will now pass to the north lawn and note some of the 

 Coniferffi which are there flourishing. Each specimen is iso- 

 lated from the rest, and as many of them are planted on gentle 

 knolls thoir beauty and proportions are seen to the best ad- 

 vantage. Many of these trees — for trees they are— are not 

 only of unusual dimensions, but of exuberant vigour. 



The soil of Cole Orton is specially adapted to the require- 

 ments of trees. A Beech tree, for instance, on one of the 

 lawns has a stem nearly 35 feet in circumference — a majestic 

 specimen, a monarch of its kind. Bat to the Conifers. A 

 pair of Pinuses (macrocarpa and excelsa) are veritable timber 

 trees ; they are not of close growth, but are highly distinct ; 

 their heights are 35 to -10 feet, and the girth of their stems 

 5 to 6 feet. On this lawn Araucaria imbrieata is also equally 

 striking — not by its mere height, for its leader has been re- 

 peatedly broken — but by the size of its stem, which is 6 feet 

 in circumference, and the rude health of the specimen. Of 

 Cryptomeria japonica there is a grand example 30 to 35 feet iu 

 height, dense, and of the richest green ; the branches, laden 

 with cones, of this fine pyramid sweep the lawn, and at their 

 extremities measure 25 yards in circumference. Another no- 

 table specimen is Picea Nordmanniana, 25 to 30 feet in height, 

 in splendid health and of perfect symmetry ; and there is a 

 smaller yet admirable example of P. amabilis. Here, too, also 

 flourishes the true Cedrus atlanticus, the elegant and well- 

 furnished specimen being nearly 30 feet in height ; and con- 

 siderably larger, and still richer, is a noble cone of Taxodium 

 (Sequoia) sempervirens : this magnificent example of the Red 

 Wood tree is 40 feet in height, the result of twenty-five years' 

 growth. Here also are Deodars of the same age, and many 

 other specimens which it is not necessary to enumerate ; those 

 named will give a sufficient idea of the Conifers at Cole Orton ; 

 they are such as their owner. Sir G. H. Beaumont, may be 

 proud to possess. The greater number of them were planted 

 by Mr. Henderson, who has remained to see them attain to 

 their present state of perfection. 



Besides the many attractive features within these grounds 

 the views beyond and from them are most exteuEive and 

 picturesque. From one point a pleasing glimpse is afforded 

 of the village of Cole Orton ; from another the distant hills of 

 Derbyshire, and the ruins of Grace Dieu, &c., are eeev, and 

 from the terrace is obtained a magnificent panoramic view of 

 Cbamwood Forest, with Belvoir Castle in the distance. Over- 

 looking this grand expanse of country, and at the end of an 

 avenue, is an architectural seat and tablet, with a tribute to 

 the memory of one of the family — Francis Beaumont the 



