London Nurseries. 339 



the thermometer in the open air was as low as 25', no fires were made- 

 The earth in the Camellirt pots was frozen, but no damage ensued. The 

 sides of this structure being chiefly of masonry, and the glass roof being 

 very lofty, account for the quantity of heat retained. Mr. Knight is 

 building a new orangery, to be heated by hot-water on an improved 

 plan, of which we hope soon to give some account. 



Colville's Nursery, Kiiig^s Road, April 21. — The show of forced flowers 

 and shrubs here is most splendid. A number of varieties of Bengal roses 

 and azaleas seem eligible shrubs for forcing. The brilliancy of the poppy 

 anemones, in pots, shows what may be done even in cheap articles ; and we 

 cannot but regret that there is not a large public conservatory in London, 

 in the way of market, for exposing such articles for sale, that every shop- 

 keeper might place some of them in his windows, and every householder on 

 his balconies or window sills. The air of London would thus be ren- 

 dered like that of a flower-garden, which it sometimes is, even now, in the 

 streets about the west end of the town, from the abundance of mignonette. 

 We have suggested the idea of forming such conservatory markets for plants 

 in pots, both in what are now the churchyards, and in Covent Garden 

 market; but the time is not yet come for carrying all our ideas into effect. 

 In Mr. Colville's conservatory are large specimens of Hovea Celsfi, covered 

 with their fine blue pea-flowers ; and Wistar/a Consequawa is going out of 

 flower there, and coming into flower against the end of a green-house. 

 Everyone, therefore, that wishes to have the full enjoyment of this charming 

 twining shrub, ought to have three sets of plants ; one set for forcing, one 

 for the green-house, and one for the open air. In the hot-house, Calathea 

 veratrifolia and other Orchidese axe beautifully in flower; and an artificial 

 tree, formed of the shells of cocoa nuts and moss, is covered with a great 

 many specimens of this curious family, in vigorous growth, of which there 

 is one species or another in flower every day in the year. 



T/ie Fulkam Nursery, May 11. — Thermopsis /aburnifolia, which at a 

 distance looks like a laburnum on a large scale, is here both in flower and 

 leaf in the open air ; it is worthy of a place against every wall of half-hardy 

 shrubs. A most complete collection of azaleas, planted a few years ago, 

 are now in a vigorous state. Lager stroe^mifl indica, Acacia Julibrissin, and 

 similar trees, have stood the last severe winter, as they have done upwards 

 of a dozen winters before ; and we have elsewhere noticed, on the authority 

 of Mr. Sweet, that Brunsvigm Josephinte has stood the winter in the open 

 border in front of the hot-house, without losing its leaves. There can be 

 no doubt that many exotic plants, if treated the season before so as to pro- 

 duce the perfect ripening of their wood, buds, or bulbs, would stand the 

 winter better than even indigenous articles that have been caught in a 

 growing state by the frost. In this nursery there are some fine specimens of 

 cork tree, nettle trees, purple beech, Aildntus glandulosa, and Fulham oak, 

 Quei'cus Cerris var. dentata of Sweet's Horhis Britdnnicus. This last tree 

 is of an immense size, and shows that forest trees may be grafted to advan- 

 tage in cases where the seeds are with difficulty obtained. 



Malcolm^ s Nursery, Kensington, Ajml 25. — Magnoha conspicua is here 

 nearly as finely in flower aswhen we described and figured it in April 1826- 

 (Vol. I. p. 154. and Vol. II. p. 370.) Mr. Malcolm has imported a very 

 complete collection of azaleas from the Netherlands, mules raised there 

 from seed. Gualtheria procumbens is here profusely covered with purple 

 red berries, which, it was observed by Mr. Malcolm, the birds do not eat 

 even in the most severe seasons. 



The Mary-la-bonne Nursery, April 20. — The botanic garden here, as 

 we formerly noticed, is let for building on, and Mr. Jenkins has, in conse- 

 quence, concentrated his energies. He has lately erected ranges of glass, 



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