Retrospective Criticism. 51 



charged me about six years ago ; but it hap])ens that I, of my own accord, 

 left him, because I could neither obtain wages for myself, nor the means of 

 carrying on the concern : and, indeed, I was obliged to threaten him with an 

 appeal to the laws, before I could obtain the balance due to me. I will not waste 

 more time on the affidavits of four men (who are, of course, in a great degree, 

 at the mercy of Mr. Calvert), than to inform you that (as far as my recollection 

 serves me) two of them, Vincent and Mallet, can neither read nor write; the 

 other two I know not. I certainly' did call in Mallet, who worked some 

 years under me, and whom I always found a very obliging man. He was 

 passing the door of the cafe in which 1 was; and I did not think it any great 

 crime to bestow on him a glass of eau de vie. I can tell Mr. Calvert, for his 

 own private satisfaction, that I did see through his nursery in April last ; and 

 it would not be difficult for me to inform him with whom : but I should be 

 sorry to expose any one of his poor workmen to the tender mercies of such a 

 master. To bring forward as evidence the statements of newspapers, which 

 doubtless he had promised to pay for puffing his nursery, is too gross an insult 

 to the understandings of your readers to require any comment from me. I 

 have not the pleasure of knowing Mr. John Salter of Shepherd's Bush, nor 

 was I even aware that such a gentleman was in existence; but, admitting that 

 his evidence is correct, namely, that the dahlias at Trianon were the best that 

 he (Mr. Salter) had ever seen, I do not consider that as any proof of their 

 beauty : and Mr. Salter, either not knowing (as I should suppose), or not 

 having seen, any of the other beauties or rarities in the Trianon Nursery, has 

 wisely refrained from venturing upon the hard names of any other plant except 

 the dahlias, of which a tolerably good collection may now be seen in almost 

 every garden in the three kingdoms. In conclusion, I will merely remark, 

 that, had I been aware that the feelings of Mr. Calvert were so tender on the 

 subject of his nursery, I should certainly have left him and the Trianon to 

 that oblivion which they so justly merit. — W. Garvie. Clapton Nursery, 

 Nov. 24. 1834. 



Mr. Gilpin's Hi?its, Sfc. — In your review of Mr. Gilpin's work (VIII. 

 701.), I perfectly agree with you that a want of information respecting the 

 trees and shrubs essential, in these times, to form interesting masses, is appa- 

 rent. Knowing Mr. Gilpin, and having carried his designs into effect, on an 

 extensive scale, I cannot but here draw your attention to a passage in Mr. 

 Smith's article (X. 325.), where he attempts to criticise, not only Mr. Gilpin, 

 but even you, who have so highly approved of Mr. Gilpin's hints as to state, 

 " we know not that there is a single hint, as far as these hints go, to which 

 we would object ; " and, instead of condemning the indentations which give 

 interest and variety to the groups, as being " laboriously twisted and turned 

 about," you observe, " we entirely sympathise with the author in his defence 

 of the irregular outlines of plantations," &c. During the past summer, I 

 have had opportunities of witnessing, in different parts of England and Scot- 

 land, the exercise of Mr. Gilpin's abilities ; which, in every instance, was in 

 conformity with the principles which his book so successfully developes, and 

 which you so highly commend. Such observations as that of Mr. Smith, 

 above alluded to, have a tendency to bring contempt and ridicule on pro- 

 fessional men, and on all books illustrative of their principles. My opinion 

 is, that such crude remarks ought not to pass unnoticed. — R. Glendinning, 

 Gardener to Lord Rolle. Bicton Gardens, near Exeter, Nov. 12. 1834. 



Giving Air to Hotbed Frames. (X. 423.) — Mr. Garvie, in his very interest- 

 ing tour, takes notice of a mode of giving air by means of an iron rod attached 

 to each light. In the garden of Mr. Macdonald, at St. Martin's, in Perth- 

 shire, the outward opening ventilators in the front parapet of his vineries are 

 opened and shut by bent iron rods jointed to the inside of the ventilators, and 

 to projecting arms which are fastened to an iron rod that goes the whole 

 length of the parapet; and are provided at one end with a segment of a cog- 

 wheel acted on by a small pinion, provided with a handle that takes off" at 

 pleasure. By turning this handle, you open or shut the whole, at once; and 



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