506 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[Novestbeb 3, 138 



bright crimson on its sunny side, reminding one in 

 this respect of a well-finished Thames Bank Peach. 

 The length when well grown is 4J- inches, and 9.j 

 inches in circumference. The flavour is sweet and 

 agreeable, and it is pleasanter to my taste than the 

 musk-flavoured Williams' Bon Chretien or Souvenir 

 du Congres. As "R. D." remarks, it deserves a 

 place amongst early market kinds ; it is also a good 

 exhibition fruit, but should be planted in private 

 gardens only in limited numbers, as, like most early 

 Pears, it has but a short season. T. Coomber, Hendre 

 Gardens. 



Chancellor Peach. 

 This fine, late Peach does not appear to be grown 

 so much as it deserves to be. It comes in about the 

 same time as Barrington and Princess of Wales. 

 This year I gathered my last dishes of the latter 

 and of the former on the 15th and 17th ult., and of 

 Chancellor two days later, all the trees being on 

 south walls. It is a robust-growing and very free- 

 bearing variety. The fruit is large and of a roundish- 

 oval shape, the skin being somewhat downy, and of a 

 uniformly dark crimson next the sun ; the flesh is 

 a pale yellow, melting, very juicy, rich, and vinous, 

 H. W. Ward. 



A Few Good Pears. 



Heurrl d'Amanlis. — This fine early autumn Pear 

 should find a place in every garden. The tree is a 

 very strong grower and prolific bearer, succeeding 

 almost in any kind of soil, situation, or form, but, 

 as a matter of course, doing best in a good loamy 

 soil, and trained against a south or west wall ; it 

 also does very well as a standard. The fruit is 

 large and obovate, the skin being greenish -yellow 

 where shaded, tinged with brownish-red next the 

 sun, and liberally sprinkled with russet. Plesh 

 yellowish-white, buttery, melting, and rich. 



Doyenne Boussoch. — This is a large handsome Pear, 

 not often met with in gardens. It ripens in September 

 and October, according as the district and season are 

 warm or cold. The fruit, as already stated, is large 

 and handsome, pyriform, having a russet skin, red- 

 dish-brown next the sun. The flesh is juicy and 

 refreshing. It is a good grower and a free bearer ; 

 and, by reason of its taking appearance it is an 

 excellent exhibition Pear. 



Josephine de Malines. — Too much cannot be said 

 in praise of this very hardy, free-bearing, and 

 excellent Pear. The fruit is of medium size, per- 

 fumed, and of delicious flavour ; and it is in season 

 from February to April. It succeeds in any form 

 or situation, in ordinarily good soil, on the Quince 

 Btock. 



Vurondeau. — This is another excellent Pear, well 

 worthy of extended cultivation, on account of its 

 great fertility and hardy constitution, as much as 

 by reason of its large and handsome fruit, which is 

 of a rich russettv brown colour and delicious flavour. 

 H. W.Ward. 



BELTON PARK, GRANTHAM. 



[See Supplementary.' Sheet.] 

 This, the Lincolnshire seat of the Earl Brown- 

 low, is charmingly situated about 2J miles north- 

 east of Grantham. The mansion is a magnificent 

 stone building ; in fact, it is one of the finest in that 

 part of the country. On the north it is bounded by 

 the small but picturesque village of Belton, while to 

 the southward extends a fine park containing 

 some magnificent timber, and well stocked 

 with fallow deer. Elm, Oak, and Ash, appa- 

 rently do exceptionally well, there being some 

 of the finest specimens of these possible to see. 

 There are several approaches to the mansion ; the 

 principal one is a straight road, upwards of a mile in 

 length, leading from the south side through the 

 park. To each side of this, at a distance of about 

 50 feet, extends a magnificent avenue of Elms the 

 entire length. 



On th3 right, leading to the mansions, Lie some 

 picturesque ruins known as " The Villa," in close 



proximity to which is a fine sheet of ornamental 

 water. On the same side, but more northward, is a 

 fine tower, and some more ruins generally known as 

 Belmount. Leading to this from the mansion is a 

 fine avenue of Limes nearly a mile in length. Many 

 of the trees are a special variety, being smaller in leaf 

 than the ordinary kind, and a later and more profuse 

 bloomer, inasmuch as at the time of our visit (the 

 end of August) they were in full bloom. The other 

 side of the Park is skirted by the river Witham which 

 runs through a portion of the pleasure grounds m ar 

 to the mansion, and affords a charm which is seldom 

 obtained from artificial lakes and streams. On its 

 banks conveniences are erected, which give an 

 adequate supply of water to the establishment in the 

 driest of seasons — a most important thing in large 

 gardens. 



The Pleasure Grounds, 

 as might be expected in so fine an old place, are laid 

 out in a very choice manner. Many grand specimens 

 of Beech, Oak, Plane, and Elm stand prominently 

 about, and amongst them, and in groups, evergreens, 

 shrubs, and smaller-growing trees; thus adding to 

 the naturalness of the garden views. Several fair 

 specimens of Sequoia gigantea (Wellingtonia) were 

 noticeable, though, from some cause, this fine 

 Conifer does not grow with much luxuriance ; Cedrus 

 Deodara does better — but the chief features are Box 

 and Yew. Of the former there are many fine groups 

 and single specimens, with stems of remarkable size. 

 The walks are designed in that picturesque and 

 natural style which is characteristic of good land- 

 scape gardening. One part of the pleasure-grounds, 

 known as the " Wilderness," is so remarkably well 

 arranged that it deserves more than a passing 

 notice. Through this part the Biver Witham 

 winds, and the Box and Yew grow with 

 remarkable luxuriance. With several fine speci- 

 mens of the latter, however, a most sin- 

 gular fact occurred several winters ago, viz., the 

 severe frost killed them outright. One of them was 

 measured, and the stem at 2 feet from the ground 

 was found to be upwards of 6 feet in circumference. 

 Here also are fine clumps of Spiraia ariasfolia, and 

 not far distant are seven or eight remarkably fine 

 weeping Beeches. At this point there is a bend in 

 the river, which is here spanned by a rustic bridge, 

 whose sides are covered from the water's edge nearlv 

 to the top with Honeysuckles, Clematis Jackmanni, 

 and Tropasolum majus. The two last named were a 

 mass of bloom at the time of my visit. The plants, 

 I may mention, are grown in boxes placed on each 

 side of the bridge ; these, however, are hid by masses 

 of Periwinkle, which, when in flower, is also effective. 



The Flower Garden. 

 The principal part of this is as shown in the illus- 

 tration (see Supplement), which depicts it as seen 

 from the central steps in front of the mansion. As 

 a rule summer bedding is not extensively done, in- 

 asmuch as the spring bedding is the principal feature, 

 here. The centre bed, part of which can be seen on 

 each side of the walk, are usually planted with Crown 

 Imperials and Wallflowers, with a broad edging of 

 Pausies. The long narrow beds which run parallel 

 with the walk are generally planted with Tulips, 

 Hyacinths, &c, each colour being planted in sections, 

 and various designs carried out. This, with a ground- 

 work of Myosotis, Aubrietias, Arabis, Violas, &c, is 

 very effective. The small beds are also planted in a 

 similar manner. To give an idea of the extent to 

 which spring bedding is practised, it may be stated 

 that nearly 20,000 Pansies of various sorts are grown 

 annually, the principal kinds being Purity, The Tory, 

 Cloth o'f Gold, Blue King, and Cliveden Blue. In 

 each corner of the flower garden are some fine speci- 

 mens of Acer Negundo variegatum, two of which 

 may be seen in the illustration. 



The Houses. 

 The houses principally devoted to plant culture 

 are near to the flower garden. A fine conservatory 

 is well filled with climbing and other plants, Camel- 

 lias forming a great feature here. Ficus repens 



luxuriates on the back wall, as also does Asparagus 

 plumosus nanus. Another house is filled with healthy 

 plants of Azaleas, Camellias, and other hardy wooded 

 subjects, and a stove containing miscellaneous 

 foliaged plants and Ferns. A remarkable feature 

 here is a fine plant of Poinsettia pulcherrima 

 planted out in the border, having a stem nearly as 

 thick as a man's arm. 



Orchids, though not extensively grown, were 

 looking well, and comprised a nice collection of 

 Coelogyne cristata, Vanda tricolor, Cypripedium 

 insigne, C. barbatum, C.Lowi ; Calauthes in variety, 

 and others; and in the same house are several seed- 

 lings from Anthurium Andersonii, raised by Mr. 

 Sage, the able gardener. Close by is a house well 

 stocked with table plants, of which large numbers are 

 required, and a fine specimen of Davallia Mooreana. 

 A similar hou?e is devoted to Ferns for cutting 

 purposes. 



There are seven fruit-houses — four vineries, two 

 Peach-houses, and a Fig-house ; they are in the 

 kitchen garden, at some distance from the house. 

 The Vines looked remarkably well, and bore fine 

 crops, which, as a whole, were beautifully coloured, the 

 Hamburghs, Alicants, Lady Downe's, and Madresfield 

 Court especially. Muscats also were good, those 

 grafted on the Alicante stoekbeing, however, decidedly 

 the best. A novel feature in Grape culture (for which, 

 by the way, Mr. Sage is the recipient of a Silver 

 Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society) is to be 

 seen, and consists of fruiting canes in 7 and 8-iuch 

 pots for table decoration. Peaches and Nectarines 

 are well done, the principal varieties being BarriDg- 

 ton and Pine-apple. Figs are exceptionally good, 

 there being a fine house devoted entirely to Brown 

 Turkeys. Numerous heated pits, &c, are devoted to 

 the culture of Melons, Cucumbers, &c, and Tomatos 

 are largely grown on the extension system. A fine 

 batch of Strawberries for forcing, comprising some 

 2500 plants, was also noticeable ; likewise a healthy 

 lot of Chrysanthemums and pot Roses, which are 

 largely grown for cut flowers. An immense quantity 

 of Marie Louise, Count Brazza, and Neapolitan 

 Violets are also grown. 



The Kitchen Gardens • 

 are very extensive and divided into several walled-in 

 compartments, each upwards of an acre in extent, 

 thus there is every facility for the production of 

 good fruit and vegetables. The south walls are de- 

 voted to Peach and Apricot culture. The other 

 walls are principally devoted to Pears, Plums, and 

 Cherries ; Apples, as in most old gardens, are prin- 

 cipally well-established standards, which in some 

 seasons carry exceptionally heavy crops. This year 

 has, however, proved an exception, for, generally 

 speaking, the fruit crop, with the exception of small 

 fruits, is but indifferent. Of Apples, the principal 

 varieties fruiting this season, are Lane's Prince 

 Albert, Ecklinville, Lord Suffield, and Herefordshire 

 Pearmain, the first named being considered the best 

 all-round variety for that locality. 



Vegetables are well grown, especially Peas, Brussels 

 Sprouts, Scarlet Runners, Celery, and Asparagus — 

 this last being grown extensively for forcing, in 

 order to keep a supply from before Christmas until 

 the outdoor season commences. Another feature is 

 the extensive planting of the Rosette Colewort. 

 These are liberally planted upon south borders. The 

 foregoing will suffice to form a conception of the 

 magnitude of this old place, and the able manner in 

 which it is managed by Mr. Sage. Our illustration 

 is reproduced from a photograph by Mr. H. J. Bliss, 

 of Grantham. C. C. 



Plants and Their Culture. 



Ericas. — In garden parlance these are classed into 

 two groups, the hard and the soft-wooded respec- 

 tively, and for garden purposes this division is 

 useful, as it broadly divides the summer and the 

 winter-flowering groups ; Hyemalisand Willmoreana 

 being typical of the soft-wooded or winter-flowering 

 group, and Aitonia, Victoria, the many beautiful 

 varieties of tricolor, and ventricosa, the summer- 

 flowering groups. Between the two extremes there are 

 species which practically unite the two flower periods. 



