~ August 1, 1878. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
87 
the pots being filled with cocoa-nut fibre refuse. Much labour 
in watering was saved, and the health of the plants was pro- 
moted by the adoption of that practice. 
Between the two primary ranges of glass a long grassed 
terrace is formed and laid out asa flower garden. The beds 
are extremely gay, and whether viewed from above or below, 
or from either end, have a very cheerful appearance ; but what 
strikes the visitor most, taking the upper terrace as a stand- 
point, is the elaborate manner in which the back walls of the 
vineries on the lower range are ornamented. Formerly un- 
sightly, they are now, after the exercise of much skill and 
‘patience, a remarkable feature of the gardens. They are 
covered with Pyracanthas (Crategus Pyracantha), but in a 
very different manner than walls are usually covered with that 
useful evergreen. The Pyracantha for about 2 feet from the 
ground is cut, forming a hedge about 6 inches in thickness ; 
above the hedge and for a height of about 4 feet branches are 
trained in the form of trelliswork ; above the living trellis- 
work growths are trained so as to describe the names of two of 
Lord Durham’s daughters, which are written most accurately 
‘and clearly in Roman capitals about 15 to 18 inches high ; 
above the names runs a finishing cornice, which completes the 
covering of the wall. On one side of the conservatory which 
divides the border is the name, if I recollect rightly, of “The 
Lady Louisa Beatrix Lambton,” and on the other “The Lady 
Eleanor Katherine Lambton.” The slender branch supporting 
each letter is kept denuded of foliage, and at a short distance 
from the wall is not perceived, which renders the arrangement 
all the more novel. The accuracy with which the work has 
been carried out, and the trimness and clearness in which it is 
kept, constitute a living record of taste and patience. The 
walls supporting the houses are also covered with Cotoneaster 
microphylla trained in small squares, and the effect produced 
is unique. On some other walls Gooseberries are trained in 
the same manner. 
Another striking feature at Lambton demands notice— 
namely, the splendid provision that the Earl of Durham has 
recently made for the comfort of those who are engaged in his 
gardens. Mr. Huater’s beautifully situated residence has been 
alluded to; it is replete with every convenience. The newly 
erected young men’s rooms are models of their kind; every 
requisite is provided for promoting health, and provision is 
also made for sickness. Every man has a carpeted bedroom, 
and there is a bathroom with “hot and cold water always 
ready.” And then there are the labourers’ cottages also new, 
and such that are seldom met with. They are artistically 
built, yet are commodious and conyenient, and the flower 
gardens in front are equal to many in gentlemen’s gardens. 
No doubt the men value highly such dwellings, and they will 
not value them the less when I tell them that such houses in 
the vicinity of London would be considered cheap at £30 
a year each. 
In this review of a fine, well-managed, and excellently kept 
garden I have forgotten much that is worthy of mention ; but 
one thing I cannot forget, and that is the genuine welcome I 
teceived and the few pleasant hours I spent with Mr. and Mrs, 
Hunter during my “evening at Lambton.”—J. WRIGHT. 
ESTIMATE OF THE VALUE OF THE APPLE CROP 
IN HEREFORDSHIRE. 
THE following extract, which attempts to give a rough 
estimate of the annual value of the Apple crop in Hereford- 
shire, is taken from the retiring address of the President, 
J. Griffith Morris, Esq., to the members of the Woolhope 
Naturalists Field Club :— 
“The study of pomology is not strictly within the range of 
natural science, and yet in a county so celebrated as is Hereford- 
shire for its Apples and the wine made from them, it is a study 
of paramount importance. The members of the Woolhope Club 
have often considered this subject, and in consequence of a 
conversation held at the Fungus Foray of 1873 the Rev. M. J. 
Berkeley sent down grafts of the most esteemed varieties of 
Apples from the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society of 
London. ‘These sorts, ninety-five in number, were distributed 
among the members of the Club and to the leading nurserymen in 
the county. In 1876 an exhibition of Apples was held under the 
auspices of the Club, and this was repeated very successfully last 
ear. 
“The value and quantity of Apples grown in Herefordshire, 
and of the cider made from them, is but very insufficiently 
appreciated. From official returns condensed in the ‘ Farmers’ 
Almanac’ of 1877, by Mr. Webb of Tunstall, it appears that about 
4 per cent. of the total acreage of Herefordshire is laid down 
in orcharding. The total area of the county is 532,898 acres, and 
therefore 21,500 acres is the extent of orcharding. With this 
basis for calculation it seems possible to arrive at a rough estimate 
of the value of the Apple crop. 
“Tn these days of cheap and rapid transit all Apples of size and 
colour meet with a ready sale for edible or culinary purposes. 
At least one-quarter of the fruit grown is now sold in this way 
and called pot fruit; the remaining three-fourths is made into 
cider, To consider first the cider fruit at’ the very low average of 
60 bushels of fruit, or three hogsheads to an acre, it will produce 
48,375 hogsheads, worth at £2 a hogshead £96,750. The pot fruit 
at sixty bushels to the acre and 3s. a bushel—a very low price— 
will be worth £48,375. It must also be remembered that pot fruit 
is grown in almost every garden, and this, if estimated at the 
same value and quantity as that grown in orchards, will yield 
£48,375, and thus we arrive at the large sum of £193,500, the 
total value of the Apples grown in the county. . 
“Tf, then, these calculations are correct the £21,500 acres of 
orcharding in Herefordshire should return, taking one year with 
another, with ordinary care more than £6 an acre, without 
reckoning the value of the underneath crop. We know that it is 
not uncommon for orchards to return £10 per acre, 
Fig. 12.—Erica Lindleyana (see page 91). 
“To this day cider is generally made, as it was centuries ago, 
by the labourers on the farm, with a minimum of care, labour, 
and superintendence. Most of the details, such as the selection, 
growth, preparation, and crushing of the fruit, seem in a theo- 
retical view to be each of them capable of improvement. Almost 
the first consideration in the culture of the Apple is the selection 
of sorts to the purpose for which they are required, whether it be 
the mill, the kitchen, or dessert. 
“With the view of aiding the grower in making a selection the 
Woolhope Club have decided on publishing a Pomona, in which 
every Apple and Pear worthy of cultivation for acknowledged 
good qualities, such as productiveness, hardiness, flayour, sweet- 
ness, &c., will be described, and its outline or coloured representa- 
tion given. Dr. Hogg, the well-known pomologist, has kindly 
offered to edit the work for our Club, and thus the accuracy and 
care with which it will be produced are amply guaranteed.” 
THE HAWKHURST HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
THE annual Show of this Society is deservedly very popular, 
and that recently held in the grounds of Lady Thompson, Fair- 
view, was as usual a complete success. The Society was originally 
formed with the creditable motive of improving cottagers in gar- 
dening generally, and the Committee deserve much credit for still 
bearing this in mind. The district includes several large parishes 
situated in a delightful and very fertile part of Kent. A visit to 
this and other similar shows in Kent and Sussex would astonish 
