July 27, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



69 



upward kick, then with the sole plaister the fallen enemy on 

 the ground. If this should be thought too commonplace an 

 implement, I have used a spade; but the other, being always 

 carried about with yon, is the moBt handy. — V. 



IN AND ABOUT CHESTEE. 

 I owe it to the kindness of the Messrs. A. & P. Dickson that 

 my visit to Chester was so pleasantly employed, and that I 

 am enabled to tell the readers of the Journal something of 

 what may be seen there by those interested in horticulture ; 

 while to all who love the olden times there is no city in Eng- 

 land which presents so much of real interest as it does. Its 

 quaint old houses, its unique " rows," its old walls, its vene- 

 rable remains, all tend to make it a city per se. One may sit 

 on its walls and muse on the time when the legions of mighty 

 Rome were encamped here and executed works which remain 

 until now, or of the times of those Saxon conquerors who like 

 the rider in the old fable from being helpers became masters, 

 or of those days when these quaint rows were built, and people 

 them with characters which many an old story book has made 

 us familiar with. But we must not dream of the past but 

 think of the present ; and here we are now in a part which 

 tells something of the difference between the olden and modern 

 times, for though the Roman legions made fountains and 

 erected altars to the nymphs of the woods, and built temples 

 and aqueducts, we do not hear of their making parks or laying 

 out grounds for the recreation of the citizens. But now in 



GKOSVENOR PARK 



one may see a proof of the different tastes of these days, and 

 also of the liberality of that noble house which has been so 

 identified with the city of Chester, and of whose princely place 

 — Eaton Hall, something has been Eaid. 



This Park was presented to the city of Chester in the year 

 1867 by the Marquis of Westminster, father of the present 

 Duke. It is beautifully situated on the banks of the Dee, and 

 from it can be seen the castellated ruins at BeeBton and a wide 

 extent of country. There are two main walks about 15 feet 

 wide, one of which is planted with CupresBUS Lawsonii and 

 Juniperus chinensis, the other with fine specimens of tho 

 Broad-leaved Holly. The quarry from whence the stones were 

 taken for the boundary wall has been turned into a rock garden , 

 and with a well in the centre. There are various clumps of 

 ornamental trees. The whole was laid out by Mr. Kemp, and 

 the planting executed by Messrs. A. & P. Dickeon ; while not 

 only did the Marquis of Westminster give the Park but endowed 

 it with £200 a-year for its proper maintenance. 



Florist though I am, the most natural style of gardening has 

 a great attraction for me, and alpine and herbaceous plants 

 will always give me a treat whioh no bedding-out ever does. 

 When therefore I heard that there was a rock garden in the 

 neighbourhood, although my informant could tell me nothing 

 as to its present condition, I was glad to have the opportunity 

 of seeing it. 



HOOLE PLACE 

 was formerly the residence of Lady Broughton, by whom the 

 rock garden was formed, and under whom I believe it was well 

 arranged and kept. Sir John Broughton was known well in 

 the neighbourhood of London some years ago as an exhibitor 

 of Azaleas, &o. ; Broughtoni was named after him. It at 

 present belongs to Mrs. Hamilton, who manifestly has net the 

 taste of her predecessor. The garden was evidently formed to 

 imitate an alpine valley surrounded by hills ; the rockwork 

 being, I should suppose, some 20 feet high and built of a very 

 peculiar and picturesque stone from Gresford, a Bort of con- 

 glomerate of wood and lime, and'I can imagine no better matrix 

 for the numerous lovely alpine plants which have been intro- 

 duced of late years. But alas ! if one wanted to know how 

 not to do it here is a fair example. The whole place is overrun 

 with Erinus alpinus (very pretty, but here it was overdone), 

 Saponaria oeymoides, Cerastium, &c, while Tew trees clipped 

 into formal shapes were planted at various elevations, and 

 bedding Geraniums, See., introduced amongst them. Then the 

 lawn, which might have been made, and I think very likely 

 was made, to represent an alpine valley, is now laid out in 

 formal beds planted with Roses and bedding plants. Had there 

 been simply a lawn to imitate an alpine meadow, and a small 

 stream of water been arranged to run through it, as I think 

 could have been done, the whole would have worn a very 

 different aspect. Amongst the Ferns, which I found doing 

 very well here in the open, was Adiantum pedatum. There 

 was in one form or another a good bit of glass about the place, 



and in the houses were some plants which one does notalways 

 see now-a-days. Some fine plants of that pretty annual Schi- 

 zanthus Priestii were just going out of bloom. The gardener 

 said that he sowed the seed in September, and kept the plants 

 in cold pits until the frost set in, when they are removed to 

 the greenhouse and flower all through the winter. They are 

 graceful! and elegant, and answer admirably as cut flowers. 

 The gardener also spoke of Chrysanthemum Dunnetii as useful 

 for the same purpose. 

 Exactly opposite to Hoole Place is 



HOOLE HALL, THE EESIDENCE OF A. POTTS, Esq. 



Very different indeed in character, where gardening] in 

 nearly every branch is carried out, from stove and greenhouse 

 plants to even a collection of Auriculas. The houEe is a large, 

 commodious, and square building with a conservatory attached. 

 In this was a large plant of Dicksonia, Lapageria'jalba, Musa 

 Ensete in fine condition, the old and beautiful Plumbago 

 capensis, and a fine plant of Tacsonia Vau-Volxemi hanging 

 from tho roof with its beautiful crimson parachutes. The 

 back wall of a conservatory is never a very sightly aspect, but 

 here it is made very pretty : an artificial rockwork had beeri 

 placed against it, and in its recesses and nooks had been 

 planted Adiantums and other Ferns. The gardens were ex- 

 tensive, and, as I have said, of a very varied character, and 

 alterations are being made which after a little time will add to 

 their appearance. Roses came in for their share of attention, 

 having a place devoted to them, while the fact that there was 

 a collection of Auriculas had whetted my curiosity. But, 

 alas ! like the rockery at Hoole Place, it was a disappointment. 

 I found the numbers to be small and the kinds few, and 

 thoso not in the best condition. They were grown in large 

 pots, the old "mugs" of the Lancashire growers, 'and they 

 were placed in a very hot situation under a north wall. As a 

 rule a northern aspect in summer is what they want, but they 

 had-here all the afternoon sun, while the reflection from thewall 

 slate further increased the heat and dryness, and they seemed 

 to me to be in an evil case. I have a difficulty myself in finding 

 shelter for my collection in the summer months, but do 

 manage it under a hedge, which I believe to be far preferable 

 to a wall, the greater coolness and airiness of the situation 

 being in their favour. Bedding-out was just beginning, and, 

 like every other place this year, was backward. The neighbour- 

 hood of Chester had suffered very much from drought and 

 cold winds this spring, the genial rains with which we had 

 been favoured in the south not having apparently at this time 

 reached them. 



It did not strike me from what I saw and heard that garden- 

 ing in the neighbourhood of Chester is in a very flourishing 

 condition. I should have expected to have heard of much 

 more than I did, specially where such firms as those of the 

 Mes'Brs. Dickson are there to show people how things ought to 

 be done ; and I am the more confirmed in this by observing 

 that according to Hogg's "Horticultural Directory," there is 

 no horticultural society in the town and neighbourhood. I 

 believe that this is a pretty sure index of a languishing con- 

 dition of gardening taste. Why it should be so it is not for 

 me to say. There are public-spirited people there ; there is a 

 resident nobleman whoBe hand is ever ready to help forward 

 anything that tends to benefit his fellow men ; and there is a 

 populous neighbourhood from whence to draw the company 

 by which a flower show is made to pay. It may be that this 

 may meet the eye of some of the readers of " our Journal " in 

 Chester, and if so it may stir them up to do something in the 

 cause we all have at heart ; and my own somewhat extended 

 experience goes far to prove that where there is no flower show 

 it is becaase the taste for flowers is at a low ebb, and that when 

 once a society is started it soon fosters a taste. — D.,Deal. 



MES. PEAESON GEAPE. 



Mb. Douglas in his lucid description of Mr. Pearson's Nurse- 

 ries, Chilwell, on page 28, mentioned the new Grape Mrs. 

 Pearson. As I had the opportunity of tasting this Grape in 

 February last I am of opinion that it will eventually prove the 

 best-flavoured late white Grape in cultivation. 



I believe Mrs. Pearson is the result of a cross between the 

 true Alicante and Ferdinand de Lessepe, though I am not sura 

 as to the latter. In appearance it is exactly like an Alicante — 

 namely, compact bunches and good-sized berries, set freely on 

 stout short footstalks. In flavour it much resembles Ferdinand 

 de Lesseps, but with a stronger Muscat flavour, like a thoroughly 



