September 6, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



193 



climate, though we have many other first-rate sorts that I haye 

 noticed succeed well in more favoured localities. Of Tea Rosea 

 we have only a limited number as yet, and I have not tried them 

 sufficiently to speak with confidence as to their capabilities for 

 standing high elevations. The cultivation I adopt for Roses is 

 the same as "A Retired Gardener" recommends in the 

 vegetable garden — namely, a plentiful supply of manure both 

 in the solid and liquid form, and their healthy appearance 

 ■tells me as plainly as words how much they like it. 



1 wish I could say the same as regards Pierre Notting being 

 a good autumn bloomer as the " Wyld Savage " does. With 

 me it positively refuses to open, owing, I suppose, to the 

 ■continued rain which we have had almOBt daily. — An English- 

 aiiN in Wales. 



CARLISLE. 



" How fair, amid the depth of slimmer green, 

 Spread forth toy walls, Carlisle 1 thy eastled heights, 

 Abrupt and lofty ; thy Cathedral tower 

 Majestic and alone ; thy beauteous bridge 

 Spanning the Eden, where the angler sits 

 Patient so long, and mark the browsing sheep 

 Like sprinkled snow amid the verdant vales." 



Carlisle, says the author of Arthur's " Guide " to that city, 

 is one of the oldest, and at the same time one of the newest, 

 of cities. Its foundations Bpeak of Roman conquest and 

 Roman civilisation and refinement. Its chief buildings are 

 monuments of mediaeval art. The greater number of its 

 iionses, its churches, and its chapels have been erected within 

 living memory. It has a population of more than thirty thou- 

 sand inhabitants. It is the border city on the great trunk 

 'line of rail which has the metropolis of a kingdom at either 

 end. It is encompassed by three rivers — the Eden, the Caldew, 

 and the Petteril — and it has, therefore, been aptly called " the 

 ■City of the Water." The scenic beauty unfolded from its 

 heights can hardly be surpassed in extent, variety, and 

 •grandeur. Built upon a hill which its walls once enclosed, but 

 which would now shut-out its most populous suburbs, it com- 

 mands a prospect only limited by the lofty mountain chain 

 that encircles the great basin in which Cumberland lies. From 

 the summit of the Cathedral, or from the tower of the Castle, 

 the eye sweeps without interruption a vast landscape — rich in 

 wood and water and fertile valleys — over which the light and 

 •the shadow alternate, and the seasons spread their variegated 

 hues. Southward, over these sunny fields and dark woodlands 

 the majestic Skiddaw rearB his noble creBt, and Helvellyn his 

 wedgelike peak radiant with the first and last rays of the sun. 

 Saddleback and the lesser hills link the apparently unbroken 

 chain with Crossfell and the eastern range ; while further to 

 the left the Northumberland fells bound the horizon. Then 

 come the uplands by Bewcastle and the border, and the 

 -pastoral Cheviots, " Scotia's southern bound." Away round 

 to the west, the magnificent belt is terminated by Criffel, 

 standing in solmn grandeur above the Solway. 



" 'Tie a prospect fair — of river, wood, hill, and vale, 

 Ab ever eye could wish for." 



A few notable places (horticulturally) surrounding the city 

 Jiave been mentioned, and more extended notes of two of the 

 chief nurseries may appropriately be published. 



THE KNOWEFLELD NTJESEBIES. 



These nursery grounds, which belong to Mr. Baxter Smith 

 and Mr. James Watt, the partners of the old-established firm 

 of Little & Ballantyne, occupy 130 acres, have been most 

 happily chosen for Bituation, quality, and variety of soils. The 

 Bite is directly north of the " merry city," on an open and 

 elevated situation. Fewer hedges are seen here than in most 

 nurseries, which is considered a great advantage to hardy trees 

 ■and shrubs, particularly in reference to late spring frosts. The 

 young wood is also much stiffer and better matured, and is 

 preferred both for home and foreign trade. The grounds are 

 within ten minutes' drive of the central station, and well repay 

 a visit. The carriage entrance is very beautiful, and the 

 borders, for above a quarter of a mile in length, are planted 

 near the margin with a choice collection of ornamental ever- 

 green shrubs, Conifers, Rhododendrons, Hollies, &c, backed- 

 np with fine specimens of weeping and other trees suitable for 

 immediate effect. The broad belts forming the background to 

 -these borders furnish great variety both of form and habit, 

 and some striking yet pleasing combinations, as, for instance, 

 when the golden and black-leaved Oaks are planted side by 

 aide and backed-up with the Silver Poplar, or when the Lime 

 dn one or other of its forms is grouped with contrasting forms, 



like the Oak, the Mountain Elm, the Aspen, the Ash, or the 

 Plane. Specimens of all sizes, from 3 feet to 20 feet or more, 

 of the greater number of hardy ornamental trees are planted- 

 out here, in order to give some idea of the effect which the 

 same kind of tree produces in different stages of growth, and 

 in different combinations with other kinds — considerations of 

 some importance, which are too apt to be overlooked in making 

 arrangements for permanent plantations. Among shrubs the 

 following are especially worthy of notice — viz., Berberis vul- 

 garis atro-purpurea, the dark purple-leaved Barberry; B. ste- 

 nophylla, a hybrid between B. Darwinii and B. empetrifolia, 

 possessing the flowers of the former with a habit and hardi- 

 ness superior to it. Azaleas of the Pontica and Ghent sections 

 exist here in great variety, as do also Rhododendrons, Heath3, 

 Hollies, Gaultheriaa, Andromedas, Kilmias, Sedums, and 

 Spiraeas, among which latter S. Fortunei, a very dwarf white- 

 flowered sort, is one of the best. 



At the top of the Avenue, on the right, is the pinetum, in 

 which specimens of all the really hardy Conifers) at present in 

 cultivation are gathered together. The situation chosen for 

 testing these important classes of trees is one of the best that 

 could be found for the purpose, being high and fully exposed 

 to all the points of the compass ; bo that if any sort is found 

 tender here, it cannot with confidence be recommended for 

 any colder locality or situation. The collection embraces all 

 that is worth growing among the really hardy kinds, while 

 those that are found fit only for the most favoured localities 

 find the necessary shelter and protection in pits and in closely 

 hedged quarters. The most remarkable for robust health and 

 fine form in the pinetum are Piceas lasiocarpa, magmfica, 

 ParsonBi, nobilis, and grandis ; Pinna Murrayana, ponderosa, 

 and Jeffreyii ; Cryptomeria elegans and Lobbii, Balfourii, &c. ; 

 Wellingtonia gigantea, and its variety pendula — a handsome 

 form of the Mammoth Tree, which originated in this establish- 

 ment a few years ago. It is a striking variation from the style 

 of the ordinary form of the Wellingtonia, the branches and 

 branchlets being quite pendulous, and consequently more 

 graceful than the massive yet elegant original, and will be 

 sent out by this firm for the first time in the autumn. 



Turning from the pinetum to the left the main block of 

 houses forma the background to the view in that direction, 

 and the foreground consists of a flower garden in grass, sur- 

 rounded on three sides by borders of ornamental shrubs. In 

 borders in the neighbourhood of the flower garden is a col- 

 lection of Hollies in all the most popular and effective varieties. 



In ono of the borders near the house stands the original 

 tree of the Knowefield Tricolor Beech. This is a new form of 

 Purple Beech, the leaves of which are boldly margined with 

 silver, and strikingly flamed and pencilled with brilliant 

 crimeon on a dark coppery ground colour. Near by stands 

 the original of another Koowefield production, the black-leaved 

 Oak, the beat of all the dark-leaved Oaks, which, though well 

 known to connoisseurs of hardy ornamental trees, is by no 

 means so generally known as it deserves to be among those 

 who have most to do with plantations practically. 



As regards the plant houses, they are admirably arranged 

 and well adapted for the purpose of plant-growing, and are 

 stooked as one would expect to see a well-appointed nursery with 

 classes of plants in most demand. There are about 500 feet of 

 glass, with innumerable pits or cold frames, covering altogether 

 nearly an acre of ground. 



Roses are a decided speciality of this establishment — a fact 

 that strikes the visitor forcibly when he finds himself in the 

 midst of the wide-stretching quarters devoted to their culture. 

 Some idea of the importance and extent of this department 

 may be gathered when it is stated that upwards of fifty thou- 

 sand standard and dwarf Roses are grown annually, to meet 

 the ordinary demands of customers in this country and in 

 America. 



Fruit trees, too, are grown very extensively, from eight to 

 ten acres being devoted to their culture ; and the general nur- 

 sery 3toek of transplanted and seedling forest trees and shrubs 

 is also very varied and complete. 



Forest trees are also a great speciality of this nursery, which 

 is simply a plant factory, turning out every season immense 

 quantities which are sent all over the kingdom. 



The seed department is conducted at present in English 

 Street and Blackfriars Street, where the firm has for nearly 

 half a century carried on that branch ; but increasing con- 

 nection has necessitated their moving to larger premises, and 

 there is now in course of construction a handsome block 

 situated in the most prominent part of the city, to which they 



