21C 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 13, 1877. 



is upwards of 1000 feet in length, and a commencement has 

 been made towards covering it with glass. Behind this wall is 

 the garden stabling, and near it has existed for a long time an 

 eyesore — a blotch on the fair face of this fine park. It was a 

 corner of rubbish and a sluggish pond. The rubbish has been 

 removed, the pond is being filled up, and the ground made 

 preparatory to planting a " standard " orchard ; not an 

 orchard of standard treeB, but of dwarfs of every known sort 

 of Apples correctly named as a " standard " collection. Many 

 trees have already been planted, and they are thriving ad- 

 mirably. The same plan is projected with other fruits — 

 Pears, Plums, and Cherries. This is quite independent of the 

 fruit supply for ordinary purposes. The object is somewhat 

 of a national one, and if Mr. Jones is able to carry it out on 

 the complete scale he has projected it will be worthy of the 

 Royal garden and of the nation. 



The kitchen gardens yet remain to be noticed — necessarily 

 briefly. They are upwards of 30 acres in extent in five or six 

 walled enclosures. Originally each garden had its separate 

 fruit and name. Thus there was the Strawberry garden, the 

 Cherry garden, the Plum and Pear garden, and so on. The 

 plan is now undergoing a change, or rather the system of 

 planting. Many of the wall trees are old and decrepid, and 

 young trees have not flourished well. In the renewal the 

 borders which have supported Btone fruits, as Cherries and 

 Plums, are to be planted with Pears, and vice versa; and the 

 Strawberries are being removed — a wise arrangement, which is 

 already proving its worth. On the north sides of the walls are 

 Currants and Gooseberries for late use — full and valuable crops. 



Vegetable culture is carried out on a great scale. The system 

 resembles that adopted in the London market gardens — that is, 

 not an inch of ground is wasted, but the beet that is possible 

 is made of every crop. The soil is heavy, coBtly, and hard 

 to work; but by taking advantage of its peculiarity and the 

 "weather the supply of vegetables is maintained, and the walks 

 and quarters are kept clean and free from weeds. Down the 

 central walk are rows of dwarf trees trained as low arches. 

 They have a novel appearance, but are not profitable. A few 

 arches trained over the walk would enhance the appearance of 

 this part of the garden, and fruit would probably be produced 

 on them. 



In the management of this great garden — together with the 

 supervision of the Home Park — unremitting attention and well- 

 directed skill are requisite. Special and substantial marks of 

 recognition conferred on the chief manager afford the beBt 

 evidence that these are forthcoming, and that Mr. Jones is 

 equal to his great and arduous task. The staff of men is 

 about 150. The established departmental foremen have com- 

 fortable lodges, and every attention is paid to the welfare of all. 

 Her Majesty takes much interest in her garden, and her thought- 

 fulness and appreciation render the work of all pleasant — a 

 labour of love. — J. Weight. 



AUTUMN FLOWEE SHOWS. 



What a pity it is that many societies give horticultural ex- 

 hibitions at all! Numbers of places hold what they call 

 flower Bhows, which may be so in name, but are not so in 

 reality. There is a tentful of some sort of plants and flowers, 

 a good band, a refreshment tent, and fireworks to end up 

 with. This is the bill of fare; but supposing the flowers 

 were left out altogether, would it not be far better? They 

 are entirely secondary, or tertiary, or anything else you like 

 to call them, to the band and fireworks. 



The prizes are contemptible, and indeed so poor that no 

 one cares to Bend their plants or to cut their trees for the 

 sake of winning these. Let me take Sherborne as an instance. 

 They held their show last week, and always attract a great 

 number of people. They have a good band, and fireworks to 

 end up with ; but as to flowers, what do you suppose they offer 

 for Roses ? Why, for twenty-four trebles (open) the first 

 prize is £1, and to be allowed to compete for this valuable 

 prize, unless you subscribe, you have to pay an entrance fee of 

 2s. 6d. Then for amateurs for twelve blooms you are offered 

 10s., and have to pay 2s. 6<Z. entrance fee also. For Gladioli 

 similar amounts are offered. Now, as the bulbs cost from 5s. 

 to 7s. 6d. each, it is of course not exceedingly likely that an 

 amateur will cut his spikes and spoil Mb garden for the Bhort 

 time the Gladioli are in bloom, pay 2s. Gd. entrance fee and his 

 railway expenses, all for the chance of winning 10s. At Exeter 

 the other day I regret, and aB a member of the committee am 

 ashamed to say, that we fell to & lower depth still, offering 



7s. 6d. as the first prize for twelve Roses — this, too, by a 

 society that ODly allows subscribers of a guinea to exhibit. 

 At Dorchester, where I wai particularly requested to show, and 

 where I sent two iota of Roses, my man could not for a long 

 time even obtain a pass ticket, and it was only after much 

 deliberation and with great reluctance that one was given. 

 Mr. Corp of Oxford, who went all that way for a trumpery 

 prize, was positively refused one, and had ultimately to go to 

 the Secretary's house before he got one. Oliver Twist asking 

 for more soup did not more astonish the guardianB than did 

 the equally modest request of my man for a pass ticket at my 

 own county town. " Why, whatever shows can you have been 

 at before to expect this ?" was the question put in reply to the 

 astounding request. "Well, most places, I think ; London, 

 Crystal Palace, Torquay, Hereford, Birmingham, Exeter, Not- 

 tingham, Huntingdon, Weston, and Taunton — in fact, every- 

 where except here, and this is my first and last appearance, 

 bo let me have a pass as a farewell." " Why do you show at 

 such places?" I fancy someone may aBk. Well, when you 

 have polite letters asking you to exhibit, and you do not like 

 to refuse, and so go at a dead loss to yourself, expecting at 

 least decently civil treatment. But such, alas ! is the ex- 

 ception not the rule. 



I hope you will print this letter just as it is, for I feel sure 

 it will do me no harm, as I shall not expose myself to such 

 treatment again ; and the appearance of these remarks may, 

 perhaps, do good, by opening the eyes of the authorities of 

 local shows as to the liberality of their treatment of exhibitors. 

 — John B. M. Camm. 



STEAWBEEEIES. 



My reason for discarding Black Prince is that I do not 

 think it is worth the trouble of eating, and I certainly should 

 never put a dish of it on my table. Keens' Seedling is a good 

 hardy variety, but of no great quality, and did not succeed 

 well with me ; nor do I think I have ever lately eaten one in 

 other persons' gardens that I thought worthy to be named 

 with Sir Joseph Paxton, Lucas, or Dr. Hogg. 



If the only object of growing Strawberries is to make pre- 

 serves, well, by all means go in for quantity rather than qua- 

 lity; but Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury makes far better 

 Strawberry jam than either Black Prince or Keens' Seedling, 

 and the better the flavour of the fruit the better the quality of 

 preserve. There is as much difference between Strawberry 

 jam and Strawberry jam as there is between a pot of Green 

 Gage preserve and one made from blue Orleans Plum. How- 

 ever, tastes differ ; and if a kitchen gardener wishes to grow 

 only for preserving purposes, and thinks Black Prince and 

 Keens' Seedling will furnish the housekeeper with most pots, 

 by all means let him do so. I never said they were worthless : 

 I merely said I have discarded them, just as I am discarding 

 Sir C. Napier, Souvenir de Kieff , and others, because I do not 

 think them worth growing in my soil. I do not care, again, 

 for mere size in fruit ; there must be quality, though if com- 

 bined with Bize, and what after all is of no little importance 

 when set on the table, form and colour, it enhances the value 

 of the Strawberry. La Grosse Sucree is a beautifal Straw- 

 berry to look at, but it has not in my mind flavour enough. 

 I am sorry to see by the last number of the Journal of Horti- 

 culture, Sept. 6th, that Traveller is in some soils uncertain. 

 With me it is certainly most promising. 



I do not think, as a rule, we pay sufficient attention to the 

 quality of the leaf of the Strawberry plant, the length of foot- 

 stalk, habit of development of crown, &e. Some sorts have 

 stiff leaves or short footstalks that do not flag with the sun, 

 and are more capable of resisting red spider and dry weather ; 

 others have soft foliage and long stalks, with spreading habits, 

 and will not succeed in light dry soils, although in a rainy 

 season they may make very strong growth. Sir C. Napier is 

 one of the latter clasE — soft leaves, long footstalks, soft fruit, 

 a free bearer, but — and it is a big but — insipid, rots in wet 

 weather, burns up in dry. Dr. Hogg with me has such a 

 tendency to make runners that it hardly ever makes good 

 crownp, and it is almost impossible to keep the runners cut 

 off. It was curious this year to notice the difference between 

 six beds of six different kiods all planted at the same time 

 and treated in the same way — viz., Lucas, Sir J. Paxton, 

 President, Filbert Pine, Dr. Hogg, and Bonne Bouche. Dr. 

 Hogg has run all in a mass the laBt few weeks, and the ground 

 has been too wet to get on to it to clear the runners, and the 

 fine days too few to spare the time. President haa made 



