October 25, 1S77. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



329 



darkneBS. He seems to think that the prizes offered should have 

 been awarded to the Grapes shown, no matter in what condition 

 they were, because Golden Queen ia a new and untried Grape. 

 Surely "A Grape-Geower " must be aware that this "new 

 Grape " obtained its certificate in 1873, having then been 

 proved for three seasons at Chilwell ; that since that date it 

 has been shown, I believe, three or four times before the 

 Royal Horticultural Society's Committee ; that it was also 

 shown at Carlisle, Derby, and the Alexandra Palace, where 

 there were not prizes specially offered for its appearance — for 

 aught I know it may have been shown elsewhere, but these 

 three cases I have heard of; that this "new Grape" has 

 been in the hands of the public for the last two years, and is 

 now offered in almost every Vine-grower's catalogue. 



" A Gkape-Geowek" must, I think, admit that the Judges 

 of the Crystal Palace Show had some little experience and data 

 to go upon when they pronounced the three bunches exhibited 

 at the Palace unworthy of the prizes offered, even if Golden 

 Queen has not quite the known excellence of Black Ham- 

 burgh. That the Judges were entitled to withhold the prizes 

 I maintain, inasmuch as, having written to the Secretary of the 

 Show to allow ns to offer the prizes at the Palace, we placed 

 the matter in his hands, and of course Bubject to the rules of 

 the Show, and advertised that the prizes would be awarded by 

 the Crystal Palace Judges. 



I fear I have begun in the middle of " A Gkape-Gkower's " 

 questions, and must now note some of his earlier points. I 

 hope I have shown by what I have written that we are not 

 what your correspondent calls the holders of a new Vine, but 

 that, on the contrary, Golden Queen is a Vine which has been 

 sent out two years, and I hope I may say with an established 

 reputation. Had it been otherwise we had been simple indeed, 

 with a score or two of good bunches at home, to trust entirely 

 to chance to see it well shown at the Palace ; at any rate, its 

 being shown well or badly will not make or mar its prospects. 



As to your correspondent's last remark, of everybody's geese 

 being swans or something to that effect, I can only say my late 

 father sent out Golden Queen, and I think I may say with 

 safety that his character has been long enough before the 

 public to need no vindication from my pen. — Alfred H. Peak- 

 son, Chilwell, Notts. 



THE OLD MARKET GARDENS and NURSERIES 

 OF LONDON.— No. 13. 

 Resuming the subject of the suburb of Hammersmith I 

 remark that, being somewhat farther off than Kensington and 

 Brompton, and therefore rather beyond the influence of the 

 movement westward which has so revolutionised the suburban 

 districts in the vicinity of the Thames since 1S30, it had, as 

 much as Fulham, quite the aspect until recently of a place 

 that had made up its mind not to he swallowed by the all- 

 devouring metropolis. Now, perhaps, Falbam has retained 

 more of its rnrality, and the cause is obvious. At present 

 Fulham has escaped the noisy railway lines which, ramifying 

 across Hammersmith, have opened up new roads and called 

 into existence piles of new buildings constructed on what we 

 may term the " Hodge-razor principle " for the most part — 

 that is, built to sell or mortgage, but with slight regard for the 

 health and comfort of the ocoupants. And it may be esteemed 

 a little curious, as Hammersmith was the early head quarters 

 of the manufacture of London bricks, that much of the 

 supply went to be used elsewhere ; and up to twenty years ago 

 Hammersmith with its park- surrounded mansions, its garden 

 grounds, and open fields where cattle grazed placidly, might 

 have deemed itself the rival of the northern Hampstead or the 

 southern Norwood, though the rapid changes in Kensington 

 should, so to speak, have made Hammersmith shake on her 

 foundations. Possibly the disappearance of the Cedar, to 

 which many a visitor was attracted as he passed through the 

 suburb, may have been esteemed a bad omen. There is a 

 place called "The Cedars" in the Hammersmith Road, and 

 near_ these houses are two trees of this kind by no means 

 despicable, but they will not compare with the original Cedar, 

 the memory of which has almost vanished. This was reputed 

 to be the finest produced in Britain; at its perfection the 

 branches extended at least SO feet from the trunk, which was 

 16 feet in circumference, and the height 59 feet. It bowed to 

 the axe on September 1, 1836, yielding, it is said, 17,520 lbs. 

 of that valuable wood. There are many fine old trees about 

 Hammersmith still, chiefly Elms, Limes, and Poplars ; the 

 Oak, however, is as scarce as in most London suburbs, though 



Oak woods once flourished in this part of Middlesex, as witness 

 the not far distant "Acton," which is presumed to have been 

 originally " Oak-town." And as yet the axe and the spade 

 have left untouched Ravenscourt Park, the special delight of 

 Hammersmith folk, who can no longer boast that they observe 

 the old custom of tolling the curfew bell, though this was the 

 last of the suburban parishes to drop a usage which was 

 originated as a protection against fire. During the summer 

 season in bygone times, after the curfew, there would Btart 

 forth from the market gardens here quite a procession of men 

 and women carrying loads on their heads intent on reaching 

 Covent Garden about the day-dawn. This expensive and 

 fatiguing plan of conveyance has been superseded, of course ; 

 nor are there now, as formerly, many girls engaged at Ham- 

 mersmith who have come from their homes in Shropshire and 

 Wales for a few months' employment, to return in September. 

 Irish labourers are predominant, I think, amongst those at 

 present engaged in the market gardens, judging from the speci- 

 mens of dialect that greet the ear, nor is their urbanity at all 

 remarkable. 



The public-house signs in a neighbourhood are frequently 

 significant ; and at Hammersmith we have near the Vineyard 

 Nursery the sign of the " Haud and Flower," and at Brook 

 Green, once in the centre of market gardens, there is the sign 

 of " The Jolly Gardeners." Possibly also the " Rose and 

 Crown " may be reckoned with these, as it might have been 

 suggested by some loyal gardener. Other signs, such as the 

 "Plough and Harrow," the " Barley Mow," and the "Cock 

 and Magpie " belong to the time when there were farmers who 

 grew Wheat and bred cattle and poultry in Hammersmith. 

 How much of significance there is in names that we often 

 miss ! For instance, " Bradmore," which is attached to one 

 locality in Hammersmith, does not, to ninety-nine persons in 

 a hundred, convey any thought; yet there is reason to suppose 

 it represents " broad mere," pointing back to the time when a 

 broad mere or lake-like pond connected with the Thames was 

 situate here. Much of the land in Hammersmith must have 

 been under water in some seasons before the drainage was im- 

 proved — perfected it cannot be said to be ; but as beneath the 

 surface soil there is generally sand or gravel, except in a few 

 places where loam prevails, it has always had the credit with 

 gardeners of being one of the beBt districts near London, 

 particularly for the culture of fruit. 



Mention has been made of the establishment of the Messrs. 

 Lee, which is, as I understand, likely soon to be a thing of the 

 past in Hammersmith, for a sale has already taken place at 

 the time-honoured " Vineyard Nursery," and the business of 

 the firm will be carried on at their grounds farther out in the 

 suburbs. Hence houses will cover the spot sooner or later. 

 There may be, it is true, a " Vineyard Terrace" or a "Lee 

 Crescent," I hope there will. Farther on in the main road, 

 and before the Broadway is approached, there is another nur- 

 sery of some standing occupied by Mr. Elmes, concerning 

 which there is nothing special to record ; like its neighbour, 

 it is probably in peril from the builders. On the Bouthern 

 side of the road, and extending towards the Thames, much 

 land is under cultivation by Mr. T. Steel, whose name is a, 

 familiar one amongst gardeners at the west of London, and 

 who will, I trust, steel his heart against the tempting baits 

 speculators may offer. This is not the only district where 

 market gardens are owned by that firm. In Hammersmith, 

 however, where every effort seems to be made to get the most 

 from the land, the beauty of the scene is interfered with in 

 order to increase profit. Hence much of the orchard ground 

 has been cleared, a succession of vegetables being found more- 

 advantageous than the production of fruit, especially as the 

 securing it from depredators is troublesome when the popula- 

 tion is numerous. From the yet remaining orchards in the 

 vicinity not many Cherries and Walnuts now go to the market, 

 though Apples and Plums may. Few Pear trees were planted 

 by the early gardeners, on the supposition that these did not 

 flourish here. 



The nursery of Messrs. Colley & Hill had a frontage (a nar- 

 row one, I presume) in King Street, and the grounds extended 

 towards the Mall and overlooked the Thames. Vainly would 

 the visitor now seek for any traces of a nursery which in its 

 day sent many choice plants to public and private displays of 

 flowers. According to Faulkner the establishment at the 

 beginning of Her Majesty's reign was noted for its Auriculas, 

 Dahlias, Verbenas, Fnchsias, Cyclamens, Tulips, Azaleas, and 

 Roses, with other things unenumerated no doubt, for the 

 worthy historian was evidently not very learned in plants, or 



