December 27, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



495 



to improve the time-honoured character of the richly wooded 

 parks which they have inherited. No previous Lacy or 

 Scndamore or Stanhope have discharged their duty of tree- 

 planting and preserving more conscientiously than has Sir 

 Henry Seudamore Stanhope of the Victorian era. Not in 

 belts, and group?, and groves of deciduous trees only is his 

 work represented, but the splendid Conifers — Wellingtonias, 

 Deodars, &a. — which are interspersed with the grand old 

 baronial trees are living memorials of the present baronet's 

 innate love of trees, and his taste in grouping them effectively. 

 It is sufficient to mention one of Sir Henry's tenets on tree- 

 planting to satisfy that Holme Laoy's arboreal fame cannot be 

 impaired while in his keeping. It is this — that every owner of 

 property, such as parks and grounds wherein trees are a chief 

 and natural feature, should plant hardy trees which are intro- 

 duced to the commerce of this country during the term of his 

 possession. Fortuately the home-loving, tree-loving, Nature- 

 loving owner of this fine Herefordshire seat became impressed 

 with that excellent idea in early life, and even before he at- 

 tained his majority, now many years ago, he had permission 

 to carry it out. Hence he sought out what trees were wanted 

 to render the collection complete, and these he planted in well- 

 chosen positions. The trees were chiefly Conifers, many of 

 which are now noble specimens. Some are in conipicuoue 

 positions and planted singly, others are in groups and groves 

 partly hidden by the larger trees and which come upon the 

 visitor as apleasant surprise. Indeed this is aparkof surprises, 

 of varied, bold, and romantic scenery. In one part a bold bluff 

 surmounted with Pines commands admiration ; in another a 

 deep dell carpeted with Mosses, Perns, and shaded by foreBt 

 giants, compels a sndden pause for appreciation. Now we are 

 in one of Nature's retreats with vegetation rampant, and from 

 the quietude of which the deer, and the hare, and the pheasant 

 are startled by the intrusion of man ; again we emerge and are 

 in an open plain overlooking the tops of the trees to the spires 

 and the hills beyond. Such is the nature of this cherished 

 park where grand old timber trees of this and thriving Conifers 

 from other countries blend and beautify. All the trees planted 

 by Sir Henry are duly registered ; their height beiDg entered, 

 time of planting, and any other point of import connected with 

 thorn. As an instance of their growth we note a Wellingtonia 

 planted when about 6 inches high in 1855, and in 1875 or 

 twenty years afterwards it was 37 feet 6 inches high, 6 feet 

 6 inches in girth at 3 feet from the ground , and 9 feet 9§ inches 

 at the ground line. Cedrus Deodara, Pinuses Cembra, Bentha- 

 miana, excelsa, and others ; also Picea Pinsapo have grown in 

 the same satisfactory manner. 



This unique park as viewed from the mansion down the glade 

 (which is shown in the engraving) is highly imposing and singu- 

 larly ornamental. This glade, it can only be said now, is a 

 portion of the Dutch garden. The terraced avenue masked 

 with Yews is 45 yards wide and 100 yards long. The mode of 

 Excavation that has been adopted renders the water in the valley 

 visible from the windows of the mansion. More particular 

 notice of the dressed grounds, topiary work, ancient and 

 modern flower gardeos, old orchards and youDg diagonal cor- 

 dons, with a reference to an old Pear tree — a travelling tree — a 

 marvellous and abnormal specimen which has "travelled" over 

 an acre of ground, must be deferred. — J. Weight. 



VINE BOBDEF.S. 



Much sound advice has been lately given in these columns 

 by "A Kitchen Gaedenee" on the above subject, but at the 

 same time there are some statements which I cannot allow to 

 pass unchallenged. 



In the Journal for October 11th " A Kitchen Gardenee" 

 evidently proves to his own satisfaction that inside borders 

 are all a mistake ; but to my mind he proves something entirely 

 different — namely, that all the inside borders which have come 

 under his observation have been badly managed. On page 

 281 I read — " We will go no further than this Beason for a 

 comparison between the two. Look at Vines now with their 

 roots wholly inside and the fruit hanging on the rods. With 

 the idea of improving the flavour of the fruit the border is 

 kept nearly dust-dry." By whom? I would ask. " Many of 

 the leaves are changing colour," he continues ; " but not the 

 colour of slow maturity; they appear as if shrivelled and 

 scorched. Can this be otherwise than injurious to the future 

 well-being of the Vines ?" Of course not. It is the descrip- 

 tion of Vines under decidedly bad management. If I were to 

 place a bird in a cage and allow it to dwindle from semi- 



starvation it would not prove that a bird could not be kept in 

 good condition in a cage. I need not follow " A Kitchen 

 Gaedenee" further in this article, because all his reasoning 

 only proves what I have endeavoured to point out repeatedly — 

 that inside borders, as a rule, do not have a tenth part of 

 the requisite quantity of water ; but I was not aware till I 

 read "A Kitchen Gardener's" article that there were in 

 these enlightened days any quite so badly managed as are 

 therein described. 



As a proof that Vines are not always deficient in vigour 

 when their rootB are confined to the inside of the house, I may 

 be allowed to refer to the engraving from a photograph in the 

 Journal for December 21st last year. Not only are the roots 

 of the Vines there shown confined to the inside of the house, 

 but till within a fortnight ago they were restricted by means 

 of bricks and concrete to a space of about 15 feet by 7 for each 

 Vine, and 2 feet 9 inches deep. I cannot from actual experi- 

 ence positively contradict "A Kitchen Gaedenee" when he 

 sayB that "Vines will succeed much better through all their 

 existence when their roots are outside than in," because it is 

 not yet nine years since the eyes were inserted to raise the 

 Vines shown in the engraving, and the range of which this 

 is a portion contains the only instance of permanent inside 

 Vine borders which have been under myown exclusive manage- 

 ment ; but I can assure "A Kitchen Gaedenee" that the 

 Vines show no sign of debility at present ; on the contrary, 

 they, as well as the fruit they bear, improve every season. 

 Four Vines (Muscat?), one at each corner, now completely fill 

 the compartment, which is 80 feet by 30. 



My advice as regards the situation of Vine borders would 

 depend on the means at command, the skill of those in charge, 

 and the result expected. If tolerably good Grapes of the 

 Hamburgh class only were wanted from August to November 

 with the leant amount of labour, I have nothing to say against 

 the borders being entirely outBide; but if very superior fruit 

 is required of Musoats or other Grapes which take a long 

 season to ripen, then an inside border has many advantages', 

 provided those in charge thoroughly understand it. Inside 

 borders are also the best for forcing any kind of Grape. On 

 the other hand, an unskilful man is more likely to meet with 

 a fair amount of success if his borders are outside, because 

 Nature will then do her best to make up all deficiencies. 



I will now pa»s on to the Journal for November 29th, where 

 I notice " A Kitchen Gaedenee " recommends the most ex- 

 traordinary mixture for making Vine borders that I have ever 

 heard of, and I doubt very much if either he or anybody else 

 could grow Grapes in it. I have waited some time before 

 noticing it, thinking posBibly there might have been some 

 printer's or other mistake which would have been corrected 

 the first opportunity, but no correction has appeared at present 



to my knowledge. It reads, " The prinoipal compost 



consists of moderately heavy loam with one-third decayed cow 

 dung, the same of wood aBhes, and about one bushel of smashed 

 bones to every cartload of the whole." Does "A Kitchen 

 Gaedenee" seriously mean to advise equal parts of loam, 

 cow dung, and wood ashes, or do I misunderstand him? My 

 compost consists merely of loam with just a sprinkling of half- 

 inch bones, perhaps about a buBhel to fifteen cartloads. I£ 

 the soil were likely to bind I would mix charcoal with it, which 

 we make ourBelves, and which is decidedly preferable to wood 

 ashes. 



The inside border, being completely under command, will 

 bear to be much heavier and closer than an outside one. — ■ 

 William Taylor. 



OUR BORDER FLOWERS— POPPYWORTS. 



Bocconia cobdata or Tree Celandine iB said to have been intro- 

 duced to our gardens in 1795 from China. It is figured in the 

 "Botanical Magazine," and was named in memory of Paolo 

 Boccone, M.D., a Sicilian. How a plant with such attractive 

 properties »nd stately appearance haB so long remained in 

 the background I am not prepared to say. Now that plants 

 are so much sought after for decorative purposes the Bocconia 

 under notice iB worthy of extensive cultivation. Those who 

 are searching for hardy plants to produce effect in large open 

 spaces in shrubberies or in borders, and as single specimens 

 in ornamental grounds where plantB of striking character 

 are required here and there, will find in Bocconia cordata a. 

 fine acquisition. It grows freely in a mixture of good loam 

 and sandy peat in equal quantities, a little leaf soil, and 

 well-decayed vegetable matter. It is a strong-growing plant, 



