JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 5, 1864. 



''ion under glass (and I can bear witness to how well they 

 do under glassy in unheated orchard-houses in the north), 

 expresses his regret at the " rather low idea of the capabili- 

 ties of the gardeners in the neighbourhood of Bradford," 

 which, he says, has been given by me, and this in conse- 

 quence of my having given an account of the failure of 

 Peaches and Nectarines in orchard-houses in that locality. 

 He says that the gardeners there " ought to be able to con- 

 quer all the difficulties of the position." They, let me tell 

 him, are qualified to do so ; but it will be by heating their 

 orchard-houses, if they mean to have Peaches and Nec- 

 tarines with certainty, and not in unheated structures. They 

 have grown as good fruit as ever was eaten, but they have 

 received little aid from orchard-houses, except in the matter 

 of Cherries, Plums, Pears, and Apples. Unheated orchard- 

 houses answer well for these, as I stated on former occasions. 



Mr. Thomson may deserve great credit for growing 

 Grapes, and having them ripe in January, but I believe he 

 was not the first to accomplish the feat of having ripe new 

 Grapes on the 1st of January ; for, some twelve years ago, 

 Mr. Watson, gardener at Kibstone Hall, Knaresborough, 

 Yorkshire, at that time had some nice ripe Grapes, when I 

 called there early in January, growing in a Piue-stove, 

 specimens of which were exhibited at one of the Horticul- 

 tural Society's meetings in January, and duly reported in 

 the " Transactions " of that Society. At Harewood House, 

 the residence of the Earl of Harewood, I believe Grapes were 

 produced by Mr. Fowler on New-year's Day before Mr. 

 Thomson accomplished the feat at Dalkeith. As for the 

 ripening of Grapes in January teaching us to " look doubt- 

 fully on our present laws of vegetable physiology," as far as 

 regards the influence of light ripening fruit, I must refer 

 Mr. Rivers to the exhibiting of old Grapes versus new in 

 January, 1863, the former being contributed by Mr. Tillery, 

 Welbeek, and the latter by Mr. Thomson, Dalkeith, with a 

 view of deciding on the relative merits of old over new 

 Grapes. The old, ripening with more " light and sun heat," 

 were unanimously pronounced the best in point of flavour ; 

 whilst the new were the freshest, and consequently most 

 attractive in appearance, and as such were preferable to old 

 Grapes. It was said that Mr. Thomson's Grapes were not 

 so "well coloured nor so well flavoured" as they were from 

 the same Vines in the January preceding, which was attri- 

 buted to the prevalence of cloudy weather whilst the Grapes 

 were ripening. New Grapes, then, ripened in January, were 

 not equal in flavour to those ripened at a period when the 

 sun's light and heat were more powerful. 



In reference to my visiting either of the places named by 

 Mr. Rivers, I do not see the necessity for going to either 

 Nottingham or Liverpool to see what I every day see on my 

 present employer's garden walls and espaliers. If Mr. 

 Rivers be at all desirous of testing the capabilities of York- 

 shire gardeners, he has nothing to do but send some of his 

 very best orchard-house fruit to any of the York, Leeds, or 

 Bradford Shows, and they will teach him to have anything 

 but a "low idea" of them in future. — Geokge Abbey. 



|_We consider this a very unprofitable discussion. "We 

 have eaten Peaches and Nectarines ripened under glass 

 nearly as fine, nearly as luscious, and nearly as high-flavoured 

 as the best ever grown against a wall. Grant that they 

 always are more or less inferior — what then? They are 

 grown under glass for earliness and certainty. As to less 

 light being received by fruit under glass than when grown 

 in the open air — granted ; but what then ? Eruit trees are 

 grown under glass for the purpose of retaining heat to them. 

 As to Peaches not being ripened in an orchard-house at 

 Bradford, we are quite sure that Mr. Abbey only states 

 what he knows ; but the fact only proves that there must be 

 something peculiarly unfavourable in the situation of that 

 town, for it is certain that Peaches are so ripened in many 

 places much further northward.] 



SKELETONISING LEAVES AND SEED 



VESSELS. 



Pot the specimens in rain water, in which they must 



remain till decomposition takes place, so that they may be 



freed from the pulpy matter, and after macerating in clear 



spring water dry them between sheets of blotting paper, 



then bleach them in diluted chloride of lime sufficiently 

 strong to burn the tongue. When whitened, to be washed 

 again in clean water, and dried by sun or fire. Take care 

 not to allow the destructive process to be carried on too 

 long, or it will injure the fibres, nor must they remain too 

 long in the chloride. They may be cleansed, if leaves with 

 strong fibres, with a softish nail brush, or pricked out with 

 a pin, when the pulpy matter adheres too strongly to be 

 removed with water. Some leaves takes months to de- 

 compose. No two years are alike as to the time of gather- 

 ing, or time required for the process. If obliged to be taken 

 out of water during the process, for travelling, &c, the leaves 

 must not be allowed to dry, but be kept folded in a damp 

 towel. The softer the water the better. You must not 

 bleach the leaves directly, but wait till you have a quantity 

 to whiten. 



Leaves. — Ivy, Magnolia, Pear, Apple, Butcher's Broom, 

 Andromeda, Tulips, India-rubber, Sycamore, Holly, Aspen, 

 Poplar, Apricot, Lemon, Orange, Box, Lime, Hornbeam, 

 Passion-Flower. 



Seed-vessels. — Stramonium, Henbane, Poppy, White 

 Cherry, Campanula, Lavatera, Mallow, Hydrangea, Hore- 

 hound, Sea Holly, Deadly Nightshade, Radish, Flax, Hemp, 

 Stinging Nettle, stalk of Cabbage, tuber of Turnips. 



MESSES. IVEEY & SON'S NUESEEY, DOEKLNG-. 



Op the many beautiful spots along the ridge of the North 

 Downs, which stretch nearly across the county of Surrey, 

 there are none from which a finer or more diversified view 

 can be obtained than from Box Hill, in the neighbourhood 

 of Dorking. This, as the name implies, is remarkable for 

 the quantity of common Box (Buxus sempervirens), growing 

 there, and believed to be indigenous ; and which certainly 

 adds materially to the beauty of the place. At the foot of 

 the hill is a station on the Reading branch of the South- 

 Eastern Railway, known as the Box Hill station, thus afford- 

 ing a facility for such as live at a distance to visit this delight- 

 ful spot. The convenience of approach is -largely availed of 

 by hundreds of persons, and among them, doubtless, by many 

 of your readers who love to enjoy the beauties of nature ,- so 

 that every fine day in summer numerous groups of cheerful 

 faces may be seen scattered over the green turf, enjoying 

 their picnic and the glorious landscape spread before them. 



To enter into detail as to the many salient points of 

 interest that can be viewed from Box Hill is not, however, 

 the object of this article; but to remind the reader, and 

 all interested in horticultural pursuits, that less than ten 

 minutes walk from Box Hill station is one of the most 

 important nurseries in Surrey, and, in some respects, in 

 England — viz., the establishment of Messrs. Ivery & Son: 

 for here originated many of the most splendid of the varie- 

 ties of Azalea indiea, that have excited such general admi- 

 ration at the metropolitan and other flower shows, and which, 

 are found in every private collection of merit in Europe ; 

 and here also exists the wonderful collection of British Ferns 

 that has now become an adjunct to the great floral displays. 

 When an improved arrangement of those shows shall be 

 effected, nothing will be found more suitable to aid in 

 moderating the overwhelming blaze of the gorgeous speci- 

 mens produced by the skill of our gardeners than the lovely 

 foliage of the British Ferns. 



A visit to this establishment, then, will be found highly 

 interesting, and although mine was made when the Azaleas 

 were out of bloom, there was much to be pleased with. A 

 brief inspection of the various houses in which tlie stock of 

 Azaleas are kept was sufficient to be convinced of the excel- 

 lent state of health and fine condition of the plants ready 

 to be sent out, of which there are several thousands. Among 

 the most important may be mentioned Iveryana, Criterion, 

 Admiration, Barclayana, Gem, Beauty of Reigate, General 

 Williams, Rosea elegans, Striata floribunda, and several 

 other approved kinds, all of which were originated by Messrs. 

 Ivery ; and more recently — Carnation, Tricolor, and Levia- 

 than. Of novelties about to be sent out, Beauty of Dorking 

 is ready at the present time. It is white striped with rose, 

 of fine form and good substance. Forget-me-not, reddish, 

 purple, will be ready in May, 1S65 ; and Fascination, rose 

 edged with white, in the autumn of next year. Those last- 



