2S8 



JOTJEXAL OF HOETICT7LTTTEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



[ October 11, 1864. 



from the money-point of view. A comparison of all our 

 garden boots would be very amusing, not to say instructive. 

 — T. Combes BEEHArT, Richmond Soxtse, G-uernsey. 



TEITOALA TJTABIA. 



Eespoxdisg to Mr. Eobson's request in the last issue of 

 your Journal, I beg to state that Tritoraa uvaria, though 

 always exceedingly fine, was never so magnificent as this 

 season in East Lothian. We have here several long back 

 lines of it, which have been truly magnificent for a long 

 time, and still continue so. It presents no signs of degen- 

 eracy, but the reverse, and most certainly we have no hardy 

 herbaceous plant that can compete with it from the begin- 

 ning of September till the middle of October. After the 

 latter date T. grandis takes its place, and flowers in great 

 beauty up till Christmas ; so that by planting the two kinds 

 plant for plant in the rows, the flowering season of the 

 Tritoma can be extended for four months. Grandis is much 

 more vigorous, and throws up its flower-stems much higher 

 than uvaria. 



They are here moulded up before severe frost sets in like 

 a row of Potatoes, and we never lose a plant ; and when the 

 flower borders, to which they form a backing, are dug or 

 trenched, a quantity of leaf mould is worked in near the 

 roots of the Tritoma, and in this way it thrives amazingly. 

 The soil is a very dry, deep sandy loam, and this is one of 

 the driest districts in Great Britain, so that it cannot be 

 superabundant moisture that makes it thrive here. Like 

 most other flower-garden plants, it requires liberal treat- 

 ment. Long may it be ere we have to lament the loss or 

 degeneracy of so noble a plant. — D. Thohsox, Archerfield. 



TISITS TO GAEDE^S PUBLIC AND PELTATE. 



itESSBS. FBANCIS AXB ABTHTTE DICKSOS & SOUS, 

 CHESTEB. 



On my return from a mournful journey to Ireland, such 

 a journey as one can take but once in a lifetime, I found 

 myself one morning in the ancient and loyal city of Chester. 

 Many, many years ago I had passed through it ere railways 

 ran, and when the journey from London to Lublin occupied 

 some two or three days instead of eleven hours as now; 

 but so peculiar is the character of the city, and so vivid are 

 the impressions that are made in early days, that it seemed 

 all quite familiar ground, and but as if the other day that 

 I had seen it. Having a few hours in the morning to spare 

 before the train for London started, and having those with 

 me who were lite myself interested in such matters, instead 

 of lionising the town we determined on visiting the nurseries 

 of the Messrs. Dickson, about which we had heard a good 

 deal, and of which the good people of Chester seemed to be 

 not a little proud as a good specimen of a provincial estab- 

 lishment ; and the extent of the grounds and the order and 

 neatness that prevailed throughout fully justified them in 

 the opinion they had formed. 



These nurseries are situated at TJpton, about a mile and 

 a half from the city, and are in an elevated position, ex- 

 posed to a good deal of rough weather, so that plants ob- 

 tained from thence and removed to more sheltered districts 

 would be likely to thrive very well ; for it is a great point to 

 have such trees and shrubs as have been used to a rougher 

 climate than that in which they are permanently to abide, 

 while the reverse is oftentimes injurious to the well-being 

 of the plants, such as have been reared and nurtured in 

 sheltered and warm districts being very apt to suffer on 

 their removal to colder ones. There are upwards of 130 

 acres comprised within the limits of the ground, the soil 

 about one-half gocd retentive loam, the other half light 

 sandy soil; and although this might seem unsuitable to 

 many other things which are grown, yet by judicious ma- 

 nagement everything is in a healthy and vigorous condition. 

 There is a long range of houses containing the usual varied 

 stock of a general nursery in both stove and greenhouse 

 plants. I have never seen, for instance, a healthier and, for 

 its size, a finer stock of Azaleas than those which are grown 

 here. Ko symptoms of thrips could I see on any of the 

 plants ; and many of them were of that attractive style 



known as half-specimens naturally grown, and all well set 

 with bloom-buds. The outside wall of these houses is 

 planted with Berberis Darwinii, which is one of the prettiest 

 of our shrubs, always fresh and green, and when in flower 

 presenting a perfect mass of beautiful apricot-coloured ra- 

 cemes, and pretty also in fruiting time, with its large plum- 

 coloured berries. In front of the houses there is a long 

 narrow slip laid out somewhat in Xesfield's style of garden- 

 ing. Coloured panels, however, are not used, white being 

 the only covering of the waits, the bright colouring of the 

 flowers being regarded as sufficient for the purpose. Amongst 

 the many combinations here, I think that a bed, the centre 

 of which was composed of Centaurea candidissima, and the 

 edge Amaranthus melaneholieus ruber, was one of the most 

 effective. This plant has not, however, succeeded very well 

 so far north, the climate seems too cold for it. Gazania 

 splendens makes a fine autumn bed, and at that season of 

 the year seems here to remain open in the sunshine instead 

 of closing up as it does in the summer. On one of the walls 

 I noticed a fine plant of Clematis lanuginosa in good flower; 

 as also C. lanuginosa Candida, a pale nearly white flower, 

 which will contrast well with those new ones of Messrs. 

 Jackman of "Woking, so rich and brilliant in their colouring. 



As Eoses are now so much in vogue, and have become 

 everybody's flower, and as persons will not now care to buy 

 inferior sorts, the Messrs. Dickson have devoted a large 

 space to their culture. As fine and healthy a selection of 

 Eoses in pots as I have ever seen, numbering 20,000, and a 

 large portion of those on their own roots, afford a tempting 

 selection to the Bose-growers of Cheshire, and indeed of 

 other parts too ; while from thirty to forty thousand stan- 

 dards in the ground are also such as an amateur would well 

 like to select from. A new rosarium in a sheltered position 

 has also been lately planted, and in it I observed in bloom 

 many of the best and finest varieties of Hybrid Perpetual, 

 Bourbon, and Tea Eoses. Charles Lefebvre to its other 

 charms seems to have added this of its being very free- 

 flowering in autumn. Geant des Batailles, Celine Forestier, 

 Marechal Yaillant, and others were also displaying their 

 beauties, and the vigour of their foliage seemed to indicate 

 that they were well contented with their situation. I was 

 told that the Messrs. Dickson had more than once been 

 exhibitors at the shows of the Eoyal Horticultural Society 

 of Dublin, and that they had been successful. 



Conifers seem also to thrive here remarkably well, although 

 we are sometimes apt to associate them with the peaty soil 

 of Surrey ; but nothing could be healthier than those here 

 cultivated. There was one specimen of Araucaria imbri- 

 cata, the most beautiful and unique that I have ever seen ; 

 for there are evidently several varieties of this noble tree, 

 this having a. far more drooping and graceful habit than any 

 that I have seen, while the foliage was large and vigorous. 

 Wellingtonia seemed also quite at home, a fine tree eight 

 years old being upwards of 12 feet high, and with a very 

 large stem. Then there were nice specimens of Thuja com- 

 pacta,japonica,Lobbiana; Picea amabilis, P. Xordmanniana, 

 &c. Ehododendrons were also in good health. 



The portion of the ground allotted to fruit trees is very 

 large ; and everything here, as may be supposed, is done on 

 a very large scale. Thus, for example, there were seed-beds 

 of the common Laurel which contained upwards of 12,000,000 

 plants, this being arrived at by taking a square foot, count- 

 ing the number of seedlings in it, and multiplying the whole 

 space by that. 5Tor have I seen anywhere more vigorous 

 Tines in pots than there are here. Again I must ask, 

 "What becomes of them all ? It can only be, I think, that 

 they are grown for a season in pots by purchasers, and then 

 killed by injudicious management. I know of no other way 

 to account for the immense quantities that are everywhere 

 grown, and for which there ever seems to be an increasing 

 demand. 



Perhaps one of the prettiest things in the whole grounds 

 was a ribbon-border of Hollies, which when completed will 

 be a quarter of a mile in length. The edge of the border is 

 composed of two rows of Box; then some variegated Ivies 

 are pegged down ; and then five rows of Hollies, first yellow 

 variegated, then white ditto, then yellow, then white, while 

 the background is composed of the more ornamental species 

 of green Hollies. I cannot conceive that anything in its 

 way can exceed this when the whole mass has been filled in, 



