OcroBER 5, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



473 



Aster sericeus is a native of dry uplands and prairies from 

 Minnesota and Illinois to Tennessee and Texas. In culti- 

 vation it is perfectly hardy on the Atlantic seaboard, and 

 quickly adapts itself to new conditions and surroundings. 

 Our illustration below is from a drawing made by Mr. Fa,xon 

 of a plant in Professor Sargent's garden in Brookline, 

 ]\Iassachusetts. 



Fi^. 80 —Aster sericeus. — See page 472. 



Foreign Correspondence. 



The Chiswick Garden in England. 



AN interesting garden in England is the e.xperimental 

 ground of the Royal Horticultural Society at Chis- 

 wick, a suburb of London, and within easy reach of the 

 great metropolis. It comprises about eleven acres and is 

 devoted to testing the merits of fruits, vegetables and 

 flowers sent for trial by the leading nurserymen of Eng- 



land, the Continent and America. Trials are conducted 

 each year v\'ith the greatest possible care. At the proper 

 season the committees visit the gardens and adjudicate 

 upon the varieties. The potatoes, for example, are lifted 

 in their presence, so that they can ascertain other points 

 besides the appearance and table qualities. Before the 

 Royal Horticultural Society expended such large sums in 



the acquirement of the gardens 

 at South Kensington, laid out in 

 costly style, but never profitable, 

 the Chiswick Gardens were much 

 larger, and in the preface to the 

 fourth volume of the Transactions 

 of the Horticultural Society, pub- 

 lished April, 1822, we read that " a 

 tract of land at Chisvsfick, which 

 has been recently taken of his 

 Grace the Duke of Devonshire, 

 under a lease, renewable for ever, 

 at the will of the Society, appears 

 to afford in point of soil, situation 

 and other conveniences, every- 

 thing that could have been de- 

 sired." The Chisvi'ick fetes held 

 in the earlier days of the Society 

 were more fashionable than even 

 the fetes of the Royal Botanic 

 Society at Regent's Park at the 

 present day. The grounds were 

 the centre of attraction for the 

 ^lite of London, and the fetes were 

 graced by the Royal presence. 

 These palmy days are over, and 

 a few years ago it seemed to be a 

 matter for consideration whether 

 the Chiswick Gardens should not 

 be given up. A strong feeling for 

 their retention prevailed, and Mr. 

 A. F. Barron, the superintendent, 

 is permitted to carry on the good 

 work that he has accomplished 

 over a long series of years. 



It is a pleasure to record, after 

 a recent visit to the gardens, that 

 they are gay with flowers, and 

 the plant-houses are in excellent 

 condition. But they are only re- 

 covering from a period of depres- 

 sion, and in time, as the Society 

 sees its way to extend more liberal 

 help to the gardens, we shall find 

 that the ' horticulturist will gain 

 even more solid information than 

 can be gleaned at the present day. 

 It was at Chiswick that the great 

 Apple Congress was held which 

 did much to place the nomen- 

 clature of this fruit upon a proper 

 footing, and the Pear Conference 

 took place later, while during the 

 past three or four years confer- 

 ences on flowers, fruits, shrubs, 

 and conifers in particular, have 

 brought together horticulturists 

 from many parts of England. 

 These events have been duly recorded by Mr. Watson in 

 his interesting letters, and, therefore, nothing further need 

 be written concerning them. 



A few of the most interesting features in the grounds at 

 the present time may be noted. In the central walk, lead- 

 ing from the great vinery to the private gate of the super- 

 intendent, the most striking effect in color is gained. On 

 one side a collection of Dahlias is now at the height of its 

 beauty, and on a cool, moist, shady border, skirting by the 

 side of a hedge of Box, the Tufted Pansy, as these hybrid 



