THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



[November, 



THE GARDENS 01 VANCOUVER ISLAND. 



I do not know when I have been more 

 agreeably surprised than by a visit to the 

 town of Victoria, which is on the south-east 

 point of Vancouver's Island and between 

 latitude 48° and 49° in the North Pacific 

 Ocean. We have been for some days sailing 

 on the Pacific and along the Straits of San 

 Juan de Fuca, the heavily snow-capped 

 mountains of the Olympic making the air so 

 chilly that those who kept in the open air at 

 all had to do so with overcoats, or, if ladies, 

 in warm wraps or furs. All at once we came 

 to the mouth of Puget Sound,, opposite to 

 which is Victoria, and all was at once pleas- 

 ant. Summer weather and everything as 

 lovely and beautiful as the prettiest poet 

 might imagine. The harbor of Victoria is, 

 however, small and shallow, and, as a con- 

 sequence, our heavy vessel had to lie for six 

 or eight hours a mile and a half outside, wait- 

 ing for the tide to rise, and this gave me the 

 opportunity to do some interesting botaniz- 

 ing among the rocks along the coast. 



The town of Victoria, which we reached 

 in the afternoon, is an indescribably pretty 

 place. It is built on a high rocky bluff, and 

 has a park called Beacon Hill, from its use 

 in signaling in those olden times when 

 Indians were troublesome. Though the 

 mountain tops, some fifty miles away, are 

 perpetually white with snow, except when 

 the morning and evening sun lights them up 

 in purple and gold, the air in the town is 

 warm (though without sultriness), owing to 

 the long day's sun — sixteen hours now — 

 warming the sheltered spots where the high 

 mountain ridges keep off the arctic winds. 



The people are fond of flowers, and almost 

 every cottage was embowered in vines, and 

 seemed ready to break down with their load 

 of blossoms. In my early life in England, I 

 have memories of whole buildings com- 

 pletely covered from roof to the ground with 

 sweet Koses and gratefully scented Honey- 

 suckles, but I have often found that early 

 memories become magnified. The distance 

 of time lends an enchantment to the early 

 view. I had come to suspect that the Roses 

 may not have been quite so strong, nor the 

 Honeysuckles quite so sweet, as these early 

 memories record them. But here they were, 

 even excelling these impressions and giving 

 a new echo to the voices of youth. The 

 tale was true. The wild English Honey- 

 suckles, running by the cottage door, 

 rambling under the eaves to almost gable 

 end, dropping in festoons between the win- 

 dows, and only by the aid of art permitting 

 a glimpse of the within, and giving out 

 thousands — yes, thousands of bunches of 

 their deliciously scented purple, and white, 

 and yellow flowers. And the Koses, and the 

 Pyracantha, and the Evergreen Ivy, and the 

 scores of other things which, even in Phila- 

 delphia, cannot be grown without much 

 trouble, here they may be seen climbing in 

 wonderful luxuriance, or making bushes, in 

 some cases, nearly as large as the habitations 

 they adorned. 



Eoses, yes! How they would have 

 charmed the hearts of an Ellwanger or a 

 Parsons! How the enormous "Jacks," by 

 the thousands, would have made the purses 



tremble of those florists who with us only 

 get them to perfection by the lavish expend- 

 iture of cash and by the sweat of their 

 brows ! Even the standard or tree Roses are 

 grown to an enormous extent, and make the 

 same beautiful ornaments in yards that they 

 make in the Old World. And the indigenous 

 Rose — Rosa Cinnamomca or Cinnamon Rose 

 — grows in a state which I may almost call 

 grandeur. I have it growing in my German- 

 town garden, but about three feet is all the 

 height it cares to grow for me. Here you 

 may see bushes — nay, masses — scores of 

 feet in diameter, ten feet or more high, and 

 bearing thousands of their remarkably 

 sweet, rosy flowers, giving a fragrance to 

 the air for a long distance away. In many 

 instances the Sweet Brier and Eglantine of 

 the Old World had become naturalized, and 

 got into the fraternal embraces of their 

 native brother; but those were also growing 

 with equal luxuriance, showing that it is the 

 climate which does it all. 



When the time shall come that the whole 

 country shall be brought under improved 

 speed in traveling connections, and the 

 United States shall be but a few days' reach 

 from this now distant land, this ought to be 

 the great Rose center of the American con- 

 tinent. Not only the Rose, but numberless 

 plants of the Old World have escaped from 

 cultivation, and are making their way 

 through the world, on their own account, 

 most gloriously. The English Daisy, the 

 "go wan fine" which Burns tells us of in 

 " Auld Lang Syne," is getting out every- 

 where among the grass, and the Furze and 

 the Broom and many others abound in the 

 woods and along the road-sides. 



In Mr. Johnston's beautiful nurseries I saw 

 the Deodar, and many other half-hardy ever- 

 greens with us, growing magnificently, and 

 I have never in any part of the world — not 

 even in its native home at Calaveras, Mari- 

 posa, and other places — seen the great Mam- 

 moth Sequoia so evidently satisfied with 

 this world as in Mr. Johnston's grounds. 

 These nursery grounds are not very large, 

 but have more variety than I have seen in 

 any nursery since I left home. Apples, 

 Pears, Plums, and particularly Cherries, 

 make a remarkably vigorous and healthy 

 growth, and just now the Cherries are break- 

 ing down with their weight of fruit. But 

 here, as elsewhere, good culture has to tell 

 its own story. Apple orchards are set out, 

 then they are left to struggle for food with 

 the grass or other vegetation, and soon get 

 yellow, hide-bound and moss-clotted ; and 

 then the owners tell me "the Apple is one 

 of the fruits which will not do in Victoria " ; 

 but when you come to places where the 

 Apple has all the ground to itself, or having 

 other things growing with it, is still manured 

 for both, then you will see that the Apple 

 will do as well as elsewhere. 



And what a country for the cooler-loving 

 fruits and vegetables ? The common Currant 

 grows five feet high, and bears fruit as large 

 as Cherry or Versailles. And such Cabbage, 

 Lettuce, Peas, etc., few if any of our read- 

 ers ever saw. 



I almost felt that I could remain here ; 

 but when I remember the Grapes and the 

 Watermelons and Tomatoes, and scores of 

 other things which we have and they may 

 envy, I shall feel free to return as happy 

 as when I left home. — Thomas Meehan, in 

 G a rden cr's Mon th ly. 



Jfortieillml |f§«ifefL 



NEW-YORK HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The October exhibition, held on the 2d of 

 the month, was in the general character of 

 its exhibits similar to that of the previous 

 | meeting. Gladiolus and Dahlias covered the 

 largest part of the tables, only the order of 

 awards was reversed, C. "L. Allen & Co. 

 taking all the first prizes for Gladiolus, Hal- 

 lock & Thorpe the second. 



The premium collection of twelve named 

 Gladiolus contained : Adanson, John Adams, 

 Crystal Palace, John Gilbert, Martha Wash- 

 ington, Alfonso, La Candeur, Ceres, Emer- 

 son, Marguerite, Adelaide Neilson, Eugene 

 Scribe. Allen's new seedling, Margaret New- 

 ton, attracted deserved attention. It is of a 

 peculiar delicate rosy-salmon, lightly striped 

 with deep carmine, flowers very large, spike 

 unusually large and full. 



Several very good collections of Dahlias 

 were on exhibition, especially of single 

 varieties. 



The prize for the best twelve named 

 Dahlias was awarded to Hallock & Thorpe 

 for Kory O'More, Lady Percy, James Walton, 

 Chas. Lingard, Ovid, Chris. Ridley, Prince of 

 Denmark, Florence Stark, Magician, Acme of 

 Perfection, Lady M. Watts, Prince Bismarck. 



John Henderson received the first prize 

 for the best collection of named Roses, 

 twelve buds of each. The collection com- 

 prised some twenty-five varieties, nearly all 

 of unusual excellence. Among them was 

 the new variety, Mad. Cousin, a beautiful 

 flower, of a peculiar violet-rose, tinged with 

 yellow. 



Of Petunias and Geraniums several very 

 good displays were noticeable. An especially 

 attractive feature was a huge rustic basket, 

 in which three separate exhibits of Orchids 

 were tastefully arranged by Mrs. M. J. Mor- 

 gan's gardener. The interstices were filled 

 with moss and Ferns, giving the whole a 

 natural and graceful appearance. 



In the fruit department we noticed, among 

 others, several magnificent bunches of Black 

 Hamburg Grapes from Mr. Charles Butler's 

 graperies. Three huge heads of the new 

 Seafoam Cauliflower, exhibited by B. K. 

 Bliss & Sons, attracted marked attention, 

 and formed the most prominent feature in 

 the vegetable department. 



The business meetings are now held in 

 one of the large basement rooms, directly 

 under the hall, which has been conveniently 

 fitted up for the purpose. This is a decided 

 improvement over the former custom of 

 holding the meetings and exhibitions in the 

 same room. At this meeting it was resolved 

 to give more prominence to special exhibi- 

 tions continuing two days and evenings. 

 This is a move in the right direction, which 

 cannot fail to bear good results. 



The next exhibition will be held on the 

 7th and 8th of November, and will be a 

 special Chrysanthemum show. Very liberal 

 premiums are offered to exhibitors, and un- 

 usual efforts are being made by the officers 

 as well as the members of the society to 

 make this exhibition the largest and best of 

 the kind ever held in New- York. Intending 

 exhibitors may obtain the schedule of prizes 

 by addressing Secretary J. Y. Murkland. 1 2 

 Cortlandt street, New-York. 



