7i8 



AN ENGLISH NURSERY. 



Plants, " makes no mention of it. Its introduction, I 

 think, took place long after the orange was brought 

 here, for in no case have I found the grape-fruit wild ; 

 and both the sweet and bitter sweet oranges, as well 

 as the lemon, are found in a wild state. 



There have been several importations of shaddocks 

 from India and other countries, but in no case have I 

 found the specimens to be improvements over those 

 first introduced. There have been, however, very de- 

 cided improvements in our varieties during the last 

 decade. The form in some instances has become 

 somewhat changed ; the size has become smaller, the 

 skin is thinner, and there is less seed and " rag " in the 

 fruit. The quality has been changed from the pun- 

 gent acid of the old form to a delicious sweet flavor. 

 All of these changes, so far as I have seen, have been 

 produced by chance seedlings, some of which have 

 been more or less preserved by budding. I am very 

 much inclined to the belief that often they are acci- 

 dentally crossed with the orange. One variety, I 

 might mention, the Aurantium pomelo, as the name 

 implies, partakes of both the sweet orange and shad- 

 dock flavors. It is said to have been produced by an 



orange seed. This tree has the form of the orange, 

 while the fruit is produced in clusters, thus combining 

 the distinctive features of both. 



In quality, to many tastes, this variety is superior to 

 the orange. The bitter principle of the shaddock is re- 

 tained, but it is so blended with the sweet and acid of 

 the orange that it forms a flavor which is particularly 

 agreeable. It would be but speculation to attempt to 

 account for these changes, yet I believe that our pe- 

 culiar climate, which in other instances has brought 

 about pomological changes that scientists of other sec- 

 tions have told us could not be, has caused this re- 

 markable fruit, when crossed with the orange, to re- 

 tain the health-giving principle of the parent grape- 

 fruit, that is so highly spoken of by our best physi- 

 cians, and at the same time to acquire the luscious, 

 sweet flavor of the orange. In the orange markets 

 there is a rapidly increasing demand for the common 

 grape-fruit, and I believe that with the introduction of 

 these improved varieties, the demand will so increase 

 that the shaddock will become more popular than the 

 orange itself. James Mott. 



Oi'lando, Fla. 



AN ENGLISH NURSERY. 



HILE ill England dur- 

 ing the past summer 

 I had the pleasure of 

 visiting some of the 

 most prominent hor- 

 ticultural establish- 

 ments in and around 

 London. I called 

 upon the celebrated 

 firm of James Veitch 

 & Sons, of the Royal 

 Exotic Nursery, King? Road, Chelsea, where I had 

 an opportunity of going through their extensive 

 houses, and seeing nearly everything that was new 

 or rare in exotics. Although I had long known 

 that this firm stood at the head of European nur- 

 serymen in the introduction of these plants, I was 

 scarcely prepared for such a display of good 

 things ; but as my object was more the study of 

 hardy ornamental trees, than flowers, I will not 

 attempt to describe any of the plants I saw in the 

 houses. Not long after my first visit to Chelsea I 

 received an invitation from Mr. H. Veitch, the 

 head of the firm, to visit their nursery at Coombe 

 Wood, Kingston Hill, Surrey, where their hardy 

 ornamental trees, shrubs, conifers and American 

 plants are grown. We were accompanied there 

 by Mr. James H. Veitch, who is an enthusiastic 

 admirer of fine trees ; after a drive of about seven 



miles from Chelsea, we reached Kingston Hill, 

 where the nursery is located. It is a command- 

 ing spot, in the neighborhood of fine villa resi- 

 dences. On entering the nursery my attention 

 was directed by Mr. Veitch to a long avenue of 

 superb trees, consisting of Arancaria imbricata, al- 

 ternating with Sequoia gigantea. The araucarias 

 are the finest of their kind to be found anywhere 

 in the neighborhood of London and the sequoias 

 are equally fine, although not quite so large as 

 some that are growing in the grounds of Eliwanger 

 & Barry, at Rochester, N. Y. This extensive 

 nursery contains the largest collection of new and 

 rare trees, shrubs, and conifers of any in Eng- 

 land. The late Mr. J. G. Veitch was a most in- 

 defatigable collector, and introduced many fine 

 things. After leaving this beautiful avenue we 

 passed to the general collection of conifers, 

 where I saw the beautiful Abies Veiichii, discov- 

 ered by Mr. Veitch in Japan, and introduced by 

 him into England in i860. I recognized many 

 old favorites introduced from the Pacific coast that 

 were growing remarkably well here, Abies amabilis 

 being one of them. It is a beautiful tree when 

 young, as it is well furnished with branches from 

 the ground upwards. It grows in California on 

 the summit of the Sierras at an altitude of seven 

 thousand feet, so it is quite hardy. Abies Doug- 

 lasii was very fine, also Abies Albertia?ia and Abies 



