March S. l8 9 8 ' 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



»53 



ALLOTM 



IN NORTHUM 



THEiasia«*v ri D ^ ica ] s an d too often moral, deterioration occurs. 



How the country lament this state of things, and through 

 I inrics of county councils, &c, are endeavouring to place land 

 ■V thi reach of all who desire it in the neighbourhood of towns and 

 wl i r.nnntrv The Northern Allotment Society at Newcastle-on-Tyne 



last half-century has seen a remarkable exodus from country districts 



* e physical, a 

 r the country 

 county coun 

 of all who de 



thprountry. The Northern Allotment ^ 



t.lamred several estates during the last seven years, altogether over 

 hundred acres, mostly freehold or copyhold. This society is a public 

 witution of which any person may become a member upon payment of the 

 m of one shilling per annum ; no liability attaches to membership, and 

 the amount merely entitles one to information. Members become advised 

 nf anv action the society may contemplate, and have the opportunity of 

 joining in it or objecting. The various estates were all brought before 

 the members of the society and applications invited for them. When a 

 quorum of members was formed this little syndicate took up the business 

 with the vendors, and made their own bargain. Having purchased an 

 estate, each one of these quorums or syndicates determined for itself the 

 thole conditions, regulating the division, allotment, and holders of the 

 \*»a Thft ptoud in each case laid down new roads necessary for opening 



tv ah-w w~ j - ~o o ' ' 



land. The group in each case laid down new roads necessary *w* ^^""'b 

 out each estate, the fencing, water supply, and other work of a similar 



i Tin-* f r\f imnvmramonf ic **AAc*A t r\ f V> a, nurrnoco mn«o\r 



character. The cost of improvement is added to the purchase money, 

 and the total amount appoitioned over the estate at so much per lot by 

 a competent and independent valuer. If possible, the estate is allotted 

 amongst the purchasers by mutual agreement, each taking a given lot at 

 the par price stated by the valuer, but if any overlapping occurs, and 

 more than one purchaser desires one particular lot, the estate is then 

 allotted by private competition amongst the intending purchasers. No 

 purchaser is then at liberty to bid below par, each lot is knocked down 

 o the highest bidder, and any premiums obtained are put into the 

 common fund, and at the winding up of the estate, if any surplus remains 

 it is returned as a bonus to the respective owners. If, on the other hand, 

 there is anything short, a levy is made upon them on the same basis. 



While the pioneers of the society were to a large extent horticulturists, 

 amateur or professional, and their primitive idea was intensive culture, 

 the society has since grown rapidly in numbers and broadened in 

 character, so that while the gardener, or fruit and vegetable grower, is 

 still as welcome as the flowers in spring, he finds himself associated with 

 all ranks and conditions of men. Upon each estate a small colony is 

 gradually rising up, houses are being built and occupied, and the farmer 

 and country tradesman who looked at first with some suspicion upon 

 their new neighbours, begin to realise that the enterprise means the 

 expenditure of a large amount of capital, in some cases as far as 



£10,000 in tWO VearS. and that thf» Inralifv nnnnf fx k~ u^^^a 1™ 



The members of this society are ever on the look out for land that 

 can be occupied without sacrificing existing occupation. This enables 



iTuZr aSC WUh con fi dence > ^d being assured that what capital 

 ™ r ,s s J*nt on it is their own, it is safe. Single handed the 

 S L * emsclv e* in difficulties to obtain land in small quantities, 



"pui^fe^s ir 50 they have vo,unlarily combine<i 



berlf vlf com P ri u ses 1 wo hun dred and six acres, and th e num- 



ac res Tn soml rl 5 . th * areas bought being from one to twenty 



hous« to hf n °A mit ha \ been P Iaced u P° n the value of the 

 *» Z iJSr? T f UP ° n \ he eStatC ' but plans are submitted to 

 advise. S'onSf "T^V P laiiS , ^mmittee being appointed to 



the estate uTde^ 5?* F^t* against the d ^figurement or 



have Keen ni. J rable Industr,es hav ^ been debarred and public-houses ZT"ZZ ™F " w ~ «*™«* ™Z ~ V" T "Zi 'ZTCZ 



idvc been placed amongst the forbidden althnncrh nnt , i fi i five miles from a station and twenty miles from the principal market 



2 tXT- / or pur p° ses * 5SS*«SSL ^L? dSSted™ wW ' hp fr,,if — M 1 aISO Dressed the holders to Dlant aDDles on 



£ la ha, ^OX^t^J^^-T^ *™ 



Aln /. ick is a cold district, but the allottees who aim at high cultivation 

 provide shelter. In some cases wood fences are raised on three sides, 

 and berry bushes on the fourth ; inside this shelter the higher art of 

 allotment cultures performed. Some holders have a small greenhouse, 

 and grow cucumbers and tomatos. - ' 



Celery, leeks, and onions receive special care and protection in the 

 open, and the earliest celery has to be sown in the middle of February 



a ? m Pt httl ?. heat to be suitable for planting in the open at the end 



pipes are frequently placed at 

 intervals in the trenches, the bottom end about the depth of the roots 

 and all liquids are poured down these pipes, care being taken that the 

 soil does not become stagnant. Blanching is usually done with brown 

 paper covered with soil. The leek is largely grown, as it is hardy, and 

 a desirable vegetable, but it is not everyone who can grow first-rate 

 samples. Here they are treated much the same as celery, some growers 

 using wire netting round the plants, packing inside this with moss to 

 blanch and shelter the leeks. If seed is sown in a frame or in a sheltered 

 south aspect in February, good leeks can be grown in Northumberland. 

 Of onions, the autumn-sown are managed best in this district, and from 

 the 9th to the 12th of August is the best time to sow. With the exhi- 

 bitors Cranston's Excelsior is the most highly esteemed variety, but it 

 will not keep in the autumn. Sowing in the open commences any time 

 after February 15, and as soon as the land is dry enough. The growers 

 trench in part of the manure when the land is dug in December, then at 

 sowing time they dig in good decayed manure near the surface. They believe 

 that the onion is a gross feeding plant, and so sow the seed practically in 

 the manure, and the previous manure being incorporated through the 

 soil at good depth there is plenty to feed a good crop. 



Potatos are the main crop in all allotments, and as the land is 

 perpetually cropped with potatos it is advisable to apply lime at intervals 

 of four or five years. There is great competition among allotment 

 holders with potatos, and I have noticed through many years that a large 

 number of the collections for competition at the Alnwick show have been 

 large and coarse. The potato is for use at the table, and therefore very 

 large tubers are out of place, and their quality is not so good as medium- 

 sized tubers. This may be partly the fault of the judges giving prizes to 

 large tubers. There is another word of criticism I would offer, and that 

 is upon the state of the major part of allotments after the crops are taken 

 away. The potato haulm is often left littered over the ground, with 

 weeds and other refuse, all the winter. How much better it would be 

 for the land, and one's character for neatness, if, when the crops were 

 taken off", everything was cleared up and the land dug. It is always 

 better trenched two spits deep where the land is deep enough, mixing in 

 the manure. The manure is then being prepared for the food of plants 

 by the time the crop is planted in the spring. Many protest against 

 winter digging of heavy land, finding it better to dig in the spring. 



There are some allottees who grow strawberries, and these form a 

 valuable crop where grown well. When lecturing for the County Council 

 five years since I stated that one hundred pounds sterling could be made 

 out of a carefully cultivated acre of strawberries, and that amount had 

 frequently been far exceeded. This was too much for some of the 

 hearers, but among them was one anxious to improve his several acres of 

 land. He invited me to see his holding, and I gave him all the informa- 

 tion I could. Last autumn he called specially to see me, and stated that, 

 having put my assertions to a severe test, he was thoroughly satisfied, 

 because he had exceeded the result of ^100 per acre. Yet he knew 

 nothing about the cultivation of strawberries previously, and the circum- 

 stances were not so favourable as with very many, for he was situated 



Hos* of, S £5 *JL!^5S2Sft Wh °' e 



were 

 This 

 On 



•^of the ec*af AC iL nera , * r oa.v* ujomi^, urainingf, &c. Un 



«*nbers who h-" - 6rS ° f - ha "' aCre P lots 



are sold, to suit 



? unn 8 the last sp 7n I. ,/ ne P urchase and division of the estates 



manner in which the * W - nt ' and the sound 



sion of the estates 



met a 



the undertaking has been promoted has 

 Procure a rii^^_? ine members, many of whom are inclined 



where the fruit was sold. I also pressed the holders to plant apples on 

 the Paradise stock, and they have done so in the district and are satisfied. 

 I gave them grafts of such free cropping apples as Lord Suffield, Stirling 

 Castle, and Lane's Prince Albert, the latter perhaps the greatest general 

 cropper we have, and my visitor declared that the grafted trees were then 

 hanging with fruit, and the desire was for more apples. 



Alnwick Castle Gardens. George Harris. 



*P' r «i confidence in th 



to 



many 



high 



n,™;, K^berry bush cann^ hi 8 u" 6 are some districts 



^ground, however the air grOW " ^ use - 0n the 



SSm F 0Wn w Hh success Th P T\ and bush fruit and vegetables 

 ?thl there are krg numbers o n? ?*i S °u Uth and east sid « °< the 



WW r° n * 0n ' and some ^are en th ? " " fables, notably the 

 ^ '°n fostered bvloc"l , 1 US asts In s P ec,al flowers The "com 



S^'Srs aS3»S jfr^ssr* and 



**£n S ?'? n is very l£3S* "SkL**2£& not mu 



^ents m thi 

 Pfotected. 



only 



T L ft , . v &iyjw much fruit. 



»s county as ~th~»Z j hea PP le 1S very rarely planted in 



In our district ! n \ are t ?° public 2 an d fruit cannot 



1 fifty v 0Ur d >strict allotnW/rho T P r Uc ' and fruit cannot 



onelntK rS V and th ere are S ever,l fi e M ee J- ^ dy ^ ranted durin & 

 s b «"dredl n , h of a " acre each %Z ^ S dlVlded into allotments, 



^ " and 



tho t »n trie v cim'tv nf ai • , , U1 1JU "uiea ana 



« nt after by workincTl!. i w hese sl,ce s of and 



y irking men, both for pleasure and profit. 



Echeveria farinosa. — Those who in their garden decoration still find 

 pleasure in carpet or succulent bedding will find in this echeveria a charming 

 plant for their purpose. It is not a coarse plant, indeed is dwarf habited. Its 

 thick fleshy leaves are long and pointed, and give it very much the appearance or 

 a thick white-leaved seedling carnation. The primrose character, however, is very 

 marked. It propagates readily, and should be much more in favour than is the pretty 

 white E. Peacocki, which is all the same so chary of increase. We saw this 

 pleasing variety in quantity at Swanley recently, where it figures prominently in 

 the -remarkable collection of succulents which Messrs. Cannell and Sons have 

 gathered together. It is interesting to learn that not only does the membership of 

 the Cactus Society now reach one hundred and fifty, but also that a publication 

 specially devoted to succulents and cacti is about to issue from the midlands. 

 Probably the softer-leaved section, especially those dwarf and easily increased, 

 which have been utilised for bedding purposes, are the most popular with gardeners 

 generally.— A. D. 



Carnation Yule Tide.— This promises to become, when better known, one 

 of the most popular winter-flowering varieties that has been introduced for some 

 years. The flowers are bright scarlet in colour, large, and of good form, and are 

 produced upon stout footstalks, which are of sufficient length and strength to 

 support them erect upon the plant, and to enable them to be effectively arranged 

 when required to be used as cut flowers for vase decoration. A fine stand of 

 blooms was staged at the Carlisle Chrysanthemum Exhibition in November last 

 by the raiser, Mr. John Forbes, Hawick. These, it was stated, were cut from 

 plants that had been flowering continuously for twelve months; this fully 

 establishes its perpetual-flowering character, and although there are already some 

 good scarlet varieties in this class, of which " Winter Cheer" is probably the 

 best, yet, the free sturdy habit of Yule Tide should recommend it for cultivation 

 and producing flowers in quantity during the dull winter months.^ The exhibit 

 referred to was a centre of attraction to visitors to the exhibition, and was 

 unanimously awarded a first-class certificate by the ; udges.— James Day, 

 Galloway House > N.fi* 



