506 



GARDENERS" MAGAZINE. 



A Gar 



OF BEAUTY AND BATTLE 



A SHORT time ago the horizon of horticulture was illumined by a new 

 star In other and more prosaic language, Mr. T. Robinson, head 

 gardener to William Laurence, Esq., Elsfield House, Maidstone, girded 

 himself for battle, went tooth and nail for our leading exhibitors, and, to 

 their consternation and amazement, laid them low. One of the defeated 

 gardeners mopped his brow (and well he might, considering the defeat 

 and the atmosphere), button-holed the present writer, and said, in an 

 injured and aggrieved tone, "I say! Who is this Robinson?" His 

 manner as he propounded the query plainly denoted that he considered 

 it rather cool of a new man to trip him up in that unexpected way, and 

 that he was strongly tempted to give the presumptuous Robinson a 

 piece of his mind. When, however, I informed him that the conqueror's 

 prowess had long been known to a select few, and that, so far from being 

 a new man, he had won hundreds upon hundreds of prizes, the listener 



drooped his jaw and departed. 



There was mirth in the neighbourhood of Hollingbourne when it was 

 known that certain proud exhibitors had mistaken Mr. Robinson for a 

 raw novice. It does, however, sometimes happen that, for various 

 reasons, a man of the highest ability remains comparatively unknown in 

 what are euphemistically called " the leading circles." Like Brer Rabbit, 

 he lies low. The particular moment comes, however, and he emerges 

 from his obscurity, with disastrous results to the unhappy exhibitors who 

 had marked down a certain prize for their own. It is, perhaps, not well 

 known— and, if not, it ought to be— that when this genial Kentish 

 gardener lays himself out for battle the hardest of hard knocks will be 



L^iven 



Whatever 



to onions, will need all the beating the best men can give it. 



The first glimpse of the Elsfield Gardens prepossesses the visitor. 

 He bears to the left at the entrance lodge, and before he has gone a 

 hundred yards comes full upon a beautiful border of roses, so that he 

 begins to shake hands with himself at once. The odds are that he will 

 cease that process swiftly in order to finger the roses, for they are 

 splendidly grown and bear thousands of fine blooms. This foretaste of 

 floral charm outside the garden walls is supported within them, for the 

 rule is followed of having all the vegetable quarters fronted with flower 

 borders. Of course, this is not particularly unusual ; the same plan 

 obtains in many gardens. But you would have to travel far and visit 

 hundreds of places to see the system carried to such perfection as at 

 Elsfield. Frequently the attempt to floralise the kitchen garden becomes 

 a sort of compromise, taking the modest form of a row of dwarf nasturtium 

 or Virginian stock. But Mr. Robinson has elevated it to a fine art. His 

 borders are six feet or more broad. They are laid out with as much care 

 and kept as clean as though they faced the drawing-room windows. A 

 magnificent display of Sutton's double stocks is a delightful feature of 

 them, and an idea richly worthy of imitation is the establishment of 

 clumps of sweet peas alternately with dahlias, 

 were about a yard through, and 

 phrase 



The sweet pea clumps 



to quote the Gardeners' Magazine 



. sheaves of beauty. ' * < 



A good many of the worthy gardener's triumphs have been secured 

 through the medium of this same kitchen garden. His onions are a real 

 picture. I was particularly interested in a grand bed of Cranston's 

 Excelsior, each bulb rapidly approaching the " pounder " stage. The seed 

 was sown at the middle of September, and a finer bed of autumn onions 

 no one need wish to possess. Cranston's is not a first-class keeper, even 

 when spring sown, and it is probable that making an autumn sort of it 

 is the wisest course, for with autumn sown onions, early use and not 

 keeping qualities is the principal end in view. Anyway, there it was, a 

 superb crop. Close beside it was a bed of spring sown, proportionately 

 fine, of other sorts. The size of the bulbs warranted a suggestion of 

 box sowing, but this was denied. Trenching two spits deep and the 

 insertion of two layers of manure form the basis of the practice. The 

 result reminded me of that secured by a cottager, whom I know. He 

 took off his top spit, dug a dressing of fowl manure into the bottom spit, 

 replaced his top layer, and rejoiced in a remarkable bed of onions. 



Our Elsfield hero has a significant fact to point out in connection with 

 asparagus. I remarked on the fine appearance of the beds and was 

 informed that they not only looked handsome, but had acted handsomely, 

 by giving the finest cutting for many years. " The only difference in the 

 treatment," remarked Mr. Robinson, " is that for the first time since I 

 have had charge of them the beds have not been salted." 



men is a bone of contention for you. 

 applying salt to asparagus overdone ? 



Here, gentle- 

 Is the time-honoured practice of 



A sound 



. * ^ 0 . ~! — v,x..uuuu ; Many people think it is. 



old Kentish gardener of my acquaintance, Mr. G. Tutt, of Ashford, will 

 not hear of salt, and there are not many men who have a better basis of 

 practice behind them than he. 



... " o © »••••• — % >wniii 1L id iulIC W Say vmwm c* uuv ^cmuuuV4 



will have an open heart for them at every stage of their growth, even 

 before they have their first shift. Along all the beautiful kitchen garden 

 borders at Elsfield, the plants stand in serried ranks, as healthy as 

 thistles in a waste, but telling a very different story. It is easy to see by the 

 glistening eye and loving touch of the grower, how absorbed he is in 

 them. Nay, he must needs shake 



hearty as that of a well-grown hyacinth, and— what is that above the 



man smiles complacently, 

 soot on "the crocks, and he is pleased 



— — — - - / 



one out, showing a root system as 



YShfli K°' S ° 0t indeed ! T ^e happy 



with A. ~ b n en i trymg a dash of s OOt ont 



Mth the result, that is plain to 

 nas n 



him 



business. 



u/vV^\ \ - p • t0 see - If any exhibitor reading these notes 

 no tn I,l Ce r ,n k pnze at a London show in November, I beg 

 01 to build his hopes too high. The Robinsonian plants mean 



It is doubtful if there 

 than those in the 



1 1 r r fA a finer lot °f peaches in the south of England 



one of the Rn^t k V . f v ^ The V are models. The first tree, and 

 01 tne hnest, is Early York, and not far behind it in merit is Early 



August 6, 189?. 



Louise. I do 

 string of names 



not know that it would be particularly interim 

 s, but what I feel sure will arrest att/n Si! ff* 



Robinson's with respect to feeding. Be i ftfi^S^^ 

 feeding is feeding in this fine garden. There is WoiS IT^ that 

 supply of water, which is pumped up to a giganK 

 of the vegetable department. But before the^uid ^ 

 takes up a dash of something stronger, and assumes an odourwW C 

 did not possess before. Well, the idea is to restrict the 



. . , r ' 7 « '1 nson a k rr ees that the 



principal feeding roots are not near the stem, but further awav He 



holds, however, that gross wood follows the feeding of these hungry root* 

 and that smaller, better-ripened growth is secured by stem feeding. 



This hero of a hundred fights shows his master-hand in every depart- 

 ment. His grapes are grand, and he shows Black Hamburghs with berries 

 three and a-half inches in circumference. And, as an instance of his versa 

 tility, the stages at the front of the vineries are graced with a splendid bate! 

 of coleus, magnificently coloured. To see plants ot this year's raising twe 

 feet high and eighteen inches through in forty-eight sized pots, perfect ir 

 health and colour, is to admire unstintingly. In the beautiful conservaion 

 is one of the finest pieces of platycerium in the country. In the bulk I 

 is four feet through, measuring to the tips it is six feet. 



Elsfield House is an easy walk from Hollingbourne Station, and ; 

 pleasant drive from Maidstone. The generous and respected owner i 

 never averse to anyone with horticultural interests seeing his beautifa 

 garden, and a genial welcome from the head gardener is a certainty. 



W. P. W. 



Gem, 

 have 



given several 



Peas. 



The pea crop, up to the present, has been remarkably f>ood. Thouj 

 the season being somewhat late, not a few varieties have followed rati 

 too close together. We were quite a fortnight later in gathering tl 

 last season. Our first was Chelsea Gem. and it is unsurp 

 in point of earliness and flavour. I 



a good trial this season, but not one was ready nearly so soon as Che 

 Gem. Carter's Early Forcing came next, and this is a very dwarf pe 

 but with nice pods. That fine pea, Early Morn, was especially gow 

 and well maintained the reputation it gained last last year ; anotbl 

 variety sent out by the Messrs. Carter, called Interest, has been especiall 

 fine and interesting, for it has grown eight feet with us and has borne 

 very fine crop of nice-shaped and beautiful green pods and peal ; 

 is also one of the best flavoured peas of the season. Another « 

 tried for the first time, is Delicatesse, a fine pea about three feet nig 

 bearing a profusion of large pods and peas of a rich flavour, the poj 

 being extra well filled. The variety, Carter's Seedling has borne u 

 largest nods nf atw we have had : it is a wonderful cropper, ana 01 



led pou. 



and 



ant 



very robust nature, with very stout hauim ana a utiyc 

 most delicious green peas ; invaluable for table or exhibition. 



Exonian has been one of the best second earlies, and is a useW pi 



that bears a full pod. 



Duke of Albany is good, but requires .change 

 seed, or, I think, "it loses its vigorous nature, and produces P orts ™*V 

 not always full, and then the crop is deceptive. Mode » TeteP h «* 

 good, and produces pods of the finest type ; Criterion has 

 as also has Veitch's Marrow, containing wonderfully lar^e, * 



wonderfully 

 now using, and it 



flavoured peas. Veitch's Perfection we are now using, *uu 

 good; Dickson's Marrowfat is a splendid pea of "'M^ffc,* 



large, well-shaped pods, and peas of a large sue. Tn» 

 William I., has done well this season, as also have v« ; J ^ 

 England, Ne Pus Ultra, British Queen, Autocrat, Veitcn s o 

 Chelsonian. Carter's Michaelmas Pea is looking wel^ne 



We 



of Cbels 



c 



Gem, and they will about end the pea season. 



has p 



ro 



We have never had better or finer peas uiau u groW ^ 

 red, and the varieties mentioned constitute the oe" f deca -ed 



duced, and the varieties mentioned consmuic - | v 0 f decay* 

 All our latest peas are sown in trenches, with a good ^ supp_ i ^ , a 

 manure beneath, and are well watered at short im ^ ^ 



much afraid our water supply will give out unless w fa b i ig hte* 



rain. The forest trees and shrubs are ^comm^ ^ng. 



and a good, steady rain for twelve hours would benem ^ ^ Cq0|L 



Compton Bassett. 



Myosotis dissitiflora.— I was su 



Magazine that an old and experienced g 



ead in • ^££*£!S 

 .itted he had been 



the an*: 

 bond*** 



at a glance one from the other. Seeds of the f° rn, f'." , alla ched 

 prominent white bases, that is the point where or gin* j , ba , 

 The larger seeds of M. sylvatica have no such pronunc " , ess d r- •» « 

 of M. dissitiflora to be very cheap and plenum ™«" l J) wm f ros ts. „, , 



that the plants when in bloom have escaped m}™* Ming flow* 11 ^J - ^ 



ordinary ctf* ^ 



That 



garden in which there are plants enough in the «P*™K» d that '» » . ^ 

 saving, a ample of pounds of seed could be save ' p , e go on Jjfc* 

 Still, the cheapness seems due to absence of demand r dissi „ n ora 

 late sylvatica which blooms in May, when they g» ^ but as J ** £fr 

 bloom in March and April. Seed is nol at all diH.cuu flower sXtm u 

 lie near the soil a good deal of sandy grit is ^^fL^ent when ^ 

 seed is difficult to clean. That is, however, of no , mo* h nat^aMV^ 

 sowing. The best time for this is the middle ofj^ pUnu^^S. •» 



UK 



case when ^-^iun^ of»r 

 Prnm-ration by cy 1 "*** fce«hf 



us 



ever unsatisfactory, as such raised plants never 

 those raised from seed. — A. D. 



do 



