846 



GARDENERS' 



MAGAZINE. 



December 24, 189& 



M 



E 



F 



Leaves From a Rambler's Note-book 



Or all the Ghent celebrities well known to English horticulturists there 

 are few whose names are more familiar than that of the genial and 

 courteous Secretary of the Royal Agricultural and Botanical Society of 

 that city For many years past he has been an active and enthusiastic 

 amateur of gardening, and when, some eight or nine years ago, the 

 secretaryship of that society became vacant Mr. Fierens was elected to fill 



Ho " well the selection was justified is best judged by those of our 

 fr^nrU .nrl readers who visited the last two t Quinquennial Shows, and by 



A PEEP AT ALTON TOWERS. 



EVERYBODY takes a holiday nowadays, and the problem that is most 

 perplexing is— how to spend it We live at higher pressure than our 

 forefathers did, and there are but few who treat the time of respite from 

 labour as a period for rest and leisure- On the other hand, the one idea 

 seems to be that of seeing as much as possible or obtaining the maximum 

 amount of pleasure during our weeks of holiday, with the result that we 

 often commence work again as jaded in body as when we left off. It is 

 hardly to be wondered at, considering the baits held out to us to see 

 other lands and other peoples by the aid of railways, steamboats, and 

 personally conducted tours. This is all very well, but unfortunately, in 

 their anxiety to see the beauties of other lands, people are apt to forget 

 that our own island contains scenery equally as beautiful, places quite as 

 interesting, and spots just as romantic as any abroad, and when one who 

 is satisfied 'to thoroughly 11 do " his own country before going elsewhere 

 tells of what he has seen within a day or two's journey from his own 

 home his neighbour, just returned from satisfying his aspiration to see 

 the world, is surprised that there are such sights in commonplace 

 England. Gardeners as a rule are not great travellers, nor are they 

 blessed with a superabundance of holidays. Neither do gardeners worry 

 long as to the way in which the days of respite shall be spent. Take one 

 of the fraternity and place him where you will with a full order to go where 

 he likes. If he is true to the craft his first inquiry will be whether there 

 is a garden of any note in the neighbourhood, and his first journey will 

 be to visit it. It was this spirit that led me in the holiday season to 

 visit Alton Towers. 



Monsieur Ernest Fierens 



those who attended the last Chrysanthemum Show held under the 

 auspices of the Ghent Society, where he staged a magnificent group of 

 flowering chrysanthemum plants in pots, and other very meritorious 

 exhibits : indeed, in regard to the popular autumn flower, Mr. Fierens is 

 not only a grower of importance, but a successful raiser, for having 

 received seed from Japan he succeeded in obtaining some new varieties, 

 of which one called Afsne, a large white Japanese, was figured in the 

 Revue de V Horticulture Beige not long since. 



Mr. Fierens, like many other distinguished lovers of horticulture, has 

 no business interests in the subject, for he happens to be a member of 

 the legal profession, and yet finds time to devote a large amount of 

 attention to his secretarial duties, which in the case of a society like the 

 one at Ghent is certainly no sinecure. 



His services to horticulture are, however, well known far beyond the 

 narrow confines of King Leopold's busy little kingdom, and fully appre- 

 ciated, in confirmation of which we may say that we have just learnt 

 with pleasure that the French Government has recently conferred upon 

 him the cross of the Order of the Merit Agricole, a decoration which 

 was also only a few months ago bestowed upon his eminent colleague, 

 Mr. Pynaert van Geert. When we consider some of the recent appoint- 



There are certain establishments that are famous for some reason or 

 other, and consequently they become household words among gardeners. 

 Alton Towers, the seat of the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot, is one of 

 these, and the one thing that makes it so is the unique beauty of its 

 garden. The place has no ancient history to speak of, as a century ago 

 the present domain was unknown. The garden can boast of no great 

 record in the production of sensational specimens of horticulture ; its 

 area of glass, though extensive, is not stupendous, and its facilities for 

 high-class cultivation are hardly equal to many establishments less famous. 

 Its charms and its fame lie in the fact that years ago there was a rough, 

 wild, uncultivated spot that was suitably adapted for the formation of a 

 garden. A nobleman, who was also a genius and a gardener, saw it, and 

 at once brought the force of his superior ability to play upon it ; wealth 

 and the art of a born landscape gardener added their share, Nature 

 coupled hers, and the combined forces changed a rough, wild valley into 

 the beautiful garden that has made Alton Towers famous. The first 

 pleasing phase about the place is the total absence of anything that is 

 monotonous and tiring. With a groundwork admirably adapted for the 

 formation of curves, there is hardly a straight line to be seen. It is a 

 notable instance of art improving Nature, and rocks, wood, and water 

 have all been utilised to the best advantage. Situated within easy 

 distance from the Staffordshire potteries, and within touch of the large 

 manufacturing towns of Lancashire, it is no wonder that crowds of 

 people flock to see the charming garden, which is open to the public 

 during the season, and few there are who return in any way disappointed. 

 Alton Towers is not a place requiring a gardener to appreciate it. Anyone 

 can do it who has half an eye for the beauties of Nature. 



Payne, an Englishman 



Government takes a very broad and generous view in recompensing 

 foreign workers in the various branches of horticultural work. 



We therefore offer our heartiest congratulations to Mr. Fierens on 

 the well-earned honorary distinction with which the French Government 

 has recognised his many valuable services. 



iui. x yua^ki. v an utti i, vy iicn »c Luuaiuti auiiiw niv i^^iu u^ui»n ______ _ _ 



ments— notably those of our friends Mr. Fatzer, a Swiss, and Mr. H: rman -phe Churnett Valley, extending from the moorland town of Leek to 



°" we cannot help but feeling that the French the point w here the above river empties itself into the Dove, is a charm- 



j Ki-aqH nnH ir«fiMAiit vipw in recnmnensiner i ng bit of scenery. The meandering river winds its way down the valley, 



on either side of which are romantic bits of landscape composed of wooded 

 slopes, bold rocks, ravines breaking away in either direction, stretches ot 

 bracken with openings here and there showing views of the country 

 beyond. The railway runs by the course of the river, and, as it has never 

 been considered necessary to run express trains in that part of the 

 world, travellers have ample opportunity of enjoying the surroundings 

 as they proceed. Everyone nowadays likes to go quickly, and in the 



~c _u£L_ rftter is no exception ; but then 1 was 



^ afford to appreciate a stopping train 

 along the Churnett Valley. It is a mistake for anyone to imagine that 

 they are at the Towers when they alight at Alton Station. Far from it 1 

 for there is a genuine Staffordshire hill to climb as 



Fruits for Cottagers and Small Farmers. 



1 



Mr. 



her surprised to see that your able and fair-minded correspondent 

 Molyneux, describes Sturmer Pippin as " quite third rate/ 1 The late Dr. Hogg's 

 opinion (" Fruit Manual") was as follows: "This is one of the most valuable 

 dessert apples of its season ; it is of first-rate excellence, and exceedingly 

 desirable, both on account of its delicious flavour and arriving at perfection at a 

 period when the other favourite varieties are past. It is not fit for use till the 

 Ribston Pippin is nearly gone, and continues lon^ after the Nonpareil. The 

 period of its perfection may be fixed from February to June." And this is Mr. 

 Barron's (" British Apples"): " D. Small, flat, green, russet bronzed, firm, 

 sweet, late, first quality ; a free cropper." Their opinion coincided with that of 

 the forty experts who were responsible for the first and second editions. I 

 suspect Mr. Molyneux tries it too soon, or gathers it too early. This year it 

 would hardly come away from the tree until the middle of November. But I 

 quite agree with him that Gascoyne's Scarlet is inferior as a dessert apple. It is 

 one of the new sorts placed in the list apparently before it has been fully tried and 



approved. AN Old Stager. 



Mk. A. DfcA>, in his remarks under this heading, says that " No human 

 being could give a list of the best half dozen apples for every soil, situation, or 

 district in the kingdom." If Mr. Dean will turn to pages 85, 86, and 87 of the 

 Prize Essay of the Fruiterers' Company on Fruit Growing he will tind that the 



can 



soon as you have 

 The most natural 



attempt has been made, and, at all events, wkh some success. 



F. R. H. S. 



Messrs. James Carter and Co.'s Prizes.— During the past year Messrs. 

 James Carter and Co. originated a new system of competition with the produce 

 of their vegetable and flower seeds which has proved eminently successful. They 

 offered to duplicate at one hundred and three horticultural exhibitions in various 

 parts of the country every prize won by their customers in the open classes, and as 

 the result of this offer it has been found that one thousand three hundred and 

 nineteen prizes were awarded to the produce of their seeds. 



passed through the doors of the entrance lodge. - — «— - 



inspiration before commencing this operation is to stand and look across 

 the valley, where stands right on the edge of a sheer precipice a tine 

 structure, known as Alton Castle. It occupies the site of the ancient 

 castle, destroyed during the civil wars, which from its position one would 

 think was well-nigh impregnable. However, like many others, it had to 

 go, and a noble building, erected by a former Earl of Shrewsbury, stands 

 in its place. It is built of the hard sandstone for which the neighbour- 

 hood is famous, and commands a grand view of the valley D< l low : 

 Alton Towers stands on the crest of the hill opposite, but is hidden trom 

 the valley by the wealth of timber that clothes the hillside. But tnitner 

 we were bound, and with a last look at the valley commenced the ciimo. 



In front of us was a stout lady, who, from the tone of her conversa- 

 tion, apparently came from Lancashire, and with her was a small wir> 

 man, presumably her husband. The latter inquired the nearest way 

 the Towers, and received the answer, " The step walk is the near est, om 

 the carriage drive is the easiest." Human to the backbone, ne cno 

 the nearest, and lived, I fancy, to repent, for the way is a series ot rngm^ 

 of steep steps in close succession, and not exactly the road to be i cn» 

 by anyone carrying a superfluous amount of flesh. Whilst we lingj» 

 viewing the scenery the two made headway, and by the time we nau * . 

 up about half the flights of bteps we passed the lady in question bear 

 on a large stone mopping her face with her handkerchief and iems b 



