^^3^a_ 
S 
NURSERY CALLS. 
301 
,\ 
ideal sketches, but actual portraits of plants growing in our own establishment, which we shall be 
who 
is a 
that 
and 
happy to show to any one 
may call upon us. No. 2 
young stool of Jenny Lind ; 3, 
delicate kind called Picturata ; 
■4, Queen Superb. Larger stools of 
the same kinds may be found, but 
not more perfect, than Nos. 3 and 4. 
Of such free-growing kinds as Queen 
Superb, it is possible, by sacrificing 
the flower, to grow a plant of the 
size in one season ; but of Picturata, 
Formosa, or Fairy Queen, it would 
be good work to get them of the 
same size in three seasons. The 
reason is this, they only produce 
wood-buds at, or near, the base of 
the shoots, and hence we have no 
Fig. 4. 
choice but to cut back to them ; but the Queen-bred ones, as they are called, grow more vigorously, 
and hence may be cut much longer. 
I. 
Ifer 
FURSERY CALLS. 
Royal Nursery, Slough. 
YJN the history of London nurseries it has frequently been remarked that their prosperity is ehange- 
4V able, and that after rising to great eminence some of them as quickly go back to nothing. This 
has been the case with the Slough Nursery ; — some years back one of the most prosperous in England ; 
then a comparative blank ; and at the present time one of the most rising establishments possibly in 
the world ; and under the practical and energetic management of Mr. Turner, we opine it will become 
one of the best kept in the country, so that even the Exeter nurserymen, with their cheap labour and 
large resources, must look to their laurels, ere a southern rival should take liberties with them. 
Situated in a sheltered valley, some half a mile from the Slough station of the Great Western Railway, 
and upon a deep rich alluvial soil, in some parts strongly impregnated with vegetable matter, it is 
found admirably adapted for nursery purposes ; and the success which has attended and is attending 
Mr. Turner, in the cultivation of Dahlias, Carnations, and other florists' flowers, whereby he is beating 
the whole country, is sufficient evidence of its suitability. Let it not, however, be supposed that soil 
alone accounts for Mr. Turner's success ; there is something more, a genial situation, with good air, 
liberal payment of men, and strict personal attention. The nursery, at least that part more immedi- 
ately devoted to florists' flowers, is surrounded and divided by magnificent Yew and Holly hedges, 
which afford great protection from boisterous winds, and yet at the same time admit of a free perco- 
lation of air. These arc advantages not to be attained in all situations, and account in some measure 
for Mr. Turner's remarkable and unprecedented success. The glass, at least that part of it in the 
nursery when Mr. Turner took it, is of rather an antiquated description, the houses being small and 
heavy in the roofs ; but one of Hctlcy's ridge and furrow conservatories was erected several years back, 
and last year a splendid Pelargonium house. The latter is a " lean-to" of considerable size, and one of 
the neatest and best constructed we have seen for some time. The stage is not so near the glass as is 
generally considered necessary, but still the small compact plants which Mr. Turner showed through 
the season prove that it is possible to grow dwarf plants without their being placed close to the glass, 
if the other circumstances necessary to dwarf growth are observed; and we need not say how much 
more agreeable when in bloom they arc to look upon. The Pelargoniums at the time of our visit, — the 
height of the Carnation season, — were cut down, and out of doors to ripen, but the stage contained a 
splendid set of stools of the leading fancy kinds. The young stock was very promising, and Mr. Turner 
is the fortunate possessor of the seedlings raised by G. \\\ Hoyle, Esq., and E. Foster, Esq., now about to 
be sent out. In the conservatory was a splendid collection of Fuchsias and some nice specimen plants 
of scarlet Pelargoniums, and the pink and variegated varieties. The other houses were gay with 
Achimcncs, Gloxinias, Fuchsias, &c, and all were clean and in excellent order. 
In the open grounds the Carnations and Picotees were of course the leading feature, and a more 
f 
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