10 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January 3,1884. 
gives hopes by its rapid advancement of soon reaching gigantic dimensions. 
When fully developed these are 12 inches long and 6 inches in diameter, 
very hard and full. Many others could be enumerated, and the distinct 
N. Yeitchi must by no means be omitted, as it takes the attention at once 
by its beautifully formed pale green pitchers. N. sanguinea is also one 
of the thoroughly useful sorts, bright in colour and very free. 
Stove plants, including a wonderful collection of handsome Crotons, 
Anthuriums, Alocasias, and multitudes of other choice flowering and fine- 
foliage plants occupy dozens of houses, and would require a volume to 
enumerate all their attractions. The same might be said of the soft- 
wooded and greenhouse department, in which all the more popular and 
useful plants are grown by thousands. 
A grand house of tree Carnations has been for some time a great 
feature amongst these, and proves how valuable such plants are at this 
time of the year. A perfect forest of flowers is borne on strong but 
compact plants, which continue for a long period in good condition, and 
yield a constant supply of fragrant and useful flowers during several of 
the dullest months of the year. The most notable of the varieties are 
A. Alegatiere, dark scarlet; Irma, bright clear rose, very pretty; La 
Favori, rosy scarlet; Falstatf, a bright purple flake ; Laura, salmon-pink; 
The Bride, pure white; L’Hermine, white; Miss Jolifl'e, pale pink; 
Lucifer, deep rich scarlet; and Andalusia, yellow. Conspicuous above 
all is, however, the superb new variety Mrs. Keen, which was recently 
shown at Kensington and honoured with a first-class certificate. This is 
an extremely handsome form, with massive flowers of an intensely deep 
rich velvety maroon colour, which in some lights appears almost black. 
It is of strong habit, very free, and is certainly one of the grandest of the 
type. 
The plants mentioned are only a few of the many flowering in the 
nursery during the last week of 1883. How different from the appearance 
of the house during the corresponding week thirty years ago ! The 
progress is astonishing, and progressive still.—A Countkyman. 
WILTON HOUSE. 
When in Wiltshire last September I was urged by every gardener 
I met not to miss an opportunity of visiting Wilton ; and one friend, 
who had evidently taken the measure of my capacity, had the honesty 
to remark, “ You will learn something there.” It is true he did not 
appear to fully comprehend the significance of his observation until 
a few minutes after its utterance, and would evidently have withdrawn 
it if he could. Yet it was true. There is scarcely a well-managed 
garden to be found where there is not something to be learned, and 
there are, I may venture to say, few men who could spend an evening 
in the well-appointed gardener’s residence at Wilton without adding 
something to his store of knowledge. An outline sketch, therefore, of 
Wilton, its grounds and gardens, may not be unacceptable ; and if the 
details be necessarily scant, this will afford an excuse for those who 
are able to do so to go and see for themselves—this fine old English 
home of an old and noble family being well worth a visit by archaeologists 
and gardeners. 
Wilton, then, the ancestral seat of the Earl of Pembroke and Mont¬ 
gomery, is about three miles from Salisbury ; but there is a railway station 
within a mile from the gardens, the route in summer being almost under 
a canopy of foliage, all the roads that intersect the demesne apparently 
being lined with grand timber, which, more than anything else, imparts 
dignity to the surroundings of the homes of the affluent. Wilton is one 
of the most ancient, as it is now undoubtedly one of the smallest of 
parliamentary boroughs, famed for its carpet manufacture, and perhaps 
largest annual sheep fairs in England. The Wylie, which runs through 
the grounds, is supposed to be the first river in which trout and grayling 
were established in England by the monks of old. Established they 
certainly are, and it is a pretty sight to see them in shoals gracefully 
gliding through its pellucid waters. 
Another river, the Nadder, a more imposing stream, also intersects 
the pleasure grounds, and is spanned by an elegant bridge with an open 
Ionic colonnade, which forms a striking feature from the mansion as 
viewed through the branches of magnificent Cedars of Lebanon. These 
trees are the pride and glory of Wilton. There is quite a forest of them 
on the great lawn, four of them being regarded as among the oldest trees 
in the country, having been established 200 years. How majestic such 
specimens are with their firm trunks and rich deep solid green branches ! 
Perhaps the oldest description of this tree is the best, that by the prophet 
Ezekiel:—“Behold ... a Cedar in Lebanon, with fair branches, 
and of an high stature ; and his top was among the thick boughs. His 
boughs were multiplied and his branches became long. The Fir trees 
were not like his boughs, nor the Chestnut trees like his branches ; nor 
any tree in the Garden of God like unto Him in beauty.” Such, then, 
are the Cedars at Wilton—none equals them in beauty. 
The two rivers running through the grounds indicate that the position 
is not elevated, also that the land is fertile—natural advantages that 
never appear to have been overlooked by the shrewd old monks in the 
selection of sites for abbeys and monasteries. Wilton at a very remote 
period was the seat of a monastery, an oratory being first erected by 
Wulstan, Earl of Wiltshire, whose widow succeeded in raising it into a 
priory ; and King Alfred, after his defeat of the Danes, is said to have 
erected a nunnery and transferred it to the sisters of the priory. Here 
the Queen of Edward the Confessor was educated, and Maud, Queen of 
Henry I., passed many of her early days. It was taken possession cf by 
King Stephen 740 years ago, but he was driven out by the army of the 
Empress Matilda, by whom it was destroyed by fire ; it was eventually 
rebuilt. In 1579 it was visited by Queen Elizabeth, and a quarter of a 
century afterwards was for some time the residence of the Court. That 
is, in brief, what history records about the ancient manor of Wilton- 
At the dissolution Wilton Abbey was granted to Sir William Herbert, 
afterwards Earl of Pembroke, who on its site commenced the erection of 
the present edifice from designs by Holbien and Inigo Jones. 
It is a massive pile of great magnitude. The exterior is not remark¬ 
able for architectural embellishment, but the interior is exceedingly rich 
in ancient and modern statuary and rare old paintings—notably the 
Vandyke room—and with plants and flowers, of which Lady Pembroke 
is an ardent admirer, tastefully disposed in every available position, an, 
effect is produced such as is rarely seen. The plant-furnishing is a work 
of magnitude at Wilton, and right well it is done. The views from the 
windows over 65 acres of lawn well furnished but not crowded with- 
grand deciduous trees and evergreens, with the river glistening down, 
the valley, leading the eye to the distant and lofty spire of Salisbury 
Cathedral on the one hand, and the flower garden and isolated temples 
beyond on the other, are of no ordinary character. The flower garden 
is what may be termed a small corner masked on all sides by evergreens, 
—a bright spot in a great framework of green. It is pleasingly diversi¬ 
fied with shrubs and vases, and is gay without being severely formal by’ 
the disposition of the plants in spring and summer, spring gardening 
being carried out on an extensive scale. 
To attempt an enumeration of the trees and shrubs in these extensive 
pleasure grounds would simply result in an imperfect catalogue ; there¬ 
fore only just one tree will be noticed—an old and lofty Horse Chestnut 
that made a mistake a number of years ago and has never been able to- 
rectify it—namely, it partially casts its leaves in summer instead of in 
autumn, makes fresh growth, and flowers in October instead of in 
spring ! This is its invariable habit, its neighbours around it being 
content to progress in the orthodox way. Between the mansion and 
kitchen garden an antique building half hidden among the trees arrests 
attention. Ancient it undoubtedly is, and picturesque, yet useful, for- 
there the children of workmen on the estate are clothed and educated 
by Lady Pembroke, who further seeks to obtain for them good appoint¬ 
ments in life. It is truly “ noble to be good.” 
The kitchen garden is about a quarter of a mile north of the mansion, 
the Wylie forming the southern boundary of the department under 
notice. The stream is crossed by bridges, and in one part by large- 
stepping stones which rise a few inches above the water. These stones 
have been used from time immemorial, presumably from the “ days of 
the Romans,” and on that account are not likely to be supplanted by a 
modern bridge. The stream, which is somewhat rapid, has been turned 
to excellent account by Mr. Challis, as by holding up the water at a 
convenient point, making a water wheel and fixing pumps, water is 
forced all over the garden and houses at the least possible outlay, and 
can be brought to bear in washing wall trees and watering crops through- 
moveable tubing. This is a very complete arrangement, and an ever¬ 
present supply of water is insured at a trifling cost considering the extent 
of ground through which the pipes are conducted. 
The most commanding feature of this garden is the great collection 
of fruit trees, which, however, do not impress so much by their number* 
as their splendid condition. Pyramid Pears especially are magnificent, 
the main avenue being highly imposing. They are not pigmy trees, not 
a few of them being capable of bearing fruit by the bushel. They range 
from 15 to 20 feet high, are perfectly furnished to the ground, and as- 
symmetrical as the most ideal Conifer that can be imagined. They are 
systematically and skilfully pruned, and periodically lifted, or they could 
not be maintained in their present condition. In some soil fruit trees- 
may be planted and afterwards almost let alone, with the assurance that 
they will make handsome specimens and in favourable seasons afford" 
bountiful crops ; but this natural system would fail utterly at Wilton, 
where the soil is only slightly above the water, as indicated by the- 
streams. In such positions it is imperative that the roots of the trees- 
be kept near the surface, and although summer mulching be practised, 
occasional lifting also becomes a necessity. This was demonstrated by 
several trees that were “ waiting their turn ” to be taken up and 
replanted. Immediately roots find their way into the wet subsoil the 
growths assume a totally different character. The leaves have a., 
yellowish green hue and are thin in texture, while the growth is also 
thin, long-jointed, destitute of tissue, and essentially unfruitful. It is a. 
great work keeping such a number of trees in order under these circum¬ 
stances, and it is not always possible to attend to each specimen with the. 
promptitude that is desirable ; yet it is evident that none of them have 
to wait long for the attention that they need, and the result is as grand 
a lot of fruit trees as a gardener could reasonably expect to see under 
the most favourable conditions of site and soil. 
Wall trees need similar care or they would not long remain in a 
satisfactory state. All the borders are aerated by a series of drains and 
vertical pipes protruding through the soil. Mr. Taylor, in his excellent, 
work “Vines at Longleat,” expresses a doubt that an arrangement ofi 
this kind conduces to the aeration of the soil, and rather suggests that it 
tends to the circulation of air in large streams through the pipes and- 
from the soil. In a well-constructed, drained, and sufficiently porous 
Vine border air will always follow the water that is given, and the borders- 
well managed remain sweet; but it is not so when, as at Wilton, the 
soil may be said to rest on the water. Artificial aid is then necessary,, 
and that it works beneficially is evident by the improvement of those 
trees to which the system has been applied, and hence it is being extended 
as the replanting is proceeded with. Thus hardy fruit culture at Wilton, 
is work requiring the exercise of much thought, sound judgment, and. 
