January 19, 1882. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 57 
follow none can tell. The quidnuncs who told us of a glacial 
wave, &c., are fairly puzzled. I will not prophesy, but can only 
express a hope that this year may not be as the last, but a good 
one for all who are interested in a garden.—D., Deal. 
BLUE ROMAN HYACINTHS. 
We have forwarded a pot of blue Roman Hyacinths for your 
criticism, and which is almost the only pot we have, as we 
grow it in pans and boxes only for cut flowers, for which 
we still maintain it is most valuable. We cut from three to 
four spikes of flowers from each bulb. They are not large 
spikes, but being small makes them the more graceful. We 
would like to ask “Cultivator of Bulbs” if he discards the 
blue Roman Hyacinth where he would get such beautiful blue 
flowers at Christmas to take their place? We have so great 
a demand for their flowers that we could not send you a pot 
earlier, nor even a box of flowers. We have cut many sprays 
from pans with ten and eleven pips on each. When “ Culti¬ 
vator of Bulbs” can give us something better in place of it, 
then we may, perhaps, cast it away, but until then we shall 
certainly claim for blue Roman Hyacinths a place amongst the 
best and most useful of plants for cut flowers at the Christmas 
season.— Jones & Sons, Coton Hill Nursery, Shrewsbury. 
[The pot we have received is 6 inches in diameter ; it contains 
six plants and thirty spikes of flowers, bright in colour and very 
fragrant. The spikes are quite large enough for bouquets. It is 
the best pot of this variety of Hyacinth we have seen. What is 
the origin of the “ Blue Roman Hyacinth ? ”—Ed.J 
KEIGHLEY NURSERIES. 
A RECENT advertisement of Carter’s Prolific Raspberry reminds me 
of a visit I some time ago paid to its home and raiser, for Keighley 
is its home, and its raiser is the very experienced and much-respected 
proprietor of the nurseries, Mr. John Carter. 
Keighley is a busy Yorkshire town within easy distance of Brad¬ 
ford, or if it is reached from Leeds the branch is at Shipley. Passing 
through Saltaire, a monument of commercial success, less than half 
an hour’s run brings us to our terminus. The country traversed is 
much undulated, indeed in places almost rugged, and the hills are 
clothed with Sycamores—a tree that is found to thrive almost better 
than any other in high and exposed positions, while the timber is 
proving of great value to an important industry at Keighley, and 
indeed of many other places, but of which this Yorkshire town has 
perhaps the pre-eminence—namely, the manufacture of washing and 
wringing machines and laundry utensils generally. Almost every 
Ycrkshire home however humble has its washer or wringer, or both. 
They are considered simple necessities of existence; and Keighley 
—or Keithley as it is pronounced—is the chief centre of their manu¬ 
facture, there being many “ works ” in the town, and hundreds of 
“hands” employed in them making these household requisites, not 
for local demands only, but for distant towns and cities and export 
purposes. After many trials and much experience the wood of the 
Sycamore is found the best of all for the machines in question and 
laundry work generally, and the demand for it is great and increasing. 
Keighley thus is favourably situated for its trade, the hills all around 
being clothed with Sycamores, and, as is clearly perceptible, ydung 
trees are being freely planted to maintain the supply. 
That the demand for Sycamores is great the stock of them in one 
of Mr. Carter’s nurseries affords conclusive proof. They are raised 
in thousands, as carefully attended to as if they were fruit trees, and 
as fast as they become large enough they are sold for planting on 
the Yorkshire hills and in exposed districts generally. As may be 
expected, where such numbers are raised distinct varieties are pro¬ 
duced. Several of these are highly attractive by their clearly varie¬ 
gated and marbled foliage, and which is apparently not obtained at 
the expense of hardiness and vigour of the trees. The best of these 
are decidedly ornamental, and worthy of being planted anywhere 
where “pictorial” trees are required. A variety that originated 
here is remarkably clear in its marking, decidedly surpassing m this 
respect the one named Leopoldi, but both are highly effective. 
Almost all other kinds of forest and plantation trees are also grown, 
including fine breadths of the most useful kinds of Eirs, and every 
care is bestowed by planting thinly and keeping the ground clean to 
induce sturdy and hardy growth. Visiting Keighley after a long 
period of wet, weeds were in the ascendant generally, but not in this 
nursery, the proprietor somewhat naively remarking in reply to an 
observation, “ Weeds 1 we cannot afford to grow them here and 
how he prevented them so well can only be explained on the suppo¬ 
sition that there were no seeds. A golden rule in cultivation this— 
Grow no weed seeds, and there will be few weeds to exhaust the soil 
and increase the labour bill. The prevalence of weeds in this country 
during the last few years has had a ruinous effect on the land, and 
numbers of cultivators have found too late that they could “ not 
afford” to grow them. The experienced owner of Keighley Nurseries 
appreciated the fact in time, turned his knowledge to account, and 
profited by it; hence the significance of the above remark. 
Before proceeding further it must be said that Mr. Carter has two 
nurseries, the old one in the town and the newer and much larger, 
established to meet an expanding trade, a mile or more distant, 
pleasantly situated, and sheltered from the north by rising ground 
covered with Sycamores, a beautiful valley stretching to the right, 
and the town nestling between the hills in the foreground. The 
town nursery contains the glass structures, the most modern of 
which is a capital house glazed without laps or putty, the glass being 
secured by studs and indiarubber packings. The roof is quite water¬ 
tight, and the mode of glazing gives great satisfaction. One long pit 
was heated in a manner that some people think not practicable, but 
judging by the excellent article on heating on page 434, last volume, 
Mr. D. Thomson is not one of them. The flow pipe in the case under 
notice, instead of rising gradually from the boiler to the far end of 
the pit—some 60 feet, is the highest at the end nearest the boiler, and 
is conducted with a perceptible descent the entire length, and thence 
back to the bottom of the boiler. The circulation was smooth, 
regular, and satisfactory. 
As m most country nurseries, there was a little of almost every¬ 
thing here, both under glass and outside, to meet local demands, and 
those plants and shrubs are chiefly provided that thrive best in this 
cold and exposed district. In this nursery shelter is afforded by 
high Thorn hedges, referred to now as they were undergoing a 
shearing process, in which Ridgway’s hedge-clipper proved its 
striking superiority over the old time-honoured shears. This imple¬ 
ment Mr. Carter regards as one of the most valuable additions to 
garden requisites of recent years ; certainly the hedges were being 
trimmed with great celerity, and at one-fourth the cost of the old 
method of clipping them. Those who have a great extent of hedges 
to keep in order in the summer may well make a note of this ex¬ 
perience of a man who is far too practical to be deceived by a novelty 
that is not of substantial worth. 
The newer and much larger nursery near the pleasantly situated 
residence of the owner is devoted almost exclusively to forest trees, 
hardy shrubs, Conifers, dwarf Roses, and such fruits that are found 
to flourish best in the district. Of flowers there were few—just suf¬ 
ficient to margin the attractive borders of choice Coniferae that flank 
the principal walk. Standard Roses are scarcely represented, the 
winter being too severe for them. All the best and most hardy 
Hybrid Perpetuals are grown, together with some favourite old 
garden Roses that are not often seen at exhibitions—notably the 
pretty miniature Rose de Meaux, that produces its buds and flowers 
in great clusters, and the crimson Burgundy Rose also with small 
flowers. These have been grown in the Keighley Nurseries for 
upwards of sixty years. They are most valuable for affording cut 
flowers, and admirably adapted for flower borders and shrubberies. 
Amongst forest trees, besides the above-mentioned Sycamores, 
Elms and Beeches were noticeable by their health and variety, 
Limes by their excellence, and Thorns by the strength and numbers 
in the form of Quick; while the ornamental kinds, such as Paul’s 
double variety and others, were included. Golden Elders imparted 
brightness ; this is a fine variety for distant effect, that will grow 
almost anywhere, and assume its golden hue if cut down annually ; 
the pyramidal form, too, was turned to the best account—namely, for 
hedges, that seldom or never need clipping. Spruce and Scotch Fir3 
are evidently a speciality, the true native form of the latter only 
being provided, as it has been found much superior to trees raised 
from foreign seeds. 
Evergreens, especially hardy kinds, and they must be hardy to 
endure the winters here, are admirably represented. Of Laurels 
the variety rotundifolia is the finest as well as the hardiest, the 
common form being comparatively useless. The hardiest Privet is 
Ligustrum ovalifolium, which is almost or quite evergreen, and very 
ornamental. The collection of Rhododendrons is choice ; but one in 
much favour in the district because of its compact growth and ex¬ 
treme hardiness is R. caucasicum album. It is one of the best ever¬ 
greens that can be planted towards the front of shrubbery borders in 
cold districts, and is largely planted in the gardens of the neigh¬ 
bouring gentry. 
There appears to have been some inquiries lately for Blackberries or 
Brambles. Both the Lawton and Parsley-leaved are included in the 
Keighley collection, and useful they are for covering trellises and 
hiding unsightly walls, as well as for affording fine clusters of fruit 
for preserving. Of course Carter’s Prolific Raspberry is here, and of 
course it is true, which is more than can be said for all that are sold 
under that name. If nothing more had been done at Keighley than 
raising this valuable variety the nursery would be worthy of notice. 
There is very little doubt that it is the best established Raspberry in 
cultivation, and will hand down its raiser’s name to posterity. The 
best evidence of the value of Carter’s Prolific is afforded by.the 
Kentish fruit-growers, who plant it by the acre and gather fruit of 
it by the ton daily in the season. It is sturdy, hardy, and produc¬ 
tive, yielding large red fruit of the best quality. This is not Mr. 
Carter’s estimate, as he said little about it, but is founded on the 
results of a trial of all the leading varieties except the new Baum- 
forth’s Seedling. If this equals the variety under notice it will not 
disappoint, while, if it surpasses it, it will be grown by future gene¬ 
rations. I have seen fruit of the new variety exhibited, and it was 
fine. Cultivators might well ti’y a few canes, but those who desire to 
make a plantation of a variety of well-proved merit cannot err by 
planting Carter’s Prolific. 
