JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 199 
and the soil naturally unfertile ; at Burghley the fourteen acres are 
almost as level as a lake, and the soil excellent. 
This large space is enclosed with walls and intersected by other 
walls, forming six separate enclosures, and quite round the whole 
block is a sunk fence 10 feet deep, thus affording ample facilities for 
drainage. Much land outside the walls is also devoted to fruit and 
vegetable culture, there being altogether about twenty-eight acres 
under cropping, and every yard is cultivated and every corner occu¬ 
pied ; even the bank of stones, the result of excavating the sunk fence, 
on the south side at least, and which has lain unutilised for more 
than a hundred years, is now turned to account. A district in Kent 
is noted for its stones and its Cherry trees : and Mr. Gilbert, always 
wdde awake, thought as Cherries grew so well among stones there, 
they would also grow among stones at Burghley. Trees were ac¬ 
cordingly planted, and for firm clean growth and fruitfulness they 
could not be well surpassed. This experience of growing Cherry 
trees in stone heaps may possibly be of service to someone, and hence 
it is recorded. 
There is no waste of walks in these gardens, but all the ground 
possible is turned to account. A wide gravel Box-edged walk is 
formed quite round the general enclosure at about 25 feet from the 
walls, and a broad road for carts is formed through the centre from 
east to west. This road is not edged, so manure can be readily con¬ 
veyed to the land. On the opposite side of the chief gravel walk 
are borders about G feet wide containing bush fruit trees, and at the 
back of these borders paths for workmen and wheelbarrows. There 
are no walks running parallel with the intersecting walls. Vege¬ 
tables are not grown close up to the walls, but a portion is left about 
5 feet wide. This does not appear to be dug, but is firm, and mulched 
with manure over some at least of the roots of the wall trees. 
Across most of the principal quarters is a row of fruit trees, with 
a few rows of Currant bushes, under which the ground is not dug 
either, but covered with manure. So much for the general character 
of this excellent and excellently arranged garden ; and now, briefly, 
to some of its contents. 
FRUIT TREES AND BUSHES. 
Most of the wall trees are old, several Peaches on the south walls 
being exceptions. An example of good old-fashioned training is seen 
here, the branches being straight as gun rods, and the lower branches 
stronger than those in the centre. This is the secret of furnishing 
a wall effectively. These trees are very fruitful, but the blossoms are 
this year too advanced. A wall of Apricots is similarly well fur¬ 
nished, thin nets being placed over the trees for retarding the blossom, 
which will shortly be expanding. Mr. Gilbert has a remedy for 
preventing the branches of Moorpark Apricots dying, which is new 
to me, though it may not be new to all. He says only seedling trees 
should be raised and planted, and that this fine variety comes true 
from seed. This is the newest notion I picked up at Burghley. Fig 
trees are numerous, receive little pruning, bear abundantly, and, as 
a rule, the fruit ripens well. Pears are largely grown, but only, one 
need be mentioned, and this as an example of renovating. It is an 
old tree with large horizontal branches. All these were cut off but 
the bottom pair, the middle pair, and a pair about 18 inches from the 
top of the wall. The spurs being cut from these, new growths pushed 
freely, one of which was retained at intervals of a foot; at the base 
of these, buds of a superior variety were inserted in the summer, and 
soon the wall will be covered with valuable fruit. These new growths 
are trained vertically and now cover the wall, and as these from the 
lower pair of branches extend, the others above them will probably 
be removed. This is a simple, quick and good system of renovating 
a wall tree. 
Pyramid and bush trees are not closely pruned. The branches are 
thinned out, not shortened, and when there is space, as there mostly 
is upwards, this is the plan that will yield the most fruit with the 
least expenditure of labour. Severely shortening the shoots of fruit 
trees in winter and letting the roots extend is one of the greatest 
fallacies in gardening, and one of the chief causes of fruitless trees. 
Baspberries are trained rather differently from the usual practice. 
The stools are 4 or 5 feet apart, and the stakes driven in line exactly 
between them, the canes from each side being bent over and their 
points secured to the stakes. The young growths then spring up 
unimpeded and exposed to the full light and air. This is a very old, 
almost forgotten, yet good method of training that is worthy of 
mention. 
Old Black Currant bushes are made young again in a simple 
manner. A certain number when old are cut down yearly nearly 
to the ground. They push strong growths, and in a year or two bear 
splendid fruit instead of inferior produce. Some bushes that at a 
glance appear four or five years old are perhaps five times that age, 
perhaps more. If the ground is not dug but dressed with manure and 
soil annually, Black Currant bushes may be kept profitable for gene¬ 
rations, as they bear cutting down about as well as Willows, and, 
like Willows, afterwards grow vigorously. 
A NEW ORCHARD. 
An orchard of several acres has been planted on a very sensible 
plan that will meet the approval of “Wiltshire Hector.” With 
nearly everything that the Rector writes on fruit trees I cordially 
agree, and so does Mr. Gilbert. Thousands of fruit trees have been 
planted during the last twenty-five years in this country, yet there is 
room for ten times more American Apples in our markets now than 
there was a generation ago. Why is this ? There are two cardinal 
causes—1, Planting one tree of a kind of a multitudinous number of 
varieties ; 2, Indulging in pruning unsound in principle and amount¬ 
ing to mere mutilation. The plan adopted at Burghley has been to 
select the varieties that succeed u-ell in that locality , and to plant at 
least a dozen trees of each—standards, at a little more than 30 feet 
apart, cultivating and cropping the ground amongst them. 
The following are the varieties, only one of which is doubtful, the 
Ribston Pippin, which could not be excluded; all the others invari¬ 
ably grow healthily and bear freely in the district. 
Apples. —Peasgood’s Nonsuch, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Worcester Pear- 
main, Mere de Menage, Claygate Pearmain, King of the Pippins 
(Golden Winter Perrmain), Stone’s Apple or Loddington, Golden 
Noble, Barnack Beauty, a valuable local variety, Wellington (Dume- 
low’s Seedling), Reinette du Canada, Warner’s King, Dutch Mignonne, 
London Pippin, Lord Suffield, Winter Hawthornden, and Lord Gros- 
venor. Plums. —Victoria and Prince of Wales. Cherry. —Kentish 
Prolific Morello. 
Each tree is supported with three stakes driven slantingly into 
the ground 18 inches from the stem, the tops meeting in a bundle of 
hay just under the head of each tree. The shoots were shortened 
the season of planting, and little subsequent pruning will be needed. 
When these trees are in full bearing, instead of a peck or a bushel of 
a sort being gathered, as is the case under the one-pigmy-tree-of-a- 
kind system, there will be tons of fruit for marketing, and it is surely 
as well to produce these within a hundred miles of London and Man¬ 
chester as to have them grown at a distance of upwards of three 
thousand miles. On the question of fruit-growing for the million we 
may well pause and wonder what the Americans think of us. 
YEGETABLE-GROWIKG. 
Vegetable-growing at Burghley is conducted on the London market 
garden system, and there is no better method. If young gardeners 
were to endeavour to make themselves acquainted with a profitable 
system of vegetable and hardy fruit culture, they would find the 
knowledge of greater value than any amount of skill in striking Pelar¬ 
goniums and pricking out Lobelias. “ Value for money ” is becoming 
the order of the day, and Mr. Gilbert is able to show that the value of 
the garden produce equals the expenditure. It would be impossible to 
do this everywhere. There are numbers of places where even a Gilbert 
could not do it, and to accomplish it at Burghley is something to be 
proud of. “ But where is the proof of this achievement ? ” some may 
ask. If they reflect a moment they will perceive that if it were not 
true Mr. Gilbert dare not have this statement published. But the next 
question will be, “ How' are the values of the products arrived at ?” 
They are founded on Covent Garden prices, and when two prices are 
quoted for an article the average between them is adopted, which is 
quite fair, and the whole procedure is just embodied in a method of 
good culture and good book-keeping. 
LAND PREPARATION. 
Economy' in this and sound judgment in cropping constitute the 
very root of success. When a piece of ground is trenched, twice or 
thrice the quantity of manure is applied that is usual in ordinary 
practice, and this supports three or four crops with scarcely any 
further expenditure than sowing, planting, and hoeing. The routine 
of trenching is also conducted on what is found to be the cheapest 
system. It is this : The manure on the ground, one man takes out 
the trench and makes everything ready, then a strong force is put on 
first thing in the morning, beginning on Monday morning if possible. 
The work then goes with a freshness and spring that makes itself 
felt. But this only lasts for three or four hours, then the men are 
divided and sent to different work that equally w'ants doing for the 
rest of the day. This change amounts to a rest, and at the same time 
the work progresses quickly. This is the w'ay to get the most work 
done in the shortest time, and in the easiest and most agreeable 
manner to the men. “ Single-handed ” wrote forcibly on this 
principle of working some time ago, and clearly show r ed its advantages. 
But space diminishes, and a few of the crops and varieties must be 
as shortly as possible alluded to, as they are not -badly' selected at 
Burghley. 
POTATOES. 
Several varieties have been on trial, but the following are regarded 
as the most serviceable. Selected Myatt’s Prolific, the best first 
early ; Beauty of Hebron, prolific and useful; Uxbridge Kidney, 
a second early of splendid quality; Schoolmaster, productive and 
much liked ; and Paterson’s Victoria, a variety of well-known excel¬ 
lence. These are arranged in the order of ripening, and as yielding 
produce of the best quality all the year round. Uxbridge Kidney is 
the most esteemed of all; w'hen cooked it is white and floury, yet is 
agreeably melting in texture, and in flavour equals the old Lapstone 
if it does not surpass it, continuing good throughout the winter. Of 
the other new varieties Holborn Favourite is held in high repute. 
Mr. Gilbert says he has only recently found out the right w’ay of 
growing good Potatoes for exhibition, and I wdll leave him to state 
his method if he has no objection to do so. 
BROCCOLIS AND CABBAGES. 
Besides extensive squares of these, single rows are seen along the 
back edge of the wall borders. But for this “ dodge ” there would 
have been no heads during the past two years, all the plants in the 
