274 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 27", 1333. 
beauty, one a circle and the other an oblong. The circle has a large 
central ornamental cross of Alternanthera aurea and A. amoena, defined 
with rows of Golden Feather and Echeverias. In the centre of the cross 
is a fine clump of Echeveria metallica, and in the centre of each space 
between the arms of the cross is a plant of Sempervivum tabulieforme 
surrounded by a band of Alternanthera versicolor grandis. The main 
groundwork is Mentha Pulegium gibraltarica, on which are triplet chains 
of small diamonds and ellipses of Alternanthera aurea. There is a simple 
finish in the appearance of this bed that is very pleasing, and furnishes a 
good example of really effective carpet bedding. The oblong bed is more 
complicated in design, but fewer kinds of plants are employed. The 
Mentha forms the groundwork, with a margin of Golden Feather and 
Echeverias, with numerous small panels of Alternantheras versicolor, 
aurea, amoena, &c., which have a diversified and pretty effect, though 
perhaps the panels are in some cases rather too small—a defect that is 
often noticeable where very complicated geometrical patterns are at¬ 
tempted. The designs that generally prove most satisfactory are those 
with bold clumps or panels of colour neatly defined by some neutral tint 
upon a good green ground, or, if the neutral colour is employed as a 
foundation, the defining lines are not needed, and this is even more 
simple. 
The Prince of "Wales’s Feather beds are, as usual, aglow with Pelar¬ 
goniums and ordinary bedding plants, and have produced a most brilliant 
display during the summer. The series cf small beds near the walk 
skirting the Park on that side are also occupied with similar showy plants, 
while the large borders near the shubberies are filled with an excellent 
assortment of herbaceous plants that keep up a display from early spring 
until late autumn, far exceeding the standard bedding in length of time, 
but never producing the same brilliancy of colour, though constantly 
possessing much interest.—L. C. 
THE NATIONAL APPLE CONGRESS AT CHISWICK. 
October 4th-18th. 
A very extensive and remarkably fine display of Apples is antici¬ 
pated on this occasion, the applications for space being numerous. 
Amongst others large collections will be exhibited by Messrs. Rivers and 
Son, Sawbridgeworth; The Cranston Nursery Company, Hereford ; 
Saltmar.-h & Sons, Chelmsford ; Harrison & Sons, Leicester ; Lee & Son, 
Hammersmith ; Scott, Merriott; Wheeler & Son, Gloucester; Bunyard, 
Maidstone; Killick, Maidstone; Haycock, Barham Court; Britcher, 
Tonbridge ; Feitch Sc Sons, Chelsea ; Lane & Son, Great Berkhamstead ; 
Dickson, Chester ; Poynter, Taunton ; Dunn, Dalkeith ; Gilbert, Burgh- 
ley ; Stevens, Trentham : Selwood, Eaton Hall and district; Miles, 
Wycombe Abbey ; Clayton, Grimston Park, &c. Extensive collections 
are also expected from Tweedside. 
There will be a meeting of the General Committee on October 4th at 
2 p.m. Certificates will be awarded to approved new varieties, the Sub- 
Committee being entrusted with the preparation of a detailed report, &c 
The National Apple Congress will doubtless be interesting to those 
who can attend; but what about the far greater numbers who cannot? 
Will an official tabulated report of the collections be published 1 if not 
the Congress will be of limited use.— North Briton. 
In view of this gathering next month, which it is to be hoped will bring 
together a large variety of Apples, it would, I think, be much appreciated 
by many of your readers if you would state through the medium of your 
colunms the best way of getting there to see the Gardens. Chiswick is 
some distance from South Kensington, and as many visitors to London 
avail themselves of the day trips or excursions organised by the railway 
companies to the Fisheries and other “ sights,” and as all gardeners are 
not acquainted with the quickest and cheapest route to Chiswick from 
London, a few lines respecting it in your columns would be of great service 
to those contemplating a visit. Which is the best route by rail from the 
Fisheries Exhibition at the Horticultural Gardens at South Kensington?— 
A. Harding. 
[There are three or four trains hourly from the Mansion House via 
the District Railway to Richmond, Hounslow, Harrow, and Ealing, all 
of which stop at Turnham Green, and some of them at Acton Green 
stations, the former fifteen minutes’ and the latter eight minutes’ walk 
from the Garden. These trains can be met at South Kensington station 
by visitors to the Fisheries Exhibition.] 
LONGFORD CASTLE. 
In the lower portion of a beautiful park fringed with fine timber, with 
bold masses of trees in the distance, and noble individual specimens in the 
open central space, Longford Castle, the baronial seat of the Earl of Radnor, 
is situated. It is three and a half miles east of Salisbury, and was built 
in the early part of the fifteenth century, but has been much enlarged 
and beautified by the present owner. Late in 1644 the King demanded 
its surrender as a garrison. After the battle of Nazeby, Oliver Cromwell 
during his triumphal march, taking Basing House and Winchester Castle 
on his way, thought fit to summon Longford, and it surrendered to him 
in 1645. Queen Elizabeth, too, paid a friendly visit of some duration 
to Longford Castle, which is of great size and remarkable for the beauty 
of its architecture. The general figure of the building is triangular, is 
built of Bath stone and small pieces of flint in squares at short and 
regular intervals between the stone. This is very effective, and the large 
circular towers at each angle, and a small staircase tower at each of the 
inner angles, give to the pile an imposing appearance. In the centre is 
an open court; at the western front—the carriage entrance—is a recessed 
vestibule or piazza and a large hall. This faqide is profusely adorned 
with rustic pilasters, with balustrades and a gallery or portico on the 
first storey. About 30 yards east of the Castle is situate the Manor 
House, a picturesque building in the Tudor style, having as its prominent 
feature a central clock tower. The river Avon flows through the park, 
on the east side, and within a few dozen yards of the Castle, in the clear 
waters of which this noble pile of buildings, with its towers and minarets,, 
is sharply reflected. 
THE FLO AVER GARDEN. 
The Italian flower garden opposite the south front of the Castle is- 
sunk below the general level. It is a parallelogram of considerable 
size, having a broad central walk, in the centre of which, at the south 
end, stands an elaborate temple to the Goddess Flora, with steps ascend¬ 
ing thereto. It is supported by circular columns having capitals and 
cornice of the Corinthian order, the temple being surmounted by an urn. 
On each side of this temple, in a recess to the rear, are large Orange trees- 
with rich foliage and laden with golden fruit; beds of Roses on their own. 
roots, pegged down and growing freely, while between the walks and the 
grassy slopes are several mythological figures of great age. In the central 
squares, of which there are four, consisting of twelve beds each on each 
side the central walk, are large urns supported on pedestals, also vases; 
several of which, together with large specimens of scarlet and pink 
Pelargoniums, are on and in close proximity to the terraces. Irish upright 
Yews, with standard and climbing Roses trained to rustic posts, occupy 
central positions in several of the flower beds, imparting diversity to a 
beautiful garden. Twenty-four of these beds, eight oblong and sixteen 
hexagon-shaped, are filled with a select variety of carpet-bedding plants, 
the remaining beds being planted in masses with Pelargoniums, the. 
bicolor, tricolor, and silver-leaved sections being mixed with Blue Per¬ 
fection and Golden Gem Yiolas. Ageratums, a superior variety of the 
Tom Thumb, we never saw finer. Lobelia pumila magnifica was also 
highly effective, as was the best bed of the distinct Calceolaria amplexi- 
caulis we have seen for years, while Heliotropes were very good. After 
the summer occupants are removed from the beds they are filled with 
spring-flowering plants, and when these are in beauty the effect must be 
charming. On the centre of the terrace at the south end of the garden 
is a sundial, and from this elevated position there is a fine view of the 
Castle northward ; westward, in the undulating park, fine glades, clumps, 
and single specimens of Beech, Elms, and spreading Chestnuts, with the. 
spire of Salisbury Cathedral cutting the sky-line ; eastward, also, the-, 
park dotted with handsome trees, having in the background beautifully 
wooded slopes, behind which is the village of Alderbury, with the tapering; 
spire of its church towering above the tree tops, and in every direction 
rich masses of foliage just developing its autumnal tints. A view more 
fair than this—a quiet view of pastoral beauty, it would be difficult to 
find, as there were so many features to command attention. 
A characteristic feature of the flower garden is its broad encircling. 
Yew hedge, through which a series of arches have been cut with mathe¬ 
matical precision, and the whole is enclosed by ornamental stone, 
balustrading, with piers surmounted by stone balls at regular intervals, 
the lower part of the wall being covered with Ivy and Yew. The garden 
in question is a model one of its kind, everything—statuary, flowers, Yews 
—being so admirably balanced and in keeping, it may truthfully be 
pronounced faultless ; lawns, walks, flower beds, everything being in 
the most admirable condition. Many hardy plants are employed in the 
beds, and form a sort of permanent carpet as suitable for spring as for 
summer effect, such low-growing plants as Veronica repens and the 
golden-tipped form of Sedum acre being extensively employed. Very 
striking, and not often seen now, were some beds and large specimens of 
the true old Tom Thumb Pelargonium—sheets of velvety scarlet of its 
own peculiar glossy hue, and the innumerable small trusses appear to^ 
great effect rising from its light green zoneless foliage. For effect late 
in the season Mr. Ward finds this excels all others, but Vesuvius is the 
most effective in early summer. Some beds of Beaton’s distinct old 
Indian Yellow were also highly effective ; but we were especially pleased 
to see Tom Thumb in his rich autumn garb of long ago, yet fresh and' 
bright as ever, and holding his own bravely among his modern rivals- 
We leave this garden with the remark that in neatness and finish it 
ranks with Drumlanrig and Heckfield, and more need not be said. 
Immediately outside the flower garden is a large expanse of lawn, 
bounded on the east by the rapid-flowing Avon, in which fishes by the 
million are disporting in the clear water, and west and south by fine 
belts of Rhododendrons. In the front of these a line of Lilium auratum, 
in flower showed to great advantage, the plants being remarkable by 
their sturdy habit, and the flowers were seen to great advantage against 
the dense background of green. The bulbs, we were informed, were 
planted in June in a border 2^ feet deep of sandy peat. On the lawn 
are several fine specimen Beeches, including a grand example of the 
purple variety. Magnolia grandiflora also diffuses its fragrance, and a. 
huge bush of the common Barberry in all aglow with its coral-like, 
fruits. For relief and effect in winter are a few thriving Conifers, 
including a very fine specimen of the dense Abies Clanbrasiliana, 
Thujopsis borealis, Pinus insignis, Juniperus sabina, and some others. 
Noteworthy here are what are called the “ Clematis Temples.” Thera, 
are two of them ; one covered with Clematis montana. These are paved 
with pebbles like mosaic work. The larger one has a small circular bed 
in the centre, and mosaic walk round it ; eight others, about 2£ feet 
wide, radiating from it to an outer circ’e 60 feet in diameter. Between. 
