422 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. f November 10, 1881. 
of frost ; but in English gardens they are treated as perennials, 
and in most parts of the country have to be protected in winter, 
though they appear to be hardy in some very cold and exposed 
places, and it is difficult to say what conditions ensure their hardi¬ 
ness. The natural colour of the leaves of L. cardinalis is green, 
but the garden varieties generally have purple leaves. The flowers 
are for the most part of an intense scarlet, but sometimes vary to 
dark crimson. 
A very handsome class of hybrids between L. syphilitica and 
L. cardinalis has been raised, some of them having been in culti¬ 
vation for many years, two especially, named L. Villarsii and L. 
violacea, possessing great merit as ornamental plants, and having 
flowers of dark rich violet colour. Many of these hybrids are 
perennial and perfectly hardy, but they seem to vary much in 
this respect. 
I plant the seedlings out as soon as they are large enough in a 
bed of good rich soil, where many of them flower late the first 
year. Those which survive the winter I plant out in spring in 
the mixed borders, to the gaiety of which they form an important 
contribution in late autumn. Seed of all these Lobelias may be 
obtained cheaply and abundantly from that invaluable treasury 
of choice seeds, the shop of Mr. W. Thompson of Ipswich.— 
C. Wolley Dod, Edge Hall, Malpas. 
SHORT NOTES ON GOOD GARDENS. 
As the gardens of Cardiff Castle were referred to a few weeks 
ago (page 288), and those at St. Fagan’s Castle were described on 
page 264, vol. i., new series, it is not now necessary to say more 
than they merit all that has been published about them, the culti¬ 
vation being excellent at both places. Less known are the two 
following establishments. 
TREDEGAR PARK. 
Newport, Monmouthshire, is the station for this celebrated 
place. From Newport the house is some three miles or more, 
but an extensive finely wooded park is entered before going thus 
far. Lord Tredegar is well known as an ardent agriculturist and 
considerate landlord, and many proofs of both may be seen on 
the estate. Horticulture, too, is well represented, and much good 
practice may be seen. The glass houses are not erected in long 
imposing ranges, but they are in two or three different gardens. 
In one there is a fine span-roofed stove, which contains many 
well-grown specimen plants. The Palms and Crotons are fine 
exhibition plants, and besides them the side shelves are well filled 
with small healthy plants for room and table decoration. Not far 
from this stove there are two vineries of large size, planted chiefly 
with Black Hamburgh and Muscat of Alexandria. The Ham- 
burghs were very fine, and the Muscats were especially so, as might 
be expected, as Mr. Raffill the gardener secured the Veitch Memo¬ 
rial Medal and prize for Muscats at the Manchester International 
Exhibition. The bunches and berries were large and very regular, 
and the colour was more golden than is generally seen on Muscats. 
The vinprice are not entirely devoted to Grapes, but contain many 
plants and Figs. 
The next important house i a long curved span-roofed Peach 
house. The trees have only been planted about twelve months, 
and their growth is most satisfactory. We noticed good sub¬ 
stantial loam formed the basis of the border, and we are informed 
that abundance of water is given to the roots during the time the 
trees are growing. Besides the fruit trees this house also con¬ 
tained many softwooded plants all in good health. Pines are 
grown there, and the largest house was full of fine successional 
plants, and many in fruit. The kitchen garden is about eight 
acres in extent, and every inch of it was filled with well-grown 
crops. Wall trees and espalier trees were more numerous than 
in any garden we have visited lately, and most of them were in 
excellent health and bearing heavily. 
The flower garden is not in a great mass as we often see, but 
is much divided into old-fashioned borders, which were effectively 
planted with the ordinary bedding plants, and many herbaceous 
plants and annuals were mixed with them. In the pleasure 
grounds there were many unusually fine specimens of Conifers 
and deciduous trees, amongst which some very large Tulip Trees 
were conspicuous. In this short note we feel that there is much 
in this well-managed and liberally supported garden of great 
interest which must be omitted at present; but all who may visit 
it will find something to please at every turn. 
BRYN GLAS. 
Though not, perhaps, very familiar to a number of readers 
this is a place of no small importance. It is situated on the 
opposite side of Newport from Tredegar, about a mile and a half 
from the town, and from the elevation on which it stands one of 
the finest and most extensive views in Monmouthshire may be 
obtained. The pleasure grounds are six acres in extent, and the 
kitchen garden about two acres. There is a long conservatory 
attached to the mansion, and there are many small convenient 
plant and fruit houses in other parts of the garden, all bearing 
evidence to the interest the respected proprietor, T. Cordes, Esq., 
takes in horticulture, and in which he is so ably assisted by his 
gardener, Mr. Wattie. Those who know this place from report 
regard it as a good plaDt-growing establishment, but other 
branches of gardening are equally attended to. Plants are cer¬ 
tainly well grown, as not long ago some of the specimens were 
placed before those from Messrs. Cypher and Tudgey at an impor¬ 
tant show. The Crotons are of great size and beautifully coloured. 
The Dipladenias are well grown, and they are regarded as the 
most useful of stove plants, as they bloom for such a length of 
time. Mr. Wattie has succeeded in raising a seedling of much 
promise ; it is somewhat after the style of D. amabilis, but larger 
in the bloom and more pleasing in colour than that variety. The 
blooms are whitish, beautifully suffused with crimson. 
Stephanotis is largely grown both planted out and in large pots, 
and in both cases it is in fine health, and blooms almost all the 
year round. Eucharis amazonica is another plant grown in 
quantity and well. Salvia patens is grown in pots, and some fine 
clumps of it in the conservatory were in full bloom, and we 
thought it most lovely. In future we shall grow some in this 
way. 
Peaches under glass were all gathered, and the trees gave grand 
promise of fine crops in future. Grapes, especially Black Alicantes, 
were extremely fine, and Vines in pots to fruit early were strong 
and well grown. Pines, particularly the successional plants, were 
healthy ; late Melons were a fine crop both in number and size ; 
Cucumbers for autumn supply were answering their purpose well ; 
Strawberries for spring fruiting were the finest we have seen this 
season ; in fact, better could not be desired. The kitchen garden 
was well filled with useful crops ; and here, again, espalier fruits 
were so fine that we are much inclined to think that this is a 
good system of growing fruit. 
Roses are extensively grown, and a small glass house in the 
pleasure grounds has been erected specially to secure late and 
early blooms. In this house there is a very fine Marechal Niel. 
About the lawns there are some grand young plants of the choicest 
kinds of Rhododendrons ; and the flower garden, in which beds 
grouped together, is more tastefully planted than any we ever 
saw out of London. All departments indicate the care of a good 
gardener.— Traveller. 
THE USE OF EIRE HEAT FOR GRAPES. 
Mr. Taylor’s temperatures for Grapes, as quoted by “Corre¬ 
spondent ” in a recent issue (page 375), are so much above Mr. 
Simpson’s that I fail to see how they can be taken as evidence in 
support of the “ cool system,” as it would take considerable fire 
heat to keep them up to that figure. I venture to say not many 
good cultivators would object to Mr. Taylor’s temperatures—in 
fact, I think they are more generally followed than higher or 
lower are ; but I do not think many would like to adopt the tem¬ 
peratures so persistently advocated by Mr. Simpson. These may 
do for Grapes that can be grown outside, but not for the produc¬ 
tion of first-class examples of Muscats and late-keeping kinds. 
We do not want “fair” or “tolerable” Grapes, loose in bunch, 
wanting in colour and flavour. We want them well coloured, 
highly finished, and of the very best flavour—Grapes which we 
can place on our employers’ tables or exhibition boards without a 
blemish, and with a feeling that whoever looked at or tasted them 
their verdict would be “First-rate.” Until advocates of the 
“cool system” can show such Grapes, produced from year to 
year from the same Vines, they may write about it in vain. 
The economy of the system has yet to be proved, for against 
the fuel said to be saved must be placed want of finish, size, and 
flavour in the Grapes, and unripe wood. There may be exceptions 
to this in favourable localities and good positions, but generally 
such would be the result of the fuel-saving, which cannot be called 
true economy. The use of fire heat for Grapes can, I think, be 
summed up in a few words—it enables us to grow the best kinds 
to a higher state of perfection than we could do without it, and to 
cope with dull and sunless seasons; it also enables us to ripen the 
wood in good time for the Vines to have a season of rest before 
starting them again.—A. Barker, Hindlip. 
Liquid Manure for Ferns. —I can fully corroborate what Mr. 
Gilbert says on this subject on page 352. Most of our plants for 
cutting from are in pots absurdly small compared with the size of 
the plants; but as we prefer to keep the red tiles in our houses as 
