September 4, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
217 
of bis Rousham Park Hero Onion and a new Globe variety called the 
Wroxton, which, if it ripens under ordinary circumstances in this country, 
will be a gain amongst large varieties. 
FLORAL DECORATIONS AT NEWCASTLE, 
the occasion of the recent visit of the Prince of Wales to New- 
castle-on-Tyne the floral decorations were of a most extensive kind. 
The central station was entrusted to Messrs. W. Fell & Co., Wentworth 
Nurseries, Hexham, who discharged their duty in a most efficient manner. 
Huge ConiferiB and Scotch Firs were employed to form avenues where 
the Royal cortege passed, and from the roofs in line a number of hanging 
baskets of Ferns formed a moat graceful finish. Stephenson’s monument 
was entrusted to Mr. W. J. Watson, nurseryman, Fenham, and right well 
he did his work. The base was adorned with Gynerium argenteum, spring¬ 
ing from a group of small kinds of Conifene, relieved with flowering 
Ericas, Pelargoniums, &c. The same firm decorated the Bank of England. 
Messrs. Finneys, seedsmen, had their shop front and the balcony above 
very finely adorned with baskets of Ferns, Gladioli, and Sunflowers, and 
a quantity of Mountain Ash, which formed a fine effect viewed from the 
distance. Mr. Andrew Balfour also had his premises well adorned with 
a fine lot of stove and greenhouse plants ; indeed, in every direction the 
floral decorations were of the most lavish and elaborate description. The 
banqueting hall at Jesmond was embellished by Sir W. Armstrong’s 
gardener, Mr. Elliott, and was a great success. As Sir W. Armstrong 
has now given to the people of Newcastle parks exceeding in value 
£150,000, I may, with the Editor’s permission, give your readers some 
account of them in a future issue.— Bernard Cowan, Sonth Shields. 
MESSRS. WEBB’S SEED FARM. 
For many years past I have had a great desire to inspect Messrs. 
Webb’s seed grounds at Kinver, near Stourbridge, but it was not until 
quite recently, when in the midland counties, that my desire was fully 
gratified. 
A short drive from Stourbridge brought us to Wordsley, where are 
situated Messrs. "Wehb’s offices and warehouses. The ledger office, which 
I looked into in passing, is a spacious room containing forty clerks busy at 
work. Overhead there are smaller offices for the heads of departments and 
the principals, but the stores surpass all, and are of colossal proportions. 
The principal store house is 180 feet in length, 60 feet in width, and five 
storeys high. The different floors are reached by wide staircases, and both 
outside and inside there are numerous powerful lifts for the speedy lifting 
or lowering of goods. On each of the floors there are numerous improved 
machines for cleaning and separating seeds. Nothing like the bulk of the 
seeds was there, but harvesting was going on. On one of the floors were 
eight or ten cartloads of beautiful seed of Webb’s Kinver Marrow Pea. 
What a demand there must be for this sort! Apart from the main buibl- 
ng there are extensive Potato stores, Clover stores. Wheat and cereal 
®tores. Hop and wool stores, seed trial houses, packing sheds, and work¬ 
shops, as it was in these that the magnificent new stand brought out at the 
Royal Agricultural Show at Shrewsbury was made, and further there is 
just now in cou se of erection a seed corn store which measures 120 feet in 
length by 45 in width, and it is four storeys high. These are all substantial 
well-finished buildings, replete with every convenience. 
in leaving this metropolis of seed warehonses, a drive of five miles 
through a beautifully wooded and fertile conntry brought us to the Kinver 
seed farms. These, as I have before stated, are 1600 acres in extent, and 
are mostly freehold. Extensive and favourably situated though these 
Kinver seed farms are, they do but a small share in supplying the direct 
demands of the multitudes of customers. In other parts the seed grounds 
runup to 16,600 acres, and these are mainly situated in the sunny south. 
The farms at Kinver are mostly freehold, and the others are principally 
leased by Messrs. Webb, and are managed after their own systems, which 
must be more advantageous than the not uncommon plan of having one field 
of seed here and another there, as they can find a farmer to oblige them, 
irrespective of any knowledsre he may possess of the cultivation of high- 
class seeds. The farms at Kinver, however, play the most important parts 
of all, as it is there the stocks are grown and selected and their meiits 
proved. For instance, of many of our most choice vegetable and flower 
productions I saw from 3 to 10 acres in a seed-bearing condition, but 
this had nothing to do with suppljing the direct demands of customers, as 
these “ patches ” are only grown to supply seed for producing seed 
again on a much more extensive scale in other parts of the firm’s pos¬ 
sessions. The careful way of dealing with the stock is of the utmost 
importance and highly satisfactory. The Kinver farms occupy an elevated 
position. The land is cultivated to the highest degree of productiveness, 
the crops are of the choicest, and the results are altogether gratifying, 
everything of importance being done under the supervision of the 
principals. 
The department most interesting to garden cultivators are extensive 
quarters devoted to the vegetable and flower trials. The quality of the 
seeds and the value of the produce can be seen at a glance. Sunny fields 
and fertile soils are divided into long quarters, each strip being about 
20 yards in width, with walks between, and it is on these that large ma'^ses 
of flowers and vegetables are growing. Only a small row or two of many 
varieties might be deceptive, but the large quantities here indicate the true 
character of the subject very decidedly. Of Teas, for instance, 130 kinds 
have been on trial growing on the Chiswick trial style. Every Pea of 
recent introduction was to be seen there, and many of the old varieties 
had not been forgotten, although it could not be the unsnrpassed merit 
of these which secured them a position, as in this respect they^ were sur¬ 
passed, compared with several varieties recently introduced by Messrs. 
Webb. Of these the New Wordsley Wonder, a blue Marrow of splendid 
qualities ; Triumph, Kinver Gem, Electric Light, and Stourbridge Marrow 
deserve special mention, as they had no equals in thr trial grounds. Having 
tried them all in my garden, I could confirm this. Prominence, though, is 
not given in the trial grounds to Messrs. Webb’s own varieties of any¬ 
thing, as should they have the best soil, the most manure, and the most 
favourable situation the advantages of a fair and competitive trial would 
be destroyed ; but this they have not, and it remains for them to display 
their own individuality. In writing thus the valuable contents of Messrs. 
Webb’s establishment are not the sole cause of my exultation, as I cannot 
forget my own grand crops of Webb’s Banbury Onion, Schoolmaster 
Potato, la'e Peas, Kidneys Beans, prolific Cucumbers, luscious Melons, and 
others the produce of their seeds. Having an eye to future supplies, 1 
questioned Mr. Webb as to the advantages of the present harvest, and his 
reply was very decided, that “ they had never experienced such a magnifi¬ 
cent harvest.” Those who know, or have yet to learn, the value of good 
seeds will rejoice with me in this. 
Besides the vegetable and flower seed trials, there are others going on 
not far off with sorts of Oats, Barleys, Wheats, field Turnips, Mangolds, 
&c., and through these are exhibited the splendid qualifies and advan¬ 
tages possessed by Messrs. Webb’s new and improved varieties. Jlention 
may be made of the flower bulb trade, as this is an important item in the 
current work, and tens of thousands of fine importations are dispatched 
weekly. Before leaving Stourbridge I experienced much pleasure in 
inspecting another of Messrs. Webb’s industries in the neighbourhood. 
This is a large glass factory, where the highest style of this description of 
work is practised in all its artistic details. It is apart altogether from the 
seed business, but to me they almost seemed allied, as the French artists 
were painting on beautiful imitations of flowers on the choicest of wares, 
and probably few of those who grow Webb’s lovely annuals ^know that 
they can, and may be are, cutting and arranging them in Webb’s exquisite 
flower glasses.— A Lord Lieutenant’s Man. 
STRAY NOTES, 
In reply to “ J. B. R.,” this is the first year, as far as I can remember, 
in which my Peaches and Nectarines have ripened perfectly without 
being molested by wasps. I believe, however, that my garden is ex¬ 
ceptionally fortunate in this respect. 
I CAN bear witness to the fact of certain sorts of Apples commonly 
bearing fruit on the last year’s wood, but my testimony is not needed 
after that of Mr. Buuyard. 
I BELIEVE the drought has been as severe here in Mid-Suffolk on 
gravel soil as anywhere in England. The result which most catches the 
eye is that our Beech trees are fast losing their leaves, and to all appear¬ 
ance another wmek or ten days will find some of them as bare as at 
Christmas. They have been quite brown for a fortnight, and the freshly 
fallen leaves are now up to one’s anldes in places. Oaks standing among 
them are, on the contrary, very green, and have made long shoots. 
I AM interested in your reply to your correspondent, “John Hopper,” 
that a tenant on leaving his occupation has no power to remove Rose 
trees which he has planted himself without the consent of the owner of 
the land. Am I right in supposing that, though he may not remove 
them, he has the legal right to destroy them—by cutting through the stems 
of the standards, for instance ? If this be so, though I should bo the last 
to recommend such a wanton act, would not the legal right to do it give 
him some help towards a compromise—that he and the landlord should 
share the Roses, for instance? Can a landlord prevent a tenant while he 
continues in his tenancy from digging up his Roses ? And if he cannot, 
can the landlord claim compensation if the tenant subsequently gives 
notice to leave ?—A. F. M. 
[A tenant, not being a nurseryman, who is leaving his holding, cannot 
dig up his Roses, nor has any legal right to cut through the stems of 
standards, or in any other respect to injure anything he has planted. On 
the contrary, it is an act of felony to do so in the case of trees above a 
certain trifling value. This is all we can say on the subject, and if further 
information is needed we advise persons who are interested to apply to a 
solicitor.] 
THE PLANT STOVE. 
The hot weather of the past few weeks has c.TUsed an extra amount of 
work in the plant stove. Too much moisture cannot be kept about if you 
wdsh to grow plants well. Crotons should be syringed at least three times 
a day, as they are very liable to get thrips or red spider on their young 
foliage. It is a good plan to syringe them with the usual mixture of 
petrel ium and water in the evening about once a week, which not only kills 
thrips, but also does away with that small scale which infests Crotons so 
much. Alocasias and Anthuriums should be kept well sponged, or then 
fine foliage wull soon get disfigured. Draemnas also require sponging, as 
if syringed too much the leaves will soon decay close to the stem. Look 
closely after all Ferns that require heat, as they are very apt to have the 
brown scale underneath the fronds. If Dieffenbachias are grown they 
should be carefully looked after, and the young leaves sponged, or they 
will soon get covered with green fly, which wOI quickly spread to every- 
