December 2 , 1880 . ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 505 
9 inches high, and others upon their own roots from bushy young 
plants. The back of a large half-span house is filled with specimen 
Azaleas of pyramidal shape suitable for exhibition purposes. 
Several large houses are devoted to Camellias, many in 6-inch pots. 
However, the chief stock varies in size from small grafted plants 
to others 6 or 7 feet high. Camellias, like the Azaleas, are largely 
worked in the nursery, and the plants are in the most robust 
health and studded with flower buds. Another house, 90 feet 
long and 16 feet wide, is devoted to Heaths of the hyemalis and 
gracilis type, and a number of Libonias well grown, and the 
variegated Solanum Capsicastrum is used as an edging, which, 
independent of its berries, is very effective. A fine lot of Aralia 
Veitchii and gracillima in the same house were sturdy and fine. 
When subjected to stove heat these plants soon become too tall 
for table decoration, but under cool treatment they remain of a 
suitable size for a long time. A long lean-to with a northern 
aspect is devoted to dwarf Ferns. There is also a good collection 
of hardy species and varieties. Other houses are filled with Palms, 
Dracmnas, and Crotons suitable for decoration. The stove con¬ 
tains miscellaneous flowering and foliage plants, including Orchids 
in pots, and numbers in baskets suspended from the roof. A 
similar house is devoted to greenhouse plants, others for Eucha- 
rises, and numbers of heated span-roof pits are filled with Tree 
Carnations, Bouvardias, Epiphyllums, and other winter-flowering 
plants. The propagating house is 120 feet long, span-roofed, and 
is fully occupied with plants, some grafted, others just rooted, and 
thousands in process of rooting to keep up the stock. About 
three thousand Vines are grown in pots, and are clean, strong, and 
well ripened. A small house is devoted to fruiting some of the 
Vines annually, so that purchasers have an opportunity of seeing 
the fruiting qualities of the Vines. 
The fruit trees alone are worth a long journey to see, as they 
cover about 40 acres. Pyramid Apple and Pear trees are excellent, 
and many of them in a fruit-bearing condition. Anyone with a 
knowledge of the rearing of young fruit trees cannot fail to admire 
their symmetrical shape. The horizontal and fan-trained Apple, 
Pear, Cherry, Peach, and Nectarine trees are equally good. A 
long, large, span-roofed house is devoted to pyramidal Peach and 
Nectarine trees in pots ; the wood is well ripened and in capital 
order for forcing. A large cool pit is also filled with Figs in pots. 
Roses are another great feature, and several houses are devoted 
to Tea and Noisette varieties upon their own roots and worked 
upon the seedling Briar. About ten thousand are annually raised, 
and one house is full of Mar4chal Niel; Gloire de Dijon and 
others in 8-inch pots have made a growth of 15 to 20 feet, and are 
quite suitable for forcing. Some three thousand strong Hybrid 
Perpetuals are grown in the same size pot and for the same pur¬ 
pose. About sixty thousand standards and two hundred thousand 
dwarfs are grown upon their own roots, the Manetti, and seedling 
Briar. The whole stock is remarkable for the luxuriance of the 
plants. 
In the front of the principal houses is a geometrically de¬ 
signed flower garden, which is kept gay during summer with 
suitable plants, and in close proximity are two fine specimen 
Irish Yews. On each side of the walk is a border planted with 
new and rare Conifers, principally golden and variegated forms, 
Thujopsis argentea variegata, Juniperus chinensis aurea, a beautiful 
golden farm ; and J. c. japonica alba variegata are conspicuous. 
This border also contains many choice standard Hollies and Yews, 
and at the end is a magnificent piece of artificial rockwork. Near 
to the houses is the collection of herbaceous plants, including all 
the chief forms in cultivation, and also alpine plants, which are 
principally in pots, and number about twenty thousand. 
Acres of Rhododendron ponticum and Azalea poutica are grown, 
and hundreds of handlights are employed for raising seedlings of 
the former. The seed is sown in a large frame close to the glass, 
; and the young plants obtained are pricked out under the hand- 
lights in long narrow beds 3 feet wide, with a row of bricks each 
side for the frames to rest upon. Hybrids are grafted in con¬ 
siderable numbers, and the stock is large and good, as only the 
best are grown. A very large square of ground is devoted to the 
stock plants, and at one end is a magnificent specimen of Arau- 
! caria imbricata fully 30 feet in height. Cedrus Deodara is grown 
in large numbers, and some very fine plants are noticeable ; they 
are very compact and thick, being pruned with the knife every 
spring. The thousands of Ivies, Ampelopsises, Clematises, and 
other climbing plants grown is surprising; all are in pots and 
plunged. The stock plants of the Clematises occupy a large span- 
roofed pit, which i8 a great advantage for obtaining wood early 
for grafting purposes. Many other plants, such as Cotoneasters 
(Simondsiiis a handsome species for shrubberies), Arbutuses, Ever¬ 
green Oaks, Escallonias, Euonymuses, Cistuses, and Ceanothuses, 
and similar plants are kept in pots and plunged, which facilitates 
their safe removal. The labour in this department is enormous, 
as these plunged plants cover several acres of ground. 
Much attention is given to Conifers, and many acres are occupied 
with plants of various sizes, and in addition to the houses already 
mentioned almost innumerable frames and handlights are employed 
for their propagation. The cuttings are thickly inserted under them, 
and when rooted all are placed in pots until established, and are then 
finally planted out. Hollies are propagated on the same large 
scale, and the stock is large and good. The variety Hodginsii is 
more largely grown than any other ; it is the best and hardiest 
Holly, and will stand uninjured in smoky exposed districts where 
the common Holly fails and dies. Yews, Aucubas, common and 
Portugal Laurels, Berberises, Laurustinuses, Privets, and ever¬ 
greens are grown in large breadths containing many thousands of 
bushy plants of each. Flowering shrubs, such as Deutzias,Weigelas, 
Spiraeas, Syringas, and Ribes, are grown in equally large numbers ; 
the latter, red and white, are grown as standards, and are very 
effective when in flower. 
The forest department is an extensive one, and acres of ground 
are covered with seedlings of Larch, Spruce Fir, Scotch, Austrian 
and Corsican Pines ; the last is one of the best for planting at the 
seaside. Some millions of each are grown. Standard Horse Chest¬ 
nuts, Elms, Oaks, Ash, Maples, Beech, and many other ornamental 
deciduous trees are grown of all sizes and thinly planted, so that 
they may develope naturally. This is noticeable throughout the 
nursery; every shrub and fruit tree has ample room. The soil 
varies considerably throughout the nurseries ; in some parts it is of 
a strong tenacious nature, in others light and sandy. 
It would require too much of your valuable space to attempt a 
notice of everything of interest in nurseries of such extent and 
magnitude, and it is only necessary to add that the whole nursery 
is very clean and the stock well grown. About 170 acres of 
ground form the nursery, and the extensive seed warehouse is 
situated in Eastgate Street.— Wm. Bardney. 
ABOUT CUT FLOWERS. 
The continuous supply of cut flowers is of great importance in 
the routine of gardening. Public rooms, bedrooms, boudoirs, and 
chapels are considered incomplete unless furnished with cut 
flowers. The period between the disappearance of the last of the 
Michaelmas Daisies and the advent of Snowdrops, Christmas 
Roses, and Winter Aconites has to be provided with as many 
flowers as during the most floriferous months of the year. Pro¬ 
ducing flowers and utilising them to the best advantage is, conse¬ 
quently, of great importance. To have flowers during a few weeks 
in abundance, then tor a period be very scarce, is not good manage¬ 
ment ; it is better to have only a small overplus and a continued 
supply. There is not much practical use at this time of the year 
in advising as to the management of plants for a winter’s supply. 
A few notes on cutting and preserving flowers will be much more 
beneficial to those who are inexperienced. 
The proper stage at which to cut flowers for decoration is the 
most important part of this subject of flower supply next to the 
production. A rule which I invariably follow is this—Never cut 
any flowers until fully developed. Flowers which open when cut, 
as the Gladiolus, may be exceptions to this rule, but trusses of 
Pelargoniums and Bouvardias should not be cut until fully de¬ 
veloped. Nor is this all. Flowers are allowed to remain on the 
plants as long as they will continue in good condition. To gather 
a bloom which would last for a week or two, and pass over a 
bloom which would be useless in a few days, is disadvantageous in 
two ways. In the first place the young bloom is sacrificed at a 
time when it is not needed and the older bloom is entirely wasted. 
This system will in a short time chauge a sufficient quantity into 
scarcity. Another matter can only be settled by experience, and 
that is cutting more flowers than are required at one time. It is 
also quite possible to use very many more flowers in decorating 
vases than are necessary, to the detriment of the flowers, which 
invariably last longer when thinly arranged. Every flower ought 
to stand entirely clear of its neighbour. I effect this by employing 
foliage freely, filling large glasses with foliage, and then inserting 
the flowers. Water is always used, as being most cleanly and 
keeping the flowers in good condition for a longer period than any 
other medium. 
For some time past flowering shoots of Ivy have been placed in 
the largest size glasses, the heads of Ivy flowers and many of the 
leaves showing above the other flowers. Pteris tremula, P. longi- 
folia and Davallia Mooreana are very suitable for glasses of a ver v 
large size. The common Yew and the finer ornamental class of 
evergreen trees are useful after the Ivy is past. A glass arranged 
to-day was thickly filled with flowering shoots of several Begoniag 
amongst which were trusses of white and red Bouvardias. Another 
