514 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 11, 1890, 
daylight, and something of what I heard during the long night, and 
saw during the too short morning, may possess a small measure of 
interest to some readers. 
“Come and see us on your way from Leicester to Hull,” was the in¬ 
vitation of Mr. A. H. Pearson. It was of no use my telling him 1 had 
about enough of Chrysanthemums, for he only rej fined, “ Oh ! bother 
the mums, come and see me and therefore it came to pass that on a 
dark night in November I found my host awaiting me at Beeston 
Station, and ten minutes afterwards I was established in his cosy home. 
This, as I found in the morning, is a substantial and commodious farm 
house sort of building, upwards of 200 years old, surrounded by green 
fields, a little distance from the family home at the nursery. 
“Ah,” said my host on our arrival overnight, “ this is my brother 
Charles, I think you have seen him before; he is the ‘floral paitner,’ you 
'know.” Tes, I thought I had seen him before, *nd did know he had 
something to do with Chrysanthemums, Z mal Pelargoniums, Orchids, 
Eucharises, Roses, and various other plants that are grown, and grown 
well, in the several fine structures under his control. All these, he 
said, I was to see in the morning. “ Stop a bit,” observed A. H., 
“ you are not going to spend all the time among the old mums ; why they 
are damping like steam,” and went on to intimate there were old 
orchards and new nurseries of young trees worth seeing, and must be 
seen, also Siberian Elms that were going off fast through an advertise¬ 
ment in the Journal. “Siberian Elms, what are they, and whit are 
they like ?” was my inquiring observation. “ As to what they are like 
you will see in the morning ; but where the stock came from we do not 
know. We only know that the original trees were planted by my 
grandfather, and no other trees have made the growth that they have, 
and we know of no others that grow so freely in good or poor soil. Our 
soil is good, and if you want to see trees in poor soil, or almost no soil, 
look at the avenues of them in Nottingham Park.” It so happened 
I had seen these, admired the trees, wondered what variety of Elm they 
represented, and now in the night's conversation discovered they were 
known as “ Siberians.” 
Another thing I got to know—namely, that there is only one Chil- 
well in the world, at least that is recognised by postal authorities, and 
that a letter simply addressed to the “ Nurseries, Chilwell,” is sure to 
find its way to Messrs. Pearson, no matter where it may be posted. 
This is a very old family, for there have been Pearsons at Chilwell for 
centuries, and the business has been long established. For years, or 
perhaps generations, what may be termed a good quiet local trade was 
done, but the late Mr. John Pearson, one of the finest men of his time 
in the horticultural ranks, saw there was a world for his wares beyond his 
locality, and he determined to reach it. He half frightened some of his 
timid contemporaries by advertising, but made and left his business 
great, and his sons intend to keep it growing. They appear to inherit 
their mother’s cool judgment and their father’s spirit of enterprise. So 
does the elder brother, Mr. Henry Pearson. Entering into a good local 
business at Beeston, he, like hi3 father, was determined to extend the 
trade in the same way, and now, as Foster and Pearson, it is known not 
only all over the kingdom, but far beyond its limits. This fine business 
has been built up by the energy of one man, and the good work he has 
-done, and who is now its head in the prime of life. 
The mention of the mother of the present family reminds that she 
is a suffering invalid, a kind, good lady, and her daughters are like her 
in doing what they can for the poor and afflicted, and they do much more 
than can be mentioned here. To their house the distressed instinctively 
turn for advice. A case occurred at the time of my visit that is sad, 
yet in one respect a little amusing, and I came to know about it in this 
way As the evening went on, said C. to A. (“ C” standing for Chrys¬ 
anthemum Pparson, if you like, and “A” for Apple Pearson - ) : “ I must 
be off. I don’t intend going to bed much before daylight if I sit up for 
a week till 1 catch that scoundrel and give, him a good ‘ lacing so you 
be across early to attend to things, as I may not be about in the 
morning. ’ “ All right,” quoth A., “ off you go.” And then he told me 
the story. A drinking, lazy hanger-on in the village not only starved 
his poor wife but beat her, and she in her trouble went to the Nursery 
a.nd was taken in the house to live for a while and make herself useful. 
Some time about one o’clock the previous morning the scoundrel, seeing 
a light in the sick room of Mrs. Pearson, dasbed a whole brick through 
the window. Feeling sure the dastardly trick woul l be repeated a 
policeman was set to watch on one side of the house, Mr. C. taking the 
other. About the same time in the morning of my visit the fellow 
entered the gate, and just as he was raiding his hand to dash another 
brick into the room he was felled to the ground by the policeman, who 
was hiding in the bushes conveniently near. The next thing was to 
take him to the station ; but as he refused to rise from the ground he 
was dragged through the mud, leaving a trail as if made by a bag of 
Potatoes. This method of progression, hovvever, did not suit Mr. C., 
who, as he said, “didn’t see the fun of dragging a log like that a mile 
through the mire,” so concluded he would either “make the fellow walk 
or make him sore,” and commenced “lacing.” “I had a good stick,” 
he went on to say, “and didn’t I let him have it. I laced him just as 
well as I cou d, and kept on till he was glad to get up and walk away 
with his captor. Poor beggar, he must be sore ! But didn’t it serve 
him right? He might have killed my mother.” As the “lacing” was 
the result of the mans own stubbornness we thought it richly served him 
right, and he had a worse night than I had at Chilwell. 
My evening was indeed a most pleasant one, and, well, rather long, 
as Mr. A. H. is a very good talker, and knows as well as most persons do 
what he is talking about, especially when his mind turns on Apples. It . 
was the planting season. “And how are the trees going?” I asked.. 
“ Going,” was the reply, “ We never had anything like it. Luckily I 
foresaw what was coming, and kept increasing the stock more and morei 
but have only just managed to keep ahead of the orders, but I have 
planted three more fields, and hope to meet all comers in future.” “ How 
much land have you, Mr. Pearson ? ” “ Oh, about 300 acres, but only 
about half under orchards and nursery stock. The rest we farm, and 
change about, as there is nothing like fresh soil for trees and shrubs. 
You can manure as you like, but fresh ground is the thing for firm clean 
growth, as you can see for yourself in the morning.” I began to think I 
had a good deal to see in “ the morning,” and very little time for seeing 
it. And so it proved. It was a race and a rush through the houses, 
and over miles of ground, for the fie'ds are widely scattered. In noting 
briefly what was seen it will be convenient to begin at the beginning— 
at home ; and from Mr. A. H. Pearson’s house to the main road which 
leads to the nurseries we pass along the avenue of Elms. 
The trees were planted about thirty-three years ago, “Siberians 
at uniform and wide distances, with other sorts between them, but 
these others are all gone, the Siberians overgrew them, and now occupy 
all the space. This is apparently a very free-growing variety of the 
Wych Elm ^Ulmus montana), but is taller, and makes a fine tree 
much sooner. One of the stems, though not measured, was no doubt 
S or 9 feet in circumference, perhaps more. As an avenue, park, or 
shelter tree for orchards (but distant from them) this Elm must be one 
of the best, and it thrives as well in towns as any other of the genus,, 
and better than most in exposed positions and near the sea. 
Passing along to the nursery we glance at a very large and substan¬ 
tial building—the seed and bulb warehous'e, root store, and what not. 
“That,” remarked Mr. A. H., “came out of Tulips. My great-grand¬ 
father was like some others in his time, mad on them, and with the 
proceeds of his sales erected the building.” It is conceivable that if 
all the florists’ Tulips now in England were sold they would not realise 
as much as did that collection, for the prices have fallen, though there 
are not wanting signs that those splendid flowers are steadily regaining 
some of their lost popularity. 
Now we are in the nursery, with its large and numerous glass struc¬ 
tures, apparently as good as they were thirty years ago, and all welL 
filled. We pas3 down a range of Orchid houses, through a stove, into a- 
large vinery, with banks of Maidenhair Fern on each side the central 
path ; rush through the Stephanotis and Eucharis house, see the finest 
stock that is to be seen of the fine old plant Ardisia crenulata that re¬ 
tains its clusters of red fruits for a year ; peep down the pot Vine house 
and Mardcha! Niel Rose house, resembling avenues of strong growth 
and canes ; glance through Zonal Pelargonium house, which was 
brilliant with the best and newest varieties ; pause at a houseful of the 
most beautiful of hardy variegated plants, Yucca filamentosa variegata, 
which they know how to increase at Chilwell, and enter the great. 
Chrysanthemum house. There we have to “ go slow,” for with two 
Pearsons in front and their good man Pithers behind there is no escape. 
You have to see everything, and hear something, too. “ Now, look here, 
isn’t this a beauty ? I call it a real good thing.” says C. “ I don’t care a 
bit for it,” answers A. “ Oh,” retorts C., “ You go on and talk about 
Apples.” But there were some “ good things ” in the Chrysanthemum 
house, and another house, a vinery, 100 or more feet long, was filled with 
good Apples. A pair of happy brothers are these, one among the flowers- 
and the other among the fruit, and both may be proud of their produce. 
The Chrysanthemums were splendidly grown though the “damp 
fiend ” was among them ; but he is to be conquered another year with 
more hot-water pipes and shading. Trained specimen plants at one 
end of the house “ fit for Birmingham,” the centre occupied with single¬ 
stemmed plants bearing blooms, not a few of which were equal to any 
that have »een seen in any stands, cut-back plants in front of them, 
models in their way for grouping, and sides filled with great floriferous 
bushes innocent of manipulation in disbudding. Cartloads of flowers 
could be cut from these and others reserved for that purpose, and 
which have to be grown to meet the great demands of the “lace 
hands” in Nottingham. Such is the general character of the Chrysan¬ 
themum Show at Chilwell. For particulars there is not much room,, 
but a few of the newer varieties of proved worth or promising merit 
may be referred to. Among the incurved all the Queen family were 
extra fine, notably, perhaps, John Lambert, which in its true form is 
distinct, being smoother and paler than Golden Queen ; but all the- 
“ Lamoeits ” one sees are not as they should be, and either the wrong one 
has been grown under that name or the right one gone wrong. Also 
in superior form were Mrs. Coleman, C. Gibson, Lady Dorothy, and all 
the Princess of Wales family, Refulgence, and White Venus. 
In the Japanese section perhaps Eynsford White had no superior in 
the collection, and Puritan, white, more or less tinted, stood out boldly,. 
W. W. Coles was in brilliant garb ; W. II. Lincoln, yellow, in the form 
of Stanstead White, was conspicuous ; and Tacoma, G. AtkinsoD, Lilian 
B. Bird, Zillah, Mrs. W. S Sargeant, Kioto, and others of the newer 
sorts were giving much satisfaction. For decorative purposes Massalia 
will spread, it is of the character of William Holmes, but brighter. 
Among Anemones Gladys Spaulding is of dwarf habit, and had 
eight to ten exhibition blooms on a plant, better than where only two 
or three were aPowed, as these were coarser. Mrs. Judge Benedict, 
M. Pankoucke, Mrs. Robert Owen, and Thorpe, jun., were noticeable, 
among others, that were good in this section, single varieties grown in 
a manner not often equalled, and some of the bushes must have con¬ 
tained two or three thousand flowers. Two of the favourites, which 
everybody wants who sees them, are Mrs. A. H. Bates, pure white, and 
