588 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 30, 1886 
to the entrance a very striking and neat appearance. The grounds de¬ 
voted to nursery stock are on a very much more extensive scale than I 
had expected to find them. The stock comprised a general assortment of 
trees and shrubs, evergreen as well as deciduous. Fruit trees are largely 
and well grown, in fact everything taken in hand appears to he well done. 
Amongst a flat of Yews, a golden form, with the same habit of growth as 
the old English Yew, was very conspicuous. It possesses apparently all 
the vigour of the green one, and is equally as golden as the form so 
familiar. The great recommendation of this new seedling is its natural 
upright growth. It makes a lead as free as the green one without having 
to resort to staking, which Taxus elegantissima does not. Mr. W. 
Troughton will do well to increase his stock of this plant, foi when once 
known it cannot fail to become popular. The whole of the grounds 
devoted to nursery stock were particularly clean, and not a weed was 
to be seen. Taking the nursery as a whole, I do not remember ever visit¬ 
ing one cleaner or better kept throughout. 
The glass arrangements are extensive, and the same marked tidiness 
pervaded every department. There is a large and very choice collection 
of hardy Ferns, and additional provision has been made for their accom¬ 
modation, one good-sized house being full of the finer forms of Scolo- 
pendriums, many of the plants being of a moderately large size. Two or 
three other houses are devoted to other varieties, varying in size from 
those in thumb pots to specimen plants. Another house was full of 
Camellias, and, like the Ferns, were of nearly all sizes, from bushy little 
plants in 5-inch pets to those in large tubs. Another house was full of 
Adiantum cuneatum, plants 1 foot to 18 inches through for cutting. 
Another was filled with French and Fancy Pelargoniums in 5-inch pots 
for spring flowering. Eucharises, Bouvardias, double Primulas, especially 
the old white, are grown in large quantities ; so also are Roses and many 
other plants that are to be found in nurseries for the supply of cut 
flowers and for sale. A long span-roofed house, low, no side ventilators, 
was filled with Tomatoes, the plants growing in small butter tubs sawn 
in two, and the fruit was hanging like ropes of Onions, the variety 
being a select form of Large Red, and a large free-fruiting kind it cer¬ 
tainly is. 
The houses are heated by two large Rochford boilers that are fitted 
up on the place, and Mr. Troughton speaks very highly of them. For 
the instruction of those who do not know the Rocheford boiler, I may say 
that it is a series of cast pipes fitted together on nearly the same principle 
as the Chilwell Nurseries boiler recently described and figured in these 
pages. The pipes in the houses are arranged on a novel principle, and 
they alone are worthy of a visit by anyone interested in this matter if 
they are at any time within easy reach of Preston. Instead of forming 
dips to pass the doorways, the pipes are carried above the door, gradually 
rising from the front of the house to the centre of the door, and then 
sloping downwards again, and carried along the back wall on a higher 
level, in some instances, than the front pipe. In other cases, as they are 
carried over the door to the front, a pipe is taken along the roof, perhaps 
about the centre of the house; but this central pipe being the highest, 
takes the lead, and leaves the front cold, unless check valves were provided 
to prevent the water flowing directly through the central one. Mr. 
Troughton has just been carrying this principle out on a much larger 
scale to keep the frost out of the houses in which the hardy Ferns are 
grown. The pipes employed are 3-inch, and secured together by Messrs. 
Messenger & Co.’s patent joints. The pipes do not look unsightly when 
arranged on this principle, and the water is compelled to circulate through 
them, for the whole are arranged on the flow principle—that is, the water 
must flow all through the pipes before it leaves the house to enter the 
main returns ; practically there are no returns in the houses where the 
pipes are arranged on the principle pointed out. This system does away 
with the objectionable dips that are costly to the trade, for unless the 
pipes are laid in good chambers, they soon corrode away, and are never 
certain, in practice, to act satisfactorily. In theory, dips can be made to 
work by adhering to certain limitations, but in actual practice they 
invariably fail. I was well pleased with my visit to this nursery, which, 
on the whole, was not only of a highly interesting nature, but profitable, 
for several valuable hints were picked up that may prove of future 
u:e, 
PRESTON PARK. 
There are two parks in this old provincial town provided for the 
public—one principally for recreation purposes, and therefore no remark 
will be made about it; the other is a beautiful park, and the inhabitants 
of Preston have a just right to feel proud of it, for few if any provincial 
towns can boast of a more charming park than the one under review. It 
is comparatively close to the town—in fact, can be entered from the 
station, as well as from various other parts. It was laid out by Mr. 
Milner about eighteen or twenty years ago, and is a splendid piece of 
work, displaying thought and taste. The park is not large, but the most 
has been made of the ground, and the clumps of trees and shrubs have 
been so arranged that a very natural appearance has been imparted to 
it. In some respects it resembles Battersea Park, London, while in others 
it is totally distinct from that or any other that I have seen. One por¬ 
tion of the ground is naturally high and slopes gradually to the centre, 
and then rises again slightly towards the river. The higher ground has 
been arranged with a series of terraces and imposing flights of steps. 
Below is a large portion of lawn devoted to bedding, which is well and 
tastefully carried out, the carpet beds being neat and in good keeping. 
Through one portion of the park the London and North-Western Rail¬ 
way passes, and crosses the river by a high bridge. This, what would 
appear objectionable, has been rendered one of the most charming por¬ 
tions. The raised ground on which the railway passes before reaching the 
bridge over the river has been rendered mo^t picturesque by a quantity 
of ornamental rockwork, with waterfalls here and there. The rocks 
rise some 20 feet or more in height, and completely hide the wall from 
view which supports the railway embankment. The rocks are fairly 
well furnished with Iberis, Ivy, and other rock plants. Below the rock- 
work is a flower garden ; in the centre of a lawn surrounded with beds 
and clumps of Heaths, Iberis, and other similar plants arranged amongst 
rock that are in keeping with the more massive rockwork beyond. 
Mr. Rowbottom, the present superintendent, laid out these grounds 
according to Mr. Milner’s design, but they have been wonderfully im¬ 
proved since. The rockwork, for instance, has been erected of recent 
date. This park is well kept, and reflects great credit upon’Mr. Rosv- 
bettom, who is a genial and very able patron of horticulture.—W. B. 
DECORATION WITH PLANTS. 
At this time of year the resources of gardens and the ingenuity of 
gardeners are taxed to their utmost extent. Balls and parties are fre¬ 
quent, and the ever-increasing demand for cut flowers and plants that are 
so necessary to successfully carry out suitable embellishments on such 
occasions renders their production and economical use a matter of great 
importance to gardeners generally. When plenty of plant houses filled 
with material specially prepared for such times are at command the task 
of decorating is much simplified ; but it sometimes happens that a sudden 
demand is made for furnishing material, and no opportunity given for 
preparation in the thorough manner we should like. A little ingenuity 
applied at such times may often be the means of making a more imposing 
display than is sometimes the case where abundance of material is at 
command. 
I will now offer a few remarks on plant decoration which have sug¬ 
gested themselves to my mind at various times when I have had con¬ 
siderable practice at that kind of work, and which have again been 
brought forcibly to my mind during the past week. I am not now speak¬ 
ing of that kind of plant decoration in which they are allowed to remain 
in the various rooms of the mansion as long as they will keep fresh and 
then be replaced by others, but of the kind generally required for balls, 
concerts, and other parties where the plants only remain for a short time, 
which admits of more “ making up ” being done than would otherwise 
be the case. At such times they are generally used for arranging in 
entrance-halls, passages leading to the ball-room, over mantelpieces, in 
fireplaces, and around band-stands, or to fill in recesses, when it often 
happens there is ample scope for the display of considerable taste in the 
arrangement of beautiful groups, by which means an unattractive-looking 
hall may be converted into a veritable paradise. 
Palms of almost all kinds are extremely useful—in fact, indispensable 
for the purpose, as, in habit of growth and great variety of form, they 
are so distinct from other plants, and nothing can compete with them for 
forming backgrounds and giving a varied and undulating surface to 
groups. Dracaenas, Crotons, Grevilleas, Acacias, Arundinarias, Curculigos, 
Cyperuses, and Pandanus are among the most useful of foliage plants ; 
while the following kinds of flowering ones are all in season and very 
suitable for decorative use. Primulas, Cyclamens, Ericas, Calanthes, 
Cypripediums, Epacris, Epiphyllums, Solanums, Azaleas, Deutzias, 
Roman Hyacinths, Echeveria retusa ; but two that deserve special notice 
just now are Poinsettias and Callas. They give all kinds of arrangements 
quite a distinct feature when dotted about here and there and showing 
well above the other plants, but the effect is quite spoilt if they are used 
too freely. 
A very common mistake in arranging plants is to crowd them too 
closely together, and give a mass of bright colour with but little to 
relieve it; the effect is then anything but pleasing. We always like, 
when arranging groups, to have a groundwork of Ferns, Grasses, and such 
like plants, with flowering or brightly coloured foliage plants springing 
from it at irregular intervals, and standing well above the groundwork, 
with Palm leaves drooping gracefully above and around them, the whole 
surface having numerous irregularities, from which spring plants of 
striking appearance, and that the eye cannot ramble over the whole 
group at once, but catches something fresh in every glance. 
For finishing the edges, plants in small pots of Panicum variegatum, 
Isolepis gracilis, Tritonias, Pileas, and Ferns are excellent; but when a 
large amount of grouping has to be done it often happens that although 
plenty of plants can be found to fill the main part of the group, there is 
not a sufficient quantity of small ones to complete the edges in a finished 
manner, and the effect is greatly marred if large pots are visible. But that 
difficulty can be easily overcome, as with the help of a few branches of 
shrubs the pots can be hid, and the appearance be much better than is 
sometimes the cam when pot plants only are used, and they packed 
closely together without anything to break the flatness. Spread out the 
plants that'are at hand ; then, if any large spaces remain between, fill 
some small pots with soil and make up nice little bushes with different 
kinds of shrubs, such as Box, Yew, Liurustinus, Berberis japonica. Holly, 
&c., and place between. In some cases lay the pots on their sides, so 
that shrubs face outward ; it is then an easy matter to fill in with small 
branches of shrubs so as to completely hide every pot and yet look light 
and pretty, the shining leaves of many of the shrubs looking remarkably 
