244 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
' [ March £G, 1891. 
he alone understand?, recalling to memoiy many a dear friend, many a 
pleasant incident of the chequered past. 
These are the gardens one specially likes to visit; but to enjoy them 
fully the owner must be present, for bis has been the mind to conceive, 
the hand to evolve the fair scene, and who can do the honours of bis 
garden or call attention to its treasures so well as himself ? When I 
called at Auchenraith with my old friend, Mr. J. Wright, it was our 
good fortune to find its genial owner, Mr. William Marshall, at home, 
and to see his garden with this true friend of gardeners. A staunch and 
well-tried friend indeed is be. He has long been known as a very active 
Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society, who has served on the 
Council, and to whom was mainly due the success of the great provincial 
exhibitions held at Bath and other places several years ago. At the 
present time he is Chairman of the Floral Committee, and is also 
Chairman of the Gardeners’ Orphan Fund. Moreover, it was through 
his exertions mainly that the United Horticultural Benefit and 
Provident Society was established on such a safe and sound basis, and 
a handsome illumined address from the members embodying that fact 
and recognising his services has a position in his library. 
Standing close by one of the main roads of Bexlejq Auchenraith, like 
most suburban houses of its class, has its carriage drive and plat of turf 
at the entrance ; but, unlike most of them, this space has been turned to 
account and made really attractive. A sloping bank of shrubs makes a 
screen by the public road tliat is altogether devoid of heaviness or for¬ 
mality. Numerous shapely specimens of Holly at each end show by 
their healthy gloss and free growth how' well they are adapted to the 
locality. At the foot of the slope on the turf that queen of British 
aquatics Nymph^a alba is well established in a pool of water, which Mr. 
Marshall would like to enlarge to gain space for other water plants, but 
he cannot well do so without giving undue preponderance to the pool, 
w'hich is now in admirable proportion with its surroundings. Most 
interesting of all was a bed of miniature specimens of Coniferm, each 
plant a gem of exquisite symmetry and perfect health. 
That is the way, the only wajq in which Conifers should be used in 
such a position. As winter denizens of bed or border they impart such 
an air of warmth, fulness, and beauty, as nothing else can do. But 
they must he regarded only as transitory, never as permanent occupants 
there. The common mistake is made in planting them in front of and 
very near the windows. Nor can one wonder at this, for most of them 
are so elegant and symmetrical when quite young, that for a few years 
nothing can look better there. But they invariably become too large 
for the position, towering aloft, and with wide spreading branches they 
dwarf their surroundings and darken the rooms, becoming a sort of white 
elephant which the puzzled owner neither cares to keep nor get rid of. 
Sometimes a compromise is eSectei by trimming the stem of branches 
sufficiently high up to admit plenty of light into the rooms, the eSect 
of such trimming on most Conifers being to render them most unsightly 
objects. The only thing to do is to harden one’s heart, cut them down, 
and replace them with something that is not likely to become a 
nuisance. 
But I am lingering unduly at the door of hospitable Auchenraith, 
and must note our regret on entering the garden to be confronted by 
evidence of the baneful effects of the long hard winter. A Passion 
Flower that had covered one side of the house, a pair of fine specimen 
Bays, Pampas Grass, and double Gorse were all killed. The size to 
which all of them had grown was the best evidence of the rarity of such 
severe weather in Kent, and the only thing to do is to plant others, and 
take what comfort that can be had from the beaming countenance of 
the nurserymen to whom Jack Frost has brought such good fortune. 
The Passiflora had been wisely replaced by the more hardy Wistaria, 
equally remarkable for rapidity of growth, and I would suggest Clematis 
montana as a suitable associate. It is quite hardy, attains a large size 
quickly, and is perfectly lovely in spring with its dense clusters of pure 
w'hite flowers, forming a charming contrast to the pale blue racemes of 
the Wistaria. 
The garden contains a fine collection of choice hardy plants, new and 
old, with all which Mr. Marshall is evidently well acquainted. He is 
justly proud of his Delphiniums. His collection of Daffodils have 
special quarters assigned them, and his alpine plants had become so 
crowded that he was enlarging his rockery with some fine pieces of 
Kentish ragstone brought from Maidstone, much more attention being 
given to the provision of snug quarters for the plants than to an effective 
arrangement of the stones ; but if Mr. Marshall is so successful in the 
treatment of the plants as to cause them to overrun the bounds assigned 
them, the result can be no other than satisfactory, for it is the plants, 
and not the rocks, that will be the chief attraction. 
He is evidently a lover of Ferns, much of the space under glass being 
given to them, and many of them being exceptionally fine specimens. 
Beyond the garden there are pleasantly secluded wooded walks, just 
a bit of wild woodland that is an agreeable surprise in such a position. 
In one corner of it is an irregular hollow, which is probably a disused 
gravel pit, where the common yellow Broom and a growth of Black¬ 
berries were predominant. A few touches only are requisite to make 
this hollow a most attractive feature :—Some of the Brambles cleared 
away, the Broom retained, and wrought into a tasteful combination 
with Rhododendrons, Mountain Ash, White Broom, Gorse, Holly, White 
Birch, and Pampas Grass. Evidence of the possibility of this was 
afforded by the flourishing appearance of a group of Rhododendrons at 
another pait of the wood. If this suggestion is acted upon I shall in 
some measure have repaid Mr. Marshall for the very kind and courteous 
reception which he gave us.— Edward Luckhubst. 
The Weather in the South has been changeable and the 
wind cold vdth low night temperatures, but the daj's have been clearer 
though snow has fallen in small quantities. The ground is still cold, but 
has dried rapidly since the departure of last week’s snow. 
- The Weather in the North, March IGth to 23ed.— 
A week of fine weather generally; high east winds, with showers in 
the beginning, afterwards bright coldish days ; frosts of from 2° to 5° 
on three nights, and one or tw'O beautiful sunsets. This morning it has 
begun to rain with a falling barometer.—B. D., S. Pertli.^liire. 
- Gardening Appointment. — Mr. Constantine Hibbert has 
been appointed head gardener to Madame Adelina Patti Nicolini 
at Craig-y-nos Castle, near Swansea, Mr. Jones, the late gardener, 
having been appointed steward to Col. Wynne Finch on one of his 
Carnarvonshire estates. Mr, Hibbert w'as foreman to Mr. Jones 
previously. 
- The Schedule op the Exhibition at the Royal 
Aquarium por 1891 comprises particulars of the classes and prizes 
at the spring Exhibitions on April 29th and 30th. The summer Show 
on May 20th and 21st. The Rose Show on June 24th and 23th; and 
the fruit Show on October 14th, 15th, and 16th. 
- Cinerarias. — Are Cinerarias generally deteriorating in 
quality, in size, colour, and markings 1 My own, and my near 
neighbours’ strains, all from different first-class houses, are this year 
markedly inferior to the strains from the same respective houses in past 
years. Along wdth the inferiority in bloom, there is a lankiness of 
growdh which is by no means a merit, and makes one w'onder where 
those dwarf forms, with small leaves covering the pot almost, are gone 
to.— A Notts Gardener. 
- The schedule of the Thames Ditton Horticultural and 
Industrial Society for 1891 which is now issued contains, in addition 
to prizes confined to the district, valuable prizes open to all comers. 
These are presented by Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading ; the Native 
Guano Company ; Messrs. J. Peed & Sons, Roupell Park Nurseries ; 
Lewds & Williams, Thames Ditton ; Carter, Page &: Co., London ; and 
Barr & Son, Long Ditton Nurseries. The Hon. Secretary is Mr. W. Palmer, 
Thames Ditton House, Thames Ditton, Surrey. 
- Primroses and Polyanthuses. —The strains of both Prim¬ 
roses and Polyanthuses are now' very superior to the older forms, and 
are very effective in beds or borders during the spring months. In order 
to have extra strong plants fit for the beds and borders next autumn 
the seed should be sown in pans or boxes of fine loamy soil, and placed 
in gentle heat. A strong heat, such as that in Cucumber beds or forcing 
houses, w'ill not do, a partially exhausted hotbed or even a close frame 
being much preferable. When the seedlings are large enough prick 
them out on somew'hat shady borders, or say between fruit bushes 
alongside kitchen garden walks. From there they may be transplanted 
to their flowering quarters next autumn.—J. 
-Bothw'ell Bank and President Straw'berries. — Is 
Bothwell Bank Strawberry President under another name ? I have 
grown it for several years, but cannot distinguish it from President in 
either foliage, appearance of fruit, or flavour ; it also ripens at the same 
time. It w'ould be interesting to know if it is a seedling of Mr. Chisolm’s 
(the gardener at Bothwell Bank) own raising or merely a find like 
some Strawberries that could bo named. In my own practice I have had 
several seedlings that I could not distinguish from President, but Presi¬ 
dent was the seed parent. If a seedling is not distinct from and better 
than any other of its class, I should not give it a distinct name. Waterloo 
is a good late Strawberrjq but its mulberry colour is against it to take 
well with us as a market fruit. Frogmore Late Pine and its allies are 
too late for us to be profitable. Other fruits arc getting plentiful by the 
middle of August, after which the palate is cloyed with Strawberries. 
Can a Strawheriy be had to ripen at the same time as Waterloo with the 
flavour and colour of President ?— G. McDougall. 
