248 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ March 2C, 1891. 
peason, are full of attractions, including firework displays and illumi¬ 
nations. Coney Island and Manhattan Beach on these shores arc the 
rendezvous of the i)leasure-seeking New Yorkers. I’o the left arc seen 
the massive battlements of Fort Wadsworth and Fort Tompkins ; whilst, 
returning to Long Island again, are Fort Hamilton and Old Fort 
Lafayette, the latter more famous as a political prison than a fortress. 
Passing amid these fortifications, and not deterred by a foi'midable 
looking man-of-war flying the stars and stripes, the panorama of the 
City and harbour rapidly unfolds itself. Turning to the left we see 
Bedlows Island, the sight of Bartholdi's colossal statue of Liberty 
enlightening the world. Though not a handsome statue, it is placed in 
a prominent position, and presents a noble appearance. It cost, it is 
said, £2r)0,000, and is made of copper and iron. Its height from base to 
torch, which is lighted by electric light, is lal feet. Next we behold 
Ellis Island, a landing stage for immigrants, with a fort, which is still 
further towards the Jersey shore, and to its right Governor Island, with 
Castle William and Old Fort Columbus. Directly ahead the City opens 
with Brooklyn and its wonderful suspension bridge on the right, and 
Jersey City on the left. 
We landed at the Cunard dock, and passing throngh that trying 
ordeal of having your clean linen tarnished by the hands of a Custom 
House official, I consigned my baggage to what they call an express 
man, which, by-the-by, is an excellent system of checking that I cannot 
praise too much, doing away as it does with the porter sharks, such as 
we have in our ports, and though, perhaps, not a cheap method, it 
materially assists the burdened traveller of responsibility. In company 
with several friends we wended our way “ irp-town,” through the 
sepralid, irregularly paved streets to my hotel, the Astor House in 
Broadw'ay. Here I found my baggage all right. The surroundings 
gave us an idea of comfort, and the vastness of the mercantile capa¬ 
bilities, also importance of the emporium of the New World. As yoir 
ascend Broadway the City becomes more imposing. Many magnificent 
blocks of mercantile and other buildings, /.c., the splemlid new Post 
Office, the Tribune Building, with its clock-tower 185 feet high. The 
Wovld Newspaper, National Academy of Design, and many other 
superb structures. 
Noticeable “ up-town ” (as the Yankee says) is the systematic plan¬ 
ning of the streets. The plan of the upper part of the town includes 
avenues running north to the boundary of the island, and streets run¬ 
ning across at right angles from river to river. The avenues are 
numbered from the eastwards. The streets are named and numbered 
consecutively north to 225th Street ; those in the east and west from 
5th Avenue. Twenty-one blocks (buildings), including streets, average 
an English mile long. The city is compactly built to Central Park. 
The well-known Yv^all Street, the monetary centre of the country and 
resort of bankers and brokers, runs to East River. Noteworthy build¬ 
ings herein are the United States Sub-Treasury, United States Custom 
House, the handsome Drexel Building, and the Stock Exchange in 
Broad Street. A novelty to anyone for the first time is the elevated 
raihvay running overhead, and now considered a great convenience. A 
uniform fare is charged of 24d., similar to charges on the trams, and 
much in the same way as on the new Stockwell Railway in our 
metropolis. 
New York has many open spaces and squares. Central Park, one of 
the finest parks in the world, embraces a rectangular area of 854 acres. 
The original surface was exceedingly rough and unattractive, consisting 
chiefly of rock and marsh, but by engineering skill and good taste in 
laying out the ground it has been converted into a most attractive 
resort. There are five lakes occupying 43^ acres, numerous bridges, 
arches, and other architectural monuments, together with many statues. 
The Mall is a wide esplanade nearly a quarter of a mile long, and 
bordered by double rows of stately Elm trees. I noticed some excellent 
carved masonry. Central Lake is the prettiest piece of water in the 
park. TheRamb’e, covering 3G acres of sloping hills, and having many 
pleasant shady parts, lies to the north. The Zoological Gardens, or 
menagerie, also the Metroirolitan Museum of Art, are most interesting. 
One of the most striking objects in the park is the Egyptian obelisk 
(Cleopatra’s Needle), one of the most ancient of the worlcl’s monuments. 
It was presented by the late Khedive and brought to New York at the 
expense of W. H. Vanderbilt, Esq., of railway fame. Great credit is due 
to the superintendent of the park for the admirable way in which he 
manages everything, the bedding-out arrangements being capital ; but I 
was unable to make any jottings respecting its horticultural features, 
my time being so limited that clay. 
I took the errliest opportunity of calling upon the well-known house 
of Peter Henderson & Co. I had the good fortune to meet the courteous 
Mr. Charles Henderson, to whom I am indebted for many acts of kind¬ 
ness. The immense seed warehoirses, plant houses, and trial grounds at 
the Jersey City Heights were well worth inspection. Grown indoors in 
pots, on a very large sca’e, arc Roses, on their own roofs, for post trade. 
All the best sorts are in stock, but none sell better than American 
Beauty, a seed ing found in the gardens of Mr. Bancroft, the historian at 
Mbashington, who possessed a fine collection of Roses, though I am told 
it is after all too much like Madame Ferdinand Jamain. Messrs. 
Henderson’s Roses for the cut flower trade arc planted a foot apart in 
raised benches, 4 or 6 inches dec[). The following sorts have proved to 
be the best to force :—Catherine Mermet, Perle des Jardins, Niphetos, 
Sunset, Mr. F. Bennett, Magna Charta, and American Beauty. Goocl 
cut blooms of these in the height of the season, with stems 2 or 3 feet 
long, the usual style in the U.S.A., fetch as much as 4s. 2d. and Gs. 3d. 
apiece, I noticecl many long, span-roofed houses full of Pelargoniums, 
Fuchsias, Caladiirms, Carnations, Chrysanthemums, and a mirltitude of 
other plants—softwooded chiefly—in the best of health, I also observed 
Mrs. Alpheus Hardy Chiysanthemmii growing well in Ihe cool hoaases. 
The benches and borders were planted with it, each having five or six 
stems, the flowers not being disbudded. Louis Boehmer, the stock of 
which has been i^urchased, was also gi’owing well, but a little more 
vigtrouslj^ The wt-ather at the time of my visit was exceedingly hot 
nevertheless, with the assistance of the hose, used largely in America—’’ 
the watering-pot being considered too much waste of time, and hence is 
only employed here in the propagating house—it is wonderful with what 
vigour plants thrive. Cannas were quite a feature outside, the glorious- 
weather suiting them admirably. 
Before leaving New York I was invited by Mr. Henderson and his 
excellent manager Mr. A. Forbes, to inspect their exhibition of Gladioli 
and summer flowers, held for four days in their splendidly fitted-up seed 
store. All the seed counters and benches were covered with white- 
cloth, on which, neatly arranged with admirable effect, were large good 
spikes of all the finest and best Gladioli in cultivation, put in Hyacinth 
glasses and bottles, backed with Palms and green foliage plants. Miscel¬ 
laneous Cowers included many cboice herbace ms cut flowers, Cannas, 
Crinums, Mammoth Verbenas, and Liliums. I was very much impressed 
with the splendid exhibit also of cut blooms of Nymphieas. The 
varieties represented were chiefly odorata, rosea and rubra, Chromatella, 
Devoniensis, the bearrtiful zanzibarensis, and a very fine white seedling 
appropiiately named alba candidissima. 
The United States Nurseries were next on my programme. Mr. W. A. 
Manda, the energetic managing partner, was unfortunately frorn home, 
but I forrnd a good substitute in his representative, an Englishman. 
The nirrseries are situated in a favourable spot, near the very pretty 
village of Short Hills, on the Delaware and Lackawana Railway. Here- 
herbaceous plants received special attention, and a choice and extensive 
collection had been formed. I saw several good Phloxes and Dahlias.. 
Chrysanthemums, largely grown, looked healthy. It wms through this 
firm that the famous Chrysanthemum Mrs. Alpheus Hardy w’as sent orrt, 
a fabulous sum being paid for the stock. A speciality is Orchids, and 
especially Cypripediums, of which nearly 400 species and varieties are 
well grown and managed by Mr. Jos. Manda. 
I was hreky enough fo find Mr. T. H. Spairlding at home in his pretty 
country seat at Castle Wood, Llewellyn Park, he having had the 
goodness to stay to meet me, though, doubtless, his time was precious 
and required elsewhere, being the proprietor of large steel works in New 
York. However, with his usual indomitab’e perseverance, he manages 
to grow Chrysanthemums in large quantities, and to be able to raise and 
distribute new varieties of considerable merit. I must name one of his 
last jmar’s varieties, x\da iSpaulding, as a sort he specially prizes, and 
thorrgh it did not attain high commendations in our country last autumn,, 
yet it should be given another season’s trial. Other varieties sent out 
have been, notably. Beauty of Castlcwood, Brynwood, Brilliant, 
Antoinette Martin, Crystal Queen, Cyclone, Eleanor Oakley, E. G. Hill, 
G. P. Rawson, Harvest Queen, Pink Pearl, Marie Ward, Miss Esmeralda, 
Mrs. Chas. Pratt, and that excellent Anemone Mrs. Judge Benedict. I 
noticed that Mr. Spaulding’s standard plants of Chrysanthemums were 
exceedingly healthy and growing w’cll. Driving through the picturesque 
surroundings of Orange, Mr. Spaulding pointed out to me the residences 
of several wmalthy members of American socieW, dotted here and there 
over the lovely well-timbered undulating ground. Amongst them is 
that of the eminent electrician, Mr. Thomas A. Edison. William Barr, 
Esq., of the well-known dry goods store in Broadway, has an elegant 
residence, and being a great lover of plants and flowers we natrrrally 
expected to find things in order, but Mr. John Farrell surprised me with 
the excellencj^ of his cultivation, and the neatness displayed in and out 
of doors. Chrysanthemums were a great feature. Mr. W. Barr, a 
connoisseur, secures nearly all the first prizes every season for single 
specimen and pyramid plants. These are grown much in the same style- 
as in this country, except as regards tying, this artificiality being a deal 
less rigidly carried out, and disbudding not done so heavily. The plants 
I saw standing in the walks of the kitchen garden were chiefly in G, 7,. 
and 8-inch pots, and gave promise of producing good autumnal results. 
Several plants of standards were grafted with two or more varieties on 
each plant. 
Mr. John N. May, the genial Rose grower of Summit, has a splendidly 
managed nursery. Roses are there grown inside fo perfection. A large- 
number of glass houses were devoted entirely to their culture. A friend 
and I spent a most enjoyable afternoon at this born rosarian’s establish¬ 
ment. I noted the following sorts as grown extremely well there : Mrs. 
.John Laing (now considered to be the most popular Rose grown), Ulrich 
Brunner, Gbant des Batailles, General Jacqueminot, Earl of Dufferin,. 
Heinrich Schultheis, Duchess of Albany (Hybrid Tea), La France, 
Mdlle. Gabriel Luizet, Catherine Mermet, The Bride, T. W. Girdle- 
stone, Niphetos, Ma Capucine, Lamarque, Gloire de Dijon, and several 
others. I append Mr. May’s method of cultivating Roses. “ The general 
practice I adopt is to replant fine, healthy, new stock every year—or at 
most every two years. Originally the prevailing idea was that Roses- 
must have a deep rich border ranging from 12 to 24 inches deep, to pro^- 
duce good Roses. Now the finest are produced on benches, &c., with 
2\ to 4 inches of soil. For the successful cultivation of the Rose under 
glass there are a few simple rules to follow. First, to procure a suitable 
soil, which should be, if possible, fresh sod from an old pasture—that 
having plenty of grass root-fibre in it is generally the best. If very 
heavy the addition of a liberal proportion of sharp sand will improve 
it, but if of a very light sandy nature the addition of some of a clay 
