464 
JOURN'AL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Jane 11,1891; 
and other places in Xorth London, and he had already begun to 
make copious notes of liis obseiv.Hions in the course of his dvily 
round of duties. “ Every Man Ilis Ovn Gardener” appeared in 
17GG, and the demand for it was considerable, the profits enabling 
him to open establishments both in Middlesex and Surrey, where 
he did a good business, especially as in the later editions of his 
books the names of tliese—one being at Tottenham Court, the 
other at Newington—were mentioned on the title page, and brought 
him numerous customers for seeds and plants. And as his fame 
spread abroad, he had numerous applications from gentlemen who 
sought his advice upon the best methods of planning and arranging 
gardens. In bis old age he was chiefly employed thus, having 
relinquished his nurseries, the last of which was near the Shepherd 
tavern at Hoxton, held by him for many years. Here he gave 
special attention to the culture of exotics, and the formation c f 
new varieties of fruits. Next to the work mentioned his “ Gardener’s 
Pocket Journal, or Domestic Assistant,” had most popularity. 
This appeared in 1791. His little book on the Garden Mushroom, 
however, led many to grow this esculent, and the “ Forcing 
Gardener,” of 1781, contains much original thought. He found 
time to write sixteen books altogether in his odd hours, and was 
one of tho5e who heartily believed in the inspiration afforded 
by tea, of which he drank thrice daily. 
We may couple here with the name of Abercrombie that of 
Lee, he, too, being born north of the Tweed, and his “ Vineyard 
Nursery” at Hammersmith took high rank amongst the establish¬ 
ments of that period, largely helping to advance the culture of 
plants on improved principles, while quantities of species previously 
unknown in Britain were received there during the latter half of 
the eighteenth century. James Lee, the elder, had his training 
under Miller at the Chelsea Garden (an enclosure no gardener 
should pass without lifting his hat, for so many men famous in 
horticulture have worked there) ; afterwards he went to Whitton, 
near Hounslow, to the celebrated gardens that were originated by 
the Duke of Argyle, subsequently owned by another patron c f 
horticulture. Sir W. Chambers. This Duke devoted himself parti¬ 
cularly to the work of obtaining specimens of exotic trees, hence 
some contemptuously called him a “ tree-monger,” and in 17G2 
Kew was enriched by a large number of shrubs and saplings 
removed from Whitton to that establishment. In company with 
Kennedy he started the Vineyard Nursery, and soon obtained 
extensive patronage, which enabled him not only to have corre¬ 
spondents in various countries, but also to send out collectors of 
his own to North and South America, the Cape, and North Africa. 
It is considered that he rendered his greatest service to horticulture, 
however, by the publication of his ‘introduction of Botany,” the 
first edition appearing in 17G0, which was meant to simplify the 
Linnaean system for gardeners, and so lead them to study the struc¬ 
ture and habits of the plants they grew. He also followed in the 
footsteps of his friend Furber, of the Kensington Nursery, who 
had for many years devoted much time to the selection of the best 
varieties of fruit trees, and who had brought out in 1732 an 
illustrated list of choice trees, which was circulated largely amongst 
amateurs. 
The first “ Hortus Kewensis ” appeared in 1789, probably the 
most important catalogue of its time, as giving an impetus to 
horticultural progress; though, some years previously, Scottish 
perseverance and enterprise, in the person of Dickson & Co. of 
Edinburgh, had brought out a well arranged list of greenhouse, 
hardy, and half-hardy plants which served as a model to other 
nurserymen. But there really existed at that date few facilities 
for making known by the Press the merits or beauties of new and 
choice plants, so that, for instance, Mr. Eedmond of Islington, 
when he had for sale, at half a guinea each, some Auriculas he 
called tlm ‘‘ Triumph, advertised them in the Connoisseur of 
March, 1/5G. Great was the popularly of the Auricula then, and 
for years subsequently, the remarkable fact being that it was grown 
by the poor as well as by the rich. So, too, were varieties of the 
Ins and the^ Fritillary, rarely to be seen in modern gardens. 
Roeque of Malham Green, who had discovered new varieties of 
grasses for garden lawns, was, early in the reign of the third 
George, calling attention to the Hyacinth by means of a pamphlet 
upon the flower partly translated from the Dutch. He also had a 
vineyard of the sort common in that reign, the Vines being either 
grown upon sloping banks, or in rows, fastened to stakes 4 or 5 feet 
high. Speechly, between 17G0 and 1790, raised, fir experiment, 
many varieties of the Vine from seed. The notable Vine of 
Hampton Court dates frem 17G9. 
Arable and pasture orchards were very common in the 
eighteenth century ; orchards, that is, in which corn was grown 
or cattle grazed, but sensible men w'ere beginning to see their 
drawbacks even then. From manuring scarcely at all the practice 
of manuring to excess prevailed, gardeners seeming to think that 
the more nourishment they gave the plant the greater must 
be its growth, forgetting how much depends upon asnmilation. 
Middleton tells us that in Middlesex stable litter was thought most 
of, next to that the contents of London cesspools, but many 
gardeners speculated in bones, coal ashes, shavings of horn and 
leather, hog’s hair, and the feet of animals sold cheap by birtchers. 
Soot was beginning to be valued as a nutriment and a destroyer of 
insects, but the Georgian chimney sweeps were wont to adulterate 
the article with ashes. There was much demand about London 
for a calcareous marl dug in EnSeld Chase, supposed to be good as 
a subsoil.—J. R. S. C. • 
After a careful analysis of the Orchid exhibits at the Temple? 
Show I have obtained the following statistics, which show that the 
number of species and varieties was considerably greater at the 
Orchid Conference in 1885, but there were more plants of certain 
types at the Temple. For instance, of Miltonia vexillaria there 
were over 500 plants, while of Cattleyas, Lselias, and Masdevallias- 
the total would be larger still. In 1885 fifty-seven genera were 
represented, in 1891 there were forty-one genera ; the number of 
species, varieties, and hybrids in 1885 were 348, this year they 
were 276. The Conference, therefore, still takes the lead as ex¬ 
pected in this matter, but in total number of plants and quantity 
of flowers the Temple Show of 1891 has never been surpassed- 
Reference will be made at intervals to the genera chiefly repre¬ 
sented and the varieties included, but this week attention can only 
be called to one of the exhibits, which, although amongst the- 
smallest, was yet one of the most interesting. 
This was the little group of Phalaeaopsis from Major-General 
Berkeley, Spetchley House, Bitterne Park, Southampton, which com¬ 
prised plants mostly collected by himself in the Malay Archipelago 
and the Andaman Islands. They were as follows r — Phalacnopsis 
speciofa.—The type white sti’iped with rosy purple. Phalaenopsis 
speciosa var. Imperatrix.—A rare variety of P. speciosa, in which 
the white markings are absent, the entire flower being rosy 
purple. Several varieties were also exhibited intermediate between 
the first two. Phalasnopsis tetraspis.—Pure white, among which 
were two extra good plants. Phalacnopsis Luddemanniana.—With 
several spikes of flower to show the difference of this old Phalsenopsis- 
from the more recently discovered varieties. Besides the group of' 
Phalsenopsis a curious plant was exhibited which seems to have 
been lost sight of for many years. Catasetum atratum, — 
The plant has a long arching scape of flowers ; colour green, very 
much spotted with purple. This plant was named by Lindley in 
1838 from a plant which flowered that year in Messrs. Loddiges’’ 
collection. 
Amongst the Phaljenopscs General Berkeley has done especially 
good work, and the first living plants of P. tetraspis were sent by 
him to Mr. W. Bull about ten years ago from the Andaman 
Islands, where he says the plants were growing ‘‘ on Mangrove and 
other trees in muddy swamps at the extreme end of the creeks- 
where the water is fresh, and where the plants hang from the 
branches a few feet above the water, growing with extraordinary 
luxuriance.” The species was, however, first found by Mr, Thomas 
Lobb when collecting for Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, but the locality 
was lost. 
Another of the small-flowered Phalsenopses introduced by the 
same gentleman is P. speciosa, which is very beautiful, owing to- 
the fine bluish-purple tint of the flowers. This was found growing 
upon trees in the islands of the Malay Archipelago, and the dis 
tinct variety Imperatrix, mentioned above, admirably figured in 
“ Rtichenbachia,” was also collected by General Berkeley, who has 
recorded many interesting facts concerning several other members 
of the same genus. _ 
The recent exhibition organised by L’Orchideenne at Brussels, 
and held in the Rue Wiertz, appears to have been a particularly 
successful gathering, the exhibits numerous and of great merit. 
The King and Queen of the Belgians visited the Show, and were 
received by MM. J. Linden and Lucien Linden, who also presented 
the members of the Jury to their Majesties. The exhibition con¬ 
tinued three days, during which time there was a large attendance 
