Jane 25, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
513 
the country, distant from towns, it has gone “ up” in London and its 
suburbs. Lucky then are the owners of London land. 
Mr. H. Williams, the head of the firm, is a fine specimen of a British 
nurseryman, and than this race, British gardeners are vain enou«-h to 
believe there is no finer in the world. Clear headed, good hearted, 
s raightforward, fair dealing business men is a fair representative 
description of our^ leading nurserymen and seedsmen, and their 
establishments admirably pourtray the industrial enterprise and the 
great magnitude of gardening operations in the kingdom. 
Jloving about from place to place, and making a call here and there, 
the time came round for a call at Holloway, after an absence of about 
seven years too long, no doubt; but all the reproach met with, really 
no reproach, but a pleasant greeting, was, “ Come in, we thought you 
had forptten us. We are always glad to see you, you know,” remind¬ 
ing of the once familiar tones of the voice that is gone. 
And what was there to see on the drizzling day a short while ago ? 
In passing round the establishment the Palm house was first 
traversed,_a lofty span-roofed structure 100 feet long by 22 wide, 
stocked with plants of all the best kinds and in almost all sizes, from 
hardy decorative examples “ in 48’s ” to stately specimens of exhibition 
quality, and all, large and small, noteworthy by the dark hue of their 
glossy leaves. The house was brightened with Anthuriums, which are 
grown in great numbers and variety. A grand effect has often been 
produced by arranging Orchids in it, but these are now kept in houses 
better adapted to them, and are a show in themselves, without the 
Palmy auxiliaries. Passing the large Palms in familiar varieties, one or 
two were noticed as distinct and particularly attractive in a small state 
namely. Calamus ciliaris and Rhapis humilis. The latter it appears 
has to be increased by offsets, which is not common with Palms. It is, 
therefore, naturally limited in numbers, and is both graceful ancl 
distinct. These with other small Palms are grown in smaller houses, 
one containing 3000 Kentias, Geonomas, Cocoses, and the elegant Phoenix 
Fig. 93.— DICKSONIA LATHAMI. 
A great deal, a very great deal, more than can be told here. Fancy 
■thirty-six houses full of plants of all the chief kinds, grown in stoves 
and greenhouses in this country, and not a few that are rare, sufficient 
altogether to fill a catalogue of a hundred pages, and it then becomes 
apparent how impossible it is to particularise to any material extent in 
dealing with such a great and diversified collection. The contents of 
•the nursery can only be referred to in the lump, so to say. A celebrated 
■poet writing in a satirical vein once said, or made one of his purse- 
proud bucolic characters say, “ The poor in the loomp is bad.” The 
Holloway collection represents the exact antithesis to that curious 
doctrine, for there seems to be no poor there, all the plants, as well as 
their master and attendants, looking thrifty and well. In passing 
through house after house, the health, cleanliness, and orderly arrange¬ 
ment of the occupants could not be overlooked. In all departments. 
Orchids, Ferns, ornamental foliaged and flowering plants, as well as in 
the hard wooded sections, Azaleas, Camellias, Rhododendrons, &c., it 
was the same, and a glance, more or less penetrating, sufficed to show 
that the cultural needs of all were provided by able men taking pride 
in their work, Whether there is a plant hospital in connection with 
Holloway or not to which weaklings are relegated, or whether it is the 
rule to summarily depose p’ants that become afflicted with ailments to 
which they are liable is not known, and it can only be said there was a 
oremarkable absence of all that could offend or incite a feeling of pity, 
•uniform exce’lence prevailing all round. 
rupicola being represented in proportionately large numbers. Ferns, 
charming in their fresh spring growth, were next under review. The 
collection's extensive, filling two large houses. Adiantum Williamsi is 
distinct from all others of the family in the uncoiling fronds being 
covered with a golden farina-like substance, similar to some of the 
Gymnogrammas; A. versaillense, a crested and divided form of 
A. cuneatum, has many admirers, and has had the honour of a first-class 
certificate. The crisped and crested forms of Pteris tremula crispa and 
Smithiana, also P. serrulata semi-fastigiata are expected to become 
general favourites, as their characters are very marked and growth 
free. Onychium auratum is a Pern of great elegance and medium 
growth; and so we might go on, but stop at a more stately kind, 
Dicksonia Lathami. It is supposed to be the result of a cross between 
D. antarctica and D. arborescens, and certainly bears a resemblance to 
both. This Fern was raised by Mr. W. B. Latham, the skilled Curator 
of the Birmingham Botanic Gardens, and was awarded a certificate of 
merit at the Fern Conference of the Royal Horticultural Society. It is 
quite as sturdy and massive, as represented in the illustration (fig. 93), 
and very dark green in colour, but the artist has omitted to show the 
swollen base, which is a prominent feature of the variety, the broad 
spreading fronds apparently having absorbed the whole of his attention. 
It is a very fine Fern, and no doubt will be seen at exhibitions in due 
time. 
Now comes a change—from greenery to floral beauty—the Orchids 
