178 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Jraroli 2, 1893. 
Ipswich. The flowers were arranged on a table in the centre of 
the gallery. There were in all thirteen specimens, embedded in 
blocks of ice on basins. The flowers, though slightly damaged, owing 
to the Customs House ofticials in London having opened the cases, were 
in good preservation, but in the brighter varieties the colour was fading. 
Perhaps the best specimen was a Marquise de Castellane Rose, the 
petals of which looked in as good order as if just cut. Another favour¬ 
able specimen was an Erica. An Andromeda was also noticeable. The 
flowers were white, and in form not unlike the Lily of the Valley. 
Some Carnations, with the exception of their losing colour, seemed not 
to have suffered much from their long voyage. Amongst other speci¬ 
mens were an evergreen shrub, some Gladioli, a Milla, Rhododendrons, 
Boronias, seedling Roses, and Lilies. All the specimens exhibited were 
grown in November within twelve miles of Wellington, New Zealand. 
On the table were some fine home-grown Hyacinths, Tulips, and Ferns, 
which gave the gallery a pleasing appearance. 
-WooLTON Gardeners’ Mutual ijrpROVEMENT Society.— 
A meeting of the above Society was held in the Mechanics’ Institute 
on Thursday last, when the Rev. G. H. Spooner, Rector of Woolton, 
presided. There were two questions placed in the box for answers to 
FICr. 34.—MR. A. MacKELLAR. 
be given :—First, Which is the best way to fertilise Peach blossoms to 
insure a good set ; second. Whether cuttings or old plants of Chrys¬ 
anthemums are best to grow as trained plants. To the first question, 
Mr. J. Stoney, Allerton Tower, an excellent cultivator of the Peach, 
advocated the use of the syringe ; and in the second case, Mr. W. 
Wilson, as an exhibitor of trained plants, advised the use of cuttings 
struck annually and early. Mr. R. G. Waterman then read a practical 
paper on “ Soils, ai:d How to Treat Them.” Mr. A. Rowlands next 
read his prize essay on “ Hardy Plants Suitable for a Cottage Flower 
Garden.” The Chairman, in handing the prize to the essayist, said it 
gave him great pleasure to preside at the meeting, and heartily con¬ 
gratulated the winner. He also referred to the success of the Secretary, 
Mr. W. Disley, who was absent that evening owing to his reading a 
paper on “ Useful Border Flowers for Cutting ” before the members of 
the Manchester Horticultural Improvement Society, and for which he 
had been awarded the second prize, the competition being open to 
Lancashire and Cheshire. The Chairman offered a prize of 1^ guinea 
for an essay, the subject to be chosen by the Committee, for competition 
amongst the members. A hearty vote of thanks to the Chairman 
concluded the meeting.—R. P. R. 
SUNNY SANDRINGHAM. 
A PRETTY little wayside station, with promise of ample leafage 
around it in the summer time and within a few hundred yards of the 
coast line moistened by the waters of the Wash, such is Wolferton. 
One would be tempted to regard it only with the idle apd motiveless 
admiration awakened by many a similar station in other parts of 
England if it had no special associations to quicken dormant interest 
into active life, but it is the stopping place for Sandringham, the 
Norfolk seat of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales ; consequently, even those 
who are passing through, on their way, possibly, to the pleasant seaside 
town of Hunstanton, arouse themselves and survey it with a certain 
curiosity. Stations are by no means all alike. They have characters 
of their own, some bustling, others sleepy, some dignified, others dilapi¬ 
dated, and to go a step further, despite an ardent admiration for, and 
sympathy with, Mr. Ruskin, to whom railways are as pernicious as 
manufactories, some are ugly, others are beautiful. Wolferton in the 
concrete has nothing special about it, but in the abstract it enjoys a 
vague dignity almost more noteworthy than its charming surroundings. 
From the sea level on which the station stands the ground rises un- 
mistakeably landw'ards. A stiff hill marks the first decided stage in the 
upward tendency, and it is supplemented by more gentle ascents w'hich 
are skirted by broad slopes of wood and Heather. Eight miles away 
through the Brake, green in the summer time, but now browmed by the 
autumnal sun, lies King’s Lynn ; across the Wash, its w'aters flashing 
in the sun as they spread away from the coast line below, is Boston. A 
visitor winding his way along the delightful country road on a sunny 
February morning, when the Fern is bending beneath the first mellow 
breezes of spring, and the air is spiced with Fir-fragrance, will find 
beside and behind him pictures that may prove potent enough to 
lengthen the duration of his journey, even if he be anxious to complete 
it. It will be strange, too, if visions of the spring and summer beauty, 
which it must certainly possess, do not suggest themselves to him, trans¬ 
forming the Bracken from brown to green, and clothing the trees with 
foliage that will shimmer cool in the hot sun haze. If the way be full 
of attractivenes while yet the fronds remain uncoiled and the buds 
unbroken, it must have charms of no common kind when Nature is full 
of pulsing life. 
To paint a word picture of Sandringham at once artistic and com¬ 
plete would need a broad canvas and a subtle hand. The task is 
embarrassing because of its many-sidednes.s. The great estate is equally 
remarkable from the point of view of the forester, the sportsman, the 
farmer, and the gardener. For the one there is the woodland, for the 
other the cover, for the third the fields, and for the fourth the fruit, 
vegetables, lawns, and flowers. To most readers of these columns the 
latter would be the most interesting feature. Their thoughts would 
turn from the furrow to the flower garden, from the kennels to the 
vinerie.s, Peach houses, and stoves. Sandringham from the gardenesque 
standpoint—that is how they would regard it, and it is from this position 
that I venture on a few reflections suggested by a chance visit and an 
hour or two under the guidance of Mr. A. MacKellar, who, qualified by 
experience gained at Hopetoun, Tyninghame, Chatsworth, Penrhyn, and 
ten years as head gardener at Floors Castle, the Duke of Roxburghe’s 
beautiful seat near Kelso, has proved himself in every way worthy of 
the post to which he had the honour of being called two years ago. 
Gardeners in general will not examine without interest the portrait (fig. 31) 
of one of their craft, who, while still comparatively young, has risen to 
oae of the most distinguished posts in the profession. Moreover, those who 
have their spurs yet to win might do worse than imitate the energy and 
the unwearying devotion to duty, which, combined with cultural skill 
and a modest unassuming disposition, have secured Mr. McKellar what 
he most prizes, the confidence of those whom he serves. Complete 
subordination of self to work and concentration of thought upon the 
fullest development of beauty and utility in his sphere of labour are 
characters which impress themselves as dominant in the present head of 
the gardens at Sandringham. 
Leaving for the time being the fruit and vegetable gardens, also the 
plant and fiuit houses, a few words shall be devoted to the pleasure 
grounds and flower gardens around the mansion. February is not, it 
will be agreed, the month to see them at anything approaching their 
best, but they are by no means devoid of attractiveness even at this 
unfavourable season. The mansion, to which an extensive wing has 
been added since the fire some time ago, is a long and not very lofty 
building with a considerable frontage, and stretching away in front of 
the windows is an extensive series of beds which in the summer are gay 
with flowers. Though necessarily less brilliant now they are little less 
beautiful, for they are planted with a great variety of small shrubs, the 
green, golden, and silvery tints of which make them cheerful in the dull 
season. Golden Yews, Berberises, Golden .Hollies, Portugal Laurels, 
Golden Box, Aucubas, Euonymuses, Retinosporas, and many others are 
blended in a tasteful and effective manner. No more striking example 
of the possibilities in winter bedding could be afforded than is here 
provided, and the contrast between the system and an imaginary array 
of empty beds and bare soil is vividly presented. Thousands of bulbs 
also occupy the beds, and throughout the spring they will lend the 
brightness of their rich and diversified colours to the scene. Rhodo¬ 
dendrons, too, will contribute, large quantities of choice named varieties 
being planted and retained until their flowering period is over, then 
lifted to make way for summer plants. 
Through banks of these beautiful plants, amongst numbers of 
shapely Conifers, and by groups of shrubs, the visitor finds his way to 
the “ Church Walk,” a delightful avenue lined with lofty Scotch Firs 
their trunks hidden in clustering masses of Ivy. At the end is the 
beautiful little church, it and its approach constituting one of the most 
charming pictures which could be Lund, not only at Sandringham but 
in the whole country. Then there is the lake, widening and narrowing, 
advancing and receding, with quiet pools at the foot of shelving boulders 
