316 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 13, 1892. 
SIXTY YEARS OF HORTICULTURAL PROGRESS. 
(1760—1820). 
(Continued from page 163 .) 
Dr. Erasmus Darwin, ancestor of a man destined to become 
still more famous than himself, certainly far more philosophical 
and acute in observation, became known to gardeners towards the 
end of the last century by some books he published, in which fact 
and fancy were curiously mingled. Apart from his novel views 
concerning the way in which, as he thought, all living things were 
formed, he posed as one who put the art of gardening in a new 
aspect, because he threw upon it the light of imagination, and 
showed that poetry might lend a charm even to the humblest 
vegetables. It may have been that his speculations in verse did, 
for a time, help to cheer gardeners, who were passing through a 
rather gloomy crisis just then, but according to some critics the 
chief good he did was to afford some a hearty laugh. Even his 
personal preference for the Cabbage tribe could be put into melo¬ 
dious verse. After referring to the liking others had for Lettuces, 
Cucumbers, Asparagus, Artichokes, Peas, and Beans, he delineates 
his own partiality thus :— 
“ This boon I ask of Fate : Where’er I dine, 
0 1 be the Proteus form of Cabbage mine; 
Kale, Colewort, Cauliflower, or soft and clear, 
If Broccoli delight thy nicer ear, 
Give, rural Muse 1 the culture and the name 
In verse immortal to the rolls of Fame.” 
By profession a physician, Erasmus Darwin was naturally led 
from the study of medical plants to the consideration of various 
species growing here and abroad, their uses, and modes of propa¬ 
gation. He had been, for some years before, a contributor of 
verses to magazines ; but it was not till 1781 that he published his 
“ Loves of the Plants,” consisting of two parts, with sundry notes 
and observations, a poem which had a good deal of popularity, 
though it was successfully parodied by the author of the “ Loves 
of the Triangles.” A much higher flight was attempted in his 
“ Zoonomia,” meant to explain the origin of animals and plants on 
the theory that all were produced from the changes of irritable 
fibres. This appeared in 1796, and five years later came a quarto 
of 600 pages on “ The Philosophy of Agriculture and Gardening,” 
but it did not gain any attention, perhaps owing to its diffuseness. 
He also wrote a pamphlet on the drainage of marshy land, and on 
an improvement in the drill plough. His appearance was so jovial 
that he might have passed for a farmer [rather than a doctor ; 
but he stammered painfully. 
There were some gardeners, whose names have been well nigh 
forgotten by this generation, to whom horticulture was indebted, 
as they gave their experience in print on subjects they had well 
studied at a time when direct intercourse amongst workers was 
often impeded through obstacles now unknown. Thus, there was 
Weston, who first made an extended series of observations on the 
methods practised in the most successful market gardens and 
nurseries of London. Then he published towards the end of the 
century his “ Gardeners’ and Planters’ Calendar,” containing 
cultural directions arranged in the months, and also suggestions for 
improvements in raising trees and shrubs. Meader, gardener at 
; Sion House, brought out a work of a somewhat similar nature, 
with an appendix on the new plans of forcing Grapes and wall 
fruit generally. Speechly, for many years in the employ of the 
Duke of Portland, broke new ground in his treatise published at 
York upon the “ Culture of the Pine Apple and the Management 
of the Hothouse,” since he took up minutely the subject of the 
various insect pests occurring in houses, and pointed out how they 
should be dealt with. A German named Grseffer, who came over 
to a situation in the Apothecaries’ Garden, Chelsea, and afterwards 
joined Gordon in the Mile End Nursery, prepared about 1790 a 
very elaborate catalogue of perennials suitable for oucdoor culture, 
with a list of selected annuals appended. Both in Scotland and 
England the works of Walter Nicol, jun., whose father was a 
designer of gardens in the north, became standard books of 
reference. His “ Forcing Gardener,” illustrated, appeared in 1798, 
and he was on a tour seeking information to complete his last 
volume, the Planters’ Kalendar,” when he died suddenly. This 
was finished by Sang, and published in 1811. 
Several medical men besides Darwin devoted themselves in 
their leisure time to horticultural pursuits and gave the public 
some of their new ideas ; Dr. Anderson, for instance, who, after 
cultivating land extensively in Aberdeenshire, came to Isleworth, 
near London, where he put up some hothouses on a plan of his own, 
the heat being derived entirely from the sun, and artificial warmth 
was dispensed with, but his patent was a failure. Much information 
was contained in his six volumes, entitled “ Recreations in Agri¬ 
culture,” &c., which was rather autobiographical. Another physician, 
Dr. Falconer of Bath, was a great student of horticultural history, 
and compiled an outline, published in 1789, of the methods recom¬ 
mended by early authors, with notes on the gardens of the 
ancients. He also wrote on the diseases to which gardeners 
might be specially liable, and how these might be warded off or 
speedily cured. Divines came forward sometimes with new pro¬ 
posals, like the Rev. Phillip Le Brocq, who advocated a method of 
training all sorts of fruit trees near the ground ; a hint regarding 
this, however, had been dropped by Lord Bacon centuries before. 
Haworth, the well known entomologist, was an amateur in garden¬ 
ing, and he published a list of the species of Crocus and Mesembry- 
anthemum, adding instructions for their culture. 
Great progress was made in the culture of the Yine during the 
sixty years of George the Third’s reign. The old gardeners had 
not been careful in preparing suitable soil for their borders, and 
several good composts were devised, as by Griffin of Woodhall, who 
received, it is said, the first medal awarded to a Grape grower. 
He used a mixture of one part of old manure, one of brick or 
lime rubbish, and two of loam, laid upon a subsoil which would 
drain well. In his very productive vineries he had a single shoot 
led up under each rafter, getting his fruit from the side spurs, 
which he had cut down to single eyes every winter. Mr. Seton, 
an amateur of Stamford Hill, noticing that the Yine produces the 
most vigorous shoots at its extremities, while the lower parts were 
nearly unproductive, adopted a new plan of horizontal training, by 
which the whole of the fruit-bearing part of each Yine was very 
nearly on the same level. He thereby succeeded in getting an 
abundance of Grapes from the long fresh shoots, also from the old 
wood. This was somewhat similar to the succession method of 
pruning advised by Abercrombie and others. Forsyth advocated 
laying the shoots in a serpentine form, and McPhail showed that 
the old zig-zag training, which might do for walls or trellises, 
should not be followed in houses. He opposed too early forcing, 
but Nicol was introducing the practice of making a start in autumn, 
which he found usual amongst the Dutch growers. Apparently, it 
was from Flanders that the practice was introduced, which became 
very popular, of covering Yines upon walls with temporary frames 
of glass, stimulation being given by stable manure. The usual way 
of obtaining new Yines was by cuttings, though Speechly preferred 
to get them from eyes, and layering found great favour amongst 
Scotch growers. Peacheswere now frequently forced in houses. 
Dwarfs, two years trained, were usually introduced in November: 
these were pruned during the spring, fan-training being mostly 
adopted. 
Forcing Cherries is a less important matter than it used to be, 
owing to the free supply of foreign fruit at present, but the 
Cherry house gave much trouble to Georgian gardeners, their 
failures sometimes arising from the neglect of sufficient ventilation, 
and Nicol proved that air should be freely admitted in February. 
He, with M’Phail, recommended for forcing the Morello and the 
Mayduke. It was usual to have a trellis at the back for wall- 
trained dwarfs, and rows in front of dwarfs and “riders ” mixed. 
Figs in pots were often placed in Cherry houses, but they required 
more heat than was usually given there, and Neill succeeded in 
getting large crops from Figs planted under the shade of Yines. 
Peach houses, for affording supplies of Peaches and Nectarines in 
June, had greatly increased in number at the beginning of this 
century, the crowding common in the old houses being avoided, 
the temperature better regulated, and the suggestion of Knight 
adopted that the air and sun be at times freely admitted to the fruit 
while maturing.—J. R. S. C. 
FUNCTIONS (AND WEIGHT) OF YINE LEAVES. 
Having read the very interesting and instructive articles in the 
Journal of Horticulture on the “Functions of Yine Leaves,” I 
take the liberty of forwarding you samples of leaves produced by 
Yines that were planted 1st March, 1891, having been previously 
cut down to 12 inches in length. They made good wood, but were 
not fruited last year. This year they were cut down to the bottom 
of the rafter. The vinery was closed 20th February, and growth 
started strongly. I left from eight to ten laterals on each Yine 
from the ground to the bottom of the rafter. 
From the seven Yines we had fifty bunches of Grapes, 
ranging in weight from f lb. to 5f lbs. One Yine produced 
23 lbs. of Grapes. The bunches quite touched each other, being 
only from three and four joints or eyes from the cane, which 
showed them to have been well ripened. The first fruit ripened 
on the 10th of July. The vinery has a western exposure. The 
Yines were managed on the close-stopping system advocated by 
Mr. Iggulden. I do not know of any other way by which you 
could produce better foliage. 
Good leafage is of primary importance, because the higher the 
