142 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
February l4,18P5. 
modern principles. Most of the Vine borders are on the outside only. 
Mr. Barnei, however, is gradually introducing inside borders, and since 
his taking charge has made seven new ones, his principle being shallow 
borders on a firm concrete bottom. The remaining walls are covered 
mainly with Pears and Plums, from which during the past season good 
crops have been gathered, though the Apples, as in many other places, 
were a failure. 
A range of lean-to fruit houses occupy a south wall, the first planted 
entirely with Coe’s Golden Drop and other Plums, followed by cool Peach 
houses, in which Barrington and Sea Eagle Peach and Lord Napier Nec¬ 
tarine predominate. Following these is a range of late vineries, four in 
number, the first planted with Lady Downe’s and Alicante, followed by 
Muscats ; the third with young canes of Lady Downe’s planted last 
spring, and fourth with Black Hamburghs. We next glance through a 
succession of pits containing winter crops of Cucumbers and Tomatoes, 
to be followed by supplies of Melons and additional crops of the above 
for summer use. 
The Orchid houses are substantially built of teak wood. Like 
everything else at Eaton, Orchids are well grown, and consist of fine 
collections of Cattleyas, Cypripediums, Odontoglossums, Coelogynes, 
and Dendrobiums. As the different species come into flower they are 
effectively staged in one large exhibition house, now particularly gay. 
Conspicuous amongst others are some fine pieces of Dendrobium 
Wardianum and Lselia Sanderiana and L. anceps. Angrsecum 
sesquipedale, too, is quite at home here, there being several fine 
specimens producing twelve and fourteen blooms each. A superb 
collection of Calanthes gives evidence that their cultivation is thoroughly 
understood, the chief varieties being Veitchi, lutea, and vestita rubra. 
Another range of lean-to houses contains Figs, which are extensively 
grown at Eaton, and Vines, mainly Black Hamburgh, Lady Downe’s, 
Muscat of Alexandria, and Madresfield Court; early vineries just now 
showing fruit, and Peaches in bloom, claim special attention. 
Perhaps the chief feature of interest at Eaton is the handsome 
corridor. It is a structure about 150 yards long, 15 feet wide, with a 
height of about 20 feet. The roof is covered from one end to the 
other with creepers of many kinds, which by their trailing habits give 
the whole an elegant appearance. As there is no conservatory attached 
to the mansion the corridor takes its place, and is at all seasons kept 
gay with flowers, chiefly with Fuchsias and Campanulas during the 
summer months and with Chrysanthemums in the autumn and winter. 
It is now adorned from end to end with Arum Lilies and Lilium 
Harris!, intermingled with elegant Ferns and foliage plants, the effect 
of which can be easily imagined from the illustration (fig. 25), which 
is reproduced from a photograph taken by Mr. G. Watmough Webster, 
Chester. The view, looking from one end to the other, can scarcely be 
surpassed, as it is a long continuation of floral beauty. For the 
furnishing of this, it is needless to say, a large number of plants are 
required, and for this purpose alone 1600 bulbs of Lilium Harris! are 
potted annually. 
Leading from the corridor are a series of houses, conspicuous amongst 
which is the spring house tastefully adorned with forced plants, such 
as Hyacinths, Lily of the Valley, Deutzia gracilis. Lilac, and Freesiis, 
and another staged with well bloomed plants of Cyclamen persicum. 
In addition to these there are several, containing Palms, Azaleas, 
Camellias, and Imantophyllums. A splendid collection of Carnations, 
of which Mr. Barnes may feel justly proud, must be passed with but a 
cursory glance. Malmaisons are strongly in evidence, as about 2500 
plants in different stages of growth are cultivated. After the recent 
controversies in the Journal of Horticulture respecting the growing 
of Malmaisons it may be interesting to know that Mr. Barnes 
is a strong advocate of the non-syringing principle, and believes in 
maintaining a gentle current of air to avoid a murky atmosphere, and 
dusting the plants very lightly about once a fortnight with flowers of 
sulphur. No sign or spot of disease is to be seen, and the success of 
this method is apparent in the healthy condition of the plants 
themselves. About 2000 plants of border varieties are also grown, 
amongst which I noticed Miss Jolliffe, Miss Mary Godfrey, Lady Nina 
Balfour, and Uriah Pike. 
The capacious orchard house, used during the season for the exhibi¬ 
tion of Chrysanthemums, for which purpose it is admirably adapted, is 
substantially built. It is now filled with Pears in pots, chiefly Easter 
Beurre, Pitmaston Duchess, and Glou Morcjeau ; Plums, Coe’s Golden 
Drop and Jefferson ; besides a number of Peaches and Nectarines. 
Strawberries for forcing are to be found everywhere, 4000 plants being 
needed to keep up the supply, consisting mainly of Keens’ Seedling, Sir 
Harry, and Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury. To meet the constant demand 
for cut flowers, about 2000 Poinsettias and a like number of Euphorbia 
jacquinimflora are annually grown, and, in addition to these, about 500 
Roses are forced, while the number of bulbs of all descriptions amounts 
to many thousands. 
The spacious vegetable garden, from which the kitchen supply is 
produced, is situated about a mile away from the mansion, so that time 
would not allow an inspection of this department. At this dull time of 
the year, however, little can be said of these, and the flower gardens, 
the latter of which—now planted with Wallflowers, bulbs, and other 
spring-bedding plants—are tastefully laid out in Italian style in front 
of the mansion. An interesting feature in the grounds is that here and 
there, through the masses of shrubbery, can be seen pretty landscape 
views of the winding River Dee and the country beyond. 
No description of Eaton could be considered complete without special 
mention of the bothy, built in 1893, for the accommodation of the 
young gardeners, under the supervision of Mr. Barnes. It is an impos¬ 
ing building, commanding a pleasant outlook, and built on the latest 
sanitary style, being furnished with kitchens, dining and sitting rooms, 
bath room, and lavatories, and the whole thoroughly ventilated and 
heated by a system of hot air. It is gratifying to know that the 
proprietor takes such an interest in the comfort of those in his employ, 
as in many establishments the comforts of young gardeners are sadly 
neglected. The air of neatness and order which prevails throughout 
the establishment is ample proof that the whole is under the care of a 
master hand, to whom great credit is due. 
After partaking of the kind hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Barnes, 
I again proceeded homewards, with notebook well stocked with useful 
information and mind fall of pleasant recollections of my visit to 
Eaton.—G. H. 
PROBLEMS IN VINE CULTURE. 
I CANNOT say that I have ever feared attacks of red spider on 
Vines. Some cultivators dread this pest, and have long since come 
to the conclusion that it is next to impossible to grow Vines with¬ 
out an attack of it. Looking back over several years I cannot help 
concluding that some cultural defect is the cause of an attack by 
this enemy. When Vines are arranged directly over a number of 
hot water pipes and hard forcing is resorted to red spider will 
appear, but even under these circumstances if timely action is taken 
its progress may be readily arrested. When the insects appear I 
have always found sponging the leaves with a weak solution of 
softsoap and a little sulphur added ample for destroying it. It 
should be taken in hand in time and not allowed to spread over the 
vinery before an effort is made to subdue it. 
In May, 1890, when I came here, one of the vineries had the 
leaves at that early period of the year nearly yellow with an attack 
of red spider. The house was a late one, and the Vines just coming 
into flower. They flagged daily when there was a little bright 
sunshine. On examination the border was found to be saturated, 
and fully 1 foot of material was removed from the surface. The 
border was pointed over with a fork and dried, no water being 
given during the season nor sprinkled in the house. “A good 
method of increasing red spider,” some will exclaim. Under some 
circumstances it might have been, but as the border became dry 
the Vines commenced growing and the spider disappeared. I do 
not remember having seen any in the house since. My experience 
leads me to the conclusion that a check to Vines from any cause 
whatever may predispose them to an attack of red spider. 
Unfortunately, it has been my lot to practise nearly all through 
my gardening career where the Vines have been infested with 
mealy bug, and consequently the rods were peeled annually. I do 
not admire the system ; it seems unnatural, and I never practise it 
where it can be avoided. While at Norris Green I barked some 
Vines annually for thirteen seasons, the rods swelled, and the Vines 
very much improved. I do not think this annual barking does 
much harm provided strong insecticides are not used afterwards. 
It is impossible to remove the bark closely without cutting into 
the inner bark more or less, and strong insecticides are then certain 
to prove injurious. 
When Vines, through barking and dressing, assume a bright 
polished appearance like the wood of Plum trees something is 
radically wrong, and injury results. They do not appear to form 
fresh layers of bark, but seem to be hide-bound. 'This is caused 
by strong insecticides after barking. After a moderate barking, 
and a good washing with softsoap and water, also thoroughly 
cleaning the house, I have every faith that mealy bug may be 
eradicated from our vineries by the use of nicotine vapourised in 
the atmosphere. One fact is certain—it will destroy all bug in 
an active condition, and does not appear to injure the fronds of 
the most tender Ferns. 
I well remember Mr. W. Taylor’s writings on the barking of 
Vines, and do not regard his last contribution in any way incon¬ 
sistent with his previous practice. Exceptional cases often require 
exceptional remedies. His article is welcome as pointing out 
injury that he thinks results from the practice of barking. 
From my experience, however, I think Mr. Taylor must look 
to some other cause than mere barking for his Vines not doing 
so well. The roof being covered or partly covered with foliage 
would protect the stems to a very large extent. The Vines 
appear to have lengthened out their growth satisfactorily, thus 
exhausting the reserve material that had been stored up for them. 
The roots should then have been in an active state, bringing up 
fresh supplies. Vines that are not barked sometimes flag for a few 
days after the reserve stores of food have been exhausted, and 
before root action has commenced. Especially is this the case 
when the roots are outside and the sun is bright. Under these 
circumstances we damp the house more frequently, and are careful 
to allow the Vines to move gently, in fact we never hurry them 
until signs of root activity are apparent. 
