276 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 29, 1887. 
siderable supplies are annually required. The garden altogether is in 
excellent condition, and Mrs. Backhouse may well be proud of her unique 
urban home.—L. Castle. 
CHISWICK TRIALS OF TOMATOES. 
The result of the Chiswick trials of Tomatoes has tended to reduce 
the chaos of names to something like order. The plants were grown out 
of doors on a south border under a wall, and as all received the same 
treatment the experiment is a conclusive one. The name printed in 
italics is the original under which each variety was first introduced, and 
the Fruit Committee of the Koyal Horticultural Society have adopted it 
as the standard by which the variety shall henceforth be known, all the 
others being merely synomymes. 
Those marked * received a first-class certificate. 
1. — Open Air (Laxton) : Faultless Early (Farquhar). 
2. — Early Dwarf (Vilmorin) ; Orangefield (Veitch); Orangefield 
Improved (Rutley & Silverlock) ; Little Gem (Yeitch) ; Conqueror 
(Veitch) ; Early Red (Vilmorin). 
3. —Large Bed (Veitch) ; No. 1 (J. Banstead) ; Sensation (Webb) ; 
Canada Victor (Farquhar) ; Glamorgan (Hurst) ; Cooper’s Dwarf Pro¬ 
lific (Cooper); Wheeler’s Prolific (Wheeler) ; Nisbet’s Victoria 
(Sharpe). 
* 4.— Horsford's Prelude (Horsford & Pringle). 
5 .—Paragon (Farquhar) ; Eclipse (Sharpe). 
G .—Chiswick Bed (R.H.S.) ; King Humbert (Rutley & Silverlock) ; 
King Humbert (Veitch). 
7. — No. 1 (Watkins & Simpson). 
8 . — Pear-shaped (Farquhar) ; Nisbet’s Victoria (Veitch). 
9. —Cherry shaped (Farquhar). 
10. — Hathaway's Excelsior (Farquhar) ; Emery (Farquhar) ; Hatha¬ 
way’s Excelsior (Veitch) ; Key’s Prolific (Veitch) ; Large Smooth Red 
(Farquhar). 
*11 .—Perfection (Farquhar) ; Livingstone’s Perfection (Rutley and 
Silverlock) ; Livingstone’s Favourite (Farquhar); Livingstone’s Favour¬ 
ite (Dean) ; Perfection (Veitch) ; Reading Perfection ; President 
Cleveland (Farquhar) ; Cardinal (Farquhar) ; Stamfordian (Veitch) ; 
Mayflower (Veitch) ; Optimus (Benary) ; Red Tomato, from Sandwich 
Islands (Carter) ; Webb’s Jubilee (Webb) ; Jubilee (Nutting). 
12. —Hackwood Park Prolific (Veitch) ; Invicta (Veitch) ; General 
Grant (Farquhar); No. 3 (Watkins & Simpson); Trentliam Early 
(V eitch). 
13. —Trophy (Farquhar) ; Trophy (Veitch). 
14. — Hepper's Goliath (Veitch). 
15. —Acme (Veitch) ; Acme (Farquhar) ; Acme ; Brookwood A1 
(R. Lloyd) ; Early Essex (Farquhar) ; The Pomegranate (Sharpe) ; 
No. 2 (J. Banstead) ; Livingstone’s Beauty (Farquhar). 
16. — Vick's Criterion. (Veitch). 
17. —The Mikado (Watkins & Simpson) ; The Mikado (Farquhar); 
Universal (Veitch). 
18. — Plum-shaped (Farquhar). 
19. — Yellow Cherry (Farquhar). 
20. — Greengage (Farquhar) ; Greengage (Veitch). 
* 21 .—Golden Queen (Williams) ; Yellow Tomato (J. Smith). 
22. —Blenheim Orange (Carter). 
23. —Prince of Orange (Hurst). 
24. —Large Yellmv (Farquhar) ; Large Yellow (Veitch). 
25. — White Apple (Farquhar). 
26. —Currant or Grape (Farquhar). 
JOTTINGS FROM BATH. 
Bath is so well known as a great horticultural centre, so many first- 
rate growers and exhibitors have hailed from it and its vicinity, and its 
flower shows are so well known and so highly appreciated, that there 
must be, and indeed is, always a great deal of interest to any visitor at 
any, even the deadest season of the year; would not, then, there be a 
good deal worth seeing in the month of August ? And so, after my pleasant 
visit to Mr. Gray, I put myself under the kindly and hospitable, 
guidance of my friend Mr. Cater, so well known to horticulturists who 
affect the fair “ Queen of the West.” I spent a very pleasant and instructive 
time, and as the items of information that one picks up are oftentimes 
useful to many readers, a few notes on what I saw may not be 
unacceptable. I must not pass by Mr. R. B. Cater’s own garden at 
AVONDALE. 
This is remarkable in many ways. It is situated almost in the centre 
of Bath, yet here has Mr. Cater grown and exhibited many excellent 
things, perhaps his most successful productions being his pot Roses in 
the early part of the year, and Chrysanthemums in the autumn, and in 
both of these there were signs of coming victories and proofs of 
successful culture. His pot Roses were indeed grand specimens. Such 
kinds as Souvenir d’un Ami, Celine Forestier, Catherine Mermet, Marie 
Van Houtte, Charles Lawson, Jean Ducher, Rubens, and others were 
represented by plants from between 4 to 5 feet through, and must when 
in flower in the house devoted to them be a grand sight. Although an 
ardent lover of Roses and a thoroughly good judge of them, Mr. Cater 
gives up as hopeless the attempt to grow them in the open, where he is 
so shut in as in Henrietta Park, and so takes his revenge by 
growing pot Roses. He is, however, evidently hankering for some place 
outside the city where he can grow them. The Chrysanthemums were I 
in fine condition. Mr. Cater’s collection is a very varied one, and com¬ 
prises the best flowers in all sections ; and in the very excellent 
Chrysanthemum Show held in Bath he rarely fails to take a foremost 
place. He has also a choice collection of Pelargoniums, while he has- 
also a good collection of fruit trees. Like most places one sees, there- 
are symptoms of extension, and a new house of considerable size testifies 
to the fact that the owner’s zeal for horticulture is not on the decline. 
Under Mr. Cater’s guidance our next visit was paid to a very remark¬ 
able garden, that of Alderman Chaffin, 
LARKHALL, 
A garden whose exploits are well known to all fruit lovers who read 
the Journal, for its able and intelligent gardener is Mr. W. Taylor, who 
has written so much and so ably on Grapes, and who has illustrated his 
theories by his practice both when he was at Longleat and in his present 
situation. I had once (although I had forgotten it) met him many 
years ago on a well-remembered occasion when the field marshals of the 
Journal entertained the colonels, captains, and subalterns at the “ Star 
and Garter,” Richmond. Ah, me 1 how many have passed away of that 
company since then ; but I had never had the pleasure of talking with 
him until the other day. I was most struck with the modesty andi 
ingenuousness of his character. He could hardly be got to talk upon the 
wonderful results he had accomplished in Grape culture, and in speaking 
of Longleat he asked if I had been there. On my replying in the 
negative he said, “ It would be worth your while going there, if only to see 
the crop of Grapes.” How often have I heard other sentiments 
expressed. A gardener comes into a place, and the first thing he does 
is to decry all that his predecessor has done, and to make it appear, if 
there is anything worth looking at, that it is all his doing. (Like some 
doctors who draw very long faces when they see a patient, tell how 
awfully bad he is, and then, when he gets better, take the more credit 
to themselves for the wonderful cure they have effected) ; or if he speaks 
of the place he has left in other hands, very much fears it is going all 
wrong, not as it was in his time. All gardeners do not talk thus, but 
some do. 
The Grape-growing here is of a peculiar character, as it is almost 
entirely for exhibition, so that instead of seeing a house with a crop of 
Grapes weighing from 2 to 4 lbs. evenly distributed over it, here there 
were some four, five, to six bunches on the Vine, and these bunches 
from 6 to 7 lbs. in weight. The house itself is a remarkable one, and 
has gone through some striking experiences. The place is one of the 
sides of the many hills that surround Bath, and which, when twenty 
years ago the Alderman took possession of it, it was entirely bare. He 
planted a number of choice Conifers, which have done marvellously 
well—too well in fact, for they are crowding one another out. The 
owner lacks a little moral courage, and does not like to apply the 
hatchet. The best thing he could do would be to go away for a while, 
invite Mr. Gladstone to use his house, and to bring his axe with him ; 
and I venture to say he would find the place considerably altered when 
he returned. Well, this vinery, which is 140 feet long, is built on the 
side of the hill, and the hill, like most chalk formations, is famous for 
springs ; so one fine morning word was brought in that a large portion 
of the bank had slipped and fallen against the house. The first thing 
was to get this away, and it was done not without some difficulty, and 
it was found that it had slightly altered the position of the house. A 
still more formidable thing was the roof. This was observed to be 
bulging, and a downfall seemed imminent. However, by timely employ¬ 
ment of scientific methods this was saved, and the roof rendered 
apparently perfectly secure, but it still has a wavy appearance, and is 
not all on the same level. It was certainly a most wonderful sight to- 
see the grand bunches of Muscat of Alexandria, Mrs. Pince, Madresfield 
Court, and other fine Grapes in such marvellous perfection. Size and 
shape of bunch, colour of fruit, and size of berry all tefided to make it. 
evident that in Mr. Taylor the Vines had a master who could bend them 
to his will. The Vines were all young, only three years from the bud. 
The whole of the house was not devoted to Grapes ; one end about 40 
feet had a good collection of Tea Roses planted out, and the other end, 
also 40 feet, was at the period of my visit filled with Tomatoes, young 
vines coming on ; but the interest of the place centres in the Grape 
culture, which I think will compare favourably with any that I have 
seen—and I have seen a good many places. I did not do as Alderman 
Chaffin told us a lady did who came to see them, one of those whose eyes 
are on the tips of their fingers, for they can never see a thing unless 
they touch it, deliberately drew her hand down a splendid bunch, ex¬ 
claiming, “ What splendid Grapes!” I am afraid most people would use 
rather unparliamentary language even to a lady when they saw the 
labour of a year thus thoughtlessly destroyed. What the Alderman did 
I do not know, but the lady, I imagine, must have felt considerably 
astonished at the statement made to her, and probably learned a lesson 
of ‘ hands off.” After an interesting conversation with Mr. Taylor we 
went off to see the nursery of 
MESSRS. COOLING & SON, 
and here there was much to interest those who love the Rose, for it is 
somewhat extensively cultivated here, and I had just seen such good 
specimens from here at the Taunton Show, that despite the drought and 
heat I felt sure that we should see something worthy of notice. We 
first visited the nursery proper, and here I saw two things of much 
interest—a crop of Cucumbers such as I had never seen before. I have 
seen pictures and what professed to be photographs, but I always gave 
credit to the imaginative power of the artist, but here they were in such 
profusion that it would have been almost impossible to have exaggerated. 
