384 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November S, 1887. 
the crops, though heavy, were of excellent quality. Mr. Nash is an old 
“ Colemanite,” and attaches much importance to the process of reno¬ 
vating the borders, more especially from the front. There are several 
good Peach houses, including one recently contrived and built at a 
trifling outlay by Mr. Nash. Several fairly large trees were shifted into 
this house last March, and these were carrying fairly heavy crops at the 
time of our visit. Such old favourites as Stirling Castle, Bellegarde, and 
Barrington Peaches, and Elruge, Hunt’s Tawny, and Pitmaston Orange 
Nectarines are largely grown, and they frequently prove very hard to 
surpass. A long succession of Melons is maintained, several useful 
sunken houses being devoted principally to their culture. Sutton’s Per¬ 
fection is much liked, and there was a fine crop of it hanging, the old 
Golden Gem also being plentiful and in good condition. Cucumbers for 
all seasons are grown very similarly to Melons—that is to say, are not 
stopped till the top of the trellis is reached, the fruit being produced 
from the laterals and sub-laterals. When exhausted they are at once 
rooted out, the supply being maintained by successional plants, as in the 
case of Melons. This is found to be a better plan than depending solely 
on partially exhausted red-spider-infested plants so frequently to be met 
with. Cardiff Castle is the sort solely depended upon, and it would be 
a difficult matter to name a more generally excellent variety. Tomatoes 
also are in great demand, and a lot of plants in various stages of growth 
were doing good service in the Melon and Cucumber houses. Old 
Orangefield, Dedham Favourite, and Sutton’s Perfection are the sorts 
grown, and all give good crops of excellent quality. In the plant houses 
are grown a useful assortment of plants, principally for house decora¬ 
tion. A fine plant of Tea Rose, Rubens, trained over the roof of one of 
the plant houses, is found to be invaluable. It yields flowers freely all 
the year round, and in the spring immense quantities of fine blooms are 
gathered from it. 
There are eleven acres of kitchen garden, the greater portion being 
enclosed by fine old walls in good preservation, and which were < rected 
in the year 17()2. The Apricot wall is 1-1 feet high, and well furnished 
with trees, which, with the aid of blinds and fish nets, rarely fail to yield 
heavy crops. Ambrozia is very highly spoken of, and other Apricots 
that do well at Badminton are the Moorpark, Hemskirk, Early Turkey, 
Breda, a useful early sort, and Shipley, the best late variety. A great 
amount of wall space is devoted to Pears, and there are a fine lot of 
trees, which are principally horizontally trained. The most reliable 
sorts are Jargonell", Williams’ Bon ChiAtien, Beurifi d’Amanlis, Pit¬ 
maston Duchess, Iiacon’s Incomparable, Beurre Diel, Marie Louise, 
Glou Morceau, Josephine de Malines, Zephirin Gregoire, Winter Nelis, 
Beurre Ranee, and Soldat d’Esperen. Peaches, Plums, Cherries, and a 
few Apples are also well treated, and altogether there are a fine lot of 
wall trees. They are not starved, all receiving a good share of the solid 
manure so very abundaut at Badminton, and in most instances the 
roots have a 6 feet wide border to themselves. It is the vegetable crops 
disposed close to the walls that frequently ruin so many wall trees in 
other gardens. Apples were plentiful and good, Kentish Pippin being 
found one of the most generally useful sorts grown, various other good 
varieties, however, finding a place in the collection. 
As before stated, the kitchen garden is exceptionally extensive, and 
under Mr. Nash’s able management is made to produce enormous 
quantities of good vegetables. The soil is well and deeply worked, 
abundance of good manure being deeply mixed with both spits. In 
spite of the dry season Peas were plentiful late in August, Ne Plus Ultra 
and Sturdy being fo .nd the most reliable sorts, the quality in each case 
being of the very best. The yield of Potatoes is .usually enormous, but 
this season abundance of haulm and roots were formed, but compara¬ 
tively few tubers, this being most marked in the case of Scotch Champion. 
In addition to the last-named, Magnum Bonum is also extensively grown, 
the sorts preferred for the earliest supplies being Racehorse and Reading 
Russet. Large breadths of Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, and other winter 
vegetables were in fine condition, while the Celery was exceptionally 
well grown. Lettuces were most plentiful, and equal to any we have 
yet tasted in a more favourable season. They are grown on wide deeply 
dug borders in which large quantities of old Mushroom bed manure 
being added to the soil. Blaclc-seeded Brown Cos is considered one of 
the best for summer as well as winter us°, and Yeitch’s Superb White 
Cos and Sugar Loaf are grown with it. Box edging has been gradually 
superseded by thin roughly dressed and locally quarried stones ; these 
forming a neat edging, do not afford harbour for slugs, and are of no 
further trouble after they are once properly fixed. There are fine 
harbaceous borders running through the centre of the kitchen garden, 
these containing a great variety of useful plants and shrubs. The large 
bushes of Golden Elder just outside the walls were very beautiful, and 
the fine bushes of Galega officinalis alba were covered with flowers. The 
Moutan Pasonies have been grown to a great size, and are but little 
affected by the late severe winter. Large batches of Garraway’s White 
Mignonette are erown for cutting from, and it is much liked at 
Badminton.— Visitor. 
JAPANESE CHRYSANTHEMUM MRS. J. WRIGHT. 
This premises to be a valuable addition to the large-flowered Japanese 
section that exhibitors of cut flowers would do well to add to their col¬ 
lection. It was raised from seed by Messrs. John Laing & Co. of Forest 
Hill, and distributed last year by them to a few cultivators to test its 
merits. It was first brought into public notice at the Crystal Palace 
Autumn Exhibition, when Mr. Flight of Winchester showed two medium 
sized blooms in one of his winning stqnds. After judging in the incurved 
classes, Mr. J. Wright of The Journal of Horticulture had his attention 
attracted to the bloom as being distinct, the colour pure, and the florets 
and flowers generally of good substance, and he thought it a promising 
variety. It proved to be an unnamed seedling, that year on trial, and 
the raiser then named it Mrs. J. Wright, as a compliment to one who 
we may say first discerned its merits, and who is, as many of the readers 
of the Journal know, a close observer of the Chrysanthemum. After a close 
inspection by all the judges the flower was unanimously awarded a first- 
class certificate, and that honour has this year been confirmed by the 
Royal Horticultural Society and the National Chrysanthemum Society. 
The plant is naturally of a tall habit, growing from 6 to 8 feet high, 
and the bud from which the accompanying flower was produced was 
taken by Mr. Stevens about the first or second week in August. The 
flowers shown by him this autumn were all from crown buds, the 
terminals that were allowed to grow were much taller and produced 
very indifferent flowers in comparison. The bloom when first opening 
throws its florets out straight, but after being more fully developed they 
begin to curl and slightly contract, which gives the flower a some¬ 
what smaller but more solid and beautiful appearance. It has been 
accurately described in the reports of the Journal. I may say that it is 
of good constitution, with light foliage, somewhat intermediate between 
Belle Paule and Fair Maid of Guernsey.—C. Orchard. 
[Mr. Molyneux writes :—“ This variety has not done well with me 
this year, but I have seen it in grand condition elsewhere, and it is quite 
first-rate.” Mr. Tunnington observes :—“ I am much disappointed with 
Mi’s. J. Wright. The flowers, now half open, appear too light in build, 
though our plant is strong, and I had been proud of it all the season. I 
fear it will not prove a flower worthy of the name.” The engraving is 
not in the slightest degree exaggerated.] 
SEASONABLE HINTS ON FLORISTS’ FLOWERS. 
Although not perhaps so interesting a month to the florist as 
those in the early part of the year, when he is looking daily for the 
full development of the flowers he has watched over so carefully, it 
is nevertheless as important a one as any, for on the well-heing of 
the plants there depends a vast deal of their future progress. If 
they have been neglected, and are in any way, either in the soil or 
plant, dirty ; if the drainage of the pots is bad, or the frames where 
they are to be housed are not watertight, then mischief will ensue, 
and the loss of valued, if not valuable, plants or roots must follow. 
. I am now writing of what we old-fashioned people know as florists’ 
flowers—Auriculas, Carnations and Picotees, Pansies, Pinks and 
Ranunculuses, Tulips—added to which the Gladiolus and Chrysan¬ 
themum have put in a claim which cannot be refused ; but of many 
other claimants, Pentstemon3, Delphiniums, Calceolarias, &c., I 
must say you are very excellent in your way, but I cannot admit 
you into this brotherhood. 
Auriculas. —I should imagine that it has been a trying season 
for the Auricula. The long-continued drought has not been good 
for a plant, which, although it abhors stagnant water about its 
roots, yet is fond of moisture during the summer months. Although 
it is now a long time since its “ forbears ” were induced to forsake 
their Alpine homes and become civilised, there is yet some of the 
old tendency left. During the summer months Alpine heights are 
exposed to heavy dews and mists, and all Alpine flowers rejoice in 
them, and get strength to bear the scorching sun. We cannot, and 
do not desire to imitate this ; and now when we have brought them 
into their winter quarters, we must remember there is another con¬ 
dition attaching to them. They are there covered with snow and 
kept warm. This we cannot do ; but at the same time we must 
avoid exciting the plants ; keep them as restful as we can, and do 
not expose them to the alternating heat and cold of our winters. 
They should be kept as restful as possible, not allowed to get dust 
dry, but just kept from flagging. Should aphides appear on the 
leaves it will be better at this season not to fumigate, but to brush 
them off with a soft painter’s brush. As to the woolly aphis of 
the roots, nothing can be done with it now, but in the spring, when 
the pots will have to be generally overhauled, it is desirable that 
the frames should be well looked over, and any deficiency in putty 
or paint remedied. Nothing is more injurious to the Auiicula 
than drip, and therefore every possibility of its recurring should be 
carefully guarded against. Care should also be taken that the 
frames should be raised on bricks, for the present, at any rate, so 
as to allow a free ventilation of air about the plants. When the 
weather becomes more severe they may be withdrawn, and the 
frames allowed to stand upon the ground. 
Carnations and Picotees. —With these, again, the chief 
