October 4, 1888. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
313 
jet give a good price for every hundredweight of sound fruit sent 
in' i 6 S6en enou S h of frult culture in the western as well as 
in the home counties to convince me that the only wise course of 
aaio TiY ~ be s 1 uccess ^ u j fruit grower is to first arrange for the 
o ie produce, as it is very certain the plan most generally in 
vogue of packing and sending the bulk of the fruit to a great 
distance is a very risky speculation.—W. Iggulden. 
DOVER HOUSE, ROEHAMPTON. 
wnr-TiY, 8 ’ —a Y at Y ^ or S an i Esq , is at all times of the year 
Ik nnho Yn-o'i-s m ? t( h sce the manner in which it is kept; indeed, it 
•h„a , c Y ^ wa U Vi s * tors are also sure to meet with a 
permits Mr ‘ rc T bcs ’ tbe gardener in charge, who, if time 
narYinY J n °t 'cave much unseen. The entrance to the glass de- 
F, , " rom the drive leads through a long avenue—mot of Wel- 
iWrioYvf ° r an y otllei ' choice Conifers, but two magnificent rows of 
Eunner Beans, quite a novelty in their way. 11 is not intended 
S lvc a detailed account of all that was seen during a too hurried 
Poani, 10Unt j \t J ^ a / evv principal items. Several houses containing 
reaches and Nectarines were passed through, the trees where the crops 
™7 w Pthercd looking the picture of health, while the fruit, ripe 
j. .v P eniI1 g> indicate that they received all the good things necessary 
, ® lr peifeet production. One advantage here was noticed - namely. 
miKpni Y ouses > he they for Peaches or Vines, were not crowded with 
f ' anc °us; plants. The varieties of Peaches are numerous, while the 
cmrUioa Y P ar ^ic u a r'y well coloured and abundant. The same remark 
o lPoif ° tbe • Marines, one tier of Pine Apple was so good as to cause 
x* , ,° exa, mine the fine fruits. The vineries do not produce sensa- 
tuYp A uncbes > but g° od serviceable examples of capital quality. The 
e , I ai uburghs are of a deep black colour not always seen ; the Muscat 
‘ e f, an< f Ia bunches are assuming that clear amber tint so pleasing to 
IT® „ Y at T,-' T 111 ' 0 the foliage on all the Vines was stout and leatherv, 
+ i pa °°i well ripened, showing that enough and no more was allowed 
m ne earned by the Vines, which were about six years old. Tomatoes 
YYo CS ? eC ! a y noticeable, occupying several houses, all showing judi- 
x, SU cultivation. Occupying the front part of some of the 
nomes with the latter were healthy Fig trees bearing good crops. 
mt A capital span-roofed stove about 40 feet long, 18 or 20 feet wide, 
was welt stocked with medium sized and small healthy plants, which 
’ 1 Srowat the same rate for long as they are now doing, will 
-x n neCt mor c space. In this house was noticed a special feature in 
t ne , r Y a , 1Tan gcment of the plants. Instead of having the 
, ren Pluuts all over the house they were arranged in blocks of one 
sore as tor instance Crotons occupied a space to themselves, followed by 
anotner one of Dracamas, and one of Pandanus Veitchi. Round the 
trier l tbe sta ? e s Pamcum variegatum formed a neat edging, and con- 
x ® 'Y 1 . 1 the plants above. Upon entering the house splendid 
Kt-nM- %°a f° ra were noticed quite dazzling in colour. A good 
■ , A, Vhurium Schertzerianum was noticeable, also Cypripediums, 
ln ? healthy plants of C. Sedeni amongst others, with Palms in 
,, ' ust fhe size for furnishing. Particularly effective was some 
lit- ® 10 'j v f 1 P lants °f Abutilon Sellowianum marmoratum, the marble- 
", e maikings of their large leaves showing to perfection amongst other 
ou !s. in a lean-to Melon house were about three dozen plants of 
Acaiyptia musaica in various sizes from 9 to 18 inches high, having 
,. a “ ni Tu' 1 * ' coloured large leaves, quite the thing for effective decora- 
T n ' ~ he variegated Ficus showed to advantage in the same house. 
a htrawberry house were numbers of Maidenhair Ferns in small 
h. *' , A Jean-to house with a northern aspect was filled at the back 
1 , .healthy plants of Camellias, such useful varieties as alba plena 
ana imbricata being well represented. The back wall of one Peach 
19 non " aS we ^ covered with Heliotrope. Of Carnations as many as 
Auoo are grown, Gloire de Nancy and the old Clove being planted in 
rf “ a -cs by themselves, the plants showing by the grass produced 
a hey are quite at home. Souvenir de la Malmaison is grown here 
arge numbers and in great excellence. The bedding out was of the 
ori mary type usually met with in gardens. Several walls were neatly 
clad with Irish Ivy.—R. 
GROWING PARSLEY FOR WINTER. 
. The preservation of Parsley in a fresh and green state during the 
winter season is frequently attended with much difficulty where the 
convenience of frames is not available for this purpose. In the more 
northerly counties, indeed, Parsley is only to be procured at much 
expense during nearly six months out of the twelve. The leaves of this 
useful vegetable when grown in the open ground are generally destroyed 
by frost; but if the circumstances attending their destruction are fully 
considered, it will be found that the stems are most rapidly affected 
where the soil is stiff and moist, and where the situation is exposed to 
cold cutting winds. The plant, however, does not appear to be so 
delicately constituted but that it may be had with comparative ease 
ad the year if the ordinary conditions of growing the less hardy plants 
during the winter are observed. Some varieties are, perhaps, more 
susceptible to cold than others. The finest sample 1 ever saw was 
grown on the west coast of Scotland by a village schoolmaster. It was 
ot a beautiful green colour, and of a remarkably vigorous habit; but 
growing in a low situation and exposed to cutting sea gales, the leaves 
always died down during winter. 
In ordinary situations Parsley may be grown • successfully on a 
border having a south aspect, and protected from the north by a 
wall. The soil should be light and rich. A quantity of stones and 
brick rubbish should be laid at the bottom to the depth of 7 or 8 inches, 
so that the bed may be raised considerably above the general level of 
the ground, and thus insured against excessive moisture. The surface 
of the soil being properly raked, seed of the most curled variety that 
can be obtained should be sown very thinly, either in shallow drills of 
broadcast, and slightly covered with fine soil. This operation should 
be begun in May or early in June, and if the weather continue dry 
frequent waterngs will be necessary. The young plants will have 
sprung up in six or seven weeks, and when large enough they must 
be thinned out to 5 or 6 inches apart. They will have become large 
and vigorous by the end of autumn, when a number of stakes should 
be driven into the ground along each side of the bed. These stakes 
should be of a thickness to permit of their being bent across and tied 
together so as to form a series of arches, and strong enough to support 
a covering of mats, which should be laid over them as soon as the 
weather becomes frosty and wet. During intense frost, especially at 
night, it may be necessary to increase this protection by doubling the 
mats; but this should be removed entirely while the weather is mild. 
The soil should be kept as dry as may be, and all decaying matter care¬ 
fully removed from the plants. A bed 4.J feet wide by 10 long will 
contain as many plants as may be sufficient for an ordinary supply 
during the winter. 
Parsley might also be grown on a sort of rockwork with great 
certainty and convenience, for on such a structure the roots and stems 
could be kept in that dry state which is so indispensable to their health 
and freshness in dull cold weather. For growing it in this way, it is 
recommended to sow a quantity of seed early in May in a bed of light 
rich soil on a south border. When the young plants are a little above 
the ground they should be thinned out to 6 or 8 inches apart, kept clear 
of weeds and watered as occasion requires. At the end of August or 
early in September collect a few barrowloads of moderately large 
stones, selecting mch as are best suited for forming a rockwork. They 
should be longer than broad, somewhat flat or even at the sides, so that 
they may lie firmly in their places when built up. Any kind of stones 
which the district may afford will do ; but those of a sandy or porous 
composition should be preferred when a choice is offered. Bricks may 
also be used, but they are, perhaps, too flat, and do not present those 
holes and crevices which are desirable in the formation of rockwork, 
and which may generally be secured by the use of stones. The site 
being chosen in some sheltered open part of the garden, the stones and 
a quantity of good friable sandy loam, with some brick rubbish or 
rubble, should be collected together. The rockwork must be determined 
according to taste and requirements, in respect to form and size, but 
there is no use in having it too large. Perhaps the oval form is the- 
most convenient for building such a structure ; and if the base is 5 feet 
long, a pile may be raised with a surface extensive enough to grow a 
sufficient supply for an ordinary family. The stones used in forming 
the first tier or layer may be about 8 inches high and kept close 
together. A quantity of soil should be worked in at the back and sides 
so as to keep them together, while the centre may be filled with ordinary 
brick or sandstone rubbish. When the first layer is completed, a portion 
of the soil should be laid over the stones at the side, and a number of 
plants of Parsley, taken carefully up from the bed in which they have 
been growing, should be planted as regularly as possible in all the holes 
and crevices, their roots being spread out in the soil, and their stems and 
leaves kept inclined outwards at the margin. Having fixed the plants 
properly, proceed to erect a second tier in the same way, and so on with 
the others, till the pile is raised to the height desired; but with the 
subsequent tiers keep the stones 4 or 5 inches nearer the centre all 
round, and about an inch or so apart. Every stone should be placed 
directly over the point which forms the junction of those immediately 
below it; and every additional tier which is raised must be kept 3 or 
4 inches nearer the centre than the one preceding it. In this arrange¬ 
ment of the several tiers the plants will not come directly over another, 
and the soil will not be washed down from the interstices by rain. If 
at the time of building the rockwork the weather is dry, the soil about 
the plants must be well soaked with water; but this must be done by 
limited supplies repeated several times, for if much water is poured on 
at once, a portion of the soil will run down. To prevent the action of 
drenching rains from having the same effect, it will be necessary to 
provide the winter covering at once. A number of stout ash sticks must 
be driven into the ground about 12 inches from the bottom of the 
rockwork, and attached by a good strong cord, so near one another that 
they may form an open arching figure at the top, and so placed that at 
any point they may be 12 or 18 inches clear of the plants. A covering 
of oilcloth or common canvas should be provided, and kept in readiness 
to protect the mound from heavy falls of rain until the soil has become 
consolidated round the sides. This covering will also be available 
during intense frost, when it must be carefully laid over the whole 
frame of sticks and removed whenever the weather is mild and open. 
In eight or nine weeks the pile will have become covered with strong 
healthy plants, which, besides affording a continual supply, will form 
an agreeable object both in summer and winter. It may be urged that 
by this plan of growing Parsley the roots are liable to become dry in 
summer; but in admitting the probability of such a circumstance, we 
must bear in mind that if the plants could be kept from growing too 
vigorously duriDg the summer months, they would be in the best con¬ 
dition for preservation during frost. Now the drought of a hot summer 
would have the effect of retarding them and conserving their energy 
