January 19,1882. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
41 
“ STONELEIGH,” BARKBY, NEAR LEICESTER. 
When spending a day or two of the Christmas holidays with friends 
near Leicester, and having previously heard from various sources of the 
exceptionally fine Chrysanthemums which have this season been grown 
at the above address, I took advantage of the opportunity afforded me 
to call and see what remained of them at so late a date as Christmas 
■week, feeling sure that if the proprietor, W. Billson, Esq., was as much 
an enthusiastic lover and grower of the flower as I had been told he 
was, I should be quite certain of a genial welcome, and in this I was 
mot at all mistaken. I was fortunate in finding Mr. llillson at home in 
more senses than one, as I found him in his garden busily employed 
along with his gardeners in cutting down and clearing away those of 
his favourites of which the flowers were quite gone. The gardener, 
Mr. Bolton, is a quiet, unassuming, but skilful and painstaking young 
man, who has already made his name known at both the summer and 
autumn shows of the district, and is likely to make it much more widely 
known in other towns and districts in future seasons. Mr. Billson him- 
■self is evidently a true gardener at heart, with a love for the work, but 
being closely engaged at all except holiday times as the head of a busi¬ 
ness firm, he has little opportunity for indulging in his favourite occu¬ 
pation. 
The first object of interest to me being the Chrysanthemums, I was 
conducted through the several houses which they have occupied during 
the flowering season, and although by far the greater jKirtion had been 
-cut down and cleared away prior to my visit, there was still a sufficient 
number left to prove how fine had been the collection when at its best. 
The total number which had been grown during the past season was 
-slightly over 700 as standards for exhibition blooms. Some very fine 
blooms were still left of such late varieties as Hero of Stoke Newing¬ 
ton, Princess Teck, &c., with the remains of what had once been grand 
flowers of Queens and Empresses (I was told that they had had Golden 
Empress measuring 17 inches over the bloom). The plants were all 
awbust, with stems like walking sticks and large leathery foliage. I 
asked if any cutting back or topping had been practised, and was told 
not, but that the treatment adopted in this respect had been that re¬ 
commended by Mr. Molyneux, except that the varieties Eve and Mabel 
Ward had been allowed to grow unstopped until the first bud was 
produced, which was destroyed, and the three breaks formed imme- 
-diately below this being then taken on for producing crown buds. 
From the two varieties above named I was told very good flowers had 
fbeen obtained by cutting back to produce early breaks. Although 
allowed to grow thus freely and unchecked .-ibundance of good early 
■flowers were obtained, and at the Leicester Cfirysanthemum Society’s 
Show, held so early as the 4th and 6th November, nearly all the first 
prizes offered in the open classes were awarded to flowers from this col¬ 
lection. ^ Again at Loughborough they were equally successful, and 
also a^ain much later at Leeds. It had been Mr. Billson’s intention to 
competent the Sheffield and West Biding Chrysanthemum Society’s Show 
for the large silver cup and money prizes given for forty-eight blooms, 
and his entry was duly made, but unfortunately his eardener was pre- 
wented by illness on the day of the Show from competing. 
Early propagation appears not to be practised. At the time of my 
wisit only a portion of the stock had been taken, and those very recently, 
and as the system adopted is that of putting about four cuttings in each 
pot (60’s) and plunging the pots in cocoa-nut fibre placed openly on the 
.■side stages in a cold vinery, the free ventilation of which ca'ises the 
•cuttings to flag seriously, it is likely it will be a considerable time yet 
before any have formed roots. Mr. Bolton, however, attributes a large 
amount of his success with them to the fact that when they commence 
growing freely in the early spring they are pushed along very rapidly 
and yet sturdily in a very fine range of lean-to pits or frames running 
along and attached to the south-east side of a range of span-roofed 
houses. Frost and damp are kept out of these pits by wooden slides 
Set into the walls, separating them from the houses, which can be opened 
or closed at pleasure. The floor of the pits is also sunk considerably 
below the ground level, and the plants are so arranged as that their 
heads are always near the glass, sinking the pots lower as they grow, and 
giving always free ventilation, thus securing a strong and sturdy growth 
in the early stages of the plant’s existence, a point undoubtedly of 
great importance to ultimate success. A few of the varieties which 
have been exceptionally fine, as described to me by Mr. Billson and his 
gardener, are Golden Empress, Comte de Genniny (each of these I was 
told had measured 17 inches over). Lord Alcester, John Salter, Mr. Bunn, 
Jeanne d’Arc, Hero of Stoke Newington, Criterion, Baronne de Frailly 
Boule d’Or, Belle Paule, Madame C. Audiguier, and Meg Merrilies. 
Chrysanthemums are far from being the only plants well grown, the 
•culture of Tea Roses in pots being also a specialty ; but as I have dwelt 
at length upon the former subject not much can now be said concerning 
•others. I found, however, that one large span-roofed house which had 
been filled with Chrysanthemums during their season had recently been 
•entirely cleared and cleaned out, and was then full of large, strong, and 
healthy bunches of “Teas” in pots, just breaking freely into growth, 
and from which a fine crop of bloom may be expected in about two 
TQonths hence. I was told by the gardener that thirty dozen flowers 
per week were cut last season for a considerable time from the first 
week ill March onwards. In another large span-roofed plant stove were 
some very good specimen foliage and flowering plants which have 
already made their mark at the Leicester Abbey Park summer shows. 
Amongst them I noticed handsome specimens of Bougainvilleas, Alla- 
mandas, Stephanotis, Crotons, Anthurium Veitchi (twelve fine leaves), 
A. Sanderianum (a fine piece), and Hracasna Lindeni, 4 feet high, finely 
coloured ; also a number of very large specimen Adiantums, the best 
being farleyense, Mooreanum, gracillimum, and eardiochlasnum. 
In a conservatory adjoining the residence 1 noticed well-grown 
Primulas, also Camellias, Azahas, ikc. The kitchen garden is extensive, 
and is well stocked with healthy fruit trees, also some fine Hybrid 
Perpetual Roses. The house is a very commodious and substantially 
buift red brick structure, commanding .some beautiful and pleasant views 
along the Valley of the Soar, and is about four miles from Leicester.— 
W. K. W. 
Events of the Week.— There are few strictly horticultural 
events of importance this week beyond the usual auction sales. The 
scientific societies’ meetings are now frequent; the Royal Society has a 
meeting on Thursday, 19th inst., at 4.30 P.M., and the Linnean Society 
on the same day at 8 p.m. On Wednesday, 25th inst., at 8 p.m. the 
Society of Arts also has a meeting. 
- The Royal Hoeticultueal Society.—A s already stated, the 
annual meeting of this Society will be held on February 14th next, the 
following being the names of Fellows nominated for the Council ;—.Sir 
Trevor Lawrence, Bart, M.P., Robert Hogg, L.L.D., F.L.S., Professor M. 
Foster, F.R.S., D. Morris, M.A., F.L.S., W. T. Thisclton Dyer, C.M.G. 
F.R.S., A. H. Sme'e, William Lee, Col. Beddonie, George Paul, Harry J. 
Veitch, Sydney Courtauld, E. G. Loder, Rev. W. Wilks, Baron Henry 
Schroder, and G.|F. Wilson, F.R.S. Messrs. Morris, Smee, Paul, Veitch 
and Wilkes will take the places of Major Mason, Mr. W. Haughton, Hon. 
and Rev. J. T. Boscawen, Col. Trevor Clarke, and G. Maw. As officers 
the Council recommend the following :—President, Sir Trevor Lawrence, 
Bart, M.P. ; Treasurer, D. Morris ; Secretary, W. Lee ; and Auditors, 
Messrs. John Lee, Wm. Richards, and H. Turner. 
- A FE’W packets of the manure spoken of by “ Dum Spiro 
Spero,” on page 559 of our last volume, have been received at this office, 
and will be sent to applicants in the order of their applications on 
receipt of 3d. in postage stamps to pay for postage. 
- We have received Mr. Shirley Hibberd’s Gaeden Oeacle, 
which has attained its thirtieth anniversary. Its appearance is no 
doubt well known to all gardening readers, and when we say that the 
present issue is in no way inferior to its predecessors we need say no 
more. 
- A Cactophile writes :—“ It may interest some of your readers 
to know that A Cacti Society has been instituted on the Continent. 
It is entitled the.Vetplantenkring, and the meetings are to be held once a 
month at the Jivoli Rue du Pelican 82, Antwerp, the Secretary being 
M. J. Havermans, Rue Jesus 46, Antwerp.” 
- We learn from the American Gardeners' Mmithly for the 
current month just to hand that Me. Chaeles H. Maeot, well known 
as the publisher and proprietor of that periodical, and of numerous 
gardening works, died on December 21st last in Philadelphia in his sixty- 
second year. Mr. Meehan states that he had been associated with him 
for a quarter of a century, and that he was much respected. 
-It is with great regret that we announce the death of Me. 
McLAEEN,which took place on Friday evening last, after a long illness. 
The deceased was gardener at Farnborough Hill, Hants, the seat of the 
ex-Empress Eugenie, where-he was much respected by all with whom he 
came in contact. The deceased was gardener at Farnborough Hill before 
the Empress acquired possession ; therefore his acknowledged abilities 
have stood him in good stead during the alterations effected there since. 
_ “ An Amateue Floeist ” writes :—“ In the subject Judging 
Bouquets, recently discussed at some length in this Journal, all the cor¬ 
respondents, but especially 'A Leaner,’ Mr. Chard, and Mr. Garner 
have done good service by their useful remarks. I am glad to find that 
‘ Learner ’ was not actuated by any desire to lessen the credit due to 
other successful exhilfitors. This is a paltry feeling, and the true manly 
spirit is when fairly defeated to make an extra effort for victory on 
