444 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
[ May 31,188*, 
George Paul inspected the extensive collection of Eoses as such an 
enthusiast might he expected to do. The Kev. W. Wilks discoursal 
upon hardy plants, and Mr. Pearson investigated the structure, heating, 
and ventilating of the glass houses as an expert; while a nameless 
individual had a full share of the enjoyment, and will endeavour to 
briefly chronicle something of what was seen during the afternoon. 
Woodhatch Lodge is situated on a considerable elevation above and 
to the south of the town of Reigate, commanding some delightful views 
towards the Sussex Weald, and rejoicing in an atmosphere of exceptional 
purity. The garden itself comprises about 10 acres, but the major por¬ 
tion of the estate constitutes the Home Farm, which, with his choice 
breeds of cattle, receives much of Mr. Haywood’s attention. Around 
the house the grounds are tastefully but unpretentiously laid out, 
winding walks, vigorous and varied shrubberies, and abundant trees 
(oistituting what may be termed the framework ; beds and borders of 
hardy plants, and Roses by thousands in grand condition, filling up the 
picture. Some of the Roses are grown at the upper part of the garden 
near the houses, but the principal Rose garden is situated lower dowm, 
near the farm, and there are numberless beds of dwarf H.P. Roses cut 
hard back with Teas pegged down, all looking as promising as could be 
wished, and the Woodhatch record of exhibition victories, remarkable as 
it is, it may be hoped, is by no means completed. 
Ti e glass houses are, however, extensive, and we must direct a few 
minutes to them, for respecting the Eoses something will probably be 
said later on. The first range entered is approached by a lean-to house 
36 feet long, with lobby or porch entrance and double doors—a wise 
provision to avoid draughts in winter. At this time of year the porch, 
like the other part of the house, is filled with Odontoglossums, com¬ 
prising wonderfully strong plants and several fine varieties of O. crispum. 
The plants are in excellent health, and have quite a forest of spikes 
either expanded or advancing, and the plants have afforded a succession 
of flowers since Christmas. O. cri.spum, 0. Pescatorei, 0. Halli, 0. 
Andersonianum, 0. sceptrum, O. vexillarium, including a good plant of 
the variety rubellum, 0. Rossi majus, 0. Cervantesi, and 0. cirrhosum 
contribute to the effect. 0. vexillarium is grown in slightly warmer 
quarters, but 0. cirrhosum does well in the house, the temperature of 
which is not allowed to fall below 50° in winter, and it is kept as cool as 
possible now. Arranged with these Masdevallias have an extremely 
fine appearance, the contrast of their brilliantly coloured flowers with 
the delicacy of the Odontoglossums being very striking. M. Veitchi is 
represented by several fine specimens ; one has had fifty flowers and a 
fine variety has nineteen large flowers ; M. ignea, Paterson’s variety, has 
fifty flowers, and several good varieties of M. Lindeni are grown with 
forty to sixty flowers each . Prominent at the end of the house is a 
specimen of Dendrobium thyrsiflorum, having twenty-two long racemes 
of white and golden-lipped flowers ; but this is only one of many fine 
plants of this useful species which is made a specialty at Woodhatch 
Lodge, and to which we must refer presently. 
At right angles to the Odontoglossum house is a lean-to range, 90 feet 
long, facing the south, the opposite side of the back wall being devoted 
to a range of lean-to houses for cool Orchids. It may be here remarked 
that throughout a capital material is employed for covering the stages— 
namely, a fine clean grit obtained from Eastbourne, which serves all the 
purposes of retaining moisture, and has a better appearance than small 
coal or coke. Beneath the stages are moveable zinc tanks filled with 
water, intervening spaces being planted with Selaginella. The first 
division of the long range is filled with Aerides, Vandas, Cypripediums, 
ajid a few other choice plants, such as Dendrobium nobile Sanderianum, 
a handsome variety of the nobilius type ; the valuable hybrid, Cattleya 
calummata ; then amongst Cypripediums are the choice hybrids, 
leucorrhodum, Morganim, and candibulum, with the recent introduction 
C. bellatulum, now showing flowers. Saccolabiums ampullaceum, 
praemorsum, and curvifolium, the latter with two spikes of bright red 
flowers, are included in this house. 
The Dendrobiums have the next division of the range, and there are 
the plants of D. thyrsiflorum already mentioned. Over twenty large 
bush-like specimens are grown, and these have had a total of 209 racemes 
out at once, the majority of them being still in fine condition at the 
time of our visit. The plants are remarkably strong, with stout 
growths 3 feet or more in length, bearing more and larger leaves than 
are usually seen. The gardener, Mr. Ridout, has been very successful 
with these as with other plants, and it may be useful to briefly record 
his practice. The minimum winter temperature is 60°, with 70° to 76° 
in the summer, and full exposure to sun in the autumn to ripen the 
growth. During the winter the plants are never allowed to become very 
dry, as the object is to preserve the foliage as mueh as possible, and this, 
with a thorough maturation of the growth, Mr. Ridout considers essential 
to success The plants are potted in peat and sphagnum, and started 
into growth immediately after flowering, a little weak liquid manure 
being beneficial, but when the plants are well established, as some are 
in 10 or 12-inch pots, they do not require repotting every year, some of 
tho finest in the collection not having been so treated for two years. 
Some of the largest spikes, including those of the variety Walkerianum, 
exceed a foot in length, and altogether these Dendrobiums are most 
satisfactory examples of good culture. In the same house a fine variety 
of D. Dalhousieanum has nine racemes ; D. chrysotoxum, fourteen 
racemes in a 2-1-size pot; D. Wardianum, D. Jenkinsi, and D. suavissi- 
mum are equally at home. The Cattleya house contains a number of 
fine Ltelias and Cattleyas, with Vanda coerulea, 242 flowers of the two 
former having been open at once, all good varieties. The houses at the 
north side of the range are filled with Phalieuopses, Odontoglossum 
vexillarium, grown in a temperature ranging from 55° to 75° ; Odonto¬ 
glossum with Masdevallia in other divisions. Masdevallia tovarensis i» 
a favourite, two dozen large plants being grown which have had from 
twenty to fifty spikes each. The old spikes are always allowed to re¬ 
main on the plants, and it has been found that while young ones only 
bear two flowers each, the older ones have four and five each. Beautiful) 
varieties of M. Harryana are grown, including the celebrated Bull’s 
Blood, which has thirty flowers, a fine form of the hybrid M. Chelsoni,. 
and innumerable others. 
The plants under glass are not all Orchids, Ericas and hardwooded' 
plants receive some attention, together with ordinary stove flowering- 
and foliage plants, the majority of the latter being grown in a long 
range of houses, comprising four span-roof structures at right angles 
with the lean to’s and corridors which connect them. Covering the 
back wall of a stove in this range is a grand old Combretum purpureum 
which has been there for about twenty years, and annually bears a 
profusion of its flowers. In the same range Peaches and Vines have 
houses devoted to them. Cucumbers, Melons, and Tomatoes having pits- 
elsewhere. The kitchen garden is in excellent condition and well fur¬ 
nished with healthy fruit trees, the different quarters being surrounded 
by horizontally trained trees. Chrysanthemums are a feature, and 600 
or 700 of the best varieties are ^own. Dahlias constitute another 
specialty, and prizes for these with Asters, Grapes, Peaches, .Apphs, 
and Strawberries have been repeatedly taken for produce from this 
garden. Woodhatch Lodge is, in fact, what is termed in gardening 
language “ a good all-round place,” and that was the unanimous verdict 
of the “ Royal ” visitors. A wish was also expressed that so pleasant an 
excursion might be repeated at some future date, and that wish is cor¬ 
dially endorsed by— The Recordek. 
AKTIFICIAL MANURES. 
Before resuming the discussion on the above subject I would draw 
attention to the object I had in view in taking a retrospect in my 
previous article ; it was to keep before your correspondent the points on 
which I took the liberty of differing from him, and as no controversy 
can come to a satisfactory issue unless the original views and the 
opposition to them are not kept well to the fore, I would again call his 
attention to a few facts in the previous articles. In the first place I took 
exception to the advice of applying nitrate of soda alone as a manure 
on account of its too evanescent and sometimes apparent ill effect on 
the soil, recommending it to be combined with some of the more 
substantial manures. 
This point Mr. Dunkin has finally settled in my favour in his some¬ 
what ingenious treatment of the question I asked in a previous article, 
“ Does the constitution of a plant improve because its bulk is increasing ?” 
The answer is. Yes. But he makes haste to add a prop to this bold 
assertion—viz., provided the plant has within its reach a sufficiency ct 
the principal solidifying agent. Exactly so, but supposing the plant 
had not a sufficient supply within reach, what then ? I leave the answ( r 
to Mr. Dunkin’s careful consideration. Why he should consider this the 
rock on which my argument splits I am at a loss to understand, as-1 
maintain that the theory of the application of the stimulating com/- 
bined with the solidifying agents, a rock on which the whole practice of 
successful fertilisation will rest securely, and on these lines I have 
endeavoured to maintain my argument throughout the discussion. Gr 
does he infer that my arguments have come to grief through my not 
taking into consideration the various stages of growth that the plants 
are in at the time the manures are applied ? Now, if Mr. Dunkin had 
kept his memory refreshed with an occasional reference to what has beea 
written in previous articles he would not have fallen into this error. 
Again, your correspondent metaphorically cut the ground from under 
his feet when after advising one kind of manure for some time to change 
to another as a course especially beneficial to plant life, and which 11 
pointed out was theoretically and practically unnecessary provided the 
manure used in the first instance was a properly proportioned combina¬ 
tion of the elements needed for the plant’s support. He now advances 
as the results of the latest scientific investigation that the true system 
of manuring is to supply to the soil phosphoric acid and potash, 
regulating the amount of growth by the supply of nitrogen. Evidently 
Mr. Dunkin is making rapid strides in the science of chemistry, as here¬ 
tofore the haphazard change from one manure to another was deemed 
sufficient, but now he has apparently been brought to see the untenablte 
nature of these views, thus his conversion to the “ true system.’' 
If your correspondent had not unfortunately been in previous opposition 
he would have made a valuable alliance through his being in possession 
of the results before mentioned, and which I presume have come to harMi 
since the commencement of this controversy. To reduce the theory of the 
“ true system ” to praetice and to use praetical terms, I [must' point out 
that the soluble nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash are merely old 
friends under new names, nitrate of soda being a valuable source of soluble 
nitrogen, superphosphate of lime that of phospilioric acid, and kainit of 
potash. Thus we see that by a skilful combination of these substances 
we are enabled to supply a plant with its means of support as derived 
from the soil. Of course, discretion must be used in regard to the 
quantity applied to a special subject, as none but the merest tj ro would 
ever administer the same quantity to a seedling as to a full grown 
plant, or, again, to one in this stage to another maturing a heavy crc(i> 
of fruit or flowers ; and the mode of administering liquid manure as 
mentioned by your correspondent is only a simple illustration of what 
I should call common-sense practice. 
