October 8, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
301 
plants have been grown than can be accommodated in this way it is 
far better to give all the best plants abundance of room, and then 
place those remaining closer together for supplying cut flowers, 
than for want of space to grow the whole only moderately well ; 
and where they are not valued in a cut state, rather than over¬ 
crowd it is sound economy to give some of the plants to a neigh¬ 
bour who may be less fortunately placed, or even to consign them 
to the rubbish heap. The tops of the plants should be about 
(» inches from the glass, and as soon as they have grown to within 
a couple of inches of it they should be iowered by removing a 
few of the ashes. 
Green fly is not as a rule troublesome after this date when 
Cinerarias are kept in cold pits, but if only a few of those insects 
are found it is a good plan to fumigate them. But little trouble will 
be given by insects of any kind till the plants are housed. All 
plants whose roots have freely permeated the soil in the pots should 
receive weak liquid manure at each watering, occasionally using 
soot water instead. The state of dryness at the root they are 
allowed to reach before water is given must be determined in a 
great measure by the weather. When dull foggy weather prevails 
during the short days of winter the plants will sometimes not 
require watering or even looking over more than once a week, but 
whenever such weather is followed by a little sunshine always 
make a point of thoroughly examining the plants and watering 
those that require it. Many plants are in some hands allowed to 
suffer greatly during changes of weather, because the method and 
time of watering are not changed. 
Before concluding I must say a word about the important 
matter of covering to afford protection from frost. Do not be 
in a hurry to begin this. If the pits are well glazed and in good 
repair a few degrees of frost in the open air will not injure plants 
in closed pits, and the more light the plants receive the better ; 
but rather than run the risk of allowing them to be injured it is 
better to cover to be on the safe side when any doubt exists as 
to the state of the weather. After one sharp frost in the depth 
of winter additional covering material should be used the follow¬ 
ing night, as if frosty weather continues it generally gets sharper 
each succeeding night. To keep Cinerarias safe from frost during 
very severe weather, a double thickness of mats, with wooden 
shutters placed on the top, and the sides of the pit encased in 
bracken, straw, or hay 2 feet in thickness, and a thickness of 1 foot 
placed on the shutters, is necessary. And on two or three occasions 
we have wintered hundreds of Cinerarias, and brought them safely 
through, with this treatment, after having from 20° to 29° of frost 
at various times. The really dangerous time is when (as at times 
last winter) we get the days almost as sharp as the nights, so that 
it is not safe to uncover, then the plants suffer greatly from want 
of light and through damp. Happily, however, such winters do 
not often occur.—D. W. C. 
SIXTY YEARS OF HORTICULTURAL PROGRESS. 
(1760—1820). 
( Continued from page 153 .) 
We cannot expect that many of those persons who, in this 
unreflective age, hurry along Loddiges Road, Hackney, are likely 
to recall the fact, even if they ever heard it, that th's name 
survives as a memorial of one of our most celebrated English 
nurseries, the fame of which travelled over Europe. It must, 
indeed, be regarded as an establishment which notably helped to 
advance horticulture at a time of some prostration. Singular 
have been the changes that have passed over this once suburban 
village, which we first read about as a favourite place of residence 
for nobles and wealthy citizens, when Cambridge Heath was a 
veritable heath, and near it, a broad mere or lake, of which we 
have a reminder in the modern Mare Street. During Georgian 
times old Hackney was famous for its boarding schools, its nurseries, 
and market gardens ; but the nursery of Messrs. Loddiges, though 
limited in space, was really a botanic garden. Evidently, even 
then, the village was not ill adapted for gardening pursuits, for 
several amateurs made their abode here, and had flower piots, in 
which they made a great display of Roses, Tulips, Carnations, &c. 
Early in the eighteenth century John Busch, a nurseryman 
from Holland, took possession of the estate oddly called Barbuir 
Berns at Hackney, and he was so far successful that eventually a 
report about him travelled to Russia, and the Empress Catherine II, 
who was seeking a good gardener, sent him an invitation, which he 
accepted, and made over the Hackney Nursery to the Messrs. 
Ipddiges in 1771. Some years after the firm bought additional 
land, but the whole extent was only about 15 acres, though the 
arrangement followed gave the idea of a larger space. Visitors 
from all parts came to Loddiges’ garden as one of the sights of I 
London. These gentlemen were at one time the leading consignees 
of Cape and South American plants, and they sold Cacti, 
Orchids, Heaths, and Ferns. At one end of the ground the houses 
were arranged on a systematic plan which this firm seems to have 
been the first to devise. The visitor entered by the stoves, then 
went on to the Palm house, next to the Orchid and Camellia 
houses, and a range of conservatories. Within the space enclosed 
by these buildings were pits and frames. Beyond was the arbore¬ 
tum formed as a winding walk, one side having named trees and 
varieties^ of different sizes, on the other side were plinted Roses 
and herbaceous plants. From this the visitor passed to the 
American ground, a circular plot, containing a complete collection 
of all species obtainable. One of the things for which Messrs. 
Loddiges were celebrated was their skill in packing plants to travel 
long distances by sea, which was then a novelty. They put these 
in sphagnum trodden or pressed down, and the plants retained 
their vitality till they reached the Antipodes. u Loddiges’ Botanical 
Cabinet ’ was a publication that was issued by this firm in its later 
history, and which extended to thirty-four volumes. Loddiges’ 
FIG. 58. —ABIES ALCOQTTIAHA . 
Nursery disappeared about forty years age, having served its 
purpose : it might be said to have a successor in the well-known 
Victoria and Paradise Nurseries of Holloway, where, however, 
culture is chiefly carried on under glass. 
It was in or about the year 1780 that Dr. W. Pitcairn s'arted 
a botanic garden near Cross Street, Islington, in which, though its 
extent was limited (somewhere about four acres), he had a great 
number of exotics and some curious varieties. At all times he 
was willing to show his specimens, or give information to gardeners 
and others. The doctor was a native of Dysart, in Scotland, for 
ten years President of the College of Physicians, and founder of 
the Radcliffe Library. Much service was also rendered to gardeners 
by his friend and senior Dr. Lettsom, a Cheshire man, a man of 
wealth, and one of the few men in his day who were inclined to 
aid botanical science by money from their own purses. By corre¬ 
spondence he obtained varied information about the natural habits 
of trees and plants brought over to England as varieties. On 
Grove Hill, Camberwell, he built a villa, to which he attached an 
arboretum and an extensive flower garden. So charming was the 
spot then that two poets, Scott and Maurice, wrote verses descriptive 
of the doctor’s grounds, and the scenery to be viewed from the hill. 
Dr. Lettsom arranged the plants in his garden according to the 
countries from which they came, and they were labelled with the 
Linnsean names. He also had a museum, which contained, amongst 
other objects, a collection of dried plants, barks, and seeds. He 
was the author of many books and pamphlets, one of the latter was 
a rather amusing dissertation on Tea. When his friend Fothergill 
died he published a list of the stove and greenhouse plants that 
