July SO, 1835. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
89 
Boyd, Esq., Dumfries, was second, and Mr. Methven third. The same 
exhibitor was also first for two white bunches with Muscat of Alexandria, 
which were in every respect good ; and for two bunches of black Grapes 
Mr. J. Thompson was first with Black Hamburgh, large in berry, and finely 
finished. For a scarlet-fleshed Melon Mr. J. Parkes was first. Strawberries 
in every case were excellent, Mr. R. Dawes being first with James Veitch. 
Not for competition.—Messrs. William Fell & Co., Wentworth Nurseries, 
Hexham, exhibited a greatly admired mixed collection of plants, consisting 
of Acer Negundo variegata, Hedera maderiense variegata, Pyrethrum White 
Queen, &c. Messrs. J. Robson, nurserymen, Hexham, exhibited a similar 
stand to the above. He had his crested Moss Rose (Rosa cristata nova). 
Messrs. Thompson & Whittaker, South Shields, as agents for the Norwegian 
Fish Guano Company for the north of England, exhibited their new manure, 
which is called “ Fish and Fish Potash Guano,” and is useful for all gross¬ 
feeding plants. 
The day was fine, and the receipts were never so large before. The 
Committee, Judges, and friends partook of luncheon, which was presided 
over by the Treasurer, Thomas Gray, Esq., who was supported by several 
influential gentlemen of the district. 
EARLY PEACHES—LORD NAPIER NECTARINE. 
Mr. Muir may well be pleased with Hale’s Early, for it is undoubtedly 
very pleasing to the eye when well grown. The large size of the fruit 
and the high colour it attains when exposed fully to the sun renders it as 
striking as that well-known variety Bellegarde, which is generally 
accorded such prominence at exhibitions. Appearance goes a very long 
way nowadays, but the fact cannot be overlooked that Hale’s Early 
cannot be compared to the old Royal George for flavour. The last maybe 
considered excellent, but this cannot be said of the American, for all I 
have tasted have been slightly woolly. I have grown good examples of 
this variety and tasted very fine fruit grown by others, but in every in¬ 
stance the same fault was apparent, and this is the only defect known to 
me that this otherwise fine Peach possesses. It is well worth growing on 
account of its earliness where earlier kinds have not been introduced. 
Early Beatrice ripens freely a fortnight before it and colours remark¬ 
ably well, even the fruits on the under or shady side of the tree, but it is 
rather small. Where Peaches are required as early in the season as possible 
I consider it worth a place in a small early house, and if the tree is not 
cropped heavily it will produce very fair sized fruits. The fruit, however, 
is soft and packs badly if allowed to remain upon the trees until it is fully 
ripe ; in fact, I am inclined to believe it improves in flavour by being 
gathered a few days before it is ripe. 
Probably the best of all early Peaches is Alexander, an American 
variety, which ripens before the last named. This variety grows larger 
than Early Beatrice, colours well, and is very juicy, and, I should say, 
possesses a good flavour. But on the last point I can scarcely speak posi¬ 
tively, for my tree has not had one of the most favourable positions, only 
having 9 inches depth of soil to grow in and the border not more than 1 foot 
wide. Its behaviour this season has determined me to give it a better 
position in the course of a few weeks. 
Lord Napier Nectarine is really an excellent variety for an early house. 
It is very fruitful, colours well—that is, fully exposed fruits—ripens ten 
days before Royal George, and attains a larger size than any other Nec¬ 
tarine with which I am acquainted. In flavour it is very juicy, and 
superior, in my estimation, to the whole of the type of which Elruge may 
be taken as an example. The whole of the Pine Apple section are cer¬ 
tainly superior in flavour, but they are totally distinct in this respect, and 
therefore can scarcely be placed in comparison with Lord Napier.—W m. 
Bakdney. 
NOTES FROM CARDIFF CASTLE. 
My first and ’■ather too brief visit to this place was fortunately early 
enough in the season for the early vinery to be seen at its beet, and 
although I have inspected some of the best houses of Grapes in this 
country at various times, I was never before so much impressed with the 
general appearance of a house. Later on, the crops on the late Vines will 
be equally as imposing, and in both cases the perfection of culture dis¬ 
played by Mr. Pettigrew, the well known gardener in charge, plainly 
indicates that he has largely profited by his Thomsonian training. Nearly 
all the houses, including the vineries, at Cardiff Castle, are commodious 
span-roofed structures, and as the superior value and utility of these are 
fast dawning on the minds of the gardening community, a future reference, 
with measurements, will, I venture to think, prove instructive to the 
readers of the Journal of Horticulture , and I will therefore merely 
aliude to the crops as I saw them. The sunniest side of the early vinery 
is entirely occupied with Foster’s Seedling, the other side being filled with 
Black Hamburgh, and both of these reliable sorts were carrying an ex¬ 
traordinarily heavy crop of very handsome bunches. Any number of 
show bunches might easily be cut from the first-named, while the Black 
Ilamburghs were also very fine in every respect. In the late house a 
remarkably even crop of Alicante, Lady Downe’s, Alnwick Seedling, and 
Mrs. Pince were to be seen, and many of the bunches of these again give 
promise of being “ fit for any society.” 
Mr. Pettigrew has long been a believer in the extension system of 
growing Vines, and the results of his practice fully bear out all that has 
been advanced in favour of that plan. The Vines are planted on each 
suie of the house, the stems being trained along the fronts of the house, 
and the fruiting rods, one to each rafter, meeting at the apex of the roof, 
ibis gives each rod a length of about 16 feet, and on one of these fruiting 
rods, selected at random by one of our party, there were twenty-four to 
twenty-seven heavy and perfectly formed bunches. There is no orowding 
of growth or foliage, but every inch of space is occupied. One object for 
leaving such a heavy crop was to prevent grossness of growth, and in 
inexperienced hands this would certainly effect this only too ineffectually, 
but Mr. Pettigrew is confident of being able to finish the crops without 
unduly weakening the Vines. The borders being inside and full of roots, 
the most liberal treatment can be (and must be in such a case) resorted to, 
Thomson’s manure playing an important part in the process. 
Melons and Cucumbers have long been a specialty at Cardiff Castle, 
and these again I was fortunate in seeing at their best. A span-roof 
house, 72 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 15 feet high, is principally devoted 
to them, nearly the whole of the roof on one side being occupied with 
Melons, and the other with Cucumbers, a narrow pit for fruiting Pine 
Apples running through the centre. Mr. Pettigrew’s Cardiff Castle is 
the only Cucumber grown, and the crop of this extremely useful sort was 
quite sensational, especially as there were hundreds of fruit perfecting a 
crop of seeds, besides innumerable others of all sizes. The fruit runs 
from 12 to 15 inches in length, are very even in size, perfectly straight' 
no neck, and the colour is good. The great demand for seeds is a proof 
of the fast-growing popularity of the variety, and from my own experi¬ 
ence with it I can safely assert that it is the best all-the-year-round 
variety in commerce. Several varieties of Melons are grown, and nearly 
the whole of them were carrying heavy crops in various stages of growth. 
Nowhere else, perhaps, could there be seen such a length and width of 
roof so perfectly hung with fine Melons. The Peach house is a lean-to 
structure, this being about 12 feet high, 72 feet long, and 15 feet wide, 
four trees occupying the whole of the roof, and these perfect examples of 
the extension system of training had, or were, ripening off very heavy 
crops of fruit. 
In the large plant stove the row of immense plants of Eucharis 
amazonica attracted attention, especially seeing how many cultivators 
have lost their stock of plants, or if they are not dead are become deplor¬ 
ably weak. There are no signs of the dreaded disease among the Cardiff 
Castle plants, neither will there be, I firmly believe, so long as the treat¬ 
ment is rational. Mr. Pettigrew does not indulge in the high-pressure 
system, nor boast of the number of times he has flowered them in a year, 
but he can point to a grand row of plants in 12-inch pots, and measuring 
from 5 feet to 6 feet through, the foliage, as may be imagined, being 
large, stout, and healthy. Many of them have not been repotted for eight 
years, and those that were recently divided first split their pots, this 
rendering repotting unavoidable. They are never taken into a cool house, 
dried off, and so-called rested, but receive abundance of liquid manure, 
especially at the growing periods. As a consequence of this intelligent 
treatment, and which also accords with that most successfully practised 
by Mr. Taylor when at Longleat, two heavy crops of flowers are annually 
produced, while a few flowers are developed at odd times, which main¬ 
tains a supply nearly or quite all the year round. It is the frequent 
shaking-out and repotting, the restings, drying off, and restarting the 
plants in a violent heat in order to make them produce flowers in and out 
of season that gradually but surely impair the constitution of the bulb, and 
a collapse, attributed to disease or insect agency, is the result. There were 
plenty other well grown stove plants to be seen in company with the 
Eucharis, but wa all happened to be well acquainted with the great value 
of the latter for affording cut flowers, and must confess to having nearly 
overlooked everything else. 
An equally fine span-roofed house is devoted to greenhouse flowering 
plants, and here again there was much to admire. The centre bed was 
filled with Fuchsias in full bloom, such a display in fact being very rarely 
to be met with in a private place. The majority of them were 9 feet high, 
and either in 10-inch or 12-inch pots, some being pyramidal and others 
free-branching standards, the latter for decorating the Castle when the 
family is in residence. It ought to be added that they are all only twelve 
months old, being struck in the summer and kept growing in heat 
throughout the winter. Among the plants occupying the side staging of 
this house a batch of the handsome sweetly flowered Lilium eximiura was 
very conspicuous, the noble ivory white blooms of this variety rendering 
it singularly effective when in mixture with other plants or blooms. 
Another striking and uncommon feature was the grandly flowered batch 
of the lovely Gladiolus Colvillei, The Bride. There were about 120 pots 
of bulbs, each on an average carrying twelve strong spikes of nearly pure 
white bloom, and, as may be imagined, the effect was unique in its way. 
The bulbs are usually repotted when ripe or about November, good loamy 
soil and 7-inch pots being used. They are wintered in frames, turned out 
in the open in March, and brought into flower as required, those we saw 
being at their best late in June. It must not be thought that I have ex 
hausted the material for furnishing notes, as at present I have only really 
touched upon the subject.— Visitob. 
MUSCAT OF ALEXANDRIA GRAPE. 
Nothing is more disheartening to a good gardener, whose 
experience and success in other branches entitle him to respect, 
than to fail in producing satisfactory crops of Grapes, and 
yet see others without any seeming trouble have them as it were 
at their bidding. There is nothing for it hut for those who are 
successful to continue recording their experience for the benefit 
of their less fortunate brethren, for however firmly cultivators 
may he attached to established notions, there will occasionally 
crop up new observations which set them thinking as to whether 
some old notions may not be given up and their practice reformed. 
Such an idea, based upon certain facts and practice, carried on 
