September S, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
201 
Singleton is famed for its fine collection of arboreal and hybrid 
Rhododendrons, and for its fine specimens of rare Coniferie and other trees 
and shrubs. There are few places in this country where one sees the 
tenderer varieties of Rhododendrons growing so freely as they do here, 
except perhaps in a few favoured localities in Cornwall. Though the 
climate is mild the soil in many places is poor, and much of the succesB 
attending the growth of the trees and shrubs is due to the care and 
attention of Mr. Harris, Mrs. Vivian’s gardener, who has spared no trouble 
in draining the ground and improving the soil where the finer and more 
delicate kinds are planted. Towering up fiom amongst the Rhododen¬ 
drons in the American ground are giant Oaks and Elms and large trees of 
Araucaria Cunninghami, Wellingtonia gigantea, Taxodium sempervirens, 
Cryptomeria japonica, and many others from 80 to 90 feet high, affording 
shade and shelter to some of the finest varieties of Rhododendrons in 
cultivation. Many of these have attained a height of 30 feet, and have in 
themselves a true arboreal appearance. I was fortunate in seeing some of 
the best of them in flower at the time of my visit, and also in having Mr. 
Harris for a guide, who knows the history of almost every plant on the 
place, the date of planting, and when last shifted. He has raised many 
seedlings from the best species of the Himalayan section during the time 
he has been at Singleton, which in most cases keep true to character. 
Most of the Rhododendrons and many of the finer kinds of Coniferas are 
labelled in large print, so that the visitor interested in either has no diffi¬ 
culty whatever in obtaining their names. 
The kitchen garden and forcing and plant houses are situated at the 
north side of the park, and at a convenient distance from the house. The 
garden is enclosed with high walls, which are covered with well-trained 
trees. It would be difficult to find a better lot of Peach trees in the 
country than those at Singleton. The Peach wall forms part of a circle. 
It is 15 feet high and 90 yards long. The trees are planted at the distance 
of 20 feet apart, and the wall is regularly covered from top to bottom 
with healthy young trees in the best bearing condition possible. They 
bear heavy crops annually, which in ordinary seasons ripen well. There 
is a good collection of Peaches, comprising both early and late varieties. 
Amongst these are Walburton Admirable, Alexander, Salwey, Sea Eagle, 
Early Louise, Early Beatrice—the earliest of all—Hale’s Early, and Dr. 
Hogg. The latter is a second early and a great favourite at Singleton. To 
show how well Peaches do here I may mention that a three-year-old tree of 
Sea Eagle produced no less than eighty-three fine fruits, a dish of which 
took the first prize at the Healtheries Exhibition last year in a class where 
there was no fewer than thirty competitors. The Peach border was all 
made by Mr. Harris, and I do not hesitate to say that I never saw 
healthier or better trained trees anywhere, or trees carrying better crops 
throughout. 
After leaving the Peach wall I was shown through the houses, which 
are mostly old and have not the same appliances as modern erections. 
Notwithstanding this Mr. Harris grows both fruit and plants successfully. 
The first we entered was a half-span Peach-house 80 feet long by 18 feet 
wide and 9 feet high, running east and west, with a division in the centre. 
Some of the trees in this house are planted near the centre of the inside 
border and have a clean stem of 4 feet before reaching the trellis. They 
are trained on both sides of the house, and it is surprising to see the 
difference there is in the time of the fruit ripening on the same tree when 
a portion is trained on the south side of the roof and the other on the 
north side. The portion trained on the south side ripens fully two weeks 
earlier than that on the north side. This system would be a great advan¬ 
tage to amateurs and others where the glass houses are limited in prolonging 
the succession from the same tree. The south side cf the first division is 
planted with Hale’s Early and Royal George, and the north side with 
Elruge Nectarine. The second division is planted with Early Louise and 
Bellegarde Peaches. Though some of the trees are old and not so good 
aB those on the wall, the most of them were swelling off good crops in 
both divisions. In passing I might mention a vagary of a Royal George 
Peach tree in this house. One branch of it is conspicuous for its pre¬ 
cocity. It is growing precisely under the same conditions as the rest of 
the tree, and yet the fruit on it ripens about two weeks earlier than any 
other portion of the tree. It was carrying three fine highly coloured 
fruits, which were nearly ripe when I saw it, while the remainder of the 
crop had scarcely done stoning. Mr, Harris has been observing the pre¬ 
cocity of this branch for the last few years and cannot acconnt for it. He 
is, however, of opinion that its early quality is fixed, and he purposes 
propagating sufficient of it to plant one-half of the house. 
The next house contained a good collection of greenhouse plants, 
amongst which were several sweet-scented Camellias, a quality rarely 
found in this plant. Mr. Harris is working up a stock of them, as 
they are highly esteemed by his employer, and no doubt when they be¬ 
come better known they will be general favourites. The collection of 
Indian Azaleas and Rhododendrons is made up of the best varieties. 
Azalea Fielder’s White is the favourite for early forcing. It is had in 
flower from Christmas on till the other varieties come into bloom of their 
own accord. Pauline Mardener is the best coloured variety for forcing, 
and is very extensively grown along with Fielder’s White. A plant of 
Rhododendron Edgworthi in this house produced no les3 than 100 trusses 
of its pure white cup-shaped flowers in April. A fine plant of R. Ses- 
terianum, a companion to Edgworthii, flowers profusely. Part of the 
roof is covered with a large plant of Marechal Neil Rose, which keeps up 
a supply of blooms for cutting, and it does not interfere much with the 
plants growing beneath. 
The next house is filled with a healthy collection of Orchids, amongst 
which were some fine specimens of Aerides odoratum, A. virens Dayanum, 
and a particularly fine plant of A. Fieldingi, which had a spike more than 
2 feet in length. A variety of Vanda suavis had six 6pikes and nine 
flowers on each, and a plant of V. gigantea bears three spikes annually 
on the main shoot, with from seventeen to eighteen flowers on each. 
There were also some fine plants of Saccolabium praamoisum, 8. gutta- 
tum, and S. Blumei Dayi. Besides these, there were choice assortments 
Fig. 35.—Singleton Abbey. 
