October 8, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF SORTIGULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
317 
of England, and Mr. John Wilson, the Secretary, has been entrusted 
with the negotiations. It is intended to offer £250 in prizes for Dahlias 
and other flowers, and that a guarantee fund of £400 should be formed 
by subscription. It is also proposed to term it the National Dahlia Show, 
Northern Section, and to hold the exhibition at the end of August or 
early in September next year, if satisfactory arrangements can be made. 
- The members of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club 
will meet at Hereford to-day (Thursday) for their annual foray among 
the fungu-es, which will take place on Risbury Camp and the park and 
lawns of Hampton Court, Leominster. In the evening Dr. Bull will 
introduce as a subject for discussion “ The Effect of Fungus in Destroying 
Tree Life.” Dr. Bull will also give the solution of a New Zealand 
botanical mystery, and Mr. William Phillips, of Shrewsbury, will contri¬ 
bute “ Some Notes on British Puff-balls.” 
-An exhibition of Chrysanthemums At Devizes will be held 
on November 17th in the Corn Exchange of that town. It is held in 
connection with a bazaar, and the profits are given to a local benevolent 
society. The Show was promoted by the lady district visitors, hut the 
arrangements are under the charge of Mr. Thomas King, Devizes Castle 
Gardens. The prizes in the fourteen classes vary from £3 to 5s., and a 
challenge cup is also offered for the exhibitor who gains the greatest total 
number of points. 
- The Aylesbury Chrysanthemum Society will hold their 
exhibition on November 19th. Forty classes are provided, and the prizes 
in the leading classes are liberal, ranging from three guineas to 10 s. The 
summary of accounts for 1884 shows a balance in the Society’s favour of 
£82, which is a most satisfactory indication of the support it has 
received. 
- Cultivators of market garden crops in this country frequently 
have heavy losses, but they are not alone in their misfortunes, for we 
learn that during a recent heavy rain at Kalamazoo, Michigan, United 
States, plantations op Celery were injured to a serious extent, the 
computed damage amounting to 100,000 dollars, about £20,000. For¬ 
tunately we do not find Celery suffer much from heavy rains in this 
country, and the plantations by the side of the Thames can frequently be 
seen with the wa'er standing in the trenches. 
-An International Fruit Show at Buda-Pesth is announced 
to take place October 15th to the 30th, at which money prizes and 
medals will he awarded. Programmes of the arrangements cm be had 
from Wilhelm Gillemot, Gruppen Commissar, Landes Austellung, Buda- 
Pesth. 
Lr is estimated that the loss to the United States through 
forest fires is now not less than 300,000,000 dollars a year, which is 
occasioned by the carelessness of boys and hunters. 
-A well-known plant in many gardens is Maurandya Bar- 
clayana, and a little hiBtory respecting its name given by Mr. T. Meehan 
in the American Gardeners' Monthly will therefore be interesting to some 
readers. R'plying to an inquiry respecting the Barclayana Vine, as the 
plant appears to be known in the United States, Mr. Meehan observes :— 
“Dropping the name of genus for that of the species, it looks like a 
determined eff >rton the part of flower lovers to ignore the honour to a 
lady which this pretty Mexican genus was intended to establish. The 
author of the name, Ortega, says it is for ‘ Donna Catherina Pancratia 
Maurandy, wife of Don Augustin Juan, Professor in the Royal Botanic 
Garden of Carthagena—a learned lady, a sharer, if not indeed a leader in 
her husband’s botanical labours.’ But all our text hooks give the honour 
to ‘ Dr. Maurandy, Professor of Botany in Carthagena.’ It is remarkable 
lhat after the botanists should have dropped the lady, ladies themselves, 
whom we supposed started ‘ Barclayana Vine,’ should have also given to 
a man the honour intended for the Professor’s wife.” 
ARUNDEL CASTLE. 
To the studpnt of early English history the name of Arundel is vei 
tamiliar as b-dng associated with some of the leading events occurrin 
petween the ninth and eighteenth centuries, and the venerable Castle an 
ns gardens are also known to many readers of gardening literature 
out notwithstanding this fact there are many new readers of the Journ; 
to whom a few descriptive notes will be welcome. 
Arundel Castle has been the principal residence of the Dukes i 
mitotk and their ancestors for more than 800 years. The Castle ha 
however, a history dating from the ninth century, and it is conjecture 
by eminent historians that the present “ keep ” (which is shown crowning 
the summit of a steep knoll in the centre of the engraving) wai built prior 
to that date by the redoubtable and energetic Saxons as one of their many 
strongholds of defence against the incursions of the Danes. It is a 
remarkable structure, and although it has had to bear the vicissitudes of 
so many centuries, it is still in an excellent state of preservation. The 
immense knoll on which the keep is built was evidently thrown up by 
the builders as a formidable means of defence, and this was crowned with 
the castellated t 'wer, the walls of which vary in thickness from 10 to 15 
feet. When the Castle was under siege, and its occupants had to fly to 
the keep for protection, it was necessary to have a supply of water as well 
as food to subsist on for perhaps months and years, consequently in the 
centre of the keep was a well, supposed to be over 300 feet deep. During 
the Cromwellian wars General Waller, after vainly trying to subdue the 
Royalist garrison therein, mounted his guns on the tower of the parochial 
church, and finally succeeded in dislodging the masonry, which fell into 
the well, thus cutting off the waLr supply, and forcing the gallant 
defenders to yield. Local tradition affirms tbat the illustrious Saxon, 
King Alfred, dwelt here for some time, and a fireplace is still to be seen 
which to this day bears the latter monarch’s name. Later on King 
John resided here. 
Adjoining the keep is the ancient clock tower, built over an archway, 
which was originally the main entrance into the Castle. 
The residential portion of the Castle is of an extensive character, which 
is undergoing a thorough renovation. The site of the Castle and keep is 
on a high position, formed partly by Nature and partly by art. The 
earthworks on the eastern side are thrown up to an immense height, and 
the gradient is so steep that it is impossible to climb without the aid of 
zigzag walks. The whole face of the latter is coverei with ancient Oaks 
and other trees, and looking from the highest summit the scenery of the 
surrounding country is such as can scarcely be equalled Nestling at the 
foot of the Castle grounds is the quaint and ancient b trough of Arundel, 
with its overhanging upper storeys, narrow streets, town pump, and o.her 
venerable buildings, including the remains of an ancient priory, and the 
magnificent new Roman Catholic Cathedral, erected by the present Duke 
at a cost of £100,000 sterling, with the River Arun following its tortuous 
c ourse through the verdant meadows and town. 
Stretching far away on the verge of the horizon are the grey outlines 
of the Isle of Wight, to the south-east the famous South D iwns of sheep 
fame, whilst southward may be seen the charming fishing hamlet of Little- 
hampton, and looking northward we behold the richly wooded park, which 
has a circumference of twelve miles, and is said t > contaiu 11,000 acres. 
The soil of the park is very shallow, the substratum consisting of chalk. 
Just outside the limits of the garden is a magnificent lake known as 
Swanbourne Lake, which, with its surroundings, cannot be surpassed for 
natural beauties. This has been the favourite sketching grounds of 
Constable, Turner, and other famous masters of landscape painting, who 
have deligh ed to pourtray its beauties on canvas. Thus far we have 
described the interesting points of the Castle and its park, because we 
(Jiink its ancient history and associations, with the leading events thereof, 
demand more than a passing notice. 
Turning to the gardens, we find these not less worthy of interest. 
After inspecting the Castle and other buildings, we pass through into the 
flower garden, which occupies the site of the ancient upper court of the 
Castle, and is flanked on each side by an ancient and formidable-looking 
wall, also at the end similarly. At this end there is a series of terraces, 
each about 6 leet wide, rising a few feet one above the other, with divi- 
si >nal. walls. These are known as the ramparts, and are reached by a 
series of steps. Hardy plants of various kinds are planted in each of 
these terrace gardens, whilst the walls, which rise one above the other, 
are covered with Myrtles, Peach and Apricot trees, hardy Fuchsias, and 
Vines. As will be seen from a glance at the engraving, the bads are of a 
geometrical pattern, with gravel walks between. These beds are filled 
with hardy plants only, in accordance with the wish of the Duchess of 
Norfolk, who is fond of this class of plants. Beds of Lilies of various 
species, Tigridias. Pentstemons, Marigolds, Anemones, and other plants, 
looked very effective when we saw them It is intended to do away with 
the present beds, which have become out of shape and crowded, and in¬ 
troduce a more simple and less formal style. There are some fine speci¬ 
mens of the topiary art in the shape of severely trained Tews, Bays, 
Laurustinus, &e., which will perhaps disappear with the beds, as they are 
sadly out of place. 
Passing through the clock tower we enter the outer and more pictur¬ 
esque grounds of the Castle. The pleasure grounds are of considerable 
extent, and extend a long distance away. Rambling over the slopes and 
dells we come upon remarkably fine examples of noble trees. In one dell 
not far from the Castle we found a number of Camellias planted out and 
thriving. Close by, a handsome specimen of the Kentucky Coffee Tree 
(Gymnocladus canadensis), with beautiful ninnate foliage. A little 
farther we come upon a couple of gigantic examples of Cupres-us macro- 
carpa, measuring not less than 60 feet high, and 30 feet in the spread of 
its lower branches. We do not know their age, but were told by our 
guide that they were planted by the late gardener, Mr, Wilson, who, it 
will be remembered, died a short time ago, after thirty years’ service as 
chief of the Gardens. These specimens will soon be cramped for want of 
room, and extensive alterations will be necessary to afford such, as they 
are bounded on one side by an ancient road, and the o'her by an immense 
terrace, on which are growing very large trees and shrubs. A little 
farther on we note a few ancient-looking Mulberry trees, a fine specimen 
of the Judas Tree (Cercis Siliqua^trum), Oatalpa bignonioides, the curious 
Pavia macrostachya, and Junipers of various kinds. The shrubberies are 
