r 454 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 6, If89 
Society to Woodstock, as previously stated, the public were 
afforded an opportunity of viewing the ducal gardens at Blenheim 
Palace, which in late years have gained increased fame from the 
extensive collection of Orchids cultivated therein. It may be 
argued that the general public who are attracted to agricultural 
gatherings are indifferent to the beauties of Flora’s treasures, but 
in the present case at least it must be conceded that the privilege 
of inspecting the Blenheim Orchids was highly appreciated by the 
visitors, and the Gardeners’ Orphan Fund will be benefited thereby 
to the extent of more than £70. So much has been achieved in 
these gardens in recent years, that those who remember the old 
order of things cannot but be impressed with the important im¬ 
provements that have been so successfully effected. The readiness 
with which the Duke of Marlborough consented to the proposal of 
his head gardener (Mr. Thos. Whillans) to afford an oppor¬ 
tunity of conti ibuting to the pleasure of visitors to the historic 
town of Woodstock, and the pleasing result as regards the 
substantial sum to be disposed of for a benevolent purpose, must 
be a source of gratification to everybody concerned. The delight 
of numbers of visitors was apparent, and the attractiveness of 
the wealth of bloom that occasioned it and the remembrance of 
such a choice floral display will doubtless be as agreeable as lasting 
to many. 
Of the thirty-four glass erections contained in the gardens no 
less than sixteen are devoted to Orchids, and they vary in length 
from CO feet to 118 feet. There is a block of four with glass corridors 
at each end, that of the south being filled with Odontoglossum 
citrcsmum, numbering about 1500, nearly one-lialf of which were 
in flower. ^ In the first house are staged as many as 12,000 Odonto- 
glossum Alexandra, 900 of them being in flower, and more than 
that number bearing spikes of unexpanded blooms. Amongst 
those in flower some fine forms were noticeable, and at one end of 
this house there were two specimens of a very fine variety of 
O. sceptrum. The following house is devoted to Bromeliads, 
Palms, and Lilium Harrisi, and this is succeeded by one of 
Eucharises, Gardenias, and Davallia Mooreana, which is held in 
much favour here. The fourth structure is filled with Roses, 
Niplietos being largely represented. In the north corridor Lilium 
Harrisi in bloom is of course an attraction. There are also num- 
be s of Indian Azaleas and Dendrobium Jamesianum, the roof 
bearing festoons of Lapageria alba, and the refreshing perfume of 
the Musk permeates the place. The lean-to house devoted to Gar¬ 
denias and Stephanotis is about 80 feet long, and the adjacent one, 
a span-roof, is filled with Tea Roses, from which an ample supply 
of blooms has been obtained since March. 
Succeeding these is a half-span house completely filled with 
Odontoglossum grande, O. triumphans, and numerous Masdevallias, 
the appearance of the latter as to colour, in the opinion of some, 
being capable of improvement. The south side of this house 
is entirely devoted to O. Alexandra;. Another house, a three- 
quarter span, contains numbers of Ada aurantiaca, Ltelia har- 
pophylla, Masdevallia tovarensis, and Miltonia vexillaria, of which 
there are nearly 500 bearing spikes in various stages of develop¬ 
ment. Another of this series of houses is filled with Cypri- 
pediums, Lycastes, and Trichopilias, and there is still another 
impoitant section that remains to be viewed. On entering the 
Cattleya house we are presented with a blaze of bloom that excites 
frequent exclamations of admiration. There is a feast of flowers 
here, and it is generally felt that to witness these alone repays a 
long journey to Blenheim, and more than satisfies the expectations 
of the numerous visitors. This house is admirably constructed for 
its purpose ; it is 16 feet in height, 24 feet in width, and 100 feet 
in length. At aach end is an artistically arranged rockery with 
cascades, and the structure from one end to the other is replete 
with specimens in bloom. The best known forms are cultivated 
in large quantities, and many of the largest examples exhibit a 
display of flowers that it is difficult to adequately describe, the spikes 
of bloom being numbered by hundreds. The appearance of the 
Lypnpedium house may be well imagined when it i 3 stated that 
there are more than 1000 plants of the different forms in flower, 
liie Laeha house contains a great number of recently imported 
plants, and of those established there are many conspicuous 
tor their rich colouring, notably L. elegans blenheimense and 
others or the purpurata section with from six to ten spikes of 
T he forcing houses are an important feature in this establish 
ment, ami are deserving of notice, more especially those devote< 
to the growth of Melons, Cucumbers, and Tomatoes. There is 
crop of the former m a house 70 feet long that seemed to astonisl 
many of the visitors to the gardens, and it may be said that in th 
matter of successful cultivation the care attending their productioi 
has been well rewarded. To pursue these notes when so litth 
has been said in respect to the chief purport of them would b< 
only skimming the surface. It would be better to return to them 
at another time.— Visitor. 
GARDEN ALLOTMENTS—TIIEIR ADVANTAGES 
AND UTILISATION. 
fRead at Nottingham by Mr. J. "Wright.] 
(Continued from page 437.') 
Sowing and Cropping. 
In buying a horse you look to the character of the seller ; so it 
should be in purchasing seeds. Buy the best procurable and sow 
tliinly. Weak seeds will not produce strong plants, and over¬ 
crowding seedlings in a young state, no matter what they are, is. 
ruinous. You must have stout well developed seed leaves—the 
first pair produced—as these support the plants till they produce 
roots for that purpose. It is impossible to have strong plants 
when raised as if growing mustard and cress for cutting. Sow in 
drills as a rule, and the larger the seeds are the deeper they should 
be covered. Do not beat down the surface with a spade and make 
it as smooth as a dining taDe. A slight roughness, such as that 
left after hoeing, affords the seedling? protection from driving 
winds. The little inequalities, or nut-like nodules of soil that 
look so small to us, are as sheltering hills to them. In dry weather 
saturate the ground before sowing, instead of placing the seeds as 
in a dust heap and trying to moisten it afterwards. The first plan 
leads to success, the other ends in failure. 
Now we come to cropping. No one can tell a person how to- 
crop his plot to the best advantage without knowing his object- 
Some persons desire to excel in one thing, some in another. One 
may wish to grow vegetables chiefly, another fruit, and a third 
flowers. In driving past some of the Nottingham gardens I saw 
some that will eventually become orchards, and they may answer 
well too if the sorts are good. Everything depends on that ; and 
healthy trees of inferior varieties should be grafted with superior. 
Generally speaking a combination system will be the most satis¬ 
factory, and it is astonishing what uudercrops are obtained from 
what are to all intents and purposes orchards by growers of pro¬ 
duce for market in the Thames Valley. Apple and Pear trees 
about 6 or 7 yards apart, some closer, and Plums about 5 yards or 
less, bear in good seasons what are known as valuable “ top ” 
crops ; Gooseberries, Currants, Raspberries, early Rhubarb, and acres 
of Daffodils, Christmas Roses, Wallflowers, and Irises affording 
profitable undercrops of fruit and flowei’3. Occasionally we find 
Cabbages and winter Lettuces planted as an undercrop, as these 
are ready for use before the trees are in full leafage ; but this- 
close cropping is only profitable under a generous system of 
manuring. It is this with the use of the hoe that pays. 
Let it be stated that without the assistance of glass and other 
shelter for forwarding early crops no substantial sum of money can 
be made from an eighth or a quarter of an acre of land ; but these 
plots can be made to give a valuable supp’v of life necessaries,, 
with a few luxuries into the bargain, for the families of those who 
till them ; and the most apt managers and industrious workers 
may clear a few pounds besides. The chief point, however, to- 
bear in mind is this : Without these gardens they could not obtain 
what they may grow for family needs ; and it will be conceded 
that the workers—the wage-earning class of the community—have 
the same claim to home comforts, and, relatively speaking, to 
home luxuries of a wholesome and refining nature, as the more 
affluent have who are wage-payers. Their interests are mutual,, 
and in Nottingham at least the desire appears mutual that all 
should have gardens who can till them for their own benefit and 
satisfaction. 
Experience. 
Thirty years ago I had a garden of a little more than an eighth 
of an acre, with nothing in it except four Apple trees the landlord 
had planted, and they had not come into bearing. But, though 
there was nothing in the garden, it was necessary I should try and 
get something out of it, and I got a good deal more than the rent 
the first season off a .strip less than 3 yards wide across one end. 
Before commencing to grow anything for sale it is desirable, as 
far as possible, to find a market for it. In the neighbouring town 
there was a greengrocer, seedsman, plant seller, and what not, who 
had scarcely any garden, but a stall in the market. Knowing this 
I consulted him about faking what I could grow. He said he 
could take anything and everything I could grow on .that small 
plot, provided I could let him have things in the market a week 
before other people had them ; if not, he said I had better keep 
them at home. His first demand was for 5000 Celery plants, and 
if he could have some of them ready for sale the first week in June 
he would give 4d. a score for the lot. They were raised in boxes 
