508 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
| Job* 13, 1887. 
character in what must be termed the leading establishments of the 
kingdom, and all know how much Prince Albert’s enthusiastic love 
of gardening was shared by his Royal Consort. 
FROGMORE. 
Frogmore house and gardens are about a mile from Windsor 
Castle, and are situated in the Home Park, with the mausoleum 
and the model farm constituting the only portion of the Royal 
possessions at Windsor from which the public are excluded. The 
Home Park is to the left of the magnificent three-mile avenue of 
Elms, which forms such a grand vista from the Castle, and is so 
well furnished with trees, distinguished by its luxuriant vege¬ 
tation and rural charms, that it h not surprising it has long been 
the Queen’s favourite retreat when the Court is at the Castle. 
Frogmore house is a substantial elegant mansion, quite free from 
all attempts at fantastic adornment, and stands in a beautiful 
garden abounding in exceptionally handsome trees and shrubs. It 
was formerly the residence of the Duchess of Kent, who died there 
in 1861, and it then passed with her other property into the pos¬ 
session of Her Majesty. The garden is a most charming one, laid 
out in a natural and graceful manner, with spacious rich green 
velvety lawns sloping to the small but picturesque lake thickly 
fringed with Iris pseudo-acorus, now bearing a profusion of its 
bright yellow flowers. There are numerous nooks, glades, and tree- 
shaded walks, bold clumps of trees and shrubs, and single specimens 
of remarkable size and beauty. The Conifers thrive most luxu¬ 
riantly, and one grand example of Thuia Lobbi (T. gigantea), is 
probably the finest in this country, as it forms a dense deep green 
column, even from base to summit, and now between 60 and 70 feet 
high. A specimen of this handsome Conifer at Linton Paik exceeds 
50 feet in height, and well proportioned, but the Frogmore tree is a 
marvellously fine example, in perfect health. It stands alone upon 
the lawn, and has an imposing appearance from the terrace in 
front of the mansion. Numerous handsome Abies, especially 
A. pinsapo, are notable, as well as other Thuias, Taxodium distichum 
(admirably represented); of the Maidenhair Tree, Salisburia adianti- 
folia, there are some superb trees, and many others could be enume¬ 
rated, remarkable alike for their size and vigorous health. Favourite 
shrubs are the Mock Orange and Lilacs, while white and scarlet 
Thorns add their floral charms during the spring, and the garden is 
environed by tall Elms, Beeches, and other forest trees, with 
delightful vistas cut through them at suitable points. A series of 
beds is devoted to hardy hei'baceous and old-fashioned flowers that 
are especial favourites at Frogmore, and thrive with a luxuriance 
that is most pleasant to lovers of such plants. There are no elabo¬ 
rate beds of gaudy flowers, but an air of cultured refinement, 
combined with all the freedom of an old English country garden, 
most refreshing in contrast with the prevailing formality of modern 
establishments. We have been favoured with a photograph of the 
mansion, taken from a picturesque point of view near the lake, and 
this has been carefully reproduced in the engraving (fig. 85, page 509). 
Horticulturally considered, the important portion of the Frog¬ 
more gardens is that devoted to the culture of plants, fruits, and 
vegetables for the supply of Her Majesty’s household, and in this 
respect it is one of the most remarkable in the kingdom. It is a 
vast establishment, tbe amount of produce it yields annually is 
astonishing, while the system of management must be an admirable 
ono that insures a continual succession, and such excellent cultural 
results as those achieved by Mr. T. Jones. Practical utility is the 
prevailing character of every department and everything grown ; 
there is no time nor space for fanciful specialities, but an abundant 
unfailing supply of good quality productions is the object con¬ 
stantly in view, and to the accomplishment of this all efforts are 
directed. At the other Royal residences, Buckingham Palace, 
Osborne, and Balmoral Castle, the pleasure gardens are the principal 
features, but at Frogmore the thirty acres of garden, five acres of 
which are under glass, are exclusively devoted to the production of 
the extensive supplies necessary for such an important household. 
It would be impossible to refer in detail to all that is interesting in 
these gardens, but a few notes on the chief departments will indi¬ 
cate their chai aster, commencing with the indoor and outdoor fruit. 
It may be briefly stated that the garden is oblong in form, the 
longest diameter being from east to west. It is intersected by sub¬ 
stantial walls about 8 feet high, and taking both surfaces, there is a 
total length of wall space occupied by trees of various kinds of 
six miles, which will give some idea of the labour in training and 
pruning. The gardener’s house—a tastefully designed commodious 
structure, is in the centre, at the upper part of the garden, and 
most of the glass ranges run east and west of this against the walls, 
with detached span houses, pits, and frames innumerable. The 
principal ranee is on the south side of a wall continuous from 
the house, the north side being occupied by the bothy, 
offices, potting sheds, &c. There are twenty miles of drives to be 
kept in order, with broad grass margins that have to be kept cut 
frequently, and Mr. Jones has a staff of 140 men under his 
direction. 
FRUIT. 
Grates. —Foremost in importance amongst the indoor fruits are 
the Grapes, of which an extremely large quantity are grown ; com¬ 
pact, serviceable bunches, of medium size, with good berries, well 
finished, being what are mainly required ; sensational bunches being 
often more trouble than profit. Another point is, that although 
the vineries are numerous, the Vines have to be somewhat heavily 
cropped to obtain the requisite supply, and in consequence Mr. T. 
Jones finds it far better to rely upon young vigorous Vines than 
upon old ones, which are speedily exhausted by heavy cropping. 
Many old Vines have been removed, and young ones are being' 
gradually brought on to take the place of others that have done 
good service in the past. Most of the borders are inside the houses, 
but the roots of the Vines can find their way to outside borders as 
they advance, and the inside borders are made up, a small piece at a. 
time, as the roots progress, as a good number of evenly distributed 
roots near the surface are more under the control of the cultivator- 
Comparatively few varieties are grown, the early and main supply 
being derived from Black Hamburgh, with Foster’s Seedling as a 
white ; while as late varieties, Lady Downe’s and Alicantes are- 
extensively grown, with a few West’s St. Peter’s, which are speci¬ 
ally prized for their quality, Buckland Sweetwater, and some other 
varieties. The annual amount of Grapes produced is astonishing, 
and the following record of the weight cut for each month in 1886 
is very interesting :—January, 395 lbs.; February, 207 lbs.; March, 
215 lbs.; April, 149 lbs.; May, 149 lbs.; May, 220 lbs.; June, 
300 lbs.; July, 510 lbs. ; August, 291 lbs. ; September, 296 lbs. ; 
October, 239 lbs. ; November, 448 lbs. ; and December, 544 lbs., a 
total of 3814 lbs., or with extras, as gifts, a total exceeding 
4000 lbs. The amount for the last month in the year is remark¬ 
ably high for such a season, exceeding that of July by 34 lbs. The- 
quantity cut in May was also large, as these were all ne\v Giapes, 
chiefly Black Hamburghs, but in May of the present year even this 
record has been exceeded, as 301 lbs. of Black Hamburgh and 
Foster’s Seedling were cut. Upon exceptional occasions 100 lbs. of 
Grapes have been cut at one time, and the resources of the estab¬ 
lishment w'ill be severely taxed this year. The earliest Grapes are 
obtained from Vines in pots, to which a large house is devoted- 
This is then filled with Strawberries, that will now soon be ex¬ 
hausted and cleared out to make room for Melons, which will be 
continued until November, when they in turn will be removed and 
give place to pot Vines again. This is the system adopted for 
utilising space whenever the houses are not occupied by permanent 
Vines or fruit trees. The Vines throughout are very healthy, with 
clean vigorous growth and foliage, and in several cases with 
remarkable crops of fruit, twenty to twenty-four 2 lb. bunches to 
a rod. 
Strawberries. —Strawberries form another indispensable crop,, 
as both for forcing and outdoor supplies they are grown very ex 
tensively. With them, as with the Grapes, it is found preferable to 
rely mainly upon one or two well proved varieties than to have a 
number of uncertain character, and this principle is followed con¬ 
sistently throughout the garden in regard to all crops. Nine thou¬ 
sand Strawberry plants are forced every year of La Grosse Sucr^e 
with a few others, but the former is the chief favourite, because it 
bears a good crop of even fruits that colour well, and possess an 
agreeable flavour. The disadvantages attending other varieties 
tried at Frogmore have been that they either produce fine fruits in 
small quantities or they bear a large number of fruits that unless- 
carefully thinned are very irregular in size, and many compara¬ 
tively useless. La Grosse Sucree also travels well, and this is an 
important matter when it is considered that the fruit has to be con¬ 
veyed to Balmoral when Her Majesty is residing there, and a- 
journey of 600 miles is a serious trial for such a delicate fruit as 
the Strawberry. The forced plants are placed out each season, and 
after the second or third year are removed to make room for 
younger plants. A bed of these planted out last year is in splendid 
condition this season, and a useful second crop is often obtained the 
season they were forced. Sir Joseph Paxton, Vicomtesse Hericart 
de Thury, L’Aromatic, Frogmore Late Pine, and Alpines are also 
grown out of doors, and all seem very promising this year, notwith¬ 
standing the hot dry period now being experienced. Most of the 
beds are carefully netted, and where they are near the paths a little- 
clean straw placed on the latter prevents the fruits being disfigured 
by dust. The Strawberries are forced wherever there is suitable 
space, but several houses are devoted to the main supply, and one, 
a portion of a long range, chiefly occupied with Peaches and other 
fruit trees, has a moveable stage, which is placed near the front, and 
upon this the plants are arranged. After the fruit is gathered the 
stage is removed, a wire trellis is placed in front, and the house is 
