August 5. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
287 
Mr. Masson remained at the Capo more than twenty 
years, for the following letter is dated there on tho 
15th of May, 1793 :— 
MR. F. MASSON TO MR. FORSYTH. 
A few days ago I received a letter, dated May, 1791, from 
T. Hadley Swain, secretary to the Natural History Society, 
of which I am an unworthy member. I have long had a 
sincere desire to contribute something, but my constant 
attention has been in botanical researches, and the animals 
i of this country are, I believe, pretty well known. The 
| fishes here, I believe, are little known, and would be some 
addition to natural history. I have collected many of them, 
and made some drawings ; if they can contribute anything 
| to the advancement of science they will be much at their 
service. I am busy at present describing and drawing the 
Slapelias, of which I have discovered about thirty new speci¬ 
mens, and I believe that there are many more, but they 
! grow at such a distance from the Cape, and in so unfre¬ 
quented places, that it is very difficult to find them out. 
We have had a ship hero from Port Jackson for provi¬ 
sions ; by the accounts by her the place is not so bad as it 
has been represented. Captain Paterson returns from 
Norfolk Island there. 
I send this by Mr. Goodsman, a British officer, with a 
small chip box containing two specimens of a large species 
of Chiton, which I do not remember to have seen before. I 
beg you will present them to the Society for their inspection. 
The collection of the succulent genus to which he 
alludes in the above letter, was depicted and described 
in a work ho published at London in 179G, entitled, 
Strip elite Nova. Like other searchers after the natural 
treasures of foreign lands, the love of change, tho desire 
for discovery, and impatience under restraint, predomi¬ 
nated over all other considerations; and, after' a year’s 
residence in England, witli the king’s permission, he 
sailed to America. One or two letters from him, dated 
Montreal, at the close of 1801, occur among these manu¬ 
scripts, but they allude to no subject of importance, nor 
were his researches in the far west compensated by any 
j discoveries at all to be compared with those which 
rewarded him at the Cape. From North America he 
proceeded to the West Indies, and died there, in the 
island of Montserrat, at the close of 1800, in the 64th 
year of his age. 
GOSSIP. 
j Messrs. Weeks and Co., of King’s Road Nursery, 
Chelsea, have the following Water Lilies doing well in 
an open heated pond:— Nymphcea dentata, N. cyanea, 
y. catrulea, N. rubra , N. alba, N. liybrUla, Victoria regia, 
j Limnocharis Ilumboldlii, and Aponogeion diet achy on. 
The six first flowering nicely. 
Our respected correspondent, S. P., Eushmere, having 
recently visited the Channel Islands, says— 
“One of the first things which attracted my notice, on 
landing in Jersey, was a printed bill, announcing the lioyal 
Jersey Floricidtural Exhibition. This was held, July 14th 
and 15th, in the Cattle Market, at Minden Place. On en¬ 
tering, the productions wore seen arranged under the colo- 
nade, which forms three sides of the square, affording both 
shade and space to the visitors. On the second day was a 
dejeuner at half-past four, to which parties were admitted 
by tickets at five shillings each. 
“In T'egelablcs, with the exception of being forwarder for 
the season than with us, there was nothing remarkable; the 
lettuces and potatoes were, however, decidedly fine. 
“The Fruits were better. A mixed basket belonging to n 
Mr. J. Kobin, of Petit Menage, containing a pine apple in 
the centre, and surrounded by grapes, currants, gooseberries, 
<fec., attracted much attention, and obtained a first prize. 
Apricots, peaches, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, were 
good, but our English cultivators of these fruits have nothing 
at present to fear'from the Jersey gardeners. A new cherry, 
which was exhibited by Mr. B. Saunders, one of their lead¬ 
ing nurserymen, and called Merveille D'Hollande, elicited 
considerable praise. 
“ The Flowers were not up to those of many of our 
English provincial exhibitions, either in variety or perfec¬ 
tion of cultivation. The specimens of Heaths, Calceolarias, 
Geraniums, and Pansies, were second-rate; Celosias, Ixoras, 
and Carnations, good; and the show of annuals, biennials, 
and perennials, with the exception of a stand of capital Sweet 
'Williams, were few and inferior, probably owing to the heat 
and dryness of the season ; this affected also the roses, of 
which there were but few. Three large bouquets of cut 
flowers, upon tables in the centre pavilion of the square, 
were the best things in the exhibition; here, also, was the 
band of music, with seats placed round for the visitors, who 
were said to be not so numerous as on former occasions. 
“ To the lovers of flowers, Jersey offers many attrac¬ 
tions in its prettily-cultivated suburban gardens; here the 
plants assume a vigour of growth and perfection seldom 
attained in England. Climbers of various kinds cover the 
verandas, and fronts and ends of many of the houses; 
whilst Geraniums, Fuchsias, and Verbenas, display their 
beauties in full luxuriance under and up the sides of the 
windows: and, as an example of the mildness of the 
climate, I noticed, in one of the gardens at St. Heliers, a 
yellow Calceolaria, named by the owner and raiser Capensis, 
about sixteen feet round, three feet high, dense in foliage, 
and with at least 200 flowers upon it, in fine corymbous 
heads, of the size of large oranges; it had stood out in the 
open ground, without protection, for the last seven years. 
In another garden, at St. Aubins, my attention was cairght 
by an Hydrangea , full thirty-six feet round, four feet high, 
circular in form, and having at least 2000 flowers—a com¬ 
plete dome of purple. The gentleman in whose garden, or 
rather court-yard, it grew, said he bestowed no particular 
attention upon it, beyond cutting out in the spring the dead 
flowers and some of the old wood ; it grew in the ordinary 
soil, which is a debris from the granite rocks in the vicinity, 
and as these appear to contain much ferruginous matter, it 
may probably account for the almost universally blue colour 
of the Jersey Hydrangeas. 
“ Carnations and Pinks are another class of flowers much 
cultivated in the Jersey gardens, and many of the choicer 
collections of these are truly splendid. Two shillings per 
hundred was the price asked me by one of the best growers 
for young seedling plants, and I brought away as many as I 
could find room for in my carpet bag. Phloxes do not 
appear to do well with them ; the colours run ; in other 
words, they want distinctness and brightness; a circum¬ 
stance perhaps attributable to the hot sun, and dryness of 
the soil; but floriculture in Jersey appears to owe less to 
skilful cultivation than to its genial climate. The taste of 
the people turns more to fruit and vegetables. The Char- 
montel pear, apples, figs, &e., so crowd the gardens, that 
nothing short of the natural capabilities of the island could 
insure the perfection to which so many things attain. The 
Jersey tree-cabbage often occupies much space; from the 
stems of these walking-sticks are made; and when dried and 
polished they are light and handsome. Fuchsias assume 
the character of small trees; at least, I saw some ten and 
twelve feet high, with stems as thick as my wrist. 
“ The walks and rides in Jersey are delightfully romantic. 
Its cliffs and bays, its shady lanes (the latter forming a com¬ 
plete network over the island) ; its numerous orchards, with 
the pretty Jersey cows tethered under the shade of the trees; 
its rustic farm-houses and ornamental cottages in which the 
English chiefly reside, are met with at every turn. The 
hills, in addition to their inland and sea views, abound in 
many wild plants; amongst them T noticed Harebells aud 
Alpine Pinks of two or three colours, the Lotus corniculatus 
Centaureas, Ac.; the latter bloom on the tops of the stone¬ 
walls in conjunction with the Antirrhinum and Fed Valerian , 
displaying their blossoms above the dense mass of creepers 
that clothe their sides, Occasionally may be seen among 
the heaths the beautiful aud harmless emerald green lizgrd 
