tiip: cottage gardener. 
2G1 
January 2 . 
j 
sidence of tho Duke of Northumberland, This place 
has been for many years famous for gardening, and for 
a fine collection of rare hardy trees and shrubs, but 
more especially for a curvilinear exotic stove-house, in 
which are Cultivated tropical fruits, hearing shrubs, and 
trees. The late Duke had quite a passion for this par¬ 
ticular branch of horticulture, and spared no expense in 
procuring plants of every kind of fruit from the warmest 
regions of the earth. Many of theso havo already home 
fruit, and havo been exhibited by his successful gardener, 
Mr. Iveson, at the Metropolitan exhibitions, surprising 
| very much the visitors to these shows by their singular 
j forms. Such fruits as the Papavo, the' Vanilla, the 
I Nutmeg, the Guava, and the Rose-Apple; but the most 
■ desired of all, the Mangosteen, and the Durion, had not 
: produced any fruit till this year, or rather autumn. 'The 
former, the Mangosteen, showed flowers then, and has 
j sot some fruit, which I saw. The Durion trees are but 
I small, and, probably, will not fruit for some time yet. 
This Mangosteen, which is the native name, is tho 
Oarcinia Mangostana of Linnaeus, and is a native of 
the Molucca Islands, in the blast Indies. It is a tree 
I rising twenty feet high, with a stem gradually tapering, 
and branches that regularly lessen in length towards the 
| top ; hence it forms a very handsome tree. The leaves 
are oval, seven or eight inches long, strongly nerved, 
and of a rich dark green. The flower has a resem¬ 
blance to a small single rose. The fruit, when fully 
j grown, is the size of a middling Orange; the shell like 
that of the Pomegranate, the inside of a rose colour, 
divided by thin partitions like tho Orange. These 
divisions are filled with a soft juicy pulp, of a delicious 
flavour, akin to that of the Grape and the Strawberry 
combined. 
This tree is named in honour of Dr. Garcia, who 
says, in tho “Philosophical Transactions,”—“That it is 
esteemed the most dolicious of the East Indian fruits, 
1 and a great deal of it may be oaten without any harm, 
and it is the only fruit that sick people aro allowed to 
eat without scruple.” Dr. Solandor, in the last stage of a 
putrid fever, in Batavia, found himself insensibly re¬ 
covering, by sucking this delicious and refreshing fruit. 
The pulp has a happy mixture of the tart and the swoct, 
and is no less salutary than pleasant. 
This excellent fruit is, as I stated above, now swelling 
off in the tropical fruit-stove at Sion House. It is the 
first time it has fruited in Europe. It is growing in a 
large box, plunged in the soil, with about a foot of char¬ 
coal all round the box. This charcoal, Mr. Iveson in¬ 
formed mo, was frequently watered, to yield atmospheric 
moisture. There are three or four other trees of the 
same kind in the house, but not yet in fruit. This 
tropical exotic house is divided into three. In a separate 
one is another large tree of tho Mangosteen, much 
larger, more thickly branched, and with smaller leaves. 
It has not fruited, and probably is a variety that is shy 
to fruit. This variety may be tho kind that has been 
hitherto cultivated in other places, without success, in 
I producing its fruit. If this be tho fact, of which I have 
| little doubt, we may now look forward to the day when 
j Mangosteens will be as easily and as plentifully grown 
and fruited in our hothouses as the Pine-apple. Great 
credit is due to Mr. Iveson for his successful method of 
bringing this fine fruit of eastern climes into a bearing 
state. The temperature that it requires is not above 
reach, for the thermometer indicated only 72°, yet the 
trees were evidently in a growing state. 
To ensure having plants of the fruit-bearing variety, 
they should bo propagated by cuttings or grafts from 
such fruitful trees. 
In the same houses, I noticed tho Chocolate tree, 
Thoobroma cacao , showing abundance of fruit - buds. 
They are produced on tho trunk of the tree! and in that 
respect are a very great curiosity. The far-famed 
Nutmeg, Myrislica moschata, was in fruit. This tree 
has been in fruit here for a long timo. The tree is 
about twelve feet high. Tho fruit is about the size of a 
Burgundy Pear, and, when ripe, splits open, and shows 
tho nut enclosed in an arillus or stringy covering, which 
is the male. So that the tree produces in one fruit 
both the Nutmeg and the Mace of commerce. 
Besides these, the Coffee-tree was in fruit, tho berries 
having some resomblance to ripe Cherries; and the 
Vanilla plant bad several btuiChes of its perfume-bear¬ 
ing fruit; and the Papaw was in flower. 
In tho range of houses now devoted to the Vino, tho 
Peach and the Fig, in some of which formerly tho Pine¬ 
apple was cultivated, one house is devoted entirely to 
the Musa Oavendishii, the plants of which wore im¬ 
ported. Amongst them is a very superior variety, con¬ 
fined, I was informed, entirely to theso gardens. Its 
superiority consists in a more juicy and more highly- 
flavoured fruit. There aro several largo fruiting plants, 
but tho good variety cannot be distinguished by either 
habit or foliage. As thoy fruit, tho inferior variety will 
be thrown away, and the good one only propagated. 
In the Victoria Lily house, a young plant was pro¬ 
gressing freely, having already five leaves, with young 
ones springing up from tho root. We had a little dis¬ 
cussion on tho utility of a wheel kept in motion by a 
small stream of water, part of the wheel being within 
the tank in which tho plant was growing. Mr. Iveson 
is of opinion, and that is borno out by experience, 
that the continuous motion has a tendency to keep 
tho water sweet, and prevents tho growth of confervse 
on tho surface. Whenever the wheel was stopped, 
either by accident or design, the surface of the water 
immediately was covered with a dirty-looking scum, 
a species of conferva). Let every grower of the Victoria 
prove whether Mr. Iveson is right. 
The Victoria House is at tho end of a house filled 
with good specimens of Now Holland plants. In pass¬ 
ing through it, I saw several strong plants of Tropccolum 
tricolorum, and of its variety, Janatti, making already 
great progress. I was struck with a newly-invented 
trainca or support for them. Mr. Iveson said it was 
the invention of one of his young men. It is simple 
and natural, and anybody may make it. First, procure 
an upright, round staff, about as thick as a mau’s thumb. 
It may either ho made of deal, turned round, and 
painted, or of a Hazel, or Larch-rod; if of either of 
the latter, all the branches should be cut clean off'. 
The end to go into the soil should be sharpened and the 
top cut off horizontally, holes should then be bored pretty 
thickly all the way up the rod, and one in the centre at 
the top. After that is done, procure a quantity of 
small, twiggy spray, or branches of Hazel, or Birch, or 
Beach, sharpen the thick end, and thrust one branch 
into each hole; contrive the length of the twigs, so that 
the lougest will be at the base, and gradually let them 
shorten up to the top ; then put a larger bushy twig 
in the hole at the top, and you have a mimic tree; a 
very natural and elegant support for this beautiful 
climber. Let every young aspiring gardener try bis 
hand at forming one. Against a south wall in the 
garden my attention was drawn to somo Vines in pots, 
j intended to fruit next year. They were fully as thick 
j as my middle finger, and, at least, from seven to eight 
feet long. These strong Vines, capable of bearing from 
six to ten bunches of Grapes, were all struck from eyes 
last March. Tho growth bad been encouraged, of course, 
by frequent repotting, and a free use of manure-water, 
with a good heat, and space to ripen tho wood. I noticed 
they had been stopped twice to give them strength. The 
wood was well ripened, and the buds prominent, so that 
a crop of good fruit may be confidently predicted. 
In the fruit garden thero is a number of pits which 
were used when Pine-Apples were grown for succession. 
