August 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
241 
we were much obliged to him, and so, we trust, will 
our readers, as it enables us to fill the pages of our 
note-book more copiously, and thus add to the inte¬ 
rest and use we hope our observations will lead to. 
Immediately on leaving Chesliunt, on the left hand 
we observed a field of four or five acres very oddly 
cropped with patches of potatoes, peas, cabbages, 
and other vegetables. This, our intelligent com¬ 
panion informed us, was an allotment garden, let out 
in small plots to the cottagers of Clieshunt and tlie 
neighbourhood. We were much gratified to remark 
that the vegetables looked healthy, the potatoes es¬ 
pecially, and the whole appeared to be well managed. 
Rut we must pass on, to make the most of the day. 
The country as we went along looked beautiful, this 
part of the county being well wooded, and the crops, 
generally speaking, promised an abundant' harvest. 
We did not observe any symptoms of the potato 
disease, and we trust this year we shall have a plen¬ 
tiful sound crop of that useful esculent. We passed 
Wormleybury, once the seat of the late Sir A. Hume, 
and during his lifetime a famous gardening place, 
possessing stoves filled with the choicest and rarest 
exotics, but now, like the master, no more. Our 
first call was at Mr. Warner’s. We found the gar¬ 
deners, the Messrs. Williams, father and son, both 
at home. The senior has been gardener there for 
thirty years: under the direction of Mr. Warner, 
aided by his own skill, he laid out the grounds. Tho 
son has the charge of the plants, and, as a proof that 
he manages them well, especially the orchids, we 
need only refer to the reports of the great metropoli¬ 
tan exhibitions for this year. The first things we 
were shown were two vineries put up three or four 
year ago; they are both glazed with large glass; 
one with glass 22 oz. to the foot, the other with 16 oz. 
' to the foot, and here we were much struck with the 
different effect. The heavier glass did not burn the 
leaves at all, not a single one being touched, but in 
the other the vines were sadly scorched. The roofs 
of both the bouses are at the same angle; both were 
started together; and so the conclusion we must 
come to is that thin light glass is more liable to burn 
the leaves than thicker and consequently heavier 
glass. The vines in both houses were strong and 
healthy, and had a good crop of fine grapes on them. 
Adjoining the vineries are the houses containing 
the far-famed orchideous plants : there are two, one 
for the East Indian species, and the other for those 
from South America; the latter serving as a recep¬ 
tacle for the former when in flower or at rest. At 
one end of the Indian-house is some rockwork, 
covered with fine specimens of exotic ferns, thriving 
most luxuriantly. At the foot of this rockwork is 
a piece of water to grow aquatics in. This part is 
very judiciously made and planted, and has a pleas¬ 
ing effect, besides affording moisture to the air of the 
house. The collection of orchids is very good, and 
showed marks of industry and skill in their manage¬ 
ment, the particulars of which are to be published 
shortly. Mr. Williams has a good collection of British 
ferns, which he cultivates in large pots in heat, 
which they appear to bear with impunity. Passing 
out of the orchid-houses we came to a long canal- 
like piece of water. This we think might be im¬ 
proved by throwing it into an irregular form; as it 
is it has a tame appearance, not at all in character 
with the ground. At the end of this piece of water, 
which, by-the-by, contains a good collection of hardy 
aquatics, we came to a fine specimen of the cut-leaved 
alder, fifty feet high, the branches covering a space 
forty feet in diameter. This tree made a good close 
to the end of the walk : it had some rockwork 
planted with ferns under it, which in autumn and 
early spring, we are told, looked beautifully. This 
tree caused us to turn to the right, when we had a 
view of a long straight walk, with borders on each 
side planted with choice roses and flowers. This 
walk is terminated by a highly ornamental buildiu g, in¬ 
cluding an elegant bath room, and several appropriate 
paintings in water colours. The bath itself is paved 
with porcelain, and the water as clear as crystal. A 
winding walk led us thence to the temple of roses. 
This is not a building, as might be supposed from 
the name, but a fine collection of climbing roses. A 
mound of earth has been thrown up, pillars of iron 
placed circularly, with iron rods stretching from each 
to the centre pillar. Walks under the roses lead 
to a seat in the centre, and around the whole are 
figures as large as life. This temple may be imitated 
at a moderate expense. The winding walk continues 
past the temple to the extreme boundary of the 
pleasure ground; and in a retired nook is a good 
imitation of an ancient ruin, now clothed with that 
beautiful evergreen—ivy. The walk continues to 
wind amongst some fine trees and shrubs, up a rising 
ground, on the top of which is a noble straight ter¬ 
race walk. From this walk, as you pass along, there 
are fine views of the temple of roses, the bath room, 
and the hothouses, besides the opposite finely wooded 
hill. We understood on that side of the valley there 
was a fine collection of the fir tribe, which we had 
not time to see. Another walk leads from the ter¬ 
race to what we term the home flower garden—a 
lawn interspersed with heels of choice plants. At 
the lower end of this garden is a conservatory of 
considerable dimensions, filled with some fine healthy 
orange trees in full fruit, intermixed with camellias. 
To the right of the conservatory is a small green¬ 
house, filled when we were there with achimenes, 
gloxinias, fuchsias, and other summer flowering 
plants, and in a perfect blaze of floral beauty. 
In returning from these houses we were shewn a 
building put up as an ornamental dairy, and unique 
of its kind. After viewing this veiy neat and useful 
dairy, we came to our starting point—the front of 
the dwelling-house. It is something remarkable, 
and, we are sorry to say, uncommon to find, in a place 
so considerable as this, that the gardener who laid 
out the grounds so beautifully has still, after thirty 
years’ servitude, the care of them. Excepting some 
large old elms, the whole of the trees (and there are 
some fine specimens), and of cedars of Lebanon 
especially, were planted by Mr. Williams, sen. The 
place is well worthy of a visit, and we are sure 
both the proprietor and gardeners will have great 
pleasure in allowing it to be seen by any respectable 
party. We bade farewell to the Messrs. Williams, 
mounted our vehicle, and proceeded on out journey 
to “ the Poles,” R. Hanbury, Esq.; but the des¬ 
cription of what we saw there must be deferred to 
our next Number. 
Routine Management. —The month of August 
has once more come to us, and, like eveiy other 
month of the year, it brings its cares as well as 
pleasures. Spring flowers have departed, and sum¬ 
mer flowers are fading, reminding us that time will 
not abide the will of the mightiest potentate, or the 
humblest of tlio sons of the earth ; reminding us, 
also, to “ take time by the forelock, and not defer 
till to-morrow the work that ought to be done to¬ 
day.” The work now in the flower-garden is first 
to remove all decaying jlowers , and next to cherish 
those to cheer our garden during the two or three 
