THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 5, 1861. 
333 
all tliat lias occurred to my mind since 1836, wlien Dr. I 
Herbert probed the subject as to tbe cheapest mode of 
•carrying it out successfully. D. Beaton, 
POTATO DISEASE. 
In 1856 I was led to try the effect of fresh-slaked lime and 
flowers of sulphur as a preventive of the Potato disease, and 
every successive season since I have applied the lime and sulphur 
with very marked success. With some varieties, to my mind, 
it has acted most decidedly as a check, if not a preventive, to 
the disease. The Early Oxford, Early Shaw, the Pink Eye, and 
Glory of the West, I have found to be more free than the 
Kidney varieties, with the exception in favour of the Red 
Kidney and the Cornish Kidney. 
In applying the lime and sulphur I select as many seed 
Potatoes as I want to plant that season about the last week in 
Eebruary or the first week in March $ I cut them in two or 
otherwise, put them in a tub or something similar to it, and 
strew the lime and sulphur well over them. 
Two pounds of sulphur to a bushel of lime will be enough for 
six or eight bushels of cut Potatoes. I let them remain in the 
"tub a week or ten days before planting. 
I never, unless it is required, manure the ground at the time of 
planting the Potatoes. In a garden I choose from experience to 
plant Potatoes after a crop of Sprouting Broccoli or Cabbage. I 
trench from 30 inches to 3 feet, if a good deep soil, and well 
manure for those crops from old Melon or Cucumber-beds. I 
have found after fourteen years of close and careful observation 
that deep trenching, where it can be done, and good, clean 
cultivation, give the best chance of the Potatoes escaping the 
■disease.—W. Down, Gardener , Woolston House, Somerset. 
LATHOM HOUSE IN LANCASHIRE: 
ITS HISTORY AND GARDENING. 
( Continued from page 290.) 
The kitchen garden at Lathom contains, I shoidd say, within 
the walls about four acres of ground, which being nearly level 
and walled all round with some intervening walls and spacious 
outside slips, is altogether a fine garden. The soil, a black 
sandy one, sufficiently open to allow the frequent rains the 
district is visited with percolating through it, and yet not of 
that hungry character which some sandy soils are—in fact, the 
soil contains no more sand than is necessary for its well¬ 
doing, and seems exactly suited to the growth of the Peach and 
many other trees. But it is more especially to the Peach that I 
wouid call attention ; for while wo are told in the counties near 
London cultivators have been for many years insisting that 
the Peach can only be grown successfully under glass, and 
glass-houses or cases, as they are called, are starting up in 
all directions—at Lathom House, Mr. Thorougood, the intel¬ 
ligent gardener there, tells me he has had good crops for some 
years, and the trees seemed healthy, in full bearing, and all 
that could be wished for, on an open wall. This may appear 
strange to some ; but the readers of The Cottage Gardener 
will remember that I called attention to the same thing about 
two years ago from what I saw of the Peach trees at Knowsley, 
which is on soil of a similar description to that of Lathom, and 
distant some ten miles from it. Additional evidence since then 
confirms me in the opinion then given, that it is the soil that is 
often at fault where the Peach trees do not thrive. A certain 
portion of saline matter, either in the soil or atmosphere, or 
both, seems necessary to the well-being of this somewhat 
capricious tree ; and the position of Lathom being somewhere 
about twelve miles from the western coast, from whence ex¬ 
traordinary gales occasionally send their spray thus far inland, 
we may fairly conclude the atmosphere to be often charged with 
it, and the soil is likely to contain it also. I think some of the 
readers of The Cottage Gardener mentioned having applied 
salt to their trees with benefit—a fact well worth recording, and 
one which I shall probably call attention to hereafter; but I now 
mention it, not with any view of detracting from the merit due 
to Mr. Thorougood for his able management of the fine Peach 
wall under his care, but as a sort of hint to others having un¬ 
healthy ones on a chalky soil to try some alteration. Certainly 
I never would wish to see healthier and finer trees than at 
Lathom, and the crops were good, only much later last season 
I than usual, owing, of course, to the sunless season we passed 
through, but the most of the fruit wei*e fair-sized. In fine seasons 
they are, of course, larger; but a slight glance was sufficient to 
convince any one that at Lathom the Peach is at home, or, if not 
so, Mr. Thorougood has some magical way of persuading it to 
comport itself differently to what it does in many places more 
favoured in other respects, in climate, &e. 
It is hardly necessary to mention the other fruits and vege« 
tables in detail. Suffice it to say that Carrots, Beet, and Potatoes 
seemed to do well; the last-named, however, much diseased, 
as everywhere, while the nice appearance the soil presented 
when dug over with a spade, makes one long for so pliable a soil 
in districts where the most of the hand-tillage is obliged to be 
done with a tliree-pronged fork. Good Celery, Asparagus, and 
other things denoted the soil suited them ; but I think the 
Cabbage tribe like a stiffer one. Not the least benefit to be 
derived from such a soil is the quantity of it a man can dig 
over in a day, and the pleasure there is in working a soil so 
agreeable and at the same time productive. The kitchen garden 
was all under crop and in good order, and reflected great credit 
on Mr. Thorougood. 
It is not to be supposed that such a large kitchen garden was 
without its proportionate share of forcing-houses. These, how¬ 
ever are not so numerous as are to be met with in some places; 
but here, too, I must say, that the most important occupant of 
such houses was equally well clone by as the Peach trees—I 
mean the Grapes. An excellent house, and a large one too, was 
all White Muscats, and was a fine sp^btacle, they being ripe 
when I saw them in August last—bunches well formed, berries 
yellow and free from shanking. Other houses contained Black 
Hamburghs in good order, and the Black Barbarossa was as 
well set and as perfect as the Black Hamburgh. Mr. Thorougood 
has some way of managing this somewhat capricious Grape so 
as to insure as perfect bunches as that of any other kind, while 
the large well swelled-out berries betoken that all is right where 
the roots are. I hope he will give the readers of The Cottage 
Gardener the benefit of his experience in this matter, for it is 
possible a like treatment might induce some of our other shy¬ 
setting Grapes to do better with us. The old Red Muscat of Alex¬ 
andria, a Grape I have not seen for twenty years or more, was a 
notorious bed-setting one ; but the few berries that did set and 
ripen were delicious. Other Grapes were grown well at Lathom ; 
a good-keeping black one, something like the Trentham Black, 
was also grown. This Grape, of which Mr. Thorougood had not 
been able to obtain the name, had very sharp-pointed buds on 
the ripened wood, the bunch being somewhat long and less 
shouldered than the Hamburgh. There were also some other 
Grapes but I had not time to notice all. I observed some good 
Citrons and Oranges growing against the back wall of one of the 
vineries and producing good fruit. A Peach-house had also 
yielded an excellent crop of early fruit, and was ripening its 
wood prior to working again in winter. Another house of the 
same kind was in bearing; and in some back pits Melons and 
other things were ripening in abundance. An excellent house 
of the latter was in a span-roofed building with the Tines 
trained on wire under the glass on both sides, and a wall up 
the centre. Other things also betokened that abundance of 
forced fruits which we seldom see in places whose claims to dis¬ 
tinction are the thousands of bedding plants they require every 
year. At Lathom the more substantial requirements of the 
table are more in demand, and that these are amply furnished 
and in the best condition those that have seen this interesting 
place will bear testimony; and the keeping of the whole, con¬ 
sidering its extent and the limited assistance Mr. Thorougood 
has to do it with, reflects great credit on him; and I have no 
doubt by-and-by he will be counting his Tom Thumbs, Yerbenas, 
and other bedding plants in the same wholesale manner that 
he now grows his Peaches and Grapes, and be alike successful in 
both.—ff. Robson. 
GLEANINGS EROM SAWBRIDGEWORTH. 
Mr. Rivers’ celebrated nursery is about a mile and a half 
from Harlow Station on the Eastern Counties Railway. I found 
flies in attendance at the station, but preferred, on such a beautiful 
road, the good old mode of conveyance by “ Shanks’ nagie.” On 
the 7th of Eebruary our first visit was paid to this great manu¬ 
factory of fruit trees and Roses, extending over some 140 acres 
of ground, and containing a huge village of some forty glass 
houses, chiefly on the economical orchard style; these houses 
