T1IB COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Noyesibeu 23, 1358. 
115 
tke rest pruned closely away. This dressing must be 
repeated again about a month., or less, before tke plants 
are put in tkeir winter quarters; they must then be 
trimmed thoroughly. 
Now we come to the forcing of them, if forcing it may 
bo called. I force them in a brick pit s but it matters 
not what the structure, so that the conditions are proper. 
And. what are these conditions ? hirst, a perfect security 
against frost. One degree of frost is by no means agree¬ 
able to them, although they may bear it. Whether in 
pots or planted out, they require good soil now, enriched 
with old manure, and containing some sand and charred 
material, if at hand. A small bottom heat, of about 65°, 
would be serviceable, if it could be thus secured; but 
they will do very well without it. I have planted them, 
for some five-and-twenty years, in pits, sometimes with 
bottom heat, sometimes without, and with slightly vary¬ 
ing success ; perhaps dependent more on the character of 
the winter, with some other little matters of a collateral 
character, than on the precise amount of warmth the soil 
contained. But the great affair through the winter is, to 
place yourself in such a position as to be able to give air, 
or ventilate, on every favourable opportunity. Now, I 
do not think that bottom heat artificially procured is a 
benefit in most winters, unless it could be accompanied 
by a positive air heat, as from a pipe, or flue, in order to 
dry the damps. A lively bottom heat, without this, is a 
dangerous enemy in the months of December and January; 
for if, as frequently happens, the pit, or frame, has to be 
kept closed for a week or so, in consequence of the se¬ 
verity of the weather, the foliage is sure to commence 
rotting ; and this gangrenous matter spreads like wildfire, 
and generally at once mars the future welfare of the whole. 
This mouldy-looking character, then, is the thing to be 
avoided; and the best plan I ever proved,—which I still 
adhere to,—is, to get tke plants so forward and so com¬ 
pact, that they offer no temptation, through a profusion 
of leaves, for the damp to lodge. It is readily dispersed 
by the least ventilation, whilst the tall, leafy plants will 
hold damp for days, or even Aveeks. 
Now, plants managed as I have recommended will pro¬ 
duce a nice bloom by the beginning of November, and 
not only blossom, but blossom-buds by thousands will be 
advancing through the pit. Such being the case, there 
needs no forcing, strictly speaking,—what they want is 
the best of covering. It was before observed, that they 
must not be frozen; yet, as it is indispensable that they 
be kept very near the glass, it will be seen that such is 
a position very liable to be affected by very low tempe¬ 
ratures. This leads me to speak of the importance of 
attending most carefully to roof covering. This, indeed, 
is one of the things that must bo kept well fixed in the 
mind. If they get blistered by the frost, through near¬ 
ness to the glass, they Avill be sure to suffer in proportion. 
In our cold pits we cover, perhaps two feet in thickness, 
with dry litter,—this pressed tolerably close Avith mats,—• 
and, indeed, sometimes even more. 
Every opportunity should be sought to give them air. 
They can scarcely have too much, if they are not frozen ; 
for both their delicious aroma and their very colour are 
heightened by such course of practice. 
And noAV to another point. The slugs arc sad defacers 
of these beautiful floAvers. I was for years plagued thus, 
and used to bait most pertinaciously with Cabbage leaves, 
and such like, but have long adopted the plan of streiving 
sand over the whole surface of the pit, using a very sharp 
kind: over this the slugs will not travel. If the plants 
are grown compact, and have good crowns, Avith short- 
stalked loaves, they will enjoy very rich soil in the pit. 
My practice is, to cover the surface, before they are 
placed on it, with rotten manure, and to set their balls 
on it; then to pack them round Avith compost. As to the 
latter, one-half should be a strong loam, the other half 
any dark and rich soil. They are very partial to Avell- 
decaycd heath soil. 
We now come to Avatering and shading. They require 
no water, with me, from the end of October until the early 
part of February. Watering in the dead of winter Ayould 
be a serious procedure; indeed, they do not require it. 
I water them well when planted, which is generally about 
the end of September, and this suffices until February. 
Towards this period, or as soon as the winter has fairly 
broken up, we give them a thorough Avatering with liquid 
manure ; and henceforth they aaIII need water occasionally. 
Shading is the next affair j for as soon as March arrives 
we frequently have intense sunlight, which is very pre¬ 
judicial to the colour of the floAvers, —turning their fine 
blue or lavender into a “ washed-out’’-looking sort of 
tint, possessing no character. Screens of some kind, 
should, therefore, be put on as occasions demand, at the 
same time giving air freely. About the middle of April, 
I have been in the habit occasionally of taking the sashes 
entirely off, and nailing mats, or some screen, in the 
place of them, in order to retard them. 
By the above practice we command Violets constantly, 
from the end of October until May. There are few 
flowers so sweet and so acceptable, that can be had in 
such long succession. 
October 25th.—Pit in full bloom. Fine bunches gathered 
days since. B. Eeeington. 
MAMHEAD. 
This picturesque residence of Sir B. NeAvmau, Bart., is 
delightfully situated in the centre of an ampliitheatred. 
wooded landscape, rising gradually from the aa est bank ot 
the estuary of the Exe. It is about eight miles south from 
Exeter, and about four miles west from the Starcross and 
Dawlish stations, on the Exeter and Plymouth Railway. 
Having had some tantalizing vieAvs of this place from the 
east side of the river, instead of returning to Exeter, we 
crossed from Exmouth to Starcross, and, after waiting some 
time in v r ain for a conveyance, tramped it, as AA r ould at once 
have been our mode in days of yore, finding in the pro¬ 
cess the deceitfulness, as to distance, of such undulating 
scenery, and only regretting that the time thus consumed 
left so little on our hands for examining the wonders and 
beauties of this delightful place. 
On getting to the mansion,—an elegant, white-stoned 
structure, seemingly a mixture of the Elizabethan and 
the Gothic,—the first thing that struck us was the beauti¬ 
ful diversified scenery, seen almost in eA r ery direction, 
—approaching Exeter on the north, shelving cIoaatl in 
beautiful wooded glades to the Exe on the east, and rising 
over the undulated rich scenery beyond Exmouth and 
Topsham ; whilst to the south-east the eye passes over 
the Channel, and its many specks of sails, until bounded 
by the horizon. The second thing that struck us AA*as the 
comparative lowness of the elevation of the house, taken in 
connection Avith the fact that it formed such a prominent 
feature from considerable distances, accounted for by the 
circumstances, that the position Avas the front of one of 
the numerous knolls; that the ground from it, relieved 
with many undulations, fell somewhat regularly to the 
estuary ; and that no large trees AA'ere near its front, 
though plenty of fine timber supported its back and flanks. 
Close to the north-east side of the mansion is situated a 
massive, castellated pile, of red-sandstone, used as the 
stables and offices, probably designed to represent the 
ancient mansion, an idea heightened, by the walls in many 
places being covered Avith Ivy, and the foreground dotted 
with homely shrubs. 
The front of the mansion is graced with two terraces,— 
the first, consisting of a broad piece of gravel and a wide 
margin of grass ; the latter, adorned, at something like 
regular intervals, with Cypresses, Irish Y ews, &c. The 
second is likewise chiefly of gravel and grass,—the grass 
SAvitched out a little in the way of a parterre, so that 
the cut parts might be a sort of counterpart to the lines 
and angles of the mansion. In the centre of this terrace, 
