99 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, May 15, 1860, 
glasses off for a couple of hours. Also, the lamp ■will uot keep 
up more than 60° of heat, and never keeps alight from 10 r.H. 
till 7 A.M, 
[We have not yet heard of any lady having lost a leaf in a 
Waltonian. You keep your Waltonian an hour and three 
quarters too long open each time, chill everything in it, then 
shut it up close with too little heat; no wonder your plants are 
liable to damp and destruction.] 
It may be interesting to others to know that, having to leave 
home for six weeks last July, I cut down some beds of Clarkias, 
Candytufts, and Virginian Stocks below their flowering stalks, 
and some hedges of Sweet Peas to half their height, and they 
were just coming into full bloom again on my return the first 
week in September. I also found that cutting off all the blossom- 
buds of my bedding-out plants had an equally good effect.— 
E. N. N. 
RANDOM GLEANINGS FROM KIMPTON IIOO. 
A description of this place will be found at pages 2 and 54 
ofVol. XX. In other words in Nos. 497 and 500 of The 
Cottage Gardener. About the middle of April, a neighbour¬ 
ing gardener drove me there, and a few things I think might be 
interesting to our readers. 
The flower garden at the house had been altered so far last 
season, that the square on the south-side of the house that had a 
group in its centre has now a running chain-border in Box, and 
gravel allround the sides, consisting of small circles in the centre, 
and small triangles at the sides next the grass. This border 
forms, as it were, an appropriate setting to the group of jewels 
in the centre. A number of ladies told me last season how very 
nice it looked. Mr. Cox is very fond of it, as enabling him to 
have a great variety, and to try thoroughly a number of little 
ornamental plants. I will try and see it this season when in its 
beauty. The centre group remains as described at page 55, and 
there is a good breadth of grass between that group and the 
chain-border round the sides, which acts as a ground colour. 
I have seen many chains, but hardly any in a more appropriate 
position. 
What was mentioned as a wilderness-wood has also been much 
improved. Masses of Laurels nearest the house have been cleared 
away, and the space laid down in lawn, and the wood itself will, 
ere long, be very interesting, as groups of small Rhododendrons 
have been planted at the most prominent positions by the sides 
of the walks, which in the yellowish loamy soil seem to thrive as 
well as the Laurels, and a fine collection of Pinuses has been 
planted through the wood ; the intention being to clear away the 
undergrowth, &e., as the Pinuses grow. Under the protection 
they are now receiving, the plants are growing with great vigour. 
A wire guard surrounds the most of them at present. 
In the kitchen garden, from its low position and contiguity to 
the water, winter vegetables had been cut off quite as much, or 
rather more than in some places in the neighbourhood. Brussels 
Sprouts and Scotch Kale had stood the ordeal well, and had 
proved invaluable during the winter season. 
The walls of Pears, Peaches, and Apricots, were showing well. 
The former were protected by small poles being placed against 
the wall, standing about three feet from the wall at the bottom. 
Some long shoots were nailed or tied to these, and to them and 
the poles together, were fastened large Laurel branches, which. 
whilst they admitted a good deal of light and a rather free cir¬ 
culation of air, would both retard the blossoms and protect them 
from severe frost. From the low position, Mr. Cox could not, he 
says, be safe, or satisfied, without this protection. The Peach- 
wall was in full bloom, and consisted of small trees of riders and 
dwarfs alternately, and which were kept small so as thoroughly 
to fill the wall, and yet the one not to intrude upon the other. 
In low positions, or where Peaches are not long-lived, this I con¬ 
sider to be a capital plan. The very mode of treatment, by 
keeping the trees full furnished near home, helps to secure health 
and longevity; and if a tree should happen to go wrong, so small 
an opening in the wall is made, that a young tree will pretty well 
fill it the second year. When a tree dies that occupied some 
twenty or thirty feet longitudinally of a wall, the wall looks 
blanky for years, Under this plan of keeping the trees in little 
space the decay is less likely; and if it took place the loss would 
scarcely be missed. Were I planting a wall again, I should be 
tempted to adopt this plan, were the circumstances not the most 
propitious. No wall could look better as to profusion of healthy 
blossoms. These were covered with fine hexagon netting, and 
allowed to remain on, the bottom being kept about three or four 
feet from the wall. Some Apricots were protected with calico or 
something of that kind, that was raised and lowered at pleasure 
like a window-blind. 
The most striking thing in the vegetable way, was a fine lot of 
early Peas, just getting a little too hard in the pods to suit some 
epicures! Mr. Cox had served up an abundant supply at the 
Hoo races some ten or fourteen days previously. I can well 
believe that this has made the ears of some of the gardeners in 
the neighbourhood tingle not a little. We are always the better 
for being aroused out of our supineness. Where there is the 
convenience of plenty of glass this luxury may be obtained for 
those who especially desire it. Things are not done often, 
because they are not thought about, or are not valued when done. 
Such reminders are, therefore, useful to all parties. The getting 
Peas out of doors early is generally a matter of much consequence. 
It is now many years since I attempted getting them under glass. 
I had some nice Peas of Bishop's Dwarf, in April, but from some 
mismanagement on my part, or that of the artiste of the kitchen, 
i they were pronounced old Peas, because they were so much larger 
than the usual first supply from frames and other early kinds 
six weeks later. I was sure that if tried fairly, they would have 
been soft as marrow, I have known first-rate specimens of 
j Veiteh's Perfection Pea sent from table untasted, just because the 
; Peas were so large, and, therefore, must be old. The damper 
I with Bishop's Dwarf cooled my ardour for early Peas. So much 
| interest, however, has Mr. Cox occasioned with his nice Peas, 
that I feel confident that he will uot be alone in his glory next 
season. 
We shall all be better, however, of a lesson out of his book. 
The sort used was Tom Thumb, a very dwarf kind, sent out by 
the Messrs. Paul, of Cheshunt. Four Peas were inserted at 
equal distances round the sides of a seven-inch pot, in the 
beginning of January, and were placed and kept at first in a cold 
frame under glass. They were then removed to the upper shelf 
of a low pit-house, where a little fire heat was used—little more 
than sufficient to exclude frost. Each of the plants produced from 
four to five pods—say, from sixteen pods to a pot. They might 
have produced more, and continuously, but in order to con¬ 
centrate vigour, Mr. Cox stopped the plants when they had shown 
that number of blossoms. The plants were about a foot in 
height, and some of them from which the bulk of the pods had 
been gathered were pushing again and showing blossom afresh. 
For concentrating growth, however, so as to have as many pods as 
possible at one time, the stopping would be an essential. The 
kind seems very valuable for such a purpose. Supposing that each 
pot averaged from twelve to sixteen pods, it would not take such 
a great deal of space to get a few nice dishes. Were it not for 
this never-enough-of-bedding material, there would be more room 
found for such purposes. 
At the page referred to, a new span-roofed house was noticed, 
about 90 feet long and 14 feet wide. Side-walls 5 feet, half glass; 
height to ventilators at ridge from floor 9 feet; these ventilators 
being swung between double-ridge boards, and a cowel coping 
over them with openings at each side; the roof being fixed, and 
in large squares of heavy glass, the side-glass being all moveable. 
I mention it now for three tilings. 
1st. The mode of shading. —This is done by fixing pieces of 
thin unstarched muslin by means of hooks and rings to the roof 
inside. This is quite sufficient to blunt the force of the sun’s 
rays, and does not give too much shade, even in dull weather. 
Once put on it remains on for the season, and saves all bother 
in shading and unshacling. Everything seemed to thrive well 
under this treatment. All outside shading by cloth, tiffany, &c., 
is expensive, as the material soon wears out, and there is the 
trouble of moving. 
2nd. Mode of arranging the plants in the greenhouse part .— 
Fully half of the house is devoted to this purpose. A walk goes 
along the middle from end to end. In the greenhouse division 
there is a stage on each side, but the shelves elope on each side 
from the sill of the side-sashes down to within a few inches of 
the floor or pathway. All the plants are thus brought under 
the eye of the beholder. There being so much light, there is not 
the slightest tendency to draw the plants. For seeing the beauty 
of a plant, this plan has some advantages over setting plants on 
stages raised above or on a level with the eye, in which case the 
pot always comes in as a drawback. One of our best gardeners 
told mo the other day that one of his ladies admired a fine plant 
in bloom standing on the floor of a vinery, and most of it, there¬ 
fore, close to and under the eye; but she twitted him pleasantly 
