February 13, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
377 
GEORGE FRY. 
A Gardener of the Old School. 
We have the pleasure to-day of presenting our 
readers with a characteristic portrait of a worthy and 
much esteemed old gardener in the person of Mr. 
George Fry, Superintendent of The Lee Cemetery, who 
in early life was a contemporary of William Barnes, 
W. P. Ayres, William Cole, and others, who formed 
what used to be known as “the West Kent school,” of 
whom, alas ! but few now remain to tell of the doughty 
deeds in plant cultivation which -were achieved in the 
palmy days of Chiswick and “The Park.” Mr. Fry’s 
career has been one of singular interest and usefulness 
to his fellow gardeners, as may be gleaned from the 
following narrative :— 
When a mere boy Mr. Fry was placed under a good 
Scotch gardener, named Forbes, who at that time was 
employed by A. B. Belcher, Esq., Spring Grove, Pem- 
bury, Kent, one of the best kept places in that part of 
the count} 7 . From Spring Grove, at the end of two 
years, he was sent by his employer to Grovehurst, the 
residence of Charles Comerford, Esq., a rather extensive 
estate, beautifully situated between Pembury and 
Tonbridge Wells. The gardener under whom he was 
placed was Mr. George Booth, who 
had previously been with Lord 
Ellenborough, but he left, and was 
succeeded by Mr. William Knight, 
an excellent kitchen gardener and 
fruit grower; and when Mr. Knight 
was engaged he w T as specially in¬ 
structed to teach the subject of this 
notice all that he could, and, to do his 
memory justice, he honestly carried 
out his instructions. There was 
not much glass at Grovehurst, but 
fine walls of Peaches, Nectarines, 
Apricots, Pears, Plums, Cherries, 
Figs, &c., &c., which afforded early 
practice in training and nailing all 
kinds of fruit trees ; there were also 
here some of the neatest and best 
espalier-trained fruit trees, in¬ 
cluding Apples, Pears, Plums, and 
Cherries surrounding the squares of 
the kitchen garden, that could be 
seen anywhere. 
Whilst at Grovehurst Mr. Fry 
became a subscriber to McIntosh’s 
Practical Gardener, then being issued 
in monthly parts ; also Don’s cata¬ 
logue of plants ; and the Flori- 
cultural Cabinet, a monthly periodi¬ 
cal, which some years afterwards 
became The Gardeners’ Magazine. 
After three years’ service at 
Grovehurst, he was induced to take 
a situation as gardener at Court 
Lodge, Darenth, the residence of 
Henry Chapman, Esq., but only 
stayed here from September to the following May, 
owing to certain interferences in the garden operations 
that did not suit his taste ; but although only a short 
time at Darenth, he made the acquaintance of a few 
good old practical gardeners. Mr. Rudland, gardener 
to Mumford Campbell, Esq., Sutton Place, Sutton-at- 
Hone, was one of them. Sutton Place at that time 
was considered to be a very fine old place, the garden 
and boundary walls being extensive and very old, 
having been built, it is said, when labourers received 
only the equivalent of a penny a day, and the mansion 
was reputed to have formed part of the residence of the 
former Kings of Kent. Fir. Rudland had a large col¬ 
lection of Dahlias, including Dodd’s Mary, Springfield 
Rival, Sulphureus elegans, Picta formosissima, &c. 
He had also a very fine plant of Clianthus puniceus 
growing against the conservatory wall, and Sclxizanthus 
pinnatus, sown in the autumn and shifted on into good- 
sized pots, used to make grand specimen plants for the 
conservatory in the following spring, and certainly were 
very effective in those days, when novelties were not so 
plentiful as they are now. 
Having left Court Lodge, Mr. Fry at once obtained 
employment in the nursery of Mr. John Dampier Parks, 
Dartford, of whom, in a previous letter published in 
our columns, he spoke in high terms of commendation. 
Some years anterior to the time under notice, Mr. Parks 
was sent out to China as collector by the Horticultural 
Society of London, and our old friend well remembers 
how his employer, in leisure moments, used to describe 
his interesting explorations in search of the Chrysan¬ 
themum. Some of the old gardeners who may still 
survive the time alluded to, may recollect a Chrysan¬ 
themum called Parks’ Small Yellow’. Mr. Talks sub¬ 
sequently obtained a situation for him as gardener 
to the Reverend Frederick Heberden, who was 
then living at Stone, near Greenhithe, and who was a 
son of Dr. Heberden, Physician to George the III. 
Soon afterwards the Rev. gentleman moved across the 
water to West Thurrock, Essex, where the vicarage 
garden and glebe lands were by no means extensive, 
but great alterations were effected, ■which much im¬ 
proved the place. Whilst at West Thurrock he made 
new acquaintances, viz., Mr. King, gardener to —- 
Webb, Esq., Belmont Castle, near Grays ; also Mr. 
Christmas, gardener to Button Freeman, Esq., Stifford 
Lodge, and Mr. Morledge, of the Nursery, Brentwood, 
all of whom he used to visit. Dahlias, herbaceous 
plants and annuals, with Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, 
&c., were the plants used chiefly in those days for 
garden decoration during the summer months, and of 
annuals, as many as a hundred distinct kinds were 
sown, and exceedingly interesting they were when the 
George Fry. 
Inventor of the “West Kent Flower Pot.” 
requisite amount of attention was devoted to them. 
The geometrical style of bedding out was at that time 
in its infancy, and the arrangement of colours was not 
so fully recognised, understood, and appreciated as in 
the present day. 
Scarcely had two years elapsed before Mr. Heberden 
and family re-crossed the Thames to take up the living 
and vicarage of that charmingly fruitful parish, Wil¬ 
mington, near Dartford. Here was another old vicarage 
garden much in want of renovation. All sorts of 
alterations had to be carried out and a new greenhouse 
built, which was done with all speed. It was whilst 
living here that Mr. Fry sent his first communication 
to the Gardeners' Gazette, then edited by Mr. J. C. 
Loudon, and from that time to this Mr. Fry has never 
ceased to contribute to the various gardening papers. 
About this period Mr. Mills, then gardener at Gunners- 
bury, recommended that Cucumbers should be grown 
in peat, and Mr. Fry at once followed his advice, using 
nearly all peat in some of the frames of Cucumbers, and 
with such entire satisfaction that when a very good and 
methodical gardener, Mr. Wilson, called on him and 
saw his crops of Cucumbers, he was astonished almost 
beyond measure to see how prolific the plants were. 
The sort that was grown under this treatment was 
known as the “Roman Emperor.” 
Having been with Mr. Heberden four years, and 
being anxiously desirous of acquiring a more extended 
knowledge of some of the higher branches of gardening, 
Mr. Fry came to London with the object of getting an 
engagement in one of the leading nurseries, but failing 
to do so at once, he went to Mr. Joseph Myatt, of 
Manor Farm Market Garden, Deptford, the raiser of 
the British Queen, and other Strawberries, and also of 
the Victoria Rhubarb. Here the hours for labour were 
from five o’clock in the morning until seven in the 
evening, and the weather at the same time was 
excessively hot, but this was a secondary considera¬ 
tion with the young gardener, to that of obtaining 
employment even at fifteen shillings a week. But this 
only lasted a fortnight, for on a vacancy occurring for 
an under-gardener in the establishment of John Anger- 
stein, Esq., The Woodlands, Blackheath, Mr. Fry was 
successful in obtaining it, and then commenced bothy 
life, at twelve shillings per week. The Woodlands 
at one time was of great horticultural repute, that w r as 
for the most part during the time of John Julius 
Angerstein the father of John Angerstein, whom Mr. 
Fry served. Previous to his time, many young men had 
obtained good situations with the references obtained 
from the Woodlands. Sweet, the botanical author, 
when a young man, was employed in those once famed 
gardens. There were in Mr. Fry’s time several vineries, 
peach-houses, pine-pits, &c., in the 
forcing and kitchen garden depart¬ 
ment, and having had twelve 
months practice in the various 
branches, he was placed in charge 
of the pleasure grounds, which in¬ 
cluded a very large conservatory 
and other plant houses, vineries, 
&c. One of the first plants of Arau¬ 
caria excelsa introduced into this 
country, was growing at the time 
in the conservatory with a general 
collection of hard-wooded green¬ 
house shrubs, arranged in winter- 
garden style and with very good 
effect. 
It was at this time that Mr. Fry 
was struck with the idea that some 
better plan was required for the 
operation of shifting and examining 
the roots of plants growing in large¬ 
sized pots. It was the practice then 
to break the pots, when it was found 
impracticable to perform the opera¬ 
tion by inverting the pots in the 
usual way. A happy thought 
occurred to the young under-gar¬ 
dener, who communicated it to the 
foreman, who had been in his place 
under the steward for nearly thirty 
years. He put a veto on the plan 
in a very summary manner, and the 
idea remained dormant until Mr. 
Fry became gardener to Mrs. Dent, 
of Lee, where he scon got together 
some good hard-wooded greenhouse 
plants, and being then his own master, determined to 
test the value of his “ idea,” and obtain the opinion of 
plant growers generally. Models were neatly turned, 
and no time was lost in submitting them to the leading 
plant growers and exhibitors of the day. One of the first 
gentlemen with whom our inventor sought an interview, 
was Dr. Lindley, editor of the Gardeners’ Chronicle, 
who very much approved of the contrivance, and told 
him at the same time to keep his own counsel, and 
secure it to himself, and having done so to acquaint 
him of the fact, when instead of giving Mr. Fry a letter 
of approval, he would do him more good in another 
way. The article was at once registered as the “ West 
Kent Garden Pot.” Mr. Willliam Barnes, gardener to 
George Ward Norman, Esq., Bromley Common, one of 
the most successful plant growers and exhibitors at 
that date (1846), said when he examined the model, 
that he did not care who made the pots, but he would 
be one of the first to use them. Mr. Hunt, gardener 
to Miss Trail, Hayes Place, near Bromley (some of our 
readers may remember his grandly grown plants, such 
as Erica Massoni, &c.), and other growers said that 
they should purchase no other pot when this was in 
the market; and Mr. Barnes, and Mr. W. P. Ayres, 
gardener to James Cook, Esq., Brooklands, Blackheath 
Park, gave each an order for ten pounds worth, even 
before the inventor had sold his patent rights, as he 
subsequently did, to Mr. Joseph Pascall, of Chislehurst; 
