586 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 15 , 1886. 
Next is a similar house as regards length, but wider, 
and planted with the same variety of Cucumber, just 
coming into bearing and showing fruits by hundreds. 
The bed of the house is planted with Ne Plus Ultra 
Beans. Then we come to two lean-to’s, 150 ft. long, 
for Melons, mainly Harefield Grove, of which we may 
incidentally add that 1,300 ft. run of glass has already 
been planted, and 1,800 ft. will be planted for the 
second crop. Two half-spans, together 332 ft. long, 
are devoted to the Verdant Green Cucumber, the plants 
of which have nearly covered the trellis, and are bearing 
enormous crops of fruits about 12 ins. long, dark green 
in colour and short in the shoulder. The same houses 
were so planted last year, and 15,000 fruits were cut 
out of them. Two other spans of Harefield Grove 
Melons, just planted, are passed in review order, and 
then we come to a pit 210 ft. long and 4 ft. wide, 
planted from end to end with Gladiolus Colvilii alba for 
cutting. This is on the north side of a large span- 
roofed structure, 210 ft. long, with a brick wall down 
the centre, forming a Pear-house on the north side and 
a Peach-house on the south. On the north side of the 
wall Peaches and Nectarines were planted last year, 
and in front are young trees of Beurre Superfin, Pit- 
maston Duchess, Beurre Ranee, Louise Bonne, Doyenne 
du Comice, and Beurre Clairgeau Pears. The Peach- 
house, which has been built according to Mr. Gough’s 
ideas of what 
An Economical Peach-house 
Should be—viz., foomy, light, and well ventilated, and 
all available space utilised ; and judging from present 
appearances—for the house has only lately been com¬ 
pleted—it bids fair to realise his most sanguine expec¬ 
tations. The central bed is covered with a trellis, 
supported at intervals by uprights of barrel iron on 
which the roof rests. Against the arched trellis trained 
trees are planted and against the uprights are upright 
cordons. The borders are well drained, and made up 
of a fair proportion of good turf and burnt ballast 
mixed with the natural soil of the garden, a good stiff 
loam. The top ventilation is all worked by a simple 
lever arrangement, and the house is glazed with squares 
20 ins. by 14 ins., 20 ins. between the rafters, and no 
top putty is used. Another fine Peacli-house adjoins 
the last, and is of the same width, but without the wall 
down the centre, and is planted in a different manner. 
It has five sets of upright wire trellis-work running 
lengthways of the house, one down the centre, one on 
each side, and one in between ; abd all the trees are 
fan-shaped except those in the centre, which are what 
are termed riders. This also promises to yield grand 
crops of fruits as the trees attain size. To the Peach- 
houses succeeds a 300 ft. long span-roof, divided on the 
north side of the span so as to form a Melon-pit on that 
side, and a three-quarter span Tomato-house on the 
other. This is planted with six rows of Tomatos 
running the entire length, and which will be trained to 
upright stakes. By the side of this house is another 
one, quite new, planted with eight rows of Tomatos, 
and yet another one is being built of the same dimen¬ 
sions. Then comes five 
Monster Vineries, 
Two of which are 103 ft. long, 33'ft. 6 in. wide, and 
20 ft. high in the centre, and another is 102 ft. long, 
and 28 ft. 6 in. wide, large lofty houses, substantially 
built, yet light with all. These are all new, and 
were only planted last September, the first being 
devoted to Gros Maroc, the second to Gros Colmar, and 
the next two to Black Alicante, the fifth not yet being 
complete. The Tomatos are planted in the natural 
soil of the garden, enriched with Thomson’s Vine 
Manure, which has a wonderfully invigorating effect 
upon them as it has indeed on most other things, for 
Mr. Gough uses it by tons, and applies it to almost 
everything grown under glass except hard-wooded 
plants ; and for Chrysanthemums and out-door crops 
he relies upon the Blood and Bone Manure sold by 
Mr. H. G. Smyth. But we have said nothing yet 
about 
The Gardener at Harefield, 
Mr. John Gough, who has so ably assisted Mr. "Webster 
in the creation of this enormous undertaking, and who 
so ably rules over the establishment. Well, Mr. Gough, 
whose portrait we give on page 581, is a man of wid 
and varied experience, and during the four and a half 
years he has been at Harefield, he has got through as 
much work as would last some, men a life-time. He 
was for ten years gardener to J. B. Brown Westhead, 
Esq., at Lea Castle, near Kidderminster ; then became 
gardener to Lord Hampton, at Westwood Park, 
Worcester ; and subsequently took charge of the 
Crystal Palace grounds at Sutton Coldfield, which he 
left to come to Harefield Grove. He comes of a good 
gardening stock, his father having been gardener to 
Lord Bateman, before commencing business as a market 
gardener. Mr. Gough is a man of energy and “go,” 
and it is no matter whether he is directing the vast 
operations of the establishment under his charge, 
organising a local flower show, or getting up a concert 
in aid of the funds of the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent 
Institution, he puts heart and soul into the work, and 
thoroughly earns the well-merited success that attends 
his labpurs. 
-- 
FRUITS, FLOWERS & VEGETABLES. 
Concerning Gentians. —Gentiana acaulis has 
been grand; in one bed a little more than a yard square, 
carefully counted, there are 600 blooms. It is in full 
sun, the colour is beautiful. Gentiana verna is bloom¬ 
ing fairly in some places, and very well in others on 
old established plants. Gentiana Bavarica, a plant 
sent home by my son from Switzerland, seems quite 
established and is in flower. This is not an easy 
Gentian to grow ; it wants much damp. The late very 
hot sun coming before the leaves are out on which we 
trusted to shade the flowers has damaged some plants ; 
it is trying after the long severe winter .—George F. 
Wilson, Hcatlierbank, Wcybridge, May 10th. 
Garrya eliptica.— Suffer me to put in a word 
of recommendation on behalf of this handsome ever¬ 
green shrub. It was discovered by Douglas in 
Northern Carolina about the year 1828, and was 
named by him in compliment to the late Mr. Nicholas 
Garrya, at that time chairman of the Hudson’s Bay 
Company. It is regarded by some as one of the 
greatest botanical curiosities introduced into this 
country by that indefatigable collector. The plant 
when well grown, will attain to considerable di¬ 
mensions ; the foliage is evergreen, somewhat re¬ 
sembling that of the Holly. It produces in mid-winter 
(December and January), long massive tails of yellowish 
catkins, which, hanging from its irregular branches, 
produce an effect of the most singular and pleasing 
kind—doing this in the midst of frost and snow, when 
they are welcomed with great delight. The Garrya 
undoubtedly does best planted against a wall, it should 
be sheltered on the north and east, and have a south 
or west aspect. It is a charming subject with which 
to enrich bouquets or flowers in glasses, the catkins are 
both pendulous and elegant, and they can be so em¬ 
ployed during a good part of the year. The female of 
this plant was introduced from Northern California 
under the auspices of the Horticultural Society of 
London some years ago, by their no less eminent 
collector, Hartweg, and it flowered for the first time in 
Europe in March, 1850. In foliage it is like the male 
plant, but the flowers are as destitute of beauty as the 
male is conspicuous for its attractions. The catkins 
are short, green, and at a little distance are scarcely to 
be observed. It is, however, stated that in North- 
West America the plant is loaded with long clusters of 
ornamental purple berries.— R. D. 
Soot and the Onion Maggot.—I have felt 
rather interested in the articles which recently appeared 
in your columns on this subject, and the more so that I 
have had some experience in the same matter myself, 
and which I will now briefly state, though certainly not 
with the idea that it will count for much of a make¬ 
weight, either one way or another. Some thirty years 
ago I took charge of a tolerably extensive garden, where 
(amongst many other drawbacks) I found it impossible 
to secure a crop of Onions sufficient for family use ; for 
try where I would and how I would, it was all the same 
—the maggot was everywhere. However, with a view 
to conquering the enemy if possible, I selected a piece of 
ground at the end of autumn, gave it a fair dressing of 
manure, and had it deeply and roughly dug, forking it 
over several times during the winter. Choosing a 
favourable day in the following March, I had the 
surface broke level with the back of the spade, and 
having previously prepared a mixture of fresh slacked 
lime and soot, in the proportion of three parts lime to 
one of soot, and screened through a fine wire riddle, I 
applied a fair dressing to the ground, slightly forking 
it in, the surface being raked and evenly trodden. 
Drills were drawn, the seed sown, and the whole finished 
off by a light rolling, and the result, I am happy to 
say, was all that could be desired. 1 may just add, that 
for the subsequent fourteen years that I lived in the 
place I never failed in having an abundant crop of 
Onions by following the simple practice above indicated. 
It is essential that both lime and soot should be fresh 
and dry at the time of using ; and such being the case, 
I would be disposed to agree with Mr. AVard, that by a 
judicious use of soot the Onion maggot maybe overcome 
in any place. — A. McIntosh, Glen Corraack, Bray, 
Co. Wicklow. 
Anthurinm Andreanum. — Amongst stove 
plants alike of handsome growth and floriferousness, 
the subject of this note deserves a high rank. Even if 
this Aroid did not flower, its loose straggling habit of 
growth and bright green leaves are sufficient to cause 
one to grow it in preference to some even of the 
Anthuriums. The only disadvantage its natural style 
of growth has is that it soon becomes leggy, but then 
roots are freely produced up the stem ; they may be 
potted down with advantage, or rooted in the way that 
Dracienas are frequently done, as the safest method, 
perhaps, and which is worth the extra trouble entailed. 
"When established in, say, 8-in. pots, they appear to be 
always in flower if grown at the cool end of a stove, and 
the massive flower-spathes are sure of general admira¬ 
tion.— E. Bumper, Limerick. 
Agapanthus umbellatus. — Last autumn, 
having some large specimen plants that had outgrown 
the pots in which they had been placed a few years ago, 
I turned them out, divided them, and planted out the 
pieces under a wall having an east aspect, but adopting 
the precaution of placing some soil about the roots to 
induce them to root ; and, further, when the leaves fell 
from the fruit trees I heaped them up over the plants. 
This was all the protection they had, and not a single 
piece appears to have been destroyed, but all have come 
safely through the winter. I take it to be much 
hardier, therefore, than is generally supposed. In a 
cold house, where the plants were frozen hard for days 
together, I had large specimens of A. umbellatus and 
good specimens of the white and variegated varieties 
also, and I was somewhat alarmed for the safety of 
these, but they came through the winter unscathed. 
I grow large specimens of A. umbellatus, or the blue 
African Lily, as it is sometimes termed, for the purpose 
of standing them upon the balustrade at the side of the 
steps leading up to the front door of my house, and for 
standing about in the forecourt garden. In the case of 
large specimens, the fleshy roots have so increased in 
bulk within the pots that they have heaped themselves 
up above the rims, and watering on the surface is im¬ 
possible, so I stand the pots in earthenware pans which 
are kept full of water. The specimens flower grandly, 
and being on the north side of the house and in the 
shade, the flowers not only last a long time, but they 
are also of a rich shade of blue. I think it is a mistake 
to starve the plants, and that is why I divided two of 
the largest. These will be potted-up in the autumn, 
and, I hope, make me good blooming specimens in 
1887. It is a capital plant for dwellers in villa resi¬ 
dences to grow, as it is so easily managed with ordinary 
care.— R. B. 
Tiger Flowers. —When I penned my few re¬ 
marks on the Tigridias, under a feeling of timidity lest 
by some possible chance I might come under the “fire” 
of “press criticism,” I little thought that I should 
have such a “ big gun ” as Mr. Jenkins “ down upon ” 
me, and it is with a considerable amount of fear and 
trembling that I now write a few more lines in support 
of my statement at p. 555. I have cultivated the 
Tigridias for some years in pots for the decoration of the 
greenhouse and conservator} 7 , and have kept them 
under glass in the same soil and pots the year rouud. 
I have also grown them in the open ground, and 
have seen them so grown by others ; but I have not 
yet seen them grown so successfully in that way as 
I have grown them in pots. Grown in pots, and 
stored in greenhouses through the winter, the conns 
have increased in number and retained their normal 
size. My allusion to “ warm ” houses and over 
dryness was prompted, not by any failure of my 
own in that respect, but by the remark made to 
me by a friend and noted florist some years ago, 
when he learnt that I had taken up their culture in 
