December 4, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
217 
daunted, and if you cannot get turfy maiden loam, and 
yet have soil that will grow good Potatos, it will grow 
Peaches, providing it is made firm enough. Lifting a 
tree once in two or three years in order to give it fresh 
soil, or to sweeten the old with lime dust before 
returning it, is a very different matter to frequently 
stirring the surface soil merely for appearance sake. 
Just one word more. I should be sorry to insinuate 
that “ W. C.” had a lack of knowledge or energy, his 
contributions to your columns prove the contrary to 
be the case, and entitle him to respect and consideration. 
I may be wrong, but I thought his note in reply was 
not written in a generous spirit, but I may tell him 
that I am old enough to think and act for myself, and 
I never pen a line of advice but what I know to be 
practical, and, more, I can afford to laugh at any teach¬ 
ing which I consider is erroneous.— Thomas Simcce. 
POPULAR BLACK GRAPES. 
One of the most remarkable incidents in connection 
with the culture of the Grape Vine during the last few 
years, is associated with that fine mid-season variety, 
Gros Maroc. In Mr. Barron’s admirable treatise on 
Vines and Vine Culture , it is stated that Gros Maroc 
was introduced some thirty years ago by the late 
Mr. Thomas Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth, who must 
have become acquainted with its fine qualities, yet from 
some cause or other failed to make it generally known. 
It was, we believe, also included in the large collection 
grown at Chiswick some twenty years ago, and even 
then was noticed by few outside the garden staff, and 
but for a happy accident would probably have remained 
in obscurity to this day. On October 12th, 1880, Mr. 
Rivers’ son, Mr. T. F. Rivers, brought up a sample to 
the meeting of the fruit committee, when its merits were 
recognised by all present; it w T as awarded a First Class 
Certificate, and in the short space of six years has 
become high in favour with Grape growers. 
Gros Maroc, as will be seen from the accompanying 
illustration, is an oval black Grape, a strong and robust 
grower, moderately fruitful, and yielding medium-sized, 
strongly-shouldered, handsome bunches of large dark 
plum-coloured berries, covered with a thick bloom, and 
exceedingly pleasant in flavour. It has become one of 
the most popular of exhibition Grapes, and no collection 
can be said to be complete which does not include it. 
Our second popular variety has been well known 
and largely cultivated for some years, and, notwith¬ 
standing all the charges of coarseness and want of 
flavour that have been brought against it, Gros Colmar 
still holds the field as the most extensively grown of 
winter Grapes. Why is this ? Because its size takes 
the eye, it crops well, keeps well, and is juicy and 
refreshing when well ripened. It is, besides, an invalid’s 
Grape, and as such appreciated beyond all others. 
This, too, is one of the introductions of the late Mr. 
Rivers, but it was the late Mr. John Standish, of Ascot, 
who introduced it to public notice at South Kensington 
some twenty-five years ago. Subsequently, Mr. Wm. 
Thomson, of Clovenfords, became convinced of its 
merits, strongly recommended it, and planted it on an 
extensive scale for marketing purposes. For exhibition 
purposes it occupies a high position, and is now seldom 
seen except in the best condition. To what size it can 
be grown, and how superbly it can be coloured and 
finished, we have recently had strong evidence in the 
magnificent examples exhibited by Mr. Goodacre, of 
Elvaston, at the late exhibition of the National Chry¬ 
santhemum Society.— G. 
TEMPLETON HOUSE, 
ROEHAMPTON. 
The residence of H. L. Holland, Esq., is situate in 
a very pretty lane, leading from the corner of Barnes 
Common to Richmond Park, and a more picturesque 
spot can scarcely be found so near London. The object 
of my visit to the courteous gardener, Mr. Kendall, was 
to have a peep at his collection of Chrysanthemums of 
which he is such a successful grower. The Japanese 
varieties, of which he had a grand and attractive display, 
were housed in two spacious Vineries, where he is 
fortunate enough to have ample room to place the 
plants a sufficient distance apart, not only to enable 
him to get amongst them easily, but to guard against 
mildew, one of the Chrysanthemums grower’s greatest 
enemies, and which is so often caused by overcrowding 
and insufficient ventilation. Themajority of the plants 
were tall, carrying on an average four and five blooms 
each ; Mr. Kendall advocates growing in 10-in. pots, 
giving the plants a top-dressing about August, and 
thoroughly ripening the wood, and, I must say, he 
carries out what he advocates to the letter. The stems 
of his plants were very thick, the wood thoroughly 
ripened and each plant well clothed with healthy 
foliage almost to the pot. 
Amongst the plants I noticed several very fine 
blooms : Mons. John Laing, a reddish brown, was in 
great perfection ; Triomphe de la Rue des Chalets, an 
enormous flower ; Japonaise was also in excellent 
condition, being both full and deep, as was that 
universal favourite Jean Delaux. The incurved varieties 
were staged in a light well-ventilated span-roof house, 
about 50 ft. long, but here Mr. Kendall is not so 
fortunate in being able to make a fine display of his 
blooms, although his method of staging serves him 
better in preparing his flowers for the exhibition table. 
The plants were standing upon low staging with their 
blooms so close to the glass, that it was somewhat 
difficult to select the best blooms, but, among the most 
prominent were to be seen St. Patrick, Lord Alcester 
and all the Queen tribe. 
Passing through the various greenhouses and stoves, 
I noticed some well-grown Azaleas, a good batch of 
Cinerarias, in the growth of which a special pride is 
taken at Templeton House. I remember being at a 
floral meeting last winter, when a basket of Cineraria 
blooms were exhibited by Mr. Kendall, amongst them 
being some of the largest blooms and brightest colours 
it has been my good fortune to witness. 
In the conservatory adjoining the house was a fine 
display of early-flowering plants of Chrysanthemums 
and pompons, which are grown in an open border and 
lifted when in bud, and by this means a fine display of 
bloom for decorative purposes is obtained at a minimum 
outlay of trouble. On the roof a large plant of Plum¬ 
bago capensis was in full bloom. Interspersed with 
the masses of flower upon the Chrysanthemums and 
pompons were some Ferns and grasses, and some well- 
grown specimens of that useful decorative plant, 
Acalypha macrophylla. 
Stepping out of the conservatory, a very pretty sight 
presents itself to the view, an extensive well-kept lawn 
with about thirty or forty tastefully arranged flower 
beds at the extreme end, behind which is a bank of fine 
old trees ; here and there a view between them is to be 
obtained of the deer in Richmond Park. The grounds 
cover an area of 36 acres, 15 acres of which are devoted 
to flowers. The Peach wall is one of the finest to be 
found in Surrey, and both the fruit and vegetable 
gardens, which are extensive, speak well of the excellent 
attention and care bestowed upon them, but as 
November is one of the worst months in the year to 
visit them, I must reserve any description of them until 
I have seen them in all their glory in the summer.— 
G. S. A. 
The Exhibition of Chrysanthemums by the New 
York Horticultural Society, beginning November 2nd, 
and ending the following Sabbath evening, was the 
finest show ever made by this organisation, all things 
considered ; and everyone was delighted who came to 
criticise the queen of autumn. A “grandmother’s 
garden ” was one of the features of the exhibition, and 
served as a centre where the contrast between a tangle 
of neglected growth, such as was usually the rule in 
the old-fashioned garden, and the wealth of carefully 
trained specimens could be considered. The variety of 
plants in the little nook devoted to Artemisias and 
Dianthus was extremely limited ; but the sprawling, 
unkempt growth was enticing, as were all the loose 
grassy arrangements .—American Florist. 
Gros Colmar. 
