246 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 18, 1886. 
of colour it is, many plants of it being in flower at 
King’s Norton ; but it seems to fail in throwing a good 
head of flower, and is not a sturdy grower like the strain 
now so popular in Birmingham. Amongst the doubles 
in flower, Peach Blossom is a charming light pink in 
colour, very free bloomer, good habit, and very pretty. 
Marchioness of Exeter is one of the very finest of all 
our double whites. Seed is saved here in quantities for 
sale, as Mr. Bose is very assiduous with a camel’s-hair 
brush during the blooming season. 
The Sparkhill Nurseries 
Are near to Birmingham, at Sparkbrook, and, like the 
King’s Norton Nurseries, are away from the smoke of 
the town. We have previously alluded to this nursery 
as having first introduced new varieties of which Mr. 
Rose was the successful hybridiser, and that special 
attention is still devoted to the culture of a good col¬ 
lection and raising of new sorts here. Princess Louise 
and the Marquis of Lome originated here, and are 
extensively grown now ; Emperor (of which we have 
previously spoken) is a seedling from the Marquis of 
Lome, with the colour of P. coccinea—a very bright 
colour—with clear yellow eye. The Queen is ex¬ 
tensively grown here, a compact growing Fern-leaved 
variety with stout foliage, and large blooms 2J ins. in 
diameter—a variety we have before mentioned for its 
fine qualities. Amongst new ones not yet sent out, 
there is a very fine Fern-leaved seedling of the Marquis 
of Lome type and colour, and a companion variety to 
The Queen. Another is a very fine seedling of The 
Queen not yet sent out, partaking of its habit in every 
way and size of flower, but of the colour of the Marquis 
of Lome. 
Another new variety not yet sent out is a Fern-leaved 
form of a blush-white colour, with foliage and habit of 
The Queen, of which it is a seedling, and a very fine 
variety, very superior to Webb’s Modesty, and of the 
same colour. A semi-double variety, Maiden’s Blush, 
a Fern-leaved variety of good habit, is an excellent 
decorative kind, throwing its flowers up freely and 
above the surrounding foliage. Doubles are cultivated 
here, a goodly collection, and one of the gems is Miss 
Eva Fish, of a shaded lilac colour, sometimes striped 
with white ; fine and distinct, and a capital bedding 
variety. Annie Hillier is another very fine double, 
fringed margin, colour white tinted with blush. A. F. 
Barron, blush-white, is another capital variety ; and 
we have already spoken of Marchioness of Exeter and 
Peach Blossom. It is not only in these two trade 
establishments that Primulas are so well done, for well- 
grown plants are to be seen in many private gardens. 
Mr. Thomson, the well-known seedsman, has for many 
years past offered generous prizes at the autumn and 
spring shows for Primulas cultivated by gentlemen’s 
gardeners, and very fine exhibits are always seen. In 
fact, this firm enjoys a local reputation for the fine 
quality of their Primula seeds. 
-- 
GLANGWNA GARDENS. 
Glangwna is situated about two miles from the 
Welsh town of Carnarvon, so well-known in connection 
with the slate industries, and on account of its ancient 
castle. The mansion is reached through an entrance 
lodge on the east side of Carnarvon, and on the main 
road leading to the celebrated Snowdon mountain, so 
much frequented by tourists during the summer months. 
The object of my visit to the courteous gardener, Mr. 
Windsor, was to have a peep at the collection of Chry¬ 
santhemums, which, I understood, was the best in the 
district. Passing up the drive, which is very picturesque, 
I noted a very fine specimen of Abies Douglasii ; also 
another of Thujopsis borealis, and others again of 
the grand Austrian Pine, which seems to flourish well 
in this part. 
The Chrysanthemums in no w r ay disappointed me, 
they were very fine. Upwards of 100 varieties are 
grown, mostly as tall plants, carrying from six to eight 
blooms on a plant: they are located in two Peach 
houses, and a finer display could not be wished for. 
There is no great amount of glass here for the quantity 
of plants that have to be annually produced, and many 
thousands of bedding-out plants are required, as the 
flower garden is very extensive. 
The greenhouse was full of the usual winter-flowering 
plants, and I noticed, specially, a very nice example 
of Lapageria rosea, and also of the fragrant Luculia 
gratissima. Next came the stove, containing a very 
good collection of flowering and fine foliage plants, in¬ 
cluding a fine specimen of Adiantum Farleyense which 
would not disgrace any exhibition, and also Adiantum 
Williamsii, Asparagus plumosus nanus, Jasminum 
grandiflorum, Eranthemum pulchellum, and that noble 
flowering stove plant, Strelitzia reginte, which is 
throwing up many strong flowering spikes ; Pandanus 
Yeitchii, nice plants for table work ; Crotons, Dracaenas 
and many others too numerous to mention. 
In the late Yinery were some very good Grapes 
hanging, especially Muscat of Alexandra aud Black 
Alicante. Thence we proceeded to the Orchid house, 
which contains a lot of nice young plants of mainly 
warm house species. The back wall of the Orchid 
house has been covered with Adianturns, &c., which 
afford plenty of fronds for cutting. The bulk of the 
glass is heated by one of Messrs. Weeks’ Patent Duplex 
Boilers, and it gives the greatest satisfaction. Passing 
through the frame ground I noticed many frames filled 
with Yiolets, and the plants were well covered with 
blooms, providing enough of their fragrant blossoms to 
supply several fair-sized establishments. The principal 
varieties grown are Marie Louise, King of the Yiolets 
and Swanley White. There has been a very good crop 
of Pears here this season, but Apples have been very 
scarce. In the fruit room were good samples of Marie 
Louise, Beurre Diel, Conseiller de la Cour and Pit- 
maston Duchess. Mr. Windsor has been in charge of 
these gardens for about twenty years, and the excellent 
manner in which they are maintained reflects great 
credit upon him. — Visitor. 
■ -- 
CHARLES M. HOVEY. 
The American Gardeners' Monthly for the current 
month contains an admirable portrait of this dis¬ 
tinguished horticulturist and an appreciative notice of 
his life and labours, from which we take the following 
extracts:—Horticulture on the American continent is 
probably more indebted to the veteran Charles M. 
Hovey, of Boston, than to any living man. In the 
earlier part of the century, J. C. Loudon was editing 
his Gardeners' Magazine in London—a task which did 
wonders toward raising up an intelligent class of gar¬ 
deners in the Old World, such as never before had 
honoured the profession. Mr. Hovey determined to 
do as much for America, and, in 1835, the American 
Gardeners' Magazine made its appearance under his 
management, the style as well as the name being an 
exact counterpart of Mr. Loudon’s venture. He was 
fortunate in drawing around him an admirable line of 
correspondents, who went into the support of the 
magazine with zeal and intelligence remarkable for the 
time. With the third volume came a change in its 
title, chiefly because other short-lived publications 
were being issued under similar names. It then 
became, in 1837, Hovey's Magazine of Horticulture , 
maintained its influential existence for thirty-four 
years, when it was bought by a Boston literary pub¬ 
lication, “Old and New," which, however, died a few 
years after. 
He is one of the oldest living members of the Massa¬ 
chusetts Horticultural Society. When he commenced 
this work in 1835, the society had 500 members, only 
five of whom are left now to bear him company Long 
before this he was a devoted flower-lover, having at 
one time as many as sixty varieties of Chrysanthemums, 
among other collections of plants. The culture of fruit 
in pots was a great source of garden pleasure in the 
last generation. In this he led off, having, in 1833, 
exhibited Grapes eighteen months old from the cutting, 
with eighteen bunches on the cane. We find him with 
a list of thirty Strawberries as early as 1830, and it is 
only necessary to refer to the old favourite, Hovey’s 
Seedling, to show how ardently he went into the im¬ 
provement of this berry. Few, if any variety, held 
the crown so long. For thirty consecutive years the 
records of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society 
show that it gained the first premium against the 
efforts of many other kinds to take this high honour 
from it. 
As an author we find him, in 1830, a contributor to 
the New England Farmer. In 184S he commenced his 
magnificent work, the Fruits of America. In these 
two volumes 108 of our best varieties were superbly 
painted. Since the discontinuance of his magazine his 
pen has been still active in the cause, and contributions 
from him are frequent, both in English and American 
magazines. His grounds were only an acre till 1840, 
when he secured his present large area. In five years 
after he had collected 1,000 varieties of Pears, 400 of 
Apples, fifty of Plums, besides numbers of others, many 
of which we find illustrated in his magazine. As early 
as 1854 we find him exhibiting 365 varieties of Pears, 
which was thought wonderful at that time. In order 
to test all as they came out, they would be grafted on 
established trees, so that in many cases several kinds 
are from one tree. 
Much of Mr. Hovey's success as an editor was. no 
doubt, due to the love of labour which he united with 
his intelligence. His first greenhouse was wholly the 
work of his own hands. 
Numbers of the best new plants and fruits were first 
introduced to the public from his nurseries and seed 
house in Boston ; and many new seedlings of great 
merit, especially among Lilies and Camellias, originated 
with him, and to this day are articles of export to the 
Old World. He had at one time 200 varieties of 
Camellias. Some of his seedlings have had valuable 
premiums ; and one of the writer’s pleasures was a 
glance at the houseful of treasures in the shape of 
medals and premium memorials, with which horticul¬ 
tural societies had rewarded his useful works. A 
large number of beautiful varieties of trees and shrubs 
owe their origin to him, one of which, Thuja Hoveyi, 
is well known to all planters of choice evergreens. 
The famous Massachusetts Horticultural Society has 
honoured him with the presidency ; and it is no small 
tribute to his energy and popularity in the city of 
Boston, that during his term of office the membership 
grew from 500 to 1,000, and S30,000 were received in 
donations. The published history of the society states, 
that to Mr. Hovey’s perseverance and determination 
chiefly the beautiful horticultural hall has become an 
established fact. 
Not only by his writings and by his example has 
Mr. Hovey been a benefactor to American horticulture, 
but he has ever been a welcome member of conventions 
and public bodies where information had to be dis¬ 
tributed, aud where his earnest manner and fluent 
utterances always obtained for him marked attention. 
During the past six or eight years he has suffered by 
the loss of wife, three daughters, daughter-in-law and 
four grandchildren ; but the love of fruit and flower 
culture still affords him consolation. That he may 
have health and strength to enjoy them for some years 
longer with us is the fervent wish of every lover of 
American gardening. Mr. Hovey was born in the old 
town of Cambridge, October 26th, 1810. 
-- 
OAKLEIGH, BURNLEY. 
If those who w r alked along the main road from 
Burnley to Colne some ten years ago could do so again 
at the present time, they would be struck with the 
change that has sprung up. A number of villa 
residences occupy a considerable distance of the road 
out of the town leading fo Colne, and situated on the 
roadside, just before you come to the village of Brier- 
field, is Oakleigh, a modern-built house standing on a 
slight eminence, which commands a good view of the 
surrounding country. The house and grounds have been 
completed about three years, and were owned by the 
late Abraham Altham, Esq., well known in this district 
for his benevolence, and who will long be remembered 
by all classes around here. The residence is at present 
occupied by Mrs. Altham and family. The present 
gardener, Mr. James Malker, had the whole charge of 
laying out this pretty place—which is about four acres 
in extent—and it does him great credit for the manner 
in which the work has been carried out. 
A good and substantial drive from the lodge to the 
house—made of limestone, with asphalte sides next to 
the grass verge—brings us to a fine entrance-hall, 
which is of noble proportions and exceedingly hand¬ 
some. A little farther on, and at the side of the house, 
stands a light-built conservatory, with lantern top and 
stained glass windows. This was well filled with 
Chrysanthemums, and noticeable amongst them were 
several standard plants of Elaine, with stems about 
3 ft. 6 ins. high, and heads about the same in diameter, 
and carrying fifty to sixty flowers each—good ex¬ 
amples of cultivation. In the centre of the house 
was a good Dicksonia Antarctica, standing well above 
all the other plants ; also good examples of Araucaria 
excelsa and Yucca aloifolia variegata. Climbers of 
various kinds were beginning to cover the back wall 
and rafters. 
Passing from here round a terrace-corner to the 
