December 18, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
247 
lawns, on one part are a number of beds that are filled 
with all the leading kinds of hardy perpetual Roses ; 
on another part of the lawn, and in front of the house, 
are a few geometrical beds for summer bedding-out 
purposes. Planted round the boundary of the grounds 
are a great number of young forest trees and shrubs, 
which appear to be taking well to their new quarters. 
A few good conifers and Hollies of various sorts, with a 
fair sprinkling of hybrid Rhododendrons, have been 
planted at various places in the grounds. I also saw, 
in prominent positions, good plants of Dimorphanthus 
Mandsehuricus, at present without foliage ; but when 
I saw them last summer they were clothed in a luxuriant 
garb, the effect they gave amongst other plants being 
rather tropical. 
At one end of the house, and facing north, has been 
built a large rockery, sloping from the ground-level of 
the house to the level of the garden ; some tons of 
Lothersdale limestone has been used here, mixed with 
the sandstone of the district. On the top is a line of 
large-leaved Hollies, about 10 ft. high, that are in¬ 
tended to form a break from the north winds ; and 
planted upon the rockwork is a general collection of 
rock plants, mixed with Rhododendron ponticum, 
blush-white Rhododendrons, Azalea pontica, &c. The 
kitchen garden is a good square piece of ground to the 
south of the house, and well filled with the usual 
occupants. 
The range of glass houses at the north end of the 
garden was erected by Messrs. Halliday & Co., 
of Middleton, and are constructed on a very light 
principle, and certainly give abundance of light for 
any kind of plant culture. These houses are in a good 
position to catch the full force of the westerly gales, 
but though light in appearance they seem to withstand 
them. 
A good number of Chrysanthemums occupy one 
house at present; they are well flowered, and are 
grown mostly for cutting purposes, the Japanese 
varieties finding special favour. In this house was 
also a fine sport of Carnation Souvenir de la Malmaison, 
of a beautiful salmon colour ; certainly very attractive. 
A small but novel fernery is well filled with Ferns of 
all descriptions, the wall at the back being covered 
with tufa stone from the stage to the roof, and all 
filled with Ferns and mosses. The Stag’s-horn Fern 
seemed to be at home on this wall, also some orna¬ 
mental-leaved Begonias. Under the stages a complete 
rockwork has been made so as to completely hide the 
pipes from view ; a quantity of Maiden-hair Ferns of 
various sorts are planted in this for cutting from. 
Vines are looking well and have just come to their 
best fruiting period. A lot of Gloxinias are grown 
here, and after flowering are shaken out and placed in 
boxes, the bulbs close together and covered up with 
dry sandy soil; they appear to keep well in this vinery 
at present at rest. A good roomy stove contains some 
good healthy plants of Coelogyne cristata, Calanthes, 
Cypripedium insigne and Phajus, a good plant of 
Latania aurea occupying the centre with plants of 
Ananassa sativa variegata, Phoenix rupicola, Poinsettias, 
&c. Amongst stove Ferns, good examples of Nephro- 
lepis Duffii, Davallia Fijiensis and Mooreana, and some 
good pots of Adiantum Lindenii, Braziliense and 
Farleyense. The edges all round the centre and side 
stages are covered with Panicum variegatum. 
A novel way of raising and lowering suspending 
baskets, for the purpose of watering, &c., we saw here. 
A brass pulley was fixed in the ridge pole, and one in the 
wall plate at the bottom of the roof, a stout brass chain 
ran over these, and was fixed to the basket; by this 
means the basket was raised and lowered at pleasure. 
A very fine plant of Asplenium longissimum, with 
fronds about 8 ft. long, was in one of these baskets in a 
perfectly healthy condition. A capital collection of 
Cinerarias, Calceolarias and Pelargoniums were in a 
large pit in good condition ; also Echeveria and other 
bedding-out plants. The houses open out into the 
potting shed, so that no running in and out of doors is 
required when potting work is going on—a very wise 
arrangement, and one that should be more generally 
adopted everywhere.— W. G. 
The spring show ofthe Botanical and Horticul- 
ttjral Society of Durham, Northumberland and 
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, will be held in the Town 
Hall, Newcastle, on the 20th and 21st of April next; 
and a large autumn show will be held in the grounds 
of the Royal Jubilee Exhibition, August 30th and 31st 
and September 1st. 
Hardening ffoTES from 
•(Scotland. 
♦ 
Cherries are now ready for planting and pruning 
(Morellos are only casting their leaves in a green state), 
and the sooner they are made ready for training if 
necessary the better. No trees are more benefited 
than Cherries by having a dry firm bottom to rest 
upon, and good drainage at the roots ; a good mixture 
of lime in strong loam is conducive to their health, and 
the “ spurring ” of the wood will then be done without 
the aid of the knife ; no tree resents cutting more 
readily than Cherries, and gumming (caused by muti¬ 
lation) soon puts an end to limbs and often whole trees. 
Morello Cherries should be induced to make short 
growths, such as will require thinning only, but no 
shortening. 
Plums. —These, like Cherries, are always found to 
produce the finest fruit on natural spurs ; and when a 
well-trained tree is fully developed, kept tolerably 
thin, bearing wood close to the walls, all snags and 
useless pieces kept clear of the permanent branches, 
and the roots induced to grow upwards, becoming a 
mass of fibre, there need be little fear of having Plums, 
both in appearance and quality, of the highest order. 
One may be assured of this if they examine the stone- 
fruit in some of the collections at the leading northern 
shows. Some examples, both from the western and 
eastern counties, were, this season, represented in 
creditable form. 
It is singular how tenaciously some will cling to cut¬ 
ting out wood and laying in a mass every year on Plum 
trees ; the abhorrence some have of spurs—we have 
of those not close to the walls—and yet it is very 
natural for the trees to make these spurs. We do not 
care for artificial ones formed by a knife from gross 
growth, but we admire a yard of young wood clustered 
all over with small spur-like buds fitting closely to 
walls. Standards and espaliers are not of much service 
in northern latitudes ; but in southern districts their 
value is well known—especially this season—where we 
have seen an extensive acreage of trees weighed to the 
ground, and much breakage by the loads of fruits.— 
M. T. 
Chrysanthemums. —When giving a few simple 
methods of getting really useful flowers of these in 
abundance, it is desirable, in the interest of amateurs 
and young growers, that writers should be liberal in the 
matter of detail. In the opportune advice given by 
those who undertake to cater for the wants of readers, 
very explicit instructions are given ; but some ask for 
tuition which may enable them to attain their object 
by the simple means at their command. The justly 
popular Chrysanthemum has been a favourite in 
gardens of every grade since my first attempts at gar¬ 
dening practice. Then, huge plants were grown— 
dwarf, but very wide, and the hundreds of blooms on 
one plant were counted with pride ; now, large flowers 
are much in request, and many fail to have a very 
gorgeous display in their glass structures, because a 
flower to each stem has to be grown, and few stems 
of great strength are all that are allowed in each pot. 
In northern parts many complain that when they 
attempt to get bushy plants in great vigour, they 
fail in getting a profuse bloom, and often the crop 
of flowers is almost nil. Late stopping cannot be 
practised with impunity. To make the best of time, 
we would begin propagating as early as cuttings can be 
had ; a cool frame answers fairly well for the cuttings. 
"We have seen them put neatly on an old hot-bed, not 
quite exhausted, with hand-lights over them ; also on 
shelves in greenhouses and similar positions. Cuttings 
struck without being checked by flagging from a dry 
draught are the best, and when rooted and grown with 
plenty of light and air, they retain their foliage much 
better ; consequently, flowers are more abundant, and 
of finer quality. To get large plants in late districts, a 
dozen cuttings or less may be put in a well-drained pot, 
filled with sandy loam, and placed in a close frame 
until signs of growth are observable, abundance of air and 
moisture judiciously administered ; and when the pots 
are filled with roots a liberal shift may be given, at all 
time, avoiding coddling, and giving all the light obtain¬ 
able throughout the whole season of growth; the merest 
novice thus may have a fine display the following 
season. Another simple method is to pot off cuttings 
singly, stop them once (not later than May in Scotland), 
and put a number of small plants firmly into a large 
pot in good loam, leaving room for a top-dressing later. 
Bone-meal in the soil, if it requires enriching, does 
well, but we like Thomson’s Vine Manure for this 
purpose best of all. Plants for standards, potted 
singly, make a fine display. Old plants cut back, 
allowed to break, and divided, answer a purpose, and 
when grown well, flower freely. Plants for exhibition 
are grown differently.— Caledonian. 
Royal Northern Horticultural Society 
of Aberdeen. —At a meeting of the acting directors 
of this society, held in the Secretary’s Office, Aberdeen, 
on Friday evening, the 10th inst., Town Councillor 
Lyon was unanimously re-elected chairman, and Major 
Crombie vice-chairman. 
-- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
Whenever the weather is severe very little work 
can be done satisfactorily in the kitchen garden ; and, 
in fact, there should be scarcely anything now 
requiring urgent attention. Most of the root crops 
intended for use will have been lifted and stored, as 
previously advised. Celery should all have been 
earthed, and general work cleared up. Jerusalem Arti¬ 
chokes are useful, easily grown vegetables, and some 
persons have a great partiality for them ; but the taste 
is an acquired one, and at first they are not agreeable 
to most palates. Either boiled in the same way as 
Potatos or used in soups, they can be rendered very 
pleasant, and serve to form an additional dish when 
choicer vegetables cannot be obtained. They will 
grow in almost any soil, and are too often placed in 
some corner and neglected, whereas they well repay 
for the very moderate amount of attention needed. 
This season we made a plantation on a piece of well- 
dug ground, and we are now digging tubers of excellent 
quality, superior in all respects to some from one ofthe 
“ corner ” plots alluded to. They cannot be regarded 
in any sense as a substitute for Potatos, but might be 
more generally cultivated by amateurs than is the case. 
Rhubarb that was transplanted into ground which 
was similarly well dug, prospered greatly this season, 
and has formed fine solid crowns capitally adapted for 
forcing. We are taking advantage of this, and have 
lifted some roots for the purpose, which, with several 
other vegetables of a similar kind, are accommodated in 
a small shed, which is rendered very useful as a forcing 
house. A good bed of fermenting manure, litter and 
leaves is formed, and upon this the roots are placed, 
surrounded by a little light soil, then some litter is 
heaped over the crowns, and we seldom have long to 
wait for the delicately tufted leaf-stalks. A little 
later in the season we generally surround the plants 
out of doors with the manure, which gives rather less 
trouble ; but in this, sticks should be bent over the 
roots to keep the manure from them, as it must be 
employed in a hotter condition and more of it than for 
the sheds. When used under cover it is not well to 
place the manure in until the rank heat has escaped. 
Seakale is treated in a similar way, but requires even 
less heat than Rhubarb ; and there is scarcely any 
vegetable that can be forced so readily and quickly as 
this. A small quantity of light soil and leaves is 
sufficient to lay the roots in, and the crowns can be 
covered with either litter or leaves, but if they are 
surrounded by a small quantity of manure, they are 
best without any substance over the crowns if the 
shed be kept perfectly dark, as that is essential to 
ensure blanching. Out-of-doors the crowns are usually 
covered with large earthenware pots, somewhat bell¬ 
shaped, the top portion of which is removable in the 
form of a lid. Manure is placed round and over these, 
and a supply of crisp shoots for cutting is quickly pro¬ 
cured. One advantage of this method is that the 
plants are not exhausted, like they are when lifted and 
forced, as the latter are useless after undergoing that 
operation, and must be thrown away ; whereas, with 
liberal treatment, the plants left in the ground soon 
recover. 
Endive should be placed in frames for blanching ; 
while, if severe weather is anticipated, it is a good 
plan to lift a few roots of Parsley, which are always 
in demand ; pot them and place them in a cool house 
or frame protected from frost. In frames, Radishes 
can still be obtained by successional sowing, also 
Mustard and Cress.— Scolytus. 
