April 9, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
505 
splendens is another useful sort; Torenia asiatica and 
T. puleherrima, with their curious blue and purple 
flowers will also answer the purpose well. These are 
only a few that are well adapted for such work ; there 
are many fine foliage plants also, as well as Ferns, that 
are equally useful for growing in this way, either 
for stove or greenhouse, which at some future time I 
will enumerate if you think the same will be of suffi¬ 
cient interest to the readers of your widely-circulated. 
journal. — A. Outram. [Please do. —Ed.] 
-->X<—- 
THE CORDON PEAR WALL AT 
HOLME LACY. 
This wall was planted by the late Earl of Chester¬ 
field, as an experiment with this system of training Pear 
trees. It faces south, and is 42 yds. long, and 12 ft. 
high ; in this space eighty-three trees in forty-three 
varieties were planted. The trees used were one-year 
old maidens on the Quince stock. They were planted 
seiller de la Cour, Beurre d’Amanlis, Beurre Hardy, 
Bergamotte d’Esperen, Beurre d’Aremberg, Marie 
Louise, Zepheriu Gregoire, Doyenne du Comice, Beurre 
Bachelier, and Huyslie’s Victoria. Fair Doyenne 
Blanc, Doyenne Boussoch, Van Mons, Pitmaston 
Duchesse, Figue d’Alengon, Brown Beurre, Beurre 
Diel, Triomphe de Jodoigne, Doyenne Gris, Beurre 
Sterckmans, General Todtleben, Beurre Bose, Hacon’s 
Incomparable, Delices d’Hardenpont, Duchesse d’An- 
gouleme, Passe Colmar, Duchesse d’Hiver (stewing), 
Beurre Ranee, Leon Leclerc de Laval (stewing). In¬ 
ferior : St. Germain, Alexandre Bivort, Susette de 
Bavay, Easter Beurre, Besi Mai, Doyenne d’Alengon, 
Chaumontel, Bergamotte Hertrich. 
Since the planting of the original cordon w r all, which 
has in every way proved successful, other excellent 
varieties have been planted, and are grown on this 
system at Holme Lacy. Among the best may be men¬ 
tioned Beurre d’Angou, Beurre de l’Assomption, Emile 
d’Heyst, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Madame Treyve, 
bottom-heat. In this house we do the propagating, 
and grow Cucumbers and table plants; here the 
Calanthes are grown. About a month, or, perhaps, 
three weeks after potting they are set on this slate 
bench, which is covered with 2 ins. or 3 ins. of small 
cinders, the smallest I can obtain. I like this material 
on which to stand pots, because it absorbs a large 
quantity of water, and gives it out again very freely as 
the atmosphere of the house gets dry. 
I discovered, many years ago, that Calanthes like to 
feel a little bottom-heat. Some of our young men may 
laugh at the idea of growing Orchids on a hot-bed made 
up of fermenting material, such as stable litter and 
leaves ; but I have grown many choice plants in such 
a place, and amongst them Calanthes. I have no 
desire, however, to return to that method again. Just 
a taste of this bottom-heat helps them on in the early 
stages of their growth. The valve is turned on to suit 
their requirements, as also the Cucumbers, which are 
grown at the other end of the house. 
The Coedon Peak Wall at Holme Lacy. 
15 ins. apart at an angle of 60 degrees from east to west, 
after three years’ growth they were brought down to 
45 degrees. One half of the wall was planted in 1861, 
the other in 1865. In each case, the trees came into 
bearing in three years, viz., 1865 and 1868. 
It is now nearly twenty-three years since the first 
crop of fruit was gathered from this wall, and although 
some trees will before long want renewing, yet taken as 
a whole, the crops are as satisfactory as ever. This 
year there is promise of plenty of bloom with few ex¬ 
ceptions. Last year the crop was very good, fruit of 
good size and quality, some kinds weighing from 15 ozs. 
to 18 ozs. Having been, as is stated, planted as an ex¬ 
periment, both as to training and varieties, some kinds 
planted have not come up to the same standard of 
excellence as they would under different conditions of 
climate, soil, &c., w T hile others which in some places 
are accounted worthless, here grow to great excellence. 
Appended is the list of varieties grown on the wall, 
tabulated under the headings of good, fair, and in¬ 
ferior -.—Good: Beurre Giffard, Josephine de Malines, 
Winter Nelis, Beurre Superfin, Glou Morgeau, Con- 
Marie Louise d’lTccle, Nouvelle Fulvie, Olivier de 
Serres, and Souvenir du Congres.— Chas. Denning, 
Holme Lacy Gardens. [The details furnished by Mr. 
Denning will be read with interest by many who have 
watched the progress of these trees, and which were 
prominently brought into notice by the late Earl of 
Chesterfield (when Sir H. E. C. Scudamore Stanhope, 
Bart.), in an article contributed in 1879 to the Here¬ 
fordshire Pomona, and which was accompanied by the 
annexed illustration. —Ed.] 
-- 
OALANTHE CULTURE.—II. 
Having described the time for potting and the 
manner of doing it at p. 470, I have now to speak 
of the place in which we grow them, and the 
general treatment given onward till the blooming 
season. We have a small lean-to house with a path 
running through the centre, or nearly so, on one side 
of which are shelves, one above the other. On the 
other or front side is a bench of slate slabs, about 3 ft. 
wide, beneath which is a 4^-in. hot-water pipe for 
The temperature also is kept at a degree that can be 
borne by everything grown in the house. It ranges 
from 60° to 80° both night and day, whether the 
■weather is dull or bright. The temperature should 
never exceed 80°, nor fall below 60°, for any length of 
time during the growing season. Water is given very 
sparingly at first, but as growth proceeds and roots 
increase more will be required, and as the pots become 
filled with roots, and foliage fully developed, it is 
scarcely possible to give them too much in very dry hot 
weather. Heavy watering late in the afternoon is 
dangerous, and therefore to be avoided. When the 
growths are finishing up, and the bloom spikes about 
to break through, I feed the plants with weak manure 
water occasionally—at first once a week, and aftenvards 
twice but never very strong, and always according to 
their strength and power to utilise it. 
How the. vexed question of syringing comes up, and 
what is my practice ? Why in some stages of their 
growth I never take the syringe into the house where 
they are ; but there is a period when I syringe them 
almost every time I see them. I have read all that has 
