April 16, 1892. 
the gardening world. 
515 
THE SOUTH DEVON 
FRUIT FARM. 
The new Devon Fruit Farm is situated at Cocking- 
ton, near Torquay, in a valley running almost due 
east and west, and is protected on all sides by tree 
topped hills, and it seemed to me that it was an 
ideal spot for a fruit farm. We soon came upon 
Mr. Luckhurst, who, with Mr. J. N. Whitehead, 
was superintending the work, and after explaining 
the nature of my calling, both gentlemen expressed 
their willingness to be interviewed. 
“What are these glass-houses intended for?" I 
asked, pointing to a row of io houses, running 
north and south down the valley. 
“ Oh,” said Mr. Luckhurst, “ three of them are 
orchard houses, 100 ft. long by 15 ft. wide ; three are 
vineries, 100 ft. by 18 ft., and two are Tomato and 
two Cucumber houses, both 100 ft. by 12 ft.” 
“ Is not that a new process of putting on the 
glass ?” 
“Yes," said Mr. Whitehead, “that is the new 
lead glazing without putty—a decided advantage 
over the old system.” 
“ Are you going to put up any more glass 
houses?” 
"Yes,” replied Mr. Luckhurst, "there will be one 
212 ft. long by 25 ft. wide, running east and west, 
which will be used for pyramid Peaches and 
Nectarines, and a lean-to of the same length, but 
divided into two, will be used for late Vines and 
Figs.” 
" What is that plantation ?” 
“ That,” said Mr. Whitehead, " is a 4J acre field, 
and in it are planted 25,000 different trees and plants, 
including 10,000 Strawberry plants, and Apples, 
Pears, Plums, Raspberries, Gooseberries, and 
Currants.” 
" Are they to be transplanted, or will they be kept 
where they are ?” 
“ They are permanently planted,” said Mr. Luck¬ 
hurst, “ and we shall have fruit from them in two 
years. In another place there you will find a 
thousand Rhubarb plants, 1,700 Asparagus and 
Seakale, with any amount of Horse Radish and 
early Vegetables.” 
“ Are you going in for any speciality at all ? ” 
“Yes, we shall have a French Bean house, and 
intend to go in largely for Mushroom growing, both 
indoor and out. I hope to have an acre or two of 
Mushroom beds before long.” 
" What do you intend to do with this field ? ” I 
asked, pointing to a nine acre field at the top of the 
valley. 
" That," said Mr. Whitehead, " will be planted 
with Apple trees principally, but Strawberries will 
also be grown there, and we expect to raise a lot of 
early Strawberries.” 
“ I suppose you will extend your borders later on, 
if you succeed as you expect to do ? ” 
“ Yes,” said Mr. Whitehead, " we have the option 
of purchasing thirty or more acres which surround 
this spot ” 
“ Will there be any permanent building on the 
spot ? ” 
“Yes, the manager’s house will be built close to 
the entrance, and there will be a cottage and stable 
at the rear. If necessary a jam factory will be 
established on the spot.” 
" I suppose you will be able to employ a con¬ 
siderable amount of labour during the picking 
season ? ” 
“ Yes, we may look forward confidently, from the 
scale on which the work is being done, to finding 
employment for from 100 to 150 women and children 
in the picking season. This would enable them to 
make something to lay by for the winter.” 
“I understand that the project is being started by 
a syndicate ; would there be any objection to their 
names being published ? ” 
“ I should think not,” said Mr. Whitehead. “.At 
any rate I will give them to you, and here they are : 
Mr. R. Mallock, M.P., Mr. J. N. Whitehead, Mr. 
Wyndham Fitzherbert, Capt. Bainbrigge, Mr. Peyto 
Shrubb, Admiral Le Hunt Ward, Mr. Lee (Syracusa), 
Mr. Sandford, Mr. Morris, and Mr. W. Winget.” 
“ Shall you have anything ready this year ? " 
" Oh yes,” said Mr. Luckhurst, “ we shall have 
Tomatos and Cucumbers this year." 
“ I suppose there will be no difficulty in getting 
rid of your produce ? ” 
“Not in the least," said Mr. Whitehead. “Our 
primary object is, of course, to supply the town, and 
if the tradesmen will come to us in a fair way and 
buy from us, they will get it cheaper and better than 
in town, but if they think they are going to combine 
to hurt us, they will only be combining to cut their 
own throats.” 
“We are perfectly independent of them,” added 
Mr. Luckhurst, "because the establishment of a 
jam factory would stop them at once. Some of them 
have already asked whether they can buy from here 
wholesale." 
“We are doing it for the sake of Torquay,” re¬ 
marked Mr. Whitehead. “ Mr. Mallock is our 
representative, and represents us all alike. He is 
interested in this because he knows it will give 
labour and work to others.” 
In the course of further conversation I learned 
that the glass houses were being erected by local 
firms. The boilers consist of two Rochford boilers, 
of exactly the same pattern as are being used with 
so much success at the fruit farm of 600 acres at 
Lord Sudeley’s estate, at Teddington. The boilers 
are tubular, and can each heat 3,000 ft. of four-inch 
pipe. There are nearly 6,000 ft. of piping in the ten 
glass houses, over 22,000 square feet of glass, and 
over five tons of sheet lead have been used for putting 
the glass in place. There are nearly thirty tons of 
ironwork in the houses. 
The possibilities which open up through this 
undertaking are innumerable. Looking down the 
vista of years one can almost see a large and thriving 
farm, employing hundreds of hands, large jam 
factories, prettily laid out tea gardens with all their 
accessories. Certain it is that the farm has every 
promise of success—a success which will be none 
the less deserved because of the enterprising spirit 
shown by the promoters.— H. S. L., in the Torquay 
Times. 
-—►*-- 
SCOTTISH NOTES. 
Scottish Horticultural Association.— A paper 
on “The Vineyards of Castle Coch,” by Mr. A. 
Pettigrew, gardener to the Marquis of Bute, at 
Cardiff Castle, was read at the meeting of the 
Association held on the 5th inst. The paper dealt 
with an experiment in Vine growing in the open air 
at Castle Coch. Before the experiment was made 
Mr. Pettigrew visited France and inspected the 
methods adopted in the Vineyards around Paris, in 
Burgundy and the Champagne country. As a result 
of the visit and on the advice of French growers, he 
planted at Castle Coch Vines of the Gommy Noir 
and Millie Blanch varieties. The Vineyard occupies 
the face of a gentle slope, with a southern exposure, 
protected on the north by a plantation, and on the 
east and west by slight hills. The Vines were planted 
in rows, from north to south, 3 ft. apart, with the 
same distance between the plants. They were 
trained to sticks 4 ft. high, after the manner of Rasp¬ 
berry plants, and pruned each year to within two 
buds of the previous year’s growth. The three or 
four seasons following the planting were successful. 
Grapes being got such as those to be found on tables 
d’hote in France. No attacks from the dreaded 
Phylloxera were suffered, a fungus easily got rid of 
being the only troublesome parasite. In 1877, 40 
gallons of wine were got. The 1879 crop was a 
failure. At the end of May the yield promised to be 
great, but the cold, wet summer prevented the fruit 
from ripening. Because of the wood failing to ripen 
in 1879, the 1880 crop was also a failure. But in 
1S81 a good yield was got, the whole vintage selling 
for 60s. per dozen bottles. In 1884, 2 hogsheads of 
wine were got; and the same in 1885, but the 1886 
crop was a complete failure. 10 hogsheads of wine 
were got in 1887; the 1888 crop was a failure; in 
1889, 7 hogsheads of wine were got ; in 1890, 6 hogs¬ 
head's, and last year 3 hogsheads, From a pecuniary 
point of view Mr. Pettigrew was of opinion that the 
experiment had not been satisfactory, although it had 
proved that good wine could be got from Vines grown 
in the open air at favourable places in the country. 
Samples of the wine got from the Castle Vineyard 
were given the members, who testified to its good 
flavour. The discussion which followed showed 
that members were impressed with the success of 
the experiment from a climatic point of view, but its 
costly nature and its questionable pecuniary utility 
were recognised as being against the adoption of 
vine growing in the open air in this country. 
THE NEW ROCKERY AT 
CHELSEA. 
Some time ago a house was fitted up with rockwork 
for the accommodation of Orchids in flower, in the 
nursery of Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. Quite 
recently a larger span-roofed house was fitted up in 
the same way for the reception of various plants in 
flower or otherwise. The rockwork consists of Derby¬ 
shire tufa, fitted together, and put up in an artistic 
and interesting way. A large bed occupies the cen¬ 
tral position of the house, and the sides of this are 
built of tufa, with bold projeciing angles and ledges 
all round. Both sides and the ends of the house are 
built in the same way, forming a narrow border all 
round. The centre of the middle bed is occupied 
with a few tall plants in pots set in a groundwork of 
Maidenhair Fern, and enlivened here and there with 
the highly-coloured foliage of Acalyphas, Dracaena 
Lindeni, D. Doucetti, and flowering plants, such as 
Amaryllis, Anthuriums, Clivias, Epiphyllum Gmrt- 
neri, Hybrid Greenhouse Rhododendrons, including 
R. balsamaeflorum album, and other subjects. 
The side shelves are similarly adorned with smaller 
plants of various kinds, such as Caladiums, Berto- 
lonias—grown without the aid of bell glasses—and 
the beautiful-leaved Pavetta borbonica, which ought 
to be more extensively grown than it is, as well as 
Gardenias and Begonias. A batch of seedlings of 
Anthurium Rothschildianum, in small pots, is very 
interesting as showing how early the plants come 
into bloom. The large, bright, orange-scarlet 
flowers of Clivia Madame Van Houtte are borne in 
huge trusses, and are very showy. Some of the 
Streptocarpus are already in bloom and have been 
brought into this house. They are grown in pots, 
so that they can be moved as they go out of bloom. 
Other interesting pot plants in bloom are Tillandsia 
tricolor and T. Zahnii. 
The pockets and ledges are variously planted with 
Ferns, Selaginellas, Saxifraga sarmentosa tricolor, 
and other interesting fine foliaged plants. The house 
may be described as an intermediate one, the tem¬ 
perature being sufficiently high to enable various 
stove plants to be kept here while in bloom. The pot 
plants can be replaced by others in season whenever 
desired, while those planted out will form the per¬ 
manent occupants of the house. Considering that 
the house was only filled with plants a fortnight ago, 
it already looks interesting and varied. 
- - 
(iMcanimis fcmn the HHn'lfi 
uf Science. 
Prevention of Smut in Wheat and Oats.— 
It has long been known that the spores of the fungi 
known as smut, and which attacks wheat and oats, 
adhere to the grains, and are thereby carried to the 
field in the following season. The spores germinate 
with the grains of those cereals and set up a fresh 
attack. In 1887, Mr. J. L. Jensen, of Denmark, dis¬ 
covered a method of prevention, and this has been 
carried out by the U. S. Department of Agriculture 
—Division of Vegetable Pathology, as recorded in 
the Farmers' Bulletin, No. 5. The seed of wheat to 
be disinfected is put in a basket of wire or in some 
strong bag (such as a gunny sack), and plunged in 
water ranging from no° to 130° Fahrenheit. Im¬ 
mediately after the bag or basket of seed is lifted 
and plunged again several times in order to reach all 
parts of the seed and warm it up. Then the whole 
is lifted out, and after the water has partly drained 
from it, plunged in a second vessel with water at 
132°, but in no case exceeding 135° Fahr. Here it is 
kept for fifteen minutes, while the bag is well shaken or 
agitated, so that every seed will be properly reached 
by the scalding water. The bag is then taken out 
and cold water thrown over the seed, or the wfiole 
may be plunged in cold water, and then laid oul to 
dry. This treatment does not injure the germinative 
power of the wheat, while the spores are killed. 
Oats may be treated in the same way or some modi¬ 
fication of it, such as having the water in the second 
vessel at a temperature of 143J 0 Fahr., and immer¬ 
sing the seed for five minutes; or the water in the 
second vessel may be kept at 132 Fahr., immersing 
the seed in it for ten minutes. In the first of these 
modifications the seed is treated with cold water 
immediately it is taken out of the hot water, but in 
the second case the seed is simply spread out to dry, 
which the heat soon enables it to do. 
