August 20, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
801 
WHITEWAY HOUSE, 
DEVONSHIRE. 
Although the lovely county of Devon abounds in 
well-kept seats and policies, some are more interest¬ 
ing than others. As one which year by year increases 
in interest and beauty, I would instance the beautiful 
place of the Dowager Countess of Morley, near 
Chudleigh. There is not much glass it is true, but 
what there is is made good use of, and very consider¬ 
able judgment is shown in putting onlv suitable sub¬ 
jects where the accommodation is limited. Wall 
fruit is so well managed that there is really little 
need for help from indoors. Peaches and Nectarines 
are particularly well grown, specimens of the Dia¬ 
mond Peach, laden with well coloured fine fruit, being 
particularly noteworthy. The thinning has been 
done with great care, the result being that the crop 
is evenly distributed upon the tree. 
Apples are plentiful here, and so are the later 
Cherries, and Nuts, and Figs. Gooseberries and 
Currants are a heavy crop, and I notice that Mr. 
Nanscawen, the very able gardener, believes in prun¬ 
ing Gooseberries. The heart of the bush is well 
thinned out, the effect being that the bush sends out 
long, healthy shoots bowed down with handsome 
fruit. In the orchard lawn one or two of the old 
Apple trees are festooned here and there with Cle¬ 
matis Jackmanii, which has a wonderfully pretty 
effect; and hidden away among the branches are two 
or three nice bits of Mistleto, very happy ap¬ 
parently, 
Although not at present visible, clumps of good 
Narcissi in the grass stud the orchard, and in the 
spring make it very bright. I noticed a fine varie¬ 
gated Thorn, about 6ft. high, several Acacias, clumps 
of Eulalia japonica and E. zebrina, Phormium 
tenax, fine and strong, right out in the open; Gun- 
nera scabra, strong in foliage but, probably owing to 
the drought, rather small in the fruit cone or scape. 
Desfontainea spinosa, that most curious holly-like 
member of the Gentian family, in flower with its long 
waxy red bells ; Bambusa Metake, not less than 25ft. 
high, strong, healthy, and apparently as happy as the 
proverbial sand-boy. 
Up among the Rhododendrons were some strong 
plants in flower of the Telekia speciossisima, with its 
golden-yellow flowers ; Lilium giganteum, 10 ft. high, 
one of the grandest of Lilies, etc. Here and there 
were clumps of Alstroemerias (what a pity these 
lovely herbaceous plants are not more grown! ), 
Dahlias in great variety, and many other similarly 
ornamental plants. 
In the conservatory facing the door was a plant 
that took my breath away. It was a panful of Disa 
grandiflora in robust health, bearing 45 spikes and 
108 blooms of the most perfect shape and colour. 
It was a grand " bit ” of Disa, and no mistake. 
Cheek by jowl with it were some very promising 
Indian Orchids that had not yet flowered and some 
other fine healthy bits of Cattleyas, Odontoglossums, 
Oncidiums, and other species. Gloriosa superba, 
that old-fashioned climbing Lily, not often seen now. 
Bougainvillea, with its gay bracts, Begonias, both 
single and double, of an excellent strain, and some 
very good Gloxinias, went to make up a capital 
houseful of stuff. Clambering along the outside 
walls was that capricious but lovely climber, 
Tropaeolum speciosum, which will, so it is said, only 
grow where it has a mind to. It certainly has come 
to stay at Whiteway, for it seemed as much at home 
as anything on the place. 
Time fails me to speak of the wild garden ” 
which is becoming a rich collection of British and 
foreign Alpines and all sorts of things that one would 
expect to find in such a collection. Here is the rare 
Trientalis europsea and the Primula scotica from the 
bleak north, and the still more rare Lobelia urens 
from its wild habitat in Somerset, Gentians, Asters, 
and Campanulas from the Pyrenees, and many 
another stranger front foreign lands. British Ferns 
have taken up their abode in this lovely glen, and 
everything in it is the very picture of health and 
contentment. There are some noble specimens of 
Coniferae around the mansion, and among the trees 
outside is a fine specimen of Fraxinus ornatus (the 
flowering Ash). 
This assemblage of good things is not a thing of 
yesterday, but is the work of many years and con¬ 
siderable expenditure no doubt. But it is encouraging 
to those who love gardening as a profession to see a 
place where the owner has a pride in maintaining 
all that is beautiful in her surroundings, and it is 
equally pleasing to see the management of such an 
establishment placed in such competent hands as it 
is. This is not my first visit to Whiteway and I 
hope it may not be my last, for, apart from its 
romantic and picturesque situation on the slopes of 
Haldon Hill, there is at all times much to see and 
much to learn there. 
Mr. Nanscawen's house — a nice substantial and 
tastefully designed building of limestone—is covered 
with Ampelopsis Veitchii, which is even now 
assuming that rich crimson hue that it does in a 
warm climate, I was told that it coloured ever so 
much better when planted in soil with plenty of lime 
in it, and all the more so when it had the advantage 
of rambling over a lime stone wall.— Devonicnsis. 
-- 
PELARGONIUMS. 
But the other day I was explaining to an enquirer 
the distinctions which existed between Geraniums 
and Pelargoniums, and pointed out that Pelargoniums 
were no more Geraniums than they were anything 
else. The old mistaken nomenclature which classed 
all Pelargoniums as Geraniums arose from ignorance 
of the distinctions which exist between the species, 
and thus we had got to call all Pelargoniums 
Geraniums, or if there was any exception it was in 
favour of the large flowered varieties only. Now I 
turn to the advertising columns of a gardening 
paper, and there most exasperatingly I find not less 
than four enquiries after “ Geranium ” cuttings, 
meaning thereby zonal varieties, all from nursery¬ 
men, and one adds, oddly enough, just as though he 
were a bit uncertain as to his nomenclature, also 
“ Pelargonium " cuttings. Does this confounding of 
one genus with the other arise in any way from the 
similarity of common names, the Geranium being 
the Crane's Bill and Pelargoninm the Stork’s Bill ? 
I was also invited to state from which of the 
species of Pelargonium the present race of Ivy¬ 
leaved varieties originated. I have looked over a 
list of over 150 species or varieties of species, and do 
not find one that is named Hederaefolium, or should 
have concluded, if that were found, that it formed 
the original species. Can any reader state which is 
the original ? As to the large flowered forms, I 
suppose they come from combinations of species, the 
zonate forms from P. Zonale, and also in some 
degree, as I see Mr. Greive assumes, from P. 
Fothergilli, both forms perhaps having been inter¬ 
crossed. Pelargonium Manglesi is probably a 
variegated form of some original species However, 
of the myriads of species introduced from time to 
time or known to exist, we have for ordinary garden 
purposes very much narrowed the range of choice, 
using very few originals at all, and employing almost 
exclusively perhaps not more than half-a-dozen, 
which may be said even in their hybrid forms to 
exhibit distinctive character 
These are the large-flowered, the fancy, the Ivy¬ 
leaved, the zonale, the creeping Manglesi form, and 
the silver variegated sorts. Most of the golden and 
silver tricolors, bronzes, golden plain leafs, etc., it is 
presumed have sported from or raised from the 
ordinary zonal section. It would be interesting were 
anyone in a terse simple fashion just to trace out the 
original parentage of the sections I have thus adverted 
to. Also see whether there really exists any intimate 
connection in any w r ay with the Pelargoniums and 
Geranium families. 
One thing is certain, our gardens or perhaps all 
who have gardens owe a deep debt first to the original 
introducers of many of the Pelargoniums, and second 
to those hybridists who took them in hand, and from 
out of crude materials have evolved such beautiful 
varieties as we now possess. What glorious beauty, 
what unrivalled floral colouring, do not these forms 
give to us both in greenhouses and in gardens. 
Here is a theme for a paper for the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society about May next, illustrated by 
examples of every known original species now in 
cultivation, and also, so far as possible, good repre¬ 
sentatives of all the best garden sections. There is 
no reason indeed why the Pelargonium should not be 
made the subject of a Chiswick conference, except 
perhaps that May is too early in the year for such 
gatherings. — A. D. 
__ _ ♦ - _ 
♦ 
The Potato Blight has attacked some of the Weald 
of Kent plantations, and fears are entertained that 
if cold weather should again set in the disease will 
spread to a serious extent. 
FACTS AND FICTION. 
A dozen little children the other day created quite 
a stir in one of the New York Square gardens by 
erecting a May-pole and decking it with long 
streamers of tissue paper, one of which was held by 
each urchin, and a merry dance ensued, which 
attracted crowds of curious passers-by. Though one 
cannot help wishing that the wreaths they wore had 
been of woodland flowers instead of soiled tissue 
paper, and that the surroundings had been more 
inspiring, it is safe to conclude that the children 
danced not a whit the less merrily, and that their 
singing was as sweet to the ear as though they were 
not hemmed in by the shadow of a great city. 
In Australia they have a "Witch plant," which 
grows without any apparent roots. Its leaf resembles 
that of the Plantain. On the eastern shore of Mary¬ 
land they cure biliousness by boring three holes in a 
carefully selected tree, walking three times round it, 
and saying "go away, bilious.” 
A new industry has been discovered which promises 
to be a permanent one—that of extracting oil from 
Grape seeds. 
Peach stones are now largely used for fuel, for 
which purpose they are excellent. 
Mrs. Harrison, wife of the present President of 
the United States, has a passion for Orchids, and 
the White House is always profusely decorated with 
them. 
Mrs. Cleveland's tastes run in a more simple 
direction, her favourite being the Pansy. 
A splendid material for awnings, tents, etc., is 
Chinese grass-cloth, made from the fibre of the 
common Nettle. It is also suitable for machinery 
belting, for which it has twice the strength of 
leather. 
A few months ago a Philadelphia lady bought a 
rustic table, made of unbarked boughs. Now, the 
tree has sprouted all over, and is in full bloom, making 
a lovely table. It is hoped it will prove to be a fruit 
tree. (Doubters are respectfully referred to the title 
of this paper.) 
The Compass plant is found on the western prairies, 
where it is invaluable to wayfarers. The leaves at 
the base of its stem are placed vertically, presenting 
their edges north and south. Both surfaces display 
an equal receptivity for light, hence their vertical 
position, which enables travellers in the dark to 
ascertain the point of the compass by feeling the 
leaves. 
Austin Corbin has imported 20,000 Hawthorns to 
plant as a hedge round his great game park in New 
Hampshire. He has buftalo and other large game, 
and it is expected the Hawthorn will be admirably 
suitable for the purpose, as well as a thing of 
beauty. 
A novel industry has lately been inaugurated at a 
florist's in Broadway, New York. You can send 
flowers from there to any address in America or 
Europe, by selecting your flowers, and leaving a card 
with your name written on it to be attached. In, 
say, Vienna, the bouquet will be delivered within 
two hours, with a similar card attached. The florist 
has an agent in the various cities, to whom he cables 
particulars of the order, such as number of each 
kind of flower, etc. In American cities the delivery 
can be accomplished in a few minutes. Simple, 
but original and enterprising. Why not in London ? 
The perfume of Violets is said to make Madame 
Patti hoarse. 
Lady.—" And how is your master getting on, 
gardener, with that part of your territory he has 
undertaken to keep in order ? ” Gardener.—" Well, 
mum, I can’t say as ’ow 'e’s done much mischief 
as yet." 
Apropos of the recent Republication nomination 
may be mentioned the ominous fact that on the eve 
of Mr. Blaine's defeat, a large Maple at his home 
in Maine fell and split asunder from no apparent 
cause. 
Sixty years ago in Indiana, two brothers planted 
Apple trees on the same day on their father's farm. 
One of the men died several years ago, the other 
recently. There is nothing uncommon in this, but 
the peculiarity lies in the fact that on the day of 
each brother's demise his Apple tree split and fell to 
pieces. 
John H. Parnell, brother of the dead Irish patriot, 
and heir to his landed property, has very large 
Peach orchards in Georgia and Alabama, and is said 
to be the wealthiest Peach grower in America.— 
C. Macquarie, Chicago. 
