November 23, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
189 
of how to build a machine that will pass a narrow 
doorway and at the same time give to the rider 
plenty of room. A specimen of the Juno Folding 
Tricycle will also be in evidence. On the principle 
that the best is the cheapest, the Company have 
mounted all machines with Dunlop-Welch pneu¬ 
matic tyres. They are as determined hs ever to give 
their patrons and the public the very best value for 
money and in the construction of every Juno, this is 
the cardinal principle ever kept in view. Every 
Juno carries a year’s guarantee. 
Shirley Gardeners' Mutual Improvement Association. 
The monthly meeting was held at the Parish Room, 
Shirley, Southampton, on the i8th inst., when Mr. 
E. J. Wilcox presided over a good attendance of the 
members. Mr. F. D. Woolf read an excellent paper 
on the “ Culture of the Mushroom,” but warned his 
audience that the real road to success lay in practical 
experience, and strict attention to the smallest detail, 
especially having regard to excess of heat and 
moisture, both of which should be carefully guarded. 
Success and failure were often equally inexplicable, 
and a crop of Mushrooms would sometimes suddenly 
come up long after hope had been abandoned. He 
advised his hearers to pay strict attention to the 
points he had laid down as necessary, and to 
endeavour to note the circumstances attendant on 
each experiment for future reference. Good manure, 
if it cost more, should be secured, and, also from 
one source if possible, and the best possible spawn. 
Specimens of good and bad spawn were shown. A 
discussion ensued which was most interesting, and 
at the close a hearty vote of thanks was accorded 
Mr. Woolf for his practical paper, &c. 
Yeovil Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Association. 
—The monthly meeting was held on the 8th inst., 
when a paper was read by Mr. Crossman, gardener 
to Mr. J. Brutton, on “ Chrysanthemums.” A good 
discussion followed. A First Class Certificate is 
awarded for the best exhibit monthly. Plants of 
Chrysanthemums and collections of Pears were the 
order of the programme on Friday evening. Mr. 
Allen, gardener to the Rev. L. Cotter, West Coker, 
was first with a magnificent bloom grown in a 
seven inch pot; and Mr. E. Mitchell, gardener to 
Mr. G. Troyte-Chafyn-Grove, North Coker House, 
was first for a collection of six varieties of Pears. 
Special prizes were given by Mr. J. B. Paynter 
for the best Chrysanthemum plant with not less than 
three blooms in a pot not exceeding eight inches. 
Mr. Gear, gardener to Mr. W. Cox, was first: Mr. 
Biss, gardener to Mr. J. Bradford, was second ; Mr. 
Appleby, gardener to Mr. T. W. Lampier-Bide, was 
third.—At the next meeting in December Mr. H. 
Southcombe will interest his audience with garden 
pests and insects, illustrated with the microscope.— 
The society is open to all gardeners or any gentlemen 
interested in garden work. 
THE OLDFIELD NURSERIES, 
ALTRINCHAM. 
As a suburb of Manchester, Altrincham is within 
easy reach of the Canal City, and a few minutes’ run 
on the South Junction line brings one in touch with 
the headquarters of Messrs. William Clibran & Son, 
whose home nurseries extend to something like 120 
acres here, and at Stamford, by Bowdon. About 
four acres are covered with glass, and the ranges of 
houses are constantly increasing. Then there are 
also nurseries of similar extent—a matter of 125 
acres—in Wales, whilst at the city establishment in 
Market Street, Manchester, is the cut flower depart¬ 
ment and the bulb and seed warehouses 
It is now close upon thirty years since the firm 
was founded by Mr. William Clibran, who rightly 
prides himself upon the huge development of the 
business from the modest lines laid down by him in 
the earlier days, and which now finds employment 
for a permanent staff of between 200 and 250 hands. 
Each department has its separate head, each working 
with that quiet and orderly intent to the one end 
which leads to, and which is absolutely necessary to, 
the successful issue of a large business of this kind. 
An important element in this respect is the fact that 
an old servant is rarely lost sight of, many of the 
nursery employees having been here for a lengthy 
period, one particularly, who, in the early history of 
the firm wheeled the barrow to the station is now 
charge d'affaires in the herbaceous department. We 
mention this because we think it illustrates emphati¬ 
cally the excellent example set by this firm by which 
an opportunity of promotion is held out to the 
employee who takes a real interest in his work in 
his own behalf and that of the firm he serves. 
Now, as to the nurseries. A leading feature at this 
moment, is, of course, the " ’Mums,” which, under 
the care of Mr. Fletcher, have several houses 
devoted to them in a really magnificent display. M. 
R. Ballantine, carmine-lilac, is seen in excellent 
form ; Reine d’Angleterre, an immense flower, a 
sort of glorified Etoile de Lyon is well developed, 
and very noticeable. Van den Heede is doing well 
here, and a sport from this variety, a rose pink with 
silvery reverse, was shown us. International, a new 
Japanese sort, is shown very well, and Primrose 
League is fully equal to those we have anywhere 
seen this season. Mrs. C. H, Payne is of excellent 
character, and very full ; whilst the blood-red seed¬ 
ling, Col. C. T. Bourne, from Mrs. F. Jameson, is 
shown in fine form. C. H. Curtis, the new yellow is 
in splendid order, fully maintaining its excellent 
reputation. Mrs. R. J. Hammil, a rich lemon, not 
often met with, is delicate and refined, whilst Wil¬ 
fred Marshall is a shade or two deeper. Some 
beautiful examples of Rose Wynne are shown. 
Lord Lisburne, an excellent seedling, from G. C. 
Schwabe, is a very full, rich golden-red, and is con¬ 
sidered to be one of the best raised by Messrs. Cli¬ 
bran. Amiral Avellan is not quite finished, although 
giving evidence of doing well. Robert Flowerday, 
one of the good old sorts that cannot yet be dis¬ 
pensed with, is still holding its own. Close at hand 
we find another seedling of considerable promise, 
opening with a tinge of pink and finishing white, one, 
probably, that will be heard of frequently, when a 
name has been found for it. W. H. Fowler is one 
of the best yellows, though not a big one. L’Aigle 
des Alpes is a very large incurved flower, reddish- 
crimson with golden reverse, very full and rich, but 
probably should be seen in a later stage to be 
viewed at its best. It is undoubtedly a coming 
variety. Another Japanese incurved seedling is Mr. 
A. Calderbank, of considerable promise, being in 
colour similar to Duchess of York. Mrs. C. E. 
Shea is giving ample promise of some fine examples 
of this charming variety, probably some of the 
largest that will be seen this season. Mrs. J. G. 
Beer, a known variety, is a rosy-purple, with silvery 
reverse. J. Agate, the new incurved of the true 
type is in very flue form. W. W. Astor, a lovely 
specimen and true to its character, with high disc, is 
well developed. 
Mrs. Shorland Ball, a petite white, is very charm¬ 
ingly dwarf. Of the hairy types, a much more vivid 
specimen than in the case of Hairy Wonder, 
although not so large a flower, is Chrysanthemiste 
Delaux. To our mind the spines light up better, 
being especially distinct towards the tips of the 
petals, and, so to speak, emphasises the truecharacter 
of the hirsute section. A. H. Fewkes is a rich 
golden, and, like W. H. Lincoln, is very dwarf and 
sturdy. Mr. G. Whittle is a massive creamy-white. 
Another new incurved is M. J. Ginet, carmine- 
amaranth, a pretty specimen, putting one in mind of 
a glorified Dr. Sharp. Lady Dartmouth is a true 
incurved creamy-white, tipped with a slight suspicion 
of yellow, but nevertheless sufficiently distinct to be 
noticeable and pleasing in effect. It is of great 
depth, 4^ in. to 5 in., and is fairly early. 
Of the many other good things we have only 
space to mention L'lsere (lemon-white), President 
Carnot, Mons. Chas. Molin, M. Chenon de Leche 
(tipped green), King of Chrysanthemums, and 
Commandant Blussett. The foliage throughout is 
well up to the blooms, healthy, and of excellent 
substance. So noticeable was this feature that it is 
really deserving of more than passing remark. 
The single Chrysanthemums form a pleasing 
section, undoubtedly increasing in favour with the 
general public, a development which we quite antici¬ 
pate will be very marked before another season has 
passed. 
Mr. W. J. Crossley is a pure snow-white tipped 
rosy-pink, which forms a well-defined circle round 
the flower. Mrs. E. Coward is a shade of lovely sal- 
mon-pink, and, coupled with Mrs.F.W.Travers, form 
two of the very best yet sent out. The last-named 
variety is a rich dark velvety-crimson, equal to that 
of Pelargonium H. Jacoby, and is really a magnifi¬ 
cent variety of unique character with a yellow 
centre. It commences to flower in October, and is 
a fragrant variety—like heliotrope in smell—which 
is distinctly noticeable in passing. Miss Travers, 
a canary yellow, is also good; Mrs. Geo. Wilkes a 
very free flowering pure white, with clear yellow disc 
and slightly incurved petals. Dorothy Ferguson is 
also a good yellow, very dwarf and fragrant. In 
addition there is a large number of unnamed seed¬ 
lings, very pretty, and of promising character. 
Tea Roses are a speciality with our Altrincham 
friends. They are grown in pots exclusively for 
private trade. 'Here they are in their thousands of 
pcpnlar varieties, destitute, of course, just now, of 
bloom, and more noteworthy still free of mildew, 
greenfly or spider. The introduction Campbell’s 
Lemon Oil, and fumigating insectiside, now so well- 
known, has so great a reputation as hardly to need 
reference; but Clibran introduced this with a 
previously-obtained knowledge of its efficacy, and 
probably no similar specific enjoys so large a sale 
to-day, Another point worth noticing is the fact 
that these Roses are never turned out—always 
housed and acclimatised without heat. The roots 
and wood goto customers in the best possible condi¬ 
tion for actively starting as soon as put into warmth. 
Some more definite idea of the scale upon which 
this department is carried out will be gathered from 
the fact that some several houses measuring 150 ft. by 
30 ft. are filled to repletion. Vines are grown under 
similar conditions, and are also a large department. 
Lily of the Valley, of which some 30,000 have 
been forced already, are strongly in evidence, choice 
and fragrant, whilst Cyclamen and Bouvardias 
occupy a considerable section of their own. Of Tree 
Carnations Messrs. Clibran have a wide range, one 
particularly worthy of mention being Dr. W. G. 
Grace, a seedling very fine and full. About an acre 
of Paeonies just planted were worthy of observation, 
whilst the herbaceous plants could only show the 
ground they occupied, some 4J acres or so. 
There is a large number of comparative rarities, 
among them being many old favourites in New 
Holland plants indoors, which many gardeners say 
have gone out of cultivation, but which are never¬ 
theless frequently asked for, and which can here be 
readily supplied. Here, also, we have a large stock 
of stove and greenhouse climbers, including many of 
the rarer kinds. 
Fruit trees form another very large section. The 
chief feature noticeable is the exceptionally heavy 
character of the fibrous roots as distinct from the 
prong-like roots, i.e., coarse and destitute of fibre. The 
Cheshire soil adapts itself very excellently to the free 
production of fibrous-rooted species. The specimens 
we saw in passing through the packing department, 
where some hundreds of trees were in course of 
preparation for transit, struck us with their 
excellent condition—all set, with their fruiting spurs 
looking well for a future season's harvest. 
The sundries department has entirely a kingdom 
of its own and probably no better arrangement 
could be devised than the plan adopted here, by 
which an extensive stove some 100 ft. long by 16 ft. 
wide is divided into sections with sliding doors in 
which are located stocks of all the principal 
sundries in daily request by private gardeners. So 
great is the turnover that this stove is in one man’s 
charge, who as stovekeeper keeps the record in and 
out. 
And a word about the packing department. Good 
work in packing cannot be obtained where there is 
only a cramped or confined space, and, alive to this 
fact, Messrs. Clibran have provided thair packing 
department with extensive shedding divided into two 
bays, the main gable being fitted with a travelling 
crane, which runs the whole length of the building. 
This latter fitting is somewhat exceptional in a 
nursery, but we observed ample evidence of the 
necessity for it in the work passing to and fro. 
The whole range of buildings is extensive and well- 
fitted, both steam and gas engines being employed. 
We said at the opening of this article that Mr. 
Clibran rightly looked upon the development of his 
business with pride, but it is a pride that is unosten¬ 
tatious, and one that rightly springs from a knowledge 
that a good article at a moderate, figure has in the 
past, and will still enable his stafl of travellers— 
some six in number —to still further spread and 
develop the business of Messrs. Wm. Clibran & 
Sons. __ 
Chrysanthemums and their Culture. By tdwm 
Molyneux. Eighth Edition. By far the best practical work yet 
written on this subject. Price, is.; post free, is. 2d. Publisher 
Gardening World, i, Clement's Inn, Strand,London, W.C. 
