April 5, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
489 
The difficulty here, however, is to obtain sufficient 
moss. I have to send men scouring the neighbourhood 
for a considerable distance to obtain sufficient for the 
Pelargoniums ; this occupies too much time, hence the 
reason of turning my attention to the turves. What 
renders it the more aggravating is the fact that there 
are tons of moss close to the garden, but none of it dare 
be gathered without violating the expressed wish of my 
noble employer—an idea I cannot for a moment 
entertain. Sphagnum moss, too, is very abundant 
here, hut it is not flaky enough to be of any service, 
requiring too much tying, besides needing to be dried 
before it can be used. Turf, on the other hand, is very 
abundant and close at hand ; consequently, under the 
circumstances, I find it more easily obtained than the 
moss, and I am now of opinion that the most expe¬ 
ditious way is the best. I find Melons and Cucumbers 
do as well in the turves as in pots. Tomatos, too, we 
grow and fruit in them very successfully. Gladioli are 
also started in them for early flowering, as well as those 
larger. One of them had a trunk 12 ft. in girth at 
3 ft. from the ground. Another standing by itself 
measured 16 ft. in circumference at 2 ft. from the 
ground. Several of the limbs would in themselves 
constitute trees of respectable size, and the area over¬ 
hung by the branches is very great. The large tree is 
now partly hollow near the ground ; and in the shade 
underneath, some of the branches have assumed a 
pendulous or perpendicular direction, giving off nume¬ 
rous branches near the ground like huge bunches of 
Mistletoe. There can be little doubt that these trees 
are some of the oldest of the kind in this country. The 
same may be said of Juniperus virginiana (the Red 
Cedar), of which there is a tree about 40 ft. in height, 
with a trunk measuring 9 ft. in circumference at 2 ft. 
from the ground. The lower branches rest upon the 
ground, and seem to be rooted, for they again assume 
an upright habit. Beyond the reach of the branches, 
Corydalis cava alba, otherwise known as C. tuberosa 
alba, grows in some quantity as if naturalised there- 
are chiefly bulbs, including Daffodils and other Nar¬ 
cissi, Snowdrops, Crocuses, Scilla sibirica, Chionodoxa 
Lucilise, Triteleia uniflora, and Erythronium Dens- 
canis. Of the Triteleia some had lilac-blue and others 
almost white flowers. The Dog’s-tooth Violet is grown 
in considerable quantity, and having deep rosy-purple 
flowers with beautiful markings internally, is superior 
to the pale or white varieties of the same or other 
species. Other old-fashioned subjects now in bloom 
are Arabis albida, Orobus vernus, Wallflower, &c. 
In the kitchen garden extensive improvements are 
now being effected, and Mr. G. H. Sage, who has 
charge of both places belonging to Lord Dysart, will 
have his hands fully occupied for some time to come. 
Water-pipes in connection with the main are being laid 
down all over the grounds, and a number of houses of 
the lean-to style have been built for the forcing of fruit 
and vegetables. During October last Mr. Sage lifted 
a number of Peaches and Nectarines at the other 
establishment in Leicestershire, and had them brought 
Bottle-tree of Australia : Sterculia rupestris. 
varieties that bloom so late in the season as to be 
ruined by early frosts .—Barnaby Budge. 
-- 
HAM HOUSE, PETERSHAM. 
This ancient family seat is full of historical interest; 
but for the last 80 or 90 years everything has been 
quiescent, and simply prevented from going to ruin. 
Extensive lands still belong to it, but till recently the 
cultivated grounds, and even the kitchen garden, 
almost to the very door of the mansion, have been let 
for market gardening or other purposes. Quite recently 
all this has been altered, and the present Lord Dysart 
evidently intends to rescue this fine old place from the 
neglect into which it had fallen. Although close to 
the village of Petersham, Surrey, the house is quite 
hidden by a rank vegetation of patriarchal trees, 
consisting largely of Elms, particularly alongside of 
the drives, one of which is about a mile in length, and 
another about half a mile. 
The antiquity of the place may also be judged from 
a short avenue of the Holly Oak (Quercus Ilex) running 
across the kitchen garden. There are fifteen large 
trees, varying from 40 ft. to 60 ft. in height, with a 
few smaller ones which have been overpowered by the 
Judging from this, the white variety must be an old 
one. Two Mulberry trees (Morus nigra) also testify to 
their hoary antiquity. They are only from 25 ft. to 
30 ft. high, but have trunks of great thickness, and 
have evidently lost some huge limbs from time to time. 
The mansion is a block of great size, built of red 
bricks, now well weathered ; while the corner stones, 
consisting of Portland oolite, and projecting somewhat 
beyond the general surface, still retain their original 
sharp outline. Over the front door, facing the Thames, 
the date of 1610 is inscribed. On the other side of the 
house there is a terrace with a large piece of lawn in 
front. The grass has not been cut close for the last 
eighty years or more, until quite recently. Flower beds 
had been cut out on the grass, and it is said that their 
outline can still be determined in droughty summers. 
On the terrace wall large quantities of Asplenium Tri- 
chomanes and A. Ruta-muraria seem to have found a 
suitable home for ages past. Amongst the trees and 
shrubs on the outskirts of the lawn the ground is 
carpeted with Daffodils, mostly double, Scilla nutans, 
and other interesting subjects. 
The bedding out has been restricted to hardy her¬ 
baceous plants, which occupy a design of large beds at 
one end of the mansion. Those flowering at present 
all the way to Ham House. Some of them he planted in 
the newly-built houses and others out of doors. The 
latter are now in bloom, but the former having been 
forced, the fruits are already larger than marbles. The 
result is that the trees in some of the houses are already 
in full bearing order, and seem scarcely to have felt 
removal. Amongst Nectarines we noted Yiolette 
Hative, Byron, Humboldt, and Lord Napier. The 
latter is very heavily cropped. A collection of Peaches, 
Nectarines, and Plums in pots, is now flowering in a 
cooler house. Brown Turkey and Negro Largo Figs 
occupy the back wall. Two new kinds in pots are 
being forced, namely, Pingo de Mel, a black-fruiting 
kind, and St. John. The crop is a good one, and 
the fruits seem to be more than half grown. Ne Plus 
Ultra is the favourite Kidney Bean grown here, and 
Keen’s Seedling amongst Strawberries, of which there is 
a large quantity in frames. The earliest batch is well 
advanced. There are also houses for forcing and 
blanching Sea Kale, Dandelion, and other subjects of 
that nature, and the Mushroom beds in another house 
are coming into bearing. A fruit room has also been 
constructed. All the glass houses have been built (by 
Messrs. James Boyd & Sons) on modem principles, with 
due regard to the admission of a maximum of sunlight, 
