Oct. 11th, 1884. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
93 
Hyacinth also, and put the bulb back into the glass 
again. But this very seldom happens if charcoal be 
placed in the glasses. When the bulbs have nicely 
rooted, and they show signs of starting into an 
upward growth, they should be brought to the light 
and placed where they will not become drawn. The 
aim of the cultivator should be to encourage a stout 
sturdy growth, and good blooms can scarcely fail to 
result. When the flower-stem begins to ascend the 
support can be placed in position, and the hook which 
grasps the stem of the spike be gradually raised as 
required. When the glasses are in a sitting-room 
where there is a fire, some of the water will escape by 
evaporation, and care should be taken to keep the 
glasses filled as required. 
Some persons grow Hyacinths in glasses in a 
mixture of cocoa-fibre and fine charcoal. This is 
mixed and sold by sundries’ men. As a matter of 
course this mixture has to be kept quite moist. Last 
spring I filled my glasses with sand from a charcoal- 
burner’s fire. The sand had been burned, and it had 
mixed with it a large quantity of very fine charcoal. 
Into this they rooted freely, grew amazingly, and 
threw up very fine spikes of flowers as highly coloured 
as when grown in pots. It is not every one who can 
procure this sand, but by means of it many bulbs 
might be grown in glasses with great success. 
Let me conclude by naming a few Hyacinths that 
generally do well in glasses :—Single red : Cosmos, 
pale rosy pink ; Emmeline, pale rose ; Gigantia, deli¬ 
cate rose; Macaulay, rose; Norma, delicate waxy 
pink; Queen of Hyacinths, rich rosy-scarlet; and 
Bobert Steiger, bright crimson. Single white : Alba 
Superbissima, pure white; Anna Paulovna, shaded 
white ; Grandeur a Mervielle, pale blush ; Mont Blanc, 
pure white; Paix de l’Europe, snow white; and 
Seraphine, creamy blush. Single blue : Argus, rich 
deep blue; Baron von Tuyll, dark blue; Charles 
Dickens, lilac and pale blue ; GrandLilas, pale greyish- 
blue ; Leonidas, clear bright blue; Mimosa, dark 
purple; Marie, dark lilac-blue ; and Orondates, por¬ 
celain. I leave all the double varieties out, and the 
yellows also, singles included. To my mind yellow 
Hyacinths are only worth looking at when they are 
well grown in pots. 
There is one advantage in having handsome orna¬ 
mental Hyacinth glasses. They are very useful for 
ornamenting a mantelpiece or any part of a sitting- 
room; and they make capital receptacles for cut 
flowers in summer, and up to the time they are 
required for the Hyacinth bulbs.— Quo. 
EASTNOR CASTLE, LEDBURY. 
Eastxob has long been a household word amongst 
gardeners, so much so, that, like the writer, from 
the repeated descriptions given, many others have 
doubtless by imagination pictured what the place is 
like, which picture in their case is just as likely to be 
deceiving as it was in his, and they would do well to 
copy his example and go and see the original. Grapes, 
Peaches, Figs, Melons, Pears, Apples, Ac., they will 
see in abundance—as per expectations—and, good as 
they are, they will see much more and grander and 
rarer sights than these. The first is' the most 
magnificent ground formation conceivable; for the 
undulations seem to roll about at random, and every 
one of them has been made the most of by widening 
a vista here, lengthening out one there, placing a 
grand tree as a central object in a third, and making 
use of another of the gradients to get a peep of the 
lake, and in this way, natural beauties assisted most 
wonderfully by art, and art by nature, goes on ad 
libitum throughout the entire domain. 
Then there’s the trees, why Conifers are—I was 
going to say—the weeds of the place; and they are 
too if rapid growth, and numbers count for anything. 
Pinus insignis may be seen by the score. “ Why, that’s 
insignis? ” “ Yes,” was the reply, “ we have plenty 
of trees finer than that if you come up here,” but I 
had almost said, which was natural enough for a 
cripple, it is all up hill, however there is loadstone 
11 up here,” and we mount, and oh ! how well are we 
re-paid, by splendid scenery alone, there being thrown 
into the bargain, a sight of such trees that are worthy 
of travelling a long distance to behold. Pinus insignis, 
from 30 to 60 ft. high, and almost as much through, 
jolt together with each other, a pity they are so near. 
Pinus austriaea, P. Cembra, P. Engelmannii, P. 
excelsa, P. Jeffreyana, and P. Lambertiana, Abies, 
Albertiana, A. canadensis, A. eephaloniea, A. Douglasii, 
A. Hookerii, A. lasioearpa, A. Morinda (Smithiana), 
A. nobilis, A. Nordmanniana, A. Pinsapo, and A. 
Webbiana, Cedrus Deodara, and Lebanon, Thujopsis 
borealis, T. dolabrata, T. dolabrata variegata, Thuja 
gigantea and Lobbiana, Cryptomerias, Cupressus 
Lambertiana, C. macrocarpa, C. Lawsoniana, C. Law- 
soniana erecta viridis, Junipers’, Retinosporas, and 
Golden Yews are planted in every direction, and 
without exception all are doing well, and for the most 
part are perfect specimens of their several varieties. 
Then there is the lake, extensive and free from 
weeds, with irregular and most natural-looking 
boundaries, and planting of banks adjoining, that 
ever a lake had; and the fine massively-built Castle 
stands, as it were, viewing the whole, with an air of 
repose suggestive of perfect contentedness, because in 
its right place. Of flower-gardening, in the strict 
sense of the term, there is comparatively very little, 
but what there is receives its full meed of attention. 
The beds on the lower terrace which forms a founda¬ 
tion for the Castle, were at the time of my visit 
(August 25th) extremely effective, all the more so by 
reason of the simplicity of both the designs and the 
plants used, Pelargoniums for the most part were the 
ground-w’ork plants, and to break their monotonous 
flat form of growth, as well as to tone down the 
colours, standard plants of Yuccas, Palms, Agaves, 
large Echeveries, Ac., were freely employed. 
An Iresine, of the Lindeni stamp of growth, 
though dwarfer and much brighter, having stems and 
leaf-markings of a brilliant crimson-mauve, Mr. 
Coleman employs largely as a foliage bedder, it is a 
plant of his own raising, and at present has not been 
seen outside Eastnor, but in the interest of gardening, 
and of flower-gardeners in particular, it is to be hoped 
he will shortly put the plant in commerce. As seen 
from the upper terrace, in the beds below, its brilliancy 
was most remarkable, and as a further proof of its 
value, Mr. Coleman informed me that it was equally 
brilliant as a pot-plant for the conservatory in winter 
and spring. Hardy flowers in variety are grown in 
great numbers all about the place, and there is an 
extremely good arrangement of them in the borders 
adjacent to Mr. Coleman’s house. 
Now as to fruits and cabbages, I shall settle the 
last first, by saying that that department is the best 
of all kitchen-gardens I have yet beheld, certainly not 
in size, as it is smaller than expected, but for high 
culture, and extreme neatness of the whole, it far 
transcends all that was expected. Perhaps the feature 
of both this, and the fruit department (indoors and 
out), is the fact, that must be apparent to the most 
casual observer, that the most is made of everything, 
for there is not a yard of ground, or a foot of space 
on the walls, or a corner in any of the houses, but is 
utilized for something,—and not content with doing 
this the “Master of Arts” of Eastnor, actually 
creates space by raising the garden walls in a very 
original way, that is, by use of planks placed edgeways 
on top of the brick walls, a make-shift of the most 
profitable kind, as was proved by the fine crop of 
Peaches with which the trees were covered. Pears, 
and all other hardy fruits, are just as well cared for in 
the matter of pruning, thinning, and feeding, as are 
Grapes, Pines, Peaches, and Figs indoors, which is 
saying a lot. 
No note was made of the number or extent of the 
houses, but they are numerous though not of the 
most modern construction, but the contents being 
sufficiently modern to maintain Mr. Coleman’s 
reputation as a fruit-grower of the first order, the 
shape and size of the houses does not much matter. 
Grapes are grown more extensively than any other 
fruit, the earliest were over at the time of my visit, 
but the Vines indicated their fertility, whilst in later 
houses there were splendid examples of Muscat of 
Alexandria, Kempsey Alicante (Black Morocco, Black 
Alicante, Gros Maroc, Lady Downes, Geo. Colmar, and 
Black Hambro. The Vine I was most anxious to see, 
viz., the oldest of all, and which fills a large span roof 
house, was not in its usual form, shanking (only fancy 
Mr. Coleman being troubled with shanking like the 
rest of us) had been prevalent, and the why, and 
the wherefore, was a puzzler to its honoured custodian, 
the most favoured, and, I think, the most probable 
cause being, that there having been occasion to drain 
very deeply in the immediate neighbourhood of the 
border, or rather in ground near where the best roots 
are situate, some principal root, or roots that were 
gathering nourishment a long way from home, had 
been severed, and supplies being cut off, the check 
had caused shanking ; but from appearances of both 
wood and foliage the injury will not be visible next 
year. 
Peach cultivation heads the list at Eastnor, no trees 
can be finer, training is faultless, and fruit and foliage 
perfection, and they are grown in such numbers, that 
even the roof of an old shed has been utilized as a 
foundation over which to fix some old lights, which 
by courtesy we must call a Peach-house, and it is one 
too, if good trees and better fruit be taken into 
account. Figs are grown extensively, and no fruit 
better illustrates the economy of fruit culture at 
Eastnor, than an example to be seen in one of the 
houses, which is literally feeding off the back wall, 
moss, peat, turf, charcoal, mortar scraps, are all 
packed into wire net-worlc, and the roots are to be 
seen ramifying in these materials, and clinging to the 
wall just as vigorously as if they were in the best soil. 
There are also trees in pots, or tubs, and being 
portable, they can be forced or retarded as may be 
desired; indeed, this seems to be why several other 
fruit trees are honoured by pot or tub culture, i.e., 
to get a dish of fruit just in the nick of time, for 
certain occasions. Not having written any memoranda 
when on my visit, these notes are necessarily imperfect, 
and only include the most striking features of what 
was seen and profitably enjoyed by IF. Wildsmth, 
—a —.. 
THE INTERNATIONAL POTATO 
EXHIBITION. 
This annual and most popular Potato Festival was 
held as usual at the Crystal Palace on Tuesday last 
and two following days. The Exhibition derived all 
the prestige that it was possible to secure from civic 
patronage, having the Lord Mayor of London, though 
unhappily shorn of the gorgeous habiliments of office, 
to open the display, and to preside at the luncheon. 
From the first the Potato Show has enjoyed large 
civic patronage and support, Mr. McKinlay, who 
is the soul, as well as the hon. secretary of the 
Show, labouring most effectually to secure the 
support of his fellow City Dignitaries. The prize list, 
which comprised some twenty classes, is materially 
helped by the donations of various Aldermen and 
other City people, so that the recent tendency on the 
part of raisers to name some of their best novelties 
after Lord Mayors, Aldermen, and other official per¬ 
sonages, is not at all unjustifiable. Then the Show 
has derived much assistance from some of our eminent 
seed firms, who have offered valuable special prizes, 
notably Messrs. Sutton & Sons, of Reading ; Messrs. 
Jas. Carter A Co., Holborn; Messrs. Brickworth, 
Reading; Messrs. Harrison & Sons, Leicester; Mr. 
C. Turner, Slough; Mr. R. Dean, Ealing; Mr. C. 
Fidler, Reading ; and others. The prize list amounted 
to some £150, and showed a liberality in the sums 
allotted such as is seldom found associated with 
Potatos. 
With respect to the general features of the Show, 
we may remark that the average quality ruled higher 
than -was anticipated, though not a few samples were 
rough in the skins. Drought has favoured the production 
of a very clean crop of tubers this year, but whilst size 
has not been wanting, the coats have, as a rule, shown 
an unwonted degree of roughness or rust and scab, and 
thus many good growers found then’ products below 
their customary average quality. Perhaps it was due 
to that circumstance that, for the first time in the 
history of the Show, one grower should have succeeded 
in taking all the leading prizes and thus becoming for 
the year the champion exhibitor in the most pro¬ 
nounced fashion. 
This exhibitor was Mr. Hughes, gardener to Colonel 
Cartwright, Eydon Hall, Byfield, whose success was 
marvellous, as he exhibited some eighty or ninety 
dishes, and all first rate. In the class for twenty-four 
kinds, and which is the premier class of the Show, Mr. 
Hughes was first; a famous grower, Mr. Ellington, of 
Mildenhall, coming second; another good grower, Mr.' 
W. Kerr, of Dumfries, coming third ; and other leading 
