206 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
Nov. 29th, 1884. 
leaves folding over to protect the flower, as is usual 
with this fine sort. Brussels Sprouts too, never a 
profitable crop unless well grown, w-ere in great force. 
One might see at a glance the result of liberal 
dressings of manure. On inquiry of one of the oldest 
tenants we were told that at the least Is. per pole was 
spent yearly in manure. This would average, perhaps, 
three loads to each 20-pole plot. 
The usual difficulty arose when endeavouring to 
ascertain the profit on an allotment. On this point 
our informant was, perhaps, unnecessarily reticent. 
Few to whom we have spoken, however, admit any 
margin of profit when taking account of the labour 
bestowed. The point, however, is, to a certain extent, 
immaterial. The benefit of an allotment-ground to a 
workman is, that when properly worked it will give a 
fair return for the labour he invests. It affords, in 
fact, the opportunity of working overtime whenever 
he cares to do so, and offers also employment when he 
is out of work. In either case the time employed 
must have been lost without the plot of ground, from 
the circumstance that nothing else could be found to 
employ the time profitably. My informant, however, 
when further interrogated, admitted that the crops 
did pay for labour, and he laid great stress upon the 
fact that he could come and gather fresh vegetables, 
as much as he required, whenever he wished to do so. 
Another allotment tenant, to whom the question of 
profit was put, a very hard-working, steady carpenter, 
with a family of big lads, “ reckoned” that his allot¬ 
ment, 15 poles, was worth £7 a year to him. It would 
cost them, he said, 3s. a week in vegetables, and these 
his land produced. Probably in his case it was worth 
more, as he had not taken into account the considerable 
quantity of refuse garden-stuff consumed by two well- 
fed pigs. But then this tenant trenched his ground, 
which was a heavy loam with subsoil of clay, two spits 
deep every winter, and gave it plenty of manure, 
besides an occasional dressing of gas-lime or burnt 
clay. It occurs to me, with regard to the Berkham- 
stead allotments, that in all probability the influence 
of the great nursery is felt; several of the tenants are 
employed there, and bring to the work greater intel¬ 
ligence and skill; and then - example would have its 
effect upon others. Before leaving we strolled up to 
the Common, on the further side of which are the 
larger portions of the famous nurseries. 
There are probably a thousand acres of land on 
which parishioners of the parish of Berkhamstead 
have Common rights. Our readers may remember a 
noteworthy incident with regard to the Common 
which occurred some eighteen years ago. Adjoining 
are the estates of Earl Brownlow of Ashridge, and 
his Lordship, without consulting the Commoners, 
enclosed a few hundred acres with iron fencing. Mr. 
Augustus Smith, whose charming gardens at Tresco, 
in the Scilly Islands, have been frequently 
described in the horticultural press, also owned 
estates in the neighbourhood, and he championed 
the Commoners in a most practical and effective way. 
A special train left Euston late one evening with an 
apparently indiscriminate mob of roughs. Their 
destination was Berkhamstead Common, and their 
business to remove the new fencing. The men were 
provided with necessary tools for the purpose, and ere 
morning broke every vestige of the fence was removed, 
rolled up, and set neatly aside. A law suit followed, 
and the case was carried to the House of Lords, but 
His Majesty of Tresco, the amateur gardener, pre¬ 
vailed, and his Lordship was mulcted in enormously 
heavy costs. Would there were more Augustus 
Smiths, there might then be more allotment gardens ! 
The day of my visit was one of the most beautiful 
of all the many days of this exceptionally fine autumn. 
There was a blue sky flecked with soft white cloudlets, 
the gentlest of breezes, and enough sunshine to give 
life and movement to the picture. The hedges were 
all aglow with rich autumnal tints, the coral and 
orange-scarlet of holly-berries and heps sparkling 
like points of fire. Oaks, Beeches, and Elms had 
thrown down their leafy crowns of sienna and gold 
on the green turf beneath, and the elegant tracery of 
their branches was mapped out clearly on the pearly- 
greys and blues of the autumn sky. All that was 
wanted to complete the picture, some would say, was 
the gay cavalcade of scarlet-coated horsemen and 
the famous pack of the 0. B. sweeping athwart the 
breezy hills, waking the echoes of the woods with the 
eager music of the ehas@i ^Bover, 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
Manchester Horticultural Improvement.— 
The fortnightly meeting of this Society was held on 
the 20th inst., Mr. Bruce Findlay (the President) in 
the Chair. The paper for the evening was by Mr. A. 
Stansfield, on “ Some Practical Hints on Planting,” 
and attracted a large attendance. 
The Chairman said those present knew that the 
planting of trees is a scientific operation, and therefore 
not so easily performed as some persons imagine. 
But science alone would not ensure successful planting, 
and on that account it was satisfactory to know that 
Mr. Stansfield combines theoretical knowledge with 
practical experience. The popular notion about 
planting is that if a hole is made in the ground and 
the roots of the tree are stuck into it, nothing more 
is necessary. He thought, however, that it is most 
desirable that every gardener should be able to give a 
reason why a particular kind of tree is planted in 
a certain situation and at a particular part of the 
year. 
Mr. Stansfield said that his remarks were intended 
to apply specially to the difficulties attending the 
cultivation of plants in the vitiated climate of a great 
manufacturing district like Manchester. Before 
dealing with that subject he ventured to express the 
opinion that people in these northern parts of England 
are liable to be mislead on horticultural questions by 
taking their instructions from articles written by men 
in the south who know nothing or very little about the 
climatic conditions of these northern towns. Coming 
now to the subject of his paper, he first dealt with 
evergreens, and said the best time to plant them is 
either late in summer or early in autumn. He would 
not draw any hard or fast line, but say a little sooner 
or a little later than the end of September, and always 
while the ground is yet warm. One strong reason for 
this is the uncertain kind of weather in the early 
spring, often being more like a second winter. The 
common Holly intended for hedge-fencing should be 
planted in ground that is well drained, and should 
never be clipped with shears, but tenderly pruned 
with the knife. 
For the pitched-up banks so common in crowded 
towns the Aucuba is a very suitable shrub, espe¬ 
cially where there is too much smoke, as the im¬ 
purities therefrom are easily washed off the leaves. 
It is a mistake to suppose that the Rhododendron will 
flourish under the' same conditions as the Holly ; it 
requires exactly the opposite, for it must have a damp 
soil, but by no means a marshy one. They must be 
planted low down rather than high up, and should 
have some peat or turf about them, but it should be 
peat that has lain in the open-air for some time. 
After a brief reference to the Privet (a most useful 
shrub for fencing), the Laurels, and the Yews, he said 
he would leave the deciduous shrubs and trees for a 
future paper. 
Mr. M’Kellab (gardener at Abney Hall, Cheadle) 
said he understood Mr. Stansfield to condemn the 
Yew, but his experience was that the Golden Yew is 
the best shrub grown for lawns. Of course if it were 
frequently covered with smoke it might not grow so 
well, but out at Cheadle he had grown it so as to look 
very beautiful for two months in the year ; indeed he 
considered it was better than the Holly. 
Mr. Stansfield explained that his remarks about 
the Yew were only intended to apply to smoky towns ; 
he did not object to its cultivation in such places as 
Cheadle. 
Mr. Swan (the Secretary of the Society) said he was 
glad that Mr. Stansfield had dealt with his subject 
from a local standpoint, because gardeners were apt to 
make mistakes when they attempt to apply the know¬ 
ledge gained in one district to the work they had to do 
in another district which presented very different 
conditions. 
Mr. W. Plant (gardener at Woodheys Hall, Ashton- 
on-Mersey) considered that early autumn was the best 
time for planting either evergreens or deciduous 
plants. Adverting to Mr. Stansfield’s complaint that 
the articles in the horticultural journals are written 
from a southern point of view, and therefore often 
inapplicable to gardening in the North of England, he 
said that seme of those articles were written by 
northern men, and the only fault he had to find 
with the writers was that they don’t indicate the 
places where the produce of which they write is 
grown. 
The Chairman said spring had always been recog¬ 
nized as the best time for planting Hollies. 
Mr. B. S. Williams (of Holloway) said there was no 
doubt that Ivy was one of our best town plants. Aucubas 
do better just about London than any other plants. 
Deep planting is very bad for any kind of trees. A 
great deal depends also on the situation and the 
seasons. He believed that early planting was the 
best, but if there be a moist season they could plant at 
almost any time of it. 
On the motion of Mr. R. Tait, a vote of thanks was 
accorded to Mr. Stansfield for his paper, and the 
meeting terminated. 
■-G—- 
CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOWS. 
Yeovil.—Until this year, there has been no local 
incentive to the growth of the Chrysanthemum in the 
neighbourhood of Yeovil, but initiative steps to esta¬ 
blish a Show having been taken by Mr. C. Tite, of 
Fairview, he received the cordial and unanimous 
support of the whole of the gardeners and Chrysan¬ 
themum growers over a large district of which Yeovil 
is the centre, and the outcome of these efforts largely 
exceeded the most sanguine expectations. Being the 
first Show, the schedule issued was of a very modest 
character, and plenty of room was left for future 
development. Notwithstanding this, however, and 
notwithstanding that the Taunton, Bristol, and Devizes 
Chrysanthemum Shows are held on days closely 
approximate to the day fixed for the Yeovil Show, the 
18th inst., the entries came in in almost overwhe lmin g 
numbers. It was originally thought that the Town 
Hall would be large enough to receive the whole of the 
exhibits, but the fallacy of this idea was soon apparent, 
and the spacious Corn Exchange as well as the Council 
Chamber and the Justice Room had to be engaged, 
and even with all this increased space, the accommo¬ 
dation was scarcely equal to the emergency, every 
available spot being filled. The exhibition, however, 
was not confined to Chrysanthemums alone—prizes 
being offered for table plants, Grapes, Pears, Apples, 
Tomatos, Mushrooms, and Salad. The display in the 
floral department was also largely augmented by 
plants kindly sent for exhibition and not for competi¬ 
tion by various local cultivators. 
A very interesting feature in the Show, which 
tended to illustrate the adaptability of the Chrysan¬ 
themum for table ornament and other similar purposes, 
consisted of a number of small plants sent by Major 
Gooden, of Compton House. Scarcely 6 ins. in height; 
they were covered with masses of beautiful bloom, and 
formed a striking contrast to the tall plants of the 
Japanese kinds. Groups of plants for decorating the 
entrances to the staff-cases, landing, Ac., of the Hall 
and Corn Exchange were lent by Mrs. Harbin, Mr. T. 
W. Dampier-Bide, Mr. Brutton, and Mr. J. E. Whitby 
(of Hollands). These were admirably arranged by 
Mr. Quick (gardener to Mrs. Harbin), Mr. Applebee 
(gardener to Mr. Bide), Mr. Crossman (gardener to 
Mr. Brutton), and Mr. Hanham (gardener to Mr. 
Whitby). 
Mr. R. Davis, Yeovil, also sent a variety of plants for 
decorating the tables, mantelpieces, and odd corners of 
the buildings, and Messrs. Scott & Co. lent valuable 
assistance in the same direction. Mr. Dampier-Bide 
and Mr. J. E. Whitby also sent a variety of plants for 
exhibition, and a contribution of specialities—including 
bunches of cut Violets in show trays, and several pots 
of the exquisitely-perfumed “ Marie Louise ” variety, 
admirably grown, and some Gloxinias, sent by Mr. 
Henry B. Batten, as well as a group of plants and a 
box of mixed Chrysanthemums. Window plants, 
plates of fruit, &c., were sent by Mrs. Greenham, of 
Hendford ; and Mr. W. G. Pragnell, of Sherborne, sent 
splendid collections of Vegetables and Apples. A 
large stage in the Council Chamber was occupied by 
specimens of about 225 different sorts of Apples and 
Pears sent for exhibition by Messrs. Scott & Co. Two 
splendid trays of Chrysanthemum Blooms—one of 
incurved and the other of the Japanese varieties— 
were kindly contributed by Mr, J; Wright, ef the 
