392 
THE GARDENING- WORLD 
Feb. 21st, 1885. 
Tie Amateto fkniiN. 
THE GREENHOUSE. 
Damp, the great enemy in the greenhouse during 
the winter, has now lost its power, for with the sun 
and nice weather it is dispelled rapidly, and if there is 
just a little air admitted on all favourable occasions 
there is no longer any risk of it injuring the flowers, 
instead of which a little moisture in the atmosphere 
will be beneficial to most of the plants. These will 
require careful watching to see that they do not suffer 
from want of water, but this should not be given till 
needed, as to get the balls of soil into a sodden state 
does irreparable mischief by destroying the roots. 
These remarks apply more particularly to hard-wooded 
subjects, as Cinerarias, Primulas, Pelargoniums, 
and such like take up more water on account of their 
leafage, especially at this season, and to let them get 
dry causes a great check to the blossoms. 
For all soft-w'ooded plants liquid manure will now 
be a great help, or a more easy way of applying stimu¬ 
lants is to get a tin of some of the artificial compounds, 
such as Clay’s Fertilizer, and sprinkle a little on 
the surface of the soil, when it will be gradually 
washed in and produce a good effect on the flowers 
and foliage. To keep a greenhouse gay few things are 
of so much value as the early blooming Rhododen¬ 
drons and hardy Azaleas, as without artificial heat 
they are in at or soon after this season, and make a 
magnificent show. Among the Rhododendrons the 
different varieties of R. Nobleanum should be chosen, 
and R. altaclarense, R. Cunninghami, R. Broughtonia- 
num, and R. Brayanum are good. 
The best of the Azaleas are the varieties of 
A. mollis, which are of dw’arf habit, and produce freely 
very fine trusses of flowers, and good-sized seedlings 
ready for immediate potting may be had for about 20s. 
to 30*. per dozen, and nice plants of Rhododendrons 
for a few shillings more. As soon as received they 
should be potted firm in good fibry peat, with a dash 
of sharp sand mixed, and if then stood in the house 
they will soon be in bloom. Weigela rosea, Viburnum 
plicatum, Sweet Briar, and Lilac Charles X. are all 
useful plants that amateurs should have, as when 
their beauty is over they may be plunged or stood out, 
and if taken care of in watering during the summer, 
they will do duty for years. 
Roses, too, in pots are invaluable, especially the 
Tea scented kinds, as they are nearly always in flower 
and do well under glass without any forcing. If room 
on the rafters or under the roof of the greenhouse can 
be spared a Marechel Niel or Gloire de Dijon should 
be planted, as when either of these varieties become 
established they yield a great number of blooms. To 
give them a fair start it is necessary to make a fresh 
border for them by putting in a barrowload or two of 
good loam, or, better still perhaps, plant them outside 
and run the stems through a hole in the wall, as then 
the roots are in a more favourable position and not 
so likely to suffer through being dry or wet as they 
are under the stage. Those who are so fortunate as 
to have either of these two Roses should not prune 
them, but simply thin out the shoots where they are 
too thick and crowded, as every bud up their entire 
length, if the wood is well ripened, will flower. 
It may seem early to be thinking of providing for 
the autumn, but it is high time that Chrysanthemums 
were propagated and cuttings of perpetual Carnations 
put in, the first of which strike readily if inserted in 
sandy soil in small pots, and stood on a damp bottom, 
where they can be kept close under a hand-glass. 
The Carnations do best where they can have a little 
heat, and it is a good plan with these to put the 
hand-light on the lining of a dung-bed, and, having 
placed in it 3 ins. or 4 ins. of sharp soil, the cuttings 
may then be dibbled in, and, if watered, they will very 
soon root. 
PITS AND FRAMES. 
These ought now to be in full use, as there is so 
much they are capable of, for what with forcing, 
bringing on plants for the greenhouse, receiving those 
fresh potted for bedding, and being utilized for propa¬ 
gating and raising further stock their capabilities will 
soon be tried to the uttermost. For propagating and 
seed raising, except where the requirements are large, 
a one-light box is sufficient and the most handy, as 
nothing needs to be in long, for seeds soon germinate 
and come up, and cuttings, where the conditions are 
favourable, strike quickly, and both need removal then 
to a position where they can get more sun and air. A 
second or nursery frame should, therefore, be kept 
where the young seedlings and fresh-rooted cuttings 
can be placed in gentle heat and nursed on after they 
are potted or pricked out, following on which they 
may be transferred to another pit or frame to make 
room for a fresh batch and be hardened off ready for 
turning out in the open. 
The most difficult seeds to manage are those that 
are very small, among which may be mentioned 
Gloxinia and Begonia, and these require special 
preparation and care. The way to manage them 
and others of like nature is to fill the pots or pans 
intended for them with fine soil, which should be 
made quite level and smooth on the top, and then 
sprinkled with water, an hour or so after which all 
will be ready for sowing the seed. This should then 
be scattered regularly, but not covered beyond having 
the slightest dust of fine sand, when the next thing to 
do is to lay a pane of glass over and darken it by 
placing a piece of paper on that. The pans or pots 
should then be stood in moist heat, and directly the 
seed begins to germinate, which it will in a few days, 
the paper must be removed to admit light, and the 
soil kept just damp by sprinkling it with water through 
a very fine rose, but as the plants are so minute much 
care is necessary or they become displaced or washed 
out and lost. 
FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
As we may yet get sharp frosts, vine borders should 
be covered with a few inches of short stable manure, 
to keep the roots active, or the buds that are now fast 
swelling will suffer a check. Many dig their vine 
borders, and even crop them, but the disturbance is 
bad, as it prevents the formation of surface feeders, 
and destroys others, making the roots take a down¬ 
ward course, and driving them into the dead bad soil 
below, and when they get there, Grapes fail to colour 
and shank, and the vines soon lose their vigour and 
health. Those who have houses they wish to plant 
will find this a good time for doing it, and should 
get nice young healthy plants with well-ripened rods. 
These should be shaken from the soil they are in, and 
have their roots carefully spread out and laid regularly 
in the border, instructions for making which were 
given a short time ago. 
Gooseberry and Currant bushes, as well as Plum 
trees, will require close watching to keep off sparrows 
and finches, which are very destructive to the buds, 
and as these are fast swelling, all pruning and nailing 
ought to be brought to a close. In the vegetable 
department preparation should be made for a sowing 
of Onions, Parsnips, Spinach, Milan Turnips, Parsley, 
Broad Beans, and Peas, which ought to be got in as 
soon as the land is favourable, and a row of Broad 
Beans and Peas sown or planted fortnightly after this 
till the middle of June will keep up a regular supply 
till the autumn. 
BEDS AND BORDERS. 
Evergreens that have outgrown their allotted space 
or are becoming too large, may now be pruned, but it 
is not a good time for transplanting, as the March 
winds are often very cutting, and it is better to wait 
till they are past, and the genial showers and soft air 
of April set in, as then the plants start off to grow at 
once, and soon become re-established. In the pruning 
of Roses, much diversity of opinion exists among 
growers as to the proper season to carry out the 
operation, but to let the plants grow and make young 
shoots, and then cut them away, is clearly a waste of 
force, and it is impossible for them to break so strong 
again after. This being so, the pruning should be 
done at once, but in carrying it out much discrimina¬ 
tion is required, as Teas must not be cut in hard, and 
the climbers, as already observed, in touching on those 
in the greenhouse, only need thinning, while perpetuals 
may be cut back to the last two or three buds. 
If these are grown as standards, it is a good plan to 
give the stems a scrub with a stiff brush, which will 
clean the bark and add greatly to the health of the 
plants. As soon as this is done, all will be in readi¬ 
ness for manuring, and the way to do this, in the case 
of the standards, is to open round them by with¬ 
drawing the surface soil down to a depth of 3 ins. or 
so, and after placing the dung it should be returned 
so as to cover it, and leave all neat and tidy. In 
beds, it is better to use very short manure, and let it 
remain as a mulching for the rains to carry the 
pieces down, but if its appearance proves objection¬ 
able, it may be worked in by pointing over the ground 
with a fork, taking care not to go deep enough to 
damage the roots. 
Herbaceous borders may be treated in like manner, 
and it is a good time now to divide any plants 
that are getting too large, as they may be cut 
through with safety, or moved and replanted on 
any fresh sites. The positions of all bulbs ought to 
be marked, as otherwise in disturbing the soil they 
are almost sure to be dug into, and soon become lost. 
Among the very finest things for borders are the 
Gladiolus, a few of which should be planted at once, 
and others later on for succession. 
VINTERS’ PARK. 
Situated in the parish of Boxley, and about one 
mile east of the ancient borough of Maidstone, and in 
the centre of a district long famous for the cultivation 
of Hops and Apples, or, as men of Kent claim, for its 
Hops, Cherries, and pretty women, is Vinters’ Park, 
the property and residence of J. Whatman, 'Esq., a 
descendant of an ancient family belonging to the 
Weald of Kent, and to whose grandfather the country 
is indebted for great improvements in the art of paper¬ 
making, which important industry is still carried on 
at the famous Turkey Mills, on the outskirts of 
Vinters’ Park, by J. Hollingworth, Esq., a famous 
rosarian. Some 500 years ago Vinters’ was the 
ancient residence of a family of that name, the 
mansion having been built in 1343. In 1408 the 
estate passed out of the possession of the Vinters’ 
family, and between that time and 1783, when it was 
purchased by the grandfather of the present pro¬ 
prietor, it changed hands several times. The mansion 
was rebuilt by the first Mr. Whatman who owned it, 
and again greatly enlarged and for the most part 
rebuilt in 1850 by its present owner. 
The Park of Vinters is about 250 acres in 
extent, beautifully undulated, and well timbered, 
the principal tree being the Elm, of which there 
are numbers of very fine old specimens as well 
as some good Oaks, which seem to thrive well in 
the good sound loam of widely varying depth, which 
overlays the Kentish Rag. Besides the trees we have 
named, which may be considered natives, the park 
has also been extensively dotted at prominent points 
with groups and single specimens of the Welling- 
tonia gigantea, Sequoia sempervirens, the deciduous 
Cypress, Yews and other coniferous trees, Maples, 
American Hickory and flowering thorns, with the 
object of improving views in different directions. 
In this respect — the number and variety of 
the views which it contains—Vinters’ Park is not 
surpassed by any park we have seen of a similar 
area, containing within its own borders as it does, 
hills, dales, rocks and water, individually and collec¬ 
tively of interest and beauty, and beyond them 
distant views of a charming landscape, ranging to 
the Boxley Hills on the one side and over Penenden 
Heath and well into the weald of Sussex on the 
other. 
The mansion, the west front of which forms the 
subject of our illustration, is well placed on one 
of the highest points in the park, with terrace gardens 
on the south and west fronts, and pleasure ground and 
kitchen garden on the other sides. In the grounds about 
the mansion are some handsome young Deodars, a 
good specimen of the Maiden-hair tree, &c , and growing 
in but a few inches of soil on the top of a rock is a 
specimen of the Clanbrasilian Fir about 8 ft. high 
and 6 ft. in diameter. On the walls of the 
south front there is a noble example of the 
Exmouth variety of Magnolia grandiflora; and 
a noteworthy specimen of Bignonia radicans 
a wonderful old plant it may well be called, and 
which is regularly pruned like a vine, and the 
young shoots neatly tied in, when they have attained 
