December 17, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
245 
collection of Tree Carnations is a most extensive one 
and splendidly grown and flowered, as may be 
noted from the accompanying illustration of one of 
the houses of Malmaisons which are a specialty. 
The plants here represented are two years old, and it 
is not often that such a superb lot are seen. The 
varieties grown are the pink, pale rose, and scarlet, 
and Mr. Whillans’ mode of treatment may be 
summed up in a few words. He layers in July, and 
these give him healthy, stocky plants which Cower 
the following May, and being potted on into large 
deep pots, a specialty of Messrs. Sankey’s manu¬ 
facture, they flower through the following winter 
and spring. About thirty other sorts are also 
grown in splendid style, and the dense, bushy plants 
of Germannia and exceedingly pretty examples 
of the crimson Winter Cheer specially took our 
fancy. 
In a block of seven span-roofed houses, n8 ft. 
long, with glass corridors at both ends, we observed 
great amount of material for cutting; and another 
house of Ferns and Selaginellas, the nucleus of a 
good collection, contains some hanging masses of 
Selaginella in ordinary Orchid baskets, which are 
worth seeing by any gardener. 
The ranges of Vineries and Peach houses are not 
of much interest just now, but a house of Winter 
Cucumbers and French Beans was found a very en¬ 
joyable place for a brief rest on a cold day. Mr. 
Whillans’ admirable stone built cottage, the bothy 
for the large staff of young men, the long range of 
offices, fruit rooms, and sheds are all matters of 
interest to the practical visitor, for all are on a 
large and admirable scale ; and so also are the stoke¬ 
holes, which contain eight Trentham boilers of 
powerful dimensions, which provide all the heat 
that is required. Neatness and perfect good order 
allied to high-class cultivation is the distinguishing 
feature of Mr. Whillans' management, and nothing 
could be better. 
voured to put this information to a practical purpose, 
and in 1880 he constructed three large houses of 
different shapes and dimensions, which he deno¬ 
minated — first, the English house, with a low roof, 
the Vines having their roots both inside and outside, 
planted after the English method ; second, the Bel¬ 
gian house, with the roots of the Vine inside and a 
forced cultivatibn ; third, the French house, with 
French Vines planted outside, there being also a 
mixed culture of Strawberries and fruit trees in pots. 
After making experiments with over one hundred 
varieties of Vines, he finally adopted only six or 
seven as being suitable for growing under glass 
Although, owing to the higher price of coal and of 
building materials in France, he was heavily handi¬ 
capped by comparison with the English and Belgian 
growers, he determined not to be beaten, and a 
visit from M. Tisserand, the director of agriculture, 
encouraged him to persevere, and in the winter of 
1887-88 the first lot of his winter Grapes appeared 
A Carnation House at Blenheim : Souvenir de la Malmaison. 
some well-grown Mignonette, fine healthy batches of 
Gardenias, Pancratiums, Eucharis, Anthurium, An- 
dreanum, Asparagus plumosus, Pandanus Veitchi, 
a pretty lot of Acalypha tricolor, some immense 
specimens of Anthurium Schertzerianum Veitchi with 
grandly developed foliage ; a capital lot of Ferns, 
including fine masses of Davallia Mooreana, and a 
nice batch of Myrsiphyllum asparagoides. Small 
Palms for decoration are grown by hundreds, and 
one house contains some 1,500 pot Roses—all Teas, 
and mostly on their own roots and just starting into 
growth. Large plants of the double Ivy-leaved 
Pelargonium Madame Crousse, and some finely de¬ 
veloped bracts of Poinsettia pulcherrima also attract 
•attention. A couple of smaller houses are filled with 
double-flowered Chinese Primroses and Cyclamens, 
and both are beautifully done. Of the former, the 
old double white and A. F. Barron are the favourites, 
and the plants are models of good cultivation. A 
house of F. V. Raspail Pelargoniums also yields a 
FORCED FRUIT IN FRANCE. 
The Societe Nationale d'Agriculture has recently 
presented its gold medal to M. Anatole Cordonnier, 
of Roubaix, in recognition of the services which he 
has rendered to French horticulture, by giving a 
stimulus to the production of forced fruits, more es¬ 
pecially Peaches and Grapes, in the northern depart¬ 
ments. It was in 1869 that M. Cordonnier, a 
wealthy cotton spinner at Roubaix, took to fruit 
growing as a relaxation, and, being anxious to pro¬ 
duce fruits which would be successful at shows, he 
took the opportunity when travelling in connection 
with his business to visit the hot-houses of the prin¬ 
cipal growers in Belgium and England, whose estab¬ 
lishments were in high repute. In 1875, by which 
time he had already two forcing houses of his own, 
he found his way to the establishments of the best 
English and Scotch growers, where he obtained in¬ 
formation which enabled him to extend his culti¬ 
vation of Grapes and of fruits in pots. He endea- 
in the Paris markets,”and 2 brought about a consider¬ 
able reduction in the price of those from Belgium, 
which had hitherto enjoyed a monopoly. But 
finding that land was so dear in Roubaix, he 
extended in 1889 his business—for a business it 
had become—to Bailleul, a little way out of the 
town, and by November of that year had put up 
over ten miles of glass, producing in the following 
year forty tons of Tomatos, 6,000 baskets of Straw¬ 
berries, and 12,000 large Chrysanthemums, pending 
the maturing of his Vines, which did not, of course, 
bear that year. In 1890 and 1891 he added over six 
miles more of glass, so that he now has sixteen miles 
of glass, which, at about x6s per metre, have cost 
£21,000, in addition to which the land has cost 
£2,200, while other expenses bring the total up to 
£28,000. The Roubaix establishment brings the 
total up to £42,000, and the revenue is estimated tc 
reach £9,800, derived from the sale of thirty-eight 
tons of Grapes in December, January, February, 
