August 26, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
817 
Excursion to Windsor and the Royal Gardens. —The 
annual trip to some famous gardens is invariably a 
red-letter day with the members of the Birmingham 
Gardeners’ Association, and thanks to the kindness 
of Mr. Owen Thomas—who has a troop of friends in 
the Midlands,and whose very hearty co-operation was 
secured—he met the large party of members and 
ladies at Windsor, and was their genial guide 
for the whole of the day. The State apartments 
were visited, and the Albert Memorial and St. 
George Chapels, the Rev. Canon Walton most 
kindly piloting the party and explaining details. 
Then an inspection of the terrace gardens, the 
stables, and then dinner in the Town Hall. Brakes 
were then in readiness, and with Mr. Thomas in his 
wagonette to lead the way, a glorious drive up the 
Long Walk to see the big Vine with its i,8oo bunches, 
at Cumberland Lodge, and away for a drive around 
Virginia Water, was a surprise and a treat to the 
greater portion of the party who had never before seen 
the 300 acres of water surrounded by charming woods 
and scenery. The glorious old forest trees, and such 
specimens of Spruce, Scots and other Firs, the long 
Rhododendron drive, and so many rare trees, were of 
great interest. A brief look through the Home 
Farm, and all the high bred cattle there, and a view 
through the Royal Dairy—for the time was rapidly 
passing away, and the Royal Gardens at Frogmore 
had to be reached and seen through—but it vas 
a brief, hurried visit, for tea was ordered to be ready 
at Windsor, and time allowed for gaining our seats 
in the train and starting homewards. It will be an 
ever-remembered day by the party, although the heat 
was intense, and so trying, and warm, and hearty 
thanks came from all to Mr. Thomas for his kind 
and courteous attention.— W D. 
--- 
LETTUCES FOR WINTER 
AND SPRING. 
There are establishments where a daily supply of 
Lettuce is expected from the garden during the whole 
year, and some with a limited amount of experience 
may think this a comparatively easy matter, whilst 
most of those who have had to do it will readily 
admit that with respect to the dull winter months it 
is a task of some difficulty, and not readily accom¬ 
plished without ample means and some amount of 
forethought. Employers who expect the salad bowl 
to be supplied with this, the best of all salading 
materials, during winter should furnish their gardens 
with an ample supply of two light boxes, which I 
prefer to anything else ; and given these there need 
seldom be a time when the gardener cannot furnish 
the table with a fairly good salad, if proper steps are 
taken. 
The practice frequently advocated of lifting plants 
from the open ground with good balls of earth in 
October and November is rarely a success, as the 
plants too frequently gradually dwindle away, so 
that by February and March there is a difficulty in 
getting even a few good leaves. I advocate the 
marking out of a plot of well-manured ground into 
beds the width of the lights and planting the Lettuce 
when quite young in their permanent quarters, so 
that flagging, which invariably accompanies the 
lifting of the plants when large, is avoided, and this 
has very much to do with the after decay attendant 
upon the too common practice alluded to. For the 
early and mid-winter supply a few frames full 
of plants, which are nearly at their best when the 
winter sets in, should be provided, and directly there 
is any danger of frost, the frames should be put 
over them, keeping them well aired and as cool as 
possible. They will move very slowly, and not 
having been disturbed by the lifting process after 
attaining maturity, will not be so subject to decay 
from damp. Frost, of course, must be excluded, by 
covering the lights, and if necessary the sides of the 
frame. 
For later plantations to succeed these I would keep 
the lights off till frost becomes severe enough to in¬ 
jure them, unless, owing to excessive rains, the soil 
is in danger of becoming soddened. I would also, 
when the frames are first put on, elevate them on 
bricks, in order to secure a free circulation of air,and 
as much air as the exigences of the season will admit 
of. For the earlier part of spring, some provision 
should be made by arranging a few frames so that a 
lining of fermenting material can be placed around 
them to secure a gentle warmth, and where this is 
done, cover up with mats at night. For use later on, 
those left to grow more naturally should have 
occasional waterings with liquid-manure, or a top 
dressing of some of the artificial manures now so 
much in use, keeping the surface of the soil well 
stirred. Cabbage Lettuces are really the best for 
winter work, because, owing to their flat growth they 
can be kept nearer the glass ; at the same time there 
are those who prefer Cos varieties, and will have 
them if possible. 
I have sometimes noticed that on the well- 
manured soil of market gardens where they have 
had to brave the storms of winter without the 
slightest protection, good, well hearted Lettuces have 
been obtained earlier than in private establishments 
supposed to be more favourably circumstanced ; at 
the same time, market men consider them a risky 
crop which cannot be reckoned on to pay oftener 
than once in four or five years. In most, if not all, 
suburban districts the sparrows have for some years 
done great damage to this crop during the autumn, 
winter, and spring months ; so to prevent their depre¬ 
dations it will in many instances be found necessary 
to protect the plants when young by stretching a 
piece of netting over them. Of Cabbage Lettuces, 
All the Year Round is the one I have most largely 
grown, and I once grew one of German origin called 
Golden Ball which I thought well of, but after a few 
seasons could not get it true. It stood a long time 
in summer without bolting. As a White Cos for 
winter and spring I consider Hick’s Hardy White 
still unequalled.— G. 
THE CHICAGO EXHIBITION. 
The " mountain ” under the great dome of the hor¬ 
ticultural building at the World’s Fair, which we 
were lead to expect would “ astonish the natives ” 
is a total failure from an artistic point of view. 
Readers of horticultural and other papers have, for 
nearly two years been looking forward to this antici¬ 
pated triumph of floricultural and decorative art, but, 
alas ! they have been doomed to disappointment, for 
the whole thing has not a single redeeming feature. 
You will remember how the magnitude of the dome 
was boomed, how loudly it was claimed for it that it 
would be “ a world beater ’’ for grandeur and artistic 
skill; and you will consequently not be surprised at 
my being anxious to see the wonder. Late in April 
I arrived at the Fair when the whole thing was chaos, 
and the mound consisted only of a rough wooden 
framework, rising in the air some sixty or more feet, 
and without shape or design, excepting that here and 
there were some stretches of canvas painted red and 
which we had to imagine represented rocks. 
Being absent from the Fair for some weeks I 
expected on my return that I should see the crude 
idea developed into a mountain clothed with verdure 
and beautiful beyond compare, but to my astonish¬ 
ment and disgust, such a jumbled up heap of rubbish 
I had never before set eyes on. It is true there were 
a few good plants to be seen, but the way in which 
the good and the bad had been pitched together 
spoilt the whole thing, so that it represents nothing 
in nature. To call it a mountain is positively absurd, 
for no mountain was ever clothed like it. It repre¬ 
sents no particular type of vegetation, and to say that 
it is rustic and natural in design, is a libel on Nature, 
for the greatest crank must admit that Nature never 
appears so much out of shape, proportion and place 
as does this thing. 
Let me give you a brief description of the things 
to be seen on this wonderful mountain. Looking 
towards the west, which is possibly the best side, we 
see a few large pieces of the Screw Pine, a large tree 
of Ficus elastica, a scrubby bush of Hibiscus 
Cooperi, a number of plants of Musa ensete, and a 
few Cannas. On the south side common Poplars, 
some dead and dying Palms, some Maples and 
Gourds form the chief feature. The eastern side 
much resembles the south, but the north is slightly 
better, the attractions being a few good Musas and a 
huge plant of Ficus elastica. I should add that bare 
places between the plants are filled up with Spruce 
boughs. 
Underneath the heap, for I can call it nothing else, 
there is a great cave in which we were told that ex¬ 
periments with the electric light on vegetation would 
be conducted, and which was to be an object lesson 
to florists on the value of the electric light. But this 
brilliant idea went the way of others and we have 
instead a “ Crystal Cave ” let out to a concession 
who charge five cents and sometimes ten cents for 
admission, but show nothing for the money except a 
little crystal from Dakota, which they try to sell to 
the unwary at exhorbitant prices. At the base of 
the mound is a splendid exhibit of Palms shown by 
Messrs. Pitcher & Manda, and the States of 
Pennsylvania and New York. These I will refer to 
more fully in my next. In the pathway round the 
mound are some twenty-two stands for the sale of 
" fakes,” souvenirs of the exhibition, &c. These 
have the best positions and shut out from the public 
view some splendid exhibits, brought here from great 
distances and at great expense. One's sympathies 
are entirely with the Exhibitors and against the 
management which tolerates such outrages against 
common sense and fair dealing. In my next I will 
send you some notes on exhibits and exhibitors ; in 
the meantime believe me, the World’s Fair does not 
represent American horticulture at its best.— Am. 
Cor. 
--- 
PARK PLACE, 
HENLEY-ON-THAMES. 
This, the magnificent residence of Mrs. Noble, is 
situated on the left bank of the Thames, that is, on 
the Berkshire side of the river, and on or near the 
top of a heavily-wooded chalk hill overlooking 
Henley and the Valley of the Thames. Some beauti¬ 
ful views of the latter can be obtained from different 
standpoints, and in some instances the eye can 
ramble far over the low-lying portions of Oxford¬ 
shire, while the view in the distance is closed in by 
the various interrupted or isolated ridges of the 
Chiltern range of hills. The trees consist of 
Beeches, Yews, Maples, Elms, Oaks, and others that 
do best on the chalk, and here indeed may be seen 
some noble and patriarchal specimens, particularly 
of Elms and Beeches. Towards the top are some 
masses of Norway Spruce coning heavily; and 
near the mansion itself the Evergreen Holly Oak 
thrives and rejoices in its dense masses of dark 
green foliage. 
Our visit being made in company with the 
members of the Ealing Gardeners’ Society, and 
time being altogether too limited for anything like an 
adequate inspection of this well-kept place, we can¬ 
not go into the details which the noble residence 
well merits. The estate consists of 1,000 acres, of 
which 600 acres are included in the park. The open 
spaces are covered by a dense turf of apparently 
great antiquity, and well might we say with Cowper 
that the foot 
Sinks ankle deep in Moss and flowery Thyme.” 
The turf is indeed studded with beautiful wild 
flowers that grow on the chalk, including tufts of 
Campanula glomerata still flowering, and as the foot 
treads on the yielding turf it becomes strongly 
redolent of the fragrance of wild Thyme. The sides 
of the pathway, cr winding drive up the hill are also 
studded with wild flowers, but more particularly with 
a belt on either side of Hypericum calycinum, whose 
flowers are now mostly over. 
Arrived at the gardens, a hurried inspection of the 
houses was made. The first entered was a range of 
Peach and Nectarine houses, the fruits of which had 
to a great extent been gathered, but some of the later 
trees still bore a heavy crop of fine fruits, and showed 
what might have been seen a little earlier. The 
border in front of this house was gay with stocks and 
masses of Zinnias revelling in the sunshine, with fine 
flowers of brilliant and gaudy colouring. Here also 
on the gravel was a fine batch of Strawberries, in 
large 32-size pots. The party then passed through 
the cool Odontoglossom house, the roof of which 
was heavily draped with rose and white-flowered 
Lapagerias in a free flowering condition. Another 
dompartment contained flowering Cattleya Gas- 
kelliana, Dendrobiurn Dearei, and a floriferous piece 
of Epidendrum prismatocarpum. A third compart- 
partment was also occupied with Cattleyas. Another 
range included an early vinery, a section containing 
Tomatos in pots, and the long stems were well 
furnished with fruits of the Perfection type. The 
third compartment of this house contained Figs 
bearing a good second crop of fruit : and the fourth 
was devoted to Black Hamburgh Grapes. A stove 
next visited was occupied with Caladiums, Dracaenas, 
and Crotons while the roof was shaded with flower¬ 
ing Stephanotis floribunda. Three compartments 
contained each, crops of Melons and Cucumbers, the 
Melons in the first ripeniug a heavy crop of fruit, 
while those in the second were just set, and in the 
