* 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
107 
October 15, 1898. 
Mr. Cole said he was glad to see how liberally the 
society was supported by the nursery and seed trade. 
They were also greatly indebted for financial 
support to gentlemen like Sir Clarence White, 
Baron Schroder, and Mr. Leopold de Rothschild. 
He was also glad to see the names of several ladies 
upon their list of supporters, and urged all gardeners 
to bring the claims of the Convalescent Fund to 
the notice of their lady employers. Many a gar¬ 
dener had had reason to bless the kind heart of Mrs. 
Harry Veitch on the occasion of her silver wedding. 
Mr. James H. Veitch in replying said that he had 
been much impressed, on a former occasion when 
he, as chairman, had gone into the financial posi¬ 
tion of the society, to find what a solid concern it 
was, and also its great frugality in expenses. He 
thought every gardener ought to join. 
The " Visitors,” coupled with the name of Mr. S. 
T. Wright, the genial superintendent of the Royal 
Horticultural Society's gardens at Chiswick was 
given by Mr. T. Winter. Mr. Wright made suitable 
reply. 
"Kindred Institutions" was proposed from the 
chair, Mr. Bunyard making special mention of those 
two grand societies, the " Royal Gardeners' Orphan 
Fund,” and the " Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent 
Institution,” the name of Mr. G. J. Ingram being 
coupled with the toast. Mr. W. Roupell supported 
the toast and Mr. Ingram responded. He gave a 
brief resume of the work accomplished by the latter 
institution, that from it 168 old people received a 
pension, and that in addition the Victorian Era 
Fund enabled them to give relief to those who had 
been unsuccessful at the ballot. He wished the 
“United” every success in the good work it was 
carrying on. 
The toast of the " Horticultural Press ” was given 
by Mr. R. Dean, who in an able speech declared the 
indebtedness of the society to the Press. Mr. Dean 
humorously described the pleasure (sic) of being 
pilloried in the horticultural papers, and a good deal 
of laughter was occasioned by the recital. Mr. Geo. 
Gordon, whose name was associated with the toast 
responded at some length. He thought the society 
must keep its merits persistently before the public if 
it was to be the success it ought to be. He had 
often impressed this upon a former secretary of the 
society, and he was glad to see that the idea was now 
being carried out. It was true in a sense that 
” good wine needed no bush ” but it was also true 
that some amount of publicity|was necessary to the 
welfare of such a society as theirs. 
Mr. H. B. May gave the health of their chairman, 
Mr. Geo. Bunyard and said how pleased he was to 
see him in that position, and how indebted they were 
to him for his services. Mr. Bunyard briefly 
acknowledged the enthusiastic plaudits that Mr. H. 
B. May elicited from the audience. 
Mr. W. Collins, the secretary of the society re¬ 
minded his bearers of how much they were indebted 
to the donors of the fruit and flowers which had 
been placed on the tables that evening. He speci¬ 
ally mentioned the names of Messrs. H. Cannell & 
Sons, of Swanley, and Messrs. B. S Williams & 
Son, of Holloway, and coupled the toast with the 
names of Mr. Robert Cannell and Mr.J. McKerchar. 
In Mr. Cannell's absence Mr. McKerchar res¬ 
ponded and spoke to his hearers of many things 
from the days of Adam with which Mr. McKerchar 
seemed well acquainted to a system of irrigating dry 
anatomies with a mixture of the dews of Heaven and 
Ben Nevis. 
Mr. Geo. Bunyard announced the following dona¬ 
tions Mr. P. Garcia, £i is. ; Mr. Watkins, £i is.; 
Mr. Geo. Munro, £i is.; Mr. Leopold de Roth¬ 
schild, £i is.; Mr. S. T. Wright, ios. 6d.; Mr. R. 
Dean, ios. 6d ; Mr. N. N. Sherwood, £5 5s.; Mr. J. 
H. Veitch, £$ 3s.; and Anonymous, £1 is. Mr. 
Bunyard also proposed his son as an honorary 
member at £1 is. per annum. 
The proceeding were enlivened by vocal and instru¬ 
mental music rendered by the Lamb Brothers Glee 
Club, of Maidstone. 
The party broke up shortly before ten o’clock after 
smging ” Auld Lang Syne ” in the usual demonstra¬ 
tive fashion. 
Paphiopedium rothschildianum.— To the uninitia¬ 
ted it may suffice to state that this is merely the up- 
to-date scientific name for Cypripedium rothschildi¬ 
anum, of which C. elliottianum is now well known 
to be a synonym. 
COLDRA, CAERLEON. 
Coldra, the residence of F. L. Davis, Esq., is beau¬ 
tifully situated on the Monmouthshire hills, near 
Caerleon, Newport. By virtue of its situation it 
commands extensive views of the Bristol Channel, 
and the opposite counties of Gloucester and Somer¬ 
set. Clevedon and Weston-super-Mare are dis¬ 
tinctly visible, with the Cotswold, Mendip and 
Quantock hills as a glorious setting. Add to this 
the more immediate beauties of hill and dale, and 
the abnormal warmth of a sunny clime, and Coldra, 
it must be admitted, is a desirable place to live in. 
The gardens and pleasure grounds comprise many 
acres of a hilly and undulating character, and these 
are presided over by Mr. J. Fraser, the new and 
energetic gardener. Although Mr. Fraser has only 
been here about seven months, he has already im¬ 
pressed his individuality on the horticultural part of 
this pleasure domain. Trees have been cut down 
and vistas opened, roads have been made, paths 
cleaned, wall fruits attended to, and a host of other 
garden matters given much consideration. A gar¬ 
den that has been neglected is a sorry sight, and 
much uphill work is necessary to restore it to beauty, 
order and fecundity. This, however, is being 
carried on with some diligence, as Mr. Fraser 
possesses a willing, if not an adequate staff. The 
readers of The Gardening World will doubtless 
remember that Mr. Fraser hailed recently from 
Dunoon, N.B., where the rain raineth every day— 
more or less. Here, however, the hygrometrical 
conditions of the atmosphere^ould seem to be per 
contra, and so there is some sort of regret that the 
useful mackintosh hangs idly in the hall. 
Certainly the state of the weather this year has been 
abnormal, little rain having fallen all the summer, 
but this has not affected the vegetation very 
seriously, the night dews being heavy and persis¬ 
tent. 
The avenue of trees and shrubs, for instance, 
leading up to the mansion, show no evil results of 
the long drought, for they are well furnished with 
leaves and flowers. These are more or less mixed, 
and in no particular order, due probably to original 
failures. The trees consist of Pines (Pinus Laricio 
var. austriaca), Sequoia (Wellingtonia) gigantea, and 
Arbutus Uuedo, the Strawberry tree, which is just 
now in fine condition, both as regards flowers and 
fruit. The shrubs are mostly the common and 
Portugal Laurels and Laurustinus, all of which show 
great vigour, and thus bespeak the soil and climate. 
The mansion itself is practically surrounded by 
trees, some of which are very fine, especially a group 
of Wellingtonias, about 50 ft. high, three of which we 
found measured 7 ft., 7 ft. 3 in., and 7 ft. 5 in. in 
girth respectively, at 4 ft. from the ground. Abies 
Douglasii went 6 ft., and a fine old Pear tree, 8 ft. 4 
in., while an ancient Oak in the park with knotty,pro¬ 
jecting roots, circumferenced 10 ft. at 4 ft., and 20 
ft. at 2 ft. from the ground. Cupressus lawsoniana, 
Picea magnifica, Cedrus Deodara, Araucaria imbri- 
bricata, Sequoia sempervirens and others make a fine 
show. A handsome cut leaved Beech and an orna¬ 
mental Lime (Tilia petiolaris) were distinctly notice¬ 
able, the latter having a hole (about 8 ft. from the 
ground) 4 in. deep, and large enough to get one’s 
hand in, the work of a larvae-hunting woodpecker. 
Roses, in variety, succeed admirably, in fact, are 
hardly ever out of flower. Such things as Mag¬ 
nolias, Fuchsias, Hydrangeas, Aloysias, &c., seem to 
revel in the warmth, the latter, the Lemon-scented 
Verbena, even having stood out in the open all winter. 
Herbaceous plants, of course, make a grand show, 
and Mr. Fraser has already planned out a large ex¬ 
tension of these desirable flowers, the demand for 
such for decorative purposes being largely on the in¬ 
crease. Some of these in very floriferous form just 
now, are Achillea Ptarmica " the Pearl,” Anemone 
japonica alba, A. j. "Lady Ardilaun,” Helenium 
autumnale, H. grandicephalum striatum, Helianthus 
rigidus " Miss Mellish,” H. occidentale, Aster acris, 
A. linifolius, Pentstemon barbatus Torreyi, Chry¬ 
santhemum maximum grandiflorum, &c. Dahlias, 
Cannas, summer-flowering Chrysanthemums and so 
on were aglow with colour, and Coreopsis Drum- 
mondi, one of the best of annuals for certain work, 
seemed all bloom. 
Bedding out, as usually understood, is not much 
in vogue here, but two or three large groups were 
very effective. A combination that took my fancy 
was a bed of Cannas, edged with a broad band of 
a beautiful variegated Tropaeolum (T. lobbianum 
variegatum). Another group of Cannas was well 
set off by a dark line of Iresine, while a third 
arrangement on an elevated site consisted of Phlox 
Drummondi grandiflora and yellow Calceolaria,edged 
with Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums. 
The kitchen garden is mostly confined between 
high walls, but the demand for vegetables has 
necessitated going outside this enclosure, which is 
somewhat peculiar, as it occupies the steep slopes on 
either side of a small stream. As, however, most of 
the wheeling and heavy work is towards the bottom, 
this is not a disadvantage. The soil is a rich, reten¬ 
tive loam, and grows vegetables remarkably well, as 
witness the Brassica tribe. Sutton’s new Marrow 
Cabbage is a little gem for early work, and forms 
small, round, solid heads of much value. Sutton’s 
Dwarf Curled Savoy is a fine strain, and the 
Brussels Sprouts likewise win approval. 
Fruits are not doing well except here and there, 
the cause being due to previous mismanagement. 
Tomatos ripen splendidly on the walls, and possess, 
I think, a better flavour than those cultivated under 
glass. 
About 400 Chrysanthemums are grown in pots, 
and these are in the best of health, and a great im¬ 
provement on a similar batch last year at Dunoon. 
Mr. Fraser is now busy housing them—September 
20th—in a lofty vinery, from which a good crop of 
Black Hamburgh, Alicante, and Gros Colman has 
been harvested. Other houses of various kinds are 
well stocked, but Coldra is not rich in glass struc¬ 
tures. There is, however, a very good collection of 
Ferns, especially of Adiantum, A. Capillus-Veneris, 
var. imbricata, being, perhaps, the most eminently 
beautiful. A long range of hills at the back of the 
gardens affords fine views of other hills and moun¬ 
tains, the Sugarloaf, 1,852 ft. high, near Abergavenny, 
being clearly perceptible. The immediate prospects 
are also very fine, for just beneath one's feet lies the 
valley of the Usk, with its swift ebb and flow and 
its tortuous windings. In the midst of this valley 
calmly reposes the old-world *■ city ” of Caerleon, 
which is so interesting and so worthy of notice as to 
deserve a separate chapter.—C. B. G., Acton, W. [Its 
horticultural history, especially if the city has re¬ 
tained any links with the past, ought to be highly 
interesting.—E d.] 
- .|. 
SOCIETIES. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL.— October nth. 
There was a great variety of material at the meet¬ 
ing of the Royal Horticultural Society on Tuesday 
last, all the tables being well filled. Very con¬ 
spicuous were the groups of Nepenthes, Begonia 
Gloire de Lorraine, hybrid greenhouse Rhododen¬ 
drons of the Javan type, Roses, perennial Asters and 
Orchids, particularly the group of Dendrobium for- 
mosum giganteum. Fruit and vegetables were also 
present in considerable quantities. 
Leopold de Rothschild, Esq. (gardener, Mr. J. 
Hudson), Gunnersbury House, Acton, W., had a 
splendid group of Dendrobium formosum giganteum 
consisting of thirty plants, and accompanied by a 
photograph of thirty-four plants taken in the orchard 
house at home, where they were suspended close to 
the glass with full exposure to the sun. One plant 
carried sixty-four flowers and another had over 
forty. The flowers were also of fine size and 
attracted a great amount of attention amongst 
growers, connoisseurs and others. Some of the 
plants were imported less than two years ago, yet 
some of the baskets in which they were grown con¬ 
tained seedlings of the same species with stems 3 in. 
long or more, one plant being near the flowering 
stage. He also had some fine pieces of Odontoglos- 
sum grande, carrying five to six flowers on a scape; 
also Vanda kimballiana. (Silver Gilt Flora Medal). 
Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, staged a 
small collection of Orchids along with their fine 
toliage plants. They had the late flowering Mil- 
tonia vexillaria Leopoldii, the delicately coloured 
Habenaria carnea, Stenoglottis longifolia, Sacco- 
labium curvifolium penangianum, &c. 
Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, had an attractive 
group of Masdevallia tovarensis in small pots and 
flowering abundantly, together with some pieces of 
Cypripedium spicerianum. (Silver Banksian Medal). 
Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart, (grower, Mr. W. H. 
White), Burford Lodge, Dorking, had an interesting 
exhibit of select Orchids, including such things as 
