February 18, 1899. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
393 
about 70° and an atmospheric temperature of from 
70° to 75° Fahr. it is no use trying to root the cut¬ 
tings. A. good hot bed would give this, and providing 
the heat were maintained by putting fresh linings of 
fermenting material round the sides of the frame as 
the heat declined. During the latter part of the 
summer the plants will do very well ia a cold frame, 
but in their earlier stages they must have heat, and 
plenty of it. 
BICTON, DEVON. 
The end of the year is not the best time to go 
visiting gardens, but Bicton, Budleigh Salterton, 
Devon, is a large place, and something of interest 
may be seen there at any or every period of the year. 
It is one of the estates of the Hon. Mark Rolle, and 
the largest in the beautifully undulated and well 
watered county of Devon. The arboretum is two 
miles long and contains one of the finest collections 
of Conifers and deciduous trees in the country. 
On this occasion we devoted our attention chiefly 
Close by is the Muscat of Alexandria vinery, the 
Vines being at rest and the body of the house occu¬ 
pied with Salvia splendens granaiflora, S. rutilans, 
and bedding plants. On the shelves overhead 
Freesias, Lachenalias, and Mignonette were well 
advanced. In this house a constant warfare has to 
be kept up against the roots of an enormous tree 
of the Black Poplar, situated a short distance behind- 
The girth of the tree above the base is over ig ft., 
and the bole tapers upwards for 50 ft. without a 
branch. 
There is a fine old Camellia house, the centre bed 
of which is fully occupied with tall specimens well 
furnished with flower buds. The pillars and back 
wall are likewise covered with them, and the flowers 
were commencing to open at the end of December 
last. The fragrance of Daphne odorata alba was 
very perceptible. The quantity of flowers that can 
be taken out of this house is very great. 
Two large greenhouses close by accommodate 
winter-flowering subjects in quantity and variety. 
Here were the Salvias above-mentioned, also 
have seen. A tall plant of Callicarpa purpurea was 
then covered with berries. Bananas and Alpinias 
add to the tropical character of the house. The very 
high b3ck wall is mostly covered with a huge speci¬ 
men of Hibiscus Rosa sinensis, mostly always in 
bloom. The Guava (Paidium cattleyanum) fruits 
freely in summer; and the Shaddock (Citrus decu- 
mana) also crops regularly, the fruits being as large 
as a swan’s egg. 
A houseful of Calanthes next engaged our atten¬ 
tion. The bulk of them consisted of C. Veitchi in¬ 
terspersed with a few plants of C. vestita rubro- 
oculata. All being stood amongst Maidenhair Ferns 
the effect produced was very striking and cheerful. 
A Peach range next came in the way, and we learnt 
that the early house was clused on the December 1st 
last. Hale’s Early Peach and Lord Napier 
Nectarine are the favourites. 
The Temple faces the flower garden (see accom¬ 
panying illustration), and commands a fine prospect 
of wood, water, hill and valley. The eye wanders 
do n a broad walk between two tall Deodars to the 
The Temple and Flower Garden, Bicton, Devon. 
to the glasshouses, of which there are four ranges, 
two of which are situated at some distance from one 
another and from the others. The first range com¬ 
ing under our notice is situated near the gardener’s 
house in a court or yard. Some varieties of 
Amaryllis were flowering in a span-roofed pit and 
others elsewhere show that they are received with a 
considerable amount of favour at Bicton. Indeed, a 
supply of them is kept up at every period of the year. 
Begonia Gloire de Sceaux was flowering in the same 
house. Another division was devoted to Cucumbers, 
and Rhubarb being forced. A third division of the 
same structure contained a fine collection of Crotons 
in capital condition for table work and finely 
coloured. Coleus and Gardenias occupied a portion 
of the space. 
Pineapples are now grown in few private establish¬ 
ments, but a pit in three successive divisions is here 
devoted to them. Smooth Cayenne and Queen are 
the favourites here, and in one of the divisions 
almost every plant was in fruit in various stages of 
development and maturity, to furnish a supply 
during winter and spring. 
Cinerarias in variety, Richardias, Chinese Primulas, 
in variety, including a large and showy batch of 
Sutton’s Star Primula, flowering with great freedom. 
Primula obconica is also well cared for. Other 
subjects in bloom were Eupatorium odoratum, 
Bouvardias, zonal Pelargoniums, Solanums, tree 
Carnations, and Lachenalia pendula. The other 
large house contained a grand batch of the old 
Primula sinensis alba plena, with which the gar¬ 
dener, Mr. J. Mayne, is always very successful. 
Several varieties of Marguerites are grown, having 
green and glaucous foliage. The Cyclamens were 
furnished with large flowers in various shades of 
colour. Other seasonable things included Azalea 
Deutsche Pcrle,Erica melanthera, Roman Hyacinths, 
Libonia floribunda and Epiphyllum truncatum. 
The tall Palm house faces a portion of the flower 
garden, and contains many large, old trees of various 
kinds, of which Areca Baueri has tall stems and huge 
heads touching the glass. A massive piece of Philo¬ 
dendron has deeply cut leaves of great size. Panicles 
of brownish-purple flowers were borne by the largest 
specimen of Abutilon sellowianum marmoratum we 
fish ponds in the valley, surrounded by green ver¬ 
dure, kept closely mown in summer; then along a 
vista of green sward ascending the slopes between 
thick woods on the opposite side of the valley to a 
tall obelisk crowning a hill in the distance. At 
present the beds immediately in front of the Temple 
are filled with bulbs and carpeted with Myosotis, 
Wallflowers, and Polyanthus. 
Passing into the left half of this large building we 
noted a tall tree of Cunonia capensis from the Cape, 
and belonging to the Saxifraga family. The ever¬ 
green leaves are large and pinnate, and the tree at 
that time was furnished with long spike-like racemes 
of white flowers. Pittosporum undulatum also 
forms tall trees; but more interesting, perhaps, is 
Pleris formosa, having large Laurel-like leaves, and 
flowers like Lily of the Valley iD spring. In the 
other division of the Temple, Eriostemon Myoporum, 
with finger-like leaves, 4 in. to 5 in. long, was just 
coming into bloom. Camellias, Acacias, and the 
Olive tree about 18 ft. high give an idea of the house 
which may be compared to an orangery. Near by 
was a pit containing some 200 Cinerarias. 
