490 
Aprilfl, 1899. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
was at that time occupied with Crotons, Acalyphas, 
Pandanus Veitchi and tall and dwarf Poinsettias. 
The back wall of a lean-to house was covered with 
Maidenhair Ferns, many of which in some of the 
houses had at one time been pot plants, but being 
turned out of pots and wired, were hung up in this 
condition to cover the wall. Euphorbia fulgens 
looked very gay interspersed in a setting of Adiantum 
farleyense. Calanthe Veitchi, C. vestita rubro- 
oculata and C. v. luteo-oculata on the front benches, 
served also to give this house a bright and lively 
appearance. 
The Orchid house is a lean-to, and contained a 
quantity of Phaius grandifolius throwing up their 
flower spikes. Oncidium tigrinum carried a long 
spike, while that of O. unguiculatum was 5 ft. high. 
The buds of Cattleya labiata were about to expand ; 
and Cypripedium barbatum crossianum and C. 
Sedeni were in bloom. Two strong pieces of the 
Dove plant (Peristeria) flower well in their season. 
Numerous heated frames were filled with useful 
subjects coming on; and amongst them were 
Primulas, Freesias, dwarf young plants of Streptoso- 
len coming into bloom, Lachenalia pendula, Crassula 
jasminiflorum, Francoas, Heliotropes, zonal and 
show Pelargoniums, Amaryllis, Cyclamen, Crassula 
coccinea, Violets, Chrysanthemum cuttings, See. Two 
large boilers below ground heat all the plant and 
fruit houses on this terrace of the hillside. 
The conservatory is a tall structure by the mansion 
and is chiefly filled with large Palms and climbers. 
A very tall plant of Cassia corymbosa on the side 
wall was flowering freely, as were Lapagerias and 
Tacsonias on the roof. Large plants of Datura 
suaveolens and Luculia gratissima also served to 
brighten the house. A batch of Cypripedium insigne 
was flowering beneath the tall subjects. 
Fruit Houses. 
The late vineries still carried a crop of fruit, 
including Gros Colman, Appley Towers (liked for late 
work), and a seedling with large, oval, black berries, 
the latter being evidently a good keeper for late work. 
Muscat of Alexandria and one Vine of Madresfield 
Court occupied another house. Standard Helio¬ 
tropes were being prepared for planting out in 
summer. 
Tomatos are fruited all the year round at Sidbury 
Manor, the favourite variety for the purpose being 
Challenger. Successive sowings are made, and the 
plants we noted were planted in pairs in 10 in. and 
11 in. pots. Some of them were trained over the 
pathways, the rest being upright, and all carrying a 
handsome crop. In the Fig house two huge trees 
cover alljhe front and roof area, fruiting well in 
their season. The Black Hamburgh vinery pro¬ 
duces its crop fit for use during August and 
September. There are fine trees of Peaches on the 
brick retaining wall of a terrace. Two Peach 
houses on the lower terrace have two very fine trees 
in each, covering a great amount of space. The 
Salway Peach carried fruit to the beginning of 
November. 
The Mushroom house is heated with hot water 
pipes, and a supply of Mushrooms is kept up during the 
cool weather, say from December to March, the 
weather in summer being too hot. Beds are made 
up on the floor as well as on large, slate shelves. 
Rhubarb, Endive and Seakale were being forced and 
blanched here. In the fruit room were grand and 
highly coloured samples of the late keeping Apple 
Annie Elizabeth. Blenheim Orange was also in fine 
condition, being considered a good keeper here. 
Hardy Trees and Shrubs. 
Many things prove hardy here that would not live 
out many winters in the neighbourhood of London. 
Cassia corymbosa was even flowering against a wall. 
The Banksian Rose and the Dundee Rambler were 
also very rampant in growth, scrambling over the top 
of the wall. A huge bush of Choisya ternata in bud 
was not killed by the severe winter three years ago. 
Large bushes of Rhododendrons were in bloom. The 
Ivy-leaved Pelargonium lived out last winter against 
the gardener’s cottage, flowered profusely in summer, 
and continued producing blossom more or less till 
Christmas. Close by here is a fine tree of Cupressus 
sempervirens stricta, the upright, evergreen Cypress. 
A fine specimen of Embothrium coccineum on a 
terrace wall is 6 ft. high. A plant of Garrya elliptica, 
in the rudest of health and covered with catkins, was 
18 ft. wideisand 12 ft. high. There were also grand 
specimens of Pyrus japonica (in bloom), Berberis 
stenophylla, Olearia Haastii, and Azara microphylla, 
with its myriads of small, Vanilla-scented flowers. 
Climbers are also a feature of the mansion itself. 
One face of it supports Escallonia macrantha, 
Choisya ternata, Ceanothus rigidus, Jasminum 
officinale, the Blue Gum (18 ft. high, after being cut 
down three years ago by frostj, and Rosa Banksiae, 
trained up to the eaves of the house, and covering 
a great amount of wall space. On the other front 
are Jasminum officinale, Lonicera fragraotissima 
(then in bloom), Marechal Niel Rose in bloom, 
Stauntonia hexaphylla, Clematis orientalis, and a 
very tall tree of the Fiery Thorn. A great dense 
dark bush of Eugenia Ugni was loaded with its 
black berries. 
The sloping lawns below the house really termi¬ 
nate at a ha-ha, meant to keep back the herd of some 
300 to 400 head of deer ; but seem to stretch away 
into the park beyond. On the grass is a handsome 
tree of the evergreen Eucalyptus Globulus, 35 ft. 
high, well furnished, and having a trunk 10 in. in 
diameter at the base. The pleasure grounds were 
recently extended by the addition of several acres 
from the park. 
Many fine ornamental Conifers are developing 
into trees here and there on the slopes, including 
many of Abies Pinsapo, a healthy and well-coloured 
specimen of which is 13 ft. high. Sequoia semper¬ 
virens is 40 ft. high. Others are Tsuga merten- 
siana (albertiana), T. canadensis, and Cupressus 
nutkaensis. Arbutus Unedo was flowering and 
carrying ripe fruit simultaneously. Another Straw¬ 
berry tree, namely, Benthamia fragifera, 18 ft. high, 
was also fruiting freely. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
The kitchen garden lies at a much higher level on 
the hill side than any other part of the garden or 
grounds, and ample provision is made for a supply of 
water, by having large tanks, 7 ft. deep, built for 
retaining a supply close at hand. The garden is 
surrounded by good walls, covered with well-trained 
fruit trees. 
The vegetable quarters contained good breadths 
of Broccoli, sprouting Broccoli, Salsify, and 
Cabbage Ellam’s Early, the latter advancing rapidly 
towards that stage when they are much esteemed at 
table. 
Mr. Reynolds is a young man of much promise, 
who keeps the gardens, grounds, and houses in trim 
and excellent condition, so that the horticultural 
world is likely to hear of him again. 
« » ■ 
THE FOREST HILL OLIVIAS. 
The value of the modern Clivia as a decorative sub¬ 
ject for the greenhouse and conservatory is at the 
present time being demonstrated to the full at the 
Forest Hill Nurseries of Messrs. John Laing & Sons. 
We say modern Clivia, advisedly, for although the 
ancestors of the rrce were thought to be hahdsome 
plants when introduced from Southern Africa, they 
have been entirely overshadowed by the handsome 
children to which they have given rise under the 
seductive hands of the florist. The name of Messrs. 
John Laing & Sons is writ large in the annals of the 
Clivia, for it is owing to their untiring zeal and per¬ 
severance that many of the best forms in cultivation 
owe their existence. True, our Continental friends 
have not been idle, but in this case at least we are 
proud to know that the Britisher leads. Year by 
year a remarkably fine display is to be seen at Forest 
Hill, and year by year in many a greenhouse and 
conservatory scattered through the length and 
breadth of Britain, the representatives of the Forest 
Hill Clivias delight their owners by the richness of 
the bloom they bear, and the abundance with which 
that bloom is produced. 
The modern Clivia is no weakling, but a sturdy 
greenhouse plant whose stiff, leathery, deep shining 
green leaves render it beautiful at any and every season 
of the year. At flowering time it is simply gorgeous, 
and so distinct from all other flowering plants that 
it may well be said to stand alone. Than it nothing 
is easier to grow, and there is nothing that returns a 
richer harvest for labour expended. 
We received an additional proof, if such were 
needed, of the hardiness of the race during a recent 
visit to the Forest Hill establishment, for although 
the weather was Arctic-like in its severity, and the 
temperature of the house in which the plants were 
growing rather low, they stood it all with perfect 
equanimity. Passing from the swirl of the fierce 
March snowstorm to this abode of Flora,the rich and 
varied shades of orange and scarlet probably gained 
by contrast with the gloom without, although the 
glorious flowers needed not this extraneous 
assistance to enable them to compel the admiration 
of the visitor. 
Our old friend, C. miniata, was represented by a 
single huge plant carrying many umbels of bloom, 
but C. miniata is out of the running now, for there 
are many varieties that surpass it from the florist's 
standpoint. The tube of the flower has been 
shortened, the limb made broader, rounder, and 
more open, and the individual segments have been 
broadened and their substance increased. These 
improvements have not yet reached the completed 
stage, for there is no such thing as finitude in the 
florist’s mind, no flower but may be made larger, no 
symmetry but may be made more symmetrical. 
The work of crossing and recrossing thus goes on 
with unabated ardour, new shades have to be sought 
for and found ; and then yet others loom in the dis¬ 
tance. Of the newest forms, Longiflora is one of the 
finest. The flowers are of soft Apricot hue, very 
pleasing and pretty, and of more than average size. 
The umbel is immense, and the length of the pedicels 
of the flowers it bears is remarked at once. Queen 
Victoria is another novelty of sterling merit. The 
flowers are a shade or two lighter than those of 
Longiflora. John Laing, vivid orange-scarlet; 
Harry Laing, deep claret, with a nearly white 
throat; and Lady Wolverton, deep orange, make a 
charming trio; in fact, these three varieties are more 
popular than any others with the general public, 
whose taste, in this case at least, is not at fault. 
Not to weary our reader by an undue parade of 
names (the Messrs. Laing catalogue upwards of fifty 
varieties) we may yet make mention of Fascination, 
which is in grand condition this year, the colossal 
umbel of light orange flowers with the creamy-white 
throat rendering it conspicuous above all the rest. 
W. P. Leech, orange, with white throat; Vesuvius, 
deep, rich scarlet; Stanstead Gem, bright orange, 
lemon throat; and the Rt. Hon. J. Chamberlain, 
deep orange, with clear yellow throat, are all varie¬ 
ties that should be in every collection. 
One of the most interesting plants in the house, 
although it has borne no flowers as yet, is the result 
of a reputed cross between a Clivia and a Hippeas- 
trum (Amaryllis), and a close observation reveals 
some resemblance in the foliage to the leaves of the 
latter parent. Mr. Leech, who looks after this part 
of the establishment, has much anxious solicitude 
for this hybrid pet of his, and he is eagerly looking 
forward to the time when it shall flower, and thus 
demonstrate the reality of the cross. 
AN IMPORTANT SOUTH AFRICAN 
NURSERY. 
The Racing Calendar and Agricultural Journal, a South 
African paper of considerable repute, contains in its 
pages for February 2nd a long account of the 
nurseries of Messrs. Smith Bros., of Uitenhage, and 
from the description given it is evident that horti¬ 
culturists in this interesting corner of Greater Britain, 
are right up to the times, and as far as their oppor- 
tunites allow, popularising gardening in that country. 
Messrs. Smith Bros, first started in business at Port 
Elizabeth, but some eight years ago a long spell of 
drought drove them to the kindlier locality of 
Uitenhage. Since their move thither the Messrs. 
Smith have thriven abundantly and have made such 
good use of their opportunities that they have 
become authorities on all horticultural matters at 
the Cape. 
The flower nursery is situated in a particularly 
charming spot—at the far end of the town, at the 
bottom of a slope that breaks the force of the south¬ 
east winds. The soil is naturally fertile; and an 
extensive system of irrigation has been instituted, so 
that with rich soil and plenty of water, the plants 
can scarcely fail to do well. The visitor, whose pen 
describes the floral beauties of the Uitenhage 
Nurseries, was specially impressed with huge breaks 
of Cannas, more particularly the Orchid flowering 
section, which was represented by such charming 
varieties as Austria and Italia, both of which are 
well known, both in Europe and America. The 
glorious Solanum Wendlandii which, in this country 
we can only grow in warm houses, at Uitenhage, 
flourishes out of doors and blooms with surpassing 
freedom. 
