646 
rHE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 12, 1897 
Mr. J. Farmer then proposed " The Firm of Sutton 
& Sons,” remarking on the great growth of the busi¬ 
ness The firm had a very large English trade, and 
he felt sure the foreign orders would also increase as 
the home trade had done. Mr. A. W Sutton in 
reply spoke of what his brother Mr. Martin John 
had done for the business during the past 31 years. 
He did not know any one in Reading whose letters 
had been publicly read at Marlborough House by 
the Prince of Wales as his brother’s had been. His 
cousin, Mr. Herbert Sutton, was so well known in 
connection with education work in Reading that the 
Oxford University had recently thought fit to confer 
on him an M. A. Degree. His brother Leonard was 
well-known to every man and boy in the firm and the 
more they knew of him the more they liked him. 
Mr. Leonard Sutton proposed the ladies in 
eulogistic terms, and referred especially to the grand 
influence of the mothers, which had a great deal to 
do with their sons' success in life. He warmly wel¬ 
comed his nephew (Mr. M. H. F. Sutton) as a 
partner. 
■I> 
ASCOTT, LEIGHTON. 
The beautiful gardens of Leopold de Rothschild, 
Esq., have a distinct character peculiar to them, as 
has the fine mansion ; and probably much of the 
beauty and charm in both cases may be traced to 
the same cause, viz., to the fact that the present 
mansion was designed to arrange with the portion 
of the previously existing building, which bears date 
1606 ; and the idea of the gardens was in a great 
degree in harmony with it, and with the pretty little 
orchard in the dell beside the house, and which is 
still retained, the old trees being made still more 
beautiful by being used to support climbing Roses 
and Honeysuckles, some of which are already be¬ 
ginning to tell among the showy Apple blossoms. 
The greater part of the mansion is clad with climb¬ 
ing Roses and other trailing plants and climbers, two 
of the most beautiful of which at the present time 
are Wistaria chinensis and Wistaria multijuga, the 
latter bearing a profusion of racemes of flowers 
about 2 ft. in length. 
Upwards of 30 acres are kept in garden trim, and 
the gardens proper are made to merge into the 
surrounding pleasure grounds, so that the beauty of 
the scenery and its harmony with the magnificent 
views around is unbroken. Around the house are 
beautiful shrubberies and groups of rare Conifers in 
which those with a golden hue are much used and 
are very effective. Carefully planted with a view to 
effect are flowering trees and shrubs, many of which 
are now covered with flowers ; and here and there 
great masses of Rhododendrons give brilliant colour. 
Specially fine this year have been the now waning 
varieties of Pyrus Malus, and in the height of their 
beauty are the Lilacs, Thorns, Berberis Darwinii, 
B. stenophylla, and other Berberis ; Azalea mollis 
and other hardy Azaleas ; and as brilliant in colour 
as any of the flowers are the fine bushes of Acer 
polymorphum sanguineum, one of which is supposed 
to be the largest in the country. 
Here and there are beds of old-fashioned plants 
such as Paeonies, Iris, Pap aver bracteatum, Delphi¬ 
niums, borders of Musk, beds of Sweet Brier, 
Forget-me-nots and Roses. Excellent effect is got by 
massing large beds of Austrian Briers of various 
hues with the Penzance Sweet Briers intermingled, 
and all are set well with buds which promise a 
better show of bloom than ever this season. 
Throughout the whole garden a splendid display is 
made by the patches of the finer varieties of Tulipa 
gesneriana, which are planted here and there 
throughout most of the borders and beds, and which 
have given a magnificent show of rich crimson 
c lour throughout the spring, and are still almost 
as good as ever. These fine old Tulips, when planted 
in this manner, are charming, their long flower- 
stems adding to their attractions as they display the 
colours of the flowers well above the other plants 
and shrubs planted with them. Another fine Tulip 
which made a great show early in the season was 
Tulipa Kauffmanni, which is planted, together with 
a large collection of Narcissus and other spring 
flowers, in the natural grass beyond the massive 
fountain, and very beautiful they look as one after 
the other they send forth their flowers. Near by is 
a plantation made of the old Apple trees removed 
from the kitchen garden and which are now well in 
flower. Beneath these the ground is being prepared 
to form a sort of orderly wild garden, in which 
annuals and perrennials will take part. 
Ascott has a series of gardens rather than a 
garden, for every nook is made perfect in itself, and 
Mr. John Jennings, the excellent gardener there, is 
never happier than when he sees the completion of 
one of those improvements which is continually 
being carried out. The herbaceous plant garden, 
with its arches of Roses, is just coming into 
its beauty. Here, too, the masses of Tulipa 
gesneriana macrospila are fine, and harmonise well 
with the bright yellow of the patches of Doronlcum, 
&c. The neat little rock garden is bright with the 
prostrate Phloxes, Aubrietias, Saxifragas, &c., and 
pretty with the young growths of the Ferns, one of 
the most effective being a large tuft of Hypolepis 
anthriscifolia. Of the flowering plants one of the best 
is Meconopsis cambrica flore pleno with very double 
yellow flowers, and appearing over the rocks at the 
highest point are Honeysuckles and Roses, the 
former in flower, the latter in bud. 
In some parts of the garden, clipped Yews are 
planted and give variety ; and beds of Bamboo, of 
Gunnera manicata (which grows well around the 
water-plant garden), and other foliage plants appear; 
indeed, nothing that is likely to add to the beauty 
and interest in the garden is excluded. Among the 
rarer Conifers may be noted a strong specimen of 
the golden-leaved Cedar of Lebanon; and a noble 
example of the blue-tinted Abies concolor violacea, 
which is one of the handsomest trees in the garden. 
One little garden forms a sun-dial, the figures being 
formed by clipped dwarf Box, and the indicator to 
tell the time by its shadow falling on them by a 
clipped Yew. 
The Glasshouses 
are devoted mainly to the production of flowers for 
cutting or for use for decoration, and in most in¬ 
stances fragrant flowers have the preference. 
Souvenir de la Malmaison Carnations take up a large 
proportion of the space, and to these, which are 
admirably grown here, many houses are devoted. 
Already the first house has flowered and 
the second is in full beauty, the whole house being 
filled with the large fragrant blooms, borne on stout, 
vigorous plants. Of those at present in bloom the 
greater part are of the bright pink variety, Princess 
of Wales, which is the favourite at Ascott. Several 
houses, full, as well as later stock in the frames, are 
well set with buds, so that the supply of bloom will 
be long-continued. Of other Carnations in pots 
which have been keeping up a constant succession 
of bloom since January last Carnation Mrs. Leopold 
de Rothschild is the best, most charmingly tinted 
and most fragrant, its fine flowers being of the 
peculiarly attractive pink tint seen in some of the 
light Tea Roses. Another grand flower is Carnation 
Mr. Arthur Sassoon, the best bright yellow self; and 
specially good are James O’Brien, the best scarlet, 
but lacking the fine perfume of some of the other 
varieties; Almeira, a good yellow; Niphe’os, 
white ; Sefton, a scarlet flake; Waterwitcb, blush 
white; and Duke of York, President Carnot, and 
General Stewart, all fine dark varieties. 
Two houses have the greater part filled with 
Begonia Gloire de Sceaux, their fine heads of light 
rose flowers showing well above the dark foliage. 
On the side stages are Golden Callas and feathery 
plants of Spiraea astilboides. Several houses have 
the roofs covered with Tea Roses which have given 
large supplies of flowers, beneath them still in great 
beauty being Moss Roses in pots, the Crested Moss 
being specially beautiful. Several warm spans 
are filled with neat plants for table decoration, and 
throughout the perfectly kept gardens, specially 
noteworthy was a fine batch of Lachenalia aurea, 
which Mr. Jennings grows to perfection in small 
pots. Some houses of Pelargoniums; a strong 
batch of Calanthes for winter flowering ; a batch of 
Richardia Little Gem, which is here flowered well 
in 60-size pots, and is very useful, though formerly 
when potted on it was not satisfactory ; a quantity 
of scarlet Nerines, and large batches of other 
showy flowers, are all well grown at Ascott. 
In the fruit department and kitchen gardens all is 
in keeping with the rest of this fine establishment. 
Strawberries under glass have been good and the 
net-protected beds outdoors promise grand crops.— 
James O'Brien. 
-- 
More Than 150 Varieties of Lilac are cultivated in 
the Arnold Arboretum in the United States. 
ORCHIDS AT CHELSEA. 
Early summer brings with it a great variety cf 
Orchids and those mentioned in these notes were 
only a few we saw recently in the nursery of Messrs 
J. Veitch & Sons, King's Road, Chelsea. 
Phalaenopsis House. 
Only the summer flowering species and hybrids of 
Phalaenopsis are now in season, and those included 
a fine piece of P. luddeviolacea, bearing two spikes 
of bloom, and P. Vesta. The latter was derived 
from Aphrodite crossed with P. rosea leucaspis, end 
being intermediate between the parents is mostly 
white. Dendrobium Phalaenopsis Schroderiana 
seems scarcely ever, if at any time, out of season. 
Very fine was D. Bensoniae with its large maroon or 
black blotch. D. rhodopterygium is closely allied 
to D. Parishii, but differs^by its more erect growth 
and otherwise. Curious and pretty is the dwarf D 
Jenkinsi with its large orange-yellow flowers on shot t 
drooping scapes ; this species does best suspended 
from the roof of the house on a raft or in a basket. 
Several Oncidiums make themselves conspicuous 
at this season of the year, including O. ampliatum 
with its great branching panicles of yellow flowers 
O. krammerianum still continues popular and will do 
so for many a year on account of the singlar toim 
and beauty of its flowers which surpass these of O. 
Papilio. A remarkable contrast to both of them 
is presented by the tiny flowered and dwarf O. 
pumilum with its miniature panicles of bloom. We 
noted three well-grown plants suspended in 
pans. Several varieties of O. pulchellum wete 
exceedingly beautiful. The plant has fleshy, 
triquetrous leaves but no pseudo-bulbs ; and the best 
variety has an orange blotch on the lip and deep 
rose wiDgs to the column, the rest cf the flower being 
white. Twelve plants of O. pulvinatum, with 
panicles of bloom 2 ft. to 3 ft. in length, carry a 
profusion of brown and yellow flowers. 
That uncommon West Indian Orchid, Broughtonia 
sanguinea, suspended in a basket, carried three scapes 
of its pretty purple-red flowers. In this house, like 
wise, was a large batch of Cypripedium Veitchi just 
approaching its best. The form of Anguloa uniflora 
having white flowers, shaded and spotted with rose, 
is powerfully fragrant as well as pretty. Another 
choice thing is Phaius Humblotii. An old but rare 
Orchid is Coelogyne asperata, otherwise known asC 
Lowii. Its sepals and petals are creamy-yellow, 
while the lip is heavily marbled with brownish- 
orange or rusty red. Handsome and pretty is 
Coelogyne dayana. A plant in a 24-size pot bears 
seven or eight of its graceful and pendant racemes of 
bloom. The angular pseudobulbs are of great size 
and the leaves are lanceolate, plaited and arching. 
The Orchid Rockery. 
There is always something interesting or showy in 
this central building with its tufa rockwork, covered 
with creepers of various kinds. The large white 
flowers of Utricularia montana bear a strong 
resemblance to an Orchid, though belonging to quite 
a different natural order. Several plants are sus¬ 
pended in baskets. A tall stemmed and dark- 
flowered variety of Sobralia macrantha has been 
giving a good account of itself for some time past. 
The same may be said of three well grown plants of 
that splendid hybrid, Cypripedium gratde. Amongst 
numerous plants of that continuous-flowering Cym- 
bidium lowianum, we noted some very fine varieties 
with a dark maroon blotch on the lip. The white 
lip and orange-brown sepals and petals of Phaius 
Wallichii are very handsome. Well-flow ered also is 
Dendrobium infundibulum. Very uncommon is the 
purple flowered Bletia Sheperdi, of which there are 
numerous plants bearing two to three spikes each. 
Cattleya House. 
This large house was unusually gay with a great 
variety of Cattleyas and Laelias on the occasion of 
our visit. Large-flowered and handsome varieties 
of Cattleya Mossiae were abundant in various parts 
of the house. C. lawrecceana was also notable fer 
the intense purple of its flowers; and C. Mendelii 
and C. Schroderae were equally fine. One of C. 
Mendelii had a very fine lip of an intense purple or 
crimson. There were also some richly coloured 
varieties of C. schilleriana with its huge lip. C. 
citrina, with its golden-yellow flowers and powerful 
but grateful odour was flowering freely on rafts. C. 
Skinneri was represented by two huge pieces carry¬ 
ing numerous spikes of bloom, one being a light and 
another a dark variety. C. Philo is a hy brid between 
C. Mossaie and C. iricolor, the former being the 
