THE GARDENING WORLD. May 12,1900. 
582 
commencement of a village of new houses, stately 
enough to be styled villas. They are for the housing 
of servants on the estate, Mr. Dockerill’s house 
being amongst them. 
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TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION GARDEN, 
CHELMSFORD. 
In connection with the School of Horticulture, 
Chelmsford, the Essex County Council are gradu¬ 
ally establishing all appliances necessary for in¬ 
structing the youth of the county in the science and 
art of horticulture. The Technical Laboratories 
with their appendages are in Duke Street, and at 
first the classes were held in the offices close to the 
street; but since then a roomy and well-fitted class 
room or laboratory for the horticultural students has 
been built between the old garden and the court¬ 
yard of the premises. Provision has been made 
here for accommodating various appliances and 
apparatus for carrying on the experiments that 
through the eye and the intellect help to fix funda¬ 
mental truths about plant life, both physiological 
and morphological. 
The old gardens are kept up for the purpose of 
growing plants, flowers, and fruit trees for the needs 
of the laboratory, and for the giving of instruction 
in seed sowing, pruning, training, &c., which can 
be done at favourable moments when the weather in 
winter is unpromising enough to go to the new 
garden further afield. On one side of the court-yard 
js a potting shed where seed sowing, propagation by 
cuttings, grafting, &c., and potting can be carried 
on during the time the students are sitting. On 
another side of the court-yard is a greenhouse 
stocked with a great variety of plants used for 
various purposes and to give instruction in watering 
and the potting of the same. In order to make the 
students turn their observations to the best account 
they have to take notes of the plant or plants in 
hand, the temperature of the air under glass and 
outside, the humidity of the atmosphere with the 
wet and dry bulb thermometer, the intensity of 
light, the condition of soil, period of growth of the 
plant, and various other items in connection there¬ 
with. 
Field botany is also encouraged in order to develop 
the faculty of observation of the students. There 
are four terms during the course of the year when 
the students assemble at Chelmsford for instruction 
in the theory and practice of horticulture, namely, 
in June-July, November, February, and March, the 
first three being elementary courses, each of three 
weeks' duration, and the advanced course in March, 
which is continued for a month. Nurseries and 
fruit farms belonging to different owners are also 
visited fcr occasional demonstrations. 
The Botanic and Horticultural School Garden is 
of more recent acquirement, and is gradually being 
developed. It is situated at Rainsford End, Chelms¬ 
ford, to the west of the town, and only about ten to 
fifteen minutes walk from the laboratory and class 
rooms. A gardener is always in attendance there. 
A potting shed and store room for tools, implements, 
seeds, &c., has been built upon the ground and a 
number of hothouses has been planned and will pre¬ 
sently be constructed for the benefit and instruction 
of the students. A cool greenhouse, stove, propa¬ 
gating pit, vinery and frames will be amongst the first 
to receive attention. 
Paths and roads will have to be put in order in 
due course, but the general features of the garden 
have already been determined, and laid out in beds, 
borders, and orchard plots, for the cultivation of 
flowers, ornamental trees and shrubs, fruit trees and 
bushes. Some hotbeds furnished with frames are 
already in use for the raising of seeds of all sorts to 
be planted out in due season. 
Early attention has been given to the purely 
botanical side of the garden, some fifty or sixty 
natural orders being already represented. The beds 
are laid out on the same plan as at Kew, their oblong 
and formal outline being more utilitarian than orna¬ 
mental, and well adapted for the convenience of the 
students when instructions or demonstrations are 
being given. All the more common orders of plants 
are represented, and in the case of large orders in¬ 
cluding many plants of horticultural value, the 
ground area appropriated by them is correspondingly 
great. They range from the giant herbs to those of 
the stature of Gentiana acaulis. Every bed or por¬ 
tion of one representing an order is carefully labelled. 
so that the students have every facility for making 
their acquaintance. 
There are already over 100 varieties of fruit trees, 
bushes and small fruits in the garden. Apples, 
Pears, Plums and Cherries are represented by good 
varieties, grown as standards and half standards, 
mostly on cultivated land, though some of them are 
on grass to show the different effects of the two con¬ 
ditions under which the roots will have to subsist. 
Nuts are also grown. Not all of the Orchard land is 
yet planted, the object being to add a portion annually 
so that young trees will always be coming along for 
the benefit of the students. Amongst other fruits 
are eight varieties of Currants, eight of Gooseberries, 
and twelve of Strawberries. Potatos and other 
vegetables will also be grown in greater or less 
quantity and variety. 
A long border runs along one side of the garden, 
and this has been planted with trees and shrubs, 
deciduous and evergreen. The outer trees are in¬ 
tended to afford shelter on the more exposed quarter. 
The more valuable and ornamental of the shrubs 
are planted along the front with flowers between 
them. Osmanthus, Olearias, Rhus, Berberis, 
Prunus, Lilac, Ribes, and Diervilla will give some 
idea of the class of material used. There are also 
beds of Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Roses, the 
latter being well represented in all the leading 
sections of garden and exhibition varieties. 
All this variety of subjects has been got together by 
the enthusiasm and energy of the staff lecturers, 
David Houston, F.L.S., who lectures and demon¬ 
strates on the principles of horticulture ; and Mr. 
Charles Wakely.who directs the operations of horti¬ 
culture. Mr. Houston was long connected with the 
Birkbeck Institution, hundreds of the old students of 
which will remember the long nights of wrestling 
with many a tough and intricate botanical lesson. 
FRAGRANT INDOOR RHODODEN¬ 
DRONS. 
Among the many contributions made to our gardens 
by the rich Himalayan flora the above hold a high 
position. For conservatory or greenhouse decora¬ 
tion during spring they are particularly desirable, 
while for the decoration of rooms they are also 
acceptable. A glance at the available material shows 
what a number of fine plants we have. For elegance 
and beauty the large, creamy-white, rose shaded 
blossoms of R. Edgeworthii hold a high place. R. 
veitchianum, with its pure white flowers, with un¬ 
dulated margins, is equally desirable, while the 
variable R. formosum can always be depended on to 
yield a rich harvest of flowers. The pale yellow, 
tubular flowers of R. Dalhousiae, or better still, the 
large, trumpet-like blossoms of the rare R. Nuttallii 
afford a welcome addition, while the hybrid progeny 
of these species are among the most beautiful of in¬ 
door plants. Of the many good hybrids the following 
are most worthy of praise:—R. fosterianum (Edge- 
worthii x veitchianum), flowers elegantly shaped, 
5J in. across, pure white with lemon mark in throat: 
Lady Alice Fitzwilliam, Lady Skelmersdale, and 
fragrantissimum, all whites, are very good. For 
colour we have Countess of Haddington, a charming 
rose coloured, tubular flowered hybrid between 
Dalhousiae and formosum. Given good, sandy peat 
they do well either as pot or border subjects. Cool 
treatment is the best; very little fire heat and 
plenty of air. In mid winter freezing point occasion¬ 
ally will do less harm than a temperature of 4s 9 .— 
W. Boulton, Stoke Bank, Stoke, Nr. Nantwich. 
INSIDE versus OUTSIDE GARDENING. 
I suppose if one were to ask 100 young men, in¬ 
tending learning the profession, which department 
they would like, fully ninety-five per cent, would 
reply that they would prefer the houses; but in my 
opinion this is a mistaken idea, for not only is the 
outside work more healthy, but to my miud much 
more interesting and enjoyable. Take for instance 
the study of hardy trees and shrubs, both deciduous 
and evergreen. How few young gardeners do we 
find that know anything about them, even their 
names let alone their culture ? And yet, in after life, 
when they are appointed to an important charge as 
head gardeners in many of our best places, they have 
to depend on someone else to a great extent for their 
treatment, which means that many of the choicest 
and most rare become sadly neglected, and in many 
cases utterly ruined. The same applies to hardy 
herbaceous and perennial plants, and yet I venture 
to say there is no branch of horticulture that is 
more appreciated by one’s employer and visitors 
when good collections are formed and their various 
treatments studied, than those I have named. I do 
not for one moment wish to infer that the culture of 
fruits, flowers, and vegetables under glass should be 
neglected, but what I contend is that the study of 
outside gardening should first claim their attention, 
and the chances of becoming efficient as an all 
round gardener will be much more assured.— A. 
Thatcher, Aldenham House Gardens, Elstree, Herts. 
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AQUILEGIA: NEW HYBRIDS IN POTS. 
During December I had a batch of these very 
pretty Aquilegias lifted from the outside and potted 
into 6 in. pots, using for soil two parts of good loam, 
half a part of spent manure lrom Mushroom bed, 
half a part of leaf mould, and a sprinkling of sharp 
river sand to keep the whole porous. These I placed 
in a cool house near the glass, the temperature of 
which I kept at 45 degrees at nights, with a slight 
rise by day during sunny blinks. I gave plenty of 
air on all favourable occasions to cause a sturdy 
growth. These started away nicely, and came into 
flower early in March, and the result far exceeded 
my most sanguine expectations, for although I have 
cut continuously we have still a good bloom, May 
5th. A good batch of these in flower is a sight long 
remembered, and mixed with dwarfer subjects in a 
conservatory causes a lightness and gracefulness 
not easily surpassed; while for cutting for house 
decoration few flowers can compare with them, as 
the flowers stand so well, are so light and graceful, 
and exhiDit such a charming variety of colours, so 
nicely blended as to make them favourites with all. 
— D. R. Bone, Lanfine Gardens, Newmilns, Ayrshire. 
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GRAPE GROWING FOR AMATEURS. 
Suppose your Vines are now ready to receive their 
first stopping, that is, at the second joint above the 
bunch; and those who have been using a gentle 
artificial heat will also have to give attention to the 
stopping of the laterals or removing them altogether, 
according to the space allowed between the Vines. It 
the Vines are not more than two or three feet apart, 
and you are allowing more than one shoot to a spur, 
it will be necessary to remove some of the laterals 
which break from the leaf joint altogether, so as to 
give your Vines more light and air space. The 
foliage should be kept from touching the glass, for 
the more light the bunches receive the stronger 
their stems will get. Give the rods a gentle shake 
every morning, which will help the setting of the 
berries, and also remove any water hanging on the 
leaves which often causes scalding, if the house is 
not ventilated before the sun tells its tale. In thin- 
ing the bunches, suppose they average from two to 
one pound, when finished. For a lesson I will take 
a one pound bunch. The top shoulders when 
thinned should not have more than eight or nine 
berries, the second shoulder seven, the third four or 
five, and so on, reducing to the bottom berry. When 
finished the bunch or bunches should be well opened) 
that is, each berry should be at least one inch apart. 
— J. Wallace, King's Lynn. 
THE ACHIMENES. 
When the Achimenes was first introduced from the 
Himalayas ff caused quite a sensation. A short 
time afterward the scarlet one was introduced. I 
got a plant of it, and at once crossed the blue with 
A. patens. The stigma is sunk, and I had to remove 
the stamens with care. I made A. patens the female 
parent, and sowed the seed when ripe. In three years 
I got up sixty seeds, and when the seed leaves dis¬ 
appeared I found that I only got one hybrid, the rest 
came A. patens. I never could get anyone to account 
for it. It was illustrated and I got £35 for the 
seedling plant. The colours of the Dlue and scarlet 
were beautifully blended. I was reading your 
article in this week’s paper on hybridising, and will 
be glad if any botanist can account for it. I wish 
that I had sowed seed of it to know the result, but 
I left Crowe Hall, Bath, the same year. When the 
Azalea amoena was introduced from Japan, I crossed 
it with Azalea Stella, and all the seedlings came 
hybrids. Many of them flowered the third year. 
The one I named Mrs. Carmichael I exhibited in 
London, and got a Gold Medal for it, and Williams, 
of Paradise Nursery, gave me/60 for it.— William 
Carmichael, 14, Pitt Stmt, Edinburgh. 
