April 27, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
T O LET, in the neighbourhood of 
Worthing, Sussex, a particularly good Farm of ?bout 
200 acres with first-class residence, almost all the land is 
thoroughly suitable for Market Garden purposes. Rent, Aoo 
per annum. Apply to—POWELL & CO., The Estate 
Offioes, Lewes, Sussex. 
"Gardening is the prrest ofhuman pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man "—Bacon, 
Edited by J. FRASER, F.L.S., F.R.H.S. 
SATURDAY , APRIL 27th, 1901. 
The Editorial and Publishing Offices are 
now removed to 4, Dorset Buildings, 
Salisbury Square, Fleet St., London. 
Editorial matters are to be addressed to 
the Editor. 
All other communications and Remit¬ 
tances must be addressed direct to the 
Proprietors— 
HICKS, WILKINSON & SEARS. 
NEXT WEEK'S ENGAGEMENTS. 
Thursday, May 2 nd.—Linnean Society Meeting, 
Saturday, May 4th.— Royal Botanical Society Meeting; 
Societe Francaise d’Horticulture de Londres Meeting. 
he Site for the new Chiswick.— Many 
of our readers and Fellows of the Royal 
Horticultural Society in particular will have 
been surprised at the suddenness with which 
this question has again been brought to the 
front, and the shortness of the time left for 
a free discussion of the subject. The Horti¬ 
cultural Hall of which we heard so much 
about a decade ago seems to have been 
definitely shelved or shunted on to a siding, 
nothwithstanding the fact that a large 
number of the Fellows, who really have the 
welfare of the Society at heart, are not in 
any particular hurry for the acquirement of 
a new garden, but would like to see the 
society comfortably housed in London before 
a country residence is thought of at all. 
There can be no doubt that the society 
must have its headquarters or home in the 
Metropolis, whether that is rented or free¬ 
hold, but preferably the latter. Land is 
always a safe investment, it is said, because 
it endureth for all time and may be put to 
any purpose, but particularly for the culti¬ 
vation of some particular product of real 
value to human-kind. Some say, like the 
Americans, that land in course of time be¬ 
comes exhausted and valueless. Others, 
even some Americans, admit that land 
cultivated in the neighbourhood of London 
and in the valley of the Thames for the last 
1,000 years is as productive to-day, if not 
more fertile, than the first year in which the 
sod was first turned. Those who use the 
old fashioned stable manure assert that the 
fertility of the land may be maintained by 
it, under a good system of practical tillage. 
The advocates of chemical manures main¬ 
tain that all the plant food taken from the 
land may be returned to it by means of 
artificial manures ; and under an intelligent 
and scientific system of application of these 
artificial plant foods, they have, at the least, 
a great deal of testimony in favour of their 
views. Nature herself pooh poohs the idea 
of land becoming exhausted, as it is a per¬ 
petual storehouse of plant food, continually 
being restored to its pristine fertility by the 
agency of the elements continually at work 
night and day, summer and winter, through 
all the centuries. On the other hand the 
atmosphere may and does become greatly 
polluted, and thereby rendered injurious to 
plant life through the agency of man when 
crowded together in millions in relatively 
small space, and pouring coal and other 
smoke into the atmosphere from thousands 
of chimneys, domestic and utilitarian or 
commercial. 
The Council of the society, after a great deal 
of inquiry and research after a suitable site 
for the new Chiswick, unanimously come to 
the conclusion that they have at last found 
what they wanted, in the form of an eligible 
site at South Darenth. There is an unfortu¬ 
nate stipulation attached to its acquirement, 
namely, that it is only open for purchase by 
private agreement up to the 30th inst., and 
that if no agreement is come to by that date 
the land is to be put up for auction by the 
middle of May. Even then we think -it is 
possible for the society to acquire it unless 
there is a particular demand for the land in 
this quarter. This is, of course, the excuse 
put forward by the Council for the apparent 
haste with which they have put the matter 
before the Fellows. The meeting called for 
on Tuesday last gave more than the actual 
time stipulated for by the Bye-laws. On 
the other hand the step to be taken was a 
very momentous one for the society to 
undertake, and should in any case be taken 
with all due deliberation. Compared with 
the Limpsfield site, the South Darenth one 
is considered to be in every way more elegi- 
ble, though there are drawbacks of a minor 
character. It seems to us that the most 
important of them is the distance (21 miles) 
from London, the halting place being some 
distance beyond Swanley Junction, on the 
S.E. and C. Railway, a fact which will give 
pause to a good many who might otherwise 
be disposed to undertake the journey, 
because, whatever the company may break 
it is not reputed for breaking records at fast 
travelling. The time table indicates, we 
understand, that the journey may be ac¬ 
complished in 55 minutes ; but little value 
may be attached to that if the return journey 
has perforce to be commenced 20 to 30 
minutes behind the stipulated time. How 
many of the Fellows are likely to undertake 
the journey for the purpose of inspecting or 
enjoying the garden ? Many of the com¬ 
mittee who manage to attend the meetings 
in London would be unlikely to undertake 
many journeys to Darenth in the course of 
a season for the purpose of examining the 
trials. That, of course, remains to be 
proved, but that is what a good many of 
them think. 
The land on Rabbit’s farm proposed for 
the site runs to 48 acres, and the price at 
which it is offered is £&o per acre—not a 
large sum certainly, but in the aggregate 
^"3,840 exclusive of Land Tax, and Vicarial 
Tithe. As there are no trees of any kind 
on the land, shelter must be provided, as the 
land reaches an elevation of close on 250 ft. 
above sea level, and must of a necessity be 
breezy when south-western gales are blow¬ 
ing, and which are of frequent occurrence, 
both when fruit trees may be in bloom, and 
again when in fruit. Glass houses would 
have to be erected, also a dwelling for the 
superintendent, offices and bothies for the 
gardeners and students, as there are no 
dwellings or resident population in the im¬ 
mediate vicinity. All this, independently of 
the furnishing of the garden would mean a 
great initial expense, which it would seem 
is to be accomplished gradually, that is, the 
expenses would be distributed over a num¬ 
ber of years. After being fully furnished, 
it is estimated, as expressed in last week’s 
issue of The Gardening World, that the 
upkeep of the estabhshment would be 
trebble that of Chiswick. A large return of 
something would naturally be expected as 
some satisfaction to the Fellows for the sum 
expended. The worded expression that it 
is intended for the benefit of horticulture, 
has a meaning of very wide application, 
and many of the Fellows fail to see in what 
practical form this is to take place. Kent 
is only a small part of England and under 
551 
very favourable conditions as to climate and 
possibly to some extent in the matter of 
soil ; but after all the results of experiments 
can only indicate what certain trees, shrubs 
and herbaceous plants can do in that par¬ 
ticular part of the country. Even that, 
however, would be an advantage of no 
mean order, and the practical value of it to 
Kent or the country at large can only be 
demonstrated by actual experiment carried 
out under scientific and intelligent practical 
methods, quod est demonstrandum. 
Geologically the proposed site overlies the 
upper cretaceous or chalk formation, after 
which it is hardly necessary to assert that 
it enjoys a porous subsoil. Moreover, the 
actual fertility of land so situated would 
depend upon the depth of the residuum of 
earthy deposit from the dissolved carbonate 
of lime, plus any superficial deposit laid 
down by water, and the accumulated 
humus, artificially applied or otherwise. On 
this point it is certified that 2 ft. to 3 ft. of 
good loam overlies a thin layer of gravel, 
below which is the live chalk rock. That 
seems good enough for fruit trees, Roses, 
and many other subjects likely to be culti¬ 
vated. All the same, we believe the society 
would require to provide an ample supply 
of water for the necessities of a well stocked 
and cultivated garden. The site is on the 
slopes of the valley of the Darent, which 
has here cut deeply into its chalk bed, and 
possibly a supply could be raised from this 
source. Company water has, however, been 
brought within a short distance of the pro¬ 
posed site, but that would in itself form a 
considerable item of expense, even after 
being laid on to the garden. 
The financial aspect of the question does 
not give the Council any great anxiety ; 
and they advise the Fellows to sanction the 
purchase, as such a reasonable offer is not 
likely to recur. Land within easy reach of 
London is continually increasing in value, 
so that this, if purchased, must prove a safe 
asset from a financial point of view, that is, 
we suppose, if it were decided on any future 
occasion to resell the purchase. 
The Fellowsof thesocietyandothersinter- 
ested in the welfare of the same mustered 
in great numbers on Tuesday last, and 
everything during the early part of the day 
indicated a stormy meeting at 3 p.m. ; and 
this indication only proved too true, so that 
the society cannot say that its proceedings 
are looked upon with apathetic indifference. 
Never in our experience do we remember a 
general meeting of the Royal Horticultural 
Society so full of animation, and actuated 
by a zealous regard for the welfare of the 
society, though the two opposing parties 
had their respective views on the point. 
The room in which the meeting was held 
was far too small to accommodate the com¬ 
pany that assembled. The seats were 
filled, standing room everywhere at a pre¬ 
mium, and an overflow crush at each of the 
two doors. The president, Sir Trevor 
Lawrence, took his seat punctually at the 
appointed time, and after he had given an 
eloquent exposition of the situation, he was 
followed by Mr. Harry J. Veitch and Mr. 
C. E. Shea in succession, while other 
speakers were animated with an intense de¬ 
sire to interpolate a few remarks as the 
various crucial points in the discussion were 
raised. The objects of the society, in asking 
the Fellows to sanction the desire of the 
Council to purchase 48 acres of land for a 
garden at South Darenth, were to advance 
the cause of horticulture, to conduct trials 
of fruits, flowers and vegetables, to have 
demonstrations for the benefit of the Fellows, 
and have better means at command for the 
education of young gardeners. The site 
was exposed but that was all to the advan¬ 
tage of the proposed trials. They had in¬ 
spected many sites but this was the best 
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