THE GARDENING WORLD. 
409 
May 14. 1904. 
A Fortnight in Cornish Gardens. 
(Continued from 'page 288.) 
On leaving Men ab illy I journeyed to Redruth, where I stayed 
hom Friday night until Monday. Redruth is this business centre 
If Cornwall, and many of the mines for which Cornwall has for 
enturies been famous are found in the vicinity. The town is 
lot very large, but is progressive', and among other up-to-date 
hings there is a service of electric cars. Within easy distance 
If the town there are numerous places of interest which arc 
Loith a, visit, and some very nice walks may be taken. The 
,ea is about three and a half miles distant, and the cliff scenery 
or many miles along the coast is very fine. Close to the town 
i hill, known as Carn Brae, rises to a height of 823 ft. On a 
ine day the climb to the top of this hill is de¬ 
lightful. The sides are in places steep, in others they rise 
py gentle slopes. Most of the hill is covered with Erica 
nnerea, Calluna. vulgaris, and Ulex Gallii, with great rocks and 
boulders jutting out here and there. At the time of my visit 
thitee plants .mentioned were- in full flower, the yellow" of the 
Gorse contrasting finely with the purple and red of the others. 
In passing, I might mention that I saw eight forms of Calluna 
vulgaris growing on this hillside. On the top 1 of the hill a 
tall cairn has.been built; there is also an old tower and many 
Druidical sacrificing stones of immense, size, and peculiar from 
the manner in which many of them are hollowed out, and in 
the way they are poised and balanced on each other. From 
the top of the hill extensive views ane obtained, and the 
Atlantic Ocean on one side and the English Channel on the 
other side of Cornwall may be seen. 
The gardens about Redruth are for the most part small. 
Trevince, the residence of E. B. Beauchamp, Esq., at which 
Mr. H. Williams, an old Kewite, is gardener, is well kept., and 
there are aeaxto interesting plants. The most striking is a fine 
old specimen of Pinus insignis, which is divided near the ground 
into a number of immense branches, which have a very wide 
spfiead. Tire bark of the tree is very rough and picturesque. 
Tolvean House is worthy of mention, as it was one of the 
tidiest and best kept places I saw in Cornwall. Throughout 
the whole place there was- scarcely a. w eed to be seen, while the 
collection of plants indoor and out was good and remarkable 
for good cultivation. Mr. Bo-wden, the head gardener, is 
'between seventy and eighty years of age, but is as full of pro¬ 
jects for the improvement of the place as any young man would 
he. 
The chief attraction for a gardener at Redruth is the nursery 
of Mr. Gauntlett; this is a very interesting place, the collec¬ 
tion of rare and out-of-the-way plants being very large.. 
Japanese., Australian, New Zealand, Chilian, and plants from 
other countries abound. Bamboos are a speciality, and Mr. 
Gauntlett has some 20,000 plants for disposal this season. 
On Monday, September 7th, I left Redruth for Penzance. 
The town of Penzance is an important shipping place, and it 
is toi Penzance that the market garden produce of 
the Scilly Islands is sent for distribution to other 
places. About Penzance Geraniums are used largely to cover 
the walls of houses, much as Ivy is used. In many instances I 
saw Geraniums, 12 ft. high, covering the fronts of good-sized 
houses. Fuchsias, which are fine everywhere in Cornwall, are 
particularly so hefia, huge bushes 10 ft. high being often met 
with. F. Riccartoni is the most common. Good garden 
varieties of Fuchsia are rarely seen in large gardens, but. some 
very fine specimens are to. be seen in the cottage gardens about 
Penzance. 
There is a small public garden at Penzance, which contains 
some interesting plants. From the gate near the promenade 
there is a. fine avenue of Cordyline australis leading to the 
middle of the park. Eucalyptus Globulus is represented by 
good specimens ; Hydrangea, hortensis by specimens 6 ft. high 
and 8 ft. or 9 ft. through, smothered with blue flowers; Vero¬ 
nica Traversii,j3 ft. high and 8 ft. wide; Veronica, loibelioides, 
8 ft. high and 9 ft. wide', smothered with flowers; and many 
other things. 
The afternoon of September 7th I spent, at. Trewidden, the 
seat of T. B. Bolitho, Esq. The head gardener, Mr. Maddern, 
is a. go-ahead man, and his employer is keen on gardening; 
consequently it is one of the best of Cornish gardens. Trewid- 
d<en is about two and a half miles from Penzance on the road 
t o Land’s End. Some time before arriving a,t the gates my 
attention was attracted by a. fine shrubbery, which stands at. 
the top of a low wall near the road, and takes the place of a 
hedge. This shrubbery is planted with large specimens or 
groups of the following things, and as each group or speci¬ 
men stands clear of its neighbour the effect is very good. The 
principal plants used are Escailonia macrantha, Hydrangea 
hortensis. Fuchsias, Elaeagnus (variegated), Genista hispanica, 
Teucrium fruticans, Phormium tenax and its variegated forms, 
Prunus cerasifera var. atropurptirea., Choisya tema.ta., Cordj-- 
line australis 1 , Veronica. Andersoni, Cassinia fulvida (plants 
4 ft. high and 5 ft. through), Griselinia. littoralis, and other 
things. From the gates there is a long drive up. to the gardens, 
and the borders of this were planted in a similar manner, with 
here and there long stretches of large Rhododendrons. 
On finding Mr. Maddern I was taken in hand and shown the 
treasures of the place, and there are some magnificent speci¬ 
men plants to be seen. 
Gevuina Avellana, 3 ft. to. 4 ft., high, has very fine and hand¬ 
some leaves ; Quercus 1 cuspidate is represented by a. shapely 
bush 18 ft. high ; Viburnum odoratissimum is^20 ft.high, and a 
large, densie bush ; Retinospora; tetragona. aurea is in, evidence, 
and is a fine plant 6 ft. high, perfect, in shape, and beautifully 
coloured. Thuya gigantea var. aurea, is represented by a fine, 
well-coloured specimen ; Azara, microphylla, is also veiy large; 
large bushes of Podocarpus chilina, were fruiting well; Drimys 
aromatica is about 17 ft. high, wide in proportion, and well 
furnished to. the ground ; Abies webbiana is very strong and 
well coloured ; St.yrax Oba.ssia, and S. japonica, were very good 
specimens; Feijo-a sellowiana was thriving well; Phcrmiums 
everywhere were very fine'; Gunnera, manicata was in evidence 
in several plaices, the largest plant being 30 ft., across, with 
leaves 9 ft. across ; and Indian Azaleas are grown in large beds. 
Among many plants of 'Cordyline australis a specimen about 
18ft. high, with six main branches, terminated with large, 
branched heads of leaves, was very striking. Eupatorium wein- 
wannianum (s,yn. E. odoratum), 8 ft. high and 7 ft. through, 
smothered with flowers, was a fine, sight; Eucryphia pinnati- 
folia, 14 ft. high and 8 ft. through, Ava.s a. lovely plant, as also 
was Sciadopitys verticillata, 18 ft. high, and well furnished 
from bottom to top. Phoenocoma. prolifera, against a, wall, 
liasi been out for several years. The plant is about 3 ft. high 
and 3-1 ft. across;, and has had many hundreds of flowers on this 
year. At. the' time of my visit about forty were open. On the 
same wall Pentstemon cordifolium, Alberta Magna, Berbari- 
dopsis corallina., Tacsonia Van Volxemi, and Traci)elospermam 
jMmino.ides were very nice. Near this wall there was a very 
fine old tree of Embothrium coccineum. 
Other fine plants about, the garden were Fatsia japonica, Ilex 
crenata, Escailonia, exoniensis (18 ft. high and 15 ft. through), 
Quercus marylandica, Quercus cuspidata va.riega.ta (12 ft. 
high ; a. very fine and well-coloured plant), Helichrysum ros- 
marinifolium, Hydrangea. Mariesi, Mexyta, Sinelairii, Dracaena 
indivisa, and other things. A bed containing 450 plants of a 
deep red tuberous Begonia was very showy. The plants' were 
raised from seeds' sown this year, and all were large and well 
flowered. All tine young Conifers were remarkable for their 
immense growths, and on remarking this to Mr. Maddern he 
took me to. a plantation of Picea a.janensis, many of which have 
added quite 5 ft. to their height this year. At Trewidden 
there is a good kitchen garden, with a number of good fruit 
houses, and everywhere .seemed well kept, and well cultivated. 
As is the case in most, of the Cornish gardens, magnificent 
views of the sea, and surrounding country are obtained from 
various parts of the grounds. 
(To be continued.) 
The Mangosteen, which is indigenous to the Moluccas, is said 
to be the only known fruit that Queen Victoria never tasted. _ It 
contains an exquisite juice, but all attempts to ship it abroad 
without spoiling have failed. 
