SuppUment  to 
224 
March  16,  1900. 
JOURXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AXD  COTTAGE  GAR  LEXER. 
The  Fruit  Gardens. 
At  a  point  where  the  Leighton  road  makes  a  sweeping  curve  we 
find  a  pair  of  gates  that  gives  upon  the  gardens  devoted  to  fruit  and 
vegetables.  The  former  are  of  great  extent,  and  it  is  superfluous  to 
say  space  is  found  for  all  kinds  of  hardy  fruits.  The  number  of  Apple 
trees  is  enormous,  and  all  the  best  varieties  in  cultivation  are  repre¬ 
sented.  The  bush  trees  were  of  particular  excellence,  and  were  models 
of  the  best  type.  Each  growth  was  literally  studded  with  fruit  buds, 
and  every  branch  had  sufficient  space  for  its  growths  to  receive  the 
utmost  benefits  derivable  from  sun  and  air.  A  variety  of  superlative 
merit  was  found  in  long  rows  extending  right  across  the  broad 
quarters,  while  others  of  lesser  value  had  more  limited  attention 
accorded  to  them.  Practically  the  same  system  is  adopted  with  all 
other  kinds  of  fruits,  and  all  alike  look  peculiarly  thrifty.  Bush 
fruits,  as  including  Gooseberries,  Currants,  and  Easpberries,  with  the 
all-important  Strawberries,  receive  attention  commensurate  with  their 
importance.  The  spaces  between  the  fruit  trees  are  not  at  Ment- 
more,  as  is  often  the  case  elsewhere,  cropped  with  vegetables,  but  are 
requisitioned  for  the  accommodation  of  Daffodils,  of  which  there  must 
be  hundreds  of  thousands  of  bulbs. 
The  Vegetable  Garden. 
In  an  establishment  of  the  magnitude  of  Mentmore  the  vegetable 
department  is  an  exceptionally  important  one,  for  not  only  have  the 
supplies  to  be  constaut,  but  also  large.  A  smaU  quarter  of  a  popular 
product,  like  Celery  for  example,  would  be  practically  useless,  and 
consequently  a  large  breadth  of  ground  has  of  necessity  to  be  devoted 
to  it.  And  indeed  this  is  practically  the  case  with  all  the  vegetables 
grown.  It  need  not,  therefore,  be  said  that  the  vegetable  gardens  are 
extensive,  and  are  managed  under  such  an  excellent  system  that  the 
possibility  of  a  failure  in  the  supplies  has  been  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
It  cannot  be  stated  that  when  this  visit  was  paid  the  whole  of  the  ground 
was  stocked,  as  such  could  scarcely  be  the  case.  There  were  neverthe¬ 
less  several  valuable  crops,  and  active  preparations  were  being  made 
for  the  complete  cropping  of  the  land  immediately  the  proper  time  for 
doing  so  is  with  us.  The  photographic  reproduction  (fig.  62)  does  not 
do  the  garden  justice,  but  it  shows  the  range  of  glass  (which  has  been 
previously  noted  as  visible  from  the  railway),  with  the  village  of 
Mentmore  beyond.  Of  course  the  walls  surrounding  this  garden  are 
fully  occupied  by  fruit  trees  trained  in  various  forms,  and  these,  like 
the  bush  specimens,  are  given  the  most  skilful  attention.  This  depart¬ 
ment  may  be  a  little  neglected  on  some  estates,  but  such  is  not  the 
case  at  Mentmore. 
Fruits  under  Glass. 
With  the  exception  of  the  dome-roofed  structure  in  the  centre  o^ 
the  range  the  several  houses  seen  in  the  illustration  are  devoted  to 
Vines,  Peaches,  and  Nectarines,  and  it  would  be  no  easy  matter  to  find  a 
better  type  of  house  for  the  important  crops  named.  They  have 
sufficient  height  without  being  unreasonably  difficult  to  manage  ;  they 
are  three-quarter  span-roofed,  and  afford  the  occupants  an  abundance 
of  unobstructed  light,  while  ample  provision  is  made  for  ventilation  and 
for  heating.  The  Vines  vary  in  condition  at  present,  some  being  well 
started,  others  with  the  rods  depressed,  more  still  dormant,  with  some 
in  one  house  carrying  fruits  which  will,  doubtless  before  the  moment  of 
writing,  have  been  removed.  Mr.  Smith  thinks  very  highly  of  the 
comparatively  new  Appley  Towers  for  late  use.  The  Peaches* and 
Nectarines  present  about  the  same  appearance  as  the  Vines,  but  in  this 
case  there  was  naturally  no  crop  of  ripe  fruit,  though  there  was  an 
abundance  of  flowers.  The  whole  of  the  stock  was  in  splendid  condi¬ 
tion,  as  were  the  structures  themselves,  everything  being  scrupulously 
clean.  The  earliest  Vines  are  in  pots  in  a  small  but  lofty  house  of  a 
much  more  old-fashioned  type.  Here  the  healthy  young  canes  were  in 
vigorous  growth,  and  carrying  their  full  share  of  bunches,  the  earliest 
of  which  showed  that  the  thinner  had  been  at  work.  A  long,  low, 
pit-like  range  provides  accommodation  for  Pines,  and  handsome  the 
plants  looked  in  their  sturdy  health.  It  is  fortunate  that  those  luscious 
fruits  still  find  a  place  in  some  gardens,  when  they  have  been  ousted 
from  such  large  numbers.  All  other  fruits  receive  attention  propor¬ 
tionate  with  their  importance,  this  being,  of  course,  governed  by  their 
acceptability  at  the  mansion. 
The  Plant  Houses. 
The  major  portion  of  the  glass  houses  are  placed  in  one  small  garden 
by  themselves,  where  are  also  situated  numbers  of  valuable  frame.s. 
Amongst  the  several  structures  space  is  found  for  growing  all  sorts  of 
flowering  and  foliage  plants,  both  for  affording  cut  flowers  and 
for  providing  material  for  the  embellishment  of  the  mansions  at 
Mentmore  and  in  London.  Plants  are  mainly  grown  in  large  collec¬ 
tions,  the  greatest  amount  of  space  being  accorded  to  the  most 
favoured,  with  reductions  according  to  recognised  importance.  The 
greater  proportion  of  these  houses  are  long  span-roofed,  and  rather  low, 
and  are  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose  for  which  they  were 
designed.  There  are  in  addition  several  houses  of  much  greater 
dimensions  for  various  plants,  for  which  the  other  structures  are  not 
suited.  One  of  these,  for  example,  is  very  lofty,  as  it  must  be,  for  the 
tall  Palms  used  in  the  mansions  require  considerably  more  head  room 
than  the  lower  houses  could  possibly  provide.  This  department  like  all 
the  others  is  splendidly  equipped,  but  it  may  be  safely  asserted  that 
its  capacities  are  sometimes  strained  to  the  utmost  to  fulfil  the  demands 
made  upon  it. 
The  Bothy  and  Garden  Rooms. 
From  the  young  gardeners’  point  of  view  the  bothy  is  one  of  the 
most  important  adjuncts  to  a  garden,  and  considering  the  hours  that 
journeymen  have  to  spend  therein,  one  cannot  be  surprised  that  this  is 
so.  Many  of  the  buildings  employed  for  the  housing  of  the  young  men 
are  a  positive  disgrace,  and  if  the  new  erection  at  Mentmore  were  taken 
as  a  standard  model  for  adoption  in  all  gardens  we  should  hear  no  more 
complaints  on  the  part  of  young  gardeners  of  improper  accommodation. 
It  is  a  commodious  two-storied  structure  of  red  bricks  and  tiles, 
and  the  rooms  are  light  and  of  splendid  size.  There  are  excellent 
kitchens.  Washhouses,  and  pantries,  while  a  bath  was  also  to  be  fitted 
in  a  spare  upstairs  room.  It  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  complete 
bothies  that  we  have  had  the  pleasure  of  inspecting.  The  other  rooms, 
sheds,  and  houses  attached  to  the  gardens  are  very  numerous,  and 
comprise  special  places  for  fruit  and  flower  packing.  Grape  rooms,  and 
hardy  fruit  rooms.  Mushroom  houses,  tool  and  potting  sheds,  and  so  on 
through  the  whole  list  of  such  conveniences. 
The  Man  In  Charge. 
For  slightly  over  a  quarter  of  a  century  these  important  gardens 
have  been  in  the  charge  of  Mr.  Jas.  Smith,  and  during  the-whole  of 
that  period  improvements  have  been  in  progress  or  contemplation. 
Everything  that  care  and  skill  could  do  has  been  done,  sc  that  the 
money  at  disposal  should  be  wisely  spent  and  not  be  frittered  away  on 
alterations  that  could  bring  np  ultimate  benefit  to  the  estate.  Mr. 
Smith  is  known  and  respected  throughout  the  entire  world  of  gardening, 
and  besides  being  an  active  member  of  the  Fruit  Committee  of  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society,  is  one  of  the  original  sixty  Victoria 
medallists  of  honour.  Mr.  Smith  lives  in  the  old  manor  house  of 
Mentmore  (fig.  60),  in  which  he  presides  as  a  quiet,  yet  gemal  host, 
and  wherein  both  he  and  Mrs.  Smith  offered  much  appreciated 
hospitality  on  the  occasion  of  this  journey  to  see  Mentmore  and  its 
beauTes.—  Zingaki. 
- - 
Tlie  Freeinasonry  of  Gardening. 
In  that  fellow  feeling  which  makes  the  whole  gardening  world 
kin,  there  are  not  only  many  pleasing  traits,  but  more  helps  to 
workers  and  their  work  than  the  outside  world  is  aware  of  or 
even  imagines.  True  it  is  that  the  links  which  form  this  great  chain 
of  brotherhood  are  invisible  to  the  public  eye ;  yet,  nevertheless,  do 
they  make  a  stronger  girdle,  probably,  than  more  conspicuous  ties  in 
any  other  phases  of  life  ever  do,  for  they  are  forged  by  the  great  hand 
of  Nature  herself,  as  a  common  bond  to  those  who  are  in  constaut 
communion  with  her.  “  You  gardeners  are  too  clannish,”  a  gentleman 
once  remarked,  “you  always  appear  to  isolate  yourselves  from  other 
men  in  other  stations  of  life.”  That  is  so.  Few  will  dispute  it, 
though  many  cannot  undentand  it.  Nature  is  a  jealous  ruler,  and  one 
of  her  unwritten  commandments  is.  Thou  shall  have  none  other  mistresses 
but  me ;  hence,  outside  tieir  own  sphere  of  work  gardeners  find 
little  to  attract  them,  and  against  that  there  is  a  strongly  felt,  if 
unseen,  magnetic  influence  .confining  them  to  their  own  orbit  of  duty. 
Rarely  indeed  does  a  single  unit  fly  off  at  a  tangent  for  absorption  by 
other  spheres  of  labour  or  recreation  ;  and  the  gravity  of  a  gardener’s 
life  remains  practically  undisturbed  hj  the  most  exciting  of  outside 
influences.  Glorious  “  clanrishness !  ”  Splendid  “isolation!”  Be  it 
our  endeavour  here  to  anal.-se,  to  encourage  and  promote  its  growth 
until  what  is  to  some  more  or  less  visionary  may  be  to  all  a  forcible, 
living  reality. 
To  be  simply  a  gardener  carries  with  it  the  presumptive  rights  and 
