422 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  17,  1900. 
Tlje  I(oyal  I(orticnltural  Society. 
Scieiitilic  Committee,  May  Stlj. 
Present  :  Dr.  M.  T.  Masters  (in  the  chair)  ;  Mr.  F.  Im  Thnrn, 
Mr.  Shea,  Eev.  W.  Wilks,  Mr.  Mawley,  and  Eev.  G.  Henslow,  Hon.  Sec. 
Peach  trees;  diseased. — The  following  report  was  received  from 
Dr.  W.  G.  Smith  upon  the  specimens  received  on  March  26th.  He  also 
observes  that  he  is  continuing  the  cultures  of  the  fungi,  as  at  present 
he  is  uncertain  between  “Fruit  rot”  (Monilia  fructigena)  and  a  form 
of  Cladosporium.  “  The  cause  of  discolouration  of  the  bark  of  twigs  is 
evidently  a  fungus  which  can  be  found  in  these  parts.  The  absence  of 
good  examples  of  reproductive  organs  renders  identification  uncertain. 
In  the  twigs  the  fungus  has  passed  the  winter,  and  made  its  way  into 
the  leaf  buds  and  flowers,  causing  the  damage  there.  With  a  fungus 
such  as  this  the  course  of  treatment  is  summer  spraying.  Peach  foliage 
is  delicate  and  the  spraying  solution  must  be  dilute  ;  for  example, 
Bordeaux  mixture  made  with  not  more  than  2  lbs.  copper 
sulphate  and  2  lbs.  quicklime  in  each  fifty  gallons  of  water.  The 
foliage  should  be  thoroughly  wetted  with  a  fine  spray,  preferably  that 
given  with  a  sprayer  like  those  supplied  by  Strawson  and  other  firms. 
In  winter  pruning  should  be  carried  out,  so  as  to  remove  all  discoloured 
twigs.  This  treatment  will  probably  require  to  be  carried  out  for 
several  seasons.  The  fungus  might  be  identified  if  specimens  of  foliage 
were  sent  during  tbe  summer.” 
Vine  leaves,  diseased  — With  reference  to  those  sent  to  a  previous 
meeting.  Dr.  Masters  observed  that  no  mites  could  be  detected  by  Mr. 
Michael,  who  carefully  examined  them  ;  but  that  his  opinion  was  con¬ 
firmed  that  the  diseased  condition  was  most  probably  due  to  a  young 
condition  of  Glocosporium. 
Larix  occidentalis. — Dr.  Masters  showed  young  cones  of  this  species 
from  Oregon,  characterised  by  having  green  bracts,  the  European 
Larch  having  them  of  a  red  colour.  It  is  described  as  the  finest 
timber  tree  of  N.W.  America.  It  was  discovered  by  Douglas,  who 
mistook  it  for  the  European  species. 
Observations  on  Limpsfield. 
Until  quite  recently  nothing  was  heard  in  gardening  circles  about 
Limpsfield.  Its  name  has,  perhaps,  never  been  mentioned  in  horti¬ 
cultural  journals  except,  possibly,  by  a  casual  reference  to  Titsey 
Place,  the  seat  of  a  chief  county  family — the  Leveson  Gowers.  Lately, 
however,  Limpsfield  has  come  very  much  to  the  front,  as  a  site  there  has 
been  recommended  for  the  establishment  of  a  new  experimental  garden 
of  the  Eoyal  Horticultural  Society,  in  connection  with  a  National 
School  of  Horticulture,  to  be  purchased  anti  supported  by  certain  County 
Councils.  It  has  been  twice  decided  with  practical  unanimity  at 
general  meetings  of  the  Fellows  that  the  old  garden  at  Chiswick  is  to 
be  relinquished,  and  a  new  garden  formed  in  commemoration  of  the 
approaching  centenary  of  the  Society.  As  the  Society’s  term  of  posses¬ 
sion  expires  in  twenty  years,  the  governing  body  has  concluded  that  the 
sooner  a  site  for  a  new  garden  is  selected  the  greater  will  be  the  amount 
derivable  by  sale  of  the  residue  of  the  present  leasehold  for  building 
purposes ;  hence  the  desire  to  secure  the  beet  obtainable  site  elsewhere 
as  soon  as  is  consistent  with  a  wise  decision. 
After  attending  the  special  general  meeting  on  April  25th,  and 
hearing  there  such  widely  divergent  views,  especially  on  the  nature 
of  the  soil  at  Limpsfield,  three  persons  decided  to  visit  the  site  for 
the  purpose  of  forming  an  opinion  upon  it.  These  self-constituted 
examiners  were  Messrs.  A.  Dean,  G.  Gordon,  and  J.  Wright.  There 
are  some  cardinal  points  that  seem  to  demand  consideration  in  choosing 
a  site  for  a  new  national  garden — namely  :  1,  accessibility  ;  2,  climatal 
considerations;  3,  situation  and  shelter  ;  4,  configuration  ;  5,  soil; 
6,  water  ;  7  (in  this  particular  case),  a  School  of  Horticulture. 
Accessibility. 
For  practical  purposes  the  “  new  Chiswick  ”  must  be  quickly  and 
economically  accessible  from  the  seat  of  government — viz.,  London. 
Most  Fellows  of  the  Society  visit  the  metropolis  periodically,  and 
whether  the  garden  should  be  twenty  or  thirty  miles  east,  west,  north 
or  south,  they  w<  uld  have  to  do  so  to  reach  it,  as  few  quick  trains 
stop  at  stations  within  such  distances  of  the  terminus.  The  Limpsfield 
site  can  be  reached  from  Victoria  in  an  hour  by  rail  and  road,  but  not 
by  all  trains,  the  special  daily  cheap  train  in  summer  is  ten  minutes 
slower. 
Climatal  Considerations. 
The  first  of  these  is  immunity  from  smoke-laden  fog,  not  for  a  few 
j  ears  merely  but  for  a  century.  For  this  immunity  we  must  have 
regard  to  altitude  and  surroundings.  As  to  the  former  the  upper  part 
of  the  site  inspected  is  ever  500  feet  above  sea  level,  the  lower  part 
300  feet ;  as  to  the  surroui.dings,  there  are  on  two  sides  hundreds  if 
not  thousands  of  acres  of  common  land,  which  can  never  be  built  upon, 
the  remainder  being  purely  agricultural  land — arable,  meadow,  and 
coppice — a  district  as  “  truly  rural  ”  as  could  well  be  imagined,  and 
miles  away  from  any  town.  The  air  is  probably  as  pure  as  could  be 
found  anywhere,  while  there  is  nothing  to  obstruct  the  full  flood  of 
light  between  Limpsfield  Common  and  the  English  Channel. 
Situation  and  Shelter. 
From  an  msthetic  point  of  view  it  would  not  be  easy  to  imagine  a 
panorama  more  beautiful  in  its  way  than  that  which  is  swept  by  the  eye 
from  the  upper  portion  of  the  ground  over  the  far  reaching  and  well 
wooded  area  of  Kent  and  Sussex — a  lovely  typical  English  landscape. 
But  what  of  the  “shelter”  which  for  the  purposes  of  a  garden  is 
all-important  ?  With  a  grand  natural  elevation  along  the  north,  curving 
partly  down  the  west  and  tree-clad  hills  on  the  east,  it  is  doubtful  if 
anything  more  complete  could  be  imagined,  for  it  is  shelter  without 
shading  in  the  least  what  it  is  desired  to  screen.  Except  perhaps 
along  a  portion  of  the  west  side  what  may  be  described  as  the  frame 
of  shelter,  seems  perfect,  though  possibly  intersecting  screens  might 
be  desirable  if  the  eight  fields  were  transformed  into  a  garden. 
Configuration. 
Generally  the  land  from  the  horseshoe-shaped  shelter  of  the 
northern  extremity  above  indicated  elopes  somewhat  sharply  to  the 
south  till  it  reaches  a  footing  of  nearly  flat  fields  ;  but  in  addition  there 
are  a  few  acres  presenting  easterly  and  westerly  aspects  with  easy 
elopes,  or  sufficiently  so  for  fruit  cultivation.  Thus  the  site,  as  a 
whole,  is  the  exact  reverse  of  a  “  dead  level  of  uniformity,”  and 
certainly  picturesque  effects  could,  if  desired,  be  produced  in  the  upper 
portion,  while  cultivation  on  the  irregular  surface  and  varied  aspects 
would  give  results  of  an  educational  character. 
Soil. 
It  may  be  stated  at  once  in  reference  to  this  almost  vital  factor  in 
the  whole  case,  that  there  is  plenty  of  room  for  differences  of  opinion. 
There  are  two  forms  of  soil  on  the  Limpsfield  site — one  in  which  sand 
preponderates  over  the  clay,  as  in  the  upper  portion  ;  the  other  in  which 
clay  predominates  over  the  sand  on  the  lower  level.  A  gardener  who 
had  experienced  a  more  than  ordinary  share  of  backache  in  working 
very  strong  land  would  prefer  the  lighter  section  at  Limpsfield  ;  a 
gardener  who  had  struggled  for  years  against  dx-ought,  in  a  diy  light 
medium,  would  prefer  the  stronger.  In  one  of  the  semi-starved  fields 
on  the  site  there  is  a  cogent  object  lesson.  Either  some  manure  has 
been  shot  down  and  lain  for  awhile,  or  there  has  been  a  rubbish  fire. 
Whatever  the  fertilising  medium,  the  effect  of  it  is  sufficiently  striking, 
for  a  deeper,  richer,  and  more  robust  growth  of  Wheat  could  be  scarcely 
corceived.  The  land  has  not  been  well  farmed,  but  the  reverse,  and 
only  requires  sound  cultivation — tillage  and  nutriment — to  grow  better 
fruit  and  vegetables  than  can  be  grown  at  “  Old  Chiswick  ”  by  any 
man. 
An  ideal  soil  is  supposed  to  consist  of  50  to  70  per  cent,  silicious 
and  calcareous  sand,  20  to  30  per  cent,  clay,  5  to  10  per  cent,  pulverised 
limestone,  and  the  same  amount  of  humus.  But  where  is  such  land  to 
be  found  ?  The  sand  at  Limpsfield  is  presumably  not  calcareous.  It 
consists  of  the  washings  and  driftings  from  the  sandstone  on  the 
“  heights  ”  above  ;  but  there  are  millions  of  tons  of  chalk  near  the  station, 
and  humus  can  be  imparted  by  natural  manure.  The  soil  is  improve- 
able;  it  cracks  now  in  drying,  and  bakes  somewhat,  but  the  cracking  is 
preventable  by  surface  tillage,  and  the  lumps  are  easily  smashed  to 
powder  when  dealt  with  at  the  right  time.  The  upheavals  of  moles 
are  powdery,  and  the  under  soil  tested  wherever  we  might,  even 
dug  from  the  bottom  of  plough  furrows,  the  clay,  after  some  heavy 
showers,  did  not  in  one  instance  “cake  ”  under  compression,  but  broke 
into  particles,  reminding  of  the  lines  of  Thomas  Tusser,  written  more 
than  300  years  ago  : — 
All  gravel  and  sand 
Is  not  the  best  land  ; 
A  rotteny  mould 
Is  land  worth  gould. 
How  much  “  gould  ”  this  Limpsfield  land  is  worth  is  for  others  to 
determine,  but  it  is  understood  it  was  bought  by  the  present  owners  for 
between  £80  and  £90  an  acre.  As  it  contains  no  gravel,  and  a  good 
deal  of  it  not  too  much  sand,  while  in  texture  the  strong  part  is 
“  rotteny,”  it  might  perhaps  have  suited  old  Tusser. 
Water. 
As  80  per  cent,  in  bulk  and  weight  of  our  garden  crops  consists 
of  water,  and  some  of  them  a  good  deal  more,  not  another  word  is 
needed  to  enforce  the  necessity  of  a  full  and  constant  supply  in 
gardens.  True  an  excess  in  the  soil  is  injurious,  and  a  few  patches  of 
the  land  in  question  are  no  doubt  wetter  than  is  good  for  them.  But 
there  is  a  great contra — a  veritable  treasure — in  the  form  of  what 
appears  to  be  regarded  as  an  everlasting  spring.  This  is  towards  the 
base  of  the  southern  declivity,  where  a  pumping  station  is  provided  for 
meeting  the  demands  of  the  extensive  convalescent  home  of  the  Charing 
Cross  Hospital  above.  The  overflow  passes  in  a  constant  stream  right 
through  the  proposed  garden,  and  meanders  away,  through  copse  and 
meadow,  into  the  distant  river  Eden.  Whoever  has  control  of  this 
stream  through  the  grounds  can  hold  the  water  up  where  it  might  be 
needed,  and  by  scouring  the  main  outlet  below,  and  rendering 
