June  24,  18i»7. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
577 
that  grand  old  gardener  Thomas  Rivers,  who  at  a  time  when  compara¬ 
tively  little  had  been  written  on  either  subject,  laid  us  under  an 
obligation  to  him  for  his  “  Rose  Amateur’s  Guide”  and  “  Miniature  Fruit 
Garden.”  Under  him,  too,  Sawbridgeworth  became  classic  ground. 
Visitors  came  to  it  from  all  parts  of  the  world  to  see  the  experiments 
that  were  continually  being  carried  out  there,  especially  in  fruit  growing, 
and  none  ever  left  it  without  being  impressed  with  the  mass  of  intelli¬ 
gence,  shrewdness,  and  good  feeling  of  the  proprietor.  It  may  be  that 
some  of  his  theories  have  not  held  their  ground,  but  few  will  deny  that 
he  greatly  helped  forward  the  progress  of  fruit  culture.  From  his 
journeys  to  France  and  Belgium  he  brought  home  much  solid  experience 
and  knowledge,  and  the  various  systems  of  training  adopted  abroad  owe 
to  him,  perhaps  more  than  anyone  else,  their  popularity  in  this  country. 
In  Rose  culture  he  was  eclipsed  perhaps  by  others,  hut  in  fruit  culture 
by  none. 
John  Pearson. 
There  was  one  other  fruit  grower  whom  we  may  perhaps  place 
next  to  him  for  the  services  rendered  to  that  important  branch  of 
gardening — Mr.  J.  R.  Pearson  of  Chilwell,  Notts.  I  can  bring  to 
memory  a  very  pleasant  and  profitable  day  spent  there  many  years 
ago,  and  although  I  was  not  a  fruit  grower,  I  experienced  as  much 
courtesy  and  kindness  as  if  I  had  come  there  with  an  order  for  1000 
fruit  trees.  At  that  time  he  was  especially  taken  up  with  Grape 
culture  and  the  production  of  new  varieties,  but  in  all  departments  a 
high  state  of  proficiency  was  preserved,  and  it  is  pleasant  to  note  that 
both  at  Sawbridgeworth  and  Chilwell  the  old  traditions  are  faith¬ 
fully  observed  and  carried  out. 
Charles  Turner 
It  could  not  have  been  much  less  than  fifty  years  ago  since  I  paid  a 
visit  to  the  late  Mr.  Charles  Turner,  who  was  then  residing  at  Chalvey, 
near  Slough,  then  with  a  small  garden  and  a  few  frames,  but  who  some 
years  afterwards  migrated  to  the  Royal  Nurseries,  Slough,  and  I  think 
to  him  more  than  to  anyone  else  must  be  ascribed  the  merit  of  keeping  alive 
the  love  for  florist  flowers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  metropolis. 
Tulips,  Auriculas,  Pinks,  Dahlias,  Carnations,  Picotees,  and  Roses  were 
erown  with  such  success  at  Slough,  that  many  were  encouraged  in  their 
culture.  He  had  at  one  time  a  grand  collection  of  Tulips,  but  nothing 
seemed  able  to  induce  people  to  grow  them  in  the  South,  and  I  remember 
Mr.  Turner  when  he  gave  them  up  saying  it  would  pay  him  better  to 
grow  Lettuces.  Here,  agaiD,  one  is  thankful  to  be  able  to  say  the 
fame  and  reputation  of  the  establish¬ 
ment  are  well  maintained. 
John  Keynes. 
I  wonder  how  many  recollect  old 
John  Keynes  of  Salisbury,  and  yet  few 
men  did  more  to  advance  the  culture  of 
the  Dahlia.  He  and  Charles  Turner 
used  to  run  a  neck-and-neck  race  both 
in  exhibitions  and  production  of  new 
varieties ;  not  that  his  attention  was 
confined  to  these,  but  they  formed  the 
groundwork  of  the  establishment  which 
he  built  up.  He  did  not  commence  life 
as  a  gardener,  and  it  was  his  love  for 
flowers  that  led  him  to  change  his 
vocation.  He  first  began  as  a  Pink 
grower,  and  was  fond  of  telling  a  story 
of  those  early  days,  and  how,  when 
driving  off  to  a  show  some  miles  dis¬ 
tant  from  Salisbury,  the  trap  he  was 
in  came  to  grief,  and  he  and  another 
Pink  grower  who  was  going  with  him 
were  thrown  out.  “I  escaped,”  he 
used  to  say,  “  without  injury,  but  my 
friend’s  leg  was  broken.”  Such,  how¬ 
ever,  was  his  enthusiasm,  that  he  obtained  another  trap,  and  in  spite  of 
the  broken  leg  they  drove  off  to  the  place  of  exhibition,  but  (then  he  used 
to  add  with  a  quiet  twinkle  of  his  eye)  “  the  leg  was  a  wooden  one.” 
Sir  Joseph  Paxton. 
Amongst  those  names  which  Bhould  ever  stand  forth  as  connected 
with  horticulture  in  the  Victorian  era  is  that  of  Sir  Joseph  Paxton, 
though  it  will  probably  be  mainly  in  the  grand  exhibition  buildings  of 
1851  and  with  the  Crystal  Palace,  its  immediate  successor,  that  his  name 
will  be  mostly  remembered,  Tb§  accomplished  gardener  of  Chatsworth, 
whose  genius  elaborated  the  design  of  the  grand  building  in  Hyde  Park-,, 
had  a  great  influence  on  horticulture.  The  world  saw  that  there  were 
some  gardeners  that  did  not  only  wield  the  spade  and  the  hoe,  but  also 
the  pen  and  the  pencil,  and  so  was  inclined  to  estimate  at  a  higher 
figure  those  who  led  the  van  in  the  various  departments  of  gardening. 
The  profession  felt  honoured  by  the  distinctions  conferred  on  its  most 
illustiious  member,  and  were  no  longer  inclined  to  use  the  expression, 
Only  a  gardener ;  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  establishment 
at  the  Crystal  Palace  has  led  to  the  great  encouragement  of  high-class, 
gardening. 
William  Thomson. 
The  names  of  two  brothers — one  of  whom  still  remains  with  us — 
namely,  David  and  William  Thomson,  both  deserve  notice;  but  follow¬ 
ing  the  rule  I  have  laid  down  I  say  nothing  of  the  former.  Probably 
there  is  no  person  who  gave  a  greater  stimulus  to  Grape-growing  for 
profit  than  the  latter.  At  Galashiels  he  led  the  van  in  this  branch  of 
gardening,  and  I  think  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  vast  establish¬ 
ments  which  we  now  see  in  the  neighbourhood  of  London  owe  their 
development  to  the  example  set  there,  and  I  believe  that  this  is  recog¬ 
nised  by  many  of  the  owners  of  these  places,  some  of  whom,  at  least, 
hail  from  the  other  side  oE  the  Tweed. 
Thomas  Moore. 
So  years  ago  there  was  no  more  familiar  name  in  the  gardening  world, 
than  that  of  Thomas  Moore,  the  curator  of  the  Apothecary’s  Garden  at 
ChelBea.  He  was  a  very  glutton  for  work,  and  as  is  usual  in  such  cases, 
people  never  hesitated  about  laying  it  upon  his  shoulders.  He  was  a 
pro  ific  writer,  and  as  his  knowledge  was  extensive,  he  helped  forward 
many  in  the  pursuit  they  loved,  and  wherever  a  committee  was  to  be 
<  formed  or  society  started,  and  the  question  came,  Whom  shall  we  ask  to 
be  secretary  ?  the  invariable  reply  was,  Thomas  Moore.  At  one  time 
associated  with  Dr.  Lindley  in  the  “  Gardener’s  Chronicle,”  and  known 
to  a  wide  circle,  and  he  continued  his  activity  until  the  disease  which 
finally  carried  him  off,  made  such  inroads  upon  his  health  that  work  was 
impossible. 
John  Dominy. 
I  have  mentioned  the  hybridisation  of  Orchids,  and  I  think  that  it 
ought  not  to  be  forgotten  that  the  lealer  in  this  work  to  whose  intel¬ 
ligence  and  skill  we  owe  so  much,  was  John  Dominy,  an  employ  £  in  the 
great  Chelsea  firm  of  Veitch  &  Sons.  A  quiet,  modest,  and  unas¬ 
suming  man,  he  was  never  willing  to  put  himself  forward,  one  who 
would  do  anything  rather  than  say  a  few  words.  He  not  only  ventured. 
on  ground  hitherto  untrodden,  but  led  the  way  in  which  many  others' 
have  since  followed,  and  he  showed  conclusively  how  flowers  of  a 
complicated  structure  are  not  beyond  the  reach  of  the  hybridiser.  By 
his  success  he  encouraged  others  to  persevere  in  the  same  line,  and  when¬ 
ever  I  see  a  hybrid  Orchid,  the  quiet  and  modest  bearing  of  John  Dominy 
are  present  with  me. 
B.  S.  Williams. 
While  I  am  mentioning  Orchids  one  must  not  forget  the  late  Mr. 
B.  S.  Williams  of  Holloway.  Greatly  devoted  to  this  class  of  plants,  he 
did  what  he  could  to  popularise  them  iu  various  parts  of  the  country . 
Fig.  127. — Osborne  House  Terrace  ( [page  564). 
