494 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  21, 1895. 
THE  WOODLANDS,  STREATHAM. 
The  gardens  of  K.  H.  Measures,  Esq.,  at  The  Woodlands,  have  long 
been  celebrated  for  the  very  valuable  collection  of  Orchids  grown  there, 
and  although  no  doubt  that  is  the  primary  feature,  other  branches  of 
horticulture  are  by  means  ignored.  In  every  part  of  this  well  kept 
place  neatness  and  cleanliness  prevail.  The  kitchen  garden  is  well 
cropped  with  the  most  useful  vegetables  and  the  ground  free  from  weeds, 
the  quarters  being  divided  with  well  made  asphalt  walks.  There  is 
growing  here  a*most  useful  green,  said  to  have  been  raised  at  The  Wood- 
lands.  It  stands  the  winter  well  and  is  much  appreciated  on  the  table. 
In  appearance  it  is  intermediate  between  the  Curled  Kale  and  Sprouting 
Broccoli.  Each  plant  sends  out  numerous  side  shoots,  in  the  centre  of 
which  is  a  miniature  Broccoli,  but  it  evidently  requires  k  little  more 
“  fixing  ”  to  make  it  quite  true  to  character.  The  plants  are  all  uniform 
in  size,  but  whilst  some  of  the  leaves  are  beautifully  curled  others  par¬ 
take  more  of  the  Broccoli.  In  addition  to  the  fruit  trees  dotted  about 
the  kitchen  garden  and  healthy  young  Peach  trees  on  the  wall,  there  is 
a  recently  made  orchard  of  standard  Apple  trees  and  a  plantation  of 
pyramid  Pear  trees  from  France.  In  the  fruit  room  are  good  samples  of 
Apples,  notably  Cox’s  Orange  Pippin,  Ribston  Pippin,  Scarlet  Non¬ 
pareil,  Gloria  Mundi,  and  others,  and  among  Pears  are  Thompson’s  Glou 
Morceau  and  Uvedale’s  St.  Germain,  conspicuous  for  their  size. 
In  a  newly  built  Mushroom  house  are  several  beds  in  succession,  the 
first  of  which  is  just  now  in  full  bearing.  Outside  this  house  in  frames 
are  hundreds  of  healthy  Carnations  in  4-inch  pots.  A  large  span-roofed 
house  is  devoted  to  Carnation  culture,  the  centre  and  side  stages  being 
filled  with  large  specimens.  These  have  not  inaptly  been  described  as 
resembling  “  Furze  bushes,”  as  they  are  all  in  excellent  health,  and  most 
of  them  have  from  nine  to  fifteen  flowering  growths,  and  on  one  we  counted 
thirty-seven.  One  thousand  and  fifty  blooms  were  cut  in  this  house  last 
June  •  they  include  many  fine  varieties  raised  here,  some  with  leaves 
measuring  1  inch  in  width.  Among  the  named  trees  are  Mrs.  Ilemsley, 
Duke  of  York,  Mrs.  Moore,  Uriah  Pike,  Winter  Cheer,  Hamlet,  and  Miss 
Measures  ;  and  the  Malmaisons  Princess  of  Wales,  Churchwarden,  Mrs. 
Everard  Hamborough,  Princess  May,  Princess  Mary  Decroix,  R.  H. 
Measures,  Royal  Sovereign,  and  Lord  Wolseley,  the  last  four  being  new 
ones.  An  additional  house  has  this  autumn  been  built  for  Chrys- 
anthemums,  and  is  now  filled  with  plants  producing  large  and  well 
developed  flowers.  Other  houses  are  devoted  to  Pancratiums,  Nerines. 
Anthuriums,  Richardias,  Primulas,  and  Palms.  A  large  break  of  ground 
outside  is  also  planted  with  choice  herbaceous  plants  for  producing 
flowers  for  church  decoration. 
The  Orchid  houses  are  constructed  on  the  most  modern  principle  with 
the  latest  appliances.  They  are  efficiently  heated,  and  ventilated  on  the 
sides  beneath  the  stages  just  above  the  hot-water  pipes,  precaution  being 
taken  to  avoid  any  cold  draught.  A  large  reservoir  is  provided  to  catch 
the  rain  water  outside,  and  a  tank  in  each  house  is  connected  to  this, 
with  the  result  that  there  has  been  no  scarcity  of  rain  water  during  the 
long  period  of  drought  this  summer.  Ornamental  rockwork  is  built 
under  the  stases,  on  the  face  of  which  are  planted  choice  Ferns.  Berto- 
lonias,  Sonerilas,  variegated  Begonias,  Sibthorpia,  and  Saxifragas  ;  and 
along  the  front  of  the  stages  are  planted  Pilea  muscosa  and  Isolepis 
gracilis,  with  here  and  there  a  Fern,  which  lend  an  additional  charm  to 
the  houses.  It  is  pleasing  to  note  that  Mr.  Measures  is  a  keen  horti¬ 
culturist,  and  to  have  all  work  thoroughly  done  he  employs  sufficient 
skilled  labour  for  the  purpose,  which  is  a  great  advantage  to  a  head 
gardener  and  beneficial  to  the  plants  under  his  charge. 
At  the  present  time  there  is  a  grand  display  of  Cattleya  labiata,  and 
at  the  time  of  our  visit  last  week  there  were  in  one  house  500  expanded 
blooms,  with  200  other  spikes  pushing  through  the  double  sheaths.  In 
another  house  200  blooms  already  open.  The  cream  of  named  varieties 
are  amongst  them,  but  all  are  very  beautiful  and  varied  in  colour,  some 
with  dark  massive  sepals  and  petals  and  richly  coloured  lips,  while 
others,  and  especially  C.  C.  R.  Measures,  possess  petals  and  sepals  of 
snowy  whiteness.  Lmlia  elegans,  of  the  best  type  and  named  varieties, 
occupy  the  centre  stages  of  several  houses.  These  are  all  in  good  health, 
and  include  large  specimens  with  a  dozen  or  more  leads,  some  having 
immense  bulbs,  others  being  very  short  and  thick.  A  collector  who  has 
been  abroad  specially  to  collect  plants  of  this  species,  but  with  little 
success,  recently  expressed  his  surprise  to  find  so  many  in  a  private 
establishment.  On  the  side  stages  are  Cattleyas  Trianas,  Mendeli, 
Schroderae,  and  Bowringiana  with  fine  growths,  many  of  the  latter  being 
in  bloom.  In  these  houses,  too,  are  choice  novelties,  including  C.  Lod- 
digesi  alba,  C.  Skinneri  alba,  and  the  white  C.  Leopoldi,  Laslia  Perrini 
alba,  Laelia  Arnoldiana,  and  the  choice  hybrid  Laelio-Cattleyas.  Worthy 
of  note  is  a  fine  specimen  of  a  supposed  natural  hybrid  between  Cattleya 
intermedia  and  Laelia  elegans.  In  other  houses  are  numerous  Odonto- 
glossum  citrosmum,  Cattleya  citrina,  and  Laelia  harpophylla.  With  bulbs 
nearly  20  inches  in  length,  and  mounted  on  pedestals  in  the  centre,  are 
good  specimens  of  best  and  showy  Cymbidiums.  Odontoglossums  also 
occupy  a  three-quarter  span-roofed  house  in  two  divisions — one  60  feet 
the  other  40  feet  in  length. 
Although  this  house  was  built  throughout  at  the  same  time,  and  the 
height  and  width  of  each  compartment  is  the  same,  it  is  singular  to  note 
that  the  plants  are  much  more  vigorous  in  the  latter  division.  It  would 
appear  that  smaller  structures  are  more  suitable  for  Odontoglossums 
than  large  ones.  0.  crispum  and  0.  Pescatorei  are  grown  on  the  front 
stages,  and  many  are  either  in  or  approaching  flower,  and  on  the  back 
are  good  pieces  of  O.  grande  and  its  allied  species.  Masdevallias  are  not 
grown  so  extensively,  but  a  few  of  the  best  of  the  genera  are  to  be  found, 
with  some  capital  plants  of  Ada  aurantiaca  and  a  large  number  of 
imported  Cypripedium  insigne  seedlings. 
Anguloas  and  Lycastes  occupy  considerable  space  in  warmer  houses. 
The  Woodlands  is  renowned,  and  justly  so,  for  a  rich  collection  of 
Cypripediums,  and  in  a  large  span-roofed  house  are  numerous  plants  of 
much  value.  Here  is  the  rare  C.  callosum  Sanderae,  a  healthy  little 
plant  with  three  growths.  A  short  time  since  Mr.  Measures  exchanged 
a  single  growth  of  this  for  a  cheque  for  500  guineas,  perhaps  the  largest 
amount  ever  paid  for  an  Orchid  so  small.  While  mentioning  prices,  it 
may  be  added  that  in  the  adjoining  house  there  is  a  small  group  of 
C.  insigne  Sanderae,  for  which  a  Iona  fide  offer  of  £1000  has  been  made 
and  rejected.  In  company  with  these  are  many  other  choice  forms  of 
C.  insigne,  including  Bonhofianum,  clarissima,  longisepalum,  and 
Swiftiana,  besides  C.  venustum  Measuresianum,  C.  villosum,  and 
Boxalli.  In  the  larger  house  are  such  grand  species  as  C.  Dautheri 
albino,  C.  Lawrenceana  Hyeanum,  C,  bellatulum  album  in  spike, 
C.  Fairreanum,  and  others,  together  with  many  unflowered  seedlings 
resulting  from  most  interesting  crosses.  With  due  regard  to  the  health 
of  these  valuable  plants,  the  flowers  when  fully  expanded  are  cut  and 
placed  in  tubes  of  water,  which  are  then  inserted  in  the  pots.  They 
continue  in  fresh  condition  for  a  long  period  without  exhausting  the 
plants,  looking  equally  as  well  as  when  left  naturally  on  them. 
Other  houses  contain  large  specimens  of  the  larger  and  better  known 
sorts,  such  as  C.  Rothschildiana,  with  shelves  full  of  seedlings.  A  large 
number  of  the  chaste  C.  leucochilum,  with  Dendrobium  Phalasnopsis 
Schroderae  in  quantities  are  suspended  near  the  roof  glass,  and  a  good 
portion  of  space  is  devoted  to  the  culture  of  Phalsenopsis  and  Anaecto- 
chilus.  The  Vanda  house  is  filled  with  plants  beautifully  clothed  with 
foliage  of  dark  green  colour  ;  following  this  is  a  house  full  of  fine  large 
Laelia  purpurata,  and  then  another  of  Dendrobiums  at  rest,  which 
promise  to  yield  a  grand  display  of  bloom,  the  large  specimens  of 
D.  Wardianum  and  D.  formosum  giganteum  being  specially  noteworthy. 
We  next  come  to  the  adopted  home  of  Cypripedium  insigne,  where  these 
are  seen  growing  from  the  floor  to  the  roof.  Numbers  are  planted  on  the 
rockery  beneath  the  stages,  where  they  obtain  a  fair  amount  of  light,  as 
the  houses  are  low  and  the  centre  paths  wide,  the  stages  are  full  on 
either  side,  and  many  are  suspended  from  the  roof.  One  division  is 
charming  with  nearly  700  open  flowers,  and  the  succession  will  give  a 
fine  display  for  a  long  time,  as  there  are  between  5000  and  6000  plants 
of  C.  insigne.  Cslanthes  are  largely  grown  for  cut  blooms,  and  the 
strong  bulbs  are  showing  a  total  number  of  130  spikes.  Sobralias  are 
well  represented,  and  occupy  considerable  space,  among  them  being 
immense  specimens  of  S.  macrantha  and  S.  m.  Woodland’s  variety, 
S.  xantholeuca,  S,  x.  albescens,  S.  alba,  S.  atro-rubens,  S.  Hookerae, 
S.  virginalis,  and  many  others. 
There  are  hosts  of  other  Orchids  which  cannot  be  dealt  with  now, 
but  a  glance  at  well-grown  Cattleya  Lawrenceana,  C.  Rex,  Vanda 
Hookerae,  and  various  Ccelogynes,  all  testify  that  their  treatment  is 
well  understood  by  Mr.  John  Coles,  the  able  and  courteous  gardener, 
who  has  been  well  trained  in  good  gardens,  and  whose  father  was  for 
many  years  gardener  to  Mr.  Smee  at  “  My  Garden.”  Mr.  Measures  is 
to  be  congratulated  on  his  excellent  garden,  and  also  in  securing  the 
services  of  such  an  excellent  man  to  manage  it.  Here,  as  in  other 
horticultural  establishments,  XL  vapou riser  is  in  general  use  for  the 
prevention  and  destruction  of  all  insect  pests  with  the  best  results. 
It  was  a  real  pleasure  to  spend  such  an  enjoyable  hour  in  these 
gardens,  and  I  shall  look  forward  to  another  visit  when  the  opportunity 
occurs. — G.  W.  Cummins. 
HARDY  FRUIT  GARDEN. 
Mulching  Strawberries. — In  all  cases  where  beds  of  Strawberries 
have  existed  more  than  one  year  the  soil  may  be  enriched  with 
considerable  advantage  to  the  plants.  Strawberries  derive  nearly  all 
their  support  from  surface  dressings,  and  an  application  given  now  of 
decayed  farmyard  manure  will  supply  the  needful  assistance  to  t’ne 
abundant  fibrous  roots  which  ramify  near  the  surface.  After  cutting 
off  old  runners  close  to  the  plants  and  ragged,  useless,  large  leaves, 
though  not  denuding  the  plants  too  freely  of  foliage,  fork  up  runners 
that  have  taken  root  and  deep-rooting  weeds.  It  is  not  advisable  to  dig 
between  the  rows,  except  where  the  rows  of  plants  are  widely  planted, 
and  there  is  little  fear  of  disturbing  the  fibrous  surface  roots. 
As  a  rule  digging  or  forking  up  the  soil  is  not  necessary,  not  even  on 
the  score  of  cleanliness,  which  can  be  better  effected  by  a  thick  mulching 
of  manure.  The  autumn  and  winter  rains  will  wash  the  fertilising 
matters  out  of  the  manure  into  the  soil,  and  the  young  active  roots  will 
take  some  of  it  and  deposit  it  in  the  crowns  for  future  growth,  but  the 
bulk  will  be  retained  by  the  soil  and  used  as  necessary.  The  residue 
matter  can  be  raked  off  in  spring,  and  fresh  manurial  assistance  given. 
Vigorous  plants  that  may  not  yet  have  fruited  should  not  be  too  freely 
encouraged  for  fear  they  may  produce  abundant  rank  foliage  at  the 
expense  of  fruiting  well.  Young  plants  may  have  a  mulching  of  dry. 
