October  12,  lh99. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
317 
SHORTENING  DAYS. 
The  last  faint  touches  of  the  Indian  summer  sketched  on  our 
landscapes  tell  of  the  beginning  of  the  end — the  end  of  a  season. 
■Contemporaneously  with  the  cessation  of  active  life  in  the  vegetable 
kingdom  comes  a  desire  to  promote  by  all  legitimate  means  Nature’s 
prerogative  of  rest.  Old  heads  know  its  value,  and  work  with, 
rather  than  against,  natural  laws ;  young  hands  sometimes  itch  to 
keep  the  ball  rolling  a  little  longer  in  order  to  score  another  goal, 
or,  at  least,  to  pull  up  for  lost  time.  Lost  time,  however,  in  garden¬ 
ing  is  not  seldom  lost  for  ever;  rarely,  indeed,  is  it  regained.  For 
those  who  purposely,  or  unwittingly,  ignore  the  suzerainty  of  Nature, 
there  are  struggles  in  store  with  troubles  ahead,  and  delays  are 
uever  more  dangerous  than  when  backed  up  by  wrong  principles  as 
a  remedy.  One  example  of  this  kind  is  so  pertinent;  as  a  matter 
of  fact  these  brief  remarks  are  chiefly  instigated  by  it,  that  it  may 
seasonably  serve  to  point  a  moral. 
First  there  were,  on  the  part  of  a  young  head  gardener,  sins  of 
omission  in  regard  to  firing  during  summer,  and,  later  on,  at  this 
time  of  the  year,  sins  of  commission  by  going  full  steam  ahead. 
This  occurred  one  season  subsequent  to  and  consequent  upon  a 
growl  over  the  fuel  bill,  and  although  economy,  especially  in  the 
garden,  is  a  praiseworthy  object,  the  pennywise  policy  is  as  foolish 
there  as  elsewhere.  Crotons,  Ixoras,  and  other  shrubby  stove  plants 
were  found  to  have  made  little,  or,  at  the  most,  very  unsatis¬ 
factory  growth  during  an  all  too  short  and  abnormally  sunless 
summer,  so,  as  was  implied,  the  shortening  days  brought  anxiety  to 
force  the  hand  of  Nature.  Anxiety  gave  way  to  elation  as  the 
young  gardening  friend  noted  the  luxuriant  growth  made  by  his 
summer- rested  plants — but  sad  was  the  sequel.  As  winter  advanced 
the  foliage  dropped  off,  aud  immature  wood  became  smaller  by 
degrees  and  miserably  less,  till  the  spring  found  little  else  than  the 
consumptive  remains  of  a  former  fine  collection. 
One  can  hardly  over-estimate  the  benefit  of  rest  during  the  dull 
season,  or  is  it  scarcely  possible  to  regard  any  means  conducive  to  it  as 
labour  in  vain.  Careful  watering,  the  free  admission  of  light,  and 
judicious  ventilation,  with  decreased,  instead  of  increased,  tempera¬ 
ture  as  is  consistent  with  safety  are  all  means  to  the  end  of  rest,  and 
rest  at  the  right  time.  Plants  so  cared  for  amply  repay  it  by  a 
vigorous  constitution  and  plus  energy  during  their  growing  period, 
sufficient  to  mark  the  difference  between  success  and  mediocrity,  or, 
as  in  the  case  quoted,  failure.  Such  things  are,  of  course,  more  or  less 
directly  under  control;  with  open-air  culture  vegetation  appears  to  be 
less  amenable  to  the  ministering  hand  and  more  dependant  upon 
natural  conditions  prevailing.  Such,  however,  is  only  in  a  degree 
apparently  so,  and  the  doctrine  of  judicious  thinning  and  timely 
removal  of  superfluous  growth  from  our  fruit  bearers  has  been 
sufficiently  disseminated  without  being  repeated  here. 
The  close  of  a  season  fortunately  affords  time  for  setting  our 
gardens  decently  in  order  before  the  dark  days  of  winter.  Clean¬ 
liness  in  them  is  as  great  a  virtue  as  elsewhere,  and  like  it,  too,  is 
capable  of  being  carried  to  an  excess  not  conducive  to  the  comfort 
and  well  being  of  the  occupants.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  tidy 
husbandman,  like  the  thrifty  housewife,  should,  in  his  great  autumnal 
cleaning  up,  be  carried  farther  than  is  necessary  or  beneficial  by  an 
excess  of  zeal.  Some  of  the  deciduous  inhabitants  of  beds  and  borders 
rest  safer  when  blanketted  under  the  cover  of  their  dead  foliage,  and  it 
cannot  but  be  regarded  as  a  mistake  to  denude  them  of  this  natural 
protection.  In  some  cases,  with  the  Moutbretias  for  instance,  the 
dead  foliage  may  not  oniy  remain  through  the  winter,  but  be 
retained  until  all  danger  of  spring  frosts  is  over,  when  it  can  be  easily 
pulled  out  from  among  the  young  growths  then  in  evidence.  While 
visiting  a  wild  garden  early  last  spring  one  could  not  fail  to  notice  the 
recognition  given  to  this  natural  protection.  Hypothetically,  in  wild 
gardening  Nature  has  its  fling,  but  in  reality  few  wild  gardens  escape 
the  tidying  mania  in  s.me  shape  or  form,  and  it  ofton  takes  the  form, 
at  this  particular  season,  of  the  rigorous  romoval  of  the  debris  of  a 
season’s  growth  at  one  fell  swoop.  In  the  wild  garden  under  notice 
all  had  been  left,  including  the  handsome  brown  stems  of  Polygonums, 
which  give  a  fine  tone  of  colour  to  the  winter  scene. 
Whatever  cutting  down  or  tidying  up  of  this  kind  is  considered 
to  he  the  light  thing  to  do,  then,  undoubtedly,  late  spring  is  the  right 
time  to  do  it.  The  same  principle,  to  some  extent,  may  be  extended 
to  herbaceous  borders  to  their  advantage,  as  well  as  followed  up  in  the 
ornamental  grounds.  Such  plants  as  Gunneras,  which  in  some  locali¬ 
ties  require  a  little  additional  covering  during  their  season  of  rest,  may 
well  have  their  own  foliage  supplemented  by  a  further  covering  of 
leaves  around  and  over  their  woolly  crowns.  It  will  be  found  of 
advantage  to  encircle  the  clumps  with  a  guard  of  ordinary  wire  netting, 
kept  in  position  with  three  or  four  stout  stakes.  This  not  only  prevents 
the  leaf  covering  being  swept  away  by  wind,  but  debars  any  mischievous 
rodent  from  attacking  the  crown  during  hard  weather.  There  are  many 
of  our  more  tenderly  constituted  hardy  plants  which  may  be  made 
snug  for  the  winter  with  dry  leaves  confined  within  a  circlet  of  wire 
netting,  which,  neatly  fixed,  will  rarely  be  objected  to  on  the  score  of 
unsightliness. — A.  N.  Oldhead. 
THREE  COUNTRYMEN  IN  LONDON. 
We  were  three,  two  from  Somerset  and  one  from  the  adjoining  county 
of  Wilts,  all  bent  on  seeing  the  Great  Fruit  Show  at  the  Crystal  Palace. 
Two  of  us  travelled  to  London  together  on  the  eve  of  the  Show,  and  the 
other  was  met  at  the  Palace  next  morning.  We  were  gardeners,  although 
a  few  years  ago  one  retired  from  private  service  for  an  appointment  as 
Horticultural  Instructor  in  one  of  the  above-named  counties.  By  the 
time  we  reached  London  and  had  taken  some  refreshment  it  was  bedtime 
tor  countrymen,  especially  as  we  had  to  be  about  early  on  Thursday' 
morning,  for  two  of  us  were  exhibitors  at  the  notable  Show.  Breakfast 
at  seven  o’clock,  and  a  start  was  made  for  the  Crystal  Palace  Station  via, 
Victoria,  which  was  reached  a  little  before  nine  o’clock.  The  interior  of 
the  noble  structure  was  all  hurry  and  bustle,  and  ths  morning  being  fine, 
everybody  looked  bright  and  cheerful.  We  wtre  busy  for  about  an  hour 
unpacking  our  fruit  and  arranging  it  in  the  proper  places.  Staging- 
finished,  there  was  just  time  for  a  look  round  beioro  we  were  ordered 
outside  the  barrier,  and  the  Judges — a  fine  array— commenced  their  work 
in  sections,  and  considering  the  excellence  and  extent  of  the  produce  to 
be  adjudicated  upon  they  were  not  very  long.  Only  a  little  over  an  hour 
and  we  were  re-admitted,  and  of  course  the  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to 
run  round  our  exhibits  to  see  what  prizes  we  had  secured.  But,  alas  ! 
only  one  each  was  our  share,  although  we  staged  some  good  fruit ;  but 
then  it  has  to  be  extraordinarily  good  to  win  at  the  Palace.  This  is 
demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  some  growers  and  successful  exhibitors 
irom  the  western  provinces  did  not  win  a  single  prize.  I  will  not  attempt 
to  describe  any  of  the  exhibits,  as  that  has  already  been  done,  but  I  may 
say  that  this  is  the  second  time  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  attending  the 
Show,  and  I  feel  sure  that  the  present  one  excelled  in  quality  the  one  I 
saw  two  years  ago. 
Chiswick. 
During  the  day  arrangements  were  made  to  visit  some  of  the  public 
and  private  gardens  in  the  suburbs,  and  accordingly  a  start  was  made  at 
nine  o’clock  on  Friday  morning.  Chiswick  was  the  first  halting  place, 
and  one  of  the  trio  being  a  F.R.H.S.  no  difficulty  was  found  in  obtaining 
admittance,  and  we  were  soon  under  the  guidance  of  Mr.  Humphreys,  the 
assistant  superintendent  (Mr.  Wright  being  .at  the  Palace),  who  showed 
us  through  the  different  departments,  and  pointed  out  many  thin  cr§  of 
interest.  The  great  vinery  contained  an  excellent  crop  of  well-finished 
Grapes,  which  included  some  very  fine  Muscats,  perfectly  coloured,  while 
the  Peach  house,  although  the  fruit  had  been  gathered,  showed  that  the 
crop  had  been  good,  and  the  healthy  appearance  of  the  trees  augurs  well 
for  an  excellent  crop  next  year  ;  the  same  remarks  also  apply  to  the 
Fig  houses. 
Gunnersbury  House. 
Taking  leave  of  Mr.  Humphreys,  a  move  was  made  for  Gunnersbury 
House,  where  we  were  met  by  Mr.  J.  Hudson,  V.M.H.,  who  tendered  us 
a  hearty  welcome.  The  gardens  here  have  been  under  the  management 
of  Mr.  Hudson  for  a  number  of  years,  and  although  the  ownership 
changed  a  few  years  ago,  gardening  is  as  highly  cherished  as  ever,  for  it 
is  in  the  right  hands,  both  as  regards  the  owner  and  the  gardener.  Time 
was  when  Sir.  Hudson  was  a  specimen  plantsman  of  repute,  and  he  main¬ 
tains  his  status  by  now  growing  to  perfection  stock  of  a  more  useful  size. 
When  I  paid  him  a  visit  two  years  ago  I  was  much  struck  with  two 
basket  plants  of  the  beautiful  Begonia  Gloire  de  Lorraine.  Those  have 
since  supplied  cuttings  enough  to  fill  a  span-roofed  house  in  two  divisions 
with  beautiful  plants  in  5  and  6-inch  pots,  which  are  a  sight  worth  going 
a  long  distance  to  see.  Orchids  are  also  well  grown,  and  beautifully 
tiowered,  as  are  many  other  plants  of  a  varied  character.  Some  years 
ago  Mr.  Hudson  turned  his  attention  to  fruit-growing  iu  pots,  and  the 
success  that  has  attended  his  efforts  is  marvellous.  Peaches,  Nectarines, 
Pears,  Plums,  and  Figs,  in  perfect  health,  growing  in  10  and  12-inch 
pots,  are  arranged  in  light  span-roofed  houses,  built  on  Mr.  Rivers’ 
principle,  and  of  this  feature  the  grower  is  justifiably  proud.  The  Water 
Lilies  on  the  pond  were  just  going  over,  but  tbe  herbaceous  borders  and 
the  summer  bedding  were  still  gay,  as  were  also  the  Dahlias. 
Kew  and  Syon. 
After  refreshing  ourselves  at  a  neighbouring  restaurant,  our  next 
move  was  in  the  direction  of  Kew  Gardens,  and  a  walk  through  the 
principal  houses  of  this  establishment,  including  the  great  Palm  house 
and  some  portion  of  the  grounds,  was  much  enjoyed.  We  then  wended 
our  way  to  a  gate  on  the  river  side  of  the  grounds,  opposite  Syon  House, 
where  we  were  due  at  three  o’clock.  On  inquiring  ot  the  man  in  charge 
of  the  gate  as  to  the  best  way  to  roach  Syon  House  he  replied,  “  Oh,  you 
can’t  get  there  this  way.”  We  then  asked  for  Brentford  Ferry,  as  that 
would  be  the  best  way,  and  he  said  he  “  did  not  know  whether  we  could 
get  there  that  way,  as  he  had  never  been  on  that  side  of  the  river.”  This 
surprised  us  not  a  little,  as,  judging  by  appearance,  he  could  not  be  less 
than  sixty  years  of  age,  and  had  never  been  the  other  side  of  the  river. 
However,  we  found  the  ferry  about  half  a  mile  further  on,  crossed  the 
water,  and  in  about  fifteen  minutes  we  were  at  the  entrance  to  Syon 
Gardens,  and  soon  found  the  genial  Mr.  G.  Wythes,  Y.M.H.  Under  his 
care  we  were  shown  through  the  plant  and  fruit  departments  and  the 
kitchen  gardens,  the  extent  of  which  revealed  the  fact  that  the  charge 
ii  not  a  light  one,  especially  when  we  remember  that  Mr.  Wythes  is  also 
