February  20,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
161 
was  a  Sloane  Square  Nursery,  so-called,  but  this  was  not  in  the 
square,  though  near,  and  was  the  first  of  the  series  along  the 
King’s  Road,  situate  on  the  south  side.  Part  of  its  site  is  built  on, 
part  is  absorbed  in  the  grounds  of  the  Royal  Military  Asylum.  This 
was  also  known  as  an  American  nursery,  and  associated  with  John 
Fraser,  nurseryman,  botanist,  and  tourist,  who,  like  many  a  young 
man,  was  interested  in  the  study  of  horticulture  through  working 
in  the  Chelsea  Physic  Garden.  He  was  one  of  Forsyth’s  friends, 
and  made  several  journeys  to  the  United  States.  He  was  successful 
in  bringing  ho  ne  plants,  such  as  Pines,  Magnolias,  and  Azalea*,  for 
which  he  got  good  prices,  and  opened  his  nursery  in  1795.  Twice 
he  went  to  St.  Petersburg,  carrying  rarities  to  the  Empress 
Catherine.  Afterwards  he  made  other  visits  to  America  and  the 
West  Indies,  bringing  from  Cuba  the  Silver-leaved  Palm,  Corypha 
miraguana,  the  leaves  of  which  his  sister  wove  into  hats  and 
bonnets.  But  the  nursery  did  not  prosper,  Fraser’s  health  failed, 
and  at  his  decease  in  1811  it  had  to  be  closed.  On  the  same  side,  a 
little  further  on,  was  Whiteland’s  Nursery  ;  it  had  a  narrow 
frontage,  and  was  named,  not  after  a  person,  but  a  locality,  for 
Chelsea  owns  both  its  “  Whitelands  ”  and  its  “  Blackland*.”  This 
disappeared  about  1835,  having  nothing  particular  in  its  history. 
But  the  leading  nurseries  of  the  King’s  Road  were  the  not 
rival,  but  friendly,  establishments  long  connected  with  the  names 
of  Colvill  and  Davey.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  in  1784  a  young 
gentleman,  advertising  for  a  wife,  offered,  besides  himself,  as  a 
special  inducement,  that  her  home  would  be  amidst  the  floral 
beauties  of  the  King’s  Road.  The  two  nurseries  were  separated  by 
a  pleasant  lane  called  Butterfly  Alley,  a  “  resort  of  sauntering 
swells,”  says  one  author,  ft  is  said  to  have  abounded  with  butter¬ 
flies  sometimes,  and  I  suspect  the  old  gardeners  did  not  look  after 
the  caterpillars  sufficiently.  Views  of  Old  Chelsea  show  the 
picturesque  cottage  of  Colvill’s  manager,  at  the  corner  of  Black- 
lands  Lane,  where  a  draper’s  shop  stands  now.  Colvill  had  a 
number  of  conservatories  and  hothouses,  the  principal  one,  next 
the  King’s  Road,  being  devoted  to  Geraniums  and  Pelargoniums, 
of  which  he  is  stated  to  have  had  nearly  five  hundred  real  or 
supposed  varieties.  Many  of  these  were  figured  in  Sweet’s  work 
on  the  Geraniacem.  Bulbs,  especially  of  the  genus  Amaryllis, 
were  another  of  his  specialties.  When  Colvill  died  the  nursery 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Adam  &  Durban,  and  was  closed 
about  1835.  Davey  was  also  a  large  grower  of  flowers  and  a  well- 
known  Chelsea  man.  Before  his  nursery  was  closed  part  of  the 
ground  was  surrendered  to  the  Messrs.  Downing  for  the  erection 
of  their  floorcloth  factory.  He  died  in  1833  Next  to  his,  on  the 
north  side,  was  Moore’s  nursery,  of  small  extent,  which  was  after¬ 
wards  shifted  to  the  south  side  of  the  road,  near  Radnor  Street. 
Not  far  distant  from  the  rear  of  these  nurseries  were  the 
extensive  nursery  and  market  garden  grounds  of  the  Catleughs, 
between  Chelsea  and  Knightsbridge,  which  have  been  gradually 
cut  up  and  built  upon.  Amongst  other  productions,  Pine  Apples  in 
notable  quantities  were  raised  here  for  London  markets  at  a 
period  when  the  import  of  fruit  from  abroad  was  but  small. 
The  last  articles  I  saw  growing  upon  the  remnant  of  Catleugh’s 
nursery  land  were  Rhubarb  and  Cabbages  ! 
Returning  to  the  King’s  Road,  ea*t  of  Moore’s,  and  extending 
southward  nearly  to  the  river,  was  the  nursery  of  Little.  The 
name  still  appears  there,  but  the  small  space  left  is  now  a  private 
garden  He  had  orchards  of  some  extent,  raising  a  good  deal  of 
fruit,  also  vegetables  ;  and  his  trade  in  flowers  continued  till  a  few 
years  ago.  At  last  the  place  was  chiefly  noted  for  evergreens  and 
“Chinese  Moss.”  Rolle’s  Nursery  was  next,  between  the  “Six 
Bells  Tavern  ”  and  “Cook’s  Ground,”  the  site  is  crossed  by  the 
modern  Oakley  Street,  leading  to  Albert  Bridge.  He  was  one  of 
the  numerous  French  gardeners  in  Chelsea,  who,  with  other 
Huguenots,  founded  a  small  chapel  for  themselves,  which  yet 
remains.  Down  Cook’s  Ground  there  was  the  nursery  of  Pamplin, 
or  properly  Pamphillon,  some  of  whose  descendants  still  live  in  the 
locality.  Nearly  opposite  the  present  Vestry  Hall  were  the 
buildings  belonging  to  Hutchins’  market  gardens,  north  of  the 
King’s  Road,  covering  many  acres  towards  Brompton.  Beyond 
Church  Street,  on  the  south  of  the  road,  was  the  nursery  of 
Shepard,  including  the  gardens  of  old  Danvers  House,  and  bounded 
eastward  by  the  road  to  Battersea  Bridge.  Faulkner,  in  his  history 
of  Chelsea,  refers  to  this  Shepard  as  one  who  did  much  to 
popularise  the  Italian  style  of  horticulture,  of  which  his  own 
garden,  as  figured  by  Kip,  was  an  excellent  illustration.  Chelsea 
Vale,  a  fragment  of  bygone  Chelsea,  that  remained  rural  till  quite 
recently,  had  in  it  the  nursery  of  Mr.  Tebbutt,  which  is  now  closed, 
it  was  not  one  of  the  older.  In  1879  he  obtained  prizes  for 
Harrison’s  Giant  Musk  and  Lilies  of  the  Valley  grown  here. 
Still  proceeding,  and  passing  the  spot  where  once  was  Cremorne 
House  and  Gardens,  we  come  upon  a  part  of  the  King’s  Road, 
from  which  all  floral  glories  have  not  departed.  Terraces  of  the 
new  style  cover  the  ground  opposite  on  the  north,  where  Shailer’s 
Nursery  was.  Ho  was  said  to  be  the  introducer  of  the  Moss  Rose, 
about  which  one  has  doubts — at  least,  he  sold  them  largely.  He 
transferred  the  place  to  Dennis,  who  had  been  the  possessor  of  a 
nursery  at  Pimlico,  near  the  “  Compasses,”  and  was  known  as  the 
producer  of  several  good  Pelargoniums.  He  relinquished  business 
in  1860.  Adjoining  Shailer’s  nursery,  a  plot  of  ground  was  taken 
by  Mr.  E.  Weeks  about  1816,  upon  which  he  established  a  nursery, 
and  took  out  a  patent  subsequently  for  improvements  in  horti¬ 
cultural  buildings.  A  fine  series  of  houses  was  erected  in  1845, 
subsequently  Mr.  W.  Bull  gave  it  a  new  impetus,  as  an  establish¬ 
ment  for  new  and  rare  plants.  A  leading  horticulturist  of  the 
Georgian  era,  Joseph  Knight,  opened  his  nursery  on  the  north 
side  in  1808,  and  with  his  nephew  (Mr.  Perry)  he  made  a  speciality 
of  American  plants.  It  was  taken  by  Messrs.  Veitch  in  1853. 
To  the  south  is  the  Ashburnham  Nursery  of  Wimsett  &  Co. 
— J.  R.  S.  C. 
Events  of  the  Week.  — Though  there  are  no  exhibitions  to 
attract  horticulturists  during  the  forthcoming  week,  two  meetings  will 
be  held  at  Anderton’s  Hotel,  Fleet  Street,  at  which  goodly  numbers 
will  doubtless  be  present.  The  first  of  these  will  be  the  annual  general 
meeting  of  the  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund,  on  Friday,  the  21st 
inst.,  at  two  o’clock  ;  and  the  second,  a  similar  meeting  of  the  National 
Chrysanthemum  Society,  on  Monday,  the  24th  inst.,  at  seven  o’clock. 
-  Weather  in  London. — At  last  a  change  has  come  over  the 
atmospheric  conditions  of  the  metropolis.  For  some  time  we  have  had 
decidedly  open  weather,  but  on  Sunday  evening  slight  showers  fell  in 
seme  of  the  southern  suburbs,  the  air  at  the  same  time  becoming  a 
little  colder.  On  Monday  evening  there  was  a  slight  frost.  The  air 
throughout  Tuesday  remained  cool,  though  it  was  a  little  foggy  the 
whole  of  the  day.  On  Wednesday  a  return  to  the  mild  weather  was 
experienced,  and  the  sun  shone  brightly  throughout  the  day. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — Rain  fell  on  the  evening  of  the 
11th  inst.,  and  the  night  was  windy  and  wet.  Since  then,  till  Tuesday, 
18th,  the  weather  has  been  uniformly  dry,  calm,  and  dull,  with  an 
occasional  flash  of  sunshine.  The  afternoons  of  Sunday  and  Monday 
were  cold,  with  N.W.  wind.  Vegetation  is  far  advanced  for  the  season. 
Pastures  are  fresh,  Snowdrops,  Crocuses,  Primroses,  and  Hepaticas  in 
bloom,  and  Gorse  just  bursting.  Growers  of  Auriculas  dread  unfavour¬ 
able  weather  ahead,  the  plants  are  advancing  so  rapidly.  Roses  on 
walls  have  growths  of  several  inches. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
- Shirley  Gardeners’  Association. — The  monthly  meeting 
was  held  on  the  7th  inst.,  at  the  Parish  Room,  Southampton,  when  Mr. 
B.  Ladhams,  F.R.H.S.,  presided  over  a  very  good  attendance  of  the 
members.  Mr.  T.  Jones,  The  Gardens,  Terrace  House,  Southampton, 
gave  an  exhaustive  paper  on  the  winter  and  summer  treatment  of  Peach 
trees,  dealing  with  all  the  points  of  culture,  and  also  with  some  of 
the  diseases  of  the  tree.  There  was  an  animated  discussion  after  the 
reading.  A  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  to  Mr.  Jones  at  the  close  of  the 
meeting. 
-  Horticultural  Club.  —  The  twenty-first  annual  dinner 
took  place  on  Tuesday  evening  last,  and  was  in  every  respect  a  most 
successful  one.  There  was  a  large  attendance  of  members  and  visitors. 
The  chair  was  occupied  by  Sir  J.  D.  T.  Llewelyn,  Bt.,  M.P.,  and 
amongst  those  present  were  Mr.  Harry  J.  Veitch  (Vice-Chairman  of 
the  Club),  Messrs.  G.  Paul,  C.  E.  Shea,  T.  Francis  Rivers,  J.  H.  Veitch, 
Nicholson,  Herbst,  Bunyard,  Turner,  Monro,  AsBbee,  Kay,  Hogg,  Becker 
(of  Jersey),  C.  Pearson,  Laing,  and  Crowley.  The  tables  had  been 
handsomely  decorated  with  flowers  and  plants  from  Messrs.  Veitch  and 
Sons,  and  with  a  collection  of  Roses  from  Messrs.  Paul  &  Son.  The 
dessert — consisting  of  Pine  Apples  kindly  sent  by  Mr.  Assbee,  Grapes 
by  Mr.  Geo.  Monro,  Apples  and  home-grown  Oranges  by  Mr.  T.  Francis 
Rivers,  and  Apples  by  Messrs.  Bunyard  &  Co. — gave  the  table  a  rich 
and  pleasing  appearance,  and  was  much  appreciated  by  the  members. 
Mr.  Geo.  Bunyard  had  kindly  provided  for  a  selection  of  vocal  and 
instrumental  music,  which  was  given  during  the  evening,  including 
solos  on  the  concertina  by  Mr.  Harry  Turner.  Mr.  A.  F.  Barron  was 
the  special  guest  of  the  Club,  and  his  health  was  proposed  by  Mr. 
Harry  J.  Veitch,  and  was  very  warmly  received  by  the  company. 
