March  26,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
275 
tins.  There  are  times,  however,  when  they  seem  a  little  sluggish, 
and  the  water  decreases  but  slowly  ;  it  is  then  better  not  to  add 
more  till  the  tins  have  been  quite  emptied.  About  once  a  fort¬ 
night  the  tins  should  be  removed,  washed,  again  placed  in  position, 
and  be  partly  filled  with  water.  In  the  case  of  Kentias  I  do  not 
leave  water  constantly  in  the  tins,  except  when  the  plants  are 
growing  in  pots  exceptionally  small  in  proportion  to  the  size  and 
vigour  of  the  plant ;  but  the  tins  are  nevertheless  extremely  useful 
in  this  way. 
In  examining  the  plants  each  morning  we  have  to  bear  in 
mind  that  twenty-four  hours  will  elapse  before  we  can  do  so 
again.  Now.  this  is  really  too  long  to  leave  them  during  bright 
weather,  or  even  in  hot  rooms  during  severe  weather.  Similar 
plant*  in  glass  houses  would  sometimes  require  attention  twice  or 
thrice  in  that  time,  we  therefore  compromise  matter*  in  this  way. 
If  on  examination  any  plant  appears  to  be  approaching  dryne»s, 
and  yet  not  quite  so  dry  as  we  should  like  it  to  get  before  being 
watered,  a  little  water  is  placed  in  the  tin  ;  this  carries  it  safely 
over  till  the  next  morning,  whenMhe  tin  ia  invariably  empty,  and 
the  plant  also  in  the  right  condition  for  watering.  This  plan  I 
have  always  found  to  answer  admirably.  All  who  have  not  tried 
the  above  method,  I  would  strongly  advise  to  do  so  at  once,  and  I 
am  sure  they  will  be  both  satisfied  and  pleased  with  the  result. 
There  is  one  other  point  in  connection  with  this  subject  which 
should  have  strict  attention,  in  fact  much  more  than  it  usually 
receives;  it  is  this — cleanliness.  All  Palms  during  their  sojourn 
in  the  rooms  of  a  mansion  should  be  cleaned  once  a  week,  as  they 
can  scarcely  be  considered  objects  of  beauty  if  coated  with  dust, 
and  they  certainly  will  not  long  remain  healthy  under  such  con¬ 
ditions.  A  plan  which  answers  well  is  to  wipe  with  a  damp  cloth 
one  week,  and  sponge  thoroughly  with  warm  water  the  following 
one.  This  is  the  best  combination  of  *peed  and  efficiency  I  have 
yet  been  able  to  arrive  at. 
All  these  matters  require  the  expenditure  of  a  large  amount  of 
time  and  close  attention  to  detail  ;  but  the  results  amply  repay 
the  labour,  and  I  have  yet  to  learn  that  any  good  work  can  be 
accomplished  unless  our  best  efforts  are  devoted  to  the  performance 
of  it. — H.  Dunkin. 
HORTICULTURAL  HISTORY  NOTES. 
The  Nurseries  and  Gardens  of  Old  Lambeth. 
The  word  “Lambeth  ”  has  proved  rather  a  puzzle  to  some  of 
the  folks  who  investigate  the  names  belonging  to  localities 
because  there  is  a  “  b  ”  in  it  which  does  not  seem  explainable,  for 
according  to  the  best  authorities,  the  oldest  form  of  it  is  Lambehithe. 
Afterwards  we  find  it  sometimes  spelt  simply  as  Lamhithe  ;  that 
might  of  course  mean  the  “dirt  haven,”  quite  applicable  to  a  low- 
lying,  marshy  place,  but  still  the  lamb  remains  as  a  difficulty, 
because  we  have  no  account  of  any  flocks  of  sheep  having  been 
kept  there  by  our  ancestors.  It  is  more  likely,  that  on  the  drier 
and  higher  portions  of  old  Lambeth,  Saxons  or  Normans  grew 
vegetables,  chiefly  Kale,  which  was  carried  to  London  by  boat. 
The  ditches  and  marshes  later  on  were  much  resorted  to  by 
the  herbalists,  since  they  yielded  Cresses  and  a  variety  of  wild 
plants. 
During  Tudor  times  Lambeth  had  walks  shaded  with  Willows, 
where  citizens  strolled  on  summer  evenings  ;  and,  of  course  farther 
inland,  yet  commanding  views  of  the  Thames,  there  were  pleasant 
Bpots  on  which  not  only  nobles,  but  kings,  built  themselves 
mansions.  No  doubt  the  earliest  residents  here  who  took  some 
interest  in  horticulture  were  the  Archbishops  and  their  followers, 
for  the  clergy  brought,  or  obtained  from  the  Continent,  various 
flowers,  herbs,  and  vegetables,  which  they  kept  in  their  own 
gardens,  and  which  remained  little  known  to  the  world  beyond 
during  many  years.  But  the  first  garden  at  Lambeth  that  seems 
to  have  had  a  distinctive  name  is  supposed  to  have  been  laid  out 
by  Thomas  Howard,  Earl  of  Arundel,  who  had  a  house  in  the 
Strand,  nearly  opposite,  and  died  in  1646  Some  time  after  the 
Restoration  Byder  Coper,  who  was  gardener  to  the  next  earl,  got 
possession  of  this  ground,  in  Surrey,  and  it  became  known  by  his 
name,  though  also  jocularly  called  “  Cupid’s  Gardens.” 
Having  made  arbours  and  shady  walks,  which  he  adorned  with 
sundry  statues  picked  up  at  Arundel  House,  he  opened  the  place  to 
the  public,  and  till  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  it  was  a 
favourite  resort.  Dr.  Johnson  mentions  passing  the  gardens  soon 
after  they  were  closed.  The  present  Waterloo  Bridge  Road  passes 
over  this  site.  Near  the  Waterloo  Terminus  is  the  uninteresting 
Vine  Street,  said  to  record  the  existence  of  a  flourishing  vineyard 
on  a  slope  thereabout  some  centuries  ago.  The  Dukes  of  Norfolk 
had  a  house  at  Lambeth,  probably  with  garden  attached,  in  the 
reignB  of  Henry  VIII.  and  Elizabeth,  and  Oldys,  in  some  notes  on 
trees,  refers  to  the  gardens  belonging  to  Carlisle  House,  the  residence 
of  the  Bishops  of  that  See.  In  it  was  an  ancient  Mulberry  named 
after  Queen  Elizabeth,  not  one  she  planted,  presumably,  but  under 
which  she  had  sat  (it  is  curious  that  several  of  this  species  have 
been  associated  with  her  in  various  places),  for  Oldys  describes  it  as 
the  most  venerable  he  ever  saw  when  he  surveyed  it  in  July,  1753, 
the  branches  propped  up,  yet  covered  with  fruit,  and  spreading 
over  a  large  space.  This  Surrey  suburb  of  London  was  indeed 
famous  for  its  Mulberries,  and  some  now  remain.  A  few  years 
ago  I  was  shown  over  a  private  garden  which  now  forms  part  of 
what  is  called  Vauxhall  Park  and  tasted  fruit  from  a  White 
Mulberry,  also  some  from  a  Cherry,  which  had  a  good  crop,  though 
growing  in  a  smoky  district.  It  is  stated  the  Fig  formerly  flourished 
at  Lambeth  ;  descendants  yet  exist,  I  believe,  of  some  planted 
by  Cardinal  Pole  which  attained  to  a  great  age  in  the  grounds  of 
the  Palace. 
We  have  an  instance  of  one  vegetable  at  least  giving  title  to  a 
play,  for  Broome’s  “  Sparagus  Garden  ”  was  acted  in  1635,  and  it 
was  suggested  by  a  Lambeth  place  of  amusement  during  Stuart 
times,  and  which  had  evidently  been  at  first  a  plot  devoted  to  the 
culture  of  this  esculent.  When  it  began  to  be  grown  near  London 
the  suitableness  of  moist  places,  like  Lambeth  Marsh  and  Battersea, 
was  perceived.  A  new  impetus  to  it  was  given  after  the 
Revolution  by  the  arrival  of  a  large  kind  from  Holland,  when,  as 
Evelyn  tells  us,  grower*  succeeded  in  raising  stalks  weighing  4  or 
5  ozs.,  or  even  more.  Then  the  soil  here  proved  suitable  for 
Melons  ;  this  fact  we  know  by  a  reference  in  the  “  Spectator  ”  to 
a  Mr.  Cuffe,  who  sent  the  fruit  he  grew  across  the  Thames  by 
boat  to  Strand  Pier  ;  and  at  the  same  period  of  Anne’s  reign  we 
read  of  Apricots  being  carried  across,  some  from  Lambeth 
probably.  Tradescant  there  has  been  called  the  introducer  of  the 
fruit,  but  that  is  a  mistake.  Apricots  had  been  planted  about 
London  in  or  before  1562,  by  whom  is  uncertain,  though  this 
Flemish  gardener,  whose  name  his  neighbours  perverted  into 
“  Tradeskin,”  may  have  grown  a  new  variety  among  the  rarities 
he  had  in  his  garden  at  South  Lambeth  ;  its  site  is  said  to  be 
occupied  by  a  factory. 
There  is  one  author  who  states  that  the  elder  Tradescant 
“  introduced  ”  botany  to  this  country  ;  scarcely  that,  though  both 
father  and  son  deserve  honour  as  proper  horticulturists,  also  as 
traveller*  at  no  small  personal  risk.  Upon  their  monument  in 
St.  Mary’s,  Lambeth,  are  some  quaint  lines,  in  one  part  of  which 
the  writer  anticipates  their  re-appearance  on  earth  to  resume  their 
labours  : — 
“These  famous  antiquarians  that  had  been 
Both  gardeners  to  the  Rose  and  Lily  Queen, 
Transplanted  now  themselves,  sleep  here,  and  when 
Angels  shall  with  their  trumpets  waken  men, 
And  fire  shall  purge  the  world,  these  hence  shall  rise 
And  change  this  garden  to  a  paradise.” 
Other  memorial  of  them  remain?  not  in  the  locality,  for  the 
tenement  the  Tradescant?  occupied,  called  Turret  House,  has  been 
pulled  down.  It  wa9  in  this  they  formed  a  natural  history  museum, 
which  young  John  left  to  Elias  Ashmole.  Of  the  plants  he  had 
growing  a  citalogue  was  printed  in  1656.  It  appears  that  before 
he  settled  here  Tradescant  had  visited  most  countries  of  Europe, 
North  Africa,  and  many  parts  of  Asia,  acquiring  specimens  and 
extensive  knowledge.  He  received  the  appointment  of  gardener 
(honorary  perhaps)  to  the  unfortunate  Charles  I.  The  son,  who 
travelled  chiefly  in  America,  died  in  1662.  Gardeners  associate 
them  with  the  Spiderworts,  and  the  younger  brought  several 
Asters  from  America.  It  has  been  conjectured  he  wa*  the  first 
grower  of  exotic  Ferns,  since  Parkinson  states  he  got  in  Virginia 
Cystopteris  bulbifera  and  Adiantum  pedatum.  Tradescant’s 
garden  led  to  the  formation  of  others  in  proximity  not  long  after. 
When  chronicling  his  visits  to  various  London  gardens,  Gibson 
notices  in  1691  Captain  Foster’s  garden  at  Lambeth,  where  he  had 
a  display  of  Vines  on  walls  and  trelliswork  ;  he  thought  probably 
the  finest  striped  Holly  hedge  to  be  seen  anywhere.  Parkinson  also 
had  a  garden  of  evergreens,  which  was  remarkable  for  its  Myrtles, 
Oleanders,  and  Yews. 
Then  there  was  the  Spring  Garden  of  Vauxhall  close  by» 
perhaps  on  the  land  attached  to  the  ancient  mansion  of  Faulkes  or 
Folks  Hall,  and  which  had  nothing  to  do  with  Guy  Fawkes.  This 
was  the  old  Vauxhall  Garden,  partly  a  nursery  ground  and  orchard, 
near  the  river,  and  a  favourite  resort  during  the  latter  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  Mincing  describes  it  from  observation,  and 
says  that  it  had  grass  or  sand  walks  ;  much  of  it  was  divided  into 
squares  of  20  yards,  enclosed  with  hedges  of  Gooseberries,  and  in 
the  centres  grew  Roses,  Beans,  and  other  vegetables.  How  long 
this  garden  remained  open  we  do  not  know,  but  in  the  time  of  the 
Georges  we  read  of  the  New  Spring  Garden,  the  modern  Vauxhall, 
which  was  more  decidedly  a  place  of  entertainment,  not  in  part  a 
