Angnst  27,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  G  \RDEXER. 
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with  line  sized  pods,  large  and  deep  green  in  colour.  Gardeners 
are  indebted  to  Messrs.  J.  Carter  k.  Co.  for  th'S  excellent  variety.  The 
Aspsragas  beds  occupy  several  rods  of  ground,  and  their  cleanliness,  and 
indeed  that  of  the  whole  of  this  department,  is  very  praiseworthy, 
■Other  vegetable  crops  there  are  in  this  garden,  with  herbs  and  salads 
galore,  but  we  must  turn  again  to  the  houses. 
It  is  apparent,  from  the  condition  of  the  ground  and  the  crops  thereon, 
that  much  time  is  devoted  to  the  mechanical  working  of  the  soil  as  well 
as  to  the  manuring  of  it,  for  it  is  obvious  that  such  good  results  could 
not  be  achieved  if  this  work  were  not  thoroughly  done.  Then  another 
feature  that  cannot  fail  to  strike  the  visitor ’s  the  dearth  of  weeds  both 
on  the  worked  ground  and  on  the  many  walks.  To  keep  these  down 
must  entail  much  labour,  but  the  crops  are  then  not  robbed  of  their 
Hitherto  fruits  and  vegetables  have  claimed  our  attention,  hut  now 
we  must  turn  to  the  flowers,  which  are  found  everywhere.  Lady  Gertrude 
Foljambe’a  chief  favourites  are  alpine  and  herbaceous  flowers,  and  the 
stock  of  them  that  is  being  gradually  worked  up  is  excellent.  Flowers 
may  be  seen  in  almost  all  the  borders  in  the  vegetable  gardens,  and  also 
along  the  shrubbery  borders  in  several  places.  The  collection  is  extremely 
varied,  and  comprises  many  of  the  most  showy  of  our  hardy  flowers. 
I  VVellsiana,  Swanley  White,  De  Parme,  Lady  Hume  Campbell,  and  Marie 
Louise,  not  by  twos  or  threes,  but  by  dozens.  From  such  a  selection  as 
this  one  can  well  understand  that  thousands  of  flowers  may  be  picked  in 
the  course  of  a  year.  In  one  portion  of  the  garden  a  little  bedding  is 
.lone — not  very  much  certainly,  but  what  is  undertaken  is  bold  and 
1  effective.  Tuberous-rooted  Begonias  of  rich  colour  are  apparently 
Fig.  42.— a  glimpse  OF  OSBERTON, 
essential  food  by  the  interlopers,  while  at  the  same  time  the  garden  has 
a  more  tidy  and  cared  tor  appearance  than  could  otherwise  be  the  case. 
Of  the  vegetables  that  are  grown  under  glass  Tomatoes  and  Cucum¬ 
bers  are,  of  course,  the  chief,  and  these  in  no  respect  fall  behind  the 
crops  that  have  already  been  referred  to  so  far  as  quality  is  concerned. 
Both  are  done  remarkably  well,  and  no  one,  we  think,  would  care  to  say 
which  is  the  more  creditable  of  the  two.  A  feature  of  Tomato  culture 
is  the  14  feet  wall  that  is  clothed  with  the  remarkably  free-setting 
Oiberton  Scarlet.  Mushrooms,  too,  are  grown  in  splendid  style,  though, 
as  at  Sandbeck,  the  present  time  of  the  year  is  not  the  one  that  should 
be  chosen  to  see  the  best  crops.  The  ridge  system  is  adopted,  and  there  is 
a  number  of  beds  which,  when  in  full  bearing,  must  provide  large 
-quantities  of  this  highly  esteemed  fungus. 
especial  favourites,  and  one  bed  of  these  surrounled  by  a  broad  belt  of 
white  Alyssum  was  particularly  conspicuous.  To  preserve  the  various 
styles  of  flower  gardening  carpet  bedding  is  represented  by  one  or  two 
examples,  and  they  certainly  tend  to  increase  the  interest  of  the  whole. 
The  Rose  garden,  which  has  recently  been  remodelled,  is  a  delightful 
place.  There  are  numbers  of  beds  of  various  shapes,  while  on  a  wall 
that  runs  along  the  back  Crimson  Rambler  and  other  Roses  of  a  similar 
habit  of  growth  are  all  aglo\y  with  their  leautifnl  blossoms.  In  the 
beds  the  varieties  are  numerous  and  comprise  the  pick  of  the  Hybrid 
Perpetuals  and  the  Teas.  This  was  not  at  the  height  of  its  beauty  at 
the  time  of  this  visit,  but  ample  evidences  were  seen  of  what  flowws 
there  had  been  and  what  there  were  to  come.  Encompassed  by  thick 
Yew  hedges  is  a  small  garden  of  hardy  flowers,  in  which  Mr.  Crasp  is 
