September  17,  I8a6. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
deep  orange  flowers  and  its  sweet  perfume.  A  fine  mass  of  it  is  grown  ! 
at  Carton. 
The  herbaceous  borders  are  extensive,  and  not  only  stocked  with  good 
plant.s,  but  well  kept,  and  noticeably  free  from  the  stiff  planting  which  I 
too  often  deprives  hardy  flowers  of  a  fair  chance  of  showing  their  , 
merits.  One  can  only  glance  at  some  of  them  now.  There  was  a  fine  : 
mass  of  an  uncommon  '  ridaceoua  plant  Sisyrinchium  striatum,  which  is  i 
totally  unlike  S.  graniiiflorum  or  S.  anceps,  both  of  which  are  much 
better  known.  Salvia  argentea  is  also  grown,  and  looks  well  with  its 
great,  broad,  white,  woolly  -  looking  leaves,  and  its  spike  of  white  and 
pale  mauve  flowers.  Other  good  flowers  in  bloom  were  Hieracium 
valdepilosum,  Telekia  speciosa,  a  striking-looking  yellow  Composite ; 
Mulgedium  Plumieri,  a  bold  Thistle-like  plant,  with  blue  flowers  ;  the 
old-fashioned,  but  pretty,  Coromelina  ccelestis  ;  the  neat  Achillea  I 
seen  a  similar  one  in  Italy  ;  but,  sad  to  say,  only  a  small  portion  had 
been  built  when  Her  Grace  was  called  away  by  that  fate  which  sooner 
or  later,  overtakes  all  of  us.  The  late  Duchess  was  a  true  lover  of 
flowers,  and  much  of  the  present  beauty  of  Carton  is  due  to  her  taste 
and  interest.  The  pergola  she  planned,  but  did  not  see  completed, 
seems  like  a  monument  in  memory  of  one  who,  in  her  high  position,  had 
endeared  herself  to  all  around.  Close  at  hand  is  another  lafee,  in  which 
Calla  aethiopica  was  beautifully  in  flower,  having  been  established  for 
fi/e  years,  and  a  number  of  the  new  'Fater  Lilies  were  blooming  well. 
We  were  reminded  by  our  watches  that  time  was  speeding  on,  and 
that  unless  I  intended  to  postpone  my  return  to  Dublin  until  an  hour 
hardly  compatible  with  a  succeeding  day  amon?  flowers,  we  must 
hasten  on. 
A  hasty  walk  through  the  grounds,  looking  by  the  way  at  fine  trees 
Fig.  55. — CARTON. 
mongolica,  now  known  at  Kew  as  A.  sibirica  ;  and  the  uncommon 
Diauthus  cinnabariuus,  which  is  finer  at  Carton  than  in  my  own  garden. 
A  variegated-leaved  Cheiranthus,  known  as  the  Carton  Wallflower,  was 
very  pretty  indeed,  and  many  more  or  less  known  plants  were  looked  at 
with  interest,  increased  by  their  healthy  appearance. 
Wall  gardening  was  also  represented,  several  plants  having  been 
-established  on  the  garden  walls,  among  them  being  some  good  Irises, 
which  seemed  quite  happy  above  one  of  the  gateways.  Vegetables  of 
the  best  types  were  well  grown,  and  as  was  to  be  expected  the  fruit 
trees  and  bushes  showed  high  cultivation.  There  is  a  melancholy 
interest  attached  to  the  next  of  the  many  striking  features  of  the 
demesne.  This  is  a  magnificent  pergola,  built  of  brick,  with  timber 
across  the  top.  It  is  of  great  length,  and  looked  very  stately  with  its 
rows  of  flowers  inside  along  the  side  of  the  pathway.  Gladiolus  The  Bride 
being  very  fine.  In  the  course  of  a  year  or  two,  when  the  climbers, 
which  are  still  young,  have  become  established  and  strong  enough  to 
clamber  up  the  piers  and  over  the  timbers  and  arches  of  the  pergola,  it 
will  be  very  striking  and  beautiful  indeed. 
The  pergola  was  begun  by  the  late  Duchess  of  Leinster,  who  had 
and  beds  of  Paeonies  and  other  plants  and  shrubs,  and  we  arrived  in 
front  of  the  noble  mansion,  which  is  in  the  Italian  style,  and,  as  will 
be  seen  from  the  engraving  (fig.  55),  is  worthy  of  the  demesne  which 
surrounds  it.  In  front  of  the  house  is  a  number  of  flower  beds,  formerly 
occupied  with  bedding  plants,  but  now  surrounded  with  rockwoik 
edgings,  upon  which  are  grown  many  choice  alpines,  and  planted  with 
a  fine  variety  of  hardy  border  flowers,  which  time  did  not  permit  me  lo 
see  in  detail. 
A  rapid  walk  to  one  of  the  drives  where  our  Irish  car  awaited  us,  a 
hearty  farewell  to  Mr.  and  Miss  Black,  and  we  left  Carton,  which  in  its 
present  condition  is  in  the  highest  degree  an  evidence  of  the  anxiety  of 
the  guardians  of  the  Duke  of  Leinster  to  preserve  the  beauty  and  order 
of  the  demesne.  When  the  young  Duke  attains  his  majority  he  will 
have  reason  to  be  proud  of  his  noble  estate;  May  His  Grace  prove,  like 
those  who  have  gone  before  him,  a  patron  of  gardening  in  its  best 
aspects 
A  swift  drive  to  the  flower-decorated  Clonsilla  station,  a  farewell  to 
my  kind  guide  and  his  daughters,  a  short  run  in  the  train,  and  the  day 
was  ended. — S.  Aenott. 
