December  31.,  1896, 
JOUUKAL  OF  nORTICVLTORh  AKD  OOTTaOE  GARDENER, 
631 
apparently  all  are  in  a  fruit-bearing  state, 
signs  of  insect  or  fungoid  visitations.  To 
occupy  the  place  of  those  that  pass  the 
profitable  fr wit-bearing  stage  there  are 
others  in  reserve,  so  that  there  may  be 
no  serious  break  in  the  constancy  of  the 
supply. 
Within  the  several  houses  devoted  to 
the  cultivation  of  such  fruits  as  Grapes, 
Peaches,  and  Nectarines,  principally  with 
Melons  and  other  kinds  in  a  minor  degree, 
the  condition  of  the  various  plants  is  very 
highly  creditable.  Not  only  the  plants 
themselves  bnt  the  wood  and  stonework, 
glass,  and  borders  are  all  alike  so  scrupu¬ 
lously  clean  as  to  clearly  show  how  well 
the  place  is  looked  after  by  Mr.  Howard 
and  his  assistants.  The  Vines  particularly 
are  very  fine,  and  produce  annually  splendid 
crops  of  fruit  of  the  first  quality,  both  as 
regards  finish  and  flavour.  At  the  time 
of  this  visit  the  luscious  berries  beneath 
the  canopy  of  healthy  green  leaves  looked 
very  beautiful  and  equally  tempting.  The 
varieties  comprised  all  those  usually  grown 
for  early  and  late  work,  so  that  names  in' 
these  notes  would  be  practically  of  no 
value.  No  less  constant  or  careful  is  the 
attention  devoted  to  the  other  kinds  of 
fruits,  ar.d  as  a  consequence  good  health 
is  observable  throughout  the  whole  of 
those  grown.  As  the  plants  are  in  similar 
condition  to  the  fruits  with  respect  of  excel¬ 
lent  health  and  cleanliness,  while  the  col¬ 
lection  comprises  all  those  usually  grown  in 
a  well-appointed  establishment,  we  will  pass 
there  over,  and  with  a  glance  out  of  doors 
for  another  brief  interval,  draw  to  a  close. 
lleafage  of  the  trees.  Between  the  beds  is  grass,  that  is  kept  closely  many  old  specimens,  bnt 
mown,  mnning  through  which  at  irregular  intervals  are  well"  kept  and  certainly  all  lacked 
FIG.  110.— FLOWER  GARDEN  AT  BENHAM  PARK. 
gravel  walks.  The  higher  extiem'ty  of  the  garden  is  crowned  as 
it  were  by  a  summer  honse. 
From  the  neighbourhood  of  the  mansion  we  proceed  to  the  gardens 
of  fruit,  of  vegetables,  and  of  glass  structures,  psss'ng  en  route  by 
winding  borders  of  herbaceous  plants,  rich  in  variety  and  quality,,  by 
coniferous  and  other  trees,  handsome  in  their  sjfmmetry,  and  in  the  soft 
glow  of  their  autumnal  garb,  forming  one 
side  of  the  drive,  the  other  being  taken 
up  by  fields  “with  verdure  clad.”  Once 
within  the  garden  walls  the  scene  is  com¬ 
pletely  changed.  The  same  fertility  and 
variety  are  there,  but  of  a  different  form. 
Here  the  beauty  of  the  trees  lay  in  their 
fruit  instead  of  their  foliage,  and  the 
plants  are  conspicuous  more  for  their  utility 
than  for  their  decorative  value.  It  is  an 
old  but  a  good  t  irden,  with  its  frames, 
its  pits,  its  more  pretentious  fruit  and 
plant  bouses,  its  broad  quarters  of  vege¬ 
tables,  its  borders  of  charming  flowers,  and 
last,  but  not  least,  its  fine  old  walls  adorned 
with  iplendid  fruit  trees  burdened  with 
their  yearly  crop.  Which  is  the  best 
feature  ?  might  be  asked,  and  the  reply 
would  perforce  be.  There  is  no  best  v  bero 
all  are  as  good  as  they  can  be. 
The  frame  department,  stocked  as  it 
is  with  many  useful  plants,  deserves  this 
passing  word  Cn  our  way  to  the  vegetables,  which  are  grown  some 
in  large  and  otberu  in  small  quarters,  frequently  divided  by  fruit 
trees  in  bush  form,  and  occasionally  by  borders  of  herbaceous  plants. 
Here  there  are  found,  order  and  system,  two  essentials  in  the  well 
managed  garden.  There  is  no  waste  ground,  and  the  war  that  must 
be  waged  against  the  weeds  to  prevent  them  appropriating  all  the 
food  from  the  soil  is  persistently  being  fought,  and  as  a  consequence 
To  particularise  a  little  regarding  the 
wall  fruit,  we  would  make  specific  refe¬ 
rence  to  the  Pears,  which  are  models  of 
gooil  management  and  productiveness. 
Borne  are  old,  others  young,  but  the  impress 
of  health  and  proper  strength  pervades  the 
whole.  The  wood  is  clean  and  straight, 
the  leafage  fully  developed,  and  the  spurs 
abundant  without  being  unduly  crowded. 
Peaches  and  Nectarines,  with  Morello 
Cherries,  also  profitably  occupy  a  goodly 
amount  of  space,  and  almost  the  whole 
are  in  the  best  possible  condition.  Borne 
trees  of  the  last  named  were  superb.  The 
splendidly  trained  and  selected  wood  was 
loaded  with  richly  coloured  fruits  of  Im¬ 
mense  size.  In  different  portions  of  the 
garden  are  bnsh  Apple  and  Pear  trees  of 
i'le  best  quality,  while  in  addition  to 
these  there  is  an  orchard  of  some  considerable  extent  on  grass,  where 
alli, suitable  kinds  of  fraits  are  grown.  In  this  there  are  of  course 
FIG.  111. — GARDEN  FRONT  AT  BENHAM  HOUSE. 
each  vegetable  attains  to  those  proportions  that  denote  quality,  with  nu 
suspicion  of  coarseness.  In  walking  admiringly  amongst  the  vegetables 
