294 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  September  26, 1901. 
Melons  are  grown  in  boxes,  anl  such  varieties  as  Duchess  of  York  and 
Hero  of  Lockinse  were  carrying  a  capital  yield.  In  the  fernery  plants 
are  grown  for  house  decoration,  and  all  were  in  a  most  healthy 
condition. 
In  the  cool  houses  were  to  be  seen  a  fine  collection  of  Zonal 
Pelargoniums,  Fuchsias,  and  the  new  Yeitch’s  hybrid  Streptocarpus. 
These  made  a  fine  show.  Coming  now  to  the  Chrysanthemums,  of 
which  about  500  plants  are  grown,  these  range  about  4^  feet  to  7  feet 
in  height,  aud  carry  excellent  foliage  from  the  bittom  upwards. 
Skilful  culture  has  left  its  mark  with  no  uncertainty,  and  it  is  safe  to 
predict  that  Mr.  Neville  will  be  well  represented  at  the  leading 
exhibitions  if  his  plants  go  on  as  they  promised  recently.  I  noticed 
many  of  the  new  Japanese  varieties,  including  Baden  Powell,  a  strong 
grow  er  ;  Dora  Hercheimer,  General  Buller,  George  Towers,  Henry 
Stowe,  Ha  warden  Castle,  Lady  Audrey  Buller,  Lord  Salisbury,  very 
dwarf  ;  Mrs.  Greenfield,  Madame  Cordonnier  Wibaux,  M.  Jacob 
Holtzer,  Marquise  V.  Venoster,  Mrs.  F.  Grey  Smith,  Miss  Lily  Mount- 
ford,  Rev.  Douglas,  and  Snowdrift.  Amongst  incurved  varieties  were 
Bonita,  Comtesse  d’Etoile,  Col. 
Baden  Powell,  very  strong  ;  Fred 
Palmer,  John  Miles,  May  Bell,  Mr. 
J.  Bond,  Miss  Goodsmark,  Mrs. 
Gerald  Williams,  Henry  Ellis,  Frank 
Hammond,  and,  lastly,  L.  Giles. 
A  walk  through  the  delightful 
Rose  grounds  and  Carnation  beds 
must  not  be  overlooked,  for  Mr. 
Flight  makes  a  speciality  of  growing 
these  two  lovely  flowers.  All  the 
newest  and  best  sorts  are  embraced 
in  the  collection,  and  readers  of 
“  our  Journal  ”  may  have  frequently 
noticed  the  gardener’s  name  in 
connection  with  prizes  won  at 
southern  exhibitions.  After  two 
hours’  close  inspection  Mr.  Neville’s 
kind  and  thoughtful  employer  asked 
me  to  partake  of  some  refresh¬ 
ments,  and  welcomed  me  into  his 
mansion,  thence  to  the  noble 
dining-room,  where  I  duly  enjoyed 
this  gentleman’s  generous  hospi¬ 
tality.  Having  satisfied  the  dictates 
of  Nature,  the  “iron  horce”  con¬ 
veyed  me  quickly  to  Fareham,  a 
pretty  town  close  to  the  coast 
opposite  to  the  Isle  of  Wight. 
Its  main  street  is  distinguished 
as  being  one  of  the  widest  to  be 
discovered  in  any  provincial  town. 
Soon  I  was  on  my  way  to  the  noted 
home  of  Chrysanthemums,  so  long 
successfully  cultivated  at  the 
Trinity  Nurseries  by  Messrs.  W. 
and  G.  Drover.  Mr.  W.  Drover  at 
once  recognised  me  as  an  old 
competitor  in  many  keen  contests, 
and  cordially  invited  me  to  enjoy  an 
inspection.  Plere  they  have  about 
half  a  thousand  “  Mums  ”  from  4 
feet  to  8  feet  high,  having  good 
foliage  down  to  the  pots.  Their 
speciality  are  the  incurved  varieties. 
These  are  all  well  budded  aud  pro¬ 
perly  timed,  but  the  Japanese  sorts 
were  not  quite  so  promising.  Of  course  these  are  grown  for  trade 
purposes,  and  include  all  the  best  old  and  new  varieties.  After  a 
pleasant  chat  in  Messrs.  Drovers’  offices  with  the  members  of  the  firm 
I  left  and  took  train  to  Stokes  Bay,  thence  per  steamer  across  to  Ryde, 
Isle  of  Wight,  arriving  there  at  six  in  the  evening ;  the  mutic  dis¬ 
coursed  by  the  splendid  band  of  the  Royal  Marines  was  enjoyed  for  a 
time,  then  on  to  \  entnor,  on  the  south  side  of  this  pretty  southern 
island,  and  soon  I  retired  to  rest. 
The  next  morning  I  was  up  with  the  lark  and  had  a  dip  in  the 
briny  ocean,  which  indeed  was  an  unaccustomed  treat  to  me  and 
sharpened  my  appetite  for  breakfast.  I  then  walked  to  the  top  of  the 
cliffs  toward  St.  Lawrence,  about  three  miles  off,  and  viewed  the  pretty 
church,  which  is  one  of  the  very  smallest  in  the  kingdom.  On  my 
return  journey  I  went  from  Ventnor  to  Southsea  per  steamer,  and  on  the 
principal  pier  there  I  had  another  musical  treat  in  hearing  the  band  of 
the  Royal  Marine  Artillery.  H-ving  duly  admired  Portsmouth's  grand 
new  Town  Hall,  I  crossed  the  road  to  Portsmouth  Town  Station  in 
good  time  for  the  train  by  which  my  excursion  ticket  was  available. 
— Cheltenham. 
Dulwicli  Pari,  Loodon. 
This  is  another  of  the  London  County  Council  parks,  situated  in  the 
south-eastern  region  of  the  metropolis.  It  has  no  claims  to  notice  so 
far  as  the  feature  of  its  summer  bedding  goeB,  for  the  only  attempt  in 
this  direction  is  the  furnishing  of  a  few  ordinary  beds  at  the  entrance 
gates.  But  Dulwich  Park  has  been  so  tastefully  and  skilfully  planted 
and  planned  that  it  lays  claims  to  be  one  of  the  prettiest  of  the  public 
recreation  grounds  in  London.  Our  illustration  of  one  part  of  a 
rockery  at  Dulwich  Park  is  characteristic  here.  All  over  the  area 
(which  is  almost  entirely  flat,  by  the  way),  these  rockeries  have  been 
instituted.  Thus,  at  the  point  where  the  handsome  park  roadways 
diverge  in  their  several  directions,  a  rockery  has  been  adopted  by  way 
of  demarcation,  and  also  for  the  sake  of  providing  a  centre  of  interest. 
These  rockeries  are  variedly  raised  in  the  centre,  and  have  been 
effectively  planted  with  such  as  purple  Berberis,  Prunus  Pissardi, 
Golden  Privet,  Ailanthus,  Negundos,  Thorns,  Acers,  and  Acacias. 
Snitable  alpine,  herbaceous,  perennial,  and  half-hardy  plants  are 
liberally  included.  Cannas  tower 
tall,  and  are  overtopped  in  cases  by 
the  summer  flowering  Phloxes,  the 
Dahlias,  Tobacco- plants,  massive 
Sunflowers  in  variety,  and  Ricinus. 
Trees  of  a  “  weeping  ”  character 
are  fairly  plentiful  in  Dulwich  Park. 
What  may  be  termed  “  specimen  ” 
trees,  that  is,  trees  standing  alone 
and  of  goodly  mein,  are  abundant  on 
the  smoothly  shaven,  green  grass 
belts  in  parts  of  the  park  skirting 
the  outer  roadways.  These  lawns 
constitute  one  of  the  best  features  of 
this  attractive  public  property.  In 
most  cases  they  are  sheltered  with 
a  surrounding  belt  of  shrubbery, 
which,  again,  is  fancifully  margined 
in  ribbon  border  style  with  the  usual 
showy  bedding  plants.  Clumps,  or 
minor  mounds  of  Ivy  (Hedera  Helix 
var.)  trained  over  tree  stumps  are 
also  to  be  seen  as  objects  of  interest 
on  the  forefront  of  the  lawn  belts. 
Such  clumps  are  pleasing  to  the 
eye,  as  indeed,  clumps  of  Ivy  are 
at  all  times.  There  are  here  and 
there  a  few  patriarchal  Oak  trees  still 
standing,  solid  and  grim,  “  defying 
the  winds  of  a  thousand  years,”  and 
presenting  a  rugged  contrast  to  the 
polished  appearance  of  the  grounds 
and  surroundings  on  all  sides.  Mr.  W. 
Bailey  is  superintendent,  and  seems 
to  manage  his  charge  conscientiously 
Included  in  the  park  is  a  large  Rose 
and  Rhododendron  dell  or  garden, 
occupying  the  somewhat  extensive 
surface  of  a  slightly  depressed  area 
at  the  south  (?)  end  of  the  grounds. 
The  brilliancy  and  splendour  of  so 
large  a  congregation  of  Rhododen¬ 
drons,  when  flowering  in  spring,  can 
be  clearly  imagined. 
There  are  large  reoreation  “  flats  ” 
in  one  or  two  parts  of  Dulwich 
Park,  the  total  extent  of  the  grounds 
being  72  acres.  On  all  hands  it  is 
evident  that  an  enormous  amount 
of  labour  has  been  expended  before 
Dulwich  Park  assumed  the  furnished,  comfortable,  attractive  appearance 
which  it  presents  to  the  view  of  visitors  in  these  days.  Furthermore, 
the  improvements,  at  least  so  far  as  planting  shrubs  and  plants  may  be 
considered,  are  still  being  accomplished.  Exception  has  repeatedly  been 
made  to  the  “  brick-bat  constructions,”  which  pass  muster  as  rock 
gardens,  and  which,  as  I  say,  are  so  numerous  here.  Yet  if  stones  are 
difficult  to  acquire  in  suoh  a  district  as  that  of  which  I  write,  where’s 
the  crime  in  making  use  of  the  next  best  substitute — in  this  case,  bricks  ? 
Soon  these  can  be  hidden  and  modified  by  proper  planting,  and  in  a 
year  or  two  the  stern  artificiality  and  formalism  tones  down,  and  what 
may  at  first  have  been  an  eyesore  becomes  a  true  object  of  artistio 
pleasure,  a  feature  of  interest  and  of  adornment. 
A  Prolific  Pear  Tree. — According  to  the  “  Birmingham  Daily 
Post,”  the  Rev.  Walter  Waddell,  Borthwick  Manse,  Gorebridge,  has  just 
taken  1100  Jargonelle  Pears  from  a  tree  on  the  manse  wall,  many 
weighing  two  to  the  pound,  while  the  average  would  be  three  to  the 
pound.  The  tree  was  planted  forty. eight  years  ago,  and  Mr.  Waddell 
has  carefully  pruned  and  trained  it  for  forty-one.  It  is  on  a  west  wall, 
and  has  always  been  prolific,  but  this  is  a  “  reoord  crop.” 
