426 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  25,  1899. 
that  pleased  most  visitors,  was  the  admirable  way  in  which  climbing 
plants  were  distributed  over  the  avails,  alcoves,  and  arcades,  softening 
the  oatlines,  but  not  overwhelming  them  with  greenery.  The  bedding 
in  these  gardens  served  as  a  model,  which  was  extensively  copied 
elsewhere,  especially  in  the  arrangement  of  contrasts  of  colour  and 
the  avoidance  of  too  free  a  display  of  brilliant  tints. 
It  was  here,  too,  the  fashion  began  of  making  up  beds  in  which 
foliage,  not  flowers,  are  the  chief  characteristic.  Long  undulating 
borelers  along  some  of  the  walls  displayed  very  attractive  colouring, 
and  at  the  top  of  the  central  walk  a  grand  circular  bed,  surrounded 
by  other  circles  and  triangles,  which  perhaps  would  not  suit  the 
present  taste,  but  served  to  show  off  some  favourite  flowers,  Lmfor- 
mnately  the  South  Kensington  Garden  is  not  associated  with  one  of 
the  brighter  periods  in  the  history  of  the  Society.  From  1883  to  1886 
a  large  portion  of  the  ground  was  occupied  by  exhibitions,  closing  with 
the  important  India  and  Colonial  one;  and,  finally,  the  northern  part 
was  utilised  for  the  Imperial  Institute. 
Brompton,  indeed,  as  it  extended  to  the  west,  was  the  quarter,  in 
the  earlier  years  of  the  century,  of  a  giant  amongst  our  suburban 
gardeners.  This  was  the  celebrated  Gunter,  who  had  more  than  sixty 
acres  of  land  under  cultivation  between  Brompton  and  Kensington. 
For  aw'hile  he  reigned  at  Earl’s  Court  over  nurseries  and  market 
gardens.  His  predecessor,  Hutchins,  of  an  old  Chelsea  family,  had 
also  extensive  grounds  between  Chelsea  and  Kensington.  But  by 
1850  a  change  had  commenced,  the  Boitens  and  other  terraces 
were  building  adjacent  to  Old  Brompton  Road.  Names  once  familiar 
and  suggestive  disappeared  ;  vainly  we  might  seek  for  “  Salad  Lane  ” 
or  “  Hogmere  Road,”  but  on  the  south  side,  some  years  after,  there 
yet  remained  Honey  Lane  and  Walnut  Tree  Walk,  overlooking  fields 
or  gardens  near  Brompton  Cemetery.  Gunter  is  said  to  have  been  one 
of  the  first  to  employ  steam  for  heating  forcing-houses.  It  avas  after 
1863  that  the  remnant  of  the  gardens  between  Gloucester  Road  and 
Earl’s  Court  vanished,  to  be  succeeded  by  new  streets. 
Brompton  Heath  seems  a  comical  name  now,  yet  it  was  a  heath,  or 
sort  of  common,  part  of  the  ridge  of  waste  land  which  extended,  in  the 
olden  time,  from  Pimlico  to  the  border  of  Kensington.  Beyond  it  was 
Brompton  \  ale,  across  which  wandered  a  little  streamlet  which  some¬ 
how'  reached  the  Thames.  Several  market  gardeners  cultivated  portions 
of  this  heath  filty  or  sixty  years  ago;  it  was  a  good  position.  I 
remember  part  of  it  was  ojaen  till  1865  or  1866.  Vegetables  and  fru't, 
rather  than  flowers,  were  the  main  object  of  Brompton  gardeners 
formerly,  as  bjing  then  more  remunerative. — J.  R.  S.  C. 
CLANDON  PARK. 
Mb,  II.  Blake,  Lord  Onslow’s  gardener,  is  having  a  small  trial  of 
some  of  the  more  recently  introduced  Brobdignegian  Onions,  obtained 
in  packets  direct  from  the  vendors.  Some  of  them  gave  plenty  of  plants 
relatively,  but  one  of  rather  high  class  pretensions  gave  but  eighteen  plants 
from  a  2s.  6d.  packet.  All  the  seeds  were  sown  under  glass.  Presumably 
the  majority  grew  the  wrong  waj'.  However,  grown  well,  yet  not  to 
produce  giant  bulbs,  it  is  hoped  that  some  evidence  may  be  obtained  as  to 
distinctness  or  otherwise,  i'or  several  years  he  has  been  troubled  to  induce 
Raspberries  to  ripen  canes — these  usually  dying  in  the  winter — and 
a  new  plantation  of  Superlative,  frem  Messrs.  Bunyard  at  Maidstone, 
was  made  cn  a  fresh  piece  of  ground.  These  have  done  splendidly, 
and  this  year  present  every  appearance  of  giving  a  fine  crop.  When  the 
old  site  of  the  Raspberry  plot  was  trenched  it  was  found  2  feet  down  to 
be  a  solid  bed  of  clay,  on  which  water  stood.  That  clay  has  now  been 
removed,  and  the  ground  is  carryir  g  a  fine  breadth  of  root  crop?. 
Most  valuable  in  one  quarter  is  a  fine  breadth  of  Sutton’s  Late  Queen 
Broccoli  that  will  furnish  heads  up  to  the  end  of  the  imn'b.  This  is  a 
most  useful  vegetable.  Elsewheie  was  an  admirable  b.'eadth  of  Flower 
of  Spring  Cabbage,  just  getting  fit  to  cut  from.  Universally  Cabbages 
are  late  this  season.  This  variety  is  here  particularly  good,  and  not  a 
plant  has  bolted.  It  is  evldemtly  a  first-class  spring  variety.  I  should 
have  mentioned  that  in  sowing  seed  of  Late  Queen  Broccoli,  the 
operation  does  not  take  place  until  the  end  of  May. 
Tomatoes  are  being  grown  in  a  span  house.  I  noticed  that  the  roots 
are  limited  strictly  to  long  stout  wood  troughs,  16  inches  wide,  and 
9  inches  deep  wdthin.  The  plants  stand  15  inches  apart  in  these  troughs. 
How  well  they  look,  so  stout  and  sturdy,  and  full  of  promise  of  a  fine 
crop.  The  variety  generally  is  Perfection.  A  great  crop  is  obtained  from 
this  house  on  plants  so  grown  yearly.  There  were  at  one  end  two  plants 
only  of  the  variety  which  Mr.  Blake  had  in  fruit  in  a  pot  so  wonderfully 
laH  November,  and  these  planted  at  the  same  time  had  set  fruits  and 
wore  much  ahead  of  the  others  in  bloom  production.  Melons  do  well, 
the  chief  variety  being  Hero  of  Lockingc. 
Having  formerly  been  greatly  troubled  by  woodlice,  earwigs,  and 
mice,  Mr.  Blake  had  some  cylinders  made  of  tin  8  inches  long  and 
4  broad.  Halfway  along  these  cylinders  was  fixed  a  trough,  2  inches 
wide  and  inch  deep,  to  hold  water.  When  the  young  !Melon  plants  are 
put  out  on  to  the  soil  bed,  these  metal  cylinders  arc  placed  over  them, 
^nd  prcfsod  down  into  the  soil,  so  that  the  bottoms  of  the  circular 
troughs  touch  the  soil.  These  are  then  half  filled  with  water.  The 
result  is  that  never  since  the  adoption  of  their  use  has  there  been  trouble 
from  insects,  or  mice,  or  canker,  or  similar  pests,  so  that  the  making 
of  these  things  has  been  well  repaid. 
A  fine  collection  of  Marchioness  of  Exeter,  White  Lady,  and  other 
double  Chinese  Primroses  in  a  frame,  were  just  in  the  process  of  rooting 
from  side  growths.  The  surface  soil  is  dressed  with  three  parts  of  sand 
to  one  part  moss.  This  is  done  in  April,  and  in  two  months,  without 
further  trouble,  all  the  side  growths  have  rooted  well  into  it,  and  fin© 
plants  are  obtained. — A.  D. 
GARDENING  IN  TRINIDAD. 
That  gardening  in  this  •*  Pearl  of  the  Antilles  ”  differs  much  from  th© 
gardening  usually  written  about  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  will  be  mad© 
apparent  by  giving  a  lew  meteorological  statistics.  The  mean  annual 
rainfall  for  the  ten  years  from  1887  to  1897  was  71'10  inches,  and  th© 
mean  annual  temperature  for  the  same  period  was  78^  F.  The  mean 
maximum  was  87'^,  and  the  mean  minimum  69^,  giving  a  range  of  only  18°. 
In  some  parts  of  tho  island,  at  Diego  Martin,  in  November  of  last  year, 
we  had  over  22  inches  of  rain  n  one  month,  and  at  Moruga  Road  Station 
last  year  the  total  rainfall  was  128'21  inches. 
It  is  during  the  dry  season — from  .Tanuary  to  May  inclusive,  that 
gardening  is  simplest  and  safest,  because  then  there  are  no  heavy  rains 
which  in  the  wet  season  damage  nearly  everything,  but  especially  those 
plants  which  are  natives  of  less  moist  climates.  Amongst  these  are  several 
vegetables  and  flowering  p’acts  which  are  common  in  the  gardens  of 
the  British  Isles.  AVe  grow  Tomatoes  and  Cucumbers  with  fair  success.. 
iMelons  have  hitherto  been  unsuccessful,  hut  we  intend  trying  again. 
Cabbages  are  seldom  worth  growing  unless  planted  about  the  end  of  the 
wet  season,  when  the  plants  get  established  before  the  drought  com¬ 
mences,  and  they  then  produce  good  heads  in  the  dry  weather  with 
occasional  watering,  while  they  are  less  apt  to  rot,  which  they  do  readily 
in  the  wet  season.  Kohl  Rabi,  Kidney  Beans,  and  Lettuce  are  very  suc¬ 
cessful  with  us,  likewise  Radishes  and  Beetroot.  Peas  and  Potatoes  are- 
scarcely  worth  growing,  neither  is  Cauliflower.  We  grow  several  tropical 
or  sub-tropical  vegetables,  such  as  the  “Garden  Egg,”  fruit  of  Solanum 
melongena,  tho  Bitter  and  Sweet  Cassava,  Yams,  the  tubers  of  various- 
species  of  Dioscorea,  some  of  which,  in  my  opinion,  are  better  than  good 
English  Potatoes.  We  have  hitherto  been  unsuccessful  with  Vines,  but 
have  now  some  seedlings  growing  under  glass,  of  which  we  hope  to 
have  a  successful  yield,  _ _ 
Tropical  fruits  are  abundant,  such  as  Mangos,  Sapodillas,  Cushews,. 
Star  and  Golden  Apples  ;  and  Orange?,  Lemons,  and  Limes  are  plentiful, 
so  arc  Bananas,  and  they,  like  several  of  the  other  fruits  mentioned,  are 
far  superior  in  flavour  and  luseiousness,  when  left  to  ripen  on  tho  tree,  to 
those  sold  in  London  or  elsewhere,  being  ripened  a  considerable  time 
after  being  taken  from  the  plant. 
Amongst  bedding  plants  there  are  several  of  those  used  in  England 
for  the  purpose  which  do  well  here  in  the  dry  season.  Tagetes  patula 
and  T.  signata,  the  French  and  Mexican  Marigolds,  do  fairly  well ;  so 
also  dot  Zinnia?,  Cannas,  and  Gladioli.  We  have  some  charming  beds 
ot  Coleus,  Crotons  (Codimum),  Russelia  juncea,  with  plants  of  Asparagus 
plumosus  here  and  there,  and  Alternantkera  versicolor  or  Pilea  muscosa 
for  an  edging.  _ 
The  front  gardens  of  the  villas  in  the  town  suburbs  are  gay  with 
Crotons,  Dracaenas,  Acalyphas,  and  Palms  as  foliage  plants.  One  of  the 
c  mmonest  flowering  shrubs  is  Hibiscus  Cameroni,  with  large  bright 
crimson  flowers.  There  is  also  H.  schizopetalus  and  other  species  which 
I  do  not  know.  Plumbago  capensis  is  flowering  well  now,  and  is  some¬ 
times  seen  in  the  form  of  a  hedge.  Aralia  Guilfoyli  is  also  a  common 
hedge  plant.  These  are  decorative  hedges.  For  ordinary  field  hedges  a 
succulent  species  of  Euphorbia,  probably  neriifolia,  is  largely  used,  and 
with  its  prickles  and  poisonous  juice  it  forms  an  almost  impenetrable 
harrier  for  man  or  beast. 
Roses  do  fairly  well  in  some  places,  where  they  are  surely  protected 
from  the  ravages  of  the  “  parasol  ”  ant,  one  ot  our  most  destructive 
creatures.  If  we  notice  as  we  walk  along  some  morning  that  one  of  our 
Rose  bushes  is  stripped  of  half  its  leaves,  we  shall  find  on  examining  the 
ground  that  an  army  of  ants  is  busy  carrying  the  leaves  off  shoulder 
high,  and  as  they  work  single  file,  and  each  one’s  booty  is  carried  like  a 
miniature  parasol,  the  procession  is  about  as  interesting  and  amusing  as 
the  result  is  destructive  and  deplorable.  Other  kinds  of  ants  devour 
seeds,  and  the  mole-cricket  has  the  annoying  habit  of  nibbling  through 
the  stem  of  young  plants  just  below  the  leaves. 
Before  finishing  this  brief  sketch  I  would  like  to  note  a  few  climbers 
which  are  grown  here.  Thunbergia  grandiflora  flowers  well,  and  is 
often  seen.  Various  species  of  Allamanda  and  Clerodendron,  Ipomoea 
digitata,  and  I.  quamoclit  are  met  with  occasional!}’.  AVe  have  a  fine 
form  of  Bougainvillea  spectabilis.  It  flowers  with  great  profusion, 
the  bracts  being  of  a  bright  brick  red.  A  plant  of  this  has  climbed  a 
tree  about  80  feet  high,  and  occupies  a  large  part  of  its  crown.  As  the 
tree  is  deciduous  it  forms  quite  a  feature  in  the  landscape,  the  bright  rea 
patch  contrasting  well  with  the  surrounding  greenery.  Such  are  a  few 
observations  made  by  a  gardener  lately  arrived  in  this  lovely  and  fertile 
island. — X.  L.  C.  R. 
