314 
JOUFxNAL  OB’  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  G  ABLE  HER. 
April  9,  1903. 
Again  we  come  upon  some  very  fine  standard  Hollies  standing 
m  a  fied  of  Ericas,  and  altogether  this  lake  and  its  surroundings 
^wfiic'h  must  have  been  formed  at  enormous  expense)  is  a  veritable 
hoantv  spot,  charming  in  the  extreme,  causing  quite  a  fascination 
for  those  wlio  have  any  love  at  all  for  Nature,  and  here,  where 
Nature  has  been  largely  assisted  by  Art,  the  picture  is  one. 
diflficult  for  pen  to  describe.  From  the  appearance  of  the 
multitudinous  plant  forms  one  would  scarcely  credit  that  this  lake 
Ijad  only  been  formed  some  three  or  four  years. 
The  Glass  Houses. 
Entering  first  a  range  of  cool  houses  one  notices  that  they 
arc  fitted  with  electric  lights,  and  it  may  be  said  here  that  Holly 
Court  has  its  own  electric  light  plant,  and,  in  addition  to  the 
rnan.^ion.  the  greenhouses  and  winter  garden  are  illuminated  by 
this  means.  But  to  return.  This  range  is  span  roofed  and  of 
modem  style.  The  first  is  a  Carnation  house,  and  here  are  a 
grand  lot  of  Tree  and  Malmaison  type — clean,  sturdy  stuff,  full 
of  promise.  One  particularly  noticeable  item  is  a  very  fine 
basket  of  Ivy-leaf  Pelargonium,  which,  trained  cone  shape,  would 
measure  somewhere  about  3ft  by  3ft,  and  which,  from  present 
appearances,  will  soon  be  a  mass  of  blooms. 
Next  is  a  greenhouse,  in  which  are  Ericas,  Acacias,  Daffodils 
fa  grand  lot),  some  Malmaison  C^arnations  coming  into  flower. 
Cineraria — C.  steilata,  some  4ft  high  and  3ft  across,  full  of  flower, 
a  perfect  treat  ;  a  grand  piece  of  Acacia  grandis,  and  a  batch  of 
herbaceous  Calceolarias  (Fishers’  strain),  some  of  which  are  in 
bloom,  and  are  of  grand  colour  and  size,  while  the  collection  gives 
premise  of  great  beauty.  Next  is  a 
Malmaison  House. 
Tliis  fs  full  of  all  the  best  and  latest  varieties,  containing  some 
grand  specimens,  almost  2ft  through,  and  now  showing  flower. 
There  are  in  all  some  fortj’-seven  varieties,  and  one  wishes  it  were 
within  the  bounds  of  possibility  to  pay  a  latdr  visit  when  this 
house  is  at  its  best.  A  noticeable  feature  in  all  these  houses  is 
that  tufa  is  arranged  all  round  under  the  stages,  and  in  it  and 
on  it  Ferns  and  foliage  stuff  do  exti'emely  well.  Adjoining  this 
house  is  the  Vinery,  and  Mr.  Kettlewell  must  be  congratulated 
upon  the  wonderfully  strong  and  healthy  appearance  of  his  Vines. 
Gros  Maroc,  Black  Alicante,  and  Madresfield  Court  seemi  to  vie 
with  each  otlier  for  premier  place,  and  give  promise  of  enormous 
bunches.  Here  also  is  a  good  batch  of  Strawberries  in  flower  (for 
succession);  Dwarf  Beans,  looking  well,  and  noticeable  is  a  pair 
of  fine  specimen  Abutilons  which  I  hope  to  see  in  the  exhibition 
tent  later  on. 
The  “  Chispum  House 
about  50ft  by  12ft,  and  “  Crispums  ”  are  exceedingly  vigorous 
under  leaf  mould  treatment.  There  are  also  some  good 
“tigrinums”  and  O.  Adrianse,  just  breaking  away  nicely,  and 
sorfi4i^showing  splendid  spikes,  which  would  be  interesting  to  see 
later  on.  In  the  Croton  House  are  some  nice  young  specimens, 
including  Alice,  Lady  Zetland,  Readi,  Prince  Waldeck  (fine  colour 
and  growth),  Nestor,  Prince  of  Wales,  Morti,  picturatum, 
Countess,  &c.,  while  in  the  Stove  are  the  first  batch  of  Straw¬ 
berries,  nicely  fruited  and  looking  well,  besides  a  fine  lot  of 
Cattleyas,  including  aurea,  Mossise,  Dowiana,  Reineckiana, 
Wagneri,  and  a  Brassavola  Digbyana,  showing  a  very  strong 
fiheath.  Another  Orchid  house  contains  Cattleyas  and  Cypri- 
pediums,  Ac.,  a  feature  that  attracts  attention  immediately 
on  entering  being  Ferns,  hanging  about  in  the  shape  of  monkeys 
and  toads.  We  now  visit  the 
Conservatory  or  Winter  Garden, 
a  very  hand,some  building,  of  modern  type,  overlooking  the  Dutch 
Garden,  and  whom  whence  can  be  obtained  lovely  views  of  Derby¬ 
shire  hills  and  moors.  In  this  there  is  a  rockery  and  waterfall, 
with  Ferns  and  foliage  plants  trailing  about.  Some  fine  Kentias 
— a  particularly  fine  specimen  of  Kentia  Belmoreana — baskets  of 
Asparagus  Sprengeri,  are  noticed,  while  it  is  also  gay  with  flowers. 
Cineraria  steilata  is  here  again  particularly  fine,  alsn 
Genistas,  Lilium  Harrisi,  Acacia  cordata,  and  other  items  alter¬ 
nating  with  Cocos  Weddelliana  and  other  choice  foliage  plants. 
Tufa  is  used  with  advantage,  and  the  house  being  lighted  with 
electric  light,  the  effect  is  very  pleasing;  but  we  cannot  linger, 
and  though  the  attraction  is  great,  and  the  desire  is  strong  to 
wander  amongst  the  delightful  surroundings,  one  is  reminded 
that  ‘‘  time  is  on  the  wing.”  Passing  on,  one’s  attention  is  drawn 
to  a  standard  Portugal  Laurel,  some  10ft  through  the  head,  and 
the  fine  standard  Golden  Hollies  along  the  drive,  and  then  w'e 
recognise  that  our  thanks  are  due  to  Mr.  Kettlewell,  the  liead 
gaixlener,  for  his  courteous  treatment,  his  ready  I'esponse  to  our 
inquiries,  and  his  careful  explanations. 
Mr.  Kettlewell  has  been  here  some  eight  years,  and  superin- 
femled  the  laying  out  of  the  grounds,  which  do  him  great  credit. 
He  is  not  unknown  as  an  exhibitor.  Holly  Court  exhibits  having 
carried  off  many  prizes,  and  we  hope  will  be  again  to  the  fore. 
Well  planned  and  well  kept,  the  gardens  of  Holly  Court  must  be 
a  source  of  pleasure  to  the  iiopular  owner,  and  are  certainly  a 
A  stimony  to  the  skill  and  practical  care  of  Mr.  Kettlewell,  who 
proud  of  his  specimens  and  of  the  grounds  over  which  he  has 
control. — W.  L. 
Next  week  Tapton  Court  and  Endcliffe  will  be  de.scribed. 
The  Gardener  as  a  Man. 
f  Concluded  from  page  269). 
Some  flowers,  notably  Orchids  and  insect-eating  plants,  go  in 
for  the  limited  liability  company  or  stock  exchange  business  very 
successfully.  They  offer  colour,  fragrance,  and  honey  or  other 
attractions  in  place  of  a  printed  prospectus  to  their  clients,  the 
flies,  &c.  The  percentage  or  dividends  offered  are  fragrance  or 
food,  and  in  return  for  this  dole  the  insect  must  fertilise  the 
flowers  of  its  host  plant,  or  in  the  case  of  the  subtle  insect  eaters, 
it  often  becomes  a  victim  to  the  mistake,  and  loses  its  life  from 
having,  unfortunately,  made  a  bad  speculation!  The  gospel  of 
the  plant  world  is  one  of  enterprising  self-sacrifice,  of  the  self- 
abnegation  of  the  individual,  for  the  good  of  the  race.-  Evolu¬ 
tion  or  adaptation  in  the  iilant  world  is  silently  carried  on  by 
the  agency  of  what  appear  mere  trifles,  a  bend  here,  a  twist 
there,  a  .spot  or  streak,  or  blush  of  colouring,  a  tuft  or  ring  of 
hairs,  a  spot  of  honey,  or  a  breath  of  fragrance.  Self-abnegation 
and  adaptability  to  local  surroundings  is  the  plant’s  way  of 
silently  getting  along  in  the  world. 
The  gardener,  as  a  man,  may  adopt  the  same  or  similar  tactics 
with  advantage.  He  is  at  once  a  servant  to  his  employers  and 
a  master  to  his  own  men,  and  as  he  serves  and  obeys,  so  must 
those  under  him  do  the  same  ;  and  as  a.  wise  head  gardener  makes 
himself  genial  and  zealous  in  his  employer’s  interests,  so  must 
foremen  and  journeymen  and  labourers  follow  suit  to  their  own 
peace  of  mind  and  real  advantage.  No  matter  how  successful 
a  man  may  be  as  a  practical  gardener,  he  must  also  be  socially 
intelligent  and  personally  agreeable  in  manner  as  well.  There 
is,  nowadays,  no  room  or  scope  for  the  old  hedgehog  type  of 
garden  autocrats  of  other  days,  men  bristling  with  conceit  like 
the  head  gardener  at  Brentham  in  “  Lothair,”  who  was  too  busy 
with  his  bedding  plants  to  grow  the  duchess  a  bunch  or  two  of 
Violets  ;  and  who  looked  on  the  family  as  visitors  rather  than 
being  the  owners  of  the  place.  In  a  word,  the  gardener  has  to 
manage  flowers,  fruits,  and  vegetables,  but  the  gardener,  as  a 
man,  must  also  be  an  adept  in  managing  men  and  women,  in¬ 
cluding  her  often  unserene  highness  the  cook,  and  in  meeting 
all  the  reasonable  desires  of  those  employers  who  pay  him  for 
his  services  and  ability.  A  little  tact  and  truthful  diplomacy 
is  often  of  the  greatest  help  to  the  gardener  as  a  man. 
As  honesty  is  the  best  and  only  policy,  sO'  strict  truthfulness 
is  the  most  subtle  weapon  in  diplomacy  or  matters  of  doubt. 
There  may  be  many  times  when  the  gardener  should  not  speak 
at  all,  but  if  he  does  spe-ak,  then  “the  truth,  the  whole  truth, 
and  nothing  bub  the  truth”  must  be  spoken.  We  are  told  that 
“  a  soft  answer  turneth  away  wrath,”  and  after  some  experience, 
I  venture  to  suggest  the  gentle  but  firm  handling  of  all  bristling 
people  or  touchy  subjects  met  with  in  the  garden.  Very  often 
a  compromise  has  to  be  made  when  the  point  of  view  is 
a  very  divergent  one.  The  point  of  view  with  regard  to  stable 
or  farmyard  manure,  for  example,  is  very  often  an  important 
one  to  the  gardener,  w'hile  that  of  the  steward,  factor, 
or  bailiff  is  “a  horse  of  another  colour,”  as  probably  some  of 
you  may  have  heard  before. 
Initiative  and  Inventions. 
Imagination,  or  a  capacity  for  conceiving  and  developing  ideas, 
can  be,  and  should  be  encouraged,  but  it  is  in  reality  an  innate 
possession.  Men  of  imagination  are  like  the  poets,  born  rather 
than  made,  but  all  nien  may  foster  their  inborn  talents  of  pre¬ 
science  to  some  extent  by  reading  and  experience,  just  as  Paxton 
and  all  other  gardeners  before  and  after  his  time  have'  done. 
Efficient  as  are  our  implements,  machinery,  tools,  and  other 
mechanical  appliances  in  the  garden  to-day,  there  is  yet  ample 
room  for  the  practical  inventor  of  labour-saving  devices.  I  may 
sav  here  that  there  is  ju.st  now  an  increased  demand  for  land¬ 
scape  gardeners  in  designing  and  forming  open-air  gardens, 
rockeries,  acquatic  ponds,  pools,  Ac.,  and  in  planting  ornamental 
trees,  flowering  shrubs,  herbaceous,  and  Alpine  plants.  This  is 
a  promising  branch  of  garden  craft  for  young  men  of  artistic  taste 
and  ability. 
There  is  a  growing  tendency  towards  specialisation  now 
taking  place  amongst  gardeners.  The  Orchid  grower  of  to-day 
is  very  often  a  speciality,  and  so  also  are  many  of  the  men  in 
large  nurseries.  Gardeners  formerly  could  be  divided  broadly 
into : — 
1.  Private  gardeners,  including  the  jobbing  variety. 
2.  Superintendents  of  public  parks  and  gardens. 
3.  Landscape  gardeners. 
4.  Trade  or  nursery  and  market  gardeners. 
Now  we  have,  however,  lady  gardeners  (of  whom  more  anon), 
garden  colleges,  and  ui-ban  and  county  councils,  teaching  gar¬ 
deners  or  itinerant  instructors,  are  in  ever  increasing  demand 
all  over  Great  Britain  and  in  Ireland.  Well  trained  young  gar¬ 
deners,  who'  have  the  gift  of  clear  expression,  will  find  very  good 
openings  as  itinerant  instructors  or  demonstrators  in  England ; 
such  positions  being  advertised  in  “  The  Gardeners’  Chronicle,” 
and  other  papers,  from  time  to  time.  In  Ireland  such  posts 
ajipear  to  be  reserved  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  men 
