426' 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  14,  1903. 
The  New  Nursery. 
I  mentioned  Hale.  Tliis  is  a  plea- 
.sant  urban  townsJiip  only  a  few  miles 
from  Manchester,  and  neighbours  Altrin¬ 
cham.  It  must  not  be  confused  with 
Sale,  in  the  same  district.  Hale  is  the 
headquarters  of  Clibrans,  though  the 
town  of  Altrincham  is  still  used  in 
addresses.  Messrs.  Clibran  and  Son 
have  also  a.  seed  and  florist  shop  in 
Market  Street,  Manchester,  and  large 
quantities  of  decorative  plants  are  grown 
at  Hale  for  the  supply  of  that  depart¬ 
ment. 
New  Cactus  Dahlia,  Eva.  {See  page  424.) 
Coming  back  to  the  head  nursery,  and 
the  great  packing  shed,  th^  facts  about 
it  are  that  it  covers  half  an  acre  of 
ground,  is  very  lofty  and  very  well 
lighted  (having  a  glass  roof),  and  pos¬ 
sesses  an  overhead  rail  track  with  a  tra¬ 
velling  crane,  the  arm  of  which  reaches 
out  to  any  part  of  the  shed  to  .seize  and 
lift  the  packages  to  the  vans.  The  main 
area  is  devoted  to  the  packing  of  trees, 
shruhs,  hardy,  and  cool-house  plants ; 
while  for  stove  and  warm  house  sub¬ 
jects,  a  separate  heated  division  has 
been  planned.  Clibran’s  horticultural 
manure  is  stored  close  to  this  shed. 
Though  at  present  the  extensive 
ranges  of  span-roofed  houses  are  not  con¬ 
nected,  it  is  proposed  to  do  so  imme¬ 
diately  by  means  of  a  wide  corridor, 
which  shall  run  the  whole  length  of  the 
south  ends  of  the  structures.  This  corri¬ 
dor,  moreover,  will  lead  without  a  break 
into  the  great  packing  shed.  The  plant 
houses,  the  shed,  and  the  clerical  offices 
will,  therefore,  be  all  in  immediate  com¬ 
munication.  More  than  this,  iron  rails 
for  “  buggies  ”  have  been  laid  along 
every  path  of  each  house,  and  turning- 
tahles  are  fitted  at  the  ends  of  the  same, 
so  that  a  laden  bugg.v  can  be  transferred 
to  other  sets  of  rails  throughout  the 
entire  system,  without  the  necessity  of  a 
single  change.  A  small  potting  shed  and 
foreman’s  office  is  another  feature  in  the 
arrangement  of  all  the  large  plant  houses. 
These  potting  sheds  are  divided  by  a  wall 
A  departure  from  this  goklen  rule  gave  what  proved  a  very 
acceptable  crop  of  Savoys,  for  it  is  well  known  that  except  under 
.'pccial  circum-stances  Cabbages  or  Savoys  are  not  plentifully  avail¬ 
able  ill  the  months  named,  and  a  change  from  Broccoli  and  other 
of  the  Green  family  is  sure  to  be  acceptable  for  kitchen  u.'^e. 
Though  there  were  some  cold  spells  of  wintry  weathei’,  and  a  tem- 
p.  rature  only  a  .span  of  lOdeg  or  12deg  above  zero  on  several 
occasions,  these  Savoys  were  undaunted,  and  the  rise  of  tempera¬ 
ture  permitting  progre.ss,  a  renewed  growth  was  set  in  action. 
As  a  dining-room  vegetable  the  Savoy  does  not  often  count, 
but  other  departments  of  the  household  require  a  dual  thought 
of  provision,  less  important  though  it  may  be.  Often  Savoys  are 
sown  much  too  early,  the  consequence  of  which  bursted  and 
spoiling  heads  are  common  in  early  autumn  before  a  use  can  be 
made  of  them.  It  is  well  to  provide  for  emergencies,  for  no  one 
may  foretell  autumn  weather,  and  when  summer  vegetables  are 
.smitten  down  by  an  early  frost,  or  series  of  frosts,  then  Savoys 
come  to  the  rescue  with  much  satisfaction. 
I  never  sow  Savoys  until  May  is  advancing,  and,  instead  of 
one,  not  less  than  three  sowings  at  fortnightly  intervals  are  made. 
These  cover  a  long  period  of  the  winter,  from  the  end  of  October 
until  the  middle  of  April.  A  succession  was  maintained  this  past 
winter  without  a  break  in  the  .supply;  but  without  the  mid-June 
sowing  this  could  not  possibly  have  happened.  Green  Curled, 
Beliance,  and  Sutton’s  New  Year  are  a  trio  of  useful  Savoys, 
though  not  a  binding  selection.  There  are  many  another  good 
variety;  hut  what  is  important  is  that  a  late  maturing  kind  is 
cho.sen  for  the  last  sowing  at  the  end  of  the  Savoy  season. 
There  is  time  for  those  hitherto  unprovided  to  procure  seed  of 
ii  late  stock,  and  for  readers  who  may  have  proved  good  ones  in 
the  pa.st  to  give  us  the  benefit  of  their  experience  by  naming  them 
in  the  pages  of  our  Journal,  so  that  they  may  be  procured  forth¬ 
with.  Seedsmen,  too,  may  well  take  the  hint,  and  bring  before 
their  patrons  in  the  advertisement  columns  the  merits  of  their 
individual  selections  for  the  later  months  of  winter. — W.  S. 
Gadding  and  Gathering. 
One  of  the  brightest  chapters  in  the  history  of  present-day 
horticultural  -  firms,  will  be  that  which  records  the  ri.se  and 
development  of  the  bu.siness  carried  on  by  Messrs.  W.  Clibran 
and  Son,  at  Altrincham,  near  Manchester,  because  it  is  one  of 
brilliant  success  from  first  to  last.  Tliirty  years  ago,  or  there¬ 
abouts,  Mr.  William  Clibran,  the  active  head  of  the  firm,  started 
business  on  his  own  account  assisted  by  “a  man  and  a  wheel¬ 
barrow.”,  To-day,  the  same  able,  gentleman  employs  300  persons, 
owiLs  five  acres  of  glass  houses,  and  works  300  acres  of  nursery 
ground  devoted  to  all  sections  of  the  trade. 
William  Clibran  and  Son,  Manchester. 
Mr.  Clibran’, s  father  was  a  small  market  gaixlener,  and  it  was 
at  Oldfield,  near  Manche.ster,  that  tlje  present  Clibran  firm  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  lay  the  foundations  of  their  prosperous  trade.  “  Nothing 
succeeds  like  sucoe.ss.”  From  step  to  step,  from  one  acre  of  land 
to  two,  and  from  two  to  ten,  ever  increasing,  the  nursery  grew 
apace,  and  at  length,  as  we  see  to-day,  the  various  branches 
ultimately  became  spi’ead  over  an  area  of  between  five  and  six 
.square  miles.  Ground  being  unprocurable  in  immediate  con¬ 
tiguity  to  the  original  Oldfield  settlement,  Mr.  Clibran  was  com¬ 
pelled  to  choose  sites  as  near  to  his  headquarters  as  possible,  and 
it  is  only  now,  when  the  new  Hale  nursery  (Hale  adjoins 
Altrincham)  is  stocked  and  in  order,  that  the  business  has  prac¬ 
tically  been  brought  into  one  arena.  The  new  glass  houses  are 
magnificent  nursery  structures,  and  the  great  packing  shed,  with 
the  numerou.s  offices  on  a  slightly  raised  gallery,  occupying  the 
whole  of  two.  sides,  is  already  well  known  in  the  Manchester  and 
Liverpool  regions,  as  a  feature  of  special  interest.  In  pas.sing, 
I  may  observe  that  Mr.  Clibran  has  one  son — a  young  man  who 
wholeheartedly  enters  into  the  duties  before  him — and  three 
daughters,  whose  assistance  is  also  appreciated  in  the  offices.  Mr. 
C.  G.  Girdham,  an  old  Kewite,  and  ex¬ 
perienced  horticulturist,  is  manager  of 
the  nurseries,  than  whom  no  more  capable 
or  courteous  business  man  could  occupy 
the  position. 
