September  6,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
225 
•jfates  it  is  encircled  by  lofty  buildings,  and  the  wonder  is  that  this 
excellent  gardener  and  his  assistants  are  able  to  produce  such 
remarkably  good  results.  It  is  in  this  circumscribed  area  that  the 
magnificent  pot  Vines  and  the  splendid  Melons  (illustrated  and 
described  in  the  issues  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  dated  August 
'23rd  and  August  30th  respectively)  are  grown.  It  may  safely  be 
aflSrmed  that  no  better  results  could  be  achieved  in  the  most  favoured 
garden  than  at  Cardiff.  These  are  handsome  tributes  to  skilful  men. 
And  yet  the  Vines  in  the  big  vineries,  the  Peaches  and  Nectarines  in 
their  structures,  and  the  Pines  in  the  pits,  are  fully  as  meritorious.  Every 
year  they  are  made  to  yield  their  fruit  in  abundance,  and  no  matter 
how  they  may  be  pressed  they  are  always  ready  to  respond  to  the  next 
call.  Look,  too,  at  the  grand  Apples  and  Pears  in  this  garden.  They 
are  beyond  praise.  Time  after  time  they  have  been  written  of  in  these 
pages,  and  in  every  instance  words  of  the  highest  commendation  have 
Catilpa  biponioides. 
Catalpa  bignonioides  is  an  old  inhabitant  of  English  gardens,  as  it 
was  introduced  by  a  Mr.  Mark  Catesby  from  Carolina  in  1726.  It  is 
faithfully  described  by  Phillip  Miller,  and  it  was  included  in  the  Kew 
collection  at  the  time  Aiton  published  his  “  Hortus  Kewensis.”  The 
tree  is  a  native  of  Georgia  and  neighbouring  States,  but  it  was  early  and 
extensively  planted  for  ornamental  purposes  in  the  towns  of  the 
Northern  States  as  far  as  Massachusetts,  and  is  now  a  common 
tree  over  a  wide  area.  In  the  southern  counties  of  this  country 
and  on  the  Continent  the  Catalpa  grows  as  rapidly  as  in  its 
native  land,  quite  a  good  sized  tree  being  formed  in  ten  or  twelve 
years,  and  this  has  recommended  it  to  many  planters.  Another 
advantage  is  that  it  succeeds  in  damp  situations  where  some  Conifers 
been  accorded  to  them.  Expert  fruit  growers  from  all  over  the 
country  have  seen  and  admired  them,  and  if  the  truth  was  known 
have  probably  envied  Mr.  Pettigrew  the  honour  of  having  grown  them. 
The  Plant  Houses  and  Kitchen  Garden. 
The  number  of  structures  .devoted  to  plants  is  comparatively 
limited,  but  they  contain  a  most  complete  collection  of  stock  suitable 
for  the  requirements  of  the  establishment.  Palms  and  Ferns  are 
numerous  and  good ;  in  fact  the  whole  of  those  grown  are  in  capital 
condition.  The  vegetable  quarters  are  naturally  enough  fully  stocked 
with  various  crops,  but  the  conditions  of  production  are  very 
unfavourable,  and  the  allotted  area  is  so  small  that  much  need  not  now 
bo  written  on  the  subject,  as  it  could  scarcely  amount  to  more  than 
repetition  of  the  remarks  that  have  fallen  from  other  pens.  JThis 
brief  notice  of  Caidiff  Castle  and  its  gardens  may  therefore  be  brought 
to  a  close  with  a  word  of  hearty  congratulation  to  Mr.  Pettigrew  and 
his  staff  for  the  admirable  order  in  which  the  entire  charge  was  found 
when,  in  the  early  summer  months,  this  visit  was  paid. — Zingasi. 
and  other  trees  will  not  exist,  but  with  the  common  Birch,  Poplars! 
and  Willows  it  flourishes  admirably.  A  waterlogged  soil  is  not  suitable 
for  it  but  it  does  not  object  to  abundant  moisture  where  there  is  a 
good  natural  drainage.  In  deep  alluvial  soil  it  makes  most  vigorous 
growth  until  a  height  of  30  or  40  feet  is  attained,  and  after  that  it 
becomes  more  spreading  and  bushy  owing  to  the  production  of 
numerous  strong  lateral  branches. 
When  in  flower  the  Catalpas  in  Parliament  Square  and  several  other 
open  spaces  in  the  metropolis  are  very  handsome,  the  large  panicles  being 
borne  in  great  numbers,  and  for  a  fortnight  or  more  these  expand  in 
succession.  The  corollas  are  peculiarly  crumpled,  with  spreading  lobes 
and  a  short  inflated  tube,  white  with  yellow  lines  in  the  throat,  and 
numerous  small  violet  or  purple  dots,  which  give  it  a  beautiful  appear¬ 
ance,  something  like  the  spotted  Gloxinias.  The  caljx  has  a  dark 
purplish  tinge,  the  pedicels  being  pimilar,  and  they  serve  to  show  up 
the  flowers  still  more.  The  illustration  (fig.  61,  page  229)  represents  a 
panicle  of  ordinary  size,  many  exceeding  it  in  length,  and^with  larger 
individual  flowers. 
