478 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  6,  1901 
Hitchm.  Grange,  Taplow. 
Having  had  the  pleasure  of  inspecting  the  garden  at  Hitcham 
Grange,  the  residence  of  the  Hon.  C.  S.  Irby,  when  the  fruit  trees 
were  in  full  bearing,  I  was  much  interested  in  the  well-trained  trees, 
which  Mr.  D.  Paxton,  the  gardener,  succeeds  so  well  with.  The  house 
stands  on  a  hill,  overlooking  part  of  the  pretty  village  of  Taplow. 
Windsor  Castle  is  also  to  be  seen  on  a  clear  day  from  the  terrace  in 
front.  Clematis  montana  is  trained  up  the  front,  with  Wistaria  sinensis 
and  Gloire  de  Dijon  Rose  growing  intermixed  on  the  west  side  of  the 
house.  A  small  conservatory  adjoins  the  drawing-room,  from  which 
Tacsonias  and  Fuchsias  were  hanging  from  the  roof,  making  a  bright 
display.  The  side  stages 
were  effectively  filled  with 
Begonias,  Pelargoniums, 
Fuchsias,  and  Ferns.  The 
pleasure  grounds  are  not 
extensive,  but  the  lawn  and 
tennis  court  are  maintained 
in  a  clean  and  orderly 
manner.  On  the  lawn  is 
noticeable  a  fine  Araucaria 
imbricata.  The  flower  beds 
were  chiefly  filled  with 
Begonias  of.  various  colours, 
and  seemed  perfectly  at 
home.  On  one  side  of  the 
lawn  appeared  some  large 
beds  filled  with  Mignonette, 
with  seedling  Gladiolus 
dotted  among  it ;  these 
looked  very  attractive. 
Leaving  the  pleasure 
grounds  and  approaching 
the  kitchen  garden  we 
passed  under  an  arbour  of 
Crimson  Rambler,  some 
yards  in  length,  which  was 
admired  by  all  who  saw  it, 
and  might  be  more  freely 
used  in  gardens  for  such 
purposes.  The  kitchen  gar¬ 
dens  lie  on  a  slope,  and 
much  labour  is  taken  up 
during  the  summer  months 
in  watering  the  fruit  trees 
and  vegetables.  The  depth 
of  soil  is  about  2  feet,  with 
a  bed  of  gravel  and  chalk 
under  it ;  but  the  soil  in 
this  neighbourhood  suits 
hardy  fruit  without  a  doubt 
by  the  examples  found 
here.  Peaches  and  Necta¬ 
rines  form  one  of  the  chief 
features  at  Hitcham  Grange. 
Pears  are  also  exceedingly 
fine,  and  before  these  were 
gathered  last  year  they  were 
a  sight  not  easily  forgotten. 
Not  only  are  the  trees 
splendid  specimens,  but  the 
fruits  were  of  the  highest  class.  An  idea  can  be  formed  of  the  Pear 
culture  by  the  illustration  of  Pitmaston^Duchess  on  this  page,  which 
had  over^  300  fruits  on  it.  The  lower  part  of  the  tree  is  shaded  by 
a  shed.  This  tree  was  planted  some  fourteen  years  ago,  being  grafted 
on  the  Pear  stock,  and  for  four  or  five  years  it  grew  very  rapidly 
without  carrying  any  fruit  worth  mentioning ;  so  to  check  this, 
Mr.  Paxton  “  rung  ”  the  stem,  and  kept  the  shoots  well  pinched 
during  the  summer,  pruning  close  in.  Since  then  it  has  always  carried 
a  good  crop  on  a  south  wall,  where  it  is  planted. 
Pyramid  Pears  are  another  feature,  most  of  which  were  planted 
years  ago,  after  a  careful  selection  of  varieties  suitable  for  the 
district.  These  trees  are  pinched  twice  in  the  summer,  and  pruned 
close  in  at  pruning  time.  Any  that  make  luxuriant  growth  are 
root-pruned  in  October.  Amongst  pyramidally  trained  that  were 
carrying  heavy  crops,  I  noted  Beurrd  Diel,  Beurrd  Giffard, 
Brockworth  Park,  Clapp’s  Favourite,  Doyenne  Boussoch,  Duchesse 
d’Angouleme,  General  Todtleben,  and  Williams’  Bon  Chretien.  The 
best  espaliers  were  Williams’  Bon  Chretien,  Louise  Bonne  of  Jersey, 
Beurr<5  Diel,  and  Marie  Louise.  Apples  are  equally  as  well  grown 
1,8  Pears,  trained  as  bushes,  pyramids,  and  standards,  which  carried 
excellent  crops  of  fruit.  The  chief  varieties  I  noted  were  Alfriston, 
Blenheim  Orange,  Mere  de  Menage,  Peasgood’s  Nonesuch,  Cox’s 
Orange  Pippin,  very  fine;  Wellington,  and  Fearn’s  Pippin.  Most  of 
the  Plums  are  grown  on  a  wire  trellis,  facing  the  east,  the  following 
varieties  succeeding  well  at  Hitcham  Grange Coe’s  Golden  Drop, 
Green  Gage,  Jefferson's,  Kirke’s,  Pond’s  Seedling,  and  Victoria. 
There  is  also  a  large  Brown  Turkey  Fig  on  the  coach-hou^e  wall, 
covering  a  space  of  40  feet  long  by  20  feet  high,  and  as  many  as  a 
hundred  dozen  Figs  have  been  picked  off.  This  tree  carries  a  good 
crop  of  fruit  every  year.  It  is  planted  against  tli9  hard  drive,  no  soil 
whatever  being  near ;  but  on  the  other  side  of  the  wall  is  a  farmyard, 
to  which  the  roots  have  found  their  way,  and  to  this  is  accounted 
the  enormous  crop  produced  yearly.  Another  feature  is  a  large  bird- 
proof  square,  made  of  wire  netting.  In  this  is  found  all  kinds 
of  fruits,  with  Strawberries 
planted  among  them,  St. 
Joseph  producing  excellent 
fruit  late  in  October. 
The  glass  houses  are  not 
numerous,  but  suffice  to 
maintain  a  supply  of  fruit 
and  cut  flowers  through 
the  year.  In  the  vineries 
were  finely  finished  bunches 
of  well  known  varieties. 
Peaches  and  Nectarines  had 
all  been  gathered.  In  the 
plant  houses  were  well 
grown  plants,  flowering  and 
foliage,  for  decorating  pur¬ 
poses.  A  small  collection 
of  Orchids,  chiefly  Den- 
drobes  and  Cattleyas,  were 
looking  healthy.  There  are 
also  two  very  fine  specimens 
of  Eucharis  in  one  of  the 
houses.  The  principal  sup¬ 
ply  of  vegetables  are  grown 
in  the  field,  only  the  choice 
varieties  being  grown  at 
home.  Particularly  fine  was 
a  bed  of  Onions  of  a  variety 
which  is  a  cross  between 
Ailsa  Craig  and  Giant 
Rocca,  raised  by  Mr.  Paxton, 
which  he  considers  an  im¬ 
provement  on  Ailsa  Craig, 
a  better  keeper,  and  more 
hardy.  The  bulbs  are  rather 
flatter  than  Ailsa  Craig, 
some  of  which  measure 
17  inches  in  circumference. 
These  were  grown  from  seed 
sown  in  boxes  in  January 
and  pricked  out. 
The  kitchen  garden  in 
general  was  well  cropped 
with  vegetables,  of  which 
Peas  had  been  particularly 
good  during  the  summer. 
Mr.  Paxton  is  a  well  known 
exhibitor  at  the  local  shows, 
both  with  hardy  fruit  and 
vegetables,  and  is  fortunate 
in  having  a  liberal  and  encouraging  [master  in  the  Hon.  C.  S.  Irby. 
A  cricket  club  is  founded  on  the  estate  for  the  men  employed  in  the 
garden,  of  which  other  young  gardeners  living  near  the  estate  are 
allowed  to  become  members.  Many,  or  most  Saturday  afternoons, 
a  friendly  game  is  played  between  them  and  other  teams,  when, 
through  the  kindness  of  the  Hon.  and  Mrs.  Irby,  the  visiting  teams 
are  invited  to  refreshments. — J.  B.,  Bucks. 
Frnit  Growing  for  Exhibition. 
The  round  of  horticultural  shows  has  already  begun,  and  during 
the  next  four  months  both  town  and  country  life  will  be  enlivened  by 
the  innumerable  collections  of  garden  produce  brought  together  in 
various  parts  of  the  country.  The  great  influence  which  such 
exhibitions  have  in  fostering  a  love  of  the  “  most  ancient  of  all  arts,” 
and  in  setting  a  high  standard  of  merit,  is  indeed  incalculable,  for 
without  them  that  keen  interest  in  gardening,  which  is  still  a 
Webster,  Taplow. 
Pear  Pitmaston  Duchess. 
