496 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  27,  1902. 
Killerton,  Devon. 
Twelve  Japs.,  distinct,  in  trebles. 
in  bewildering  succession,  each  one  contributing  a  surprise, 
sometimes  comical  and  sometimes  weird.  Mr.  Golby,  a  visitor, 
lent  some  chromophotographic  floral  slides,  made  by  himself,  on 
the  three-screen  system,  which  were  very  beautiful.  A  hearty 
vote  of  thanks  to  both  gentlemen  was  followed  by  a  discussion 
in  which  Mr.  Shea  took  part,  and  paid  a  well-merited  tribute  to 
the  great  ability  displayed  by  Mr.  Stevens,  though  he  con¬ 
sidered  that  colour  photography  on  the  screen  system  still  left 
too  much  to  individual  peculiarities  of  treatment  to  be  as  yet 
capable  of  producing  true  colours.  Mr.  Golby,  however,  dis¬ 
sented,  and  considered  that  scientific  handling  rendered  this 
possible. — C.  T.  D. 
Exeter  is  the  county  town  of  Devonshire,  and  Killerton, 
the  residence  of  Sir  T.  D.  Aeland,  Baronet,  and  Lady 
Acland,  is  a  few  miles  from  it.  Exeter,  the  town,  is 
beautifully  situated  on  variedly  undulating,  or  indeed 
billy  ground,  being  but  a  fac-simile  of  the  surface  contour 
through  the  wlfole  southern  districts  of  that  sunny  county, 
with  sylvan  brakes  and  virginal  meads.  The  “  City  of  the 
Waters  Exanceastre — as  the  Saxons  had  named  it, 
resisted  the  invasion  of  the  Norman  King  William  with 
unsurpassable  intrepidity,  and  the  siege  of  Exeter  is  one  of 
the  most  romantic  episodes  in  the  history  of  the  conquest 
of  England. 
One  may  be  permitted  a  further  digression  to  recall 
the  names  of  some  illustrious  sons  of  Exeter,  among  whom 
are  Sir  Thomas  Bodley,  a  sixteenth  century  worthy  who 
established  the  magnificent  Bodleian  Museum  at  Oxford  ; 
Sir  Vicary  Gibbs  (1750',  the  famous  lawyer;  William 
Gandy,  the  portrait  painter;  with  Cardinal  Langton,  Sir 
William  Petre,  and  others  of  lesser  fame. 
The  region  within  a  ten  miles’  circle  of  Exeter  is 
numerously  studded  with  townlets  and  villages,  one  of 
these  being  Broadclyst,  named  undoubtedly  from  the  river 
Clyst,  an  important  tributary  of  the  Exe.  Broadclyst  is 
the  post  tow'n  for  Killerton. 
Famous  for  its  trees,  Killerton  is  a  place  of  value  in 
the  eyes  of  the  man  with  a  note  book.”  Here  one  finds 
one  of  the  earliest  and  largest  of  the  Lucombe  Oaks, 
growing  outside  the  west  garden  wall.  Many  of  the  huge 
•gnarled  branches  have  grown  togethei,and  present  strange 
forms.  There  are  twro  forms  of  the  Lucombe  Oak,  one 
having  the  unmistakeable  Oak  bark  of  the  Quercus  Suber  and  leaves 
of  Q.  cerris ;  the  other  form  has  the  hard-ribbed  bark  of  the  common 
Oak.  The  tree  at  Killerton  is  assumed  by  some  to  have  been  worked 
on  the  common  Oak,  but  it  is  difficult  to  detect  the  line  of  union  of 
stock  and  scio«,  if  such  there  be. 
It  was  only  in  1765  that  William  Lucombe  raised  this  variety,  and 
now  the  tree  is  of  very  massive  proportions,  and  if  it  is  proved  to  be 
as  hardy  and  its  wood  as  durable  as  that  of  Quercus  pedunculata, 
there  is  every  reason  to  hope  that  it  may  be  very  largely  planted 
commercially.  Mr.  John  Coutts,  an  Old  Kewite,  who  has  had  charge 
of  these  gardens  for  two  years,  promises  to  send  me  the  girth  of  this 
original  Lucombe  Oak. 
Throughout  the  beautiful  grounds  surrounding  Killerton  House — 
which,  unfortunately,  lies  low — there  are  interesting  trees  in  abundance. 
The  Evergreen  Oaks  are  models  of  excellence,  magnificent  in  form  and 
size.  Tulip  Trees  (Liriodendron  tulipifera)  are  quite  common,  and  one, 
at  least,  is  said  to  contain  more  timber  than  any  other  of  its  kind  in 
England. 
Encompassing  the  private  chapel  in  the  grounds  are  double -lines 
forming  avenues  and  circular  rows  of  sentinel-like  Cupressus — 
C.  ereeta  viridis  and  C.  macrocarpa.  Each  is  a  replica  of  its  neigh¬ 
bour,  and  silently  they  hold  themselves,  as  if  the  spirits  of  the  air 
held  an  influence  over  them.  Near  at  hand,  but  away  from  the 
chapel,  stands  a  splendid  Abies  Menziesi,  a  mcdel  in  evenness  of 
Twelve  Japanese=irtcurved  Chrysanthemum j>. 
EXHIBITS  AT  SOUTHAMPTON  SHOW. 
The  illustrations  of  Chrysanthemums  on  these  two  pages  are 
from  photographs  taken  by  Mr.  E.  Rye  of  Southampton  at  the 
exhibition  held  there  on  November  4,  a  report  of  which  appeared 
'on  page  457  of  our  issue  for  November  13.  The  twelve  Japanese 
varieties,  distinct,  shown  in  trebles,  furnished  a  beautiful  dis¬ 
play.  We  illustrate  the  first  prize  collection,  which  was  staged 
by  Lady  L.  L.  Ashburton  (gardener,  Mr.  G.  Hall),  of 
Melchet  Court,  Romsey,  and  who  obtained  the  Victorian 
Challenge  Trophy  for  the  ensuing  twelve  months,  together 
with  the  society’s  medal.  As  may  be  seen  from  the  repro¬ 
duction,  the  Trophy  vase  is  a  work  of  art,  and  was,  we  are 
told,  the  object  of  much  admiration  during  the  time  of  the 
show.  The  twelve  Japanese-incurved  blooms  shown  at  the 
base  of  this  page  won  premier  honours  in  class  7  for  an 
amateur  cultivator,  Mr.  C.  Brown,  j un . .  Alma  Road,  South¬ 
ampton.  The  best  varieties  were  Ethel  Fitzroy,  W.-  R. 
Church,  Miss  Alice  Byron,  and  Princess  Henry.  [Mr. 
Brown  is  to  be  congratulated  on  the  splendid  specimens  he 
exhibited  and  the  remarkable  success  he  attained.  His 
entries  numbered  seven,  and  the  awards  were  six  firsts  and 
one  second.  Mr.  Brown  won  the  two  silver  medals  offered 
by  the  society  for  the  most  successful  exhibitor  in  classes  11 
to  15  and  16  to  19.  Mr.  Brown  tells  me  he  was  only  beaten 
in  one  class,  and  that  was  by  the  King,  and  he  says  he 
could  not  have  been  beaten  by  a  worthier  opponent. 
— E.  E.  Rye.] 
ihe  set  of  twelve  Japanese  Chrysanthemums  on  the 
opposite  page  were  staged  in  class  3.  from  Mrs.  Ogilvie 
(  gardener,  Mr.  J.  Davies).  Rosecroft,  Hambledon,  winning 
first,  and  included  Mrs.  G.  Mileham,  Sir  Herbert  Kitchener, 
Pride  of  Madford,  Madame  Gustave  Henri,  Lord  Salisbury, 
Edwin  Molyneux,  Madame  P.  Rivoire,  Mrs.  Coombes, 
Madame  Hoste,  Miss  Alice  Byron,  Mutual  Friend,  and 
Phoebus. 
Lastly,  there  are  the  six  specimen  Japs  shown  by  His 
Majesty  the  King  (gardener,  Mr.  G.  Nobbs),  Osborne  House, 
Isle  of  Wight,  in  class  10,  the  varieties  being  Charles  Davis 
ami  Australie — magnificent  specimens.  A  general  view  of 
the  fruit  section  will  be  given  later. 
