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circumference of which is 34 ft., and the height 6 ft., with 1520 heads of flowers now expanded. However, I shall treat on all these noble specimens when I come to them.

When you were here, the two above-mentioned conservatories were filled with pelargoniums, fuchsias, balsams, globe amaranthus, Prímula sinénsis, Achimènes coccínea, and cockscombs of fourteen different varieties. All these plants are grown with charcoal mixed in the earth, or are drained with it, and every plant is fond of it. The houses are each of them about 40 ft. long, 18 ft. high, and 18 ft. wide. They are both of them now furnished with a row of large orange trees, banksias, many varieties of acacias, including large plants of A. alata, armàta, Brównii, longifòlia, pulchella màjor, lophantha, díscolor, myrtifòlia, affìnis, &c. Likewise large plants of

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A large plant of Aloe arborescens. A pair of large American aloes in each house, and many others. Likewise many old and valuable Cape plants, and many that have been raised from foreign seeds; a large collection of fuchsias, cinerarias, and other plants too numerous to dwell upon at this moment.

I will now give you some account of the Orchideous and Stove House, which is a fine large one, but crowded with plants to overflowing. The Portland stone platform up the centre is so crowded and full, that there is hardly room for the plants to breathe. The Portland stone shelf all round the house is 2 ft. wide, and the plants are growing almost on the top of each other. The rafters are completely loaded with blocks and baskets of all sizes, covered with that beautiful and interesting tribe of plants, Orchidaceae; but, in my simple judgement, it does not require a quarter of the care and attention to cultivate the orchideous plants that many persons use. I have not yet, it is true, had them all drained and potted with charcoal, but those I

have done so by are in the most vigorous and healthy state, so that, as opportunities offer, I shall use charcoal with all of them, for I am convinced it has a very beneficial effect upon them; and you will remember I pointed out many plants to you here, that you might take the opportunity of observing them, and seeing the effect it had on them, which is truly astonishing. I will now give you a few of the names of the plants in this house :

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begun in the potting-shed, and the plants are afterwards nursed in the propagating house. I sow and strike, in a great measure, every thing of consequence with some charcoal amongst the earth; some plants are struck wholly in charcoal, and I sow seeds in the same way.

Bicton Gardens, Oct. 8. 1842.

ART. IV. Report on rare or select Articles in certain British Nurseries and private Gardens. Drawn up from personal inspection, or from communications received. By the CONDUCTOR.

BEING desirous of producing an Annual Report on the accessions of trees and shrubs made to the British arboretum, we advertised on the wrapper of the Gardener's Magazine, and in the Gardening Newspapers, in November last, inviting nurserymen, curators of botanic gardens, and gardeners having the care of private collections, to send us notices of what they had new, rare, or remarkable. We received a number of letters, which, with notes taken by ourselves in Somersetshire, Devonshire, Hertfordshire, &c., we have incorporated into the present paper. Our readers will find some things new, or that appear to be so, and a number of articles of comparative rarity, or otherwise of interest. To determine what is really new, we ought either to see plants during the summer, or receive specimens of them in autumn, which we trust we shall do next autumn; or, what would be best of all, every person thinking he has any new tree or shrub ought to send a plant to the Horticultural Society's Garden, where it will be compared with what is already there, and its merits reported on. In the meantime, the Report now submitted to our readers will, we trust, be of use both to collectors and nurserymen, and encourage both to be more copious in their communications in September next, for the Report which we intend to draw up for

1843.

There are those, and we are among the number, who dislike excessively the addition of trifling varieties to trees and shrubs, or other plants. Nurserymen are much too prone to introduce such varieties, and we object to them, not only on account of their insignificance, but also because they tend to draw the attention away from new species. How easy would it be to introduce hundreds of varieties of the common oak, Turkey oak, holm oak, or common thorn! At the same time we acknowledge that almost all the most valuable culinary and agricultural plants, and most of the finest flowers, are varieties of the species to which they belong; and that truly distinct varie

ties are just as desirable as, or even more so than, new species. Hence the great number of names which we have admitted in this Report of which we know nothing.

CORNWALL.

Malvacea.-Plagianthus Lampènii B. Booth. Botanical Reg. for 1838. No. 2032.; Arb. Brit. vol. i. p. 363. fig. 89. (here repeated); and Gard. Mag. for 1839, p. 275.

Carclew, the Seat of Sir Charles Lemon, Bart. - With the permission of Sir Charles Lemon, Bart., I forward to you the accompanying specimens of Plagianthus Lampèni, an interesting shrub from Van Diemen's Land, which, in my opinion, deserves to be better known. It was described some years ago in the Botanical Register, from specimens communicated to me by the Rev. Robert Lampen, vicar of Probus, near Truro, and is noticed in the Gardener's Magazine, vol. xiv. p. 275. It was at first considered to be the same as Sida pulchella of Bonpland; but, although greatly resembling that plant, it is unquestionably very distinct, as may be seen by comparing the specimens now sent, with the figure of the Sida pulchella in Loddiges's Botanical Cabinet, t. 1841. figure above given, from the Arboretum Britannicum, is from a drawing by Mr. F. Rauch, from a specimen taken from a plant at Spring Grove; and it so closely resembles the specimens sent us by Mr. Booth, as to leave no doubt of the identity of the species.] You have not mentioned it in the abridged edition Fig. 1. Sida pulchella Bonpl. of your Arboretum Britannicum, on account, I suppose, of its being considered not sufficiently hardy for an English climate. In Cornwall, however, it thrives beautifully in the open border. There are plants of it here from 6 to 8 ft. high, nearly evergreen, and at this season covered with flowers, which renders it a desirable plant for the shrubbery, or for training against a conservative wall in those places which have not the advantages of a Cornish climate. Carclew, Dec. 4. 1842.

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W. B. Booth.

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DEVONSHIRE.

Exeter Nursery; Lucombe, Pince, and Co. We looked into this nursery twice in the course of September, 1842, and were much delighted with it. The entrance is commanding from the disposition and substantial appearance of the buildings, the gates, and the plant-houses, as seen from the road. We shall first notice the plant-houses, next the collection of specimens of rare hardy trees and shrubs, and the arboretum, and lastly the general nursery

stock.

The Camellia-house we have noticed in our Volume for 1842, p. 652., as the finest thing of the kind we have ever seen. Though it has only been planted four years, many of the camellias are now from 12 ft. to 16 ft. high.

The Stove, which is a span-roofed house, contains many rare and valuable plants, among which we observed Nepenthes distillatòria running at least 30 ft. along the rafters, with pitchers of extraordinary size; and Cephalotus folliculàris, a very rare plant, in vigorous health.

seen, and certainly in point of keeping it cannot be surpassed. We have not, however, seen the nurseries of Mr. Skirving of Liverpool, or Messrs. Dickson of Chester, for the last ten years; and they may probably be, as indeed we have heard that they are, laid out with as much care as the Mount Radford nursery. The latter has the great advantage of being all laid out at once, unfettered by existing objects, or by being leasehold. We have heard that this was also the case with the ground lately taken possession of by Messrs. Dickson of Chester.

The dwelling-house of Mr. Veitch, sen., is one of the most remarkable features in the Mount Radford Nursery, and, in our opinion, does Mr. Veitch very great credit. It is not every one who makes a fortune by business that possesses the much higher quality, after having made a fortune, of living like a gentleman. We could mention several nurserymen, now no more, who had made perhaps larger fortunes than Mr. Veitch, but who, after having done so, had not the art of elegantly enjoying them. Mr. Veitch's house is in the Elizabethan style, elegant in design externally, and replete with every comfort and luxury within that any reasonable man could desire. It is surrounded by a portion of lawn laid out somewhat in the Elizabethan manner, but in which that style is not so fully developed as it is in the house.

From Messrs. Veitch's nursery are known to have been figured a number of rare plants, including Echites spléndens, E. atropurpurea, Rondelètia longiflora, Lechenaúltia bíloba, Gésnera zebrina, Manéttia bícolor, Begònia coccínea, and, in the very last published periodicals, Tropæ`olum azùreum, the beautiful blue nasturtium, so long a desideratum. They have a collector in South America, who has lately sent them some bushels of seeds of Araucària imbricata, from which they have already raised thousands of plants, so that this fine tree will soon be as common as the cedar of Lebanon. As Messrs. Veitch and Son have at present the care of the arboretum at Bicton, and are rendering it as complete as possible, by collecting hardy trees and shrubs from every part of England and from the Continent, they will be able to form a very complete arboretum in their own nursery; and we trust they will do so.

The general Nursery Stock of Messrs. Veitch and Son includes many thousands of admirably grown young forest trees, innumerable ornamental trees and shrubs in pots, fruit trees of every description, trained trees, an extensive collection, pines, and even pine-apples. In a word, nothing that can be expected from a nursery is wanting in this establishment. No man in the profession of gardener or nurseryman was more respected than the late Mr. John Veitch, who founded this family and nursery ; and his descendants show themselves worthy of such a parent.

Summerland and City Nursery, Exeter; C. Sclater and Son. Sept. 30. 1842.The grounds are of considerable extent, and remarkably well, as it appeared to us, furnished with fruit trees. Mr. Sclater, jun., informed us that they have a very extensive collection of hardy fruits, with specimen plants of each kind bordering the walks. They have a new kind of grape from America, producing a very fine fruit with peculiarly agreeable flavour, and a most powerful perfume. They have some superb kinds of raspberries, and a great many articles from America, received through the kindness of Major Knox of Lindridge. Among these is a potato which may be said to produce two crops a year, as, when the first-formed tubers are taken away early in summer, a second set is produced late in autumn. This, however, is an old practice, both in Scotland and Lancashire. This potato is so prolific that Mr. Sclater thinks it will produce 3 cwt. per square yard, which is 33 tons per acre! Among the hardy trees and shrubs we noticed various good articles: Mahònia Aquifolium, with extraordinary large foliage and fruit; Andrómeda floribúnda, large specimens ; large plants of Arbutus procèra, A. Andráchne, A. tomentòsa, &c., new unnamed kind from America; Gleditschia hórrida 15 ft. high, and 3 ft. in circumference, a very singular object, from the number and large

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