The Garden.
ffiy, Ji^i Giaborir'Lftndsisape Gara&tiei?, ;
~ 1- Ji . : lIM , -, # _/*■ asr r\ *"■ r. - •-■•■*/■«■' The'Ntinleiie8 Cof'i^ic I'J'ohn H^e, "Waimea' ■. ,sK*w. ism.W&fon;; •^•;:^ M;;$: It^uif^^ears^ggsi^ceMr'&Kle o6m-!; menced, by the sweat of hia browi'tb toringl into cultivation the land,-he,! now possesses, and put jr it ship-shape form for the sale of 4 By,his perseverance he soon^became^ktib'w'fif ari'd-hft1 fruiFJrees met Ji realty raarlcet,.noii:only:in!iNelsonj;bI'ili in the jjjeighbouring Provinces..: Hia; .grounds he gradually ext^nde'd^fpr. the. production, of forest rtree'li and lorsaiiienW for pfit plants and flowers of all descriptions: flavingral ways"-any eye!,to; rarities,1 this;! stock specimens of..Conifer^ ~-stands unrivelled;: Variegated trees' of v Eetiniopera,, ..Yews^ Thujas!' expresses, K Thujbpsis',' &o.,,. we'japt onlySa''treat t6-100k ''■ at, -but'Hvould %rm Ja xnarkedrfeature of interest for -any botanical garden to posses, st1 Thousands of forest trees and ornaniental shrubs of all.desoriptions and sizes''; are »! lined ;- but;' ifr.' different,.. stages 'of growth; v7and' ' ready-"-fors'antiirp^i':)plan'iingi Bosea-pf all desewpjtions asStari'dktds.'Dwarfs, Azaleas and Ehododendrons, and variegated Hollies,' and many other choice nick-nacks are here in reserve that.would stock the whole of. th&'gatdebsWNerson'b.lbbei but' Kfr Hale, does.npttrust only to": the Nelson market fdr the consumption '.of ;his-pro^uce^by rail and steamboat f they'*are_conveyed,Ho .all.,,parts.. His family naving grown up and entered on business for therhselves, h'e'jresolvea to betake himself to a less'laborous niode of life in-the shape ply hot-iiouse work. .ySeveralj.,plant houses and pits are\jtn use. for: pot plautsi and for propagating younjg stock. 'Kecently three othercspan r roofed glass houses'have: been erected and filled with grapeaj which are in a beariog state, and the berries are on the turn. Some of the bunches he intends to cut this weei. V?ith the vines he has planted in pots i Tomatoes with- great success, 501b3 having been cut some/jweeks ago.. ■ What is more surprising is the way he manages them, although" ihey are in" pots on'the ground floor, the shodts at-the back of the vinery catch? on: to the wire of the rafters and run up a distance of: 42^1 aod'seem to be just, as likely' tp.run another 12ft if. not stopped, all loaded with heavy fruit.. This mode of inside cultivation seems the best" for checking the •worm,\for if cultivated out of doors-the half of; the ifruit would ;hav«J suffered. This he prevents by shutting offthe air early, and excluding the moth. Near, by is a recently erected Cucumber pit, heated with hot-water pipes.I''To see a vinlry loaded with large and healthy, bunches of. grapes it does the eyes good r tp behold ; but,to see a house of Cucumbers suspended from wires, of a straight form, and covered with a rich bloom similar to that of grape, reminding one of a Covent Garden fruit shop, the rich smell whichj they produce is magnificent. : This mode.of growth is just as much superior for their cultivation, as the hot-house grape is to thatgrbwn in the 'open ;air. The flavor is richer, the fruit is not curled, and lastly, they are evidently cleaner. . No,filth or manure ■water can ever reach.the fruit, if it be applied, as there!i3 no occasion to do so if the bed is made;properly-^thetwater goes to the; roots. SjriDging is of course necessary,. but clean tepid water is used. It may not be generally known, but nevertheless'it is a fact, that Mr Hale's brother was the first to grow Cucum bers'in a house, having got the idea from his father, who grew them to sticks as one would Tomatoes. Mr John Hale '29 years ago received a ' Gardeners':ChroDicle' from Home with anengraving of his brother's Cucumber houEe in full fruit; and an elaborate description of its appearance,, which at that time created quite, a. " furor V .among horticulturists. Now^'the .sjstem of Melon and Cucumber houses is''universal. Passing into a cool shady pit. we' find a .display of recently impprted double Petunias all named. Tarn 0' Stianter, and Highland Mary, being I think.almbs't perfection, in. color, shape and size. Near at hand is a bed of 12 sorts of choice named Verbenas recenily imported from Christchurchj the finest I have seen this loDg^time. The other beds of Phlox are not. good .in their Btrain, although'thev 'appear showy and attractive. He accounts for jtbis, j and truly,. that seeds saved'about Nelson degenerate in strain, that care"andVattention, in selecting" the best blooms is "npt'paid in their selection, to what they are done to at Home or on the Continent of Europe, where seed ; growers dp nothing else b^ji.mgk'e isolated patches, so as, to keep the strains" intact;' hence the superiority of the E'omij. Nelßon saved seeds. A Tomato house'isi'n'course of erection, being 16 feet wide byiGQ feet in length. Apropos of Grape and Tomato growing, in.,the islandof Guernsey it hag ' been termed the. island of _g:ass. Honse after houTe, vinery succeeding vinery, says the 'Chronicle '; it is. no exaggeration to say'literaljy.by the mile,' meet the eye in every' 'direction '"." In certain parts they seem to be attached to every dwelling, to form a part ofXvery building.. In some cases scores of large'touses covering "acres of. grpurid, in others a single house or two, tended' by the industrious laborer in his spare: hours, with the assistance of his wife and family. The
1 Chronicle.' attributes it to the growing popularity'of Tomatoes.. The two can be grown in one'house,and thus the culture is made1 profitable at lower prices than otherwise would- be case. .In one day 2000 baskets of T6,m'atdes left Guernsey by the, Southampton steamers..' "„','•" ■'■■■? . .'■■'.. : In the yearißßs, quoting from the?, official statement, submitted, to : the. Chamber of Commerce; there were no fewer than 60,000 packages of Grapes.exported, representing a total "weight of'soo. tons,,valued at £40,000, and of Tomatoes about a similar, quantity. The population of the island does not exceed 40,000, so that the value of the Gripes and Tomatoes alone (£80,000) is;equal to £2 per head of the entire population. Mr Bashford.! of Brook street, Nelson,,.bas a brother; in Jersey; who ..passesi a modern monster establishment near St. Heliers, where.there.are 33,000 square, feet of 'glass,, or 2£ miles ; of housesii. length..; The houses are all spanroc fad and of gigantic proportions, one being 480 ft long and 44ft wide, and another 890 ft long and 33ft wide, and so on. Of Tomatoes, Borne 22,000 plants1 were" planted out. One hjouee. contained 5,300 , plants, from which^if is "estimated to cut during"the season about 120 tons.' Up to the present time Mr Bashford has cut about 90 tons. The variety grown is a fcelection from Trophy—one fruit wighed 21bs loz. Of grape?, the variety chiefly grown t is Gros, Colmar, ;ahd of this . something like 20 tons. The sight in some of the houses, ,600 ft and, 800 ft long, is truly magnificent, the size .of both bunch and.berry and the quality being ail that could be desired,* These'will all be^marketed during the winter, and will realise high prices. .Apropos of this, Mr BSshford'tells .us how, being, once in Covenf Garden, and looking at Borne Gros Colmars, he remarked that "he; had some_ twicelhe size." '.'• If that be fo," said, the BaleEmari," rjl:gi?e you six shillings a pound for airyoti have got." " Hand me a form," quoth .;Mr Bashford, on which he wrote, " Send/Mr rr—^,six ton's.of Gros Colmars at once.'.^,. one of the;grandest Bights here, howeyer, must be the fruit room (when filled), containing ;. 10,000/ bunches of grapes in bottleail'., "^' j\",' v , ,' ; ' L ."■ :,;;.' ~.; . .-. ; : ■ ",,-., The .three," greatj maladies affecting the vine at jthe present^'moment in Australia and, New'"Zealancf,. ar,e — Mildew; ,Oidiurn, ; and Phylldxera. Mildew attacks and destroys the laivea; Oidium, the grape, by, enclosing it in; a tigfit Veb/and so preventing its expansion,; Phylloxera, aV'is. .well 'known in .Victoria, deetrbys" the. roots. The Oidium, which attack's' Ihe .leaf of the vine, extends.alsp/ to the bunch'feSjjof the frnit. ; It; id the same fungdß^and',opprates. simultaneously,on leaf; and iy&k,. apd^ bunch, of blossonii,for,oadium Bometimes^appears, thus early., Flowers, of BulptTur^s the employed,- and of this three areßsingß are givenfrom iptervals>f two or three^weeks f ,> ..'.^he..Jollowing. is a good recipe I^-Sulphate of copper. 25 partß. ;"lime, 40 parts rwater?'' 25 "gKlloriitunited'in; the! form .of a Wash1 in autiirnn! and spripp,{ using ;if : -necessary 'thei sulphur boxw^eainiuiljeaf.si.^j A ;,,,.;"- ; s, / -,- *The .right of re-publifhing these' Articles is reserved by.'MX Qrigoriosly vt '><m\*> ■•'■.•
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Bibliographic details
The Garden., Colonist, Volume XXX, Issue 4728, 29 January 1887
Word Count
1,351The Garden. Colonist, Volume XXX, Issue 4728, 29 January 1887
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