1884.] INVERNESS NUBSERIES. 293 



positive condition of wliich, as sucIj, results are predicable. We 

 would, therefore, respectfully ask the individuals referred to to expose 

 their persons to the night when Fahrenheit's thermometer stands at 

 twenty or thirty degrees below zero, and to state to us next morning 

 how they and their argvmentuvi rednctioad ahsnrdimi are reconciled 

 to the results of negative laws. We may therefore be permitted to 

 entertain what at all times we have the strongest right to entertain, 

 namely, the fact that the loveliest forms in nature are the results of a 

 skilful blend of negative and of positive physical laws. 



James Gordon. 



INVEBNESS NURSERIES. 



,HE first nursery established in the North for the systematic 

 production of forest trees was at Muirtown, and was carried 

 on by two brothers of the name of Fraser. This was 

 about 65 years ago. They were succeeded by the Dicksons (James 

 and George), who took a lease of suitable ground at Millburn, and 

 carried on a large business successfully for a considerable period. 

 About half a century ago, at the time when the demand for forest 

 trees was just beginning to make itself felt in the North, Mr. Charles 

 Lawson, late Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and nurseryman and 

 seedsman to the Highland and Agricultural Society, re-established 

 the nursery business at Muirtown, where it is still carried on. He 

 was succeeded by the Messrs. Howden Brothers. Under them, 

 and subsequently under Messrs. Howden & Company, the business 

 was extended, as increased facilities for the transmission of trees 

 were established. Messrs. Howden & Company now hold about 30 

 acres of the best land in Sir Alexander Matheson's Inverness 

 property, and this extent is yearly being found more and more in- 

 sufficient for the requirements of the trade. 



This plant-growing establishment is very well known, not only 

 in the North, but also throughout the United Kingdom, and an 

 hour or two may be well spent in it. The grounds are laid off and 

 kept in a style which would do credit to any gentleman's garden. 



While large spaces are devoted to the successful cultivation of 

 hardwood and fruit trees, roses, and hardy flowering plants, the 

 bulk of the ground is necessarily occupied by endless thousands 

 of young trees of all ages for forest planting. To give some idea 

 of the numbers of these produced annually, it is computed that of 

 Scotch Fir and Larch alone, one and two years old seedlings, there 

 are not less than 8,000,000 to 10,000,000; this does not include 

 about 3,000,000 more which have been transplanted from one to 

 three vears, and are now ready to be sent out. These figures 



