MoKTAL Combat betaveex a Fox and a Swan. — A sanguinary fight, writes 

 a Kent correspondent to tlie Aherdeen Free Press, took place recently, in tlie 

 early morning, on the borders of the ornamental water near Sherborne Castle. 

 A swan having gone walking over the grasp, picking up, as they do, whatever 

 may be about, was dropped on by a fox, who possibly thought it was a goose ; 

 and the marks on the grass for a considerable space showed that a very 

 determined fight had taken place, as both were found dead within five yards 

 of each other, the fox with his skull split open, and the swan torn about the 

 neck and back. The swan was alwut thirty years old. The fox was a young 

 one. 



Scottish Horticultural Association. — A monthly meeting of the Scottish 

 Horticultural Association was held on ■2nd October, at No. 5, St. Andrew 

 Square.Edinburgh ; Mr. Fraser, vice-president, in the chair. A paper was read 

 by Mr. Robert Lindsay on "Root Propagation," in which the writer gave it as 

 his opinion that there were many more plants than was generally supposed that 

 could be raised from root cuttmgs, and detailed the results of a series of 

 experiments he had made as to the plants that lent themselves to this method 

 of propagation, stating that it was only by trial that the feasibility of the 

 system could be proved in any particular case, as there was, so far as he could 

 see, nothing about the appearance of the roots to indicate whether or not they 

 would propagate. As an instance of what could be done by this method of 

 propagation, he mentioned that the Indian Government had been supplied with 

 the ipecacuan plant entirely from roots sent out to that country from the 

 Botanic Gardens and Messrs. Lawson's nurseries. In the course of some 

 discussion which followed the reading of the paper, Mr. Sadler submitted that 

 the subject was a most interesting one, and worthy of being fully inquired into , 

 and Mr. Grieve mentioned that his experience was that coniferous plants were 

 the only class that would not propagate from root cuttings. 



Beeches in Devonshire. — In the south of Devon the beech trees are loaded 

 down to the ground with nuts. I never saw such a bearing before. The 

 trees have an elegant appearance, and the squirrels have a fine time of itj for 

 not only the beech-nuts but the hazel-nuts are abundant ; but acorns are very 

 scarce. — Jou nal of Horticulture. 



Sale of a Perthshire Estate. — The estate of Ardargie, situated near Fort- 

 eviot on the banks of the river INIay, and extending to about 962 acres, of which 

 565 are arable, 17 policy grounds, 154 pasture, 207 woodland, and 19 houses 

 roads, &c., was disposed of recently by public auction in the rooms of Mr. Dowel 1, 

 George Street, Edinburgh. The reduced upset price of £30,510 was offered by 

 Mr. John Panton, writer, Blairgowrie, and the estate was sold to that gentle, 

 man for the sum named. Mr. Panton, it is understood, made the purchase on 

 behalf of a client. 



The sale of the estate of Greenlaw, in the parish of Crossmichael, Kirkcud- 

 rit^htshire, was adjourned, the reduced upset price of £60,000 not being ofiered 

 for it. 



