OCTOBER. 305 



these things. A large collection of choice shrubs, &c., is to be found here. 

 — A liurried trip through the leading nurseries in Scotland showed us 

 Dahlias in rather better condition than the plants in the south of 

 England. The plants were vigorous and forward, and seem to have 

 suffered less from fly and cold winds ; still the culture in many places 

 was not so good as we could wish. In the cases we allude to, greater 

 room is required, more attention to tying out, thinning, and mulching, 

 as well as stfading. It is quite impossible to see the Dahlia in proper 

 character unless these matters are attended to. 

 Botanic Garden. 



Returning from Messrs. James Dickson's nursery, towards Edinburgh, 

 we reach the Botanic Garden, so well known as the field of the late 

 jMr. Macnab's successful experiments in plant culture, and now under 

 the superintendence of his son, JMr. James Macnab. A large collection 

 of plants, ornamental and useful, is cultivated in the various houses 

 belonging to the establishment; these are all in excellent condition, 

 and comprise many rare and valuable kinds. The select collection 

 of Palms, &c., includes some of the finest specimens in Britain ; at 

 present they are much cramped for room, but as the Commissioners of 

 Public Works have obtained a grant for building a suitable erection for 

 them, we may expect, under ]Mr. IMacnab's able management, to see 

 full justice done this magnificent tribe when they get into their new 

 quarters, which, however, it will take some time to complete. 



In the grounds, which include a number of acres, are very complete 

 collections of hardy shrubs, herbaceous plants. Grasses, &c., botanically 

 arranged. The arrangement of the w^alks, however, does not seem the 

 best that might have been devised, being all of one width, and unne- 

 cessarily turned and twisted about without producing anything like effect ; 

 nor yet is the way in which the plants are labelled at all satisfactory 

 for a botanic garden, as fuller information of every plant, in bold legible 

 characters, appears to us to be wanting. We saw another practice 

 which, we think, subversive of good taste, — that of cutting in, with the 

 shears or knife, the shrubs planted in front of the range of houses and 

 other part of the grounds. If they are getting too large for the space 

 they occupy, by all means remove some of them ; but to cut into round 

 lumpish figures fine specimens of evergreens, which is here done gene- 

 rally as a practice, not only entirely destroys all the characteristics 

 of the plants themselves, so essential in a botanical point of view, but is a 

 piece of bad taste which has not a single feature to recommend it. The 

 IMuseum, although only recently established, bids fair to become one of 

 the most interesting features of the place, and is in every respect worthy 

 of the establishment. We next come to the 



Experimental Garden. 

 This, which is now under the management of Mr. Evans, appears to be 

 a most useful establishment. We found everything in the best of order, 

 and as it combines the useful with the ornamental, it is not only a good 

 school for the " practical," but the " theorist" and men of taste will find 

 very much here to admire ; an air of neatness and good management 

 pervades the whole place. The clumps of bedding plants at each end 



NEW SERIES, VOL. IV. NO. XLVI. X 



