490 THE GARDENER. [Nov. 



the finest varieties that compose this celebrated collection of Heaths 

 are seedlings of his own raising, all being the result of the most care- 

 ful and intelligent hybridising, curried on for half a century. These 

 grand seedlings are the very cream of hundreds of seedlings which 

 have been carefully proved, and none saved except such as were 

 decided improvements on their progenitors. Among them are crosses 

 of the third and forth generations of Mr Turnbull's own seedlings. 



It is about fifty years since Mr Turnbull began crossing and raising 

 seedlings, and one cannot form any conception of the slow patient 

 work which he has with such enthusiasm and intelligence carried on, 

 or can fully estimate the splendid results of such a labour. We do 

 not know in the annals of horticulture of a more meritorious achieve- 

 ment in connection with any family or genera of plants, and we 

 question if there be such an one ; for it must be admitted that few if 

 any genera of plants demand such patient work and skill to so vastly 

 improve them as do hard-wooded Heaths. These Bothwell Seedling 

 Heaths are truly splendid varieties. Who that has ever seen a healthy 

 well-bloomed plant of Marnockiana, to say nothing of others, needs to 

 be told this 1 The variety named is not equalled by any other for 

 beauty of colouring and freeness of flowering. Mr Turnbull had many 

 grand plants of it in bloom at the time of our visit, one specimen of 

 which we measured and found it to be 5 feet in diameter and 4 feet 

 high — a perfect sheet of bloom. We will just refer to a few of the 

 thirty-two seedlings retained in the collection. A plant of Turnbullii, 

 another splendid one, was 4 feet by 3 feet. Lady Mary Scott, a variety 

 of the Aitoniana strain, was nearly 3 feet by 2t> feet, covered with a 

 sheet of its pure white blossoms, the tubes of which were 1^ inch long, 

 and the corolla fully an inch in diameter. This is a grand Heath. 

 Then there are large plants of Turnbullii superba ; Austiniana, a well- 

 known and splendid Heath ; Douglasii ; Aitoniana Turnbullii ; Lord 

 Douglas ; Lady Home, a most superb variety, the result of a cross of 

 Turnbullii with Marnockiana, which cross could scarcely result in any- 

 thing else than a superb progeny. One plant of her Ladyship we 

 measured, and found it 3 feet by 3 feet. A very distinct and promis- 

 ing variety, as yet unnamed, raised by crossing Eassoniana with Lin- 

 naeoides, has a most brilliant tube an inch long, with a pure white 

 corolla. This is one of the few rather soft-wooded varieties Mr Turn- 

 bull has selected, — indeed, to the best of our recollection, the only one ; 

 and as it was just coming into bloom about the middle of September, 

 it will on that account, as well as from its real beauty, become a most 

 useful late autumn Heath. It is of a free yet sturdy habit of growth. 

 Not to refer further to Jacksonii, simulata, and others, suffice it to say 

 that the whole batch are of the very highest order of merit. 



Surely if any kind of labour connected with horticulture deserves 

 public recognition and the highest horticultural, honours, it is such 

 work as we have briefly referred to in connection with the Heaths at 



