1873.] NOTABLE PLACES. 521 



the extreme antiquity of the building. The great hall in the castle hears the 

 date of 1621, and is a magnificent apartment, with arched ceiling, and con- 

 tains some exquisitely- carved furniture, and portraits of Charles II. and James 

 VII., &c. ; also those of Graham of Claverhouse and the Duke of Lauderdale. 

 A stair of 143 steps leads to the top of the castle, from which the views are 

 both extensive and varied. Looking westward, at a great distance is seen the 

 beautiful and conical form of Schiehallion (3547 feet high), a mountain which 

 is said to have afforded refuge to King Hobert the Bruce after the battle of 

 Methven ; to the north the eye takes in the whole range of the Grampian 

 Mountains, and on their southern slope are seen the thriving towns of Blair- 

 gowrie, Alyth, and Kirriemuir, Mount Blair, and the beautiful Craigs of Clova ; 

 to the east again is seen, about six miles distant, the county town of For- 

 far ; and direct south, about one mile distant, stands the village of Glamis, 

 before the manse door of which there is a large obelisk called King Malcolm's 

 gravestone, and tradition has it that he was buried here. At Glamis Castle 

 (a name known to all readers of 'Macbeth' ) there is a sun-dial of a very curious 

 character. Four carved stone lions stand on a base, each holding a dial as a 

 shield ; the names of the months and days are engraven below. Between and 

 above the lions, in a kind of pyramidal or obelisk arrangement, there are no 

 fewer than eight dial-faces cut diamondwise on the several blocks of stone. 

 Every one of these must have been the work of much calcidation, to see that 

 the markings bore a proper relation to the plane of the surface. Some among 

 them could have only shown a few of the hours just after sunrise or just before 

 sunset on and near the longest day. This dial is in a fine state of preservation, 

 and bears the date of 1621. The Earl of Strathmore is now looked upon as one of 

 our most ardent jaatrons of horticulture, and a visit to Glamis and its magnificent 

 gardens will be sufficient to convince the most fastidious. His lordship is also a 

 keen arboriculturist, and plants out annually by the hundred thousand. I may 

 mention that Lady Strathmore takes great interest in everything connected 

 with the schools and the education of the young on their vast estates. Lord 

 Strathmore is also a most considerate landlord. In the time of the rinderpest, 

 in no part of Scotland was the disease more prevalent than on his lordship's 

 estates in Forfarshire, and on rent-day he gave to each of his tenants equal to 

 the half of his loss, so that, in many cases, instead of receiving he gave away ; 

 and in appreciation of this kindness on the part of his lordship, his tenantry 

 presented him with a beautiful oil-painting of himself. But as this is more of 

 a horticultural holiday, after viewing the castle we trace our steps towards the 

 garden, which lies about a quarter of a mile to the north-east, and is approached 

 by a private walk, which runs in a straight line till a small stream is reached, 

 crossed by a neat wooden bridge, when the walk curves gently to the left. 

 Here the visitor enters the Pinetum, before describing which I may mention that 

 the park here is upwards of 1000 acres in extent, studded with many beauti- 

 fid trees of great size, especially oak and ash, many of the trunks being 3 feet 

 in diameter. 



The Pinetum is of considerable extent, and most of the kinds planted out 

 are in a healthy condition, although not of any great size as yet. Conspic- 

 uously among them I noticed Picea nobilis, Lobbii, Nordmanniana, and magni- 

 fica ; Abies Douglassii, Menziesii, Alberta, and Candidissima ; Pinus Austriaca 

 also seeming quite at home here. 



From the southern end of the Pinetum a fine view of the garden is to be had. 

 Following on the walk above mentioned through the Pinetum the river Dean 

 is crossed by a very handsome bridge, after crossing which the flower-gardens 



