258 



The Horticulturist and Journal 



This pestilent fungi had in some instances 

 almost entirely defoliated rai'e specimens. 



We now approach the Abies or Spruce 

 family proper, and I could not express the 

 feeling of sadness that crossed my mind as I 

 viewed the specimens of our well known ever- 

 greens. The Norway Spruce and common 

 Hemlock, two of the most valuable trees in 

 American gardens, are here almost worthless. 

 Why it is so, I leave others to conjecture, 

 but the fact is beyond dispute — they are not 

 worth ground-room in Scotland. The collec- 

 tion of dwarf as well as of grotesque forms of 

 the A. excelsa is excellent, but as they in- 

 crease in size, the disease peculiar to the 

 parent may destroy the beauty of these as 

 well. 



We noticed three large trees belonging to 

 the hemlock section of the spruces, labelled 

 respectively A. tnerlensiaua, A. albertiaiia, 

 and A. bridgesii which appear precisely alike, 

 and are so considered by Mr. McNabb. 

 A. Hookeriana and A. Fattoyiiana are dis- 

 similar in appearance, and may prove to be 

 merely forms of the same species, as the 

 cones are almost undistinguishable in the 

 collection at this place : they are, however, 

 charming trees for this climate. The crown- 

 ing feature of this whole collection in my 

 opinion is the superb group of Firs. Here 

 may be seen all the rare species in cultivation, 

 introduced not only from our Pacific coast, 

 but from the Crimea and elsewhere. Fine 

 old specimens of Abies gra}idis, A. Nordman- 

 niana, A. nobilis, A. Cephalonica, A. pin- 

 sapo, were in robust health, and the numerous 

 forms of our well marked conifers were ex- 

 ceedingly attractive. Our attention was 

 especially directed to a variety of the 

 A. grandis, marked A. lowii, which combined 

 more excellencies of an ornamental tree, than 

 any of the other forms in the group. Abies 

 Douglasii was ably represented in an old 

 specimen some fifty feet high. I was very 

 much pleased with a large group of the Law- 

 son's Cypress, in which were shown over forty 

 distinct forms of this remarkably variable 

 tree. Opposite this as a companion picture, 

 was a l^'i'ge bed of Yews, where the curious. 



and in many instances beautiful, forms were 

 almost endless in number. Of the variegated 

 varieties, I was most pleased with the 

 " Washington " Yew, a rich golden tinted 

 form ah'eady introduced into American collec- 

 tions. The practice of grafting a golden top 

 on the Irish Yew, is certainly more curious 

 than elegant, and I decidedly prefer seeing a 

 tall pyramid of yellow foliage from the ground 

 to the summit. 



A large bed of the Deodar Cedar, to repre- 

 sent the many systems of pruning, was quite 

 interesting, from the fact that I saw here for 

 the first time the thickening-up process 

 carried out perfectly : whilst some plants 

 were made into weepers, others again trained 

 into erect dense columns, and still others into 

 compact spherical bushes. 



The Cedrus Argentea is one of the most 

 valuable trees the Scotch can employ, whilst 

 on the other hand, its near relative the Cedar 

 of Lebanon is comparatively worthless in these 

 grounds, and yet I saw as perfect specimens 

 of the latter at the Mertown Gardens, near 

 Melrose Abbey, as I have ever seen elsewhere. 

 I cannot say much in praise of the American 

 Arbor Vitae and its numerous varieties as 

 seen at this place, but the Thuja gigantea 

 from the Northwest coast of America thrives 

 with astonishing vigor. The Biota or family 

 of Chinese Arbor Vitaes seem to succeed 

 much better, and I wish to particulai'ize as 

 especially fine Rollinson's degantit^sima. 

 This really golden gem succeeds so well in 

 America, that I think every well-kept place 

 should possess at least one specimen. In the 

 newer Japanese Retinospora genus, the Scotch 

 are decidedly behind us, not only in fine 

 plants, but in the number of varieties. I 

 suppose that Mr. Hunnewell, near Boston, 

 owns more fine specimens than all the col- 

 lectors of Scotland together. 



The beautiful plants of Araucaria to be 

 seen here, however, fully compensate for many 

 deficiencies in other genera, for they stand 

 like living masses of green coral on every 

 hand. The Junipers are not unusually fine, 

 in fact rather below the average of common 

 collections — something in the soil appears to 



