220 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 13, 18G6. 



know that the poet was the son of a gardener, and I wished as 

 I looked upon the cottage where he was born, that it had the 

 seven acres still preserved to it, and that Ayrshire Roses had 

 been around it instead of the insignia of a beer-honse, to which 

 it is degraded. It is now about to be sold. Will the Scottish 

 community subscribe to purchase and preserve it as a national 

 property, as has been done in England for Shakespere's house ? 



Burns was not only the son of a gardener, but himself de- 

 lighted in the cultivation ef the soil. Allan Cunningham says 

 — " Burns delighted in feats of rural activity and skill ; he 

 loved to draw the straightest furrow on his fields ; to sow the 

 largest quantity of seed corn of any farmer in the Dale in a 

 day; mow the most Rye Grass and Clover in ten hours of 

 exertion ; and stook to the greatest number of reapers. In this 

 he sometimes met with his match. After a hard strife on the 

 harvest field with a fellow husbandman, in which the poet was 

 equalled, 'Robert,' said his rival, ' I'm no sae far behind this 

 time, I'm thinking.' ' John,' replied Burns in a whisper, 

 ' you're behind in something yet : I made a song while I was 

 stooking ! ' I have heard my father say that Burns had the 

 handsomest cast of the hand in sowing corn he ever saw on a 

 furrowed field." 



It is reasonable to expect as gardeners are one of the three 

 staple exports of Scotland, that there the regime of the craft 

 should be more politic than in England. One evidence of this 

 is the existence of many Gardeners' Friendly Societies. The 

 proceedings of one of them was thus noticed in the Glasgow 

 Herald, of August 1-lth : — 



"Free Gardeners' Procession. — The annual procession of 

 the Baillieston Adelphi Lodge of Free Gardeners took place on 

 Friday last. The brethren having met at two o'clock in the 

 Lodge-room, formed themselves into marching order, and, 

 headed by the Drumpeller band, they promenaded the principal 

 streets of the village : and thereafter, by the liberality of 

 Messrs. John Maxwell, of Baillieston, and Charles Robertson, 

 of Bredisholm, they proceeded through the beautiful grounds 

 of these gentlemen respectively. There was a splendid turn- 

 out of the craft, and the jiroceedings were brought to a closa 

 by a supper and ball in the Academy in the evening. The 

 brethren were highly delighted with the day's proceedings. 

 The Thistle Lodge, Coatbridge, was well represented on the 

 occasion." — G. 



MITCHELLS XUKSERLES. PILTDCAYX. 

 MAKESFIELD. 



The distinction Mr. Mitchell has acquired as a successful 

 grower and exhibitor of Roses is sufficient reason for intro- 

 ducing a notice of his nurseries here, and for assuring the 

 reader that a visit to Piltdown during the Rose season is es- 

 pecially interesting, and not to the rosarian alone, but to all who 

 love and admire horticulture and feel an interest in seeing any 

 of the great repositories :.f the beautiful plants with which the 

 garden can now be adorned. Although it is with the Rose that 

 Mr. Mitchell's name i- most familiarly associated in the minds 

 of the multitudes of admiring spectators who attend the 

 Crystal Palace, the metropolitan, and the local flower shows of 

 Sussex, Surrey, and Kent, it is by no means the only speciality 

 of his well-managed grounds. 



The route to Piltdown by railway from Redhill is at present 

 somewhat circuitous, it being necessary to go first to Lewes, 

 and from thence to Uckfield ; but it runs through so fine a dis- 

 trict, that with the bright sunshine falling upon the charming 

 woodlands and golden harvest fields, as it did on the morning 

 of my trip, I could not regret the journey required half an hour 

 more for its accomplishment than it would otherwise have 

 done if the route had been more direct. When the railway 

 system now in the course of construction shall have been com- 

 pleted, Piltdown will have the advantage of more direct com- 

 munication with the metropolis. 



On quitting the railway station, from which Piltdown is 

 distant about two miles, the visitor passes through the rural 

 but modern-built village of Uckfield, and if he (or she) prefer 

 walking — decidedly the best plan — the pathway leading through 

 the fields will amply repay the trouble ; for a more quiet, and 

 at the same more diversified route can scarcely be desired. 

 Arable fields, meadows, pastures, and woodlands in which the 

 glorious old British Oak predominates, succeed each other in 

 gentle slopes or level ground ; and if the visitor has a know- 

 ledge of native plants, many an interesting specimen or wild 

 flower — some familiar favourites met with everywhere, others 



less so — will occur to him by the wayside. On reaching 

 Piltdown the view of the South Downs gives a grand outline to 

 the landscape, and the free fresh air and rich soil will at once 

 convince him that he has arrived at a spot where horticulture 

 should be, and is, practised with skill and success. 



On arriving at the nurseries, I, and a friend who accom- 

 panied me, were fortunate in finding Mr. Mitchell in the 

 grounds, who received us with genuine courtesy and hearty- 

 welcome. The nurseries are about 40 acres in extent ; although 

 some portions are level, on the whole they incline gently to- 

 wards the south and south-east ; they are situated on both 

 sides of the road passing over the downs from Uckfield. The 

 soil is a good loam, hence very suitable for the production of 

 those grand flowers so justly admired at the Crystal Palace and 

 National Rose Shows, and elsewhere. 



In front of the dwelling-house are large beds of gay flowers, 

 chiefly the well-known Calceolaria Aurea floribunda, which grows 

 here remarkably well, and some pretty bedding Pelargoniums, 

 several of which are seedlings of Mr. Mitchell's own raising. 

 The beds are large, and as formality is not sought for, a plant 

 is used as an edging, which is not often seen applied to that pur- 

 pose, but for which it is well adapted, this is the Carpet Juniper 

 (Juniperus prostrata or repens). Where the bedding system is 

 extensively carried out, this Juniper might be used with ad- 

 vantage for a permanent edging where Box would be too 

 formal, or next to a gravel road, as it can easily be kept within 

 bounds. I have seen Cotoneaster microphylla similarly used, 

 and with good effect ; the Juniper is the more cheerful-looking 

 of the two at this time of the year. 



Within the entrance gate just below these beds, and on each 

 side of the gravel paths leading to the house and to the various 

 quarters, are many valuable specimens of the most esteemed 

 Conifers and evergreen shrubs. Among them are Thuja gigautea, 

 Cuprcssus Lawsoniana, Pinus insignis, P. muricata, Welling- 

 tonia gigantea, most of them from 10 to 15 feet high ; also, some 

 thriving plants of the recently-introduced Picea (Abies) Lowii, 

 a very promising addition to this class of trees. Continuing 

 onwards we pass down a broad gravel central walk edged with 

 Box. The arrangement of plants on both sides of this walk is 

 excellent ; inside the Box a row of scarlet Pelargoniums planted 

 alternately with Calceolaria Aurea floribunda, next a row of 

 compact-growing Conifers, in fine condition, chiefly Thuja 

 aurea and Juniperus ericoides, relieved at intervals by the 

 pretty Veronica Andersonii, and Hydrangeas in full bloom. 

 H. japonica is blue, and true to colour, while H. hortensis 

 is pink. Attention has been recently called to these fine garden 

 shrubs in an excellent article from the pen of one of the most 

 practical contributors to the Journal, in which the writer has 

 justly pointed out their good qualities. Besides these are now 

 and then the variegated Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), and 

 Fabiana imbricata, a pretty shrub, and the complaints which 

 have been made against it would be obviate by a little judicious 

 pruning. The contrast of foliage and habit in the Thuja 

 aurea and Juniperus ericoides is very pleasing, and in con- 

 junction with the above-named shrubs planted in quantity, 

 forms one of those remarkable combinations which can only be 

 seen in large nurseries. Behind these are other Conifers taller 

 and larger than those in the front row, also relieved at intervals 

 by evergreen and deciduous shrubs. These were chiefly Thu- 

 jopsis borealis, Juniperus chinensis, Cupressus Lawsoniana, 

 I Picea (Abies) Nordmanniana, P. pinsapo, P. cephalonica, 

 Cedrus deodara, Cryptomeria japonica, with Arbutus of various 

 kinds, Deutzia scabra, Spiraea Lindleyana, &c. In this row 

 Abies Brunoniana is very attractive from its distinct habit and 

 foliage, and deserving of especial notice, being well suited for 

 single specimens either for lawns or parks. All the Conifers 

 above noticed are well grown and in perfect shape, and must 

 prove verv desirable for purchasers who require immediate 

 effect ; indeed, the whole stock of them, which is very extensive, 

 and occupying altogether in the various quarters several acres, 

 is uniformly good. The pure bracing air of Piltdown is so 

 highly conducive to the growth of Conifera, that among those 

 to be presently noticed are some of the finest specimens known 

 in England. 



After inspecting these we turn to the right into the different 

 quarters assigned to the various kinds of nursery stock. The 

 means adopted for the protection of these quarters is one of the 

 most conspicuous features of the nursery, and which the strong 

 winds oeeasionallv blowing across the Channel from the south- 

 west render necessarv. The quarters are fenced in by hedges 

 from 10 to 15 feet high, formed of Laurel, Holly, Yew, and the 

 American Arbor Tits, and notwithstanding the great extent of 



