Jannary 14, 1875. ] 



JOUBNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GABDENBB. 



29 



Paxtoni, densiflorum, Cambriilgeaimm nnd formoBum, Antoe- 

 tochilua setacens, Vamla teres, Saccolabinm denticulatnm, 

 Camarotis puipmea, Cirlogyne Gardneriana, Ae. 



Mr. Gibson left Chatsworth in 1S49 to take the superin- 

 tendence of Victoria Park, and subsecxuently of Greenwich 

 Park, and when in 185S the planting of Battersea Park was 

 begun he was transferred to take the management and direc- 

 tion of a work with which by the admirable way in which it 

 was executed his name will always be associated. Battersea 

 Park is now beginning to dovelope its beauties, the planting 

 so skilfully managed is producing its effects, and becoming, as 

 every returning year rolls by, a more impressive monument of 

 him who executed it. It is to Mr. Gibson that, while at Bat- 

 tersea Park, subtropical gardening was carried out with such 

 successful results, and which has tended to alter and improve 

 the monotony which so long prevailed in our flower gardens 

 and dressed grounds. 



In 1871 Mr. Gibson accepted the appointment of Superin- 

 tendent of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, vacated by 

 the death of the late Mr. J. Mann. Some months ago he was 

 stricken with paralysis, which incapacitated him for his office, 

 which is now filled by his son ; and as a mark of sympathy 

 for him in his affliction, and a tribute to the estimation in 

 which he was held, a handsome testimonial in money was 

 presented to him by those who loved him as a friend and 

 admired him as a man. 



EXHIBITION AT ANTWEKP. 



There is to be a Jubilee Fete at Antwerp on the 4th, 5th, 6th, 

 and 7ch of April on the occasion of the 125 th Horticultural 

 Exhibition of the Koyal Horticultural and Agricultural So- 

 ciute of Antwerp. It is to consist of horticultural products 

 and objects of art, tools, and implements relating to horticul- 

 ture. The schedule is a liberal one, and the large prizes, 

 which range as high as £16, may be taken either in medals or 

 in money. 



THE LATE MR. C. NORVAL THOMPSON. 

 We have had numerous inquiries from readers of this Journal 

 to know if any steps are being taken to relieve the necessities of 

 the widow and orphans of the late Mr. Thompson. We are happy 

 to say that a movement is being organised and will speedily 

 be announced. We commend this case most heartily to the 

 charitable and benevolent, and trust that they will help in 

 their hour of need the bereaved family of one whose object in 

 life was to do his duty and to minister to the wants of others 

 according to his ability. The Editors of this Journal will be 

 happy to receive subscriptions iu the meantime, till an organi- 

 sation is formed; and let us remind our readers of the pro- 

 verb, " He gives twice who gives quickly." 



ARCHERFIELD.- 



THE SEAT OF THE RIGHT HON. R. 



-No. 2. 



A. NISBET H.VMILTON. 



DIBLETON GARDENS. 



Any notice of the gardens of Mr. Hamilton would be in- 

 complete without au allusion to the castle enclosure. Here 

 the archffiologist and horticulturist may revel ; the one in the 

 ruins of the massive pile, and the redections of the life, 

 habits, and turmoU of the remote past ; the other in the glow- 

 ing beauty of the modern flower garden, the conscious quiet 

 security, the peace and repose of the present. Such a place 

 as this is a standing, tangible, incontrovertible example of the 

 advancement of civilisation, the refinement of manners, the 

 improvement of habit, morals, law. It tells us as plain as 

 stones can speak that once might was the rule of right, and 

 force the soul of law ; and it tells us not less cU arly in the 

 pure soft breathings in which flowers ever appeal, that conflict 

 and turmoU have departed from the scene, and that order, 

 immunity from strife, intellectual pleasures, and an ennobled 

 taste reign in its stead. We may cherish the memory of the 

 prowess and deeds of daring of our forefathers, and linger 

 over their recital as "o'er a tale of love;" but let us not 

 regret they are alien to this age of ours, or repine that the 

 nation is less masculine than of yore, for such is but an empty 

 fear and groundless notion. Encroach but on our honour, 

 our liberty, or rights, and, in obedience to duty, the martial 

 spirit and latent courage of the race comes out anew, and is 

 still untarnished by an epoch of peace. But a greater triumph 

 than the combats of the past is the triumph of the present 



over the passions of men ; the physical has succumbed to the 

 intellectual, leaving, however, the physique unimpaired. That 

 is a triumph to be proud of. llow has it been won ? By 

 appeals to the higher faculties ; by education in its different 

 phases as religious, political, artistical. When will the unob- 

 trusive plodding brainworkers who are moulding the national 

 mind in all that makes a nation truly great and good, when 

 will they have a due meed of national honour and encourage- 

 ment ? We give to our men of war swords, and statues, and 

 medals, and none begrudges them their reward ; but when wUl 

 the pioneers of peace, of home comforts, and prosperity — the 

 tutors of a right-respecting, law-abiding people — when will 

 they have the same meed of correlative and commensurate 

 reward meted ? Well, the time is coming. Music and paint- 

 ing and the sister arts have honourable recognition in their 

 skilled representatives — even horseracing has royal patronage ; 

 but has not horticulture done, and is doing, something to ele- 

 vate the national taste '? Is not the practical skill that spreads 

 such a feast of pure enjoyment iu the public parks and gardens 

 of the land worthy of a tangible tribute of public appreciation ? 

 Ought not those who open the gates of their private homes to 

 recreate the masses — ought not they to have what they merit, 

 something more than a few casual words of approval ? Is it 

 too much to expect that those who spend their days and nights 

 of mental labour seeking to evolve that which will benefit their 

 fellows — nay, that which has benefited by the instrumentality 

 of garden literature, which has been so powerful, so potent, 

 so beneficent in its results — is it too much to expect that this 

 great educator will one day have some crumbs of recognition 

 which can well be spared from the tables heaped-up in honour 

 of the civilisation of the sword ? There is, however, the 

 reward of an appreciative people, and herein is the very proof 

 of the higher tastes, the improved sentiments, of the present 

 over the past. 



These thoughts had birth at Dirleton, and are such which 

 could hardly fail to occur to any reflective mind. There is the 

 past on one hand in the magnificent ruin, with the remains 

 still visible of its moated barrier and protective portcullis, its 

 ponderous masonry, outlooks, and dungeons — all savour of 

 war. There, on the other hand, is the present — the bright 

 smiling flowers, the luxuries of lawn and shade, free for the 

 enjoyment of hosts of admirers who flock to the feast of 

 nature and of art. Here, side by side, is the ancient and 

 modern, the memories of war and the fruits of peace. We 

 cannot see these without reflecting on the agencies producing 

 them, neither would we if we could. 



We may dwell for a moment on an outline history of this 

 grand old relic of feudal times, of which much has been 

 written. An authority says that the Anglo-Norman family of 

 De Vallibus or De Vaux obtained a grant of the Manor of 

 Dirleton. In 1298 De Vaux's castle was besieged by Antony 

 Beck, the marshal Bishop of Durham, on behalf of Edward I., 

 to whom, after a desperate resistance it surrendered. Eventu- 

 ally we find the estate in possession of Sir Walter Halyburton, 

 who, marrying the daughter of the Begeut Albany, was created 

 Lord Dirleton. The eldest daughter of the sixth Lord Dirleton 

 carried the estate into the Euthven family, and was included 

 in the forfeiture, and bestowed by the King oa Sir T. Erskine, 

 who was in turn created Baron Dirleton. In the civil wars 

 the castle was occupied by the Scottish guerillas, known as 

 Moss Troopers, and who surrendered to Monk iu 1650. After 

 the Restoration it became the property of Sir John Nisbet, 

 from whom it has descended to its present owner, Mr. Nisbet 

 Hamilton, who uses every care that the interesting pile shall 

 be preserved in its pristine beauty to generations to follow. 

 It is repaired with great taste, and the cleanliness of its rude 

 interior betoken the oversight of owners worthy of being 

 trusted with the keeping of this grand old memorial of the 

 past. Sir Walter Scott in his " IBorder Antiquities" states 

 that this castle and estate was the bribe which the last unhappy 

 Earl of Gowrie held out to the cupidity of Logan, his associate 

 iu conspiracy. It seems to have been coveted by that person 

 in the highest degree. " I care not," says Logan in his corre- 

 spondence, " for all the other laud in the kingdom if I may 

 grip of Dirleton, for I esteem it the pleasantest dwelling in 

 Scotland." " We know not," says another writer, " a more 

 lovely scene than is presented by this village, with its fine 

 green, its noble pile of Ivy-clad ruins, and the distant rock- 

 gemmed firth." This village green is a fine expanse of turf, 

 bounded on one side by the castle enclosure, and around which 

 the cottages are scattered, each in its own garden plot. In 

 architecture these are plainly ornamental, and tell one on the 



