jOURls[A.Ii OF HOKTICULTDRE AND COtrAGE GARDENER. 



I Januai-y 7, 1875. 



gardener to Mr. Skene, of Skene, in Aberdeenshire ; and his 

 father was the well-known and much respected pomologist, 

 Mr. Robert Thompson, who superintended for so many years 

 the frnit department of the Royal Hortienltural Society at 

 Chiswick. He died on the 23rd December last, aged forty. — 

 The Editoks.] 



NOTES oy VILLA and SDBUBBAN GARDENING. 



A srDDEN, and to all appearance a general, thaw having set in 

 with the glass standiug high, giving a promise of open weather 

 for a time, and as operations have been suspended for a time 

 through the snow, which has pretty well all disappeared, this op- 

 portunity must be taken to proceed with all work yet unfinished, 

 such as pruning and nailing, not only fruit trees but also plants 

 growing on walls and houses for ornament. I allude to such 

 things as Jasminum nudiflorum, Lonicera or Honeysuckle, 

 Magnolias, Clematis, Chimonanthus fragrans, Biguonias, Vir- 

 ginian Creepers, Corchorus japonicus, and the Pyrus japonica, 

 and several sorts of Roses. All the above are deciduous, and are 

 commonly met with and used for adorning walls or houses in 

 the suburbs of towns and elsewhere. The principal idea to 

 bear in mind iu pruning is to extend the medium-sized and 

 well-ripened shoots over the space to be covered, but not lay 

 them in at their full length, or unless they are exceedingly 

 vigorous and the shoots not numerous, the eyes will only break 

 into growth here and there, leaving blank places to be filled-up 

 on a future time, which is not the most satisfactory. Prune the 

 shoots back to half their length, or what is better, is to be guided 

 by their strength, leaving the strong well-ripened wood longer 

 than that of the weak. This will induce the one to break 

 strong and the other weaker, so as to bring an equal balancing 

 of the growth throughout the tree. As I say, see to this first, 

 and then turn to the thinning of wood in the thickest places. 

 This operation is not needed every year, but it is well known 

 that where such things grow fast they are liable to become 

 matted, or so much entangled in their shoots here and there as 

 to make them look remarkably unsightly, especially as by allow- 

 ing this freedom of rambling they become thick as a bush at 

 one place, and the other parts of the plants are comparatively 

 bare. This shows a want of attention and bad management. 

 In thinning-out the shoots in the thick places they should be 

 cut entirely out and not spurred, or there is a chance of their 

 becoming thicker still ; but iu the thin places where more wood 

 is needed the shoots should be spurred. They then break into 

 growth, and in time the plant is well and evenly furnished with 

 medium-sized shoots, which enhances its appearance very much. 

 The Bignonia radicans, being a coarse-growing plant, and pro- 

 ducing its clusters of bloom at the extremity of the current 

 year's growth, must be spurred-in all over except where shoots 

 are wanted, and then they ought to be shortened. Then there 

 is the Jasminum nudiflorum in flower at this time, therefore the 

 pruning or thinning must be deferred. There are several others 

 which produce numerous fine shoots, such as the Chimonanthus, 

 Elicagnus, and Virginan Creepers, which it is necessary to leave, 

 not only for the flowers but for the principal object of clothing the 

 wall more effectually. The deciduous kinds of Magnolias too, 

 which throw out such beautiful large flowers, are also generally 

 vigorous growers ; but at this time of the year the flower buds 

 may be seen at the extremity of the shoot, so that in pruning 

 this will be an advantage. 



We now come to a few plants that are evergreen, such as 

 Crataegus pyracantha, Jasminum officinale or the white Jas- 

 mine, Elajajjnus, Escallonia macrantha, Ceanothus of sorts, and 

 the many different and very pretty sorts of Ivy, as well as Coto- 

 neasters Simondsii and microphylla, aud the Banksian Koses, 

 and several other plants of similar habits, where the system of 

 pruning should be to e.xteud if necessary and thin out, always 

 bearing in mind that a proper qualification is to have them neat 

 and evenly grown over the whole tree. With regard to Ivy, 

 more especially the coarse-leaved green sorts that have esta- 

 blished themselves, a very proper plan is to let them alone till 

 tie beginning of April, and then clip the whole of the leaves 

 and shoots off close to the wall with a pair of shears. The 

 plants, no doubt, will look bare for a week or two till they break 

 into growth again ; after that, the benefit of this close crop- 

 ping will be seen, as it will result in producing a very neat 

 closely-grown plant of no mean ornament. Most of the varie- 

 gated kmds are too delicate in growth, and it will be some time, 

 if ever it does come, for them to be subjected to this manner of 

 treatment. No matter what plant is grown against a house, u 

 should be neatly trimmed, instead of being allowed to ramble 

 at will, of course having due regard to its habits of growth ; and 

 as to the time of pruning, I prefer and feel safe if it is done on 

 the first opportunity after the new year comes in, but no prun- 

 ing whatever should be done in hard frosty weather. 



I may also say that whatever planting remains unfinished, 

 get it done as soon as the soil is fit to work upon. It often 

 happens that matters of planting come to a push in the spring, 

 especially in the suburbs of a town, where it arises through the 



unfinished state of the many residences yearly built in such 

 neighbourhoods, but every preparation should be made, so that 

 the work may done as well and expeditiously as possible. At 

 such times when there is always a certain risk to rtm through 

 its being late in the season, the work had better be passed off 

 till autumn than to do it in anything but a proper manner. 

 Late planting might be more practised than it is if there was a 

 security that the plants would receive the treatment they re- 

 quire, particularly in the matter of watering, which I hold to be 

 the principal recovering agent if applied frequently and plenti- 

 fully ; but where there is not the means or convenience for this 

 being attended to, and the other wants of the plants looked 

 after, it would be much better and a saving of time and money, 

 as well as after-satisfaction to those concerned, if the planting 

 on such places as I have stated were put off till a more season- 

 able time. — Thomas Recokd. 



AECHERFIELD.— No. 1, 



THE SEAT OF THE KIGHT HON. E. A NISBEI HAMILTON. 



My northern visit was a flying one. After rattling away in 

 the wee small hours of the morning I found myself over the 

 border at Berwick-on-Tweed at 5 a.m. on a smart, chill, Sep- 

 tember dawn. Dirty, drowsy, shivering, and perhaps just a 

 trifle testy, I was not in the best condition to appreciate the 

 beauties of the land of poetry and chivalry. Beauties have I 

 said? Drop down as I did, and ask for a waiting room, and 

 be told in what was to me grim wit, " No waiting room open, 

 but plenty of room for waiting," with a gentle reminder, which 

 was hardly necessary, of " Hech, man, ye're no i' England the 

 noo," and appreciate beauty if you can. Yet under the cordu- 

 roy was a kindly feeling, and I was given the post of honour 

 on a greasy bench, by a cosy fire, in a grimy but warm porters' 

 cabin. In an hour was a train for Drem, the junction for 

 Dirleton two miles from Drem, and from Dirleton station it is 

 about two miles by road to Archerfield. A coast run of two 

 to three hours, with a bright sun and brisk sea breeze, with 

 walls of rugged rocks, hills, and fertile vales alternating, worked 

 a steady improvement, and I began to think there might be 

 something worth seeing in Scotland after all. In the distance, 

 leaving Dirleton station, was a towering pile surmounted by a 

 fluttering flag ; aud in answer to a passer-by, " Is that Archer- 

 field?" was favoured with, " Archerfield, man ! That's Dirle- 

 ton Castle. Ye mun gang awa across the green, aud ye'll ken 

 the gate where braw folk enter, an that'll tak ye to Archer- 

 field." And sure enough it did. 



At the gate of the " braw folk " is a neat lodge with a garden 

 of shrubs aud cheery with flowers, the first little foretaste of 

 the treat to follow. Through an undulated park the broad 

 drive sweeps, and the cleanliness and perfect order of this ap- 

 proach shadows forth the high keeping of the entire home- 

 surroundings. The situation is both charming and salubrious. 

 On the left is rising ground lightly wooded, through which the 

 distant hills peep and where the village nestles. On the right 

 is a steady, clean, and almost unbroken yet partially wooded 

 slope to the sea, distant about two miles, which is the boundary 

 to Mr. Hamilton's demesne, aud where he has a marine villa. 

 Straight ahead is a more heavily timbered site, and within the 

 skirts of these fine old trees is the spacious mansion of Archer- 

 field. The edifice is plain and substantial, and savours of 

 what it is — the quiet comfortable home of a Scottish laird 

 with a predilection for rural pursuits and unobtrusive retire- 

 ment, rather than an ornate structure of a newly-made mil- 

 lionaire, who would attract by the magnet points of architecture 

 of a highly embellished exterior. 



As there is nothing further to note here we wUl go to the 

 garden. This is distant from tho house about half a mile 

 through a straight avenue of fine trees. But there are two 

 distinct gardens a mile apart, and each a long stretch from, 

 and quite out of view of, the residence. It may be here men- 

 tioned that a characteristic of many places in Scotland is the 

 separation of the garden from the mansion, and it is quite 

 common to find gardening of the very first order, yet unasso- 

 ciated with mere scenic effect, and as a consequence the pencil 

 of the artist, which is in some places so potent, can be of no 

 real use to the pen of the litterateur in his duties of descrip- 

 tion. Of this type is Archerfield. There is no such thing as 

 getting an attractive and ornamental view of grounds and 

 residence, and no chance indeed of doing justice to the best 

 separated examples of gardening by a colourless impression. 

 Yet gardening is good, and has been good for a long time. In 

 flower gardening Archerfield is almost a household word. It 

 is the scene of the best accomplishments of that accomplished 



