178 MORE POT-POURRI 



selves, on a dark shelf till planted again in March ; but 

 they do wonderfully well here even if left to take care of 

 themselves.' It is quite a relief to hear this wonderfully 

 successful amateur has difficulties with Lilies. All the 

 same, the description he gives of his own seems to me 

 very like success. He speaks of the White Martagon 

 (a Lily I am now trying to grow) and lAlium testaceum 

 as being great favourites with him. He was struck at 

 Torridon by another plant which he says does so much 

 better there than with him ; viz., the scarlet and green 

 Alstrcemeria psittacina. The clumps were almost as 

 strong as sheaves of oats. 'I have a new variety,' he 

 writes, 'of this parrot flower a deep crimson one 

 which was very good here at the end of November.' But 

 if I go on I shall end by quoting the whole of this most 

 interesting gardening letter. I hope the anonymous 

 writer, who dates from Inverewe Poolewe, where the 

 climate must be such as to make any gardener jealous, 

 will forgive this long quotation extracted by a sincere 

 admirer, though unknown fellow -gardener. 



Since writing the above I have been sent another 

 letter from a January 'Scotsman' of this year (1899). 

 The opening sentence is so original and suggestive for 

 anyone who has a garden capable of being easily ex- 

 tended that I quote it as it stands : ' My garden having 

 become quite filled up, I have for the last few years 

 taken to enclosing bits of rough ground inside the 

 policies (or the domain, as they would call it in Ire- 

 land) , and have gone somewhat enthusiastically into 

 shrubs. I have now three of these small enclosures, 

 and each one seems more or less to suit some particular 

 class of plant. My "Fantasy" is hard and gravelly, 

 and suits the Genista and Citisus tribes very well. My 

 "Riviera" is very sunny and with good soil, and in 

 it I grow my rarest exotics ; and "America," my latest 



