Dalhousie Gardens. 255 



I beg to be understood, that I by no means recommend a 

 circular vinery in preference to any other form, being con- 

 vinced, that under the same quantity of glass in any of the 

 ordinary ways of constructing vineries, the same, or a greater 

 quantity of grapes may be grown ; neither do I pretend to 

 determine the precise depth that a border for vines ought to 

 be ; but, one thing I have attempted to prove, namely, that 

 excellent crops of well-flavoured grapes may be obtained, 

 without being at the expence of making borders three feet 

 or more in depth. 



To finish my account of the garden at Dalhousie Castle, 

 allow me further to mention, that, since the year ]817, ex- 

 tensive collections of plants have been sent home from Canada 

 and Nova Scotia by the Countess of Dalhousie, a lady, whose 

 zealous and indefatigable exertions in botanical matters have 

 seldom, I think, been surpassed ; perhaps not often equalled ; 

 few having attained such proficiency as her ladyship in the 

 science. 



The following more rare natives of North America have 

 flowered in great perfection at Dalhousie Castle ; viz. 



Epigsea repens, a space three feet by four feet 



I may venture to say, without the and a half. 



. fear of contradiction, that this Cymbidium pulchellum, 



beautiful little plant was never Pogonia ophioglossoides, 



seen in greater perfection in this Habenaria blephariglottis, 



country. These two were figured in Dr. 



Arethusa bulbosa, Hooker's Exotic Flora ; the last 



Cypripedium spectabile, of them having flowered for the 



— pubescens, first time in this country. 



— parviflorum, Orchis macrophylla, 



— humile, Habenaria fimbriata, 



— arietinum, Sarracenia purpurea, 

 Nuphar advena var, — variolaris, 



The leaves of this variety float on the Primula mistassinica, 



surface, whereas the leaves of the Pyrola asarifolia, 



original N. advena, rise out of the Glycine monoica, the Amphi- 

 water. carpa monoica of Nuttall, 



Mitchella repens, Gerardia purpurea, 



I had a patch of this plant covering Goodyera repens, 



— pubescens. 



The Arethusa, Pogonia, Habenarias,Sarracenias, Cymbidium, 

 and some others, I found to thrive best in large pans filled 

 with sphagnum, without any other soil, and placed in a pit or 

 hot-bed frame. 



As it may not be uninteresting to some of your readers, I 

 have enumerated below a few of the rarer native plants, which 

 grow in the neighbourhood of Dalhousie Castle ; some of them 



t 3 



