Domestic Notices. — Scotland. 223 



shire at the period when this association was formed, which we reckon, in 

 general, not to have been a whit behind any county in Scotland ; but it 

 cannot be denied that, through the want of a suitable medium for inter- 

 course, and comparison of flowers, fruits, and vegetable produce, previous to 

 its institution, many of the articles tabled in competition at the' earliest 

 meetings, would not have disgraced those exhibited at Escomb plum fair : 

 and although it has made no effort to send out a deputation to inspect and 

 report the horticulture of France and the Netherlands, nor essayed to collect 

 the chrysanthemums of China, its energies have been directed to objects of 

 no less subserviency to promote the improvement of horticulture, by exciting 

 a spirit of emulation amongst the operatives within its range, not only to 

 collate those productions already in the country, but to attempt the attain- 

 ment of new and superior varieties by raising from seed, and better modes 

 in the culture of articles of acknowledged worth, having, since its com- 

 mencement, awarded no less than five hundred and thirty premiums to the 

 most successful rearers and cultivators of the better kinds of flowers, fruits, 

 and culinary vegetables. Whilst by this institution the amateurs of horticul- 

 ture have been highly gratified, and the energies of professional gardeners 

 stirred up by being brought into contact with each other, in examining and 

 discussing the merits of articles brought forward in competition, the youths 

 who have devoted themselves to the profession have enjoyed very important 

 advantages in being regularly admitted to the show-table, where they early 

 and easily obtain a knowledge of those properties that constitute good 

 productions, which otherwise might have cost them years of hard research. 

 Often have we seen the apprentice of a year's standing shoulder himself 

 towards his senior, and, in the attitude of profound attention, hear him 

 descant on the merits of the prize articles, though with a wobecone coun- 

 tenance he discovers, towards the bottom of the table, several of the pro- 

 ductions which he assisted in carrying to the show, thinking them then the 

 best in the world. Happy it is for the age we now live in, that the diffusion 

 of knowledge has become the bent of the higher ranks in society, inducing 

 the establishment of Mechanics' Institutions, Libraries, &c. May we not 

 indulge the hope that the Perthshire Horticultural Society will continue to 

 receive the countenance and support of those who have an interest in its 

 pursuits, and who, from their circumstances in life, can render its efforts 

 more extensively useful? (An Original Member. — Perthshire Courier, Oct. 4.) 

 Strathmore Horticultural Society. — Sir, — In perusing your interesting 

 Magazine, I perceive you are a warm encourager of Provincial Horticul- 

 tural Societies ; and since you have expressed a wish to be informed of 

 the rise and progress of such institutions throughout the country, I have 

 taken the liberty of informing you of the existence of a horticultural so- 

 ciety with which I am connected, being not a little surprised that an account 

 of it has not reached you sooner from an abler hand. Be pleased to know, 

 then, that in that rich and fertile part of His Majesty's Scottish dominions 

 called Strathmore and Carse of Gowrie, in which, though there are but 

 few gardens that will bear any comparison with some of those magnificent 

 establishments described in your Journal, yet there are a number that for 

 the warmth of their situation and productiveness of the soil are scarcely 

 rivalled in Scotland, and even in many parts of England. In a district like 

 this the want of such a society was much felt by some of the more emulous 

 gardeners ; and the importance of it having been readily acknowledged by 

 several of their employers and amateur brethren, the Strathmore Horticul- 

 tural Society came into being. Its object, like all similar institutions, is the 

 rewarding and otherwise encouraging those gardeners who excel in their 

 various productions, whether for ornament, luxury, or use. Two meetings 

 are held annually in the principal inn of Cupar Angus, and the prizes are 

 decided by a sub-committee of our number, appointed for the purpose. It 



