464< Bemarkahle old Pear Trees at Dunimarle. 



covered with a bell-glass, and placed in a house with a tempera- 

 ture of from 60° to 70°. The after-management of the cuttings 

 is merely to keep them moist by watering round the outside of 

 the bell-glass, or by introducing the spout of a very small water- 

 ing-pan amongst the cuttings, so as not to wet their leaves, and 

 to shade them from the direct rays of the sun. The shade 

 ought to be placed over them about nine in the morning, and 

 removed by four in the afternoon. In cloudy days no shade is 

 necessary. I never found it requisite, as in the case of more 

 tender cuttings, to wipe the moisture from the inside of the bell- 

 glass, although I believe it might be beneficial. 



The cuttings may be expected to strike in about three months 

 or more, according to the state of the wood at the time when 

 they were put in ; but the swelling of the terminal and axillary 

 buds is a sure index to the rooting of the plants. At this 

 period they are to be removed from the heat, and placed on a 

 shelf in the greenhouse; and at the same time air must be ad- 

 mitted, by placing a small piece of broken pot under the edge of 

 the bell-glass, afterwards removing it altogether. In the spring 

 of the following year, when the plants show a disposition to 

 grow, they are to be transplanted into separate pots, and kept in a 

 cold-frame, rather close than otherwise, during the summer. 

 Towards the close of the season, or in the spring of another 

 year, they may be planted in the open ground. 



August 16. 1841. 



Art. X. All Account of some remarJcable old Pear Trees at Duni- 

 marle, Culross, Perthshire. By Jasper Wallace, Gardener there. 



According to your request, I send you a short notice of the 

 pear trees in the orchard here. From the accounts given of 

 them I find that they are 240 years old, having been planted in 

 the year 1 600. A few of them are 6 ft. in girt at whei'e they 

 branch off, the heads of some covering from four to five falls of 

 ground, and the general height of the trees being from 25 to 30 ft. 

 The situation, as you would have observed when you called 

 here, is close by the sea; so much so, that, when the tide is ac- 

 companied with high winds, the spray frequently comes over the 

 wall. In the lower part of the orchard, where the soil is a 

 common black earth, but rather thin and very much intermixed 

 with a hard sort of freestone, the trees are fast going to decay. 

 In the upper part, again, the soil is much deeper, consisting of 

 what is known among gardeners as brown loam ; and here the 

 trees are still comparatively healthy, and nearly every alternate 

 year bear a considerable quantity of fruit. The lady who is 

 proprietress of this place wishes to have part of the orchard 

 planted with young trees : now, I am of opinion that they would 

 do no good without the soil being in some manner renewed ; and, 



