390 Memoir' of James Stuart, 



Art. III. Short Memoir of James Stuart, Head Gardener at PinJcie. 



By P. N. 



This most excellent person deserves to be held in remembrance, for he was 

 truly an honour to the gardening profession. 



He was born, in October, 1758, at Blainslie, in the parish of Melrose, in Rox- 

 burghshire, and his birth is recorded in the public register kept at that town. 

 His parents were in humble circumstances, but were upright and intelligent 

 people. After enjoying, at the parish school of Legerwood, the ordinary edu- 

 cation of a Scottish country lad (reading, writing, and counting), James was 

 apprenticed, in 1774, to Mr. Bradley, gardener to Mr. Spottiswoode of Spot- 

 tiswoode, in Berwickshire ; and he continued there for four years. He then 

 removed to Loudon Castle, in Ayrshire, where he officiated as foreman or 

 under gardener for two years. At the expiration of that period, he was recalled 

 to Spottiswoode, to succeed Mr. Bradley ; but, not finding that situation so 

 agreeable as he expected, he removed, in November, 1782, to Dalkeith Park, 

 being anxious to improve his knowledge of horticulture, and particularly of 

 the various practices of forcing, under Mr, John Learmouth, who then con- 

 ducted the extensive gardening establishment of the Duke of Buccleuch 

 at Dalkeith. He had spent only one year in this favourable school, when he 

 was engaged, at Martinmas, 1783, by the late Sir Archibald Hope, Bart., 

 to take charge of the garden of Pinkie, near Musselburgh. Upon the death of 

 Sir Archibald, in July, 1794>, Mr. Stuart was reengaged by his son and suc- 

 cessor, the present Sir John Hopej and in the service of this excellent gen- 

 tleman Mr. Stuart spent the remainder of a long life. 



One of the most characteristic traits of his character consisted in the 

 unremitting attention which he paid to the duties of his station ; and it 

 is pleasing to have to record that his zeal and fidehty were duly appreciated 

 by all the members of the Hope family, and rewarded by unceasing marks of 

 kindness and attention from them. Although not inattentive to the orna- 

 mental departments, he more particularly excelled as a fruit and kitchen 

 gardener. Many years ago, he could boast of producing the finest and largest 

 colmars and crassanes to be seen in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh ; and he 

 was among the earliest cultivators of the other esteemed French and Flemish 

 pears of more recent introduction. He was, perhaps, the first who practised 

 the forcing of sea-kale in the open border, by covering the plants with boxes or 

 pots, and surrounding the whole with stable litter in a fermenting state. Be- 

 sides his duties as head gardener, he came to be intrusted with the ma- 

 nagement of the home farm, and of all the plantations, fences, and drains, on 

 Sir John's extensive estates. 



In the even tenor of Mr, Stuart's life, few incidents were likely to occur 

 worthy of being detailed in a brief notice of this kind. It deserves, however, 

 to be mentioned, that, in 1807, considerable improvements were undertaken 

 by the present baronet, on the grounds immediately surrounding the ancient 

 mansion house of Pinkie, In the course of these, the site of the forcing fruit, 

 and kitchen garden fell to be changed, Mr, Stuart determined not to sa- 

 crifice his admirable full-grown fruit trees, if they could possibly be saved by 

 careful removal. With resolute perseverance and unremitting care, therefore, 

 during the winters 1807-8, and 1808-9, he removed no fewer than 160 such 

 trees, chiefly pear and apple, many of them large standard trees, and not a few 

 wide-spreading wall-trees, and others trained to great distances on espalier 

 rails. Some of the pear trees were of such size and evident age, that there 

 can be little doubt that they were original inmates when the garden was laid 

 out in 1621, as indicated by an inscription over one of the gates. So perfect 

 was the success of this operation, that some of the removed trees bore 

 tolerably good crops of fruit the very next season. He ascribed this remarkable 

 success very much to the uncommon care taken in tracing out the roots to the 

 remotest and most delicate fibres, and their terminating spongioles (of the 



