332 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[September 22, 1888. 



of the most costly Orchid. Rose Queen has small 

 rose-coloured flowers, succeeded by rose-coloured 

 berries. Golden Queen Raspberry is a free white 

 fruiting variety of good flavour. Rosa Pissardi, also 

 sent by Mr. Vertegans, is a very free-flowering, 

 single-flowered Rose, somewhat in the way of Felicite 

 Perpetuel, and of which we may have more to say 

 on another occasion. 



TULIPS. — We learn from the Kelso Chronicle 

 that in view of the imminent revival of the 

 florists' Tulip Messrs. Stuart & Mein have just 

 completed the purchase of the famous collection 

 of Mr. David Barber, Stanton-le-Dale. The col- 

 lection contains several thousand bulbs of the 

 best varieties in existence, many of them never 

 having been offered for sale to the public. Mr. 

 Barber, who has several times won the Champion 

 Cup and other prizes open to all England, is one of 

 the last of his generation of enthusiastic Tulip 

 growers. He is upwards of seventy-three years of 

 age, and for a period of upwards of forty-three years 

 he has gathered together and grown his favourites. 

 It is satisfactory to record that this famous collec- 

 tion has come to Scotland, and we are sure that 

 nothing will be left unaccomplished that skill and 

 enterprise can do to make the collection equally 

 famous in that country. 



Tomato and Potato Diseases.— One form of 



Tomato disease is known to be identical with that of 

 the Potato, and in the South of France sulphate of 

 copper is in general use among the large growers of 

 Tomatos. The success of their treatment induced M. 

 Prilliedx to try the effect on Potatos, leaving others 

 side by side untreated. An early variety was seen 

 to be affected on August 5, and at once treated with 

 a solution of sulphate of copper of the following 

 strength :— 6 parts of sulphate of copper, 6 of lime, 

 100 of water. This liquid was applied to both sides 

 of the foliage and to the haulm with great care with 

 a spray pump. Ten days later (August 16) the 

 tubers were lifted, with the following result : — 



Nine plants sprayed... 

 Six plants not sprayed 



Number of Tubers. 



Percent- 

 Healthy. Diseased. age of 

 '. diseased. 



This experiment should be repeated another season 

 at Chiswick and elsewhere. It is hardly likely that 

 with the necessarily rough-and-ready procedures of 

 the grower on a large scale the same good results will 

 be obtained as by M. Prillieux experimenting on a 

 small scale with scientific precision ; but supposing 

 only half as good a result were obtained, the advantage 

 would be great. The record of M. Prillieux's experi- 

 ments was presented to the Paris Academy of Sciences, 

 and published in the Comptes Bendus, August 28. 



Chiswick Gardeners' Mutual Improve- 

 ment ASSOCIATION. — This body of young gar- 

 deners of the Chiswick district, being desirous of 

 affording tangible assistance to the Gardeners' 

 Orphan Fund, proposes to hold, on October 17, a 

 soiree for gardeners and others interested in garden- 

 ing, at the Chiswick Vestry Hall. The soiree will 

 comprise music, reciting, and exhibition of objects 

 of interest. Tickets of admission, Is. each, may be 

 obtained on application to the Secretary, Mr. J. 

 Barry, or at Messrs. Platrier & Sons, Post Office, 

 Chiswick. The soiree will commence at 7'30 p.m., 

 precisely. 



Mexican Broom-root or Whisk and Ixtle 



FIBRE. — This material, which was referred to in the 

 Gardeners' Chronicle, vol. ii., 3rd series, p. 104, as 

 being probably furnished by a species of Bouteloua, 

 but which has since been proved, in the Kew Bulletin 

 for December last, to be produced by Epicampes 

 macroura, Benth., is said, in a report on the trade 

 of Vera Cruz for 1887, to have fallen off consider- 



ably in the quantity exported, the value of which was 

 £58,632, in 1886, and £45,122, in 1887. "This 

 decrease," it is said, "may be accounted for by 

 the crude process at present employed of preparing 

 the root for the market, which is not only expensive, 

 but has the disadvantage of injuring the fibre, so that 

 it reaches the market shorter and less wiry than it 

 should, but the employment of machinery for pre- 

 paring this rais ale zacaton promises to become 

 general, and then the quality of it will be higher and 

 the price probably lower, so that it will no doubt 

 regain and increase its market." In the same 

 report from which the above is taken, the export 

 of Ixtle fibre (Agave heteracantha) is stated to 

 have become nominal, though it promised to 

 assume important dimensions. The cause of this 

 falling-off is similar in this case to that of the 

 Broom-root. It is intended to introduce the prepara- 

 tion of this fibre into a new penitentiary, which is to 

 be fitted up with adequate plant and machinery, and 

 this it is thought will be the means of making the 

 Ixtle fibre become a profitable industry, and so confi- 

 dent is the State Government of the value of Ixtle 

 that they are about to offer a premium of 3000 

 dollars for the best machine for rendering it 

 marketable. 



Publications Received.— Annual Bcport of the 



National Chrysanthemum Society. — Agricultural Sta- 

 tistics, Ireland, Acreage under Crop, and Number and 

 Description of Live Stock. — Seport on Macwarrieballi 

 (Forsteronia gracilis), a new Indiarubber Blant in 

 British Guiana. By G. S. Jenman, Botanic Garden, 

 Georgetown, Demerara. — Report on the Botanic 

 Garden, Georgetown. By G. S. Jenman. 



Scotland. 



ARDGOWAN. 



This the princely seat of Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, 

 Bart., is situate about 15 miles from Bridge Street 

 Station, Glasgow. Inverkip is the nearest railway 

 station, and a brief walk through the village of that 

 name brings the visitor to the entrance gates on that 

 side the park of Ardgowan. The park is of large 

 extent and well wooded, the planting having been 

 done with rare skill in the development of the beau- 

 tifully undulated surface. The object of my visit 

 being to inspect the famous gardens, and my time 

 limited, I had little opportunity for observing the 

 beauties of the park itself. It was impossible, how- 

 ever, even in the rapid run over the limited portion 

 of the place which was traversed in reaching the 

 different points of gardening interest to omit noting 

 the magnificent landscape around, views of which 

 are commanded from the higher ground within the 

 park. The site of the mansion has been admirably 

 chosen in relation to the surrounding scenery. Views 

 of the beautiful scenes of this lovely part of the Clyde 

 are obtained from many points from the top of a 

 lofty tower on the shoreward side of the lawn ; addi- 

 tional range and variety of feature increase the admi- 

 ration of the spectator. 



The lawn surrounding the mansion is perhaps the 

 most perfect in all respects I have ever seen. 

 It is of considerable extent, and furnished with 

 choice Rhododendrons and ornamental deciduous 

 flowering evergreen trees and shrubs. A charmingly 

 reposeful place it is as viewed from the windows of 

 the mansion, and from the terrace which extends 

 along the front of the latter. On this terrace a 

 pretty geometric garden is laid out, and among the 

 plants employed, I noticed an almost lost old 

 favourite in Pelargonium Tom Thumb, which has 

 this season beaten the newer varieties in floriferous- 

 ness, and certainly has never been surpassed in the 

 brilliant tone of scarlet its flowers possess. Mr. 

 Lunt stated that it is the best bedding Pelargon- 

 ium for the district. Among the shrubs trained on 

 the lower part of the house is a fine healthy 

 plant of the Myrtle, which was reared from 

 a slip drawn from the marriage bouquet of the 



present Baronet. It has been several times cut 

 down by frost in exceptionally severe winters, even 

 though it is carefully protected, but it always starts 

 bravely away again from the roots. A handsome 

 conservatory is well filled with the usual kinds of 

 flowering plants, some luxuriant tree Ferns, Palms, 

 and climbers. 



The Kitchen Garden, 



in which are the extensive ranges of fruit and plant- 

 houses, lies in an admirably sheltered space to the 

 south-west of the mansion, and at a considerably 

 lower level than the latter. Shelter from the north 

 is perfect, and the exposure to the south equally 

 so. It is a walled parallelogram, and its greatest 

 length ranges east and west. The vineries and 

 houses for Peaches, Figs, and plants, are built against 

 the north wall, are lean-tos of ample dimensions, 

 and well constructed. Evidence of Mr. Lunt's skill 

 as a cultivator confronts in every department, but 

 in fruit culture he is in the front rank. Such Muscats, 

 such Black Hamburghs, Lady Downe's, Madresfield 

 Court, Mrs. Pince, and Black Frontignan ! — these are 

 all the varieties grown — are worth a long journey to 

 see. The Vines are twenty-three or twenty-four 

 years old, and were planted by Mr. Lunt. The bor- 

 ders are of pure loam, without any admixture of 

 other material. 



Given good loam and perfect drainage, which 

 latter was Mr. Lunt's first consideration in making 

 hi3 borders twenty-four years ago, and there appears to 

 be little reason for all the fussy dicta that have been 

 insisted upon on the subject of making Vine borders 

 during the last quarter of a century. The broad, 

 massive, leathery leaves on these Vines, and the 

 magnificent clusters of plump, luscious berries, 

 point a lesson, if not a moral, on the subject. The 

 black Frontignan is a favourite with Lady Shaw 

 Stewart, and a Vine of the variety is grown in each 

 house. 



Peaches and Nectarines. — Of these there are found 

 a limited number of varieties, which are well chosen. 

 Sea Eagle was the only variety of Peach bearing at 

 the time of my visit, and its fruits were plentiful 

 and good. One tree of Royal George, occupying a 

 space of 25 or 30 feet by 18 feet, is furnished with 

 fruiting branches in every part, and it is without ex- 

 ception one of the best examples of tree manage- 

 ment that has come under my notice. It is twenty- 

 four years since it was planted by Mr. Lunt, and he 

 only has attended to its pruning. 



Figs are much liked and are largely grown. One 

 house, 84 feet long, is entirely filled by two magnifi- 

 cent old trees of Brown Turkey. Their age is not 

 known, but they were old when Mr. Lunt's prede- 

 cessor took charge of Ardgowan Gardens, thirty-six 

 years before his superannuation twenty-five years 

 ago. The secondjcrop was just coming to an end, 

 but there were some good fruit still remaining. 



In one of the Peach-houses my attention was 

 drawn to a large plant on the wall at the back of the 

 house of Lapageria rosea, with a history. It is one 

 of many seedlings raised twenty-five years ago by 

 Mr. Collinson, the then gardener at Eaton Hall, 

 Chester, who was the first to flower and fruit the 

 plant in this country. It is a very large plant, which 

 covers a large space and is blooming freely. 



Of plant-houses or convertible pits there are 

 several ranges consisting of four divisions, each 36 

 feet long — excellent samples of what such houses 

 should be. At present some of them are filled 

 with healthy plants of Azalea indica, Calanthe 

 Veitchii and C. vestita, both well done, the former 

 species having pseudobulbs of great size ; another 

 division is occupied with cool Orchids and Ferns, 

 some are filled with Melons, Cucumbers, others with 

 Tomatos, the three latter being grown in pots, and 

 very successfully. Mclndoe's Best of All and Wil- 

 liam Tillery are the only two kinds of Melons grown. 

 Large numbers of decorative plants are grown, and 

 flowering plants for cutting in winter, these being 

 much wanted for that purpose. Strawberries in pots 

 throughout winter and spring are a specialty for 

 which two of these large span-roofed pits are set 

 apart. 



The hardy fruit crops are short this season, but 

 vegetables have been and are good. 



No one visiting Ardgowan we feel sure will be 

 disappointed. It is under competent management, 

 and is a place of large extent, whose proprietor takes 

 a pride and pleasure in having everything maintained. 

 in first-rate order. <S. 



