September 6, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



195 



•distinct varieties of doable Pelargoniums, a collection of single 

 Pelargoniums very fine, and a box of cut blooms of his new 

 decorative Geranium New Life, as well as several plants of the 

 aime variety, to which a first-class certificate waB awarded as a 

 decorative plant ; it is certainly a very dwarf and free-flowering 

 variety as well as a novelty. Amongst his collection of cut 

 blooms of single varieties the Committee highly commended 

 one named Dr. J. Denny, a decided advance on anything we at 

 present possess. A vote of thanks was also awarded to Mr. 

 Caunell for his collection of double varieties, which consisted 

 of G. Magnilla, Le Constitution, Neomie, M. Sauth, M. Thibaut, 

 M. Buchler, Le Terrible, M. C. Routier, Jean Mace, E. Ban- 

 dowin, J. Dollfns, L. Buchner, L. Boutard, M. Waddington, 

 H. Burice, L. Lemoine, Rubis, Wonderf nl, J. C. Wagner, Lea- 

 mington Lassie, M. B. Buist, Herzegovine, M. de Roquefouille, 

 •and a splendid white M. Baltet. Some very fine cut blooms of 

 Ivy-leaf Geraniums Nemis, St. George, and Gem came from 

 Mr. George of Putney cut from the open air, and an interesting 

 collection of a dozen boxes of Asters from the Society's gardens, 

 ■Chiswick. 



PROVINCIAL SHOW OF THE ROYAL 

 HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Our readers are already aware that the Council of the Royal 

 •Horticultural Society have decided to hold the Great Provincial 

 Show at Preston in 1878. An arrangement has been made with 

 •tbe Preston Nursery and Pleasure Gardens Company, of which 

 T. M. Shuttleworth, Esq., is Chairman, to co-operate in carrying 

 •out the Show, and the Company will stand in the same relation 

 to the Society as local horticultural societies have done in 

 former years wherever the Show has been held. 



The ground selected on which to hold the Show is one of the 

 ibest adapted, and certainly the most beautiful and picturesque 

 of all the sites the Society has ever occupied. Situated within a 

 much shorter distance of the Town ! Hall of Preston than the 

 Aston Grounds are to that of Birmingham, and in close con- 

 tiguity to the beautiful gardens and picturesque grounds of 

 Ffarington Hall, the site commands a magnificent panorama of 

 Ribblesdale. In the foreground there is tb e river Bibble, and away 

 in the distance Hoghton Tower, where King James I. knighted 

 the sirloin of beef. Redscar, the residence of W. Assheton Cross, 

 Esq., embosomed in waves of massive wood ; Pendle and Pendle 

 Hill ; and Walton where Cromwell defeated the Royal army 

 ■under Duke Hamilton and Sir Marmaduke Langdale. But 

 apart from these attractions are the grounds of the Preston 

 Nursery and Pleasure Gardens Company. These are approached 

 by handsome entrance gates and a lodge. On either side of the 

 broad carriage drive are specimen trees of the choicest Conifers, 

 •evergreens, and deciduous trees and shrubs, and this is terminated 

 hy a handsome conservatory of large size, in which are cul- 

 tivated specimen greenhouse and conservatory plants. The great 

 charm of these grounds is the Dingle, a deep winding ravine 

 finely furnished with large timber trees. A stream of water 

 runs through it, and this is utilised to form cascades at certain 

 distances. Carriage drives and tortuous footpaths play at hide- 

 and-seek among the dense brushwood of the undulating banks, 

 and numerous wild flowers deck the shady glades where joyous 

 youth and sobered age may equally find a retreat from the active 

 .and engrossing cares of eveiyday life. 



"We cannot but congratulate the Royal Horticultural Society 

 on having secured such a position, and we have every confidence 

 that with the co-operation of the Nursery and Pleasure Gardens 

 •Company with Mr. Shuttleworth at their head, the Provincial 

 Show will be a great success. The Show is fixed for the second 

 week in July, 1873, beginning on Tuesday the 9th, and closing 

 •on Saturday the 13th. 



Preston is the centre of a great industrial population, and of 

 which about seventy thousand reside in the town, and there ia 

 frequent railway communication between Blackburn, Wigan, 

 Burnley, Lancaster, and Manchester. 



• BLACK PRINCE AND KEENS' SEEDLING 

 STRAWBERRIES. 



" C. P. P.," page 152, says he has discarded these two Straw- 

 berries ; for what reasons we are not told. I earnestly hops 

 none will follow his example, at least without proving them to 

 be worthless. What I am afraid of is, that some who do not 

 .know Strawberries well may order plants according to his 

 selection, and if they do they would leave out two of the most 

 valuable Strawberries in cultivation. We have several of 

 ■" C. P. P.'s " elect covering as much again ground as Black 

 Prince, and although the fruit from them have been large none 



of them have produced one quart against two of Black Prince 

 throughout the season ; and as for Keens' Seedling, I do not 

 know what we should do without it to meet the demand for 

 fruit for preserving. The family are not here in the Straw- 

 berry season, and consequently all the fruit is grown for pre- 

 serving, and I find these two Borts so useful for this purpose 

 that in a year or two there will not be a Strawberry about 

 this place but Black Prince and Keens' Seedling. — A Kitchen 

 Gakdener. 



POTATOES. 



Fkom present appearances the Potato blight is likely to be 

 very prevalent round Edinburgh. On the 18th, 19th, and 20th 

 of August it rained almost without intermission, and on the 

 22nd I observed the plague spot on my Potato plot ; and like 

 Mr. Fenn I lifted the crop instanter, and though not ripe they 

 will keep for seed. On the 26th it rained a good deal, and at 

 night on the 27 th it rained freely. The river Tyne here over- 

 flowed its banks, which during twelve years I have lived here 

 never occurred before in August. Potatoes in a number of 

 fields in this locality are spotted and they smell very bad. 

 The Oat fields among the cereals are as flat aB if they had 

 been rolled, and Wheat aud Barley are not ripening kindly, 

 and there will be no harvest here even under the most favour- 

 able circumstances for about ten days. Something like seven 

 years ago Oats were ent on a farm here on July 3l9t. I took a 

 note of it at the time, and named it to the farmer a week ago. 



I often wonder why people are so much afraid of rain now 

 affeoting the Potato, as there were rainy seasons before the 

 first blight in 1845. I wonder if there is any new element in 

 nature that did not exist up till 1845, or is there any element 

 wanting that was in force before that. These are problems I 

 cannot solve, but I can solve this, that to my certain knowledge 

 this valuable esculent has been treated in a spurious sort of 

 manner. At present I have not time to say my say on such 

 a grave matter as the loss of the Potato crop, but if all ia well 

 will make a few remarks about them next week and state facts, 

 which are said to be stubborn things ; and possibly my obser- 

 vations may tend to throw some light on a subject of such 

 paramount importance to the well-being of the human family, 

 for who can forget the famine in Ireland in 1846 and 1847, 

 also in the highlands of Scotland and its painful results ? — 

 J. Addison, Ormiston, Edinburgh. 



DRUMLANRIG, 



THE SEAT OF THE DUKE OP BUCOLEUOH. 



Travellers between Carlisle and Glasgow, on the Glasgow 

 and South-Western Railway, who are inclined to admire any- 

 thing remarkable as they pass along, will find their observa- 

 tions very riohly rewarded between Closeburn and Carron 

 Bridge stations, where the scenery — with its great expanse 

 of mountain, plain, wood, and water — is allowed to be almost 

 unique. Here there is no deficiency of trees or any other 

 feature necessary to complete a truly piotureaque landscape, 

 and the country is entirely void of coal pits, public works, and 

 every obnoxious obstruction which so often interfere with 

 scenes of beauty elsewhere. In bold relief amidst this scenery 

 stands Drumlanrig Castle and its princely surroundings. No 

 words can picture the magnificence of this edifice and its 

 connections. The accompanying view of the Castle speaks for 

 itself, and yet with a deficiency which nothing but a peraonal 

 inspection could remedy. Historical notes and traditional 

 incidents of all that has been done in the past here are plenti- 

 ful enough and might be interesting to a few ; but I refrain 

 from using your columns for any of them, because I am sure 

 the generality of your readers would paas them over to hear of 

 that which is more dear to their hearts and daily calling. 



The gardens at Drumlanrig have always stood pre-eminent 

 in the horticultural world, but not always on acoount of the 

 excellency of the practice there. Many will remember it as a 

 "big place" kept well dressed, and always endowed with 

 much natural beauty. It ia all these yet and more, aB the 

 excellency of the produce is far superior now to what it was 

 ever seen or thought of years ago. With theBe imperfect 

 introductory remarks I will begin my way to the famous 

 gardens by the traveller's ordinary route from Thornhill 

 station, and pass through the rural village of Thornhill, 

 where the streets are lined on both sides with Lime trees, 

 .and from here to the Castle, a distance of four miles, the road 

 saems a well-kept private drive ; but it is not this, aa there is 

 no privacy about Drumlanrig. Approach it as you may no 



