September 6, 1877. ] 



JODBNAIj OF HOBTIOULTCBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEH. 



197 



bably surpass any that ever have been grown in this country. 

 Most of them are growing amongst green mosB in small baskets 

 made from hazel sticks. N. distillatoria, whioh is well adapted 

 for ornamenting rafters, has produced many pitchers that held 

 more than a pint of water. Most of the plants in this house 

 and in many of the others are growing in pots thickly coated 

 with glaze outside. It is thought the plants thrive better in 

 them than the common porous burnt-clay pots, and much 

 labour is saved in washing. Opening out of this last house 

 there is another greenhouse similar in form and position to 

 the first entered. All the houses in this range, with the ex- 

 ception of the Peach houses, are new, and better-construoted 

 houses for convenience in every way it would be impossible to 

 conceive. 



Leaving this range we pass out of the kitchen-garden en- 

 closure into a large gravelled yard oovered with glass houses 



and pits. Entering the first range we come to we find Cucum- 

 bers growing in a long pit, with a pathway up the centre and 

 beds on each side. The fruit hanging here reminds one of 

 those representations of new Cucumbers which we sometimes 

 see in advertisements. In the same range, but with the door 

 at the other end, is what formerly was a Melon pit, of the 

 same description as the Cucumber one. This is now planted 

 with Figs trained on trellises, and it is well known that at no 

 place are Figs better grown than at Drumlanrig. They are grown 

 on what may be termed the short-Bpur system, aB the shoots 

 are pinched close in so as to form fruiting buds, in the place 

 of long naked wood often seen on Fig trees. On a line with 

 these there is a large half-span houBe where Pines are grown. 

 Further along than this there are two low pits for successiona! 

 Pines, and behind these again on another range there is 

 one more large Pine stove. To the generality of your readers 



Fig. 44. — White sand gabden at dbumlanbig. 



it will not be new to be told that the Pines, suckers, succes- 

 sionals, and fruiters in all these houses and one or two others 

 which we have not reaohed yet, are the very perfection of Pine- 

 growing. Next to the last-named Pine house there is a division 

 of the same eize set apart for PasBiflora culture, a fruit seldom 

 grown for dessert, but much appreciated here. Leaving this 

 range and making for another we pass the young gardeners' 

 lodge, where sixteen or eighteen young men reside. This lodge, 

 or to use the vulgar term " bothy," has been greatly improved 

 lately, and both for inside convenience and outBide appearance 

 is an ornament to the place. No person can be more anxious 

 to have his young men comfortable than Mr. Thomson, and 

 his example is worthy of imitation. 



The next range (behind the Cucumber and Melon range) is 

 divided into several lengths, which are filled with Vines and 

 Figs. Close behind this there is another range of cool Orohid 

 houses. Space forbids individualising, so I will only say that 

 Orchids from the most common to the most rare are all grown 

 here to a condition which the most celebrated place for these 

 glorious plants never surpassed. Further back still there is 

 another range of houses chiefly devoted to Pines, and not far 

 from here there is about one acre covered with frames for 

 various purposes. 



One of the most complete arrangements about the place is 

 the heating of all the houses. Four boilers heat all these 



ranges. They are the largest size of Meiklejone's improved 

 cruciform. They lie baok from all the houses, and pipes are 

 laid from them to the different ranges, some of the pipes run- 

 ning 200 feet before entering the house. A wooded slope rises 

 on the west side of the garden. There is a large flue goes about 

 half a mile up this wood, and at the end of it there is a tall 

 ohimney about 300 feet above the boilers, which draws all the 

 smoke clear away from the place. This is an excellent arrange- 

 ment, and very different to the smoke, fire, and heating about 

 Drumlanrig when we first saw it ; then there would not be 

 much fewer than forty fires, as each house had a fire and 

 chimney to itself. When these were all lighted in the evening 

 the place resembled a small village, the consumption of eoal 

 enormous, and the smoke and dirt quite equal to it. 



Leaving this, the Castle, which is one mile from the garden, 

 may be reached in two ways — one the same way as we came 

 from Thornhill, the other a private walk leading through the 

 woods which, after passing rustic arbours, bridges over streams, 

 and other adornments, brings us into the lower part of th© 

 flower garden. The enclosure under this name, which is sur- 

 rounded by an elegant wire fence, extends over 50 acres. 

 Every inch of it is kept in the finest order. Some of the grounds 

 is much higher than other parts ; the Castle crowns all. Next 

 to the houBe there is a wide flower bed, then a gravel walk over 

 20 feet in width. This is the arrangement on the south, east, 



