March 5, 1898. 



GARDENERS' 



MAGAZINE. 



T 



POSITI 



of Scottish H 



!5i 



IN reviewing the position and progress of horticulture in Scotland during 

 the past twenty years, one is almost amazed at the changes that have 

 taken place in connection with some of the most famous gardens of 

 former times, and at the large number of once well-known gardeners that 

 have passed away ; men who, in their time, so worthily filled their 

 respective situations and did so much towards raising the art and science 

 of horticulture to the high position it has now attained. 



In regard to the changes in the fortunes of many estates, the depre- 

 ciation in the value of land has been one of the most important factors, 

 and circumstances over which neither owner nor employe could control 

 have necessitated severe reductions to be made in the staff of workmen 

 and a strict curtailment of expenses in connection with the garden 

 wherever possible. From this cause many of the most historic places of 



a quarter of a century ago are now but a shadow of their former greatness, in Scotland, awfdf ^e^tloTa^ 



The ownership has m many cases been changed, or the mansion and Horticultural Society, which is held in the Waverley Market Edinburgh 



surroundings have passed into the possession of others for the time being «■ * K - — — — J ■ - • 6 ' 



and where this arrangement is made for a series of years the results are 

 generally satisfactory, and the introduction of wealth from this source has 

 prevented many estates from being reduced to the lowest extremities. 



neighbours ; and in certain classes as vegetables, hardy and half-hardv 

 amatem ^ COm P arison is frequently not unfavourable tc ^he 



The extended culture of hardy fruit for market is making fair 

 progress in country districts, especially with strawberries and bush 

 fr U J> wh ' f c . meet Wlth a ready sale, both for private use and the require 

 ments of the preserve manufacturer. The same cannot as yet be stated 



In r ?h? e ? to aPP 1 / 5 ' u P ears ' and plums, though in districts very favourable 

 to the growth of these, extensive plantations have been made; but 

 generally, the planting is confined to gardens and snail orchards. 



The excellent articles that have appeared in the pages of the 

 Gardeners' Magazine under the title of " Wasted Orchards " have 

 certainly been the means of stimulating an inquiring spirit amomr the 

 proper class to benefit thereby, and this may in course of time develop 

 a better knowledge and system of fruit culture being carried out than 

 exists at the present time. 



Brief reference may be made to some of the annual exhibitions held 



These changes, however, have not always proved to the advantage of 

 the gardener, who probably has spent the greater and best part of his 

 life in one situation, and has made the special tastes and requirements 

 of one family his own interest and study, and who realizes late in life 

 that he must start afresh, in accordance with new ways and ideas a 

 proceeding often found to be easier in theory than in practice • for the 

 preference so frequently manifested in modern times for a younger man 

 may lead to the enforced retirement from the sphere of duties to which 

 he has devoted life-long labours, at a much earlier period than he 

 ant.c.pated, or probably was prepared for. Against this somewhat dark 

 side of present-time horticulture may be placed the fact, that a zreat 



is the most representative and popular, and it forms the yearly concen- 

 trating point for gardeners from all parts of the kingdom. It is needless 

 to enlarge upon the convenience and suitability of the Waverley Market 

 for holding a great show, or to the efficient management that has for 

 many years endeavoured so successfully to keep the exhibitions well 

 abreast of the times by adding new features by way of substantial prizes 

 for various classes of produce whenever necessary. 



The Scottish Horticultural Association, which was instituted twentv 

 years ago, has done good service for the advancement of horticulture in 

 many directions, and it was under the auspices of this association that 

 the now famous chrysanthemum exhibition is carried on. Started 

 about tvvelve years ago in a very modest way, it soon showed signs of 

 outgrowing the accommodation provided for it, and it was soon after- 

 wards transferred to the Waverley Market, a proceeding that gave rise 

 to considerable doubt as to whether it would be possible to furnish the 



v 



At that time it was mainly a chrysanthemum show, but, to fill space 

 and add variety to the concern, several gardeners, among whom was 

 myself, were invited in 1887 to forward collections of hardy fruits for this 

 purpose. The appeal was well responded to, and a very representative 

 display was the result. The following year the society offered prizes, 

 and some specials by nurserymen were also offered for collections 

 of apples and pears, and vegetable classes were instituted. These 

 have been augmented from time to time, until now the society has 

 one of the finest winter fruit shows in the kingdom, and those who saw 

 the fine display of grapes and other hothouse fruit which were staged 

 last November, as well as the quantities of hardy fruit and vegetables 

 which are always well shown at Edinburgh, must have been amplyrewarded, 

 apart from the grand blooms of chrysanthemums that were staged in 

 such perfection and quantity, which, together with the many special 



number of gardens have in late years been established throughout the hu # e structure in an effective manner in the month of November, 

 country by the wealthy merchant classes, especially in the neighbourhood 

 of the large centres of population and industry. These places have to a 

 grea extent, provided useful and lucrative employment,^' much of the 

 surplus labour and talent set free in rural districts ; and although many 

 years must pass before they can favourably compare for sylvan bSSf 

 and historic association with older places, yet it is to thesrmodern 

 gardens that one must turn to find in quantity the rare and costly o^chfds 

 and other plants, that have of late been introduced, and bS? o3 i 



and" C ^^ im P roved P™«P^ combined wltMhe bes" 



themThe iwectrofX 0 ^l th ^ expenence and ^ alth Can devise > ""deis 

 inem tne subjects of the glowing accounts so frequently brought tn the 



notice of the readers of horticultural readers. 7 Drougnt to tne 



The events already referred to have also been instrumental in 



gp&« sasssmasSg 



posSn of S lh? n oXrn r iafd S enr Vard 5 8&* that has influen <*d the 

 Reaper rai wa ? ratel ™fo? wf^ 81 ! ^ VIi \ the parcels P ost > and 

 penod known Vs^o^Zt 5? Tot^ ^T th T ** 



exhibits, filled the spacious market to overflowing. 



Galloway House^ Wigtownshire. 



James Day. 



u-iti, .vi r.. Lam iterations or improvements wer P th.« —2 



Whn h grown in the home connties - 



ardener 6 tWfcT*"^ haVC occurred in connection with the orofessinnal 

 and eve r :iic e r Lsfn' alS ° exerci f d considerable influence upoTSfw 



^<*^S^^*«T* m CUltiv f at0rS '- t0 -hoTis due fe 

 this the weekly delation nf I g ?v\ ° f any In recent Y**rs. In 



containing foil horticultural literature, and seed catalogues 



h ave done much Z ' f e now so free, y d,stn buted amon? all classes 



^ horticulture C W^ 8M ? in t thei,ltere>t 1° a11 -afters refat fog' 

 amateur was mil I I so apparent at present A few vears a cm th» 



^hibition tent uSL9l rele # ated to lhe most obscure part of the 

 sk, »* and S^^ffi unworthy of a more prominent posi&n Time 

 2!?^ this, and it is not unSsual at 2 



of the produce sta k ^ eagerly discussing the merits 



Wg€d by their ,ess fortunate, though seldom less modest 



The Mole.— Whether the mole is injurious or not from a cultivator's point of 

 view is a question upon which, probably, there will be always some difference of 

 opinion. Many maintain that mole-hills are not only very unsightly, but that they 

 prevent the mowing grass from being properly cut. They overlook the fact that 

 if the hillocks were knocked about in the spring, and the fine soil of which they 

 are composed were spread over the surface, they would have an excellent and 

 inexpensive top-dressing for their fields. Another recommendation lies in the 

 system of surface drainage which is effected by the mole's 4 1 runs " ; while a third, 

 and perhaps the most important, consideration is the fact that the mole preys not 

 only upon earthworms and field slugs, but also upon the larvae of many coleopter- 

 ous and dipterous insects which are very destructive to the roots of grasses and 

 other field crops. Tne late Mr. Henry Reeks of Thruxton, near Andover, 

 who was a practical farmer as well as a good naturalist, was strongly in favour of 

 sparing the moles upon agricultural land. If the natural enemies of the mole 

 were not destroyed, there would be much less need for trapping their velvet-coated 

 prey. Weasels kill moles— as long ago remarked by Gilbert White in his fortieth 

 letter to Thomas Pennant — so do owls when they can catch them above ground on 

 summer nights ; so do buzzards The common buzzard is a capital mole-catcher, 

 and in the vicinity of mole-hills will take up a position on some low bough of a 

 tree, from which it will glide and seize a mole the moment the earth moves on its 

 approach to the surface. In this way (i.e., by watching and jumping down) 

 buzzards destroy not only moles, but numbers of rats and mice. But the weasel, 

 the owl, and the buzzard are thoughtlessly trapped, poisoned, or shot, on the 

 score of their interference with game, the result being that the farms are overrun 

 with rats, mice and moles, and the farmers in self-defence have to pay for 

 their destruction instead of leaving them to the supervision of " nature's police.' 1 

 It becomes, then, a matter for consideration how b^st to get rid of moles on 

 land where, for the reasons above stated, they have unduly increased. Macgilli- 

 vray states that every mole appropriates to itself a particular tract of ground, in 

 which it forms a kind of fortress under a hillock, but this we are not able to 

 confirm. On the contrary, it is certain that many use the same " runs " in 

 common, just as rats and mice do. This is made evident from the fact that a 

 mole-catcher will trap mole after mole in the same 44 run" to the number of a 

 dozen or more, resetting his trap time after time nearly in the same spDt. To dis- 

 cover which are the most frequented 44 runs," the plan is to mark every fresh 

 mole-hill by a light pressure of the foot, and to examine it next morning to see if a 

 mole has passed by and partly obliterated the depression by fresh upheaval. In 

 two or three days it will be seen what part of the ground is most used, and there 

 the traps may be set. Although iron traps may give less trouble to set, the kind 

 of mole-trap most in vogue is the old-fashioned wooden one— a semicylinder of 

 wood, with grooved rings at each end in which are fixed horsehair nooses kept in 

 position by a peg in the centre and strained by a cord attached above ground to a 

 pliant stick bent downwards. As the mole passes through one of the nooses and 

 moves the pe# aside, the pliant wand springs up, and the mole is held tightly in the 

 noose.— F. E. Hartin^, in Board of Agriculture Journal. 



