54 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
January 17,139S, 
Gardeners all over the kingdom have been made wiser by its teaching, 
and Grape-growing was never so well understood before as it became 
after its appearance.” 
We at the same time published his portrait, which we now reproduce, 
and he had changed but slightly in appearance since the photograph 
was taken. As we are preparing for press we find the following record 
of Mr. Thomson’s life and work in the “ Scotsman : ”— 
“ Mr. Thomson’s ancestors were located for generations in the Border 
county of Roxburgh, where Mr. Thomson was born in 1814, but his father 
having been appointed land steward on the estate of Maclaine of Lochbuie 
early in this century, the family were brought up in the Island of Mull. 
There Mr. Thomson served his apprenticeship as a gardener under Mr. 
Wilson, afterwards wood manager on tbe Penrhyn estates in North Wales. 
Leaving his island home, Mr. Thomson acquired experience in his pro¬ 
fession, like all young gardeners of his time, in serving as journeyman and 
foreman in various good gardens in Scotland, ultimately being employed in 
the latter capacity under Mr. Andrew Turnbull at Both well, the seat of the 
Ear' of Home in Lanarkshire. This place was then one of the most famed 
in Scotland as a school for horticulture, and especially for the cultivation of 
hardwooded greenhouse plants; the collection of Cape Heaths being one 
of the very finest in this country, and remained so until the death of Mr. 
Tumhull about a decade ago. 
“Young Thomson reaped the full advantage of serving under such a 
distinguished horticulturist as Mr. Turnbull, and when he had completed 
his service at Bothwell Castle he was appointed gardener to the Hon. 
Mr. Byng, at Wrotham Park, in Hertfordshire, about the year 1839. 
There he remained for sixteen years, and aoqu red great experience as a 
horticulturist as well as a contributor to horticu'tural literature, then 
in its infancy. During that period he was well known at the great 
horticultural shows, then in the hey-day of their fame, in and around 
London, taking an active part as an exhibitor and a judg^, and acquir¬ 
ing considerable reputation as an authority on Grapes and their successful 
cultivation. On the retirement of Mr. Charles MTntosh from the 
charge of the Duke of Buccleuch’s gardens at Dalkeith in 1855 Mr. 
Thomson was appointed his successor, and in that prominent position 
in the gardening world he fully maintained his skill and reputation as a 
leading horticulturist of the times. As editor for some years of the 
“Scottish Gardener," he did much to stimulate a taste for gardening among 
the community, and especially among his professional brethren, on his 
favourite topic, the cultivation of the Grape Vine. While at Dalkeith he 
also wrote a manual on the Vine and its cultivation, which is still a trust¬ 
worthy authority on the subject. 
“ Always a keen and successful competitor at the shows of the Edinburgh 
Horticultural Society and of the Royal Caledonian Horticnltural Society, 
where he won many prizes for the excsllenoe of his exhibits, he turned his 
■attention to the raising of new varieties of fruits and flowers, and in the 
latter years of his career at Dalkeith he was successful in raising the two 
well-known varieties of white Grapes—the Duke of Buccleuch, a large, 
luscious, golden-berried variety, much relished by those who prefer a mild- 
flavoured, juicy Grape ; and the Duchess of Buccl-'uch, a handsome bunched 
variety, with smallish golden berries of the liohest flavour. He also raised 
two other seedling Graprs which appeared in commHroe while he was at 
Dalkeith—viz.. Golden Champion and Whiie Lady Downe’s, but neither is 
much grown at the present time. 
“Mr. Thomson remained for sixteen years at Dalkeith, leaving there in 
1871, when he established the Tweed Vineyard at Clovenfords, near 
GaDshi.ls, the fame of which has spread far and wide among Grape 
growers. In latter years he has been assist-d by his sons in the business at 
Clow-nfords, where, besides the growing of Grapes on a large scale, a fine 
business has been created in Orchids and other high-c’ass plants, as well as 
in an excellent artificial manure, to which much of Mr. Thomson’s success 
^18 a Grape grower is attributed. Since he established himself at Cloven¬ 
fords Mr. Thomson created around him quite a little town of industry, 
where fo merly there was a mere hamlet, with the usual country inn, and 
black mith and joiner’s shop of the neighbourhood. Ho has all along taken 
a keen interest in horticnltural affairs, and was a rauular attendant at the 
shows of the Royal Caledonian Horticutural Society, where his well-known 
robust figure with white hat was always a centre of rally to a crowd of his 
gardening friends and the general horticultural public. At his leisure time 
he was a frequent contributor to the “Scotsman” of interesting articles on 
various topics, from the cultivation of Grspes to the rearing of poultry and 
•other useful arts—so wide was his knowledge and comprehensive his mind. 
Mr. Thomson was an elder in the quoad sacra parish church of Caddonfoot, 
.and was a member of the parish School Boird.” 
Mr. Thomson’s remains were interred at Caddonfoot on Wednesday, 
16th inst. He leaves two daughters, most estimable ladies, and one son, 
Mr. John Thomson, who has taken a leadmg part in the Clovenfords 
business for soma time. The late Mr. William Thomson was a man of 
bright intelligence, sturdy independence, great knowledge, as well as 
strong common sense, and his name is deeply graven on the tablets of 
horticulture. 
FLORAL FACTS AND FANCIES.—7. 
Some unknown individual chose for the motto of the Mistletoe 
flower, “ I surmount all obstacles,” by no meaus inappropriate when 
the habit of the plant is regarded, since it grows and thrives in the 
face of difficulties which seem likely to extinguish its early life. 
At the outset—under natural conditions—its seeds depend upon 
the agency of birds for their distribution, and during the first three 
years the growth of the plant is very slow. Then, as the male and 
female flowers are separate, fertilisation is brought about either by 
the wind, or more probably by insect visitors. Bees are drawn to 
them, it is stated, because they have a peculiar boney-like odour ; 
also they are conspicuous. But we may reckon that not one person 
in ten thousand of those not living in the districts where the 
Mistletoe is grown has ever seen the flower. 
On the host of traditions connected with the plant itself we 
must not dwell. It was reverenced by many Pagan nations, 
regarded as a protection from wounds and the influences of evil 
spirits, also a cure for various diseases, though it has been queried 
lately whether the Mistletoe of our British ancestors was the 
species familiar to us. Some think it must have been Loranthus 
europseus, which frequently grows on the Oak * Yiscum album 
seldom. From a long list of trees upon which it has been found, 
there is proof that its favourites are the Apple, Hawthorn, Black 
Poplar, and Willow. Just now, when Christmas decorations are 
being removed, there is an opportunity to experiment with 
Mistletoe berries. It is only necessary to place each berry in some 
crack or depression in tbe bark, and cover it with a bit of bass to 
protect it from birds. In the West of England some folks have 
successfully grown the plant upon Hawthorn hedges, or as an 
adornment along avenues of Limes and Poplars. 
To a very different plant belongs a significance similar to that 
of the Mistletoe. It is a native of hot climates, well known in 
Egypt, Greece, and Italy, and which thrives with us ; but it is 
not often seen in gardens. The Acanthus was thought to repre¬ 
sent genius overcoming difficulties, because, like some other plants, 
it has a power of adapting itself to circumstances, and when 
checked from extending in one direction strikes out upon a new 
course. It was the growth of an Acanthus around a flat tile in a 
manner rather unusual that suggested to Callimachus the idea of 
the Corinthian column ; and from the extensive use made of it by 
the ancient* when drawing designs on furniture, vases, and robes, 
the Acanthus has also become a symbol of art in action. Old 
Pliny recommended the plant as an ornament for lawns and 
bordflrs, our poet Milton introduces it amongst those that shaded 
the bower of Eve. 
Probably few people now, in decorating churches and houses 
at the seasons of Christmas and new year, pay any attention to the 
significance of the foliage and flowers that are used ; but by our 
ancestors much regard was given to this. Not having at command, 
however, any plants growing under shelter in winter, their choice 
was necessarily limited, and even of evergreens they had but few. 
Prized because it was a holy or sacred tree, the Holly claimed a 
conspicuous place which is still given to it ; besides, from a 
peculiarity of habit, it stood as an emblem of “ foresight.” Cling¬ 
ing to a tree even in decay, the Ivy represented “ friendship ” 
unshaken by misfortune, and its arms have sustained many an 
ancient wall during centuries. A line in one of the quaint old 
carols highly commends the Ivy, “ For all bale she is bliss,” how 
we do not exactly know, A wreath of it was also deemed a fitting 
tribute of honour to bestow upon a poet. In Greece, at one time, 
the bridegroom held, at the wedding ceremony, a bough of Ivy, 
representing unshaken attachment. Rosemary, frequently worn 
at funerals as an emblem of fidelity, and of remembrance, too, 
according to Shakespeare, was sometimes used in church decoration, 
fresh or dried, for the sake of its fragrance, if not for its meaning. 
Some old writers state that this plant was a symbol of “ repent¬ 
ance ” or sorrow as well. 
Relying chiefly for decoration on the plants of woods and 
lanes, our ancestors gathered the wild Clematis (the “Traveller’s 
Joy ”), conspicuous by its feathery sprays, as a winter adornment, 
and it is even yet employed in decoration, though it is emblematic 
of “artifice.” The reason is, that beggars at one time used to 
produce sores by means of the acrid juice, which is similar in 
effect to that of the Buttercups or Crowfoots. But the handsome 
exotic with purple flowers is taken to represent “beauty,” though 
the evergreen variety is, oddly enough, a symbol of “ poverty.” 
With the Clematis, the long runners of the Woody Nightshade or 
Bitter Sweet, sometimes green in winter, were occasionally 
mingled—a plant that is regarded as an emblem of truth, because, 
if chewed, the juice is at first bitter ; but a sensation of sweetness 
follows. More, as Dr. Tyas adds, it has a preference for shady 
places, and is like truth, because she now and then abides at the 
bottom of a well! To us, probably, an array of Hazel rods would 
have no particular significance, but when the catkins began to 
appear on them they were formerly cut, to be displayed as the 
tokens of “reconciliation” and “peace” amongst Christians. 
The idea came from the ancients, for the wonderful caduceus, or 
magic rod of the deity Mercury, was supposed to be of hazel wood. 
According to the legend, he and Apollo came to the human race 
while all were savages, and, after the god of music had softened 
with divine harmony the hearts of men. Mercury, by the influence 
of his rod, prompted brotherly kindness, the love of country, and 
the desire for commerce, as being a bond which would finally unite 
all nations. 
We find that certain groups of plants have uncomplimentary 
characteristics attached'to most of them. Thus, the Helleboresi 
