April 22, 1886. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
319 
■equal of its colour. When the writer had the good fortune to enter under 
Mr. Turnbull in 1832 he was just beginning to raise seedling Heaths, and 
he has continued to do this up to a very recent date. When I heard from 
.him a few weeks ago, he remarked that he had taken advantage of the bad 
weather to get most of his Heaths shifted and staked. I replied a week ago 
sending him some blooms of a new Orchid he was anxious to see, but never 
heard from him again, thus closing a correspondence that for forty-nine 
years has been uninterrupted. 
Mr. Turnbull was one of the first cultivators of Orchids in Britain, and 
though his facilities were small he grew some remarkable specimens, one 
of which is at this moment the finest probably in Europe—I refer to his 
.grand plant of the autumn-flowering Cattlya labiata, which for forty years 
has produced from eight to twelve spikes of bloom annually. 
For a number of years Mr. Turnbull has had the charge of the whole 
grounds, including the farm at Bothwell Castle, which he has managed 
with that upright honest fidelity to his employer that was a striking 
characteristic of his nature. If he abhorred anything it was double dealing 
of any description. His was a soul of transparent honesty. Mr. Turnbull 
was never married, a most excellent sister kept his house till her death 
some twelve years ago. He had saved a little money, which he lost in 
the City of Glasgow Bank when it failed. The writer went to see him on 
that sad occasion, and found him as brisk and cheery as ever, and as 
.ready with a joke. No man had a keener appreciation of a well-told 
amusing story, or could laugh more heartily at one. His word was his 
bond in all things, and take him all-in-all he has left few his equals. 
His remains are interred in Bothwell Churchyard beside those of his 
sister and brother.—W. T. 
PLANT, SHRUBBERY, AND WOODLAND BORDERS- 
Adjacent to most gardens are semi-wild places—a rank mass of 
■struggling, entangled vegetation. Shrubs smothered with trees 
allowed to grow and remain much too close for even their own 
development, the commonest and coarser having obtained the 
mastery. Most places of this kind exhibit unmistakeable evidence 
of timely thinning and judicious attention to pruning having been 
neglected ; but “ it is never too late to mend,’’ only it is commenced 
very often when many of the choicer trees and shrubs are irretriev¬ 
ably spoiled. Much, however, may be done by a judicious thinning 
to let in light and afford headway to the shrubs, and some of the 
latter cleared off along with the rubbish to make room for plants 
that grow in such situations naturally, and look better than under 
the restraints of cultivation. Most of our shrubbery borders and 
woodlands would be the better for a weeding alike of tree, shrub, 
and bush, as well as of the coarser vegetation. Rubbish cleared 
away would soon make space for many plants which, not perhaps 
appropriate in dressed grounds, are quite at home in woodland glades 
and nooks and corners of shrubland walks, but even clearances of 
this kind must be done with judgment, as the plants to be introduced 
must have shelter. Regard will also have to be had to the soil and 
location, which is all the better, as we get variety in proportion to the 
■change of soil or its location in respect of sun and shade, or presence 
of moisture in sloping banks or hollows or well-drained knolls that 
afford scope for the accommodating of various plants. 
Of plants that have a peculiar appropriateness are Primroses. No 
wood or shady spot is complete without them, and as we can have 
them in varied shades of colour the ground may be set all ablaze 
with their charm and beauty. The Primrose delights in yellow loam 
inclined to be heavy and moist rather than dry and light, and with 
ehade of deciduous trees not forming too dense a canopy in summer 
as to obliterate the growth of grass or weeds, and not utterly deprive 
it of moisture, they hold their own, flourishing vigorously and 
blooming profusely. Polyanthuses show off well in association with 
Primroses, and grow and thrive equally well or better. In nature 
they grow freely enough and spread rapidly by self-sown seed, their 
•seeds germinating most readily immediately they are ripe and 
gathered when the capsules are bursting ; but time may be taken by 
the forelock to procure some seed and sow at once, and whilst about 
it, it is just as well to get some Alpine Auricula seed and sow it, as 
these harmonise well with Primroses and Polyanthuses. The seed 
may be sown on a north border, and preferably in a cold frame in 
fine soil, as the frame insures uniformity of moisture, and shade can 
readily be given, which if closed are certain to bring the seedlings 
•quickly. When large enough to handle harden them and prick them 
off about 3 inches apart on the north border, and in spells of dry 
weather water will not be lost upon them, weeds being removed, as 
the stronger the plants are the finer they are likely to flower the 
spring following. 
Then there are Violets, which everybody likes, and though they 
come freely enough from seed it is a method not much resorted to, 
'though it may be practised by sowing the seed in a similar manner to 
Primroses, and treating the seedlings in a like manner, only the plants 
will need more room, as they develope more foliage than the slower- 
growing seedling Primroses. Those who have beds of Violets will 
have no difficulty in getting the plants, only leave the beds that 
would under ordinary conditions be broken up alone until aut umn 
when they will have rooted runners in abundance, that may be taken 
up, divided, and planted without needing any attention afterwards. 
Everybody seems to give themselves as much trouble as possible with 
Violets, planting them in spring in rich soil and open spots to cause 
as much trouble in watering and in getting as luxuriant a crop of 
leaves as possible, without any idea of this being just the way not to 
get flowers. Plant Violets wild in autumn, and they will have 
Nature’s moistening through the winter in quantity, sufficient to 
insure their establishment. Violets with blooms like Pansies are 
inappropriate in the shrubbery and woodland ; besides, they do not 
get large there. The sorts at home there are the Russian, Crimean, 
London, and I do not know how many other names it passes under, 
but is certainly Viola odorata suavis, with variation due to soil and 
location. The single pink variety (Viola odoratissima rubra) is 
another that does well ; and then there is the common Sweet Violet, 
with its grey and white forms that are not infrequent in gardens 
under other names than the right one, and Lee’s argentereflora is in its 
right place there if anywhere. It grows so freely and flowers so 
profusely as to fill the air with perfume. Lee’s odoratissima also 
does well, and has a fitting companion in White Czar. 
Myosotis or Forget-me-nots are great favourites, especially the 
lovely M. dissitiflora, its pinky blue flowers always attracting admir¬ 
ation. It likes moist places, and does well in partial shade, but 
cannot bear stagnant water, thriving best where the soil is kept 
moist by water percolating through it, and near running water. It 
does best in sheltered positions, as cold cutting north-easters and 
spring frosts mar its beauty unless so located as to be tempered 
before reaching the Myosotis. M. sylvestris will, of course, succeed 
in denser gloom, but it is best seen only in partial shade. Seed 
sown now will give fine plants for putting out in autumn, and once 
established they produce seed freely. 
Columbines, of which there is now combinations to please all 
tastes, from lavender through blue to mauve, rose-pink to scarlet, 
yellow to orange ; even those that like no colour at all have it in 
white, and the flower lover has the most striking and effective con¬ 
trasts in the same flower. Douglas's hybrids are beautiful, and the 
old sorts with the fresh blood in them are simply captivating. Seed 
sown now will give fine plants for putting out in autumn. They 
soon get naturalised by self-sown seeds, and make charming groups. 
They like good soil and not dense shade, but there is plenty of bare 
spots that will suit them. 
Mimuluses are fine for moist places. The spotted, though usually 
seen in greenhouses, are hardy where they get Nature’s leafy mulch¬ 
ing, M. cardinalis and M. cupreus making quite a display. The 
indispensable Musk never comes amiss, especially as a surprise in 
woods. These may be raised in cold frames, pricked outdoors on a 
shady border, and put out in autumn.—G. Abbey. 
(To be continued.) 
CINERARIAS AND THEIR CULTURE. 
{Continued from page 209.) 
POTTING THE PLANTS. 
One of the most important points to be observed in the culture of 
Cinerarias is to always pot them before they experience the slightest check 
till they are placed in their largest pots, for if once they become stunted 
they never grow freely afterwards. We always like to give them small 
shifts, as there is less chance of the soil getting sour before the roots have 
permeated it. From the 60-pots ours are shifted into 5-inch pots, then 
into 7-inch pots, and as soon as ready transferred to their largest pots (9 or 
10 inches in diameter), which we find large enough for all purposes. It 
will therefore readily be seen it is useless to state the week or month in 
which they should be potted into a certain sized pot; that will depend upon 
the progress they make. Let the cultivator be guided by the state of 
the plants. If on turning them out of the pots numbers of roots 
are found to have reached the sides of the pots, that is just the stage at 
which they require shifting; and at each successive potting the soil is 
made a little firmer than at the last, and when the plants are placed in 
their largest pots it is made decidedly firm. 
THE BEST SOIL. 
Good turfy loam that has been stacked in a heap for twelve months is 
an essential ingredient in preparing the soil; and the manure and leaf 
soil used should be perfectly sweet and free from all insects. A small 
white grub sometimes found in leaf soil works sad havoc among the roots 
of plants. The best manure we find for the purpose is well decayed 
hotbed manure. If this is exposed to the sun before using, so as to allow 
it to be rubbed through the half-inch sieve, it will form an excellent 
material for mixing with the loam, The compost us^ for potting in the 
earlier stages of growth should be rather lighter than that used at the 
final potting. When shifting into 5-inch pots, three parts loam, two of 
the leaf soil, and one part manure, with a good sprinkling of charcoal 
bioken very small, some road sand, and a little soot will form a very 
suitable compost, gradually increasing the proportion of loam till the 
final potting, when three parts loam, one of manure, and one part leaf soil 
