254 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
September 13, 1894. 
and if Nature in the course of a few years should do the work in a more 
simple and perfect manner, so much the better. At the same time 1 
lather doubt if the advice of “ A. D.” is very good when he says, •' If the 
maggot should appear again, the best thing to do will be to keep our 
heads cool and drown it out with cold water, as Nature has done so 
effectually this year,” In the first instance, in a season like that of last 
year, it would have been absolutely impossible in many districts to have 
obtained the necessary amount of water to have given the thorough 
drenchings we have had this year, and if the water had been forthcoming 
it would have entailed a large amount of labour to have supplied it; and 
lastly, the artificial waterings under the scorching sun of last year 
would have had a very different effect on both maggots and crops to the 
natural waterings this year under a cloudy sky, and the various results 
could only be found out by experience, which I think would have to be 
bought rather dearly.—W. S. B, 
KIRKCONNELL, DUMFRIES, N.B. 
Near the mouth of the river Nith, and reached by a drive of about 
eight miles from Dumfries, is the estate of Kirkconnell, the property of 
Mrs. Maxwell-Witham. The mansion, which stands in a beautifully 
wooded park, possesses no pretensions to architectural beauty, but has 
all the same an interest of its own. The fine old Oaks, and the Spanish 
and Horse Chestnuts in the park, are the objects of much interest to 
the arborist, and were visited by the Scottish Horticultural Association 
in one of their tours. Very fine are they, and in perfect keeping with 
the quaint building they almost surround. The laiter is one of those 
composite structures which are the work of successive generations, the 
oldest and most interesting portion being the fine old tower which dates 
from the eleventh century, and is still in excellent preservation, contain¬ 
ing among other apartments the dining-room. A portion of the house, 
which stands with its gable to the front, appears to have been next 
erected, and in 1780 the main portion of the front was commenced. 
Much of the condition of the mansion is due to the fact that the estate 
has remained in the same family from before the erection of the old 
tower already referred to, although three times the male line failed, and 
succession was maintained by the marriage of the heiresses. Thus it 
was that the old family name of Kirkconnell was merged in that of 
Maxwell from the alliance of the heiress with the noble family of 
Maxwell of Caerlaverock, and in recent times the marriage of the 
present proprietrix to her cousin, the late Robert Witham, Esq., led to the 
adoption of that of Maxwell-Witham. One of the memorable events in 
the history of the family was the adhesion of its then representative to 
the cause of “Bonnie Prince Charlie” in 1745. This led to his flight 
to France, and would in all likelihood have entailed the forfeiture of 
the estate had it not been that he had previously conveyed it to two 
staunch friends, by whom it was reconveyed on his return a few years 
later. Some relics of the ill-fated prince are still in the possession of 
the family, and are highly prized and viewed with interest by all 
visitors. 
It is not, however, the object of this notice to speak in detail of the 
interesting history of the family and estate, but to mention some 
features of horticultural interest. The plainness of the house is greatly 
relieved by the free growth of a Dundee Rambler and an Ayrshire Rose, 
and the masses of Pyrus japonica and Cotoueaster, which cover much of 
the walls. The present garden is about 100 years old, the former one 
having been in front of the house, and, with the shrubberies, contains 
many interesting old plants, as well as those of modern introduction. 
It is surrounded by high brick walls, covered with fruit trees and a few 
shrubs, among the latter a fine specimen of Buddleia globosa being 
conspicuous. Unfortunately this season has not been a favourable one 
for fruit at Kirkconnell, and one has not the p'easure of reporting 
favourably on this important department. This is solely due to the 
conditions of the season, and, as is to be expected in ordinary seasons, 
good crops are secured. The Grapes in the vinery show that every 
attention possible is given to their cultivation, and highly successful 
results are obtained. 
Vegetables are well grown, especially noteworthy being a large 
number of plants of a splendid strain of Curled Parsley and some 
magnificent Onions. In these Mr. Harper, the gardener, has shown by 
his success in competition that he is not easily beaten in their cultiva¬ 
tion. Herbaceous plants are a great feature of the garden, and are 
represented by a large collection of the best old and new introductions, 
no pains nor expense being spared to add to this attractive department. 
The collection of florists’ flowers is an unusually large one for a 
private garden of this size, those grown being principally Antirrhinums, 
Pansies, Phloxes, Pentstemons, Roses, Marigolds, and Asters. Mr. 
Harper takes a special pride in his florists’ flowers, and as he receives 
every encouragement from the family it is little wonder that successes 
at various shows have been credited to the Kirkconnell flowers. Space 
does not permit of detailed notice, but the best of the new sorts are 
added, so that there may be no lagging behind. Some of the newer 
Roses, such as Margaret Dickson, were remarkably fine at the time of 
the writer’s visit. 
A notice of Kirkconnell would be incomplete without a reference 
to the old garden Roses which abound, and which are left unmutilated, 
so that they are in great masses eovered in their season with multitudes 
of flowers, I have already spoken of them in the Journal, but one 
cannot refrain from repeating that these old Roses, such as the Damask, ' 
the Maiden’s Blush, and many others, are never seen to advantage unless 
in such places as these, where their growth is luxuriant and their 
floriferousness only limited by the short season of their flowers. The 
glass structures in the garden are not extensive, and call for no special 
notice, save to mention the fine tuberous Begonias and Zonal Pelar¬ 
goniums, which are of the most modern types and admirably grown. 
Many features of interest to the horticulturist, such as the fine old 
Kalmias, and to the antiquary, such as recently discovered ancient fort, 
cannot be spoken of, but it can safely be said that Kirkconnell will well 
repay a visit from anyone interested in gardening or antiquarian 
pursuits. Not readily to be forgotten is the unfailing courtesy and 
kindness shown 1o visitors by the family and all connected with the 
estate, a courtesy which makes the pleasure of a visit tenfold greater.— 
S. Arnott. 
PROPERTY IN MUSHROOMS. 
The preponderance of rain with which we have been favoured since 
midsummer has had the effect of stimulating the growth of Mushrooms, 
and, as a matter of course, the appearance of these windfalls provokes 
the annual invasion of the lawless classes, who, uninvited, proceed to 
help themselves to this marketable product of the agriculturists’ 
meadows. That a tangible value attaches to these growths goes with¬ 
out saying. If there were no sale for them there would be no raiding or 
trespassing to secure them before the farmer has time to gather them for 
his own emolument. As illustrative of the possible value of Mushrooms 
on a farm we may cite a holding in the Vale of Evesham, from which 
(so we understand) as much as £100 has actually been cleared, net, by 
the occupier during the current summer, by picking betimes the daily 
natural output of Mushrooms, and railing them off to the Manchester 
market. We only hope that our present allusion to this stroke of good 
luck and good management combined may not have the effect of bring¬ 
ing a horde of raiders on the scene, and for this reason we suppress 
the actual address of the fortunatus agricola. 
We have no doubt that the harvest of this increment of the soil has 
only been secured by dint of an outlay in watching and tending the 
fields, to an extent which would not have been requisite if the crop had 
been one of grain or of roots, A correspondent from a county adjoining 
the district referred to is evidently suffering from the malpractices of 
professional Mushroom raiders, and he inquires of us what remedy, it 
any, he has against trespassers who invade his land to loot his 
Mushrooms. In his case it seems that he has been energetic enough to 
sow “Mushroom spawn largely” in one of his fields, and the crop 
appears to be prolific, tempting the cupidity and dishonesty of the 
predatory classes, and galling the feelings of the occupier, who notes 
his carefully engendered crop vanishing daily under the night forays of 
the professional Mushroom thief. We are especially interested in this 
last named case, and commend it to the prompt attention of the Agri¬ 
cultural Union, whose organisation we announced and congratulated 
ourselves upon a few weeks ago. 
As regards the abstraction of natural Mushrooms, no criminal charge 
will lie, so far as the actual picking is concerned. The most that can be 
done is to proceed for trespass ; and here—unless some tangible damage 
has been done to the land, which can form the basis of a summons for 
malicious damage in trespass—a petty sessional court can practically do 
nothing ; while civil action against men of straw would be only throw¬ 
ing good money away. The value of the Mushrooms abstracted or 
trampled, so long as they are a natural product of the soil, cannot be 
taken into consideration in appraising the damage caused by the entry 
of the trespasser ; and it is not likely that much actual damage can be 
verified by his footmarks on the herbage, or his passage over the 
boundary fence—supposing that he has entered thus, and not by a gate. 
In fact, the farmer is practically powerless to protect a natural crop of 
this sort, unless he is prepared to employ hands to watch it, with 
authority to turn off all intruders. If he takes this line, he or his 
servants may use whatever force is necessary to repel intrusion ; and if 
the intruder uses counterforce to obtain or maintain his entry, then a 
criminal offence, qua assault, is at once committed by the intruder ; and 
we trust that any bench of justices with such a case before them (of 
forcible entry and assault) would inflict the fullest sentence in their 
power, even though the assault should happen to be no more than a 
“common” one—not inflicting any wound,nor otherwise “ aggravated.” 
If it should amount to the latter class of offence, then still more would 
it demand full penalty. We are aware that it is somewhat straining the 
law to sentence to a substantial term of hard labour, without option of 
a fine, for a slight assault and resistance to an ejectment; but morally 
the intruder is a thief, and, moreover, in all probability there is already 
a bad police record against him ; so that there is good justification for 
making an example of him. The very point of the Mushroom thief is 
that the law is on his side, insomuch as it does not make his abstrac¬ 
tion a felony ; if, then, he invokes the letter of the law, he is best paid 
in his own coin when, under another letter of the same law, he finds an 
otherwise nominal assault in pursuit of his plunder visited with a spdl 
on the treadmill. 
But now we may turn to the special case put before us by our corre¬ 
spondent, where a field has been expressly sown with Mushroom spawn 
and is plundered. It is a statutable offence, punishable on summary 
conviction, to “ steal, destroy, or to dama~e with intent to steal,’’ any 
“ cultivated root or plant used for food of man or beast, or for medicine, 
distilling, or dyeing ” if the same is growing on land open or enclosed, 
