168 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE PERTHSHIRE SOCIETY OF NATURAE SCIENCE. 
collected in a barrel, and when cold they are carried to 
my trees, bushes, and vines. I have also my dunghill 
drained, so that the liquid manure is collected in a barrel 
outside, and afterwards used to fertilise the flowers and 
fruit. Nature is a splendid economiser, if mankind would 
only study her laws and assist her. Near to a great many 
cottages in the country, I see pig-styes, with the liquid 
manure running all to waste, which, if carefully econo¬ 
mised, would be invaluable for the garden. Is it not 
something worth knowing, that by a little attention to a 
few sanitary rules, what would produce deadly and infec¬ 
tious diseases, may be made to produce life-sustaining 
food and lovely flowers. Nothing need be lost,—not even 
the smoke of your chimneys, which is the product of the 
sun’s rays of past ages. Horticulturists tell us that there 
is nothing better for roses than sooty water; so keep all 
your soot, tie it in a thin bag, and put it in a barrel of 
soft water; let it stand for some time, and afterwards 
carry it to your trees and bushes. 
I now pass on to the next part of my paper, namely, 
some of the hindrances to the more general cultivation of 
fruit, Hitherto our Land Laws have greatly retarded the 
advance of fruit culture. I have been told that in 
France, where fruit is more generally cultivated than 
in this country, many of the houses in the country dis¬ 
tricts have from a quarter to an acre of ground or more at¬ 
tached to them, where fruit is extensively grown. Here 
such a thing is the exception, and not the rule. When the 
ground is owned by the occupant, there is a greater incen¬ 
tive to the cultivation of frnit, or any other industry that 
will pay; but when a tenant has only his house and garden 
from year to year, or even on a short lease, with no chance 
of remuneration for substantial improvements at its ex¬ 
piry, his best efforts are paralysed. Dr Robertson con¬ 
cluded by pointing out some of the other hindrances to 
the more general cultivation of fruit, such as the difficulty 
of obtaining land at a cheap rate, and the want of a proper 
knowledge of the subject by the great mass of the people. 
Dr Buchanan White, in moving a vote of thanks to 
Dr Robertson for his paper, remarked that the Society 
was very glad to receive it although it was a little beyond 
their subject, and was more a part of applied science than 
of science pure and simple; still he did not think they 
were any the worse of having papers of that kind occasion¬ 
ally, especially when they were so very practical and 
valuable as the one they had heard that night, which went 
to the root of the matter. 
Mr A. Coates, in seconding the motion, said that the 
subject was one of deep interest both to the members of 
the Society and the public at large, and he hoped that the 
publication of the paper would widely extend the know¬ 
ledge of the subject, and increase the interest taken in it, 
also that it would cause much more attention to be given 
to fruit-cultivation than had hitherto been done. It 
was becoming a matter every day of more and more im¬ 
portance that we should devote our attention to the culti¬ 
vation of fruit in this country, as our agricultural interests 
were being every day more handicapped by foreign com¬ 
petition in the matter of grain. It was, however, not 
only a simple money question, but also one of health. He 
thought every one would admit that we used far too little 
fruit in this country, and that a larger use of it 
would be conducive to the public health generally. 
The effect of the paper no doubt would be to in¬ 
crease the interest of the public in the Society by 
showing them they could not only devote themselves to 
the study of science, but could bring it home in such a way 
as to make it very much to the interest of all parties to 
combine with them in their efforts to promote the study 
of natural science. 
In reply to a question, Dr Robertson said that we had 
a good deal to battle with in this country in regard to 
climate, but with cultural care, and a good selection, 
we could overcome these difficulties to a considerable ex¬ 
tent. Often very fine fruits could be grown very well in 
sheltered situations. 
SUMMER SESSION, 18S4. 
The following Excursions were made :— 
Mat 10th. 
1. To Craighall. 
Craighall, the property of General Clerk-Rattray (by 
whose kind permission the Society was allowed to make 
an excursion there), is admitted to be, in great measure, 
the original of Sir Walter Scott’s Tullyveolan, and hence 
has an additional interest added to its charms. As it is 
so well known (for, by the liberality of its proprietor, the 
