T1IE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION— May 27, 1850. 
1 
I no 
wall trees show the same care in training as distin¬ 
guished the garden in Mr. Bealtie's time. Three of the 
huge Morello Cherries, that were such gems a quarter of 
a century since, are vigorous aud symmetrical still. 
They will soon be matched by some others planted by 
Mr. Dodds, which are beautiful specimens of cultural 
skill. The Pear trees were loaded with blossom. This 
I found at other places, though in this quarter we are 
very deficient this season. Apricots had set freely. 
Some Pear trees that had done little good for several 
years were loaded with bloom buds. Air. Halliday 
thought they were previously too poor to form flower- 
buds freely. The borders had been dressed for Dahlias, 
aud the increased strength, he believed, to be the result. 
He was quite conversant with the over-luxuriant theory ; 
but want of sufficient vigour may be as much against 
forming flower-buds as too much of it. Plums, Cherries, 
&c., promised to be abundant. Owing to the abundance 
of Pheasants, every Pea has to be protected with wire 
netting, and even Cabbage and Cauliflower plants be¬ 
fore they get a good size have to be covered every night 
with pots. No wonder that gardeners, at times, look 
upon game as little better than vermin. 
With the exception of a Pinery, with good plants, 
heated by hot-water pipes, a pit-house heated by a tank, 
and pits heated by dung, the forcing-houses are heated 
by flues, which answer extremely well. There are three 
ranges in one line of about 100 feet each, and each of 
these is again subdivided into divisions, which are appro¬ 
priated to Peaches aud Vines. The houses were all 
narrow at first; but two, I think, out of the three, have 
been widened. 
Mr. Halliday spoke strongly in favour of the narrow 
house for keeping grapes in winter and spring with no 
trouble, when it was next to impossible to keep them in 
the wide houses, owing to the falling of the condensed 
moisture. The Peaches had set a full crop. The mode of 
planting and training is such as I have seen long ago 
at Hampton Court. One set of trees are planted against 
the back wall. Another, consisting of short standards, 
are planted in the middle of the house, under every se- 
j cond rafter, and there trained to a trellis across the 
house, leaving head way at the back. This plan, with 
variations, has been followed at Dunkeld and Dalkeith. 
Unless for certain purposes, we can see nothing in 
favour of the plan. I can well conceive how it was 
adopted at Scoue. There is no greenhouse or conserva¬ 
tory, and yet many fine plauts are grown, and in the 
spaces between the hanging trellises across the house, 
many plants could be set in a late Peach-house, when 
they would be too much shaded in an earlier Vinery. 
In the Vineries, I found fine Camellia plants growing 
freely after flowering. In the Peach-house were many 
beautiful Azaleas. I have no doubt these were destined 
to change places, as Mr. Halliday spoke of the import¬ 
ance of giving the Azaleas a little heat, to got an early 
formation of buds. The Vineries were showing- abun- 
j dant crops. 
I have said the flues in these forcing-houses answer 
extremely well. It is worth something to know how ; 
more especially as Mr. Halliday never syringes his 
Vines, and it would be a rare thing to see bouses looking 
better. The flues are covered with a strong tile, with a 
turned-up edge on each side, about one inch in depth. The 
top of the flue being level, aud these tiles firmly joined 
together by Roman cement, a basin is formed for hold¬ 
ing water the whole length of the flue. Prom the time 
that forcing really commences, the top of the flue has a 
constant supply of water, and hence the moisture given 
off is just in proportion to the artificial heat applied. A 
due hygrometric state of the atmosphere is thus secured. 
In a Muscat house, at a high temperature, so genial and 
pleasant was the atmosphere, that without seeing, I 
could have hardly believed that the heat was supplied 
by a flue. Many inquiries are made as to the com- 
mencingand discontinuingof syringing for certain crops; 
but were a supply of moisture to the atmosphere thus 
secured—whatever the mode of heating—the syringe 
would next to enjoy a sinecure, and one advantage 
would be, that no sediment from the water would ever 
encrust fruit or leaves, the moisture raised by evapora¬ 
tion being as pure as the dew drop. Of course, as the 
fruit approaches maturity the vapour pans must be al¬ 
lowed gradually to dry. 
In the houses I observed thousands of seedlings of 
Al/ies Douglasii, raised from cones produced by a 
fine tree in the flower-garden, about forty feet high, and 
from a fine specimen still at Lyndoek—contemporary, I 
presume, with other two good specimens at Raith. 
These, and seedlings some years old, are intended by his 
lordship (the Earl of Mansfield) to be planted in mas¬ 
sive groups. The fine tree at the flower-garden was 
moved to its present site, some years back, by Mr. 
Dodds, and nothing could have answered better, though 
many would have been rather timid about it. . 
To the south of the kitchen-garden, formerly an 
orchard and nursery, a Pinetum has been planted, 
with plenty of room for each tree to show its distin¬ 
guishing features. This will be the chief object gained, 
as thero is nothing picturesque in the site itself. There 
is little doubt, but ere long many plants of the most 
prized kind will find a home in romantic and undulating 
ground, by the sides of the many miles of gravel walks 
and green drives that now exist. The latter are conti¬ 
nually undergoing a scries of improvements, by intro¬ 
ducing masses of evergreens, Rhododendrons, &c., by 
their sides, aud on prominent and out-jutting points. 
These are first planted thickly, for immediate effect, and 
then the mass becomes a nursery for supplying other 
masses in future years. Walks amid deciduous woods 
are thus made cheerful and ornamental at all times, and 
especially in winter aud spring. By seizing on promi¬ 
nent points for masses, the tame formality of anything 
approaching the sameness of an evergreen-hedge is 
avoided. In some of the walks I traversed at Scone, a 
purling brook lent its influence to the forest glade, and 
the abrupt points and turnings in the bed of the rivulet 
were being used by Mr Halliday for thus combining 
the natural in scenery with the picturesque in art. 
R. Fish. 
Sale of Mr. Loddiges Orchids. —The first portion 
of this unequalled collection of Orchids took place on 
the 15th and 16th instant. The collection comprises 
two thousand specimens, and these represent upwards 
of twelve hundred species. On the above occasion there 
were 280 lots, and Mr. J. C. Stevens, the auctioneer 
selected to distribute them, obtained for them T717, but 
as only about 200 lots were sold they averaged but 
little less than £3 per lot. We have only space to 
mention such as realised the highest prices. Oncidmm 
Lanceanum, TO. Dendrobium Farmeri, T8 5s. D. den- 
siflorum, T8. AE rides Larpentea, T9. V. teres, T10. 
Onculiumpurpuratum (uew), T8. Vanda suavis, T10 10s. 
AE rules odor a turn maximum, TO 10. AE. quinquevtdnennn, 
T10. Ccelogyne pandurata, Tit. AErules nobi/e, T21. 
AE. Schroderii, T19 10s. Saccolabium ampulaciuvn, T15; 
and Vamla Batemannii, T48 Is. 
The next portion of the collection will be sold on the 
30th aud 31st instant. 
WHITE-EYED BEDDING GERANIUMS. 
There are two classes of Scarlet Geraniums which 
bid fair to take the lead of the fashion for raauy years, 
judging from the eagerness with which they are sought 
after iu high life. I mean the Fothergillii, or Nosegay, 
