February 25, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
405 
plant also bears a close resemblance, and is no 
doubt closely allied, to a plant introduced from Brazil 
in 1885 by the late Mr. John Day, of Tottenham. It 
flowered this year in the establishment of M. Ed. 
Pynaert, Ghent, Belgium. 
The Nursery and Seed Trade Association.—The 
annual meeting of this association of nurserymen, 
seedsmen, and florists was held on Monday evening last, 
at the office, 25, Old Jewry, E.C., the president, Mr. 
N. N. Sherwood, occupying the chair. The eleventh 
annual report and statement of accounts was read, and 
adopted unanimously on the motion of Mr. Harrison, of 
Leicester, seconded by Mr. T. S. Ware, Tottenham, and 
supported by Mr. William Paul, of Waltham Cross. The 
committee had again the pleasure to report a marked 
extension in the operations of the association, the roll 
of members being increased by twenty-two during the 
year, the number of debts applied for being 907, an 
increase of 159 over last year, and the amount recovered 
£3,341, as compared with £2,419 in 1886. Allusion 
was also made to the action taken by the association 
with reference to the question of unequal assessments, 
and it was announced that a test case would shortly be 
selected for the purpose of obtaining a judicial decision 
on the subject. It was also gratifying to learn that 
although the past year had been marked by unusual 
depression in most branches of trade, there was not 
more than the average number of failures in the nursery 
and seed trades. On the motion of Mr. G. Bunyard, 
Maidstone, seconded by Mr. W. Paul, the committee, 
with the addition of Mr. Harrison, was re-elected en 
lloc, and thanked for their past services. Mr. W. J. 
Nutting and Mr. T. S. Ware were elected as auditors. 
Mr. Sherwood was again elected president, and thanked 
most cordially for his good services to the association in 
the past. During the meeting several suggestions of a 
valuable character were made with a view to still further 
enhance the usefulness of the association, and pleasant 
testimony was borne to the assiduous manner in which 
the secretary, Mr. F. C. Goodchild, had carried out the 
duties of his office. The members present subsequently 
dined together at the Guildhall Tavern, Mr. Sherwood 
presiding. -- 
VINE CULTURE IN BELGIUM. 
It will interest our Grape-growing readers to know that 
in the opinion of Mr. Charles Joly, of Paris, as stated 
in a “Note on the Culture of the Vine under Glass,” 
recently published by him in pamphlet form, two 
of the most important commercial establishments 
for the culture of Grapes are those of Messrs. W. 
Thomson & Sons, Galashiels, Scotland, and Messrs. 
Sohie Bros., of Hoeilaert, in Belgium, Hoeilaert being 
a small village of 2,500 inhabitants, and situated 
between seven and eight miles south-east of Brussels. 
Mr. Joly gives some interesting particulars respecting 
the Messrs. Sohie’s establishment, from which we 
extract the following :—About 1865 the brothers Sohie 
commenced to construct houses for Vine culture, 
and at that time had the advantage of cheap labour, 
iron, glass, and coal. The variety at first grown 
was F-rankenthal or Black Hamburgh, and the 
cultivators found a ready market in London, 
Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris for their produce. 
The fruiterer is supplied with fresh Grapes all the 
year round, and the produce compares favourably with 
the famous Grapes grown at Thomery. 
The vineries are constructed on the simplest plan, 
consistent with efficiency, quick and economic pro¬ 
duction. They are modelled on the same principle as 
those of the Dutch, and our illustration (copied from 
Mr. Joly’s paper) shows a section of a house that 
would measure about 9 yds. or 10 yds. wide, and 
3 yds. to 3| yds. high. The structure rests upon 
brick walls about 2 ft. in height. In the interior 
iron wires are supported by stakes, and to these the 
Vines, planted about 1 yd. apart, are fastened. There 
are four rows of Vines in a house—two against the 
outside walls, and one on each side of the centre. 
During the first two or three years the Vines are grown 
in pots, and any bunches that may make their appear¬ 
ance, are removed in order to strengthen the canes. The 
system of heating is the old-fashioned brick-built flue 
placed in the lowest part of the house. The flues of 
pottery jointed with clay are placed along on the soil, 
and are connected with an upright shaft to carry away 
the smoke. The Messrs. Sohie Bros, have ten hectares 
under culture, of which six are entirely covered with 
glass. Besides the Vine, the Peach, Madeleine Rouge, 
and the Strawberry, Marguerite Lebreton, are cul¬ 
tivated at Hoeilaert, and compensate in a measure for 
the low price obtained for the Grapes. 
-—>K-- 
GLENBERVIE HOUSE, 
KINCARDINESHIRE. 
The present mansion at Glenbervie House, the residen¬ 
tial seat of James Badenoch Nicholson, Esq., is more 
than a hundred years old, and stands on the site of a 
castle of unknown antiquity, that was burned down. 
Ancient inscriptions in Latin, engraved on tombstones 
in the family burying place, known as the Douglas’ 
Aisle, in the neighbouring churchyard, carry back the 
account of the previous proprietors of the Glenbervie 
estate to 730 a.d. Several of them figure in Scottish 
history, and one of the family of Douglas was the 
second son of Archibald Douglas, Count of Angus, 
nicknamed “Bell the Cat,” the leading conspirator who 
hanged the unpopular associates of James III. over 
Lauder Bridge. The present family have held pos¬ 
session of the estate since 1721. The walls of the old 
part of the present building, or, at least, of the towers, 
are built of stone and are many feet in thickness. 
Seated as it is amongst the outlying ridges and 
isolated hills belonging to the Grampian range of 
mountains, Glenbervie constitutes a most pleasant 
retreat, surrounded and embosomed amongst woods and 
many fine old trees. Two venerable and aged Larches 
on the lawn by the mansion are said to be two of those 
originally introduced, an interesting fact if it could be 
proved, as they would then be over two-and-a-half 
centuries old. 
The gardens themselves are pleasantly situated on 
the sunny slope of a rather steep incline leading down 
to a small tributary of the river Bervie. The kitchen 
and fruit gardens are surrounded by high walls except 
upon the south side, where the garden is already 
sufficiently shaded by trees on the opposite slope, and 
by the neighbouring Knock [Hill, behind which the 
sun sets early in the afternoon in winter. The soil 
originally was very shallow, and rests on regularly 
stratified drift-sand and gravel, reaching to a great 
depth. It has recently been greatly improved, however, 
by the indefatigable exertions and skill of Mr. A. 
Cruickshank, the gardener, and proves compara¬ 
tively early, growing very heavy crops of fruit and 
vegetables, with the exception of Apples and Pears, 
which are in many cases badly influenced by the 
gravelly and sandy nature of the subsoil. Veitch’s 
Autumn Giant Cauliflower, which is a favourite here, 
frequently develops heads 36 ins. in circumference. 
Glenbervie Early Potato, enjoying considerable repute 
over a wide district at one time, originated in these 
gardens. 
The glass houses were remodelled by Mr. Cruick¬ 
shank a few years ago, and are more in keeping with 
the place, besides being much more elegant than the 
cumbrous and uninteresting old houses, while they now 
constitute a compact range instead of being scattered 
over the gardens and suffering from exposure on all 
sides as the old ones did. 
Black Hamburgh, Black Prince, Madresfield Court 
and Lady Downes are the black Grapes that are found 
to do best here ; Gros Colmar was added to the 
collection some time ago, and at the time of our visit 
was finishing off nicely. The favourite white Grapes 
are Forster’s Seedling, Raisin de Calabre (a round, 
white, vinous, late-keeping Grape) and Muscat of 
Alexandria — here grown as Charlesworth Tokay. 
Duchess of Buccleuch produced large bunches, with 
very small Grapes, however, and has been discarded. 
Forcing is not commenced very early, as the Grapes are 
not required till about the commencement of the 
shooting season, and Gros Colmar is grown in the early 
house, which thus gives it a long time to develop and 
ripen its fruit. 
The roof of the greenhouse is well furnished with 
climbers, amongst which were the Mexican Lophos- 
permum scandens, Lapageria rosea and its variety alba, 
Cobaea scandens and a large plant of Clematis indivisa 
lobata, which flowers freely, and is interesting—botani- 
cally—amongst the members of the order to which it 
belongs, owing to the male and female flowers being 
on separate plants. Hardy and half-hardy Ferns are 
great favourites at Glenbervie, and include such things 
as Asplenium Colensoi, A. fabianum, Blechnum Brasili- 
ense, Pleopeltis Billardieri, Davallia Tyermanni, Lomaria 
Gibba, L. Gilliesii and Nephrolepis exaltata cordifolia, 
all of which are grown in a cool temperature. Gonio- 
phlebium appendiculatum is very handsome in the 
young state when the fronds attain full size. The 
collection contains a large number of British species, 
both indoors and on a rockery in the shady lower end 
of the garden. The profusion of bloom produced by 
Hydrangea paniculata, and the huge flowers of Pleroma 
(Lasiandra) macrantha floribunda and Brugmansia 
alba will always find favour in greenhouses, as well as 
the useful white-flowered Francoa ramosa. Begonia 
metallica, grown in a cool temperature as a flowering 
plant, is no mean object when it attains a large size as 
attested by a specimen here. Amongst the fine-leaved 
Acacias, A. dealbata and A. lophantha are certainly the 
best; large plants of the latter are occasionally flowered 
and even fruited. An old-fashioned and fine thing is 
Mitraria coccinea, which has maintained its position for 
many years at this place in spite of recent innovations 
and changing fashions. Solanum jasminoides is all but 
hardy even in this latitude, only getting killed in very 
severe winters, and is both a showy and interesting 
plant, whether grown under glass or on the open wall. 
The stove occupying one end of the range is filled 
with the usual inmates of such structures, such as 
Palms, Fittonias, Asparagus plumosus nanus, tropical 
Ferns, Torenia concolor and others. The roof is 
draped with Clerodendron Balfourianum.Cissus discolor, 
Lygodium scandens, and Allamanda Hendersoni, the 
latter of which displays its rampant habit and flowers 
very profusely, affording a large quantity of cut blooms. 
There is also a good-sized plant of Bignonia magnifies, 
a comparatively recent introduction from Columbia, 
bearing very large flowers even as they are reckoned in 
this genus, and which have a large expanded lamina, 
varying in colour from pale mauve to purplish crimson. 
The borders were gay with Chrysanthemum Asters, 
while of a batch of 300 planted out only three were 
spurious. The seeds were supplied by Mr. Forbes, of 
Hawick. Another interesting plant, of which Mr. 
Cruickshank grows a large quantity, is the true double 
white Rocket, which is as pure as driven snow, perfectly 
full, and lasts a long time in perfection. There are 
several forms of this handsome Crucifer, but this is 
undoubtedly the best ; and nowhere does it flower so 
well as in the comparatively cool and moist atmosphere 
of the north. Tropaeolum speciosum, or the Flame- 
flowered Nasturtium, is a magnificent weed, and most 
difficult to eradicate here after being allowed to take 
possession, thriving anywhere, in sun or shade, pro¬ 
vided there be sufficient exposure to light. How 
different is its behaviour in the sunny south, with its 
dry atmosphere ! 
A large collection of hardy herbaceous plants has 
been cultivated at this place for many years, and well 
sustain their reputation both for variety, attractiveness, 
and the quantity of bloom they afford. Helleborus 
niger altifolius produces a large quantity of flowers 
even when covered by snow, and receives no artificial 
protection whatever. The collection is carefully 
labelled, which is a matter of no small importance. 
Section of a Vinep.y at Hoeilaert. 
