Octo ber 13, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
99 
thirds of the fruit oonsumed is not grown in Ireland. 
Not only should Ireland grow all the fruit and market 
garden produce she needs for her own consumption, but 
with her early springs and her open weather up to 
Christmas, she ought to supply the teeming populations 
of the north of England and Scotland with both early 
and late garden produce. Dairying must always of 
course be a main feature of Irish farming ; but it too, 
in the case of the smaller holdings especially, should be 
combined with fruit growing. 
Every farm-house everywhere, of whatever sized 
holding, should have an orchard attached.' Now that 
the Irish farmer has no longer anything to fear from 
confiscation of his improvements, he has only himself 
to blame if he does not turn his land to better account. 
But he still needs two things, namely, skill and enter¬ 
prise—the inestimable inheritance of the foreign 
peasant, who beats him in the British market. If the 
present generation of Irish farmers is well nigh hope¬ 
less, much may be done with the next, and it seems 
the most obvious duty of the State to take the matter 
in hand. Were half an acre, or even a rood, of garden 
ground, for the purpose of the practical application of 
the science taught within, attached to every country 
school in Ireland, and the produce of the scholar’s 
labour allowed as a perquisite of the school teacher, an 
immense impulse would be given to gardening in 
Ireland. Horticulture, in my opinion, rather than 
agriculture, is practically adapted for teaching in 
connection with the national schools. The same 
teacher, at suitable times and seasons, can both 
theoretically and practically teach gardening both to 
boys and girls, whereas it seems obvious that practical 
farming instruction can only be imparted in connection 
with a farm—an impossible adjunct to all but a few 
schools, and requiring a special farming instructor. 
To teach farming, there should be at least one counter¬ 
part of Glasnevin in each province, and I venture to 
think that the existing five-acre farm there, which at 
present illustrates nothing in particular, should be 
made a model of what a five-acre farm should be 
for an industrious peasant to get a living out of, in 
illustration of the combined method of gardening and 
farming suggested above. 
-- 
otes from Scotland, 
Scottish Horticultural Association.— At the 
usual monthly meeting held on the 2nd ult., Mr. 
Malcolm Dunn presiding, a paper on Oaks was read by 
Mr. Hugh Eraser, Leith Walk Nurseries. Mr. Eraser 
prefaced his communication with a reference to the 
correspondence on the subject of British Oaks which 
had recently taken place in the Scotsman, which, he 
said, had turned upon the question of the comparative 
value of the two forms of British Oaks—the Peduncu- 
lata and the Sessiliflora. Some people had gone the 
length of saying that the Pedunculata was the more 
valuable from a timber point of view—that, in point 
of fact, Pedunculata was the Oak which formed the 
bridge at Westminster, and which had been em¬ 
ployed in the construction of Westminster Abbey. He 
had read the correspondence with very great interest, 
and had come to the conclusion that it was impossible 
for mortal man to tell which of the two kinds had been 
employed in the construction of the roof of Westminster 
Abbey, and that the question of the comparative value 
of Pedunculata and Sessiliflora as timber was a problem 
yet to be solved. Dealing more directly with the 
subject of his paper, Mr. Fraser said the Oaks of the 
world were pretty well mixed up between Pedunculata 
and Sessiliflora. Few trees were more useful than the 
Oak in the matter of timber and in many other 
respects, its durable qualities being abundantly proved 
by the fact that rafters, beams, and other wood fur¬ 
nishings constructed of it, after many centuries were 
found comparatively fresh and likely to stand for many 
generations to come. 
After noticing other valuable qualities of the genus, 
Mr. Eraser went on to speak of the great forests of Oak 
which at one period existed in the United Kingdom, 
especially in England and Ireland, and remarked upon 
its liability to be damaged by lightning as a curious 
feature of the Oak, pointing out that this circumstance 
made the Oak tree a particularly dangerous shelter in 
a thunderstorm. The great capacity of the Oak to 
resist storms of wind he accounted for principally from 
the strength and extreme abundance of its roots. 
Strong rich soil was, he said, a necessary condition to 
its full development ; and nowhere did they find the 
Oak in greater perfection than in the alluvial loams of 
the Midlands, and in the chalky clay of the southern 
counties. 
Oaks were proverbially of slow growth, and it 
was estimated that from the time the Acorn was 
planted a hundred years had to pass, even under the 
most favourable circumstances, before the tree reached 
a size for the carpenter. In this country, but especially 
in England, there were many fine examples of old 
Oaks, interesting alike from their great age and from 
their historical associations. In this connection he 
alluded to the specimens at Ampthill, in Bedfordshire, 
and at Dalkeith Park, and to the famous Cowthorpe 
Oak near Wetherby, in Yorkshire—the height of which 
was 45 ft., and the circumference close to the ground, 
not including angles, 60 ft. —which had only grown 
about 2 ft. in about half a century. 
A short discussion followed the reading of the paper, 
at the close of which the chairman, in conveying the 
thanks of the Association to Mr. Fraser for his com¬ 
munication, made reference, as that gentleman had 
done, to the recent correspondence as to the respective 
values of the Pedunculata and Sessiliflora for timber 
purposes. The latter, he said, was supposed by some 
to be the harder and more valuable ; while, on the 
other hand, the former was held to be the tougher. 
From old samples attempts had been made to ascertain 
how far this was the case, and those in favour of either 
of these views had invariably found a good deal to sub¬ 
stantiate their respective opinions. On the question as 
to which species had been employed in the construction 
of the roof of Westminster Abbey, he remarked that, 
though it had been proved by microscopic examination 
that the material was Oak, which kind it was no one 
would ever know. In connection with his paper, Mr. 
Fraser exhibited over sixty specimens of the Oaks of 
the world. The other exhibitions included two new 
Orchids from Captain Maxwell, of Terregles. 
A Holiday Trip to Scotland (continued 
from p. 85 ).—An early start was made the day after 
we visited Melrose, and an hour’s ride by rail brought 
us to Innerleithen, and from thence an hour’s walk 
landed us at 
The Glen, 
The princely residence of Sir Charles Tennant, Bart., 
and which is most appropriately named, the situation 
being a glen in every sense of the word, but after 
entering the policies by the main avenue, which is half 
a mile or so in length, we see that instead of the marshy 
bogs and bare hillsides which existed not so many 
years ago, the whole has been turned into a paradise of 
beauty. The hillsides are clothed to their summit 
with trees suitable to the situation, while the valley 
below is all that the skill of the landscape gardener 
could make it. Passing along the avenue, at one time 
the visitor is under a complete canopy of foliage, 
emerging into the open with a large extent of grass on 
each side, thence winding round a magnificent lake 
studded all over with 
Islands Clothed with Rhododendrons 
And other flowering and foliage shrubs. But in a 
short notice like this a very poor idea can be formed 
of the vast beauties, natural and artificial, that is to be 
found in this country retreat: a day or two would not 
suffice to examine all the places of interest about these 
extensive gardens and grounds, and with only a few 
hours at our disposal, only a hurried inspection of the 
extensive ranges of houses was possible. Owing to the 
sloping nature of the ground the gardens occupy differ¬ 
ent elevations. At the base of the hill stands the 
elegant mansion with its towers and turrets in great 
profusion, attached to which is a range of conservatories 
of gigantic size, with a large corridor about 100 ft. long. 
From this three large span-roofed houses abut, two 
as stoves filled with admirable specimen Crotons, an 
enormous specimen of Cycas revoluta, with a large head 
of fruit coming up, and a specimen of Mr. Bull’s new 
Impatiens Hawkeri several feet through covered with 
flowers, giving a very pleasing effect. The cool house 
was gay with a fine healthy lot of Hydrangea paniculata, 
Primula obconica, &c., with festoons of Lapageria rosea 
and L. alba, and several varieties of Clematis overhead. 
The corridor referred to is occupied with large Camel¬ 
lias, Orange trees (laden with fruit), Tree Ferns, Palms, 
&c. 
At a considerably higher elevation is the flower 
garden and the principal portion of the plant houses, 
which are too numerous to mention in detail. Orchids 
occupy a considerable amount of space, and two new 
houses have lately been completed to further extend 
the collection. The first thing brought under our 
notice was a fine specimen of Ccelogyne cristata showing 
the rather unusual freak of flowering for the second time 
within five months. It flowered in April, and now 
instead of making its bulbs to flower at the usual time 
it has thrown up its bloom from the young growths, 
similar to C. Dayana and C. speciosa, the flowers being 
perfect and of large size. Another noteworthv plant 
was Odontoglossum vexillarium, about 2 ft. in diameter, 
laden with richly coloured flowers. Amongst others in 
bloom were Maxillaria grandiflora, Odontoglossum 
crispum (very fine), Masdevallia ignea, and a fine piece of 
Cattleya Sanderiana, with thirteen of its showy flowers 
on three spikes, not a very common achievement. A 
noble specimen of the old Dendrobium Hillii in robust 
health was a conspicuous object, also several fine pieces 
of the famed D. Leechianum. 
The kitchen garden and fruit houses are at a still 
higher altitude, and in this as well as in every de¬ 
partment under the charge of Mr. McIntyre, the able 
gardener, is to be seen unmistakable evidences of a 
master hand. On the return journey we could not 
resist embracing the opportunity of getting a peep into 
the famed 
Tweed Yineyards, at Clovenfords, 
Where Messrs. W. Thomson & Sons have made a world¬ 
wide reputation in Grape growing. Their houses and 
modes of treatment have on several occasions been 
brought before your readers by abler pens than mine, 
and it only remains for me to say that the present crops 
are equal to any of the previous ones. The favourite 
variety is Gros Colmar, there being three houses, each 
200 ft. long, entirely devoted to in, besides quantities 
in other houses that have been worked on to other 
varieties of less repute. The state of perfection to 
which this Grape is grown here may be imagined when 
it is stated that over 4,500 lbs. of fruit have been cut 
from one of these houses. Lady Downes is also favour¬ 
ably looked to as a late keeper, continuing in perfect 
condition till late in April. The greatest surprise to 
me was the house of that choice variety, the Duke of 
Buccleuch, that is so unfavourably spoken of by many 
who fail to grow it without the fruit cracking or 
spotting. In the house under notice not a spot or 
blemish was to be found, they having been fully ripe 
for some time, and a good part of the crop cut. The 
main secret in its efficient culture—as I was informed 
by Mr. John Thomson, who makes a special hobby of 
the fruit department—is to annually run up young 
canes to take the place of the present bearing rods. 
Of late years Orchid culture has also become a 
specialty at Clovenfords, and under the special care of 
Mr. Wm. Thomson, Junr., they are grown to a sin¬ 
gularly high state of perfection. The new Odonto¬ 
glossum house is filled with a lot of plants, which for 
size, health, and chaste varieties would be hard to 
match, a large number of the Crispum section being in 
flower, together with O. Harryana in three distinct 
varieties, and O. tripudians. Another large house is 
devoted to O. Pescatorei and Masdevallias—chiefly the 
Chimaera section, of which some distinct varieties were 
in flower. Cattleyas and Lselias were remarkable for 
their healthy appearance, and that deep green robust 
foliage which is the aim of every cultivator. On 
making inquiry, I was rather surprised at the answer, 
that “Thomson’s Yine and Plant Manure” was the 
cause of the unusual luxuriance, as I have always been 
rather sceptical as to the use of artificial stimulants to 
Orchids, especially epiphytal species ; but I certainly 
never experimented with the manure in question. It 
has already, in a very decisive manner, proved itself 
to be one of the first manures in the market for Vines 
and general plant growing, and if it is capable of 
bringing about such results in Orchid culture as I wit¬ 
nessed, it has a future before it. Cypripediums are a 
special feature, a large house being devoted to their 
culture, and on entering the structure my eye at once 
caught sight of one I did not expect to find so near the 
Tweed, as I thought it was only in one collection. It 
is one which was named by Prof. Reichenbach in the 
latter part of 1887 as C. conspicuum. It is of the C. 
Harrisonianum type, its distinctive feature being its 
large high-coloured lip. 
If my memory serves me rightly, the flower sent 
to Reichenbach had the purple lines through the dorsal 
sepal more conspicuous than on those at Clovenfords ; 
but as the same plants do not always come alike, the 
next blooming may be the opposite way. Amongst 
others in flower and bud were C. Crossianum, C. Ash- 
burtonife (two flowers on a spike), G. A. expansum (a 
great improvement on the type), C. Lawrencianum, 
O. javanico-superbiens, C. Sedeni, C. Harrisonianum, 
and O. chloroneurum. The collection also included 
the new 0. Fitchianum, G. Measuresianum, and others 
of note.— R. 0. Fraser. 
