662 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 21, 1890. 
Black Hamburgh—and are a good all-round crop, with 
the appearance of finishing well. In the next house 
late varieties, with a few rods of Muscat of Alexandria, 
are just about stoning, and the bunches are of a good 
useful size and a fine even crop. 
At the north side of this range are placed the frames 
and pits, all in excellent order, and containing lots of 
useful stuff for work in the houses later on. Here, too, 
are the Chrysanthemums—a very fine lot, comprising 
all the leading varieties. There are a few hundreds of 
them, single-stem and hush plants being well repre¬ 
sented and grown. The bothy is here also—a nice 
commodious building, and quite convenient for all 
practical purposes. Not many yards from the bothy is 
the stokehole, where we observe the boiler for the range 
we have just left. It is an upright something, not easily 
defined and very unsatisfactory. Here a discussion on 
boilers takes place, and the “terminal end” for all 
purposes horticultural seeming to have the most votes, 
is dubbed the victor forthwith. 
Taking a hurried run through the fruit garden, we 
bstrve that small fruits are a fair average crop, while 
Apples, &c., have been pretty much robbed by the bull¬ 
finches, and are consequently thin. Strawberries 
promise an enormous yield, and we observe that Mr. 
McLean is drifting into the “ stool ” system of planting 
in place of the orthodox massed row—all things con¬ 
sidered, perhaps the best method of culture. 
"We now wend our way to the mansion house, but 
before we get well turned, we observe, on an eminence 
to our left, the gardener’s house, a beautifully-situated 
commodious-looking building of recent construction, 
overlooking the gardens, and having a commanding 
view of Loch Long and the neighbouring mountains. 
The mansion house is an elegant building, of complex 
design, with a handsome porch at the entrance-door, 
and other parts in good keeping. All round the house 
climbing shrubs, Roses, and creepers abound. We 
noted a huge plant of Magnolia conspicua, some 40 ft. 
high and with a good width. It had just finished 
flowering, and must have been conspicuous indeed, 
with thousands of bloom on it. This is illustrative of 
the mildness of the place. Within a few paces of this 
there is a G-loire de Dijon Rose, clad with buds and fully 
expanded Roses all over, which also covers a large area 
of the wall, quite within smelling distance of the front 
door. Pursuing our course further round we suddenly 
stand in front of a Clematis montana with its myriads 
of white, starry blooms ; of itself a feature in the 
draping of the walls, which on our visit put all others 
in the shade. The lawns on either side of the house 
are all terraced—necessarily so from the incline of the 
ground — and on the under terrace a small flower 
garden arrests our attention. It is composed of three 
raised mounds in circular form, with the beds radiating 
in semi-crescent order, and the beds being small, are 
filled with dwarf-growing plants. We now proceed to 
have a general survey of the grounds, and here, as else¬ 
where, everything that conduces to pleasure in every sense 
of the word has had ample attention, both in the laying- 
out and furnishing, and special consideration has been 
brought to bear on the blending of foliage tints, and 
hence many choice things have been planted, but 
our hurried glance was insufficient for note-takirig. 
We are shown out by the main entrance gate, which 
has a massive and imposing appearance ; but before 
leaving this fine place we must remark that the gardens 
and grounds, as a whole, reflect very great credit 
on Mr. McLean, the able and energetic gardener, for 
the excellent condition in which each department is 
maintained. 
We now retrace our steps for Arddarroch, to refresh 
the inner man at the hospitable board of Mr. and Mrs. 
Brown. Like everything horticultural about this 
fine establishment, the gardener’s house is a model. 
Ornate in design, it has all the conveniences and com- 
f-rts that one could desire. On leaving the hospitable 
roof of our friend, we are escorted to the beach, on our 
way to which we are shown through the kitchen and 
fiuit gardens, and from the all-round appearance of 
these we see at a glance that Mr. Brown does not con¬ 
fine his abilities to Orchids alone, but shows himself at 
home also in the culinary department. We only get 
a glimpse of the lawns, &c., in passing. The shades of 
evening falling, and our sea voyage before us, compel 
us to make good the time at our disposal, but we observe 
that all is in perfect order. On arrival at the beach 
we bid our friends adieu, and pushing off our little 
craft, with “ a fair wind an’ a fou sea,” we are soon 
crossing the mouth of Loehgoil— 
“ That dark and stormy water,” 
and in little more than an hour are at home, with 
many thoughts of thankfulness for our safe, and no less 
pleasant trip, with reminiscences of the rich, varied, 
interesting, and rare sights in gardening we have had 
the pleasure of seeing ; and now consider it would be 
excusable to dream and think of renewing our visit 
(if spared) a year hence.— J. Proctor, Glenfinart. 
-- — 
THE MARECHAL NIEL ROSE. 
As a yellow Rose, the Mareohal Niel unquestionably 
ranks A 1. In the bud state, for the dress or button¬ 
hole, and more fully blown for dressing vases, it has, 
as everyone knows, a remarkably rich and telling 
appearance. Indeed it would he difficult to unduly 
sing its praises if only it had a stronger constitution, 
which it seems difficult to discover how to strengthen. 
Gardeners have classed it among their most troublesome 
subjects, for too often it has happened that what 
promised to be the forerunner of a long succession of 
annual crops of blossoms, has hut been the beginning 
of the end, and the valiant Marechal has had to 
make way for the less glorious hut stronger constitu- 
tioned Gloire de Dijon, or it may be younger Mareehals, 
raised like salads, young and often. Still we do 
occasionally meet with good healthy plants in 
unexpected quarters, doing well with no special 
attention. 
There are two such plants growing in a span-roofed 
house, 24 ft. by 16 ft., belonging to Mr. William 
Oakyard, Copperas Mount, Elland, Yorkshire, which 
have annually, for seven years past, borne an average 
of 2,000 blooms—not a bad crop for so small an area— 
and many of the blooms in a globular form have 
measured over 4 ins. in diameter. I called lately at 
Copperas Mount, not so much to see the plants as the 
stuff they are growing in. The greenhouse stands on 
a very steep gradient on the hillside, facing north-west, 
and 400 ft. above the sea-level—a position which 
commands an extensive view of the valley beyond up 
to Halifax. The plants, which are on their own roots, 
are planted outside, one at each end. The smallest has 
a stem measuring 8 ins. in circumference, but the 
largest is not quite so thick, having two stems from 
the ground line ; one of these branches at 15 ft. 
from the base has a circumference of 5 ins., and at 3 ft. 
from the ground is the usual gouty swelling, measuring 
14^ ins. round. 
The roots are merely growing in the ordinary thin 
soil of the hillside, under which is a bed of shale, and 
the secret of success is believed to exist in some heaps 
of waste from some old copperas works (now abandoned) 
that are at the back of the house, and higher up the 
hillside. The rain which passes through these heaps 
becomes to some extent impregnated with sulphate of 
iron, and then percolates through the soil lower down 
in which the Roses are growing. 
Mr. Oakyard also uses a special manure, made up 
according to a formula given to him by an eminent 
chemist in the locality. It consists of 14 lbs. of dried 
blood, 4 ozs. of copperas (sulphate of copper), and 4 ozs. 
of spirits of salts (? some salt of ammonia), mixed with 
fine soil to facilitate distribution. This is sprinkled 
occasionally over the border. — B. Lockwood. 
--- 
HONEYDEW. 
It is odd to find so eminent a firm of fruit salesmen as 
your correspondents of last week, Messrs. W. N. 
White & Co., referring to the excreta of aphis as 
“ Honeydew.” They say in their interesting report on 
the season’s fruit crops—a report, hy-the-bye, which 
seems to anticipate ail that we shall learn through the 
fruit crop reports later—referring to Currants, that 
they have become infested with Honeydew, thus using 
the term as though it applied to some sort of natural 
exudation or deposit, produced independent of external 
causes. 
But it is now generally understood by most persons, 
that the viscous substance called Honeydew is but the 
excreta of the green aphis, and is by these troublesome 
insects ejected over the foliage beneath them. That 
aphis is at hand when honeydew, so called, is seen, is 
as certain as that the sun is above the horizon when it 
is daylight. Those who note the appearance of the 
sticky coating on the leaves, have but to turn to the 
undersides of the leaves above, and they will find ample 
evidence of the presence of the insect pests. 
To cleanse the bushes from the insects is a matter of 
extreme difficulty, because of the protection afforded 
by the leafage. A strong washing with a powerful 
insecticide, especially strong soot - water, is useful, 
provided the undersides of the leaves are washed, 
and to effect that desideratum, the liquid should be 
driven on to the bushes from beneath rather than from 
above. Probably the aphis will disappear before the 
currants are ripe, but the thinness of the crop is 
doubtless chiefly due to the imperfect fertilisation of 
the flowers .—A Grower. 
-- 
GARDENERS’ ROYAL BENEVO¬ 
LENT INSTITUTION. 
The fifty-first anniversary festival of this Institution 
took place on Thursday evening, June 12th, at the 
“Albion, ’ Aldersgate Street, when a large number of 
subscribers and friends from all parts of the Lnited 
Kingdom sat down to dinner. Mr. Harry J. Yeitch, 
the treasurer, presided, and after dinner, in proposing 
the toasts of “The Queen,” and “The Prince and 
Princess of Wales, and other members of the Royal 
Family,” alluded to the fact that Her Majesty had 
been a patron of the Institution since 1851, and dwelt 
upon the services rendered to horticulture by His 
Royal Highness in being present at the exhibition of 
the Royal Horticultural Society in the Temple, an event 
which he characterised as of great moment to gardeners. 
The Chairman, on rising to propose the toast of the 
evening, was received with loud cheers. He said :— 
The toast which I now beg to offer for your acceptance 
is that of “ Continued Success and Prosperity of the 
Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution, now in its 
fifty-first year.” In the first place I would beg you not 
to expect from me any of that grand oratory which 
it has been our privilege and pleasure to hear from 
those who have occupied the position I have the honour 
to hold to-night; hut if oratory fails me, I yield to 
none of my predecessors in the desire to see the Gar¬ 
deners’ Royal Benevolent Institution progress and do 
well. And from that point of view I beg you will bear 
with me a few moments. Our institution, as some of 
you are aware, was founded in 1839, and we to-night, 
therefore, are celebrating its fifty-first anniversary. 
Those to whom is due the honour of founding this 
Institution have since passed away, but the names of 
Henderson, Noble, Lane, Dickson, Osborn, and 
Webber must ever remain green in the memories of all 
who have this Institution at heart. Nor could they 
have left behind them a more honourable memorial. 
But although those worthies are no longer with us, I 
am sure you will join with me in acknowledging how 
glad we are to see still amongst us one who, if not one 
of the actual founders, has been one of the greatest 
friends of the Institution from the time it was founded, 
and I am sure you will join with me in offering our 
warmest congratulations to our worthy friend Mr. John 
Lee, rightly called the father of the Institution, and 
expressing the hope that he may be spared to be with 
us on many similar future occasions. Our Institution 
was founded in 1839, and we had a very small beginning. 
In 1840 our income was £126, on the strength of which 
the first pensioner was elected. In 1841 we had 
advanced so far that we were able to elect the second 
pensioner, and in IS42 we elected two more. After 
that matters seem to have gone rather more rapidly, 
until at present we have 154 pensioners on the list, 
these pensioners being drawn from all parts of the 
United Kingdom, and our oldest pensioner at the 
present time is 102 years of age. He subscribed 
18 guineas to the Institution, and up to the present 
time he has received £490. Not a very bad invest¬ 
ment I think you will say. Since the commence¬ 
ment of the Institution we have had on the 
books 547 pensioners, expending an amount in pen¬ 
sions and office expenses of about £53,000. Nor is 
that all. "When first the Institution was founded the 
pensions for men were fixed at £16, and for women 
£12 ; but through the liberality of the supporters we 
were enabled a few years since to increase the pensions, 
those of the men from £16 to £20, and the women 
from £12 to £16. Nor is that all. In the year of 
Her Majesty’s Jubilee, through your liberality-, we 
were enabled to make a present to every pensioner and 
every non-successful candidate of the sum of £5, that 
they might have their share in the enjoyments of the 
Jubilee year. Now comes the question, “For whom are 
the benefits of the Institution intended ? ” and with 
your permission l will read an extract which I found in 
one of the leading gardening papers recently, The 
Gardeners' Chrtmiclc for May 31st, 1890 :—“ At present 
the general public hardly recognise what horticulture 
really is. They look upon it too much in the light of 
a mere recreation and a gratification of the senses, but 
it is far more than that. Intellectually it ranks as an 
applied science, demanding for its study the highest 
powers of the mind. Economically it is of the greatest 
importance as an industry, in which vast capital is 
