632 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 2, 1894. 
ARBORICULTURE AT 
RAITH. 
On Saturday, the igth ult., a party of members of 
the Scottish Arboricultural Society paid a visit to 
the beautiful policies of Raith, the property of Mr. 
Munro Ferguson, M.P. A short distance from the 
lodge a stately sycamore, with a tall clean stem of 
about 8 ft. of girth, at once attracted the attention 
of the visitors. Passing into the gardens, the party 
were met by the gardener, Mr. Fenton, who con¬ 
ducted them through his department, where it was 
evident great progress is being made in renovating 
the place, which had been let for some years as a 
market garden. A notable feature in the gardens 
was an immense bank of choice varieties of Rhodo¬ 
dendrons in full flower, occupying the border on 
the north side of a high wall. Adjoining the gar¬ 
dens is the home nursery, in which are grown a 
fine stock of all the ornamental trees and shrubs 
employed in planting of the estate, of which much 
has been done in recent years. The nursery is 
about a couple of acres in extent, and there are 
three or four similar nurseries placed at convenient 
points on the estate. Leaving the nursery, a grand 
old Wych Elm is noticed, the girth of which is 
i6 ft. I in. at five feet up. At about seven feet from 
the ground it parts into several massive limbs, 
which form a wide-spreading, umbrageous head, 105 
ft. in diameter. Following the shore of the lake, 
the luxuriant growth of Rhododendrons and other 
shrubs was much admired. The lake is a lovely 
artificial sheet of water, about thirty acres in extent, 
lying deeply embosomed in a richly-wooded land¬ 
scape, and is a triumph of art in its construction and 
adornment. A short detour was made to look into 
one of the home nurseries situated near the outlet 
of the lake, in which were seen, growing well, an 
excellent collection of the best kinds of coniferous 
plants. Here the company were met by Mr. Munro 
Ferguson, who cordially welcomed them to Raith, 
and accompanied them in their walk for the rest of 
the afternoon, pointing out every feature of interest, 
and doing everything to make the visit enjoyable and 
instructive to the members. 
Turning to the left, past the head of the lake, 
some fine specimens of Conifers were encountered. 
Among others noted was a thick rugged stemmed 
Douglas Fir, about 75 ft. high, and girthing 13 ft. at 
I ft. from the ground, and ii ft. 2 in. at 5 ft. up, 
with a spread of branches 50 ft. in diameter. An 
Abies Menziesii near by stood about 70 ft. high, 
and girthed 7 ft. 7 in. at 5 ft. up, but although a fine 
tree it did not seem quite at home in the dry spot 
where it stands. In vigorous health was a fine 
specimen of Abies grandis, 4 ft. 7 in. in girth, and 
about 65 ft. high ; and Abies cephalonica, 4 ft. ii in. 
in girth, and about 55 ft. high. Numerous hand¬ 
some Conifers were seen thriving well in this neigh¬ 
bourhood, among which the " Redwood,” Taxodium 
sempervirens, of Puget’s Sound, North-West 
America, has attained to a height of about 50 ft., 
and a girth of stem of 8 ft. at 5 ft. up. The Japan 
"Cedar,” Cryptomeria japonica, was also thriving 
well, and several well-furnished specimens were 
seen, some of which were over 40 ft. in height. 
Crossing the stream, and following the drive up the 
glen, the steep banks on the right were richly 
clothed in a blue mantle of the wild Hyacinth, or 
" Bluebell,” specked with the bright rose coloured 
flowers of the ” Ragged Robin,” both of which were 
flowering in the greatest profusion over a conside¬ 
rable area of the glen, and attracted much attention. 
A tall, clean stemmed Spanish Chestnut was 
observed on the right, which the professionals com¬ 
puted with the eye to contain about 250 cubic feet 
of timber. A picturesque waterfall and linn, of 
v/hich there are several in the grounds, was much 
admired ; and a little further on, in a secluded part 
of the glen, was seen the handsomest specimen of 
the Douglas Fir met with in the course of the 
rambles. It grows in the bottom of the glen, 
evidently in suitable soil, and towers to a height of 
between 80 and 85 ft., with a girth of stem of 
9 ft. 6 in. at 5 ft. up. 
The party v/ound their way upwards along the 
glen, noticing in passing a number of thriving young 
plantations, made where the woods had been cleared 
or blown down by the gales. A long walk out at the 
west drive, which runs from the mansion to the 
west boundary of the domain and back the north 
side of the ridge on which the mansion house stands, 
brought into view many beautiful landscape views 
and afforded time for the discussion of problems of 
much interest to the visitors. The culture of Larch, 
with the soils and aspects best suited for it, and the 
diseases which afflict it, and which are not entirely 
absent from the Raith plantations, were fertile topics, 
as well as the best trees for forming avenues and 
for growing well in exposed places—subjects which 
were well illustrated by object lessons as the party 
tramped onwards. The Beech and Sycamore were 
observed to grow with the greatest vigour on the 
hard whinstone rock which forms the substratum 
of the most of the higher parts of the ground. 
On the same ground, Oak and Ash do tolerably 
well ; so does the Scots Fir, and iu some places the 
Larch ; but Elm and some others are a comparative 
failure. The Sycamore forms a fine avenue of 
medium-sized trees for seme distance along the 
west drive, and the Horse Chestnut is also employed 
for the same purpose, a considerable number of 
avenue trees having been planted in recent years. 
Nearing Raith Tower, an ornamental plantation 
formed last winter is pointed out, and the trees 
and shrubs being all of some size and carefully 
planted, it promises to be a complete success, and 
to produce a fine effect at an early period. In front 
of the mansion a few splendid Beeches ornament the 
lawn, one of which girth 10 ft. 10 in. at 5ft. up, with 
about 25 ft. of a beautiful clean stem ; while several 
others w’ere near the same dimensions.— Scotsman. 
LAW NOTES. 
The_ Walnut Case: Important Judgment. 
In the Court of Alrown Cases reserved on Monday', 
before Justices Hawkins, Matthew, Cave, Grantham, 
Charles, Vaughan Williams, Lawrance, Wright, 
Collins, Bruce, and Kennedy, judgment was given 
in the case of The Queen v. Dennis. The case was 
heard last term. The defendant was a member of a 
firm of English and foreign fruit and Potato brokers, 
of Covent Garden, and they sold to a fruit dealer, 
named Lyons, a quantity of Grenoble Walnuts in 
original packages, which proved to be so bad that it 
was not worth while, in view of the expense, to 
separate the good nuts from the bad. The goods 
were sold by sample, and there was nothing in the 
appearance of the p.ckages to indicate that the 
major portion of the nuts were bad. In a prominent 
position in defendant’s shop there was a placard 
which bore a notice to the effect that the purchasers 
of original packages of foreign fruit and vegetables 
must sort the good from the bad before selling them. 
On discovering the condition of the nuts Lyons 
handed them over to a sanitary inspector, who took 
them before a magistrate. They were then con¬ 
demned and destroyed as being unfit for human 
food. The defendant was proceeded against at the 
Quarter Session for the county of London under the 
♦Public Health (London) Act, i8gi, section 47, sub¬ 
section 3, and on his behalf it was contended that no 
offence had been committed under the sub-section. 
Further, it was said that if he had contracted with 
Lyons that he should sort out and destroy the un¬ 
sound nuts he would not be guilty of the offence 
charged, and that the placard was evidence of such 
a contract. It was also submitted that the jury 
should be asked whether the defendant when he sold 
the packages of Walnuts intended the bad ones 
or only the good ones for the food of man. The 
learned chairman (Mr. Warry) overruled the various 
contentions of defendant’s council, and declined to 
leave the case to the jury in the way suggested. 
Moreover, he directed the jury to find the defendant 
guilty, if they found that he sold the nuts to Lyons, 
and that they were at the time of sale unfit for the 
food of man, unless the defendant proved that at the 
time he sold them he did not know and had na 
reason to believe that they were unfit. Finally, he 
told the jury that Mr. Dennis could not contract 
himself out of the liability to a penalty under the 
Act by agreeing with Mr. Lyons to sort out and 
destroy the bad nuts, and that therefore they must 
disregard the notice posted up. The jury returned 
a verdict of guilty, but judgment was postponed and 
the defendant admitted to bail pending the decision 
of this Court upon the question of whether he had 
been properly convicted. 
Sir H. James, Q.C., and Mr. Muir, were counsel 
for the defendant ; Mr. G. Elliot for the presecution, 
and Mr Rufus Isaacs watched the case on behalf of 
a number of City merchants and brokers. 
Mr. Justice Kennedy—as the junior judge, 
who delivered judgment first, in view of there 
being a disagreement—said he had come to the 
conclusion that the conviction could not be 
sustained. To sustain a conviction, in his judg¬ 
ment, it was clearly necessary from the terms 
of the sub-section to prove that the article, in 
respect of which complaint arose, was found in the 
possession of the purchaser, and was an article liable 
to be seized. Now an article was liable to be seized 
only if it was an article (i) intended for the food of 
man, and (2) was exposed for sale, or deposited in any 
place for the purpose of sale, or of preparation for 
sale. The facts of this case showed that these con¬ 
ditions did not exist in this instance, and, therefore, 
the nuts were not liable to be seized. Moreover, 
evidence was produced in regard to the notice, and 
as to the practice of fruit-brokers, and it was for the 
jury to consider whether the Walnuts were or were 
not purchased for the food of man. It was for the 
jury to say whether Lyons purchased, and the 
defendants sold, sound Walnuts only for the food of 
man, and the learned chairman was not justified in 
limiting their consideration of the case in the way 
he did. In his opinion, therefore, the conviction 
should be squashed. 
Mr. Justice Bruce, Mr. Justice Lawrence, Mr. 
Justice Charles, and Mr. Justice Grantham agreed 
that the conviction should be quashed. 
Mr. Justice Cave was of the same opinion, but 
only on the ground that the nuts were not seizable. 
jMr. Justice Mathew, who was in favour of the 
conviction being affirmed, said that it was not denied 
that the Walnuts were unfit for human food, and he 
saw no reason to doubt that at the time when the 
defendant sold them to Lyons the Walnuts were 
liable to be seized on the ground that they were in¬ 
tended for the food of man, and were sold to be used 
for that purpose. In regard to the notice, they were 
asked to add a proviso to the section to the effect 
that the sale of what was unfit for food should be 
lawful if the seller stipulated that the buyer before 
resale should separate the sound from the unsound 
portion, and he had no reason to belive the Legisla¬ 
ture contemplated any such addition to the statute. 
did not think the seller could in this way shift 
his responsibility upon the buyer. 
Mr. Justice Hawkins delivered an elaborate 
judgment of a technical character in favour of the 
conviction being quashed. In his opinion the jury 
ought to have been asked to consider the evidence 
tendered, and rejected. It was stated that Mr. 
Justice Wright, Mr. Justice Vaughan Williams, and 
iMr. Justice Collins concurred in Mr. Justice 
Hawkins’s judgment. 
The conviction was accordingly quashed, Mr. 
Justice Mathew dissenting. 
-- 
WHAT TO DO IN THE GARDEN. 
Amaryllis.—Encourage the development of good 
foliage and bulbs w'ith weak liquid manure until the 
leaves show signs of having fulfilled their mission. 
Then clear water only may be given and that in 
moderate quantity, till the plants may be completely 
dried off. 
Pancratium fragrans.—The bulbs of this use¬ 
ful, decorative subject throw up their flower spikes on 
different occasions, and should some of them now be 
more advanced than is desirable they can be kept 
back 'by placing them in a cool house, so that the 
spikes may develop slowly. 
Ixoras.—These hard-wooded subjects cannot be 
urged into rapid growth by heavy applications of 
manure water, so that the grower should be cautious 
in that respect. If the object is to get cut flowers, a 
good plan is to plunge the pots in coco-nut fibre 
where good bottom heat can be applied by means of 
hot-water pipes. 
Browallias.—Seeds maybe sown now for a late 
batch to furnish some variety in the conservatory 
late in autumn. Plants coming on noxv may be kept 
dwarf by having the plants close to the glass and 
by pinching them. This will also make them 
bushy. 
Heaths and Azaleas.—All those which flowered 
in winter and have completed their growth may be 
gradually hardened off previous to standing them in 
the open air when the weather has fairly settled 
down. A good bed of ashes keeps them cool and 
