December 29, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
285 
and constant feeding, and avoiding undue excitement 
with its consequent sappy growth, so frequently 
followed by a relapse through the soil becoming 
more or less impoverished by the use of artificial 
stimulants. Use natural manures as much as 
possible.— Rosa. 
--i-- 
THE BALMORAL WOODS. 
In a lecture on Forestry delivered at the Society of 
Arts on the 19th inst. General J. Michael, C.S.I , 
said with reference to the Balmoral Woods and 
plantations which he had lately visited :—From the 
grand old forest of Ballochbuie, where the Scots Firs 
now standing are known to be from 200 to 250 years 
old, down to the very youngest plantations, and 
even to the nurseries and seed beds, the effects of 
thoroughly good management and true forest con¬ 
servancy are everywhere apparent. In a property 
like Balmoral, as well as in most large properties in 
Great Britain, the preservation of game is an impor¬ 
tant factor when dealing with forestry, and 
handicaps the forester to some extent, but it has 
been found here that good woods are quite com¬ 
patible with a good head of game. Of course, an 
area which requires re-afforestation or planting, 
must be fenced in from deer and ground game for 
twenty or twenty-five years, but with systematic 
management, a compensating area on which the 
trees have grown sufficiently becomes available to be 
thrown open. 
So long as the love of sport, open-air exercise, and 
adventure, remain inherent in the Briton—and it is 
devoutly to be hoped that it will never vanish, for 
that love has aided largely in making the Briton 
what he is—it cannot be expected that landed pro¬ 
prietors who own moors and deer forests will sacri¬ 
fice the shooting ground they prize, or for which 
they enjoy a high rent, for the sake of a long-deferred 
prospect of profit from timber ; but still there are 
many thousands of acres of unprofitable land in the 
British Isles available for wood culture without 
sensibly trenching on shooting ground. 
A very interesting and important feature of the 
Balmoral forestry operations is a plantation formed 
by Mr. Michie in 1885 of Douglas Fir. It is about 
twenty acres in extent and, being situated on the 
slope of Craig-gowan hill, facing the castle and in the 
midst of other woods of Scots Fir, Spruce, Larch, 
&c., the additional variety of rich colour given by 
the Douglas Fir—with some old Birches inter¬ 
spersed—is very picturesque. The health and 
growth of the young trees have been most satis¬ 
factory. I learnt that the seed was obtained from 
trees growing at Murthly Castle, in Perthshire, 
which were brought from America by the late Sir 
William Drummond Stewart. The seedlings were 
sown and treated after the usual methods as for 
* Scots Fir, Larch, &c., and then planted into nursery 
lines at two years old, then again at four years, and 
were planted out permanently at five or six years of 
age, by pitting, about ten feet apart in ground 
where a good many old birch trees were standing. 
There were very few failures—not more than three 
or four per cent. 
At present, after nine years’ growth, the trees 
average 13 ft. in height, and have a stem girth 
immediately above the spread of roots of about 1 ft. 
Some Larches were planted through the Douglas 
Firs, but they have been outgrown by the Firs. 
The aspect of the plantation is north and east, the 
ground slopes rather steeply in these directions, but 
it is sheltered somewhat by old trees sparsely 
scattered. No thinning has yet been done, as the 
trees having been planted pretty far apart it has not 
been necessary, nor will it be advisable for some 
years to come. Squirrels do not appear to attack 
the Douglas Fir as they do Scots, Larch, Spruce, 
&c., and it is believed to be less susceptible to 
damage from birds and insects than most others; 
even rabbits and hares are not fond of it, and only 
nibble the bark when hard pressed in winter. It 
grows very fast, and soon makes a good appearance ; 
in unseasonable frosts or high winds, at the time 
when the growth is soft, the leader is apt to suffer, 
but on the whole it compares favourably with the 
Larch, and beats the Scots and Spruce in rapidity of 
growth. The altitude of the plantation is 1,000 to 
1,100 ft. above the sea. The soil is a rough gravelly 
loam, with boulders, while the general rock forma¬ 
tion is granite. The wood of the mature Douglas 
Fir—the Oregon pine of commerce—is too well 
known to need comment, but as the tree was only 
introduced into Great Britain in 1826, it is early to 
talk of its timber; while still young, however, it 
takes a place for durability intermediate between 
Norway Spruce and Larch. It bids fair to be the 
coming tree for planting in the British Isles. 
Altogether, about 5,700 acres of the Balmoral and 
Birkhall property is under wood—3,500 acres being 
old forest, and 2,200 acres plantation of various ages, 
chiefly Scots Pine, but a good deal of Larch and 
Spruce. 
There are three saw-mills at work, cutting up the 
timber for the market, one, near Danzig Shiel, is 
driven by a steam-engine which burns sawdust as 
fuel, another at Invergelder, near the castle, is 
driven by water, and the third is at Birkhall. 
Although I did not presume to ask the question, 
the whole state of the Balmoral woods, and the 
efficient method of caring for them and working 
them, gave me the impression that they could not 
fail to produce a fairly remunerative return, notwith¬ 
standing a more liberal outlay on roads, drives, 
bridges, fencing, etc., than would be considered 
necessary under other circumstances and on other 
properties. 
--«*•- 
ARDENING ^ISCELLANY. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM MRS. R. C. KINGSTON. 
In your issue of December 15th you state that at 
the meeting of the Floral Committee of the National 
Chrysanthemum Society my blooms of “ Mrs. R. C. 
Kingston ’’ were described on the show card as 
"Japanese incurved," but how that occurred I 
cannot say, as when sending the blooms I distinctly 
described the variety as being a true incurved, one 
in fact of the real old show type. This variety was 
raised by that well-known and very successful raiser 
of new " Mums.," my old friend, Mr. Henry B. 
Surman, gardener to C. W. Clarke, Esq., German¬ 
town, Philadelphia, U S A. He exhibited it at 
Philadelphia in November, 1892, and was awarded 
a "Certificate of Special Mention" for it; and 
thinking it might improve in the English climate 
and under our system of cultivation, he at once 
forwarded the original plant to me. This year it 
has done splendidly, for it is an excellent grower, 
about 5 ft. high, with bold foliage, large and clean. 
It comes well on both crown and terminal buds, and 
opens freely and kindly, while the blooms are very 
lasting. In its earlier stages the colour is a beautiful 
tint of pink, and I think it will prove an excellent 
addition to our "back row” blooms, being large, 
and of good form. This year it has gained a F.C.C. 
from the National Chrysanthemum Society and 
Certificates of Merit at York and Beverley, the only 
places at which it has been exhibited in this country. 
— Chas. Lawton, The Gardens, Welton House, East 
Yorkshire. 
AID TO THE BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
Well done Altrincham! £105 10s. in three years, 
just, to the Royal Gardeners’ Orphan Fund, and 
raised by a few earnest workers connected with the 
Altrincham Gardeners’ Association, is indeed some¬ 
thing to be proud of. What a glorious example to all 
other kindred societies throughout the kingdom,every¬ 
one of which could do something if they would only set 
about it, either by grants from their funds, by 
obtaining local subscriptions, or raising money in a 
way similar to that adopted by Mr. Charles ^Hewitt 
and his friends at Altrincham. The Gardeners' 
Royal Benevolent Institution and the Royal 
Gardeners’ Orphan Fund both greatly need every 
particle of help that can be given, for the claims on 
both funds increase, and will do so still more in the 
face of the depression in the horticultural trade and 
the reduction of staff and expenditure in so many of 
our leading gardens. In the case of the Benevolent 
Fund, young gardeners, by subscribing a guinea a 
year for fifteen years, are eligible to receive a 
pension of £20 a year should they in old age be in 
want of pecuniary help, and their claims be 
examined and admitted, and this without the 
cost and trouble of an election. Many urge 
as an excuse that they may never want it, 
but they never know what misfortune may bring to 
them in old age, and thus should not forget that a 
very large number of their gardening brethren 
require such help. Both institutions are great 
blessings, and let me urge all to try and benefit both 
in some way. A large number of Chrysanthemum 
Societies are now making up their balance sheets 
and having meetings, and what seasonable help they 
could give. The Horticultural Societies of the 
kingdom, who hold one or more annual flower shows, 
could in many cases make a grant, if only of a 
guinea, and so give material help. We unfortunately 
very rarely hear of any legacy being left to either, and 
yet how many thousands of well-to-do people who have 
loved their gardens pass away and leave no legacy 
for our Benevolent Institutions behind. It would be 
well if gardeners generally would bring the claims of 
these institutions under the notice of their 
employers, for I am sure much good would come 
out of it .—An Old Crock. 
BARLERIA FLAVA. 
Among the fine decorative subjects of which the 
the natural order Acanthacea boasts, the above 
pretty little plant is certainly not the least worthy 
of mention. The flowers as the name signifies are 
yellow in colour and the inflorescence spicate. A 
batch of small plants not a foot in height are at 
present flowering away very freely in an intermedi¬ 
ate stove at Kew. Cuttings composed of the young 
wood will strike very readily in a warm progagating 
frame that has a brisk bottom heat. Light sandy soil 
should be used for the cuttings, but once they are root¬ 
ed they should be potted off into a rich compost, com¬ 
posed of good turfy loam, some well decomposed 
manure, a little peat or leaf-soil and some sharp 
sand. 
ROUGH DIGGING. 
The importance of this very simple and easily 
performed operation cannot be overrated, especially 
where the soil is of a heavy and retentive character. 
By loosening it to a good depth and throwing the 
spits up as roughly as possible, the frosts of winter 
are enabled to penetrate the soil to a much greater 
depth than they would otherwise be able to do. 
The immense amount of good thus done in the 
destroying of many of the insect pests that attack 
our vegetables during the growing season, can 
readily be understood by all. Apart from this, the 
soil derives considerable benefit from the greater 
freedom with which the air penetrates such roughly 
dug plots of ground. 
MUSHROOM BEDS. 
In the making up of these during the winter months it 
is advisable to see that they are made rather deeper 
than they are during the summer. This, of course, 
necessitates the use of a greater quantity of ferment¬ 
ing materials, but it stands to reason that a larger 
body of such matter will, in the usual course of 
things, keep up the required heat for a longer 
period than will a smaller one. All cultivators of 
Mushrooms know that it is hopeless to expect 
successful results if the temperature of the beds is 
suffered to decline too low, and this is naturally a 
more difficult matter to accomplish at this time of 
year than it is when warmer weather prevails. 
Making the beds deeper as suggested is, however, an 
excellent method of attaining this desirable end. 
-•*.-— 
Questions add Ansuiens. 
Peat Moss amd Mushrooms. —Peat Moss: We 
doubt whether peat moss and horse droppings would 
have the same durability as the latter would when 
mixed with straw litter. Otherwise we do not see 
that it would be harmful in any way. It might be 
advantageous to shake out some of the peat moss 
litter and add some from the cow stable to give 
more lasting properties to the Mushroom bed. 
Price of Book.— J. IV . : The price of the book, 
" Fertilisers and Feeding Stuffs," which we reviewed 
some time ago, is is. 
When to Propagate Phyllocactus. — J. Long : 
This may be done at various times, but the most 
suitable is in spring, just before the young growth 
commences to push. About that time the young 
side shoots will be sufficiently firm to. render 
damping less liable. Take them off about 6 in. long, 
and allow the cut ends to dry somewhat before using, 
or rub the same with some powdered charcoal 
previous to insertion. Fill some 3-in. or 4-in. pots 
of light sandy soil, covered with sand, and insert the 
cuttings round the sides of the pots chiefly. Then 
stand them in a stove or intermediate house where 
the temperature is kept about 60 8 . They will root 
in comparatively a short time, when they may be 
potted off singly ; but until roots are produced you 
must be very sparing with water. 
