566 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
May 7, 1898. 
flower, white in colour, veined with pink, and not 
growing more than from £ in. to i in. out of the 
ground. Tt is a bulbous plant, in flower just at this 
time, and few, I fancy, have seen it. As Euphorbia 
pilosa only grows near Bath in this country, and is 
not found again until Portugal is reached, so would 
this little flower seem to be connected with a 
southern flora, for it is plentiful on sandy hillocks in 
southern countries. 
I wish to record that since I have returned to 
London I have gathered, growing wild, in an open 
meadow the Snake's Head (Fritillaria Meleagris) 
within nine miles of London, on April 29th, 1808.— 
J. C. S. 
-- 
PEOPLE WE HAVE MET. 
Mr. William Carmichael. 
The subject of this sketch was born in the beautiful 
Vale of Upper Strathearn. He was educated at the 
parish school, which was as efficient in the early 
part of the century as now, thanks to John Knox for 
having an endowed school established in every 
parish, as well as a kirk. The heritors were obliged 
to build to build a school, a master’s house, and pro¬ 
vide a playground. John Knox ordained that every 
head master should have a fair knowledge of Greek 
and Latin, that he was to receive a salary of not less 
than £60 a year, in addition to the fees, and that the 
latter should not exceed 10s. per half-year. Scotch 
boys, therefore, had advantages in those days not 
possessed by their English contemporaries. 
At the age of fourteen Mr. Carmichael informed 
his mother that he wanted to be a gardener, to which 
she replied, " Dinna be a gardener, Willy, as it is a 
poor, wandering trade, besides, you hinna a frien’ in 
the gardening world.” " I shall be a gardener, 
mother,” he replied. At the first election after the 
Reform Bill, he went with his father to Crieff, when 
the latter went to give his vote. There father and 
son met the head gardener to the Duke of Montrose, 
Buchanan House, and Mr. Carmichael, sen., re¬ 
marked that his son wanted to be a gardener. The 
Duke's gardener said he would be glad to have the 
boy, that his terms were /15 as apprentice fee, and 
that the lad would be bound for three years. 
Buchanan House was then one of the best places 
in Scotland. Mr. Montgomery was an old Kew 
man, and a model gardener in every respect. The 
garden was about twelve acres in extent, and Mr. 
Montgomery was a great man for trenching. He 
used to walk up the garden, saying, “ Now my lads, 
give it the steel; when I was a young man at Kew I 
used to give it right and left.” There were six 
journeymen and labourers besides the boy. Grapes, 
Pines, Peaches, Nectarines, and hardy fruits were 
well done. Mr Carmichael was never under a gar¬ 
dener who could wield the pruning knife so well, or 
was a better kitchen gardener. The walks were 
rolled every morning while the family was in resi¬ 
dence, and not a weed was to be seen. 
After spending his three years, Mr. Carmichael 
got into the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, 
under the great Mr. Wm. McNab, to study botany 
under Proft s,or Graham. Mr. McNab was an ex¬ 
cellent cultivator, and the father of Heath culture. 
After staying about two years his master sent him as 
foreman to Mr. McMath, at Archerfield, and after¬ 
wards at Drumlanrig. Before Mr. Carmichael had 
been two years at Archerfield, Mr. McNab sent for 
him and engaged him as principal foreman to the 
Duke of Norfolk, Arundel Castle, Sussex. As Mr. 
McNab employed fifty men, and was very strict with 
them, the subject under notice was much surprised 
at receiving an invitation to dine with him. This 
was before the days of railways, so Mr. Carmichael 
sailed from Leith to London, and from thence 
travelled to Arundel by coach, a distance of fifty 
miles. 
There were about forty men employed in the gar¬ 
dens, but Mr. Wilson, the head gardener, was not 
considered very expert. The collection of fruit trees, 
however, was fine, wall trees in particular being 
second to none in the matter of training. There 
were no table decorations in those days, a good 
supply of fruit and vegetables being all sufficient. 
Mr. Gilpin was landscape gardener, and Mr. 
Carmichael got some valuable hints from him which 
were serviceable in after years. About two years 
later the adjoining estate of Bignor Paik was in want 
of a gardener, and Mr. Wilson told his foreman that 
he wanted to g ve him a start in life. Mr. Carmichael 
objected on the score of youth, but his master drove 
him over to Bignor Park, a distance of eight miles 
across the South Downs, where they had an inter¬ 
view with Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins. The squire was 
pleased with the appearance of Mr. Carmichael, but 
objected on the score of youth, Mr. Wilson exhibi¬ 
ted great tact, however, and told Mr. and Mrs. 
Hawkins that his foreman had been educated in a 
good school, was full of energy, and a better gar¬ 
dener than himself. The objection was then 
dropped. 
Mrs. Hawkins was a niece of the great botanist 
Sibthorp, and inherited his taste. When Mr. 
Carmichael asked her whether he might purchase a 
few Cape Heaths she replied that she had already 
spent a good deal in them, and had been told by her 
previous gardener that they could not be grown in 
Sussex. Mr. McNab, of Edinburgh, however, 
Mr. William Carmichael. 
obliged him with three dozen bushy plants, which he 
grew like weeds and exhibited. The late Mr. 
Glendinning, of Turnham Green, then travelling for 
Lucombe, Pince & Co., Exeter, called at Bignor 
Park, and was much struck with the Heaths. Mr. 
Ewen, of Petworth, heard that Mr. Tugwell, of 
Crowe Hall, Bath, wanted a gardener who could 
grow Cape Heaths and hard-wooded plants, and 
wrote about Mr. Carmichael, with the result that the 
latter had a telegram to go there immediately. 
Thus aft r being three years at Bignor Park, Mr. 
Carmichael moved to Crowe Hill, where his em¬ 
ployer allowed him to exhibit Heaths and erect new 
houses. Mr. Tugwell proved the best master he 
ever served. Mr. Carmichael, in the course of ten 
years, got together the finest collection of Heaths 
(over 100 varieties) in the county. After being at 
Crowe Hall three years, he won about £60 annually 
at Bath, Bristol, Cheltenham, and other shows. 
After serving ten years at this place he next 
moved to Dunmore Park, Stirlingshire, as general 
manager. Lord Dunmore was then a minor, but 
asked whether money would mike his gardener stop 
with him. He did stay for six years, when H.R.H. 
the Prince of Wales, offered him, unsolicited, the 
entire management of his place at Sandringham, and 
the laying out of it under the directions of the 
Princess. Everything had to be made or re-modelled, 
and Mr. Carmichael saw nothing but incessant toil 
before him ; but he was just the man to put a ” stout 
heart to a stey brae.” He turned a Turnip field of 
fifteen acres into a kitchen garden. During the ten 
years of his stay at Sindringham he also made about 
500 acres of plantations, thinned all the woods 
which were in a neglected state, and made the game 
covers. He had from 300 to 4C0 labourers und' r 
him, trenching for plantations and road making. The 
first job he had when he went there was to lay out 
the ground of the Bachelor’s Cottage, now enlarged 
and called York Cottage. 
It is now one of the keenest pleasures of Mr. 
Carmichael’s life to visit Sandringham and see the 
effect of his labours. He planted most of the rare 
Conifers which are now fine trees. He also took to 
the Home Farm for a few years. After leaving 
Sandringham he went to lay out the new gardens at 
Nowton Court, Bury St. Edmunds. J. H. Porteous, 
Esq., is a great man for Coniferae, and has a fine 
collection. 
The hero of this short sketch has had a long and 
active career, but is now resting on his oars, having 
chosen Edinburgh in his retirement—the word is, 
however, scarcely correct, for he is still a gardener, 
and says that if he had to begin his career over 
again he would choose gardening as his profession. 
He was fortunate in getting a small garden, about a 
rood in extent, which is entirely filled with seedling 
Strawberries. He has got new blood into the race 
by crossing Waterloo with other sorts. They are 
great bearers, unsurpassed in flavour, and only want 
to be known to be widely cultivated. Mr. Car¬ 
michael still possesses great vitality, and energy, and 
takes infinite delight in conversing with a brother of 
the craft about his favourite profession. 
■ ■ » - 
THE LATE CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOW 
AT BELFAST. 
On page 551 of your issue for April 30th, I notice 
you refer to the dispute raised by Mr. Peter Brock 
and others, and as it very much concerns myself, I 
shall be obliged if you will kindly allow a short 
space in reply to the same. 
The facts of the case I will deal with as briefly as 
possible. The bloom of the yellow sport shown by 
Mr. Mease was exactly the same in colour as shown 
by him at the Royal Aquarium which was labelled 
Yellow Mme. Carnot and passed as such. He 
instructed his assistant who was in charge of his 
blooms at Belfast to name it Yellow Mme. Carnot, 
but Mr. W. Wells advised him to label it Primrose 
sport from Mme. Carnot. In looking over the 
stands I did not notice the name, but took it for 
granted it was a bloom of Yellow Mme Carnot, and 
passed it as such. I may here mention we had 
blooms of that variety about as pale in colour as the 
one shown by Mr. Mease. During the afternoon 
a protest was lodged and I was called into question. 
Mr. Wells and Mr. Mease’s assistant both assured 
me that it should have been shown as Yellow Mme. 
Carnot. I certainly did not feel justified in dis¬ 
qualifying the stand, as I knew full well that in 
several places Mme. Carnot sported the previous 
season. 
Respecting the paper collars, if the rules were 
violated to the extent stated, surely it was the place 
of Mr. Brock, or whoever noticed it, to enter a pro¬ 
test at the proper time, and the case would have 
been thoroughly investigated, and, as far as I was 
concerned, justice done ; but I heard nothing of this 
till I read it in print some weeks after, and the 
writer then attempted to criticise the stand of blooms 
in questipp, and in replying I did state that card¬ 
board or no cardboard the blooms would have re¬ 
ceived the same award. At the same time I 
attempted to make it clear, and I think most 
readers would have understood me as meaning to 
take away the cardboard and the stand was well 
ahead of the next competing stand. This I fully 
explained in a further reply later. 
I do not wish for one moment to attempt to screen 
myself from all blame, I honestly did my best to do 
justice. I was the only judge appointed to judge the 
principal classes of cut bloams, and I had a con¬ 
siderable amount of work to do. Perhaps it was 
somewhat unfortunate that three English growers 
received the three highest awards at the hands of an 
English judge; but I value my reputation far 
above showing any partiality .—Edwin Beckett. 
I have read your interesting remarks, re the above 
in your issue for 30th ult., and as you refer to further 
explanation being required,I beg to ask your insertion 
of the following:—It has been made perfectlyclear that 
Chrysanthemum Mrs. W.Mease was not in commerce 
at the date of the Belfast show, Mr. Mease’s stand 
should therefore, in justice to other exhibitors, have 
been disqualified. Mr. E. Beckett, of Aldenham 
House, Elstree, was the sale judge of this great 
show. The Belfast show dispute is a matter which 
other Chrysanthemum show committees should take 
timely notice of and appoint such expert judges as 
