298 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 7, 18S9 
These statements appearing in a newspaper must 
of necessity be true, so, at any rate, a portion of the 
reading public believe. Oh, yes ! one might hear 
them say that its English gardeners do not take so 
much trouble, and that's the reason we get such 
beautiful Lettuces and salads from France. I fear 
this clever writer has hardly done justice to his 
countrymen in his conclusions, drawn from a very 
brief survey of his subject. 
I think a year’s experience as a market gardener or 
as a private gardener would teach him that other 
causes operate to handicap the home grower (even 
granting the accuracy of his statements as to the 
superiority of nearly every kind of French fruit), and 
give the foreign producer preference. No amount of 
care, however intelligent or unwearying, would pre¬ 
vent the perishing and destructive east winds sweep¬ 
ing over our island at the blooming period, perishing 
all expanded flowers, such as visited us last spring, 
for instance. Ingenuity has failed so far as I know 
to produce colour-giving dews during a period of 
drought; no matter how the sun may kiss the cheek 
of the Grape or Pear, a plentiful dew is essential to 
fix the desired colour. 
Does a knowledge of their markets account for the 
preferential railway rates given them by our railway 
companies ? Perhaps ! Whatever our insular faults 
and failings may be no observer can fairly lay to our 
charge, carelessness, want of care, intelligence or 
industry, in supplying our vegetable and fruit 
markets. Room for improvement there may be. 
But no one can say, but, that in this industry, every 
nerve is strained, every method tried whereby an 
advantage may be gained, or an improvement made. 
Every device ingenuity can offer, or science desirous 
to cope with insect pests or save labour, is tried. 
Competition and the struggle for existence demands 
this. It is so easy for the superficial observer and 
gifted writer to disparage his own countrymen, but it 
is not quite fair.— A. P. 
-—- 
MESSRS. DOBBIE & CO., ROTHESAY. 
In September last, when most flowers and vegetable 
crops were still occupying their summer [quarters, 
we paid a visit of inspection to the nurseries of 
Messrs. Dobbie & Co., Rothesay, the headquarters 
of the firm. The offices are situated about the 
middle of the town, and behind them is the 
Springfield Nursery, 
where most of the glass is situated, and thither we 
proceeded soon after our arrival on the island of 
Bute. Two houses at least are devoted to the cul¬ 
tivation of Tomatos for seed, one of them being then 
occupied with 140 plants of Dobbie's Champion, 
planted out in the body of the house, and trained up 
to a considerable height, with a single stem, the 
span-roofed house being fully occupied with the 
crop. The variety is very fruitful, bearing smooth 
fruits of medium size, red, solid in flesh, and of ex¬ 
cellent flavour. The quantity of it grown annually 
is evidence of its popularity. Another house was 
planted with Frogmore Selected and Conference 
Tomatos for market and other work. 
A collection of all the best varieties of Fuchsia 
occupies another house. Some of the prettiest and 
most interesting we noted in bloom were Dorothy 
Neville, rich blue, with reflexed red sepals; Royal 
Purple, violet-purple, but otherwise having sepals 
like the last; Phenomenal, double purple; Leda 
(1897), semi-double and deep blue, the shade being 
very pretty and attractive in every way ; Gertrude 
Pearson, violet-purple, with very broad sepals ; and 
Mr. Gladstone, a handsome and fully double flower 
of a violet hue, with the red sepals forming a shield 
to the corolla. Fascination (1898) is very similar to 
Delicata, which has pink petals and white sepals, a 
very pleasing combination. Achilles (1898) is another 
fine double purple, but it is not nearly so bright as 
Mr. Gladstone. The decidedly drooping habit of 
Pendant makes it suitable for basket work, while 
the purple and rose flowers are pretty. 
Zonal Pelargoniums constitute another collection, 
of which we noted a few of the best and newest 
tnen in bloom. The flowers of Southey (1898) are 
Dright scarlet with a white centre ; Phyllis (1898), 
soft red, shaded scarlet; Zenobia (1898), dark red, 
shaded scarlet, and of immense size compared with 
old time varieties! Candace, fiery crimson, and of 
excellent form, being an acquisition to its class; 
Oenone, rich salmon and of huge size, both in truss 
and power ; Madame Boudeville, white, lightly over¬ 
laid with crushed strawberry, and one of the pretti¬ 
est of the group that has sprung from the original 
Souvenir de Mirande ; and Lady Chesterfield, rich, 
dark orange. There are many other fine things in 
this section, for the collection of this useful class is 
extensive. Show, fancy, and zonal Pelargoniums 
are also a strong feature of this nursery, in their 
proper season ; but the plants bad been cut down 
previous to our visit, and thousands of cuttings were 
being rooted in pots. 
A long, lean-to range in several divisions contains 
stock of a great varriety of plants in constant re¬ 
quest in most establishments for bedding or green¬ 
house culture. For instance, there were Fuchsias, 
scented-leaved and other Pelargoniums, Heliotropes, 
and early-flowering Chrysanthemums, which had 
been taken indoors to keep the wet off the expanding 
flowers. Doris Peto, a good white of the Japanese 
type; Alfred Rose, silvery-rose and white; and 
Grace Attick, with slender white florets, are some of 
the early sorts that are popular at Rothesay in the 
cut state, and find ready buyers. Early and late 
Chrysanthemums were planted in tbe open air for 
the supply of healthy cuttings for propagation, and 
to supply the wants of customers. Large flowering 
Chrysanthemums, particularly of the Japanese type, 
are grown in quantity in pots, as was amply testified 
at all the leading shows of the north during last 
November. 
One of the things that strike visitors to this 
nursery is the enormous quantity of Dahlias kept as 
stock in small pots, and summered in open frames. 
There must be many thousands of them, and very 
serviceable the roots are when confined in small 
pots. They keep well, and gardeners can raise 
sufficient stock from them by placing the roots in 
heat in spring. They may also be planted out in 
the proper season, and come away early when grown 
on without being cut down. All the types are kept 
in stock- show, fancy, Cactus, single Cactus, single, 
and pompons. Plantations of several kinds are also 
made at the Springfield nur sery, but acres of them 
are grown at the Bush Farm Nursery, so that we 
shall refer to them in the account of that place. 
Bush Farm Nursery. 
This is much more extensive than Springfield, and 
may be described as a seed farm for the production 
of farm crops, though many acres are devoted to the 
cultivation and harvesting of seeds and roots for the 
garden proper, as well as hardy plants, Roses, and 
other things of a varied description. 
Bush Farm lies upon a hillside, a little way out of 
town, but is easily reached by a short walk from the 
offices. A fertile portion has been selected for the 
culture of garden plants, the lower portions being 
rich in humus, while the upper reaches are heavier 
and inclined to clay, but only requires working, and 
the application of farmyard manure to make it fit for 
almost anything. 
Dahlias were in their glory, notwithstanding the 
constant cutting of the flowers and almost con¬ 
tinuous rain, for which the Brighton of Scotland is 
noted. All the show and fancy varieties that make 
their appearance on the exhibition table are grown, 
but as they are mostly well-known, we directed our 
attention chiefly to the newest and finest of the 
Cactus Dahlias that are now popular over the length 
and breadth of the land. 
One of the finest of modern Cactus Dahlias is Mrs. 
John Goddard, having stiff, straight, pointed florets 
of a rich glowing, crimson-scarlet, and borne on stiff 
stems well above the foliage. The blackish-maroon, 
and long, twisted florets of Night make this one of 
the blackest of Dahlias ; it flowers with remarkable 
freedom. Casilda, yellow, tinged with salmon-pink, 
and Falka, with light red, twisted florets, are two 
very free-flowering varieties. The deep rose-pink 
blooms of Mrs. Dickson are very distinct and pretty. 
Octopus is also charmingly distinct, the florets being 
white, shaded with lilac, and the blooms of large size. 
Many certificates have been accorded to E. J. Deal, 
one of the finest scarlet varieties yet raised, the 
florets being long and slender. The soft vermillion 
flowers of Laverstock Beauty are of the Arachne type 
in having the long florets incurved at the tips. The 
last-named is a remarkable flower in this respect, as 
well as by having the florets white along the centre 
and broadly margined with bright crimson. The 
pinkish-heliotrope blooms of Mary Service are also 
extremely handsome, the florets being revolute at 
the sides, and forming cylindrical tubes. 
Cactus Dahlias, when true to character, seem to 
belong to two leading types, namely those having 
straight, and those having incurved florets; the edges 
are more or less revolute in every case. Besides 
those already mentioned, Stella has also incurved 
florets, of a vivid crimson. The fiery-scarlet of 
Standard Bearer, recalls that of Gloriosa, but the 
florets are pointed like those of Starfish. Alfred 
Vasey (1898), has charming blooms coloured with 3 
mixture of red, amber arid pink, and the quill-like 
florets are incurved at the tips. The blooms are 
freely produced, and carried well above the foliage. 
Keyne’s White (189S), is a beautiful ivory-white 
bloom when seen at its best, but it seems to do best 
when moisture is moderate and the soil not too rich. 
The soft salmon-pink and apricot tints of Britannia 
(1898) make a charming combination. The variety 
commences early and blooms freely throughout the 
season. The florets of Ruby are, as the name indi¬ 
cates, ruby-red, but they are tipped with carmine, 
and rolled into long tubes. Another abundant 
bloomer is (Capstan (1898), the flowers of which are 
soft brick-red and tinted with rich yellow at the base 
of the florets. Very neat and pretty are the soft lilac 
flowers of Island Queen. The lovely yellow of Daffo¬ 
dil is too good to be overlooked. Many more most 
excellent things could be mentioned, but the above 
will be sufficient to show that the Rothesay firm is 
is determined to be up-to-date in the matter of 
Cactus Dahlias. The decorative varieties that used 
to do duty in gardens are no longer worthy of culti¬ 
vation, with the exception of a few sorts that please 
on account of their exquisite colour. 
Single Cactus Dahlias are now more or less culti¬ 
vated in gardens, and they continue to improve ; but 
we hope that surprises are in store for the near 
future in the shape of some strikingly novel and 
charming varieties that will captivate the public 
generally. A grand future for them would then be 
assured. Some of them are really graceful and 
handsome in the cut state, and for decorative work 
we fail to see why they should not be largely em¬ 
ployed in private establishments at least. 
The ordinary single Dahlias are grown in great 
numbers, "all the leading colours being represented 
by flowers of beautifully refined form, with broad, 
overlapping rays. Seedlings of this c'ass are 
annually raised in quantity, A semi-double race 
having two rows of petals is being developed under 
the title of Kingston Lacey, but already there are 
several varieties having either a white or yellow 
ground with a broad crimson, orange, orange-buff, 
rose, or yellow edge to the florets. This strain is 
being closely watched and may give rise to some¬ 
thing fine. 
Pompon Dahlias constitute another popular class 
both for the exhibition table, for garden decoration, 
and for cut flower purposes. Mrs. Ireland is a 
beautiful variety that has been added to the list for 
distribution this year. The flowers are scarlet, 
tipped with white and'of beautiful form. Little 
gems of last year include Zoe, yellow, tipped white; 
Agate, pale sulphur, fading to white at the tips of the 
florets; Jewel, varying from pale sulphur to pure 
white, and rather a fancy sort in its way ; Vulcan, 
rich crimson; Katie, yellow, flushed with pink; 
Norah, yellow, edged with scarlet; and Nellie 
Broomhead, a most charming mauve variety fading 
to a paler centre. 
(To be continued.) 
- — ■■ 
UTILISATION OF THE HORSE 
CHESTNUT. 
The Journal de la Societe d'Aceliinatation. de France 
gives a method for utilising the Horse Chestnut for 
destruction of earth worms in gardens. It is as 
follows:— 
The Chestnuts are crushed with a mallet and 
steeped in a bucket ; about eight nuts per o 880 quart 
of water. After twenty-four hours this water is em¬ 
ployed to water the plants, which must be well 
soaked so as to reach all the worms. After a few 
minutes the worms rise to the surface of the soil, 
wriggle about, and die. Those which remain 
below perish likewise. A single watering suffices. It 
is well to gather enough chestnuts every autumn to 
last until the crop of next year; they are kept in a 
dry place, from which they can be taken as needed. 
This method of destruction of worms, in addition 
to efficacy, is simple and practical, and costs 
nothing. Besides, it adds another employment, 
partial, it is true, of the luxuriant and embarrassing 
crop of Horse Chestnuts to be seen yearly in . our 
gardens .—La Vie Scientifiquc, Dec, 10 th, 1898. 
