July 8, 1899. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
709 
Presentations at Rothesay —Before leaving pleasant 
Rothesay, Mr. James Wells and Mr. Thomas 
McLaughlan, employees of Messrs. Dobbie & Go., 
Florists to the Queen, Rothesay, were each presented 
with a handsome travelling bag by Mr. Murchie and 
Mr. Jones in the name of their fellow workers. The 
presentations were made at a smoking concert specially 
arranged in their honour. Mr. Wells, who leaves for 
an important appointment on Lady De Rothschild’s 
estate of Champneys, near Tring, Herts, has been for 
nine years with Messrs. Dobbie & Co. Mr. 
McLaughlan has been three years at Rothesay and is 
now migrating to the firm’s seed-grounds at Orping¬ 
ton, Kent. The heartiest of good-feeling prevails 
between Messrs. Dobbie & Co., and their employees. 
Great Industrial Flower Show.—The new schedule 
has been issued for the “ One and All " Flower Show, 
to be held at the Crystal Palace, in August, in con¬ 
nection with the Annual Co-operative Festival. The 
schedule this year is in two parts forming two illus¬ 
trated pamphlets, running into about 140 pages and 
containing offers of prizes calculated to stimulate 
every kind of horticultural excellence amongst 
working men, women, and children throughout the 
kingdom. The prizes, over 1,000 in number, include 
a Silver Champion Cup by Countess Grey; Gold, 
Silver, and Bronze Medals by the Agricultural and 
Horticultural Society; a Silver Cup by Miss 
Wilmott, V.M.H.; an original Water-colour Draw¬ 
ing by Miss Marie Lowe (Mrs. Hensley) ; special 
prizes offered by many co-operative societies ; £150 
by the Crystal Palace Company ; and £200 by the 
Council of the Agricultural and Horticultural 
Association. The increase in the number and 
and variety of classes is very notable. One new class 
is a novel departure in the direction of educational 
judging. The judges are to announce the points of 
excellence, etc., upon which these particular awards 
will rest, the object being to instruct exhibitors and 
growers in what is good and what bad in each kino 
of garden production, which is a capital idea, for 
very many people wonder at the differences in 
awards. The photographic classes have been ex¬ 
tended to thirty-four in number, and are this year 
divided into two sections, the first of which will be 
judged from a horticultural point of view, and the 
second by their artistic merits as photographs. 
Copies of either schedule may be obtained free of 
charge from the hon. secretary, Mr. Edward Owen 
GreeniDg, at 3, Agar Street, Charing Cross, W.C. 
Co-operation among the Bacteria.—By means of 
studying the lives and works of the innumerable 
species of bacteria, far-reaching innovations, with 
beneficial results, are being gradually and steadily 
introduced into our everyday life. Mr. G. Clarke 
Nuttall, B.S.C., in the July issue of Knowledge, writes 
on metabiosis—a new relationship, feature, or con¬ 
dition of life. “ Now, metabiosis may be broadly 
defined as that relationship which exists between 
two organisms when for one of the two to flourish 
and live in a certain medium it is necessary that the 
other should have preceded it and prepared the way 
for it. The development of the one with its conse¬ 
quent reaction on the environment is a necessary 
condition of the development of the other. The first 
is independent of the second and in no way touches 
it in any intimate way ; the second is wholly depen¬ 
dent upon the good offices of the first, for Without its 
predecessor had lived and developed and through its 
living changed the character of its environment it 
could never have been called into active life.” The 
finest wines produced in the'vineyards of the Rhine¬ 
land have been made from Grapes that were mouldy 
and bad, but a clever chemist found that the 
“ mouldiness which appeared on the Grapes after 
standing was a fungus which lived on the contents of 
the Grapes, and which in absorbing its food changed 
the chemical constitution of those contents, so that 
when the fermentation processes began through the 
agency of yeast organisms, they were favoured and 
affected for the better by the changes which had already 
been brought about by the mould fungus. Here, then, 
the yeast stands in a metabiotic relationship to the 
mould fungus. The mould is absolutely independent of 
the yeast and appears under any circumstances, the 
yeast organism can only take that particular line of 
development with the resulting production of 
' bouquet ’ when the way has been prepared for it 
by the mould fungus. It is dependent upon its pre¬ 
decessor for its particular action—that is to say, we 
have here a condition of metabiosis,” 
The Government of the Congo Free State have 
passed a law necessitating the planting of 150 
Rubber trees for every ton of rubber yielded annu¬ 
ally. Rubber trees were rapidly becoming extinct. 
Weather in London.—Wednesday, June 28th, turned 
out close and muggy, with much lightning and 
thunder and some rain at night. Thursday, bright 
and warm all day; some rain at night. Friday 
opened bright and was steady all day, but the much- 
needed rain fell steadily at night. Saturday was 
breezy, cool, and showery. Sunday, breezy, cool, 
and showery in the evening. Monday was cloudy, 
with showers. Tuesday continued warm and dull. 
Wednesday, July 5th, opens very hot. 
Another London Lung. —On Wednesday, the 28th 
of June, the Paragon Public Park and the open 
space at Portland Place were formally opened to the 
inhabitants of the parish of St. George the 
Martyr, Southwark. The former was acquired by 
the vestry from Lord Llangattock. In 1897 his 
lordship made an offer of the ground for the sum of 
£3,400 to the Metropolitan Public Gardens’ 
Association, towards which he was prepared to con¬ 
tribute £1,000. The purchase was completed in 
September, 1898, the L.C.C. contributing £1,700, the 
local vestry £600, and the vestry of St. Mary's, 
Newington, £100. 
- —a e. 
CLARENDON HOUSE, LINLITHGOW. 
In calling at The Gardens, Clarendon House, Lin¬ 
lithgow, a few days ago to have a look round I found 
several noteworthy things there, and I trust it may 
interest the many readers of The Gardening 
World to have them described. In approaching 
the mansion one is struck with the fine situation of 
the house. To the south of it is the, Cockle de Roi 
Hill, to the north Bonnington Hill with Adrian 
Hope’s Monument, and lying between and several 
hundred feet beneath it is the loch and grand old 
palace where Queen Mary was born. Stretching 
away to the east a few miles stands the Binns 
House and Tower, and the beautiful grounds of 
Hopetoun (the seat of the Earl of Hopetoun), and 
the Forth Bridge. To the west are Stirling Castle 
and the Wallace Monument, and commanding one 
of the finest views in the locality. A little to the 
south of the house and near to the well-kept lawns 
are a few fine specimens of trees and shrubs, golden 
and variegated Hollies, Araucarias, Yews, &c. ; and 
at present the fine hybrid Rhododendrons are simply 
glorious, the trusses being extra large everywhere 
this year. The Rose beds, consisting of many 
varieties, in ten days or so will keep up the display, 
as they are in fine bud, clean and vigorous. 
The glass at Clarendon is on a pretty extensive 
scale. We first enter a large Peach house, filled 
with very healthy trees and carrying an uncommonly 
fine crop of Peaches and Nectarines. We next 
enter the vinery where the best late sorts are grown, 
with a very even crop on them. The early vinery 
comes next with splendid bunches of the leading 
sorts, and the strong wood shows that Mr. Brown, 
the energetic gardener, intends to have Grapes for 
his employer in 1900. The Melons are also doing 
well in the last division of this range. 
We now turn to the conservatory where cleanli¬ 
ness and tidy arrangement attract attention. The 
hybrid Calceolarias (Methven's strain), Pelargo¬ 
niums and Roses are exceedingly well growD, as well 
as many other good things. The roof is covered 
with Lapagerias, Clematis, Solanum jasminoides, 
and other climbers ; but every available space is 
filled with flowers more or less interesting. We 
have now got to the fernery where Adiantums 
especially are grown to the highest pitch of excell¬ 
ence, many plants in 6-in. pots measuring 3 ft. in 
diameter and worthy of the highest praise. It is 
evident from what we have seen here that Ferns do 
not require to be often repotted, a hint that I hope 
may be useful to others. The stove adjoining is 
chiefly filled with foliage plants for table, Palms, 
Dracaenas, Crotons, Pandanus, &c., and are full of 
health. 
The bedding out, mostly long borders, is done 
with rare taste. It is cut up into half circles from 
back to front and filled with Begonias of different 
shades, also tricolor, Ivy and bronze Pelargoniums, 
the angles neatly done with a dwarf Lobelia, 
Mesembryanthemums, Pyrethrums, &c. A grand 
improvement in the way of a new fruit room, potting 
sheds and tool house has just been completed, and 
will add greatly to the comfort of the workmen 
when potting, &c., in wet weather.— Visitor. 
ST. LEONARDS, EDINBURGH. 
This, the town house of Mrs. Thomas Nelson, 
widow of the well-known Printer and Publisher of 
that name, is situated at the margin of the Queen s 
Park, and is guarded we might say, by the sleeping 
Lion on Arthur's seat, so near is it to that fine hill 
It commands a splendid look out on the Park. The 
grounds are not extensive nor are they pretentious, 
but as the parks and policies adjoin those of Salis¬ 
bury Green, the residence of a brother of the pro¬ 
prietor of this place the view away to east is thus 
open, including St. Margaret’s Loch in the distance 
which is very fine. 
The house itself is a handsome pile of masonry, 
in style a mixture of Scotch baronial and Elizabethan, 
its high corner tower standing out prominently from 
many points in the south side of the city. A broad 
walk and terrace run aloDg the north front of the 
house for a distance of one hundred yards or so, 
while below is a tennis green of goodly size, with 
here and there some nice lumps of Rhododendrons of 
good sorts, and the usual background of trees and 
shrubs. -The kitchen garden is not large and here Mr. 
Chaplin, the gardener, has found it necessary to 
intersect it with hedges, so exposed is it to the north 
and east. The soil, a stiff clayish till, has to be 
ridged every winter to make it workable. 
In answer to a kind invitation I visited this place 
on June 20th, and the day being wet when rain was 
just wanted, I found Mr. Chaplin, who is always 
frank and cheerful, in a specially good humour. 
One is not long in his company when one is 
impressed with his genuine love for his work, and 
his desire to succeed. I first had a look into the 
Melon house, 30 ft. by 10 ft. or so, and here I found 
a fine crop well forward and swelling some fruits to 
a good size. I noted here also a fine lot of that 
pretty and useful Begonia Gloire de Lorraine. In 
connection with the propagation of this Begonia the 
gardener remarked that he had tried various ways, 
but found that the leaf propagation was the most 
satisfactory. Laid in cocoanut fibre they root 
freely, the break or young growth springing from the 
base of the leaf stalk, not, as in the case of the Rex 
Begonia, from the leaf itself. These Mr. Chaplin 
found made the best plants and from what I sa w I 
cannot doubt it. Here also was the remnant of 
what had been a fine batch of Gloxinia, a later lot 
of Sutton’s fine white variety promising well. 
I next turned into the stove, a lean-to house 35 ft. 
by 16 ft. or thereabout, and although not at first 
intended as a plant house Mr. Chaplin has made the 
most of it and well indeed it looks. A broad flat 
stage stretches the full length of the house to the 
front, while to the back of the passage a narrower 
one is placed. Here I found a fine general collection 
of plants suitable to the structure of the house, the 
beauty of the whole being that they were fresh and 
healthy and not overgrown., I noted amongst others, 
Dracaena massangeana, a favourite with the grower ; 
D. Lindenii, D. Youngii, Kentia belmoreanh' K. 
fosteriana, good plants 4 ft. to 5 ft. in height; 
Phoenix rupicola, a pretty and graceful plant; pot 
Asparaguses, Clerodendions, Ferns, both vigorous 
and varied and the general run of useful stove 
plants. . . \ tii 
To the right of the stove is a large span-roofhd 
greenhouse, 40 ft. in length. Our friend was here 
preparing for an overhaul after the finish of the 
bedding out, consequently it had noton its “ wedding 
garment.” We noticed a nice lot of Azalea indica 
making good growth after flowering. This is a class 
with which, amongst other things, Mr. Chaplin is 
very successful at the Edinburgh shows. Besides 
these we note a good batch of Pelargoniums, also 
Hydrangea, with immense heads, and some late 
plants of the same, promising still better. 
On the opposite side of the stove, to the left, is a 
- span-roofed vinery, companion in size to the green¬ 
house. In this house a fine crop of Grapes was 
promising well, the varieties grown being.Black 
Hamburg, Foster's Seedling, Mrs. Pince, Lady 
Downs, &c. I noticed the gardener was preparing 
for the future, a few layers making grand strong 
rods, well up the wires. Underneath was a fine lot 
of Ferns for house work. One variety Mt. 
Chaplin is endeavouring to work up, namely Pteris 
Wimseltii, one of the best Pteris varieties for mar¬ 
ket, also P. cristata, Phlebodium glaucum, &c. Al¬ 
together I spent a very happy forenoon.— Richard .' 
