26 
THE GARDENING WORLD September 9 1899. 
The general appearance of the variety is well shown 
in the illustration, placed at our service by Messrs. 
Sutton & Sons, Reading. The companion to this 
variety is Golden Standard, feathered with red on a 
yellow ground. 
FAIRBURN, MUIR OF ORD, N.B. 
In the last week cf July we spent a short but very 
pleasant holiday at this place; and for rugged 
grandeur and beauty we do not remember ever 
having seen anything finer. It is situated about 
sixteen or eighteen miles to the north of Inverness, 
and is the property of John Stirling, Esq., a gentle¬ 
man whose generosity and kindly interest has earned 
for him the love and respect of all throughout the 
neighbourhood. The house is a splendid modern 
building, and it, and also the stables, are lit up by 
electric light, the power being got from a turban 
wheel driven by the river Orrin. 
Within fifty yards of the house and on a slight 
eminence the flagstaff is placed, and from this point 
a most magnificent view can be obtained. Here just 
on our left rises Coul Hill towering to a noble height, 
and clad with the Fir for a considerable distance up 
its sides. Almost in front of us is Achilty Hill, 
circled on the one side by the river Conon, and on 
the other by the Black Water. Away in the dis¬ 
tance is the grand mountain range of Ben Wyvis ; 
while for miles is a beautiful strath dotted by many 
a pleasant cottage and hamlet, the whole landscape 
being coloured up by the dark Pinewoods, the ripple 
of the colouring harvest fields and the purple glint 
of the heather. 
Around the house are pretty lawns and beautiful 
ornamental trees and shrubs. Among many fine 
specimens near the house we noted Abies Douglasii, 
Picea grandis, P. nordmanniana, P. nobilis, 
Cupressus lawsoniana. Thuya gigantea, &c , all in 
fine health and appearance; there is also a fine lot of 
choice Rhododendrons and flowering shrubs on 
every side one cares to turn, the whole showing what 
can be done by the hand of a liberal gentleman 
assisted by an able gardener. From the house away 
in a south-westerly direction is a most beautiful 
drive running for about two miles along the banks 
of the river Orrin, the pretty falls of which are 
passed within a few yards of the drive. 
The plantations on the estate are very fine, and 
have been deemed worthy of a visit from the Scottish 
Arboricultural Society. While walking down the 
drive, Mr. Simpson, the gardener, pointed out one 
of the finest specimens of Abies Douglasii in the 
north of Scotland. It has a circumference (4 ft. 
from the base) of nearly 9 ft., and is beautifully 
furnished. We noted here also fine bits of Picea 
Pinsapo, Cedrus Deodara, &c., the drive being one 
of the finest one could wish to see. 
The Garden. 
We shall enter the garden from the service drive 
to the stables; and the first thing to take our atten¬ 
tion is a pretty eight-lined ribbon border to the left 
of the walk and backed by a fine line of the " Eck- 
ford ” Sweet Peas. Further to the left and sur¬ 
rounded on two sides by a fine Yew hedge is the 
croquet or bowling green of nearly an acre. To our 
right is a span-roofed greenhouse containing a choice 
lot of plants. At right angles to this house is a 
range of forcing houses, divided into three. In the 
first two divisions and on the sunny side is a fine 
crop of Melons ; on the other are pot Vines carrying 
good crops, and also a very heavy crop of Tomatos. 
This latter crop requires to be almost a perpetual 
one with Mr. Simpson. The other division is used 
as a plant stove and is filled by a fine lot of young 
Crotons, Cocos weddeliana, Caladiums, &c., for 
house decoration. The pits in front are filled with 
Primulas, Cinerarias, Cyclamens, and other winter 
stuff, while the " square ” has the usual collection of 
" Mums," between four and five hundred of these 
being grown in their various forms. 
We shall now get within the walls of the garden 
proper, which is two acres in extent. A nice herba¬ 
ceous border runs north and south ; while this again 
is intersected by a very fine ribbon bor jer, dividing 
the garden into the usual four squares. Facing the 
south and running the whole width of the garden is 
a splendid range of fruit houses, 130 yards over all. 
We shall run through from east to west. No. 1 is an 
orchard house, 37 yards in length, and this year the 
crop is under average ; especially does this apply to 
Plums and Pears. Peaches on the other hand are 
very good, the varieties grown beiDg Royal George, 
Sea Eagle, and Violette Hative, all in good crop. 
Nectarines are also good, and bearing well this year. 
The trees are grown in bush form, planted out in 
pots, the back wall being covered with the Peaches, 
Nectarines, and Greengages. 
From this orchard house we cross a walk and 
enter another fully devoted to Peaches and 
Nectarines, all bearing a fine crop of grand fruit. 
The next house is a mixed vinery in fine crop, with 
the Cape Gooseberry on the back wall, and some 
fine Ferns on the stage underneath the Vines. We 
next enter an Octagon conservatory, in which are 
some fine ornamental plants. In Palms we note 
good plants of Kentia belmoreana and Seaforthia 
elegans; while on the roof is a fine plant of that 
old climber Tacsonia Van Volxemii, and on the 
back wall a grand bit of Lapageria alba; also a 
general lot of fine useful plants. 
From the conservatory we pass on to a good-sized 
vinery, planted principally with Black Hamburgh, 
and for appearance in bunch and berry the crop is 
all one could desire. On the stage of this house is 
a fine lot in small form of Pteris and Maidenhair 
Ferns. Again we pass to a Peach house also in good 
crop, and crossing another walk we are in another 
orchard house, which is a repetition of No. 1, the 
only difference being that here Mr. Simpson has had 
the bush trees in front uprooted and planted with 
Peaches on trellises. 
The Fruit Crop. 
On account of the large shooting parties which 
regularly take place at Fairburn this is naturally an 
important department under Mr. Simpson’s charge, 
the supply being required from the early forcing of 
Strawberries till late on in the season. Although a 
fine promise was given early in the season, Apples 
this year are almost a failure, Lord Suffield, Keswick 
Codlin, and Warner’s King being the only varieties 
that carry a crop. For Plums, trees of Jefferson, 
both on walls and as half standards are carrying a 
fair crop ; also Victoria as a bush is very good. 
Jargonelle Pears on walls are very fine. All small 
fruits are a very heavy crop, the Strawberries Royal 
Sovereign, Garibaldi, Macmahon, Dr. Hogg, and 
Elton Pine being favourites. For dessert Apples, 
Irish Peach, King of the Pippins, Strawberry 
Pippin, and Worcester Pearmain are all found to do 
generally well; but I must stop. The whole place is 
a delightful retreat, and to those of my readers who 
may be northward at any time, and who wish to see 
a nice place, and to make the acquaintance of the 
genial and successful gardener, I recommend them 
to call at Fairburn.— Richard. 
MUSHROOMS. 
By John Miller. 
It is just at this time of year that we are all 
anxiously waiting for the first good shower of rain 
to bring up in a night one of the nicest delicacies the 
breakfast table can claim, viz., the Mushroom. 
At common law Mushrooms, being part of the 
realty, cannot be stolen, unless growing in gardens 
or cultivated in other land. This was made clear by 
the case of Gardener v. Mansbridge, decided in 1887, 
which laid down that it is not unlawful to pick wild 
Mushrooms ; and this case seems to have given the 
public encouragement to trespass on private fields. 
Therefore if the owner of a few acres of land does 
not cultivate Mushrooms, but allows them to grow 
wild, he cannot prosecute anyone for getting up 
before he does and taking all his Mushrooms—bis 
only remedy is an action for trespass. 
The late Lord Esher (Master of the Rolls) once 
said " If I were found trespassing I should offer my 
informant, if he were the owner or owner’s repre¬ 
sentative, a shilling in settlement of all damage I 
may have done; should he decline to accept the 
shilling, and I daresay he would, then he has lost his 
right of action unless he can prove, which would be 
a very difficult matter, that the damage was more 
than a shilling." 
It is not an uncommon thiDg in a small village for 
the owner of many acres of land to go searching for 
Mushrooms, after he has had his breakfast, and find 
hardly sufficient to justify his search ; and perhaps 
in the e/ening to be the guest at a house where 
Mushrooms form part of the dinner, and those 
Mushrooms picked that very morning from his fields 
that he has been searching with so little success ! 
The right to take Mushrooms from a private field 
seems to be confused with the right of common, 
which is, to use popular language, the right to take 
a profit out of the land of another man. 
Land which is ordinarily known as common may 
be defined as land, the soil of which belongs to one 
person, and from which certain other persons take 
certain profits. 
Where then do our Mushrooms come from ? From 
the cultivated garden or field ? Apparently not, for 
Mr. Worthington G. Smith, F.L.S., M.A.I., etc., 
tells us that the naturally grown Mushrooms of the 
street vendor are simply the fungi gathered pro¬ 
miscuously by the vendors themselves in fields and 
plantations, and that genuine Mushrooms are rarely 
present in hawker's baskets. 
From the foregoing it will be seen that morally the 
wild Mushroom is not necessarily everybody’s 
property, as is so generally supposed. 
An action for trepass against everyone who steals 
your Mushrooms would be a very expensive business, 
and might lead to many difficulties, therefore the 
only effectual way of protecting your Mushrooms 
is to cultivate them even where they would grow 
without any special attention. 
—I— 
TOMATOS AT READING. 
The long, warm summer has been conducive to the 
ripening of Tomatos; and where the ground is in 
good heart we may expect to hear of highly satisfac¬ 
tory crops of them in the open air this year. Messrs. 
Sutton & Sons, Reading, have had a large trial of 
Tomatos in the open ground every summer for many 
years past. This trial is usually conducted at the 
Portland Road Nursery, but this year the collection 
has been transferred to the Trial Grounds or Seed 
Farm, lying alongside of the Great Western Railway, 
where they have grown and fruited handsomely. 
They commenced ripeniDg at least a month ago ; 
and a considerable weight of fruit was gathered for 
the Shrewsbury show. So heavy was the crop, 
however, that there is yet no apparent diminution 
save to those who had seen the plants before the 
show. The seeds were sown on February 20th, aDd 
the seedlings planted in the open ground at the be¬ 
ginning of June. They are fully exposed to sun and 
air on all sides, not being near either trees or build¬ 
ings. There are 210 rows, consisting of eighty-two 
supposed varieties, so that this will give some idea of 
the magnitude of the trial. Every plant is trained 
to a single stem, supported by a stake, and stopped 
at 3 ft. to 3^ ft. in height. They are thus all under 
uniform conditions of soil and treatment. Neatness, 
order, and cleanliness is everywhere observable, so 
that it is a pleasure to look between and along the 
rows. Late and early, large and small, smooth and 
corrugated sorts are all grown together; and visitors 
have thus the chance of comparing the varieties,and 
noting which are really early and which are suitable 
only for indoor culture. 
For Outdoor Culture. 
Sutton’s Earliest of All ripens before any other 
variety. The old stock, being several years old and 
approaching its life limit, was beginning to de¬ 
generate, but Messrs. Sutton, with timely fore¬ 
thought, have selected a fresh stock that ripens three 
or four days earlier than the old one and bears a 
heavier crop. It is a corrugated Tomato of medium 
size, but its earliness creates a demand for it for 
outdoor culture. Even in cold summers it would 
ripen a crop where later ones would fail. Laxton's 
Open air is not so heavy a cropper, and the fruits 
are smaller. Magnum Bonum is two or three days 
later than Earliest of All, and is too corrugated for 
under-glass culture, but it is the heaviest cropping 
variety for outdoor work. The fruits and bunches 
are also larger, so that it is well suited for supplying 
the bulk of the needs for outdoor work. The 
bunches of fruits would weight 2 lbs. cr 3 lbs. 
each. 
There is still a demand for Early Large Red, and 
many gardeners advocate the variety for its heavy 
cropping qualities. Being near the old form of the 
Tomato it has no high character or quality to retain. 
It is nearly as early as Earliest of Alt, but the fruits 
are not so large. It has the recommendation of 
being a cheap variety. Sutton’s Vesuvius ripens as 
early as Magnum Bonum. The fruits are not so 
large, but it is an enormous cropper, particularly 
the new stock which has been selected, and which 
will enable the old one to be discarded next year. 
Sutton’s Peerless is a handsome variety, well suited 
