April 7, 1900. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
. 506 
■O Jyj 
FRUIT CONFERENCE AT DUNKBLD. 
The facts we chronicle here refer to an event which 
occurred on the 31st August, (888 ; but our desire is 
to record some of the sweeping changes which have 
taken place since then, and to connect the past with 
the present. The Fruit Conference held at the 
gardens of Dunkeld House on the above date, was 
reckoned an important event in the annals of Scottish 
gardening by all who were privileged to participate in 
it. Sixty-three or more were present on that occa¬ 
sion from various districts over a wide area of Scot¬ 
land ; but since then thirteen of them have passed 
over to the great majority. The accompanying 
photographic reproduction represents the horti¬ 
culturists who took part in that memorable gather¬ 
ing ; and the photograph is year by year becoming of 
greater importance to the holders of the same, as 
being a visible record of the meeting and those who 
took part in it. 
The idea of the conference originated entirely with 
the late Mr. Peter Walker Fairgrieve, then gardener 
to the Dowager Duchess of Athole, Dunkeld House, 
Dunkeld, Perthshire. He put himself in touch with 
Mr. D. P. Laird, of the Pinkhill Nurseries, Murray- 
field, Midlothian, and others in the Scottish capital, 
and the result must be considered a most successful 
bringing together of Scottish horticulturists. By 
that time the fame of Mr. Fairgrieve as a fruit 
grower had spread far and wide, so that the idea of a 
gathering of Scottish gardeners at that ancient seat 
could scarcely have been more happily conceived. 
Mr. Fairgrieve's success with his exhibits of hardy 
fruits, especially stone fruits, such as Peaches, 
Nectarines, Apricots, Plums, and Cherries, at the 
September show of the Royal Caledonian Horti¬ 
cultural Society, had prepared the members and 
other gardeners to accept and appreciate his invita¬ 
tion to assemble at the gardens of Dunkeld House, 
to hear and see for themselves the handiwork of the 
great master of the profession. The various depart¬ 
ments of the garden were first visited, particular 
attention being given to the stone fruits on the walls, 
after which the assembly partook of luncheon. The 
real business of the day was then commenced by the 
holding of a conference, at which the culture of the 
stone fruits was earnestly discussed by many of the 
leading men present, the discussion lasting over two 
hours. There are very few places in Scotland where 
Peaches on open walls can be grown with such 
success as at Dunkeld House, and away to the north 
of this their culture is seldom attempted except in 
glasshouses, mostly heated. 
The Illustrious Dead. 
Our attention on this occasion is to recall some of 
the changes that have taken place since that memor¬ 
able gathering, noting the names of those who have 
passed beyond our ken, but whose memory is still 
green in the sympathetic recollection of their fellow 
gardeners still alive. No attempt is here made to 
give the sequence of their decease. 
Amongst those who have passed away many will 
no doubt recollect Mr. J. Brown, late gardener to 
C. S. H. D. Moray, Esq., Abercairney House, Crieff, 
Perthshire. Mr. W. Brow was gardener to the 
Right Hon. W. E. Baxter, Kilmaron Castle, Cupar- 
Fife. Then there were Mr. W. S. Bissett, gardener 
to J. Bullock, Esq., Moncrieffe House, Bridge of 
Earn ; Mr. W. Morrison, Inchmartine House, Carse 
of Gowrie; Mr. W. E. Dixon, late of Beverley, 
Yorks; Mr. W. M. Welsh, senior partner of Messrs. 
Dicksons & Co., Waterloo Place, Edinburgh; and 
Mr. Malcolm Dunn, Dalkeith Palace Gardens. The 
last two were prominent members of the Royal 
Scottish Arboricultural Society, the one Convener 
of Finance, and the other of the Transactions Com¬ 
mittee. Indeed, so well-known and ubiquitous was 
Mr. Dunn that one is apt to forget his nationality 
and regard him simply as a British gardener who 
had a hand in almost every horticultural and abori- 
cultural gathering of any importance. His loss to 
horticulture was irreparable. 
Mr. W. Stratton, of Dundee, was an amateur well 
known wherever Primula and Auricula growers fore¬ 
gathered in the north. Mr. P. Whitton, late gardener 
to W. Smythe, Esq., Methven Castle, Perth, was the 
father of the well-known and much respected super¬ 
intendent of the Glasgow Public Parks. Mr. James 
Alexander was another of the partners in the firm of 
Messrs. Dicksons & Co., Edinburgh. Mr. R. B. 
Laird, who died in Dundee, on March 4th, 1895, was 
the father of the nursery and seed trades of that 
name in Edinburgh and Dundee, and was well-known 
to a large number of gardeners now scattered over 
the length and breadth of the land. The name of 
Mr. Thomas Boyd, late gardener to W. Forbes, 
Esq , Callendar Park, Falkirk, is still upon the lips 
of many, his sudden death being recorded in our 
issue for March 24th. Mr. P. W. Fairgrieve con¬ 
cludes the list of those who have dropped into the 
silent past. He was one of Scotland’s most noted 
all round gardeners. The death of four of the above 
has been recorded in our pages during the past eleven 
months. They are Messrs. Dunn, Welsh, Fairgrieve, 
and Boyd. * 
Still with us. 
It is with greater pleasure that we record the names 
of those whose faces appear in the photograph, and 
who are yet present in the flesh. Mr.Robert Lindsay, 
late curator of the Royal Botanic Garden,Edinburgh, 
is now retired. Mr. J W. McHattie, then at New- 
battle Abbey, is now gardener to the Duke of Well¬ 
ington at Strathfieldsaye. Mr. Thomas Lunt, who 
was champion Grape grower at Shrewsbury last 
year, is gardener to A. Stirling, Esq., Keir, Dunblane. 
Mr. W. McKelvie, late of Broxmouth Park, East 
Lothian, is now farming in that county. Mr. 
Donald Mathison is gardener to the Marchioness of 
Lansdowne, Meiklour House, Perth ; and Mr. A. 
Mackinnon to the Earl of Mansfield, Scone Palace, 
Perth. Mr. Mungo Temple, gardener to Sir T. D. 
Brodie, Bart., Carron House, Falkirk, wields the pen 
of the ready writer, and in that respect is well-known 
to many. His communications frequently appear in 
The Gardening World. Mr. W. Smith holds the 
reins at Oxenford Castle, Dalkeith, the seat of the 
Earl of Stair. Mr. David Murray, gardener to the 
Marquis of Ailsa, Culzean Castle, Maybole, was a 
fast friend of the late Mr. Fairgrieve. Mr. Jas. 
Lawrie is gardener to W. Stewart Fotheringham, 
Esq., Murthly Castle, Murthly, Perthshire. Mr. J. 
McKiddie, also hails from the same county, being 
gardener to Lord Kinnaird, Rossie Priory, Inchture. 
Mr. J. Beisant, gardener to Mrs. Armitstead, Castle 
Huntly, Longforgan, Perthshire, is much in evidence 
at the autumn shows, being a great Chrysanthemum 
grower. 
Many well-known nurserymen were also present at 
the Conference, including Mr. David W. Thomson, 
of Edinburgh ; Mr. David P. Laird, of Messrs. R. B. 
Laird & Sons, Ltd., Pinkhill and Edinburgh; Mr. 
A. Milne, of Messrs. J. Dickson & Sons, Edinburgh ; 
Mr. A. Mackenzie, of Messrs. T. Methven & Sons, 
Edinburgh; and Mr. James A. Gossip, of Messrs. 
Howden & Co., Inverness. The patriarch of the lot 
is Mr. Alexander Crombie, who retired from “ active 
service ” last November, and who also holds a fifty 
years’ record amongst Scottish gardeners for mark 
and worth. 
- —— 
TOMATO, THE CROPPER. 
What everyone who takes to Tomato growing wants 
is a variety that combines the qualities of earliness 
plus continued bearing propensities, and which bear 
fruits abundantly, all of the fruits likewise to be 
usable. From acquaintance with The Cropper, I 
know it to be altogether worthy of its name. A var¬ 
iety which can yield 18 lbs. of fruits per plant when 
placed at no more than 1 ft. apart, and which bears 
bunches from its base at every node upwards, pro¬ 
vided the fruits are of medium size, has only to be 
known to be widely grown. The Cropper embodies 
these qualities. The quantity of fruits just men¬ 
tioned can be relied upon from each plant of this 
variety when well grown. Thus it is that market 
men who have seen this relatively new Tomato so 
much grown by Mr. Jones,of Ryecroft Nursery, have 
taken to it strongly. There are no small fruits, and 
no monsters. The fruits are deep red, round, smooth 
and firm, being borne in heavy trusses. The flavour 
is excellent as is testified by the ready sale for the 
crop. It is good for pickling and makes capital sauce. 
The first cuttings of ripe fruits can be had from seven 
to eight weeks from the time of planting. Those who 
succeed most thoroughly and who glean the heaviest 
amount of fruits, rely upon liquid feedings rather 
than repeated top-dressings with soil. In fact, at the 
Ryecroft Nursery, where great ranges are filled with 
The Cropper, the small amount of soil employed for 
rootage is quite a surprise to many. Very firm 
potting is preferable when they are so growD, 
although in larger gardens where houses are entirely 
devoted to Tomatos, the planting-out system is re- 
commendable. The Cropper resulted from a cross 
between Conference and Perfection, two standard 
varieties of whose worth it is needless to speak.— 
D.K. 
CHEMISTRY FOR THE GARDEN. 
VIII.- Mineral Foods. 
There is little room for doubting that any mineral 
matter found in the ash of plants is such as has 
been alone absorbed for the purpose of nutrition. It 
is scarcely consistant with the knowledge which 
chemists possess of the history of plant life, to think 
absorption is so lax and mechanical as to imbibe the 
unnecessary along with the necessary foods, and in 
this manner admitting extraneous matter which if 
accidental must not have been required. Not only 
are certain materials required but plants will die if 
any one of them is absent from the soil or medium 
from which they derive their sustenance. The min¬ 
eral foods must be oxidised before they can become 
adapted for assimilation. 
An acid, perhaps, more than one, must act upon 
the mineral before it becomes suitable for the use of 
the plant. Besides it is imperative that nitrogenous 
matter, as we have before stated, should act in 
unison with the mineral, previous to its final manu¬ 
facture into proper nutritious plant food. This is so 
far imperative that if the one is eliminated the other 
is unable to carry on the functions of supporting 
plant life. Small as the quantity of mineral food 
essential for the plant is it is manifest from what 
has been said that it forms an indispensable 
factor in its proper development. We saw 
the importance of this in the conversion of ammonia 
into nitrate of potash and nitric acid, in compost 
heaps, saturated with liquid manure. Lime evidently 
is the chief agent which brings this desirable state of 
things about. We heard a lecturer say that this 
process was accomplished by the operations of these 
atomic creatures which for the want of less myster¬ 
ious ones are being held responsible for more of 
both good and evil than most sensible men will be 
able to give their assent to. 
The most important minerals found in the ash of 
plants are silica, phosphorus, sulphur, potash, soda, 
lime, magnesia, iron, and iodine; the latter,however, 
is not generally found in plants. 
Alumina, though said by some chemists to have 
been found in the ash of plants, is now universally 
declared as an outside worker only. Its good office 
as such is very energetic in the manufacture of food, 
especially in the forms called double silicates. 
Silica is found in almost all plants, but more 
abundant in those, such as the Gramineae, whose 
fragile structure is made rigid and pliable to stand 
against injury from storms by the depositions of 
this mineral in their structure. Some chemists deny 
its necessity to the plant. Nevertheless, there 
appears to be no doubt that silica is a very necess¬ 
ary food for plants. 
Potash is a very important plant food, the 
Brassica family having in its composition a large per¬ 
centage of this mineral. On this account, il need 
scarcely be said, its presence in every soil is 
absolutely necessary for the proper growth of most 
plants. 
Lime enters also largely into the composition of the 
most of plants. Some are designated “ lime plants ” 
because of their partiality for the mineral; Peas, 
Clover, &c., are instances. Lime is supposed to be the 
principal agent in bringing about the conversion of 
ammonia into nitrate of potash and nitric acid. It 
also has an important action in the formation of the 
double silicates. To the gardener and farmer who 
have to deal with clay or land surcharged with 
organic matter, the liberal use of lime dressings 
must always be beneficial. When applied to clay 
lands it will conduce to the formation of double 
silicates, and when to humic and richly manured land 
to that of nitric acid and nitrate of potash. 
Phosphorus does not exist in a free state either 
in the soil or the plant. It is in the form of a com¬ 
bination with oxygen, namely, phosphoric acid that 
it is met with in plants. It forms a comparatively 
large proportion of the mineral food of plants. All 
crops demand liberal supplies of phosphoric acid ; 
perhaps manures, natural or artificial, owe as much 
to their wealth in this as they do to that of ammonia. 
As bones consist principally of phosphate of lime, 
their application to the soil must be highly conducive 
