October 17, 1903. 
THE GARDEN! NO WORLD. 
*73 
Round the Nurseries. 
Beechhill Nursery, Murrayfield. 
About the middle of September last we made an inspection 
of the numerous collections of plants of a very varied descrip¬ 
tion got together by Mr. John Downie, of Beechhill Nursery, 
Murrayfield, Midlothian, and Shandwick Place, Edinburgh. 
As the weather was very uncertain on the occasion, of our visit, 
we inspected the outdoor collections first. 
Carnations are grown in great variety, including named 
sorts and seedlings', some tine forms being noticeable amongst 
the latter. Amongst the named varieties, Duchess of Rothesay 
is a large pure white, smooth-edged flower, borne on stout 
stems and never bursting the calyx. Duchess of Roxburgh 
is a yellow ground, striped with scarlet and heliotrope. Another 
fine yellow gr ound is Prince of Orange, with a. heavy scarlet 
edge>. D. McAlpine has large crimson flakes on a rose ground. 
Cecilia, out. of doors, is a. moderate grower, but a fine yellow. 
Alice Ayres is a, grand old border variety, lightly flaked with 
scarlet, on, white. Ladas is* a yellow ground, with scarlet edge. 
Mrs. Frame is a. bright red, a. strong growing and free variety. 
Allamanda has large deep rose flowers; Foxhall Beauty is a 
strong growing, deep carmine variety of great utility. Hector 
Macdonald is a. large white, heavily lined with soft. rose. Other 
good tilings are Mrs. Hamilton (pink), Mrs. Muir (white), and 
Golden, Eagle' (yellow, striped with orange and purple). All 
the above we selected as the best then in bloom from a very 
representative collection. 
Amongst, Pinks -we noted Albino,, a pure white, with larger 
and better flowers than, Her Majesty. Florence* is a perpetual 
Pink, with a. crimson, zone on a white ground. The mule Pink, 
Napoleon III., flowers very freely here. 
Fancy Pans®, are very extensively grown, and the collection 
lias recently been greatly augmented. The taste for thisgelass 
of flower seems to* be' reviving. We made a selection of some 
of the finer forms, including Mary Nation, with very large 
violet blotches, lac-ed with cream. A First-class Certificate was 
awarded this by the Scottish Horticultural Association. Other 
very choice forms were Sam Caig, with black blotches; 
Stephen Stuart, with black blotches laced with yellow ; Robert 
C. Allan, with black blotches, richly laced with dark purple ; 
Neil MaoKay, velvety brown, laced with yellow ; Mrs. W. Hull, 
with violet, blotches and soft yellow lacing ; Miss (Jamming, a 
huge flower with violet blotches and purple lacing - , excellent for 
exhibition ; and Mrs. William Stephen, with maroon-violet 
blotches and clear yellow lacing, also suitable for exhibition. 
That named Lord Hamilton lias black blotches' and yellow and 
purple lacing, often distinctly arranged in two lines or bands. 
The flowers of Lord Dunraven are velvety black with yellow 
lacing, and often shaded with bronze. Jeannie R. Kerr has 
black blotches with white lacing, inside of which isi a, red line. 
J. B. Cupples is a fine flower with red lacing and black 
blotches. George Ballach has veiy large flowers, with brilliant 
violet blotches and primrose lacing. W. B. Child has black 
blotches and bronze* and yellow lacing, and is one of the finest 
for exhibition. Very distinct, in its way is William Crossby, 
with maroon-violet, blotches and blue, edges. 
A single Violet named Semperflorens had been in, bloom for 
one month and keeps on blooming all through the autumn,. 
The purple flowers, are veiy sweetly scented. 
Dahlias are extensively grown, including single, Oactus, 
show, and fancy sorts. At present there* is most demand for 
the first two sections. 
Phloxes in named varieties are very extensively grown, and 
being so numerous, we merely selected a, few of the best. 
Aurora has large salmon-rose flowers*. Three white varieties 
are Snowflake*, Independence, and Mrs. Downie, all being good, 
and the last-named equally as, good a.s any. T'orpilleur has 
very large rosy-carmine flowers; Guignot, lilac, and like that 
previously named, very dwarf. Horace* Vernet, large and deli¬ 
cate pink; Amphitryon*, white, -with lilac edge; and Lucy 
Baltet, heavily shaded lilac on a, white ground. 
\ iolas are grown to the extent* of 160 varieties, including 
those for exhibition, purposes and, those well adapted for bed¬ 
ding on account o*f their decided colours and free flowering 
habit. Baden-Powell is, considered the finest rayless orange- 
yellow in, commerce, and is equally as free as Walter Welsh. 
Other yellow varieties well adapted for bedding purposes are 
Canary, Walter Welsh, Ardwell Gem, Redbraes Yellow, Sul- 
phurea, Sunshine, and Nellie Riding. The last-named is a 
firs'bclass* bedder, with golden-yellow slightly rayed flowers. 
Blue varieties suitable for bedding purposes are Bluebell, 
Blue King, Royal Sect, Beechhill Purple, Archie Grant, R. 
Puller, Cornus, Gallands Glee, Forget-me-not, Blue Diamond, 
Rolps, Augustine, Sir John,, and John Quartan. All of the 
above are of some shade of blue, ranging from lilac, lavender 
and sky blue*, to* the deepest violet. Campbell-Bannerman is 
a large rayless deep blue flower. 
White varieties are* well represented by some of the best of 
that colour in cultivation, including Marchioness, Sylvia,, Sea¬ 
gull, Countess of Hopetoun, Bobby, Blanche, Bertie, John 
Muir, and PencaAland, the two* last named being rayed 
varieties. 
Some of the best of the purple varieties are J. B. Riding, 
Councillor Walters, Redbraes Purple*, Lenny Purple, and 
Maggie Currie, with large circular flowers well adapted for 
exhibition purposes. 
Parti-coloured flowers are very extensively represented in 
the matter o*f variety, and the colours are* so* varied and com¬ 
bined that it would be difficult, to convey an idea of their 
differences* in words. Some of them, however, are distinctly 
edged with blue or violet, including Shamrock, Sprightlv, 
Starlight, Peacock, H. W. Bennion, Duchess o*f Argyll, Butter¬ 
fly, Acorn, with ultramarine blue flowers and a, white centre, 
and Acushla., with a heavy blue edge, and well adapted for bed¬ 
ding on account* of its, free flowering propensities. Variegated 
flowers of another character are Spray, Ringdove, Magrie 
Thornly, Lark, Lady Percival, Duke of Argyll, Cosmos, 
Countess* of Kintore, Constance, Condor, C'apt. Shaw, Border 
Witch, Belfast, Gem, and Ardent. Many of the above are 
