October 22, 1904. 
> HE GARDENING WORLD. 
849 
Tree Notes from Perthshire. 
Pleasantly situated about midway between the famous 
villages of Comrie and St. Fillans, and bounded by the sweet- 
winding Earn on one side and the glorious cloud-capped hills 
on the other is the farm of Dalchonzie, which for times long 
past has been tenanted by a worthy representative of the slater- 
quarrying and slating industry of the district in the person of 
John Phillips, Esq., one of the worthy justices of peace for the 
county. Whether for the study of our wild plants in their 
native haunts or the fascinating arts of old Izaak Walton, no 
morei pleasant and secluded resort than this. “ lowland-moun¬ 
tain ” farm could be found in the whole of Scotland. 
But what a. change in the physical features of the district 
has been brought about by Nature’s warring elements, for the 
hard-hitting and long-to-be-iemeimbeired .storms of eleven year's 
ago laid lowi no less than 60,000 of the finest timber trees 
that clothed the hillsides and dales of Strathearn, Bare as 
the proverbial camel’s back is the “Wester” rock, where 
formerly beneath the gaunt cinnamon-harked Highland Pines 
I gathered the far from common Winter Green (Pyrola) and 
dwarf Cornel (Cbrnus suecica), while the adjoining dampish 
wood teemed with plants and Ferns that were both interesting 
and uncommon. Even the famous avenue which intersects the 
farm from the home buildings to Aberucliil Castle—the latter 
not unknown to Scotland’s boldest outlaw. 'Bob Roy Macgreigor 
—has not escaped, for some of the big Sycamore and other trees 
that had braved the storm for well-nigh a century are repre¬ 
sented only by their huge, upturned roots, while others were 
greatly damaged by their falling neighbours and will require 
years yet to regain their former appearance and glory. 
The accompanying illustration, which was taken, by R. Dun¬ 
can, Esq., ship-builder, Govain, represents a curious growth, 
strangely like the full-sized head of a. bull, which attracts a 
good deal of attention from passers-by, but which is not exactly 
natural, hawing been somewhat “ faked ” by the well-known 
Scottish artist, the late John Smart, R.S.A. when spending a 
holiday at Dalohonzie. Owing to the tree occupying a com¬ 
manding position at the point where the private road to Dal- 
ehonzie House leaves the main avenue, the curious growth is 
brought, prominently to' notice, and visitors tarry to examine 
what onei and all state to bei probably thei most, curious and 
. natural tree, growth that ha,si been, recorded. 
Not far from this on the adjoining grounds may be seen 
what 1 make bold to pronounce as the' largest specimen, of our 
native Barberry (Beuberisi vulgaris) that is to he found, the 
height, being about. 16 ft., while the well-rounded head extends 
to fully 24 ft. in diameter of branch spread. Here, also., the 
far from common Andromeda. Catesbaei thrives luxuriantly, 
thei glossy, pointed leaves and somewhat inconspicuous Lily 
of 1 the Valley-like flowers, being produced ini healthy profusion. 
Put to the botanist, Dalchonzie Hill, with its: craggy, precipi¬ 
tous rocks and deeply-fissured chasm si, are sacred grounds for 
the growth of some rare and interesting specimens of the 
British flora. Away on, the highest peak we found the Crow- 
berry (Empetrum nigrum) and the Cowberry (Vaccinium Vitis- 
idaea.) much less common than on our last visit., eighteen years 
ago, while the bracken at lower levels 'has extended so. widely 
as to have become a nuisance to landlord and tenant, the 
annual cutting for. game preserving and other purposes neces¬ 
sitating the expenditure of considerable labour and expense; 
in fact, as my friend said, the Bracken nuisance is becoming 
very serious all over the country, but. particularly on the 
Perthshire Hills. 
The Maidenhair and black-stemmed Spleenworts wei found 
in some plenty, while in a, still and shady cave we were for¬ 
tunate to discover that smallest, and neatest, of British Ferns, 
Hymenophyllu.m Wilsonii. A good form of the crested 
Bracken was also found, while the Holly Fern (Polystichum 
Lonohitis) still lingers in lonely seclusion amongst the fast¬ 
nesses of these Perthshire hills. On. a wall a.t lower level we 
have found 'the .green,-stemmed Spleenwort (Asplenium. viride) 
and the Bladder Fern (Cystopteri'Si fragilis) and in an open 
Oak-wood the much coveted Lastreu, spinulosa. Both the Oak 
and Beech Ferns (Polypodium Dryopteris and P. Phegopteris) 
run rampant on the shady rocky ledges, and attain to such a 
height a,s 1 have never seen excelled. The rare Polystichum 
aculeatum lchatum we also found in company with the normal 
species. Of native Orchids there are several species', such as 
the Sweet-scented Orchis oonopsea., the Butterfly (Habenaria 
biifolia), the. spotted-leaved (O. inoculate), and the early purple 
(O. masoula). 
In marshy ground we. came across the Grass of Parnassus 
(Pamassia palustris), the Butterwcrt (Pinguicula) and Sundew 
(Drosera) being abundant. On the opposite side of the hill, by 
Glen art ney Forest, thei Stag’s Horn Moss, various species of 
Saxifrage, and the mountain Parsley hem are abundant, the 
latter by Mr. Phillips’s old slate quarry of Ledneskie. It. is 
wonderful to see the persistency with which a. few species of 
trees ascend to the very summit of the mountain, some becom¬ 
ing stranded outlie jutting rocks at. high elevations, and where 
they seem to exist, in the very teeth of the blast. But, un¬ 
doubtedly, the Larch is the tree for the) rocky soil and cold 
upland situations of Scotland—a fact that, was brought forcibly 
home to me both on thei brae® of Balquhidder, the Smaglem, 
and in the' vast tracts of mountain land that, stretch far away 
by the banks of Loch Earn, Even up to an altitude of 1,200 ft. 
Bull’s Head on Elm Tree. 
the Larch, thrive® with remarkable vigour, and in company 
with, the equally hardy Highland Pine asserts itself as the 
free par excellence for the mountain districts; of the Northern 
Scottish countie®. When visiting thei grave of Rob Roy in 
Balquhidder churchyard—a scene of historic and indescribable 
bea.uty—I was much struck with the size to. which the Irish 
Yew had attained, six specimens in thei interior of the old 
church -being each about. 20 ft, high, and as healthy and of as 
dark a. glossy green as we found them a month before on Coney 
Island in Lough Neagh. A giant Sycamore in the same 
churchyard is no leiss than 4 ft, in diameter of trunk, and with 
a. majestic head which spreads for a. distance of 60 ft. To 
the lover of our native plants amongst the wildest, and grandest 
of scenery Perthshire, as a county, has certainly few equals 
north of the Tweed. A. D. Webster, 
Regent’s Park, London. 
The Orange Cure. —Every fruit in turn becomes the craze by 
women for beautifying the complexion, and as a sovereign remedy 
for every ill the flesh is heir to. For some time a Grape diet has 
been held m high favour for nerves, dyspepsia, anjemia and bad 
complexions; now Oranges are to have their turn. 
