November 5, 1904. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
885 
Round the Nurseries. 
Beechhill Nursery, Murrayfield. 
There is always, something interesting to see in the nursery 
of Mr. John Downie, Beechhill, Murrayfield, Midlothian., and 
having some spare time about the middle of September last, 
when in Edinburgh, we toot the tram to the terminus of the 
city boundary. Although the nurseiy at Beechhill is not. of 
large size every corner of it is well tilled with a selection of 
representatives of almost everything that cO'idd be required 
on a private establishment. The firm has two other nurseries, 
however, within easy walking distance of the old-established 
one, and we made a running visit to both of these, and can 
speak of what we saw there. 
The Glasshouse?. 
Before making a tour of the nursery at Beechhill we had a. 
look through the hothouses 1 devoted to stove and greenhouse 
subjects 1 . Outside one of these we noted small plants of 
Cistus lusitanicus bearing large white flowers with a crimson 
spot at the base of each petal. The first, house entered was 
devoted to Palms for decorative work, including Kentia, 
fosteriana up to 12 ft. in. height. Other useful Palms were 
Arena lutescens, Cocos', weddeliana, and C. flexuosa, with its 
long plumy leaves’. Some; Bamboos 1 , utilised for decorative 
purposes, iiicluded the two very fine ones known a,si Phyllo- 
stachys viridi—glaucescens and P. a.urea. Tliesei are easily 
grown in pots or tubs according to size, and are amongst the 
moat, graceful types- of decorative plants. Asparagus Spren,- 
geri, grown in baskets surfaced all round with sphagnum, was 
notable for the dense mat of roots it had made. 
One house was devoted to. pot Vines including all the best 
sorts up to date. The larger rods were very strong. Soane 
of the older varieties were not in so much request a.s formerly. 
One house was; largely devoted to Ferns, and noteworthy speci¬ 
mens were healthy plants of Platyoerium grande suspended 
in pots and the picture of health. Other fine Ferns were 
Davallia (Leptostegia immerse) with bronzy young fronds; 
Hymenodyotium crinitum bristling with black hairs; and a 
splendid specimen of Lomaria. ciliata. grandis. Maidenhair 
Ferns, are, of course, grown in variety. Some flowering plants 
. included Kalanchoe Kirkii, Ruellia. Portellae, and the annual 
Torrenia Foumieri with light mauve flowers and violet, 
blotches. 
The next house’ contained a variety of stove and greenhouse 
subjects, such as Cocos weddeliana., Aralia Veitchi, A. V. 
graeillima, Geonoma gracilis, x411a.manda grandiflora., which 
has large yellow flowers, distinguishble by five white spots. 
There is a general collection of all the best Gala diunis, and a 
good strain of Streptocarpus with large flowers. Ficus radi- 
cans. variegata., Dracaena Doucetti, and D. Victoria are hand¬ 
some subjects, the latter retaining its yellow variegation at 
all seasons of the year. 
A bouse devoted to Crotons con,tamed something like; forty 
to fifty varieties, including the beautiful new variety named 
Mrs. H. B. May, with narrow twisted golden-yellow leaves. 
Another handsome variety is Chelsoni, with twisted drooping 
crimson and gold leaves. The young leaves of Mrs;. Harry 
Green are yellow, changing to; crimson, as they become fully 
developed. The yellow and the white va,negated species of 
Pandanus, namely, P. Sanderi and P. Veitchi, were well 
coloured. An interesting lot of seedling Palms was Phoenix 
dactylifera, the Date Palm, only about i ft. high. 
A house occupied with zonal Pelargoniums contained a large 
number of the very best varieties to be had. Fleur des Boses 
had semi-double rose-coloured flowers, and was of sturdy 
growth. A very handsome type was Lady Sarah Wilson, with 
flowers of light crushed-strawberry colour. Mark Twain is 
another in the same strain, but almost the whole of the petal 
was covered with the scarlet colour. A very fine; double white 
with short jointed stems was Miss G. Ashworth. Interesting 
was Black Vesuvius, the leaves of which might be described 
as velvety brown, and the flowers scarlet. It is useful Im¬ 
bedding purposes; on account of the striking character of the 
foliage. Mrs. Williams ha,s very large pink flowers, produced 
in fine trusses. Those of Mary Hamilton are crimson-scarlet 
and of large size. Lord Kitchener is also a, scarlet variety 
of great merit. A very large number of varieties of show 
and regal Pelargoniums: are kept in stock. One of the most 
popular of named varieties of Verbena, is that named Helen 
Wilhnott. 
Two other houses we entered were devoted to stove subjects, 
one being the propagating pit. A fine lot of Dracaenas in¬ 
cluded D. rubra and such narrow-leaved varieties as The 
Queen, Flambeau, and others of this affinity. On the roof 
of the pit mentioned Gloriosa, superba. was flowering. Here 
also we noted the bluei and white varieties of Sa.intpa.ulia 
ionantha, flowering very freely. Well-known, stove subjects are 
Acalypha Sanderi and Alocasia macro,rrhiza variegata. Tlie 
primary and secondary veins of Leea amabilis spleudens are 
white, and give this subject a. veiy handsome appearance. 
Batches of Begonia Gloire de Lorraine, Turnford Hall, and 
Gloire de Soeaux were making fine growth and preparing to 
bloom. Cuttings of all sorts of stove plants are being rooted 
in the frames inside of this pit. 
Tuberous-rooted Begonias, both single and double, raised 
from seeds, showed a great amount of variety, and filled most 
of one house. Amongst them we noted the new crested varie¬ 
ties. In this house we noted Pelargonium Achievement, with 
double rose u pink flowers and leaves of a. distinct character, 
intermediate between a. zonal and -an Ivy-leaved Pelargonium 
which were the parents. Close by was a house chiefly devoted 
to climbers in great variety, including Passifloras, Tacsonias, 
green and variegated Cohaea scan dens 1 , Plumbago capensis, 
etc. A fine hatch of Celsia, crefcica was flowering freely in 48- 
sized pots. The; blue Coleus thyrsoideus is also; fine in its 
way here. Very free flowering is Salvia splendens Glory of 
Stuttgart. One of the most graceful of Acacias is A. leprosa. 
Hardy Subjects. 
A fine tree for the lawn is Thuya, Lohhii variegata, which is 
yellow in summer and silvery in winter, retaining these colours 
at all times. Betinospora filifera has drooping, whip-like 
shoots. Deciduous trees for park and shrubbery planting 
are largely grown. A very striking Ash with diminutive 
leaves, resembling those of a, Scotch Rose, was Fraxinus di- 
morpha dumosa, grafted on stems 6 ft. high. Here also are 
variegated and Aucubarlea.ved varieties of the common Ash. 
The collection of Robinias is veiy complete, and amongst 
them we noted R. Pseudacacia spiralis, having its leaves and 
stems: twisted and curled. The leaflets of R. P. inermis, varie¬ 
gata are edged with white. R. P. semperflorens keeps on 
flowering for a, much longer period than the ordinary one. 
Another very striking variety was R. P. rozynskiana, having 
long narrow leaves and leaflets. The same may be said of 
R. P. mimosaefolia, which has very small leaflets, and keeps 
its fresh green colour till late in the season. There were also 
good standards of R. neo-mexicana, of relatively recent intro¬ 
duction. Other deciduous subjects included the purple Lime, 
Young’s Weeping Birch, the purple Birch, the Maidenhair 
Tree, Golden Privet, Olearia dentata, and Osmanthus ilicifolius 
variegatus, the latter being a, very fine shrub for withstanding 
the wind. The Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo biloba), also does 
well here;. 
There is a, veiy good collection of the shrubby Veronicas in 
the Beechhill Nurseiy, and these may be described as ever¬ 
greens. A collection, of Ivies may also be noted. The Maples 
are well represented by a large' number of species and varieties. 
For instance, there are variegated forms named Acer Leopoldii, 
A. Simon Louis Frere, a variegated Norway Maple which is 
marbled with white in spring, and A. marginata argentea, 
another silver-edged Maple. The leaves of A. Col- 
chieum rubrum are red in their early stages. Other choice 
and beautiful shrubs were Colutea, arboreseens. Hibiscus, svria- 
cus, Cotoneaslter horizontalis and the beautiful spring flowering 
Xanthoceras sorbifolia,. There is indeed a general collection 
of trees and shrubs,. 
Besides the few we have mentioned above, we may state 
that the collection of Conifers is, veiy extensive in the matter 
