206 
■JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  11  1897. 
Before  leaving  the  Grapes  a  curiosity  ought  to  be  noted — 
perhaps  one  of  the  rarest  occurrences  connected  with  the  Yine. 
I  have  seen  an  Orange  grow  within  an  Orange,  a  small  Grape 
within  a  berry  of  a  large  one,  an  Apple  with  a  leaf  attached  pro¬ 
duced  from  the  thick  stem  of  a  tree,  but  only  at  Drumlanrig  have 
I  seen  a  bunch  of  Grapes  issue  directly  from  the  old  stem  of  a 
Yine  withont  any  leaf  whatsoever.  We  had  to  stoop  and  look 
under  the  front  slabbed  stage  to  examine  the  phenomenon,  but  the 
readers  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  can  see  in  fig.  44  exactly 
what  it  was  like  without  stooping.  This  ought  to  suit  Mr. 
Iggulden,  who  appears  to  like  things  “  plain  and  easy.”  A  latent 
bud  was  there,  and  it  is  not  uncommon  for  such  buds  to  form  on  old 
wood  and  grow  into  stems  or  leaves.  The  tendril  of  a  Yine  is  a 
changed  or  modified  leaf  ;  a  bunch  of  Grapes  is,  shall  we  say,  an 
ennobled  tendril.  But  here  the  order  of  progression  was  changed, 
the  bunch  coming  first  and  alone.  Here  is  a  chance  for  Mr. 
Abbey  to  explain  the  ‘‘reason  why,”  and  the  whole  metamorphosis. 
If  that  word  is  too  much  for  Mr.  Iggulden,  I  have  something 
simpler  explanatory  of  the  strange  freak  of  Nature,  and  it  shall  be 
given  to  him  as  it  was  given  to  me.  Speaking  to  a  gardener  on  the 
subject — a  plain,  good,  working  gardener — and  asking  his  opinion 
thereon,  he  at  once  replied,  “  Why  the  whole  thing’s  clear  enough. 
Mr.  Thomson  would  only  allow  so  many  bunches  on  the  Yine,  and 
nipped  all  t’others  off,  but  it  was  so  full  of  fruit  inside  that  it 
thought  it  would  send  out  a  bunch  where  he  couldn’t  see  it.” 
Can  Mr.  Iggulden  improve  on  that  for  plainness  ?  Even  Mr. 
Abbey  has  not  gone  so  far  as  to  suggest  that  Yines  can  “  think.” 
As  these  sheets  are  taken  as  they  are  written  and  as  fast  as  they 
can  be  got  hold  of  to  the  printer’s,  a  little  torment  has  commenced 
sounding  the  alarm — “  only  room  for  a  little  more,  5  or  6  inches,” 
and  I  wanted  to  say  something  about  the  plants  and  kitchen  garden. 
Of  the  plants,  then,  it  is  the  same  now  at  Drumlanrig  as  at  most 
other  places — only  such  are  grown  that  are  of  service  for  decoration 
in  the  Castle  and  for  cutting,  but  how  healthy  they  are  and  how 
clean  in  their  always  clean  outside-glazed  pots  !  All  hinds  of 
plants  thrive  in  these  non-porous  pots  quite  as  well  as  in  the  porous, 
and  much  labour  is  saved  in  washing  by  using  the  former.  Mr. 
Cuthbert  Johnson,  a  scientific  cultivator,  has  used  them  long  and 
extensively.  The  late  Mr.  Woodhead  always  used  them  for  his 
Auriculas,  and  healthier  plants  were  never  seen.  In  these  pots  less 
water  is  needed  than  in  the  porous,  and  consequently  less  of  plant 
food  is  washed  out  of  the  soil,  while  when  water  passes  down 
freely  the  air  follows  in  quite  sufficient  amount,  and  no  one  can 
prevent  it.  The  time-honoured  assumption  that  pots  must  be 
porous  to  admit  air  to  the  roots  of  plants  is  based  on  a  fallacy. 
When  soil  is  sodden  air  cannot  enter  it  whether  pots  are  porous  or 
not.  When  it  becomes  too  dry  air  enters  too  freely,  but  the 
tormentor  is  here  again  asking  if  I  will  be  so  good  as  to  “  crush  it.” 
The  same  attention  is  given  to  the  kitchen  garden  as  to  any  other 
department  at  Drumlanrig,  and  all  are  equally  clean  and  orderly. 
The  demand  for  produce  during  the  shooiing  season  is  great  when 
the  Castle  is  occupied  by  about  200  persons.  The  supply  is  on  a 
correspondingly  larse  scale,  and  what  would  perhaps  most  arrest 
the  attention  of  visitors  in  September  was  a  huge  breadth  of 
Ne  Plus  Ultra  Peas,  the  rows,  I  know  not  how  many,  certainly 
9  feet  and  probably  10  feet  high,  laden  with  pods  ;  but  a  couple  of 
rows  of  Potatoes  would  also  arrest  attention — huge  ridges  4  feet 
apart,  and  such  growth,  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  trying  what  Pota¬ 
toes  could  he  made  to  do.  They  did  very  well  as  to  bulk,  some 
individual  sets  giving  a  yield  of  17  lbs.,  several  tubers  exceeding 
2^  lbs.  in  weight,  but  none  equalling  the  tuber  weighing  3^  lbs.  in 
an  Archerfield  experiment. _ 
Mr.  Thomson  will  leave  the  scene  of  his  long  labours  reluctantly . 
He  speaks  most  highly  of  the  kindness  and  respectful  treatment  he 
has  received  from  the  two  Dukes  and  all  the  members  of  the  family 
he  has  served  during  his  long  term  of  responsibility,  and  dwells 
with  pleasure  on  bis  connection  with  “  old  pupils  ”  who  occupy  good 
positions  in  this  and  other  countries,  and  is  satisfied  that  the  great 
garden  which  he  loves,  and  which  will  long  bear  the  impress  of  his 
skill,  will  be  in  tie  keeping  of  a  most  competent  successor  in 
Mr.  Inglis. 
“  Pages  made  up  ;  only  «pace  for  twenty  lines  more.”  That  is 
the  fiat.  These  must  be  lines  of  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the 
genuine  welcome  extended  to  us  by  Mr.  and  Miss  Thomson  during 
our  short  and  no  doubt  our  last  rest  in  the  picturesque  home  on 
the  terraced  brae.  All  that  could  be  wished  for  was  there,  with 
something  to  take  away  to  remind  us  of  the  all  too  short  but  plea¬ 
sant  call — a  bunch  of  Heather.  For  months  it  has  sparkled  in  a 
London  den,  all  through  the  dreary  days  that  have  since  passed  by, 
u  looking  as  red  and  fresh,”  to  quote  the  words  of  a  brother  of  the 
pen,  Dr.  Gordon  Stables,  in  the  “Echo,”  “as  when  culled  from 
the  braes  around  Balmoral  Castle. 
And  we  love  it  for  lulling  us  back  into  dreams 
Of  the  blue  Highland  mountains  and  echoing  streams, 
And  of  Birchen  glades  breathing  their  balm  ; 
While  the  deer  is  seen  glancing  in  sunshine  remote, 
And  the  deep  mellow  lush  of  the  wild  pigeon’s  note 
Makes  music  that  sweetens  the  calm. 
That  answers  equally  for  Drumlanrig,  says  the  Missus  and — 
The  Scribe. 
BRUSSELS  SPROUTS, 
As  a  winter  vegetable  the  Brussels  Sprout  stands  without  a 
rival,  from  the  fact  that  its  seaion  of  use  extends  over  so  long  a 
period,  and  what  is  more,  few  consumers  seem  to  tire  of  it  in  the 
same  manner  as  they  do  of  Broccoli,  Parsnips,  Seakale,  or  Cabbage 
from  the  frequent  and  continued  repetition.  Most,  if  not  all 
gardeners,  have  their  own  particular  rule  in  the  matter  of  routine — 
sowing,  transplanting,  site,  and  distance  allowed  between  the  plants 
and  rows,  and  a  good  quarter  of  Brussels  on  the  advent  of  winter 
is  usually  one  of  the  items  over  which  the  kitchen  gardener  prides 
himself,  more  or  less  according  to  its  quality  and  extent. 
There  would  seem  a  universal  custom  among  private  gardeners 
to  sow  their  seeds  of  this  crop  under  glass  during  the  earlier 
months  of  the  year,  and  to  those  who  make  it  an  annual  custom — 
and  it  may  have  been  one  extending  over  many  years — it  would 
be  utterly  futile  for  anyone  to  attempt  to  bring  about  a  change 
in  their  methods  of  procedure.  A  course  which  has  resulted  in  a 
successional  and  completely  satisfactory  crop  may  well  be  followed 
without  change,  and  this  applies  to  the  man  who  depends  on 
sheltered  open-air  borders  for  the  first  sowing,  equally  with  the  one 
who  depends  absolutely  on  indoor  raised  plants,  sown  in  boxes  or 
pans.  Good  crops  are  produced  annually  from  seeds  sown  indoors 
under  varying  conditions,  and  the  same  may  be  claimed  by  those 
who  sow  their  seeds  outside  the  shelter  of  glass  houses  or  pits. 
Only  once  during  the  twelve  years  of  which  I  have  had  a 
responsible  charge  have  I  sown  Brussels  Sprouts  indoors,  and  then 
only  a  small  portion  of  the  crop  was  so  treated,  and  I  did  not 
find  the  superiority  of  the  one  such  as  to  lead  me  to  adopt  it  as  an 
alternative  since,  although  I  must  say  the  numbers  required  have 
not  been  so  large  as  needed  in  some  establishments.  At  present  my 
annual  stock  numbers  only  2000,  but  if  I  bad  to  accommodate  half 
these  in  boxes  it  would  entail  more  space  and  labour  than  I  can  well 
afford  to  devote  to  them. 
My  plan  is  to  sow  a  portion  of  the  9eeds  on  a  narrow  border 
against  a  sunny  wall,  where  they  are  naturally  sheltered,  and  where 
protection  can  be  given  easily  against  birds,  and  by  thinly  scattering 
the  seeds  on  the  btd  of  fine  and  fairly  rich  soil  I  get  sturdy  plants- 
to  put  out  permanently  on  ground  already  in  wailing  without  any 
necessity  of  pricking  out  into  boxes  or  nursery  beds.  Here  they 
grow  freely,  and  are  no  further  trouble  unless  slugs  set  up  a 
claim  for  a  portion,  when  others  mu9t  be  found  to  take  their  places. 
It  is  not  desirable  or  attempted  to  sow  and  plant  the  whole  at  one 
time,  but  rather  the  early  one  is  supplemented  by  a  larger  sowing 
made  quite  in  the  open  among  the  early  Broccoli,  Cabbage,  Cauli¬ 
flowers,  and  such  like.  For  getting  a  supply  of  good  Sprouts  in 
February  and  March  it  is  quite  necessary  to  make  a  correspondingly 
late  sowing,  and  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  value  of  a  late  supply. 
It  is  an  easier  matter  to  secure  an  early  matured  batch  than  to  keep 
up  a  daily  gathering  of  hard  Sprouts  during  March. 
In  gardens  where  there  is  not  much  or  any  accommodation  for 
forcing  Beans  or  Asparagus,  and  when  Broccoli  is  in  evidence  only 
by  name,  late  Sprouts  are  valuable,  for  at  that  season  there  is  but 
a  small  choice.  Seakale,  acceptable  as  it  is  in  early  winter,  is  not 
so  highly  valued  generally  after  it  has  had  a  course  extending  over 
four  or  five  months. 
Yarieties  ranging  in  height  from  18  inches  to  4  feet  are  avail¬ 
able,  some  bearing  large,  others  small  sprouts,  and  there  being  so 
many  good  selections  in  the  market,  and  offered  by  all  the  leading 
seedsmen,  there  is  abundant  choice  to  suit  all  and  every  require¬ 
ment.  As  a  general  rule  the  larger  the  sprout  the  greater  the 
pleasure  given  to  the  grower,  and  sometimes  at  the  table  ;  but  some 
claim  a  greater  degree  of  excellence  in  the  small  hard  sprout  than 
is  found  in  large  ones.  Much,  however,  depends  on  the  cook  in 
the  matter  of  flavour  when  presented  at  the  table — indeed,  this 
applies  to  most  vegetables — and  very  often  complaint  is  lodged 
against  the  quality  of  Sprouts,  whether  they  are  large  or  small, 
without  any  ground  whatever. 
In  good  soil  3  feet  between  the  rows  of  plants  is  none  too  much 
— that  is,  the  larger  growing  ones,  comprising  the  various  exhibi¬ 
tion  strains  ;  and  2  feet  between  the  plants.  At  these  distances 
my  plants  completely  furnish  the  ground,  and  they  invariably  set 
