September  12,  1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
243 
of  time  for  the  Fancy  Pansy  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  its  more 
aristocratic  relative  the  Show  Pansy,  and  would  be  no  more  seen 
in  the  South.  The  Viola  was  making  such  rapid  strides  that  it  would 
soon  have  the  field  entirely  to  itself,  and  that  I  for  one  had 
grown  the  Fancy  Pansy  for  the  last  time.  This  was  a  little  too 
much  for  my  friend,  and  the  following  five  minutes  were  about  the 
worst  I  spent  in  Rothesay.  He  used  his  best  endeavours  to  arouse 
my  enthusiasm  over  some  beds  of  Fancy  Pansies,  all  very  lank  and 
lean,  beautifully  staked,  and  one  very  fine  bloom  or  bud  on  the  top 
of  each  ;  but  my  heart  laad  gone  out  to  a  bed  of  Violas  under  the 
hedge,  and  another  bed  a  little  lower  down  exhausting  themselves 
under  a  huge  tree.  Near  at  hand  were  the  nurseries  of  Mr. 
Michael  Cuthbertson,  another  great  Pansy  grower,  and  here  is  also 
quite  a  unique  collection  of  herbaceous  plants. 
Mount  Stuart  House,  the  residence  of  Lord  Bute,  formed  a  most 
interesting  object  for  a  visit.  The  mansion  is  built  in  the  Gothic 
style,  the  greater  part  of  it  being  modern,  replacing  as  it  does  the 
old  mansion  which  was  nearly  all  destroyed  by  fire  in  1876.  The 
grounds  are  very  extensive,  and  rich  in  a  variety  of  natural  beauty, 
bold  avenues  of  Limes  and  Beech,  a  gorge  with  Ferns  growing  in 
great  luxuriance,  massive  rocks,  and  glens  with  streams  of  water, 
the  historical  summer  house  which  is  now  a  ruin,  while  Bamboos 
and  other  sub-tropical  plants  winter  here  in  the  open  air.  A  herd 
of  kangaroos,  a  colony  of  beavers  which  the  Marquis  has  succeeded 
in  naturalising,  and  hundreds  of  pea  fowl  in  the  trees,  all  make 
this  a  resort  of  great  interest. 
A  day  on  that  splendid  steamer  “  The  Columba  ”  of  Mr.  David 
MacBrayne’s  line  is  worthy  of  mention.  Shortly  after  leaving 
Rothesay  Pier  we  enter  the  Kyles  of  Bute,  a  narrow  strip  of  water 
with  the  mainland  on  our  right  and  the  Island  of  Bute  on  our  left, 
and  just  as  we  appear  to  be  entirely  hemmed  in  by  land  on  all  sides 
a  small  arm  of  water  opens  out  in  front  to  the  left,  and  we  enter 
Loch  Riddew,  with  mountain  and  glen  in  front,  truly  a  magnificent 
sight.  We  presently  pass  the  pretty  little  village  of  Tighnabruaich, 
and  the  house  and  garden  of  another  old  Pansy  friend,  Mr.  Andrew 
Irvine,  is  pointed  out  to  me.  On  the  same  shore  Ardlamont  House 
comes  in  view,  a  name  which  most  readers  will  remember  in  con¬ 
nection  with  a  mysterious  death  some  time  ago.  To  the  south  the 
island  of  Arran  may  be  seen,  with  “  Goatfell  ”  towering  3000  feet 
above  the  sea.  We  now  enter  Loch  Fyne,  and  finally  reach 
Arcbrisbaig,  from  which  point  we  return.  This  is  indeed  a  trip 
full  of  pleasure  and  great  interest,  and  all  our  wants  were  carefully 
anticipated  on  board  “  The  Columba.”  But  all  things  come  to  an 
end,  and  the  Southerner  has  at  last  to  say  good-bye  to  Rothesay, 
resolving,  however,  to  come  for  a  longer  stay  next  time. 
I  cross  to  Wemyss  bay  by  steamer,  and  there  find  the 
Caledonian  train  for  Glasgow  waiting  ;  but  my  visit  to  Scotland  is 
not  quite  over,  as  I  willingly  sanction  a  proposal  to  spend  a  night 
in  trains  for  my  journey  south  to  allow  time  for  a  pilgrimage  to 
the  shrine  of  that  splendid  old  Scottish  gardener,  Mr.  John  Baxter 
of  Daldowie,  raiser  of  Viola  Duchess  of  Fife,  Goldfinch,  White 
Duchess,  and  many  other  good  ones  besides.  In  raising  Duchess  of 
Fife  alone  J ohn  Baxter  has  immortalised  himself  to  all  true  lovers 
of  the  Viola.  An  original  character,  a  perfect  genius,  a  great  treat, 
I  found  him  busily  engaged  in  his  garden,  the  same  garden,  he  told 
me,  he  had  worked  in  for  forty  years,  and  which  in  this  hurried 
visit,  all  too  brief,  he  showed  me  many  good  things.  Our  southern 
gardener  is  enthusiastic,  but  takes  it  quietly  ;  whereas  this  fine 
old  man  fairly  boiled  over  with  the  heat  of  hii  enthasiasm . 
Well,  good-bye,  John  Baxter ;  good-bye,  Scotland,  and  the 
Southerner  now  begins  to  realise  that  his  face  i*  towards  his  own 
garden.  The  one  thought  that  cheers  him  on  his  homeward 
journey  is  that  he  has  not  seen  better  Violas  in  Scotland  than  are 
grown  in  the  South. — Southekn  Viola. 
LESSONS  BY  THE  WAY. 
Wye. 
Some  persons  are  so  constituted  as  to  be  able  to  sit  by  the  sea 
for  a  month  and  enjoy  it.  They  like  to  watch  wave  racing  wave, 
sometimes  in  smooth  stately  order,  sometimes  with  a  howl  and  a 
rush  as  they  roll  up  the  pebbly  beach.  Happy  are  those  who  have 
the  opportunity  and  can  thus  rest  and  recuperate.  Your  correspon¬ 
dent  is  not  one  of  them.  For  him  an  hour  on  the  “  marine 
parade  ”  is  enough  at  a  time  ;  after  that  the  ceaseless  roll  becomes 
monotonous,  and  he  darts  off  into  the  country  in  search  of  variety 
— something  of  greater  interest  to  him  than  are  the  “  sad  sea 
waves.” 
In  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  of  July  25th,  is  a  remarkable 
article  by  Mr.  G.  Abbey,  headed  “  Science  and  Practice,”  and 
having  special  reference  to  the  eradication  of  eelworms,  mites,  and 
wireworms  from  the  soil.  This  article  is  founded  on  a  report 
that  he  appears  to  have  read,  in  which  are  embodied  the  objects 
and  proceedings  of  the  South-Eastern  Agricultural  College  at  Wye, 
Kent.  As  Wye  is  not  far  from  the  restless  sea,  near  which  a  rest¬ 
less  man  was  told  he  ought  to  be  resting,  and  as  he  had  a  cordial 
invitation  from  the  Principal  of  the  college,  an  “  escape  ”  was  made 
for  an  inspection.  Lord  Winchelsea  either  is  or  was  lord  of  the 
manor  of  Wye,  where  a  college  existed  for  centuries,  founded  by 
Cardinal  Kempe  in  1447.  The  picturesque  old  building  was 
purchased  by  the  Kent  and  Surrey  County  Councils,  and  with 
restorations  and  additions  is  now  a  splendid  educational  establish¬ 
ment,  adapted  to  all  modern  needs,  and  equipped  with  all  requisite 
means  for  teaching  the  science  and  practice  of  agriculture  in  its 
widest  scope  to  students  who  may  be  so  fortunate  as  to  avail  them¬ 
selves  of  the  privileges  afforded.  Many  have  done  so,  and  so  many 
more  are  in  view  that  further  extensions  in  the  way  of  buildings 
will  be  necessary  for  their  accommodation. 
All  the  sciences  bearing  on  the  most  important  of  all  industries 
are  taught  thoroughly  by  a  body  of  accomplished  professors  under 
Principal  A.  D.  Hall ;  botany  and  plant  diseases  by  Professor 
Percival ;  chemistry  by  Mr.  Cousins  ;  entomology  by  Mr.  Theobald, 
and  so  on  ;  then  Mr.  Monson  devotes  his  attention  to  Hops,  Mr. 
Smith  to  mensuration,  Mr.  Deadman  to  fruit  and  gardening  generally, 
and  Mr.  Beddome  to  farming  ;  in  addition,  the  services  of  Mr. 
Cobb  are  secured  for  poultry,  Mr.  Garrett  for  bees,  and  Miss  Hope 
Johnstone  (resident)  for  dairying  ;  130  acres  of  arable,  and  120  acres 
of  grass  land  being  available  for  demonstrations  in  practical  work 
on  an  adequate  scale,  also  for  trials,  demonstrations,  and  instructive 
experiments.  Teaching,  sound  and  substantial,  on  all  these  and 
collateral  subjects,  is  provided  for  the  sons  of  residents  in  Kent 
and  Surrey,  chiefly,  but  not  exclusively — young  men  who  intend  to 
become  occupiers  of  land,  either  as  owners,  tenants,  or  agents — and 
it  will  be  simply  impossible  for  any  intelligent  student  to  spend 
two  or  three  years  in  such  a  centre  of  light  as  Wye  without 
acquiring  knowledge  that  will  be  of  great,  and  it  may  be  of  incal¬ 
culable,  benefit  to  him  in  after  life.  This  is  the  more  certain  to  be 
so,  not  only  because  the  means  are  so  complete,  but  because  the 
Principal  and  his  departmental  assistants,  one  and  all,  combine  with 
admitted  knowledge  untiring  zeal  and  professional  enthusiasm, 
which  cannot  fail  to  exert  a  most  wholesome  influence  on  the 
minds  of  those  whom  they  are  determined  to  teach  by  making  them 
love  the  teaching.  It  is  no  mere  dry-as-dust,  prosy  routine  that 
suffices,  but  real,  earnest,  hearty  work  is  the  rule  at  Wye,  and  a 
happier  family  of  mentors  and  students  it  would  be  hard,  if  not 
impossible,  to  find. 
Not  content  with  the  ordinary  term- teaching  to  resident 
students,  so  earnest  is  the  governing  body  that  the  College  shall 
be  to  the  fullest  extent  useful,  its  advantages  are  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  others  during  at  least  a  period  of  the  summer  vacation  ; 
and  at  the  time  of  my  visit  the  College  was  filled  to  overflowing 
with  schoolmasters  from  various  districts  in  the  two  counties. 
Thus,  while  the  regular  students  were  taking  their  holiday  from 
the  College,  the  teaching  heads  of  the  schools  represented  were 
enjoying  theirs  in  it  ;  the  professors  meanwhile,  who  one  might 
have  thought  would  have  been  glad  of  relaxation,  apparently 
thoroughly  enjoying,  as  if  it  were  a  treat,  the  teaching  of  a  new 
body  of  men,  anxious,  and  even  greedy,  for  information. 
The  more  closely  the  teachers  of  the  young  in  our  elementary 
and  advanced  schools  are  come  in  contact  with  the  more  they  must 
be  respected.  They  do  undoubtedly,  as  they  ought,  take  a  serious 
view  of  their  duties,  and  the  more  knowledge  they  possess  the  more 
anxious  are  they  to  acquire  still  more  in  order  that  they  may 
impart  it  to  the  ■*  men  of  the  future  ”  at  present  under  their 
tuition.  The  devotion  of  these  men  to  the  subjects  treated  at 
VYye — a  charming  botanical  lecture  by  Mr.  Percival,  for  instance, 
or  an  equally  fascinating  and  instructive  discourse  by  Mr.  Cousins, 
with  demonstrations  in  chemistry — their  keenness  of  observation, 
their  penetrating  questions,  their  diligence  in  note-taking  and 
sketching,  all  this  was  something  to  admire.  _  The  idea  thus 
quickened  into  action  of  spreading  the  light  of  Science  and  Practice 
on  important  subjects  through  the  different  parishes  was  a  happy 
inspiration,  and  positively  nothing  but  good  can  be  the  eventual 
outcome. 
The  audiences  on  the  occasion  referred  to  at  Wye — men  of 
bright  intelligence,  educational  acquirements,  and  no  small 
accomplishments,  taught  a  lesson  by  the  way  that  should  not  be 
lost  on  the  “gardeners  of  the  future”  as  represented  by  the  pro¬ 
bationers  of  the  present,  or  on  those  older  “know  enoughs” 
both  in  the  horticultural  and  agricultural  world.  The  case  of  the 
latter  as  a  body  is  perhaps  hopeless,  but  now  and  then  one  is  found 
not  to  be  invulnerable  to  the  inroads  of  knowledge  other  than  his 
own,  and  then  it  is  indeed  that  he  feels  the  need  of  more.  To  the 
young  the  case  is  more  serious,  and  those  of  them  in  the  gardening 
ranks  whose  minds  too  strongly  tend  to  the  sports  and  frivolities 
of  life,  might  pause  to  think  that  if  schoolmasters  who  have  passed 
with  credit  and  honours  many  a  trying  “  exam,”  several  of  them  in 
