October  2  6,  1899. 
■JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
355 
APPLES  IN  THE  CARSE  OF  GOWRIE, 
“  Come  down  and  have  a  crack  about  the  Apples.”  Such  was  the 
cordial  invitation  received  some  time  ago  from  that  well  known  and 
excellent  pomologist,  Dr.  Robertson  of  Errol.  We  had  never  had  the 
pleasure  of  inspecting  any  of  the  “  Carse  ”  orchards,  and  therefore  all 
the  more  readily  availed  ourselves  of  the  genial  Doctor’s  kind  invi¬ 
tation.  The  weather  was  all  that  could  be  desired  as  we  set  off  by 
rail  from  Perth,  catching  glimpses  of  many  rosy  cheeked  Apples  still 
hanging  on  the  trees  despite  the  mighty  efforts  of  King  Boreas  the 
previous  week  to  shake  them  off.  Arriving  at  the  quaint  village  of 
Errol  we  received  a  hearty  welcome  from  our  genial  host,  who  at  once 
prescribed  dinner  as  the  very  best  thing  previous  to  Apple  inspection. 
Being  accustomed  to  “  obeying  the  doctor’s-  orders,”  we  were  soon 
seated  around  the  loaded  table  partaking  of  Mrs.  Robertson’s 
hospitality. 
The  first  item  on  the  programme  having  been  duly  and  satisfactorily 
discussed,  we  sallied  forth  into  the  orchard  situated  in  the  rear  of  the 
house.  Here  wre  found  ourselves  veritably  surrounded  with  Apple 
trees  of  all  descriptions  grown  in  a  variety  of  different  forms,  dwarf 
bushes,  tall  trees,  trained  some  on  espaliers,  some  on  arches,  each  and 
all  bearing  tokens  of  good  care  and  cultivation.  Of  variety  there 
appeared  no  end,  and  to  give  anything  like  a  list  of  the  sorts  grown 
would  occupy  too  much  of  your  valuable  space.  One  or  two  which 
seem  to  do  especially  well,  however,  might  just  be  mentioned.  Alfris- 
ton  the  Doctor  speaks  very  highly  of  as  a  first-rate  cropper  and  keeper, 
and  an  Apple  to  be  relied  upon ;  Lass  o’  Gowrie,  a  grand  early 
variety,  taking  on  a  beautiful  colour;  Fair  Maid  of  France,  also  hand¬ 
some;  Annie  Elizabeth,  Warner’s  King,  Dumelow’s  Seedling,  and 
Tower  of  Glamis,  are  all  sure  croppers  of  first-rate  quality.  Court 
Pendu  Plat  finds  favour,  and  was  highly  spoken  of  as  useful  and  reliable. 
King  of  Pippins,  Cox’s  Orange,  and  Cox’s  Pomona  also  "prove  very 
satisfactory,  the  two  latter  especially  producing  beautifully  coloured 
fruits.  Many  others  might  be  enumerated,  as  the  Doctor’s  collection 
contains  most  of  the  more  popular  and  useful  varieties  in  cultivation. 
One  thing  we  must  refer  to  in  passing,  and  that  is  Dr.  Robertson’s 
style  of  pruning  his  trees  —  “compound  cordon”  he  calls  it.  To 
commence  with,  the  requisite  number  of  shoots  are  selected,  six,  eight, 
or  more  as  the  case  may  be,  and  these  are  pruned  hard  in,  and  only  a 
leader  retained,  and  thus  a  tree  is  formed  consisting  of  a  number  of 
branches  studded  with  spurs.  The  trees  looked  like  a  number  of  Vine 
rods  standing  stiff  and  upright,  at  least  this  was  the  case  with  those 
trees  from  which  the  fruit  had  been  gathered.  Many  of  those  still 
carrying  their  crops  were  bent  almost  to  half  a  circle  by  the  weight  of 
their  luscious  burden.  The  advantage  claimed  by  Dr.  Robertson  for 
this  style  of  pruning  is,  that  the  wood  being  more  exposed  to  sun  and 
air  gets  all  the  better  matured,  and  consequently  better  adapted  for 
fruit  bearing.  In  reply  to  my  query,  “Do  you  manure  your  trees 
much,  Doctor  ?  ”  “  Oh,  yes,  we  would  not  get  such  crops  year  after 
year  unless  we  did.”  A  heavy  dressing  of  manure  is  spread  on  as 
soon  as  the  fruit  is  all  off,  and  left  on  all  winter,  and  what  remains 
is  just  pointed  in  early  in  the  spring.  Briefly  speaking,  this  worthy 
pomologist  seems  to  attribute  his  success  to  sun  and  air  to  the 
branches  and  manure  to  the  roots. 
We  next  called  at  Errol  Park,  the  beautiful  residence  of  Sir  William 
and  Lady  Ogilvie  Dalgleish,  who  take  a  lively  interest  in  all  that 
pertains  to  the  welfare  of  Errol  and  district.  The  gardens  attached  to 
the  mansion  are  of  good  size,  and  are  ably  presided  over  by  Mr.  Maxwell, 
who  seems  to  take  a  deep  interest  in  all  under  his  charge.  Hastily 
running  through  the  glass  structures,  which  are  numerous  and  well 
stocked^  we  noted  a  number  of  very  healthy  looking  Carnations  in  pots, 
and  also  very  promising  Cyclamens,  strong  and  robust;  the  staging  on 
which  thev  rested  was  covered  with  moss,  and  to  this  cool  moist 
base  Air.  Maxwell  attributed  his  success.  In  a  long  corridor  running 
the  whole  length  of  the  principal  range  we  observed  a  grand  stock  of 
Chrysanthemums  just  beginning  to  show  colour,  and  which  will 
doubtless  make  a  good  display  in  due  time. 
Ferns  in  another  house  clearly  testified  by  their  healthy  deep 
green  fronds  that  their  wants  were  being  duly  attended  to.  Two 
were  especially  noteworthy — Adiantum  Farleyense,  grown  in  quantity 
in  small  pots  for  table  decoration,  the  plants  doing  exceedingly  well ; 
the  other  was  Gymnogramma  schizophylla,  of  which  there  were 
several  baskets,  real  pictures  of  health  and  beauty.  Certainly  with 
regard  to  these  two  Ferns  Mr.  Maxwell  seems  to  have  found  out 
the  secret  of  success.  Grapes,  Peaches,  and  Tomatoes  are  also  well 
grown,  and  several  houses  devoted  to  their  culture,  but  these  we  must 
leave  for  a  glance  at  the  Apples. 
Many  of  these  had  been  stored,  and  the  fruit  room  was  furnished 
with  excellent  examples  of  many  of  the  best  and  most  popular 
varieties,  such  as  Ecklinville,  Peasgood’s  Nonesuch,  Betty  Geeson,  a 
most  prolific  bearer;  Loddington,  Stirling  Castle,  and  Mere  de  Menage, 
Unfortunately  we  did  not  make  a  note  of  the  varieties,  and  memory 
oft  proves  fickle.  Leaving  the  fruit  room,  we  took  a  hasty  look  round 
■the  kitchen  garden,  which  was  well  stocked  with  the  usual  occupants. 
A  quantity  of  cordon  Pears  on  the  walls  were  especially  interesting, 
many  of  the  trees  carrying  fruits  of  exceptional  merit.  Time  would 
not  permit  us,  however,  to  examine  these  minutely,  as  we  had  to 
hurry  on;  the  short  afternoon  was  passing  quickly,  and  we  had  still  to 
visit  Tay  Park,  which  is  situated  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  village. 
This  is  a  veritable  Apple  farm,  which  would  take  a  whole  day  to 
thoroughly  see,  so  we  informed  Mr.  Brown  that  our  time  being  limited 
we  must  use  despatch.  Apples  everywhere— Apples  in  fields,  Apples 
under  glass,  some  in  pots,  others  planted  out,  but  all  in  excellent 
health,  clean  and  fruitful.  Old  varieties  possessing  good  qualities  are 
grown,  and  all  new  varieties  as  they  come  out  are  added  and 
thoroughly  tested.  In  a  corner  we  noticed  Royal  Snow  bearing  a 
quantity  of  brilliant  scarlet  fruits ;  Bramley’s,  free  and  prolific. 
Hambling’s  Seedling  was  also  much  in  evidence,  a  first-rate  kitchen 
Apple;  James  Grieve,  a  handsome  Scottish  dessert  fruit,  well  worthy 
of  extended  cultivation  ;  Lady  Sudeley,  Lane’s  Prince  Albert,  and 
scores  of  other  well  known  sorts  were  all  represented  by  healthy  and 
fruitful  trees,  promising  well  for  the  year  of  grace  1900. 
A  run  back  to  our  rendezvous,  where  Mrs.  Robertson  bad.  in 
readiness  a  refreshing  cup,  with  which  a  most  pleasant  and  instructive 
alternoon  was  brought  to  a  close.  So  we  returned  home  again  to  the 
“  daily  round  and  common  task,”  filled  with  gratitude  to  the  genial 
Doctor  and  his  kind  lady  for  the  courtesy  and  generous  hospitality  which 
they  extended  to  a  stranger,  in  consequence  of  which  the  visit  to  Errol 
will  long  be  cherished  in  memory  by — Albyn. 
FARMYARD  AND  STABLE  MANURE. 
There  can  be  no  subject  in  connection  with  gardening,  or,  indeed, 
horticulture  generally,  more  important  than  that  of  the  fertility  of  the 
soil.  And  in  order  that  this  fertility  be  maintained,  it  becomes  a 
matter  of  absolute  necessity  that  duo  consideration  be  given  to  the 
application  of  suitable  manures. 
Of  all  the  manures  now  employed,  none  can  be  relied  upon  with 
more  certainty  than  the  old-fashioned  farmyard  or  stable  manure.  It  is 
safe,  and  it  is  efficacious.  Not  that  I  disparage  artificial  manures  for 
one  moment,  but  they  must,  as  a  rule,  be  used  in  conjunction  with 
farmyard  manure,  and  not  as  a  substitution  altogether. 
Mr.  F.  T.  Shutt,  in  a  recent  article  upon  this  subject,  aptly  says: 
— Since  the  object  of  applying  farmyard  manure — or,  in  fact,  any 
manure — is  to  increase  a  soil’s  fertility,  it  is  important  to  have  a 
clear  understanding  as  to  what  constitutes  this  quality  or  condition. 
A  soil’s  fertility,  or  crop-producing  power,  is  dependent  upon  various 
factors,  chief  among  which  undoubtedly  is  the  presence  of  an 
abundance  of  assimilable — that  is,  more  or  less  immediately  soluble — • 
plant  food. 
There  are,  however,  other  factors  or  conditions  that  tend  towards 
soil-productiveness,  and  since  farmyard  or  stable  manure,  besides 
supplying  the  elements  for  the  nourishment  of  crops,  affects  directly 
or  directly  these  conditions,  it  will  be  well  to  consider  them,  if  only 
briefly. 
Liyht  and  Air. — In  the  absence  of  light  and  air  plants  cannot 
thrive,  for  while  the  latter  supplies  the  greater  portion  of  their 
nourishment,  the  former  serves  to  convert  such  within  the  plant  into 
vegetable  substances.  Since,  however,  light  and  air  are  abundantly 
provided  by  Nature,  we  need  only  say  how  important  it  is  to  remember 
that  roots  as  well  as  leaves  require  air.  Water-logged,  badly  drained 
soils  exclude  the  air,  and  consequently  have  a  low  degree  of  fertility. 
Farmyard  and  stable  manure  do  signal  service  for  such  soils,  and  those 
that  have  a  plastic  nature,  by  rendering  them  more  porous  and  per¬ 
meable  to  air. 
Respecting  the  value  of  light,  it  will  only  be  necessary  to  state 
that  the  full  effect  of  manure  is  not  obtained  when  crops  are  too  thickly 
sown,  or  are  allowed  to  stand  too  closely  together  on  the  ground. 
Warmth  and  Moisture.  —  With  these  also  the  control  of  the 
gardener  is  only  indirect,  although  for  indoor  culture  these  conditions 
are  more  under  his  hand.  It  is,  nevertheless,  well  to  remember  that 
judicious  culture  may  vastly  increase  and  also  regulate  a  soil’s  warmth. 
Between  80  per  cent,  and  90  per  cent,  of  growing  plants  is  water. 
All  of  this,  and  much  more,  which  is  transpired  through  the  leaves 
during  the  life  of  the  plant  is  drawn  from  the  soil. 
From  the  researches  of  Lawes  and  Gilbert  it  appears  that  for  one 
part  of  dry  matter  elaborated  by  an  herbaceous  plant,  from  250  to 
300  parts  of  water  are  evaporated  through  its  tissues.  It  has  also 
been  shown  that  the  proportion  of  water  evaporated  increases  very 
rapidly  if  the  plant  is  growing  in  a  soil  poor  in  plant  food.  The 
presence  of  organic  matter,  as  furnished  by  farmyard  or  stable  manure, 
is  greatly  instrumental  in  controlling  a  right  degree  of  soil  moisture, 
and  more  especially  in  seasons  of  drought.  By  its  decomposition  an 
increased  temperature  will  be  engendered  in  the  surface  soil,  whilst 
the  carbonic  acid  evolved  in  the  fermentation  will,  with  the  aid  of 
moisture,  serve  to  render  the  mineral  resources  of  the  soil  more 
soluble. 
