May  18,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
413 
Two  years  later  the  appointment  to  Powerscourt  was  received,  and 
whilst  there  Mr.  Dunn  first  became  known  through  his  successful  treat¬ 
ment  of  Vines  attacked  by  Phylloxera  vastatrix.  The  whole  of  the  roots 
of  the  Vines  in  four  vineries  were  lifted,  picked  free  of  soil,  then  washed 
and  laid  back  in  the  same  material  after  it  had  been  treated  to  a  dressing 
of  caustic  lime  and  soot.  Both  the  Thomsons  commented  favourably 
on  the  exploit,  David  in  the  “  Gardener,”  and  in  “  Fruit  Culture  Under 
Glass  and  William  in  the  eighth  edition  of  “The  Grape  Vino,”  and 
there  is  little  doubt  his  appointment  to  Dalkeith  Gardens,  on  the  retire¬ 
ment  of  the  latter  in  1871,  was  largely  due  to  the  prompt  and  daring 
method  he  adopted  in  this  case. 
From  sheer  force  of  character,  combined  with  untiring  energy  and  a 
capacity  for  working  hard,  Malcolm  Dunn  gradually  came  to  occupy  a 
unique  position  among  British  gardeners.  If  he  once  took  a  matter  in 
hand  he  stuck  to  it  with  dogged  persistence,  and,  though  no  doubt 
unconsciously — for  those  who  knew  him  best  best  know  how  modest  his 
real  character  was — he  never  seemed  satisfied  unless  leading  others. 
The  various  congresses  at 
Chiswick  and  at  Edinburgh 
owed  much  of  their  success 
to  Mr.  Dunn’s  hard  work 
and  push. 
The  reports  on  Apples, 
Pears,  and  Plums  exhibited 
at  the  Edinburgh  Congresses 
were  written  by  him.  The 
Forestry  Exhibition  at 
Edinburgh  was  also  greatly 
benefited  by  his  energy, 
and,  indeed,  in]  all  matters 
relating  to  forestry  ho  was 
looked  upon  as  an  authority 
as  competent  as  he  was  in 
pomology  and  gardening 
generally.  He  was  also  a 
life  member  of  the  Highland 
and  Agricultural  Society, 
and  was  the  only  gardener  Fig.  91.— Mk.  Malcolm  Duiin,V.M.H. 
whom  the  Directors  of  that 
Society  have  ever  allowed  tho  privilege  of  compounding  for  a  life 
interest.  His  connection  with  the  Ro^al  Caledonian  and  the  Scottish 
Horticultural  Societies  is  well  known,  and  it  was  only  a  few'  weeks  since 
the  latter  Society  conferred  an  honorary  membership  on  its  first 
President,  He  has  been  the  recipient  of  the  Veitch  Memorial  medal, 
of  the  Niel  prize  in  horticulture,  and  was  one  of  the  sixty  chosen  as  a 
Victoria  Medallist  of  Honour,  and  of  which  body  he  is  the  first  to  pass 
away'.  About  Mr.  Dunn’s  qualifications  or  right  to  the  latter  position 
there  was  no  doubt  whatever  among  Scotsmen,  and  he  himself  was  not 
a  little  proud  of  the  distinction. 
In  estimating  Mr.  Dunn's  position  as  a  great  gardener  it  is  impossible 
to  help  contrasting  him  with  his  immediate  predecessor,  and  perhaps 
also  with  Macintosh,  and  in  gardening  pure  and  simple  it  will  perhaps 
be  the  general  verdict  that  he  did  not  reach  the  level  of  either.  But  the 
subject  of  our  notice  had  difficulties  to  contend  with  of  which  they  knew 
nothing.  Both  had  unlimited  means  at  command,  while  during  almost 
the  whole  period  of  Mr.  Dunn’s  operations  the  ducal  estates  were 
suffering  from  want  of  funds,  and  it  is  only  lately  they  have  regained  a 
pleasant  equilibrium  in  that  respect.  A  re-arrangement  of  heating,  and 
the  substitution  for  a  number  of  antiquated  boilers  three  of  the  most 
modern  type  has  been  one  result,  and  a  long  deferred  wish  of  Mr.  Dunn’s 
was  thus  gratified  only  a  few  months  ago.  Many  of  the  glass  structures 
were  equally  out  of  date,  and  those  only  who  have  ha  I  dealings  with 
worn  out  houses  can  appreciate  the  difficulties  attending  their  manage¬ 
ment.  Flower  gardening  in  particular  suffered,  and  one  of  the  wonderful 
things  about  Dalkeith  was  how  its  chief  managed  to  keep  up  to  date  with 
flowers. 
His  position  as  a  hardy  fruit  grower  calls  for  no  comment,  his  know¬ 
ledge  on  the  subject  having  been  almost  cylopacdic.  It  was,  I  may 
venture  to  say,  his  hobby.  His  knowledge  of  trees  was  also  most 
extensive,  and  a  few  years  ago  he  took  up  hardy  shrubs,  adding  year  by 
year  to  the  collection  at  Dalkeith  any  good  thing  he  learned  ot.  Pine 
Apples,  I  may  add,  were  particularly  well  grown  during  all  Mr.  Dunn’s 
time. 
It  is  in  broad  and  accurate  knowledge  of  thejsubjects  in  which  he  was 
interested,  some  of  these  outside  horticulture  altogether,  that  we 
undoubtedly  find  the  causer  of  Mr.  Dunn’s  greatness.  He  was  widely  read, 
and  possessed  a  large  and  well  selected  library  of  works  on  gardening. 
forestry,  and  agriculture.  Among  the  books  upon  which  he  placed  the 
greatest  value  were  Loudon’s  various  works  on  forestry  and  horticulture, 
a  complete  set  of  “The  Scottish  Gardener’’  and  “Gardener,’  and  the 
copy  of  Hogg’s  “Herefordshire  Pomona,”  which  he  c’nore  vilicn  presented 
with  the  Niel  prize.  If  I  am  not  mistaken  the  oldest  book  in  the  library 
is  a  4  vol.  copy  of  Martvn’s  Dl.  of  “Miller’s  Gardeners’  Dictionary, 
the  purchasing  of  which  in  Dublin,  and  the  regret  of  the  street  vendor 
who  sold  it  that  he  had  not  asked  for  a  bigger  price,  Mr.  Dunn  used  to 
relate  with  much  humour. 
He  early  contracted  a  habit  of  note-taking,  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact 
that  the  schedules  ot  all  the  more  particular  shows  at  which  he  had  acted 
as  judge  since  1861  have  been  preserved,  and  the  points  he  made  for  his 
own  assurance  are  figured  on  the  margins.  It  has  all  along  been  his 
practice  to  decide  no  important  prize  without  pointing.  Then  he  was 
continually  going  about  the  country  visiting  estates,  and  by  this  means 
alone  he  gained  a  unique  kind  of  knowledge  with  tho  outcome  ;  as  I 
heard  a  leading  florist  say  lately,  “To  be  acquainted  with  Dunn  was  of 
itself  an  education.  ” 
He  was  very  largely  consulted  on  matters  connecttd  with  forestry,  and 
one  of  his  boldest  experiments  was  the  lifting  a  good  part  of  an  avenue  of 
blown  Lime  trees  at  Duns  Castle  in  1880.  The  details  of  the  work  were 
entrusted  to  the  late  Mr.  Alexander  Shearer,  long  gardener  at  Tester, 
and  an  old  Journal  man,  and  with  a  success  that  has  fully  justified  Dunn  s 
advice.  Mr.  Dunn  was  for  many  years  the  organiser  of  the  summer 
excursions  of  the  Scottish  Arboricultural  Society,  and  it  has  occurred  that 
the  h'ss  vigorous  of  the  members  have  found  it  impossible  to  keep  up  to 
the  programme,  drawn  up  for  their  benefit,  no  doubt,  but  beyond  their 
physical  powers  to  accomplish. 
As  a  lecturer  Mr.  Dunn  had  more  apolications  to  speak  than  he  would 
accept.  He  spoke  very  rapidly,  most  instructively,  but  perhaps  tried  to 
convey  more  to  his  hearers  than  they  were  able  to  lay  hold  of  at  one 
sitting.  He  generally  spoke  at  all  meetings,  and  when  it  occurred,  as  it 
sometimes  did,  that  someone  possessed  of  as  decided  opinions  as  himself 
expressed  them  with  an  equal  confidence,  there  was  for  a  brief  space  a 
slight  display  of  irascibility,  which,  however,  immediately  passed  off, 
leaving  behind  no  afterthought  or  ill-feeling.  This  intensity  of  feeling 
led  Mr.  Dunn,  as  a  Conservative,  to  take  a  very  decided  stand  when 
Gladstone  fought  the  hlidlothian  campaign  against  the  present  Duke  of 
Buccleuch,  at  that  time  Earl  of  Dalkeith. 
I  cannot  close  this  brief  and  very  imperfect  sketch  without  adding 
something,  however  slight,  about  Malcolm  Dunn  as  a  man.  Though  his 
beautiful  relations  towards  the  members  of  his  family  are  well  known,  it 
would  be  in  this  place  impertinent  to  do  more  than  allude  to  them.  With 
regard  to  others  it  is  different.  He  was  the  Kindest  friend,  anl  put 
himself  as  much  out  of  the  way  to  do  a  favour  to  a  young  journejman 
gardener  as  he  would  to  men  established  in  high  place. 
«  He  gave  liberally  of  his  means  to  all  deserving  objects,  and  I  am 
told  by  Mr.  Todd  that  the  only  gardener  who  continued  to  send  plants  to 
his  annual  Orphan  Bazaar  was  Mr,  Dunn.  I  do  not  know  anyone  who 
replied  quicker  to  a  letter  than  he,  and  from  the  nature  of  the  case  some 
of  these  replies  must  have  been  written  when  most  people  would  have 
been  asleep  in  bed.  I  suppose  everybody  that  has  visited  Dalkeith 
knows  his  hospitality,  and  it  is  a  place  that  someone  or  other  was  con- 
tinually  turning  up  at,  almost  the  latest  visitor  having  been  Canon  Ella- 
combe.  He  w'as  extremely  simple  in  his  tastes,  always  wore  clothes  of  the 
same  cut  and  colour,  and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  he  had  an  aversion  to 
kid  gloves  !  Though  a  bachelor,  Mr.  Dunn  was  fond  of  family  life,  and 
enjoyed  a  romp  with  children.  Few  will  mourn  his  loss  more  than  the 
women  of  the  households  he  visited,  his  deference  to  women  being  very 
o-reat.  He  was  for  a  long  number  of  years  an  elder  in  Dalkeith  Church. 
The  obsequies  took  place  on  Saturday  afternoon,  the  remains  being 
laid  in  Dalkeith  Cemetery.  A  large  number  of  gardeners  and  others 
were  present,  but  owing  to  the  awkwardness  of  the  day,  and  the  short 
time  people  had  to  make  ready,  not  a  few  must  have  been  debarred  the 
mournful  satisfaction  of  paying  their  last  respects  to  the  dead.  The 
remains  were  contained  in  an  oak  coffin,  on  which  was  a  brass  plate, 
inscribed  with  the  simple  words — “Malcolm  Dunn.  Died  11th  May, 
1899.  Aged  61  years.” 
Some  lovely  floral  tributes  covered  the  coffin,  but  nothing  so  lovely  or 
so  touching  on  so  sad  an  occasion  as  (he  orchard  garden  on  the  bank  of 
the  Esk,  glorious  in  its  display  of  flowering  Pear  trees  and  Damson 
Plums.— R.  P.  Brotherston. 
British  Horticulture  has  sustained  a  great  loss  by  the  death  of  Malcolm 
Dunn  of  Dalkeith.  Gardeners  in  all  parts  of  the  United  King^dom  will 
hear  with  keen  regret  that  this  skilful,  energetic,  and  genial  Scotsman 
has  gone  over  to  the  great  majority.  Devoted  to  his  calling,  and  eager  to 
