August  16.  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARELNER. 
157 
Deatli  of  Mr.  Jolin  Laing. 
Although  it  had  been  known  for  some  considerable  time  that  Mr. 
John  Laing  was  in  indifferent  health  and  that  his  constitution  and 
strength  were  being  undermined,  the  end  on  Wednesday,  August  8th, 
came  with  painful  suddenness.  Of  late  he  had  been  out  and  about, 
though  he  did  not  give  much  attention  to  business,  until  Tuesday, 
when  there  came  a  paralytic  stroke  from  which  he  never  rallied.  His 
had  been  a  life  of  activity  in  the 
kindred  sciences  of  botany  and 
horticulture,  and  in  the  fact  that 
he  regarded  all  moments  as  valu¬ 
able  of  which  full  advantage  should 
be  taken,  lies  the  secret  of  his 
splendid  success  and  allowed  him 
to  spend  the  evening  of  his  life  on 
the  nursery  that  he  had  brought 
together  with  patience,  industry, 
and  skill.  Mr.  Laing  sought  for 
the  end  that  he  had  definitely 
before  him — namely,  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  a  business  that  should 
make  his  name  famous  throughout 
the  entire  world.  And  he  was 
wholly  successful. 
It  will  be  observed  in  perusing 
the  brief  remarks  upon  Mr. 
Laing’s  career,  that  he  was  keeping 
close  up  to  the  wind  at  all  times — 
he  never  deviated  from  the  track 
sufficiently  to  affect  in  the  slightest 
degree  his  life’s  work.  In  all  his 
studies  and  botanical  researches 
he  worked  logically  and  syste¬ 
matically,  and  with  the  entire 
realisation  of  the  knowledge  that 
his  work  would  bring  its  reward 
in  later  life.  When  the  summer 
of  his  days  had  gone  he  would 
display  with  pride  the  specimens 
gathered  upwards  of  half  a 
century  ago,  and  show  the  medal 
that  an  Edinburgh  scientific  body  had  seen  fit  to  confer  upon  an 
industrious  learner.  His  collection  of  dried  Mosses  and  other  crypto- 
gamic  plants,  collected  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Edinburgh  and  other 
places  where  the  following  of  his  avocation  called  him,  was  magnificent 
in  its  completeness,  and  each  page  had  its  history  or  its  anecdote. 
Needless  to  say  Mr.  Laing's  knowledge  of  Mosses  in  other  places 
besides  portions  of  Scotland  was  almost  illimitable,  and  the  interest  of 
his  younger  days  was  intensified  rather  than  otherwise  as  he  grew 
older,  though  he  was  not  as  time  went  on  able  to  continue  the  active 
work  of  collecting. 
Mr.  Laing  was  one  of  the  most  genial  horticulturists  of  the  genera¬ 
tion,  and  at  the  same  time  practical,  shrewd,  and  a  thorough  man  of 
business.  He  was  born  in  October,  1823,  at  Carriston,  near  Brechin, 
N.B.  His  first  instruction  in  gardening  was  gained  in  the  gardens  of 
Old  Montrose,  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Reid,  and  it  was  there  he  first 
directed  his  attention  to  the  study  of  Mosses  and  other  cryptogamic 
plants.  The  next  move  was  to  the  gardens  of  Kinnaird  Castle,  the  seat 
of  the  Earl  of  Southesk,  and  during  the  two  years  spent  in  that 
establishment  he  applied  himself  closely  to  his  gardening  duties,  but 
still  found  time  to  pursue  his  botanical  studies.  Removing  to  the 
Royal  Botanic  Gardens,  Edinburgh,  under  Mr.  McNab,  he  conducted 
himself  with  so  much  satisfaction  to  the  authorities  that  he  was 
honoured  with  an  associateship. 
In  1817  Mr.  Laing  was  appointed  manager  of  the  Onchan  Nursery 
in  the  Isle  of  Man ;  thence  he  went  to  Chester  and  took  charge  of  the 
indoor  department  at  Messrs.  P.  &  A.  Dicksons’  nursery.  Remaining 
there  for  a  short  time  he  was  engaged  by  the  Earl  of  Rosslyn  as 
gardener  at  Dysart  House,  Fife,  where  he  gained  much  fame  as  a 
cultivator.  In  1860  Mr.  Laing  joined  the  firm  of  Downie  &  Laird,  and 
proceeded  to  London  to  establish  the  Stanstead  Park  Nursery  ;  the 
iirm  was  dissolved  in  1875  as  regards  the  London  branch.  Mr.  Laing 
then  took  the  business  himself,  subsequently  admitted  a  partner,  and 
until  some  twelve  or  fifteen  years  ago  the  firm  was  known  as  Laing 
and  Co.  Shortly  after  the  period  indicated  Mr.  Laing  became  sole 
proprietor,  and  took  his  two  sons,  Mr.  J.  A.  Laing  and  Mr.  J.  H.  Laing 
into  active  partnership,  under  the  style  of  J.  Laing  &  Sons,  by  which 
it  is  known  at  the  present  day. 
Throughout  the  whole  of  his  varied  career  Mr.  Laing  had  identified 
himself  with  florists’  flowers,  and  had  been  a  cultivator  of  Chrys¬ 
anthemums  for  several  decades.  This  talented  florist  did  not,  however, 
confine  himself  strictly  to  cultivation,  but  also  turned  his  attention 
towards  the  evolution  of  the 
several  kinds  upon  which  he  con¬ 
centrated  his  abilities.  In  no 
flower  were  his  persistent  efforts 
crowned  with  such  striking  success 
as  the  double  and  single  flowered 
tuberous-rooted  Begonias.  These 
plants  were  raised  from  the  pro¬ 
duce  of  a  comparatively  insignifi¬ 
cant  flower  to  their  present  superb 
beauty,  and  one  of  the  pioneers  in 
the  work  was  the  late  John  Laing. 
Now  in  these  plants  we  find  a 
combination  of  excellent  traits,  for 
they  are  dwarf,  floriferous,  easy 
of  culture,  exceptionally  diverse 
in  their  colour  range,  varied  in 
form  and  build  of  the  flowers, 
while  the  foliage  of  some  of  the 
varieties  exhibits  a  marbling  for 
whose  beauty  alone  the  plants 
might  well  be  grown.  We  need 
not  enumerate  individually  the 
plants  that  came  within  the  ken 
of  this  able  florist,  for  they  com¬ 
prise  practically  all  greenhouse 
and  stove  kinds,  with  many  of 
hardy  nature  that  appertain  to 
the  open  garden.  When  the 
Victoria  Medal  of  Honour  was 
instituted  Mr.  Laing  was  deser¬ 
vedly  one  of  the  flrst  recipients. 
Though  he  had  reached  to  the 
ripe  age  of  77  years,  the  deceased 
will  be  regretted  not  in  England  and  Scotland  alone,  but  wherever 
horticulture  is  loved  throughout  the  world.  For  the  portrait  (6g.  43) 
we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  R.  Lewis  Castle,  Ridgmont,  Beds. 
Fruit  and  Prices. — ^It  needs  no  special  knowledge  of  the  general 
condition  of  the  fruit  market  to  understand  that  prices  are  ruling  low, 
because  all  descriptions  of  home  grown  fruit  have  been,  and  still  are, 
offered  retail  at  very  low  rates.  Certainly  we  have  this  year  a  fruit 
season  for  the  million,  although  it  is  far  from  being  likely  to  be  of  great 
profit  to  the  grower.  Of  course  there  are  some  growers  who  either 
have  the  full  run  of  the  market,  or,  better  still,  who  have  fruit  of  great 
excellence,  who  will  in  the  end  have  nothing  to  complain  of.  But  the 
average  fruit  grower  is  rather  troubled  than  blessed  by  his  immense 
crop  of  tree  fruit,  and  already  realises  that  prices  will  hardly  be 
remunerative.  He  is  also  on  the  horns  of  a  dilemma  in  regard  to 
labour,  as  that  is  most  difficult  to  get,  and  quite  as  difficult  to  retain. 
I  heard  the  other  day  of  Is.  per  bushel  being  offered  for  Damsons  of 
which  the  crop  of  Farleighs  is  an  enormous  one.  It  must  cost  6d.  at 
least  to  gather  a  bushel  of  these  small  fruits,  so  that  the  residue  left 
'  for  the  grower  will  in  any  case  be  small.  Really  we  are  now  having 
one  of  those  periodical  fruit  gluts  that  come  once  in  four  or  five 
years,  whilst  so  inany  other  years  are  lean  ones,  hence  the  average 
I  produce  of  our  fruit  areas  is  after  all  far  from  being  great.  No  doubt 
because  easy  to  grow  we  do  grow  too  many  fruits  that  mature  at  the 
same  time.  Probably  the  man  who  has  plenty  of  fine  Prince  Alberts, 
Wellingtons,  Bismarcks,  and  Lord  Derbys,  amongst  Apples,  will,  if 
he  holds  them  over,  find  a  far  better  market  than  will  he  who  has  all 
Sufflelds,  Grosvenors,  Warners  and  other  early  varieties.  We  may  say 
the  same  of  Plums  and  Pears.  Still  also  will  he  have  the  best  market 
who  has  the  finest  fruit.  Too  much  of  the  market  fruit  is  of  the  average 
character,  that  which  is  above  the  average  will  prove  most  profitable, 
and  it  is  of  the  very  best  that  we  want  more. — A.  D. 
Fig.  43.— Mb.  John  Laing. 
