SOOTTISf-r GARDENS ,iki;>(:;i(5?_ Book . (^iK -S. ^ ^. r UL^ // SCOTTISH GARDENS A REPKESENTATIVE SELECTION OF DIFFERENT TYPES, OLD AND NEW Scottish Gardens BEING A Representative SelecSlion of different Types, Old and New THE RIGHT HON. SIR HERBERT MAXWELL BT., F.R.S., D.C.L., LL.D. ILLUSTRATED BV MARY G. W. WILSON MEMBER OF THE PASTEL SOCIETY AND OF THE SOCIETY OF SCOTTISH ARTISTS A vous, troupe legere, Qui d'aile passagere Par le monde volez, J'ofFre ces violettes, Ces lis et ces fleurettes, Et ces roses icy — Ces merveillettes roses — Tout freschement ecloses, Et ces oeillets aussi. — J. du Bellay NEW YORK LONGMANS, GREEN & CO. LONDON : EDWARD ARNOLD 1908 (All righti reserved) SALUT Strow mee the crrounde with daffadownrlillies, And cowslips and kingcups and loved lillies; The pretty pawnee And the chevisaunce Shall match with the fajrre floure delice. Shepherd's Calendar. I'A'IK Concerning Sfxrrri.sH Garuions in (jIknkkai. - - - 1 Arugowan, Rknkukwhhirk ------ 23 Will TKIlOt'SK, MllM.inillAN - - - - - - :5I MoNHKITH, WlOToWNSHIKK - - . - - 40 Gaktincauek, J'kuthshire - 4G Princks Strkict TJardens, Ii]i)iNiinR(;M - - - - 54 Baberton, Mmi.di iiiAN ------- 59 PoLi.OK, Renkrkw.shike 61 Stonefield, Argyllshire 69 Castle Kennedy, Wigtownshire ----- 74 The Hirsel, Berwickshire 84 South Bantaskine, Stirlingshire 88 Colinton House, Miulothian 91 Malleny, Midlothian - 95 Corrour, Inverness-shire 97 Kellie Castle, Fife 104 Auchencruive, Ayrshire 109 Barskimming, Ayrshire 114 vii CONTENTS PAQE Cawdor Castle, Nairnshire 122 Manse of Fyvie, Aberdeenshire - - - - - 130 Sunderland Hall, Selkirkshire - - - - - 139 Balcaskie, Fife - - - - - - - - 147 Balcarrks, Fife - - - - - - - - 151 Carnock, Stirlingshire - 156 Kelburne Castle, Ayrshire - - - - - 161 Culzean, Ayrshire 167 Leckie, Stirlingshire - - - - - - - 177 Dalzell Castle, Lanarkshire - - - - - 180 Barncluith, Lanarkshire ------ 186 DuNUdBiN, Sutherland 191 Stobhall, 1'erthshire ------- 202 Raeden House, Aberdeenshire, ----- 205 Cocker's Nursery, Aberdeen - _ . - - 208 Smeaton-Hepburn, Haddingtonshire - - - - 212 APPENDIX A Species of Rhododendron suitable to the Climate of THE West of Scotland - - - - - 217 APPENDIX B Uthkk Shrubs which have proved hardy in Scotland 223 APPENDIX C Decorative Shrubs, Herbs and Bulbs - - - - 229 viii LIST OF PLATES / I. Malleny, Midlothian - - - Frontispiece II. Ardgowan, Renfrewshire - - To face p. 24 III. Whitehouse, Midlothian - - - „ 34 IV. Monreith, Wigtownshire - - - ,,40 V. Gartincaber, Perthshire - - - „ 46 VI. Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh - „ 54 VII. Baberton, Midlothian - . . „ 60' VIII. PoLLOK, Renfrewshire . - . „ 66 IX. Stonefield, Argyllshire - - . „ 70 X. Castle Kennedy. Wigtownshire - ,, 74 XL The Hirsel, Berwickshire - - ,, 84 ■ XII. South Bantaskine, Stirlingshire - ,, 88 XIII. Colinton House, Midlothian - - ,, 92 - XIV. CoRRouR, Invernesshire - - - ,, 100 '^ XV. Kellie Castle, Fife - - - - ,,104 XVI. AUCHENCRUIVE, AYRSHIRE - - - ,,110 XVII. Barskimming, Ayrshire - - - ,,114 XVIII. Cawdor Castle, Nairnshire - - ,,122 ix LIST OF PLATES XIX. Manse of Fyvie, Aberdeenshire XX. Sunderland Hall, Selkirkshire XXI. Balcaskie, Fife XXII. Balcarres, Fife XXIII. Carnock, Stirlingshire - XXIV. Kelburne Castle, Ayrshire - XXV. CuLZEAN, Ayrshire XXVI. Leckie, Stirlingshire XXVII. Dalzell Castle, Lanarkshire XXVIII. Barncluith, Lanarkshire XXIX. Dunrobin, Sutherland - XXX. Stobhall, Perthshire XXXI. Raeden House, Aberdeenshire XXXII. Cocker's Nursery, Aberdeen - To face p. 130 140' 148 152' 156 162 170 ' 178' 180' 186' 192 202 ' 206 210 SCOTTISH GARDENS CONCERNING SCOTTISH GARDENS IN GENERAL FTER the withdrawal of the Roman legions from Britain in the fifth century, to quote the graphic words of the late Dr. W. F. Skene, "the British Isles seemed, as it were, to retire again into the recesses of that western ocean from which they had emerged in the reign of the Emperor Claudius. "^ In the following century, Procopius, writing from Constantinople a scanty description of the lost Roman provinces of Britain, said that he believed that part of the island nearest Gaul was still inhabited and fertile, but that it was divided from the rest of the island by a wall, beyond which was a region infested by wild beasts, with an atmosphere fatal to human life, wherefore it was tenanted only by the spirits of the departed. Now the wall referred to was ' Celtic Scotland, i. 1 14. A 1 SCOTTISH GARDENS probably that rampai-t erected by Lollius Urbicus for the Emperor Autoniuus Pius about a.d. 140. It stretched between the Firths of Forth and Clyde, and connected the detached forts built by Julius Agricola seventy years before ; but the reference may have been to the earlier wall, that great fortification drawn by the Emperor Hadrian from the Tyne to the Solway, roughly parallel with the line dividing England from Scotland at the present day. Whichever barrier Procopius had in mind, whether it was the whole of modern Scotland, or only the Highlands, that he included in his un- complimentary estimate of the climate, the fifteen centuries which have run their course or nearly so, since he laid down his pen have not served wholly to efface the unfavourable estimate of Scottish seasons entertained by many travelled, and all untra veiled, southerners. "As in the Northerne parts of England," wrote Fynes Moryson in the seventeenth century, " they have small pleasantnes, goodnesse, or abundance of Fruites and Flowers, so in Scotland they must have lesse, or none at all." It was Dr. Johnson, if I mistake not, and if not he, then some other equally veracious tourist, who declared that Scots farmers could only grow barley under glass ; and really this assertion is not one whit further from the truth than many of the statements one may see gravely repeated in gardening journals. Advice is frequently based, 2 SCOTTISH GARDENS IN GENERAL even in high class works on horticulture, upon the assumption that, because Scotland lies a few hundred miles nearer the North Pole than do the Home Counties, it is useless to attempt to cultivate any except the hardiest shrubs and herbs beyond the Tweed. The reader receives the impression of a rigorous climate, with intensely cold winters and sunless summers ; and that impression, as regards summer, at least, is often confirmed to those who postpone their visit to Scotland till Parliament rises, perhaps late in August, after the Lammas floods have soaked the land and the evenings have turned damp and chill. But those who know the north country in June and July do not need to be warned against such an erroneous conception, or to be told that the Scottish soil and climate are quite as favourable to floral display as are those of any part of England. Nevertheless, speaking broadly, the climates of the two realms are difi'erent in character, and it behoves the gardener to take this into account in furnishing his borders and shrubberies. It may help him to do so, if he has a general under- standing of the mechanism of climate, so to speak. It certainly would have saved the present writer from many blunders had he been guided earlier by a better knowledge of the principles of meteorology, and from expense and disappointment incurred by attempting to cultivate unsuitable species of shrubs and herbs. 3 SCOTTISH GARDENS The first thing to lay to heart is that Great Britain is divided, climatically, not so much into north and south, as nearly all horticultural books describe it, as into east and west. Certain plants which perish from winter cold near London and in the Midlands, flourish luxuriantly on the western sections of the counties of Inverness and Ross. This is visually explained as the direct influence of the Gulf Stream upon the seaboard climate of the British Isles. Nobody wants to speak disrespectfully of the Gulf Stream ; but hydrographers have difi"ered among themselves in estimating the extent of its effect upon the land temperature of Western Europe, and perhaps the populai" tendency has been to ex- aggerate it. Issuing from the Gulf of Florida, with a surface temperature of 80° F., this great current of hot water flows eastward along the banks of Newfoundland, whence it is separated by the cold and southward flowing current of Labrador. At about 40° west longitude, a well-marked branch of the Gulf Stream turns north and north-westward upon the coast of Greenland and is lost in Bafiin's Bay. The main cuiTent divides again at about 25° W., 47° N., the greater moiety bending southward to form the North African current, which laves the shores of Portugal and Morocco, finally turning west- ward off Cape Verde and heading back to the Carribean Sea. What is left of the original stream holds a north-eastward course towards the western shores of Northern Europe, but it has parted with 4 SCOTTISH GARDENS IN GENERAL most of its superfluous heat ; and, east of 30° west longitude, ceases to be distinguishable from the general eastward drift of water promoted by the prevailing air current from w.s.w. to e.n.e. Dr. James Croll has calculated that the Gulf Stream is responsible for one-fifth of the total heat of the North Atlantic, and that if the warm current were shut ofi" or diverted, the surface temperature of that ocean would fall to an average of three degrees below zero F. — that, in short, it would become a frozen sea. Dr. Haughton, on the other hand, has given tables showing that, while the Gulf Stream certainly raises the temperature of our seas very considerably in winter, it actually lowers it in summer. Perhaps all that can be affirmed with certainty is that the Gulf Stream has a genial influence, not only upon the climate of the United Kingdom, but actually -ndthin the Arctic circle at Hammerfest. Admitting gratefully as we may our indebtedness to this beneficent current, it is not easy to attribute to its sole agency the superior mildness of our western seaboard as compared with the inland and eastern districts. An explanation of that constant pheno- menon must be sought not in the waters beneath the firmament, but in the firmament itself — in the general circulation of the atmosphere. The air we breathe forms a fluid envelope over the entire globe, which, becoming intensely heated under the ecliptic, expands and rises in a huge 5 SCOTTISH GAEDENS dome or ridge corresponding with the apparent path of the sun round the earth. From the top of this ridge the heated air flows away towards the poles, descending to the earth's surface again at about 30° N. and S. latitude. The circumference of the earth at these latitudes being very much less than at the equator, the surface velocity in diurnal rota- tion is necessarily diminished in proportion. But the descending air current retains, not only much of the heat, but also much of the high eastward velocity imparted to it in equatorial regions, the result being a general movement of the atmosphere in the northern temperate zone from s.w. to n.e. Land areas, being far more extensive and numerous in the northern hemisphere than they are in the southern, interfere powerfully with this general drift of atmosphere by causing local diflferences of tempera- ture ; but it has a clear oceanic course of about 4000 miles in passing from the coast of Florida to the Land's End. By virtue of its heat, this warm air current is able to absorb the moisture which is con- tinually being given off by evaporation from the ocean surface, and to carry it eastward in the invisible form of vapour. But when the air current is chilled, whether in summer by meeting high land which lifts it to a colder stratum, or in winter by striking land which at that season is colder than the sea, it loses the power of carrying the vapour, which is suddenly condensed into the visible form of rain or snow, mist or fog. Such is the chief 6 SCOTTISH GARDENS IN GENERAL permanent cause of the greater rainfall on our western coasts, as compared with our eastern. Hence, also, their superior mildness in winter ; for the latent heat, which was engaged in carrying vapour, is released as soon as that vapour is con- densed and falls out of the air, being instantly felt in the form of warmth. The air current passing inland deprived of such moisture as it has lost by condensation, is deprived also of the heat which enabled it to bring that moisture to the coast ; whence the far greater severity of winter at Leicester and Perth compared with western localities corre- sponding to these places in latitude, such as Limerick and Oban. Dr. Haughton has calculated that, on the west coast of Ireland as much heat is derived from rainfall as from the direct action of the sun. In another important respect vegetation is aflfected and its character modified by the amount of vapour in the air. Moisture, in the invisible form of vapour, interferes almost as much with the passage of heat from the sun to the earth, and with the radiation of heat from the earth into space, as it does when partially condensed into the form of mist or cloud. In proportion, therefore, as the air current discharges itself of vapour by precipita- tion in passing over the high grounds of our western seaboard, is there less interference with the access of sunrays to the surface of midland and eastern districts. This secures for these districts brighter, hotter summers than in the west ; subject always to 7 SCOTTISH GARDENS local conditions, such as exposure to cold eastern currents. But the diminution of air-borne vapour promotes radiation, causing the earth to part more quickly with its heat, and reducing the mean winter temperature of midland and eastern districts below that of western. Such is, very broadly and briefly, the outline of the normal course of British meteorology, as explained by Haughton, CroU, Strachey, Scott and other observers. To the horticulturist it resolves itself into this, that the climate in the west is cooler in summer and warmer in winter than that of inland and eastern districts, and he must conform to these conditions in his choice of decorative material. It is impossible to guess how much money and labour is wasted each year in attempting to grow in a humid climate and on a cool soil plants which delight in a roasting sun on a dry formation. On the other hand, what opportunities do we not see thrown away by neglecting the capabilities of soil and climate, thereby reducing gardens and pleasure grounds to a monotonous uniformity of furniture. Take as an example, the Rhododendron family. The common R. ponticum grows anywhere except on chalk or limestone ; consequently it is grown every- where, choking our woodlands and smothering the beautiful native undergrowth, until the eye wearies of what is in truth a very handsome shrub. Even people who live on chalk and limestone, instead of taking SCOTTISH GARDENS IN GENERAL advantage of their position to cultivate plants that revel in a cretaceous soil, are at infinite pains to prepare beds for rhododendrons, and so make their gardens as like those of other people as possible. And others, possessed of the cool soil and humid atmosphere in which rhododendrons rejoice seldom plant any but the common ponticum and its hybrids. All along the west coast, from the Land's End to Cape Wrath, a continual succession of bloom from midwinter to the very end of July can be secured by planting the exquisite Himalayan and Caucasian species, many of which it is vain to attempt to bring through the winter in the famous nurseries at Woking and Bagshot. Miss Wilson has caught some of these in flower in an Argyllshire garden (Stonefield, Plate IX.) and, lest the beautiful scene she has depicted should stimulate a desire in any of my west-coast readers to attempt similar eflects, a list of the choicer species is given in Appendix A. The two things requisite for success are suflicient drainage to prevent the soil getting waterlogged and shelter from violent winds, especially wind ofi' the sea. Many species, such as R. arboi'ewm, campanulatum, cimmmomeum and cinnabarinum will live and flower even in a windy exposure, but their foliage gets seared and stunted, and the foilage of these choice shrubs is as remarkable for beauty as their flowers. There is a host of other exotics reputed tender in the neighbourhood of London and in the English SCOTTISH GARDENS midlands, which grow and flower luxuriantly in the Scottish westland. A list of these will be found in Appendix B. How greatly the interest and beauty of pleasure-grounds might be enhanced if a selection from these were substituted for the too frequent laurel (which is not a laurel, but a plum), the ubiquitous ponticum rhododendron, the urban aucuba and the suburban mahonia ! One would think, after surveying the sameness which pervades so many shrubberies and flower-beds that there was a poverty of material to choose from, instead of the enormous variety, almost bewildering in extent, which the enterprise of nurserymen and the diligence of their collectors have put within easy reach of people of quite moderate means. It must be admitted that there has been a marked improvement in this respect during the last quarter of a century. Many people devote them- selves nowadays to the cultivation of hardy shrubs and herbs with an enthusiasm and degree of know- ledge seldom met with in early and mid- Victorian years. They have grown so keen as to fall, some- times, into the opposite extreme, and to take more pains to rear plants with which it is difiicult to succeed than they do with those best suited to their soil and climate. I visited lately the famous garden of a friend in Sussex. I found him sitting under a tree, sur- rounded by borders the wealth and variety of which I was eager to explore. Before I could do so, he 10 SCOTTISH GARDENS IN GENERAL marched me off saying, "Come this way ; I have something to show you." He led me to a north- west corner between two ivy-covered walls and displayed with much pride a few flowering sprays of Tropceolum speciosum — that lovely flame-flower, which, in the humid north, is a rampant, but ever- welcome weed. It certainly was a triumph of horticulture to succeed even moderately in one of the hottest counties in England with this plant which revels in the cool soil and moist atmosphere of the north ; but the merit of this garden lay not in such feats of coddling, but in the abund- ance and richness of sun-loving flowers. Do not let it be imagined that I am superior to these little gardening foibles. J'ai passe par la, moi qui vous parle — nay, I am still treading the path of futile error. Neither age nor experience, nor both combined, can purge a fool of his folly ; and so it comes to pass that I cannot bring myself to root up two large specimens oi Xanthoceras sorhifolia, a bush which in the southern counties loads itself in May with garlands of white flowers with a blotch of burgundy at the base of each petal. In Scotland I have never seen it produce more than a meagre sprinkling of half shrivelled blossoms. So with Hibiscus syriacus, that glory of English Augusts, and the bulbous Sternhergia, which stars with gold the vineyards of France, what time the cream-tinted oxen slowly draw the oozing grapes to the wine- press. All of these, and many others which might 11 SCOTTISH GARDENS be named, live in Scotland, and make abundant jDromise in the way of foliage ; but the promise is never, or hardly ever, fulfilled. Either the flowers lag too late for want of sun-forcing, which is the way with Hibiscus, or the plants are never ripened enough to form flower-buds at all, which is the matter with Sternhergia. On the other hand, there are many plants which relish the cool, moist north, and refuse to respond to the sun of southerly shires. The vaporous western and northern atmosphere, acting in conjunction with a soil for the most part cool, has one eflect upon plant growth note- worthy for Scottish gardeners, greatly modifying the cultural requirements of certain plants. General instructions contained in horticultural works and nursery catalogues are mostly calculated for the meridian of London, and directions for providing shade apply chiefly to the sunnier regions of our realm and hot soils. But a plant that appreciates a northern exposure or overhanging foliage in Sussex may require all the direct sunshine it can receive in Argyllshire or Perthshire to ripen its growth sufiiciently for the supreme efibrt of flowering. For instance, when I first obtained the beautiful Chilian shrub then called Crinodendron Hookeri, but now known as Tricuspidaria lanceolata, I was advised by that veteran horticulturist, Canon Ellacombe, to give it a north exposure. Accordingly I planted one against a wall facing north-east, and it has grown at the rate of two feet a year — a picture of vigour — but 12 SCOTTISH GARDENS IN GENERAL with very sparse return in floM'ers. Another plant of the same species, set in an open border facing south-west, has not grown nearly so fast, but is of sturdier habit, and at the present moment (22nd August) is closely set with tiny flower-buds on long white peduncles, which will swell next April into the crimson globular bells which are the glory of this choice evergreen.^ Canon Ellacombe's advice was perfectl}'" sound and applicable to the neigh- bourhood of Bath, but had to be aj^plied with a caveat in grey Galloway. Again, Daphne Blaageaiia seeks all the shade it can get in its native haunts in south-eastern Europe, and may demand the same when gi-own on diy, chalky soils in southern England ; but I have never seen it so fine as under Mr. Moore's care in the Glas- nevin Botanic Gardens, where it covers a large round bed, in full sunshine, with its delectable ivory-white blossoms. Similar examples might be multiplied ; the lesson of them all being the same, namely, that the vaporous atmosphere of Scotland, especially in the west, tempers the sun-rays enough to enable most shade-loving plants not only to endure them, but to benefit by them. A wise discrimination in deciding what to grow makes all the difference between struggling and co-operating with nature. For what, after all, ' This never came to pass. The destructive frost of Eastertide, 1908, destroyed the flower-buds of this and many another choice shrub. 13 SCOTTISH GARDENS does cultivation amount to ? I speak not of the florist's craft, which takes a wild flower or shrub and, with infinite cunning, transforms it into some- thing different, so that a wild mother carnation could not recognise her own offspring in the mon- strous Malmaison race (unless it were by scent, as a ewe does her lamb), nor the modest little wild heartsease, which covers with a blue mist the roofs of old log-houses in Norway, claim kinship with the show and fancy pansies which have developed such amazing colours and are judged, like poultry, by their points. For the gardener proper all this work is done by others ; his function is to propagate and grow ; his care is so to dispose plants that they shall be spared the intense struggle for life which every wild tree, shrub or herb has to undergo. It is surprising what fine qualities many of our British wild flowers develop under careful handling. We cause the ends of the earth to be ransacked for the furnishing of our borders, while all around us, in meadow and copse, on seacoast and moorland, by riverside and hedgerow, there is material which will respond to thoughtful treatment with a display rivalling that of costly exotics. Among the many excellent, but unfulfilled, intentions of a desultory life has been the purpose to create an all-British garden, wherein nothing should be planted but native vegetation. Any amateur who may feel disposed for the experiment will find some suggestion in Appendix C. Meanwhile, let me give a single illus- 14 SCOTTISH GARDENS IN GENERAL tration of possibilities. In the peat bogs of lowland Scotland, northern England and Ireland may be found a slender, little, heathlike plant, four or five inches high, sparsely clad with narrow, evergreen leaves, glaucous on the back, bearing in late summer a few pretty, pale pink, drooping flowers on the model of an arbutus or a bearberry. Strange to say, this plant is not found in the Highlands of Scotland, though it is abundant in Norway. It is the marsh andromeda (A. polifolia), according to modern classification the solitary species in the genus. It seems to prefer the sloppiest parts of the bog, where even heather declines to grow ; but in fact it grows there only because there is no room for it elsewhere. Its hardy constitution enables it to main- tain a precarious existence in a soaked mixture of sour peat and sphagnum which would be the death of any other hardwooded plant. Nevertheless, it is as fond of good things as its neighbours. Remove some plants from their native slime (they are so feeble that it must be carefully done) and set them in a sunny border in a mixture of peat, sand and loam, keep them from being overshadowed by gi'osser plants, lay some stones on the surface round them to keep some moisture about their roots, and in a couple of years they will grow into sturdy little bushes, nearly a foot high, with abundant leafage and a fine display of flowers. You have aided them in the struggle for life, and they reward you by developing into plants of really extraordinary beauty. 15 SCOTTISH GARDENS In visiting Scottish gardens (and the same remark applies to English ones also) I have been struck by the almost universal mismanagement, sometimes the total neglect, of flowering shrubs. The majority of gardeners seem to act on the principle that these plants must take care of them- selves. A shrubbery is laid out, planted with a variety of species, and left severely alone. What is the consequence? The strong growers throttle the more slender ones, which either disappear, or lead a precarious existence, spindling away among their rampant neighbours with little opportunity of ripening wood to carry flowers. Again, many of the rarer shrubs, especially rhododendrons, are grafted upon common vigorous stocks. Constant vigilance is required, but is very seldom bestowed, to prevent suckers springing from the stock and supplanting the more delicate scion. It is a treat to spend a morning in a shrubbery like that at Poltalloch, in Argyllshire, where the gardener, Mr. Melville, tends the shrubs as carefully as the ordinary man does his roses and fruit trees, giving each plant plenty of room to develop and securing that by judicious pruning and timely transplanting. The result is, to mention one species only, that he can show you bushes of the rare Eucryphia pinnatifolia twelve or fourteen feet high, covered with charming white blossoms on their entire height and circumference. Many people, no doubt, have planted Eucryphia, allowed it to 16 SCOTTISH GARDENS IN GENERAL disappear and concluded that it was unable to endure a northern climate ; but the fact is that, like so many other Chilian plants, both Eucryphia pinnatifolia and the rarer cordifolia take most kindly to cultivation in Scotland and Ireland, though they cannot be kept at Kew. In another respect carelessness is even more apparent in the generality of shrubberies. Few gardeners seem to be aware that, in the cultivation of flowering shrubs, there is any need for the pruning knife or secateur, except to keep a gangway on garden paths. But many flowering shrubs need pruning as regularly as roses if they are to do themselves justice. Especially is this the case with those that bloom on the season's growth. These should be carefully gone over immediately after they have flowered, cut back to an eye behind the old flowering shoots and relieved of weakly and crowded growths. Typical examples of shrubs requiring this treatment are BvddUia, Forsythia, the choicer kinds of Philadelphus, Escallonia phillipiana, the hybrid Deutzias, and all the Olearias. Shrubs which flower on two-year-old growth require all weakly or failing growth removed and vigorous growth pinched or shortened. Of course there are many species of flowering trees and shrubs which, planted in quantity and growing to a large size, cannot be gone over regularly ; but anything choice or rare will amply repay a little intelligent handling. The finer sorts of rhododen- B 17 SCOTTISH GARDENS drons, especially, suffer frequently from being planted six feet or so apart when small and allowed to grow up in a jungle. This class of evergreen does not benefit by pruning, but none bears transplanting so well or so easily. As the foliage of many kinds of rhododendron is exceedingly beautiful, each plant should have ample room from first to last. Various kinds of lilies, most of which thrive best in soil full of living roots, may be employed to fill the spaces which it is desirable to keep between rhododendrons when planted in a bed. In mild districts the hardy palm, Cha7ncerops excelsa, Cordyline, and the finer bamboos may be used with splendid efiect. Tree ferns, also grow luxuriantly with side shelter from high winds and overhead shelter from frost. Both of these requisites are easily provided because these cryptogams thrive best in shade and therefore should be planted in a moist wood. Not many years ago, tree ferns were easily obtained in London sale-rooms ; but they are hard to come by now, in consequence of the wise action of the New Zealand government in prohibiting the exportation of Dicksonia. Nurserymen who have old plants ask a guinea a foot for them, but some tradesmen have seedlings to dispose of. These can be had at a reasonable rate ; should be grown forward in a cold frame or cool greenhouse, hardened off at a foot high, when they may be planted out in permanent positions. As no flower garden depends only on flowers 18 SCOTTISH GARDENS IN GENERAL for its charm, so is it of the utmost moment that suitable kinds of trees should be chosen to decorate it. Assuming that the environment of the garden proper is more or less woodland in character,^ the gardener's concern will be to choose from the vast variety offered by modern nurserymen. In spacious grounds, room will not be grudged to an ancient oak or two, or a group of beeches or limes. But in a garden of modest dimensions the presence of these and other trees with far-reaching, hungry roots will impoverish the borders and cause the loss of many a precious thing. Luckily we have among the many coniferous trees introduced to this country during last century some which content themselves with a very moderate root-run. The columnar habit of such evergreens as the Lawson cjrpress, the incense cypress {Lihocedrus decurrens) and the pencil cedar {Juniperios virgmianiis) are of priceless effect among flowerbeds, providing those vertical lines which, as given by the Italian cypress, impart such a charming character to Mediterranean scenery. But it is sad to see how this effect has been marred or missed owing to the pernicious practice of growing such conifers as these from cuttings. Young plants, trim and verdant, come ' Although this is very desirable for providing shelter it is not indispensable for fine effect. In the very heart of the treeless waste surrounding Kinbrace railway station in Sutherland, stands the shooting lodge of Badanloch. Never have I seen greater profusion of brilliant perennials than suiprised me when I visited this place during the wet and cheerless summer of 1907. The garden was on a slope, open to all the winds of heaven, the soil being chiefly grit and peat. 19 SCOTTISH GARDENS from the nursery and perhaps do not betray their true character for several years. Gradually they assume the appearance of branches stuck in the ground, which indeed they are, or they send up a crowd of sticks instead of one straight leader. The only way to avoid disappointment in this matter is either to grow one's own seedlings, whereby five or six years delay is incurred, or to employ a trustworthy tradesman and insist on being supplied with plants grown from seed. Another delightful tree, which used to be classed as a conifer, but has now been ascertained to be nearly related to the cycads and palms, is the gingko or maidenhair tree. It is deciduous : it is often misshapen, because grown from a cutting : but for grace and distinction a well-grown specimen is hard to beat, and it is perfectly hardy in many parts of Scotland. Conifers, however valuable for winter greenery, afibrd unsatisfactory shade ; and a shady place or places there must be in every garden however small. This can only be had in perfection from broad-leaved trees, and there is abundant variety to choose from. In a woodland country it is perhaps desirable to mark the select character of garden ground by giving a preference to exotic growths. Where beech and oak, elm and sycamore, form the background of garden scenery, it is an agree- able change to see fine specimens of sweet and horse-chestnut, robinia, tulip-tree, gleditsia, and the 20 SCOTTISH GARDENS IN GENERAL finer maples. The red flowering horse-chestnut, ^sctihis carnea, a hybrid between the common horse-chestnut and the American JSsculus pavia, is far too seldom seen in Scottish pleasure grounds, though commonly planted in the neighbourhood of London. It is, however, perfectly at home in the north, and although it is generally considered to be of less lofty growth than the common sort, my experience with it leads me to believe that there is not much difierence between the two kinds in that respect. If there is no more splendid spectacle in British woodland scenery than a well-grown horse-chestnut in full bloom, the red-flowered variety is no whit inferior, and the beauty of each is mutually enhanced by contrast. One word about another tree too seldom seen, matchless as it is in certain qualities of foliage and outline — to wit — the evergreen oak. Its efiect in a garden is well shown in Miss Wilson's view at Castle Kennedy (Plate X.). Changeless in its kindly neutral tint, save when the wind tosses the boughs to make them show the silvery undersides of the leaves, or for a brief period in early summer when the flowers and young growth spread a tawny tint over the grey, the holm oak never fails to attract admiration when it is well-grown. But it is not always grown to its best. Planted singly or at wide intervals, it is apt to assume the form of a huge bush ; but submit it to the early discipline of close planting — a dozen or so in a group six feet 21 SCOTTISH GARDENS apart — and you may get a magnificent tree like the one at Rosanna, co. Wicklow, which is 90 feet high, loftier than any of the species in its native Southern Europe, so freely does it respond to the genial influences of the west. The task of making a selection of garden scenes in Scotland has been one of much perplexity. In order to make it representative of all styles and scales, many famous and beautiful places have been passed by. Moreover, the summer of 1907 was the wettest and coldest we have had for thirty years ; which frustrated many attempts to portray gardens in the remoter parts of the country. Had it been Miss Wilson's lot to have executed her task during the summer of 1908, not only would the work have been more agreeable but it would have had more satisfactory results. The purpose of artist and author has been to present specimens of gardens of every degree — modest as well as majestic, formal as well as free — whereby the possessor of the humblest plot of ground may be stimulated to beautify it with as fair hope of proportionate success as the lord of thousands of acres. 22 ARDGOWAN RENFREWSHIRE LTHOUGH botanists cannot be got to recognise the snowdrop as a true native of Britain, no foreigner establishes itself more cordially wherever in our land it finds the combination of a moist, cool atmosphere with a free soil. Those persons who have never happened to visit the west coast of Scotland during January and Febniary can have little idea of the profuse display made by this little bulb wherever it is given a chance, or of the rapidity with which it takes possession of the floor of a hollow wood. Probably the conditions are equally favourable and produce a similar result in Ireland and along the Welsh coast, but of this I cannot speak with assurance, never having visited those districts during the snowdrop season. Anyhow, you must not look for snowdrops in sun-baked latitudes. Some years ago, narcissus and other flowers arrived in the market from Scilly unusually early. Now the snow- drop is perhaps the only spring-flowering bulb which cannot be coaxed or forced into blossom a day earlier 23 SCOTTISH GARDENS than its natural date. If the ground happens to be iron-bound with frost in January, then the snow- drops potted and kept under glass will get a start of their brethren in the open air ; but not before the time when the latter would have flowered had it been physically possible for them to get through the hard surface-soil. Probably this is the only, it is certainly the chief, impediment to the snowdrop's punctuality, causing a considerable variation in the date of flowering. On the west coast of Scotland I have gathered the first snowdrop on 19th December in one winter ; in other seasons not until 8th or 10th January. In the year aforesaid, I asked Mr. Dorrien Smith, than whom nobody has a more thorough understand- ing of bulbs and their behaviour, whether he had noticed in Scilly any precocity in the snowdrop bloom corresponding to that of the narcissus. " Snowdrops ! " said he, " we can't grow them in SciUy. We are too hot for them." Neither do they prosper on most parts of the east coast ; they will grow, indeed, and flower, but they do not midtiply or luxuriate. No : if you want to enjoy snowdrops at their finest, you must go, not where there is most snow, as in the midland and eastern regions, nor where there is least snow, in Scilly and southern England, but to the west where clouds in winter droop low and weep long, where the tooth of frost seldom strikes so deep as to arrest all growth, 24 AKIHIOW AN. AKDGOWAN Snowdrops possess one virtue which is appreciated by all who take note of flowering herbs ; the accursed rabbit, which is responsible for incalculable destruc- tion and for the extirpation of much of our native flora, cannot digest them. What the repellent property is nobody seems to know. The Amaryllis family, whereof the snowdrop is a member, diflfers only from the Iris family in having six stamens instead of three ; yet rabbits will devour every shred of crocus, sparaxis and sisyrinchium — iridaceous bulbs — while they leave snowdrops and dafibdils, true amaryllids, severely alone. In daffodils the protective agent is known to consist, not of any chemical poison, but of numerous minute crystals of lime, called rajjhides, contained in the sap, which prove so powerful an irritant as to upset even the digestion of a rabbit. Whatever be the corresponding pro- vision in the snowdrop's slender growth it is one for which all lovers of the country must feel grateful, for it has been the means of preserving the chief ornament of our woodlands when the days are at their darkest. Nowhere may you realise this more fully than at Ardgowan, the Renfrewshire home of Sir Hugh and Lady Alice Shaw Stewart. Nowhere else shall you find snowdrops more abundant or more charmingly disposed — millions of them — among sloping woods on the shore of the Firth of Clyde. The garden proper at Ardgowan is notable in many respects, and bids fair to become still more 25 SCOTTISH GARDENS so under the guidance of its mistress, who has applied herself with ardour and intelligence to develop the resources of a kindly soil and genial climate. The walled garden is 200 yards from end to end, with gi'eat ranges of glass, where Mr. Lunt, who has been in active superintendence for more than half a century, produces fruit by the hundred-weight, unsurpassed in quality. Round the outside of this enclosure lies an outer garden, where many choice shrubs have been allowed to maintain for many years a fierce straggle for existence. These are now in process of being relieved and rearranged, during which many unsuspected treasures have been brought to light, such as a bush of Rhododendron glaucum (distinguished among others of the genus by its deliciously scented foliage) of the unusual height of eight feet. The mansion house stands on a plateau sixty feet above the main garden, commanding enchanting- views across the blue firth of the Argyllshire hills to the west, and many-crested Arran to the south. The lawn garden stretches before the south front of the house, where two enormous arbutus, of well-nigh forest stature, attest the mildness of the climate. There is also a fair specimen of the deciduous or swamp cypress, a tree seldom seen in Scotland. It would take a long summer day to exhaust the beauty and interest of these grounds ; but the same may be said of many another earthly paradise which have grown up round old country houses. 26 ARDGOWAN Miss Wilson might have hesitated long before deciding on a single subject where there is so much to choose from ; she has chosen rightly, I think, to depict a scene and a season in which Ardgowan has no rival known to me ; for nowhere else have I been able to walk a mile on end through acres of snowdrops in blossom. Round three sides of the plateau referred to runs a steep slope, in places precipitous, of red conglomerate. At the apex of this green promontory, where the cliff is sheer, is poised the ancient keep of Inverkip. At the neck of the promontory stands the Georgian mansion of Ardgowan, built in 1798, a period when Scottish lairds were beginning to find the fortalices of their ancestors inconveniently cramped for modern households. Between the cliff and the sea is a wide belt of that raised beach which forms such a marked feature in coast scenery of the west, known to geologists as the 25 foot beach, formed when the general land level was that distance below the present one. Woods of pine and broad leaved trees clothe the flat land, the slopes and the cliff itself, wherever foothold can be found, and all these woods are carpeted with snow- drops, primroses, and blue hyacinths. Empty enough they seem in winter time. Cover-shooters, pursuing their pastime in the dark days of November, little think what wealth of flowers is stored in millions of modest little bulbs beneath their feet ; but he must indeed be insensible to natural beauty who, 27 SCOTTISH GARDENS returning in February, is not moved to enthusiasm by the display. Flowers have appealed to human admiration and affection in all ages ; the exhortation to " consider the lilies" was not addressed to unsympathetic understandings ; but in other respects our aesthetic standard varies strangely from generation to generation. A curious illustration of this is given in an anecdote of Lancelot Brown, the architect and landscape gardener, commonly known as " Capability Brown." ^ It is said that Sir John Shaw Stewart, when he was planning his new house, employed Brown to lay out the park and plantations. A conspicuous and charming feature in the view to the north from the front door of the house is a steep, wooded hill called Idzholm, at the foot of which flows the little river Kip, much frequented by sea-trout. The silvan curtain over Idzholm is broken near the centre by a great grey crag, contrasting delightfully with the soft park scenery and surrounding cultivation. But that is not how Capability Brown viewed it. Unable to plant over the bare rock, he proposed to paint it green, so that, when viewed from a distance, it might present the appearance of a woodland glade ! Inconceivable, you will say, but in justice to Mr. Brown let it not be forgotten how greatly '"Capability Brown" died in 1783 ; the present mansion of Ai-dgowan was not begun till 1798, so the story perhaps had its origin in another designer. Brown, however, may have laid out the park before the new house was begun. 28 AEDGOWAN the country has altered since his day. That was an age when an English traveller returning to London from a tour in Scotland, described his impressions thus succinctly : " Bleak mountains and desolate rocks Were the wretched result of our pains ; The swains greater brutes than their flocks, The nymphs as polite as their swains." At the close of the eighteenth century, the greater part of Renfrewshire was brown moorland. Grey rocks were too common to be thought picturesque ; the landscape gardener's business was to make his em- ployer's park appear like a smooth oasis in the surrounding wilderness. In these our days, when every farmer's ambition is to make two blades of grass, or two turnips, grow where one grew before, we have changed our feeling in this matter. We pile up mimic crags and miniature alps in feeble imitation of the boulders and heather which our ancestors were at so much pains to get rid off, and pronounce that part of our pleasure grounds most delectable which most nearly resembles the primaeval wild. Rockeries, water-gardens, wild-gardens, bog- gardens — all are symptoms of reaction from excessive trimness and formality. Upon the new house was bestowed the name of Ardgowan, as the lands were called which Robert III. bestowed in 1403 upon his natural son Sir John Stewart, having previously given him the estates of Auchingoun and Blackball in 1390 and 29 SCOTTISH GARDENS 1395 respectively. All these lands have passed in male succession through six centuries to the present owner, but for five hundred years the knights of Ardgowan were content to live in the old tower of Inverkip, which is shown in Miss Wilson's drawing. It has been the scene of many a fierce conflict, being first mentioned in histor}^ in 1307 as the refuge of Sir Philip de Mowbray, one of Edward I.'s best captains, who, in May 1307, fell into an ambush, laid near Kilmarnock, by Good Sir James of Douglas. Barbour tells the story with much relish — how one of Douglas's men caught hold of Mowbray's scabbard, and must have captured him had not the belt broken, and so the English knight rode free. Tliarfor furth the wais tuk he then To Kihiiarnok and Kilwynnyn, And till Ardrossan eftir syu [afterwards]. Syn [then] throu the Largis him alane Till Ennirkyp the way has tane.^ The castle Avas "stufiit all with Inglismen" — that is, it held an English garrison, who received the fugitive " in gret dante." But if one yields to the temptation to dive into the annals of an old Scottish house, he will be led far astray from the matter of this volume, which is, or ought to be, horticulture, 1 Barbour's Bnis, Ix. 94-98. 30 WHITEHOUSE MIDLOTHIAN HE modest demesne of Whitehouse abuts upon the high road which, for the best part of a mile, flanks the old royal chace of Cramond Regis, now a country gentleman's spacious park, whereof the name has been altered by an unpoetical generation into Barnton. Whitehouse belonged of old to the Knights Templars. On the suppression of the Order in the fourteenth century, the lands were bestowed upon William Earl of Douglas, who, in turn, granted them to James Sandilands, husband of his sister Alianora, a lady who must be credited with extra- ordinary attraction, physical or other, seeing that she married five husbands in succession. From James Sandilands is descended the present Lord Torphichen, twelfth baron in the creation of 1564, who retains the superiority of Whitehouse, the reddendo, or annual feu-duty, being a white rose. After passing through several hands, the property was purchased by Mr. Mackay, the present owner, 31 SCOTTISH GARDENS who has renovated and enlarged the seventeenth century mansion with tasteful discretion. The chief features of the garden of Whitehouse are at their best, like daffodils, " before the swallow dares." Nowhere else in Scotland, and only in one place in England (Stocken Hall, Lincolnshire) have I seen such wealth of winter aconite. A belt of trees round the garden is thickly carpeted with them; they run through the ivy and grass, which sparkle with myriads of their little golden cups and dainty green frills ; only the surrounding stone walls and hard gravel paths suffice to keep them within limits. It was a day of sullen gusts and bitter snow showers when I visited Whitehouse ; the lawn of crocuses, which Miss Wilson has depicted so charmingly, was but a mass of tightly closed purple cones, for the crocus is too careful of its golden anthers and stigma to open except in full sunshine. To the crocus, as to most herbs which hold their blooms erect, is given the power of shutting out foul weather ; but the winter aconite heeds neither cold nor storm. Appearing above ground when the days are not long past their shortest, it seems determined to enjoy every ray of light that it can gather, before it obeys the law of its being, and goes to its long sleep underground throughout the summer and autumn months. Certainly that innumerable company of golden blossoms remains the one bright memory of that unkindly February day. 32 WHITEHOUSE It is a flower whereof enough use is not made by country lovers. Perhaps we despise it for being so cheap ; you can get a thousand of its gnarled tubers for a few shillings. But these require a little care in starting. Many people have been disappointed at the result of planting out tubers in a dry state as they come from a tradesman. They simply rot if they are set out in close turf The proper way to naturalise them is to grow them for a season in rows in rather a sandy border ; in the following spring, when the bloom is fading, take them up carefully with as much soil as will stick to them, and plant them where you would have them grow permanently. No place is more favourable than a hollow wood of deciduous trees, where the turf is not too dense. Here they will rapidly increase by seed and ofi^sets : rabbits will not touch them, and the display will be something to look forward to in the darkest time of the year. A newly introduced species, Eranthis cilicica, has been described as better than our old friend hyernalis. I cannot see wherein is its superiority ; the frill, instead of being bright grass green, has a bronze tint, undesirable at a season when verdure is particularly to be coveted, and as yet the plant is ten times the price of the other. Unlike the aconite, it is only in enclosed grounds like those of Whitehouse, where the accursed rabbit comes not, that the crocus can obtain and maintain a footing. Even so, the bulbs are often the prey of mice and voles ; but where these charming flowers D 33 SCOTTISH GARDENS can hold their own, they increase rapidly and provide a feast of colour every spring. A feast to which, as I was grieved to notice a few days ago, some people show strange indifference. On the outskirts of a small country town in south-western Scotland stands an old grey house, surrounded by about an acre of garden and pleasure-ground, upon which until twenty years ago, the owner used to expend much care, planting therein many a choice shrub and herb. He died ; the property passed into other hands and the garden into neglect. But the purple crocuses have taken possession of the whole turf, and, as I passed that way one bright March morning all the enclosure was steeped in Tyrian dye. All of it, except where a goat was tethered on the lawn ; which beast had browsed everything bare within the radius of its rope ! Surely, methought, the human retina is alike in all ranks and conditions of men, except the colour-blind. Is there not one member of this household who cares to prevent the marring of this exquisite display ? Matters are very different at Whitehouse, where the crocuses have taken possession of every available breadth of turf and are the pride and delight of the family. Miss Wilson has chosen for her subject the spot where these pretty flowers cluster thickly round an old sun-dial, which bears the inscription, Mr. David Strachan, 1732, the name of a former owner of Whitehouse. It might now be inscribed with a legend applicable alike to the dial and the sun- 34 WHITEHOUSE loving flowers — Horas non numero nisi serenas — " I take no account of hours that are not sunny." Like the dial, these crocuses are no afi'air of yesterday. Who shall declare how many generations of men have passed away since the original bulbs were planted. Brought thither they must have been by hand, for, although the purple Crocus vermis is admitted to the list of British plants, it is not native to North Britain. Spring after spring, for an untold number of years, they have multiplied and spread, covering the turf with their imperial flush. It may be that King James V. in his incognito wanderings may have noted the pretty flowers as he passed that way. For he had a pretty adven- ture just outside this garden. He was a monarch of many fancies, some of which were highly oflensive to Angus " Bell-the- Cat," and other haughty lords. Among these fancies, it was James's humour to wander about the country disguised as a peasant, or, at best, a bonnet laird. Thus, coming one day alone to the bridge of Cramond, he was beset by a party of gypsies, who were for relieving him of the contents of his pockets. All men went armed in those days, as constantly as do Albanians and Montenegrins at the present ; so the King out with his sword, and running upon the steep and narrow bridge, managed to make good his defence for a while. Yet numbers must have prevailed in the end ; and it was well for King James that a real husbandman, threshing 35 SCOTTISH GAEDENS corn in a barn hard by, heard the cries for succour uttered by the counterfeit. This man hurried up, flail in hand, and plied it to such good eflect that the robbers decamped. Then the peasant took the King, in whom he beheld but one of his own class, into his house, brought him water and a towel to wash away traces of the fray, and escorted him part of the way back to Edinburgh. As they walked, the King asked for the name of his deliverer. "John Howieson is my name," was the reply, " and I am just a bondsman on the farm o' Braehead, whilk belongs to the King o' Scots himsel'." " Is there anything in the world you would wish more than another for yourself?" asked the King. "'Deed, if I was laird o' the bit land I labour as a bondsman I'd be the blythest man in braid Scotland. But what will your name and calling be, neebour?" enquired the peasant in his turn. " Oh," replied the King, " I'm weel kent about the Palace o' Holyrood as the Gudeman o' Ballen- geich. I hae a small appointment in the palace, ye ken ; and if ye hae a mind to see within, I'll be proud to show ye round on Sabbath nixtocum, and maybe ye'll get a bit guerdon for the gude service ye hae dune me this day." " Faith ! I'd like that fine," said John, and on the following Sunday presented himself at the palace gate to enquire for the Gudeman o' Ballengeich. The King had arranged for his admission, and 36 WHITEHOUSE received him dressed in the same rustic disguise as before. Having shown John Howieson round the palace, he asked him whether he would like to see the King. "Aye, that wad I," exclaimed John, " if nae offence be gi'en or ta'en. But hoo' will I ken his grace ^ amang the nobeelity ? " " Oh, you'll ken him fine, John," replied the King, " for he'll be the only man covered amang them a'." Then the King brought his guest to the great hall where were assembled many peers and officers of state, bravely attired in silk and velvet of many hues, passmented with gold and silver lace. John had on the best clothes he had, but felt abashed amid so great splendour, and tried in vain to distinguish the King. " Wasna I having ye telt that ye wad ken his grace by his going covered," said James. J ohn took another look round the hall ; then turned to his guide, saying : " God, man ! it maun either be you or me that's King o' Scots, for there's nane ither here carryin' his bonnet." Then the secret came out, followed by the promised guerdon, which was no less than a grant to John Howieson and his descendants of the farm of Braehead, to be held of the Crown for ever, on 'The title of "Majesty" was first assumed in England by Henry VIII., and in Scotland was first applied to the monarch in Queen Mai-y's reign. Some may be disposed to regret the change, holding that grace is a more kingly attribute than majesty. 37 SCOTTISH GARDENS condition that the owner should ever be ready to present a basin and ewer for the King to wash his hands withal, either at Holyrood house or when crossing the brig o' Cramond. " Accordingly," says Sir Walter Scott in the Tales of a Grandfather, " in the year 1822, when George IV. came to Scotland, the descendant of John Howieson of Braehead, who still possesses the estate which was given to his ancestor, appeared at a solemn festival, and offered his Majesty water from a silver ewer, that he might perform the service by which he held his lands." Less seemly, but not less characteristic of the social system of the sixteenth century, is another memory connected with this place. The fourth Earl of Huntly, the great champion of the Roman Church in Scotland, had a brother, Alexander Gordon, who was Bishop-designate of Caithness from 1544 to 1548 ; elected Archbishop of Glasgow in 1550, his title was disputed and he resigned the see to the Pope in 1551. He was then created Archbishop of Athens, a sinecure, and became Bishop of the Isles in 1553, which see he held till 1562 together with that of Galloway, whereof he acquired the temporahties in 1559. He also held the abbacies of Tongland, Inchaflray and Icolmkill — whence it may be inferred that he was a peculiarly affluent prelate. He also showed sagacity in noting the signs of the times, for he turned Pro- testant, being the only consecrated bishop who joined the Lords of the Congregation at the Reformation. 38 WHITEHOUSE " But what," exclaims the perplexed reader, " has all this to do with the crocuses at Whitehouse ? " Only this, that the crocuses set a desultory mind astray among the memories of Cramond, and, at the time when this astute pluralist was attending the Court of Holyrood, there lived one David Logie at King's Cramond. With David lived a fair daughter Barbara, whom Bishop Gordon made his mistress, and had by her four sons, three of whom he succeeded in getting made bishops. But in one thing he did not succeed, though he tried hard. He never could get Barbara recognised as his wife, even after his change of religion released him technically from his vow of celibacv. 39 MONEEITH "WIGTOWNSHIRE NE writing about daffodils should fore- swear poetic quotation, were it only in common consideration for his readers. Nevertheless there is one practical point connected with this favourite flower rendering excusable a reference to a passage in the greatest of English poets. When Shakespeare wrote of daffodils That come before the swallow dares, and take The winds of March with beauty, he had in mind, not the March of our calendar, but March old style, which, according to Julian reckoning, was in the seventeenth century, ten days in retard of the Gregorian dates. Although the Scottish Privy Council decreed the adoption of the new style from 1600, it was not until 1751 that the British Parliament followed suit, passing an Act in that year which set matters in order by the omission of all dates between the 2nd and the 14th of September, 1752. Thus when The Winter's Tale was produced in 1611, Shake- speare's month of March corresponded to the period 40 MO.NRKlTll. MONREITH now rioted by us as extending from 11th March to 10th April, both inclusive. This puts the poet's chronology in harmony with our present experience : for the common daffodil is never at its prime till the beginning of April, even in early districts. In backward districts the full flush is not to be expected before the middle of the month. It was on the 2nd April that Miss Wilson made her study of daffodils at Monreith, and they would have made a braver show had she been able to wait till the following week. There is no plant, not even the rose, which has undergone more frequent transformation at the hands of the hybridiser than the daffodil ; but the natural species were perfect before man took to playing pranks with them, and I confess to thinking the new varieties no improvement on the old types. Those which have run riot through the Monreith woods are the common sort, Narcissus pseudo-narcissus, which is probably a native of England, and certainly revels in the humid climate of Scotland. One wants nothing better ; yet there are some varieties of this species which it would be folly to reject. The one known as bicolor, for instance, with a golden tube and broad, ivory-white segments, is quite as beautiful and as easily naturalised as the type, but it flowers a fortnight or three weeks later. Then there are the miniature forms, minor, nanus, and minimus, with tube and segments alike of rich golden yellow. These should be grown in borders, with such contemporary E 41 SCOTTISH GARDENS flowers as hepaticas, chionodoxa, early squills and dog-tooth violets. As for the double varieties, out upon them ! To quote Perdita once more — 111 not put The dibble in earth to set one slip of them. The sculptured design of this flower is so admir- able that it is sheer sin to let it be disfigured by doubling. Talking of daffodils, one cannot but breathe a thanksgiving to Nature for that she has furnished them with an infallible protection against the well- nigh omnivorous rabbit. One would suppose that the succulent green blades, pushing up through winter-slain herbage, were just the diet to whet the unholy appetite of these brutes. But they know better than to set a tooth to them. As the pro- tective agent in certain plants is very obscure, perhaps I may be allowed to quote here what I have said elsewhere on this matter. " In regard to daffodils, they ajjpear to be protected, not by any chemical poison, but by a purely mechanical agency which has been brought to light by the researches of the Rev. W. Wilks, editor of the Royal Horticultural Society's Journal. In February, 1905, he heard from a nurseryman, who grows daffodils for the flower trade, that men and boys employed to gather the flowers suffered from poisoned hands. He explained that after the men had been at work a little while, their hands became sore, gatherings forming under the finger-nails and wherever the skin was broken or chapped. This statement having been confirmed by another daffodil- 42 MONREITH grower, one of the largest in the trade, Mr. Wilks instituted research into the cause, and came to the conclusion that the irritant in the sap of the daffodil is not a true poison at all, but that the mischief is caused by small crystals of lime, called raphides, of which the sap is full. He recommends that people employed to gather daflfodils should oil their hands before setting to work, and rub tallow under their finger-nails. " Monreith has been in possession of the same family for 427 years. That it has been for a considerable part of that period a home of flowers, there is the evidence of a fine piece of tapestry to prove. This was the work of the wife of the third baronet (he died in 1771), who set herself to depict in applique the flowers growing in the castle garden. They were laid on a maroon ground to serve as a carpet — literally a parterre — for the castle drawing-room. A laborious task, but evi- dently a labour of love, so faithfully are the dame's favourites set out in a design of remarkable grandeur. A large basket of flowers forms the centre ; smaller groups fill the four corners, and round the carpet runs a continuous wreath looped with ribbons. Stowed away in a lumber room, this fine piece of work was unearthed thirty years ago. Moths had played havoc with the ground cloth, but the needlework was almost intact, and the colours fresh : skilful hands were set busy relaying the flowers upon cloth of an old gold colour, and the 43 SCOTTISH GARDENS piece now hangs on the wall of the ante-room in the modern house of Monreith. Among the flowers most easily recognised in the design are the madonna lily (which refuses to flourish with us now), the Isabelline lily, clove carnations, mullein, lupine, hyacinth, red primrose, auricula, polyanthus, guelder rose, anemone, moss rose, scarlet lychnis, pink geranium (its leaves variegated with white), convolvulus, sunflower, sweet-william, scabious, and Canterbury bells, whence one is able to form a good notion of the furniture of a Scottish garden in the eighteenth century. Strange to say, the common dafibdil is not among them ; the only re- presentative of the family being that double form of Narcissus incomparahilis which goes by the homely name of Butter-and-eggs. No doubt many of the flowers still adorning these grounds are borne on the same roots which furnished patterns for the gentle artist a century and a half ago ; for there is no fixed limit to the life of some of the humblest herbs. The oxlip may outlive the oak which overshadows it ; yonder massive sycamore may be but a child in years compared with the celandine that stars the bank at its foot, and who shall declare the " expectation of life " in the lowly stonecrop that creeps beneath our feet. The green mound, whereon stands the keep of the old castle, breaks out each spring on its south side with a constellation of white violets, wide-spread on the slope. They have long outlived the memory of 44 MONREITH her who planted them, for it is more than a century since the castle was inhabited. On the terrace at Monreith there is planted in clipped box the Psalmist's note of warning — Homo quasi jios egreditur et coyiteritur ; but those who covet length of days might willingly exchange terms of life with "the hyssop that springeth out of the wall." 45 GAETINCABER PERTHSHIRE HE whole plan and purpose of this book being to illustrate types of Scot- tish horticulture, the grandiose and elaborate have received no preference over the unpretending and simple. Any space of Scottish soil, be its dimensions cal- culable in roods or in acres, will serve our turn, so that it be an abode of flowers well tended, or at least, unspoilt, by its owner. Simple, indeed, is the garden design at Gartin- caber — a plain rectangle sloping pleasantly to the sun ; at the upper-end a sixteenth century tower, with nineteenth century additions naively contrived ; at the lower-end a clear pool, not ample enough to aspire to the title of " loch," yet, shadowed by dark firs on the far side, too comely to bear the common Scottish term " a stank.'" This walled enclosure is laid out in the old manner, subdivided by crossed paths, with a sun-dial at the crossing ; kitchen herbs and small fruits in the four quarters, 46 g.\rti\cabf-:k GARTINCABER with narrow selvage of flowering things, overhung here and there by aged apple trees. Nothing can have been further from the designer's intention than landscape efiect : use, not ornament, was his purpose, flowers being admitted in grudging con- cession to feminine frivolity ; but age has brought about delectable results — age, and the afl^ectionate tending of generations. Lofty holly hedges, such as John Evelyn praised, screen the litter in such comers where litter must be ; a few massive syca- mores add dignity to the scene in winter and shade from summer heat, without, as it seems, impoverish- ing the borders, for these teem with blossom to the very feet of the trees. But they are flowers of modest requirements — winter aconites and snow- drops, dafibdils and wind-flowers, bloodroot, violets white and purple, primroses and oxlips of many hues — all old friends, the older the better to be loved. On this mid-April morning in a late — a very late — season, what strikes one as most notable is the abundance of double white primroses on usually long footstalks, surely a strain peculiar to the place. I have dwelt on the simplicity of this garden, but every yard of it bears witness to afiectionate care, and in one respect this afiection has evinced itself in a manner reflecting agreeably the classical taste of a bygone age. Thus at the foot of the slope has been placed a wide stone bench, whereof the back bears this inscription : 47 SCOTTISH GARDENS HORTO QVEM • AMAMVS HANC • SEDEM • DONAVIMVS MARY HANNAH • ANNE ALICE FILI>E lOHANNIS • ET DOROTHE/t • MVRDOCH MDCCCCV.' And again : ILLE • TERRARVM ■ MIHI ■ PR/ETER • OMNES ANGVLVS • RIDET.- Tbe sun-dial in the middle of the garden is also inscribed with many legends, and bears on its base a dedication to Mr. and Mrs. Burn-Mnrdoch " on their golden wedding," from their grandchildren, Lorna, Dorothea, Ian, Marion, and Colin. It is no modern trait in the family, this pretty taste for inscribing stones. During the four centuries or thereby it has stood, the house of Gai'tincaber has owned no other lord than a Murdoch, and the dormer windows bear legends in relief ; on one, NoscETEiPsvM\ surmountcd by a thistle; on another a tag from Juvenal : MORS ■ SOLA • FATETVR QVANTVLA • SINT • HOMINVM • CORPVSCVLA,' under a man with a bent bow. ' " Mary, Hannah, Anne, Alice, daughtei's of John and Doi-othy Murdoch, have presented this seat to the garden which we love. 1905." Horto nobis di/ecto had been a more graceful rendering. '"This little corner pleases me better than all the world beside." Horace, Odes ii. 6. ' " Know thyself" — the Attic yviifii. (TtaiTiv. "Oh Atheniajis, your wisdom reaches us across the centuries ! We hear your murniui-ed messages — ' Know thyself,' ' Nothing in excess ■ ' We who have travelled so fai-, and yet so little, we who are still scaling the heights you reached — Athenians, we salute you ! " The Diary of a Looker-on, by C. Lewis Hind. * " Death alone discloses how feeble are the bodies of men." — Juvenal, Sat. x, 173. 48 GARTINCABER Again : TECVM • HABITA ■ ET • NORIS • QVAM SIT • TIBI • CVRTA • SVPELLEX.' The following sentiment : CONVIVAM ■ CAVEO • QVI SE MIHI COMPARAT ET • RES DESPICIT EXIGVAS,- may have been inspired by the haughtiness of some affluent neighbour ; the lord of Doune, perhaps, whose great castle, though now in ruins, still scowls defiance from the further shore of Teith. Even the latest addition to the old house bears its appropriate legend, the gable of the new draw- ing-room bearing one well expressing the spirit which has attached this family to its ancient home : I • DWELL ■ AMONG • MY ■ OWN • PEOPLE.^ Of the two avenues which, planted at right angles to each other, lead up to the house, the northern, consisting of two double rows of beeches, has been sorely wrecked by gales, but the west avenue is still intact, a remarkable and far-seen feature in the landscape. Running along the comb of a ridge, it is composed of lime trees which appear to be about 100 or 120 years old. The two rows are only fifteen feet apart ; and the trees, set very closely in the rows, have been drawn up to the height of a hundred feet. There is no nobler prospect in Scotland, none richer in historic association, than '"Live by yourself, and you will find out how ill-furni.shed is your mind." — Persius, iv. 52. ^"I am on my guard against the guest who draws comparisons between himself and me, and contemns my slender means." 3 2 Kings iv. 13. F 49 SCOTTISH GARDENS that commanded from the outer end of this avenue. Yon white tower, standing in the newly sown cornland, was built to mark the centre of the Scottish realm ; broad and fair around it spreads the fertile carse, through which the looped Forth winds its leisurely way. You may trace its gleams till they are lost in the blue haze on the east, where the sunlit Ochils, Stirling Castle, and Polmaise woods arrest the eye, only a little nearer than blood-boultered Bannock burn and Falkirk. All along the southern horizon stretch the flat-topped Lennox Hills and Campsie Fells, their outline presenting marked contrast to the tumultuous range on the north, where Ben Ledi and Stuc-a'chroin still wear their snowy hoods. Far on the west Ben Lomond rears its cloven cone, commanding outpost of the Highland host. Every feature in the land- scape has its story for the understanding eye, from northward Ardoch, where Julius Agricola has left enduring memorial of his conquest in the earthen ramparts of his camp, to nearer Kippen on the south, where Prince Charlie's Highlanders crossed the Ford of Frew when last Great Britain felt the throes of civil strife. A word about the Murdochs of Gartincaber. They trace their descent from one Murdoch, who rendered yeoman service to Robert the Bruce in his hour of need. In the early spring of 1307, the King of Scots was hiding in the Galloway hill country with a few hundred followers. King Edward's troops beset all 50 GARTINCABER the passes : escape seemed impossible, and Bruce caused his men to separate into small companies, so as to make subsistence easier. But he appointed a day when they were all to muster at the hill now called Craigencallie, on the eastern shore of lonely Loch Dee. Here, in a solitary cabin, dwelt a widow,^ the mother of three sons, each by a different husband, and named Murdoch, Mackie and MacLurg. The King arrived first, and alone, at the rendezvous. Weary and half-famished, he asked the widow for some food ; nor asked in vain, for, said she, all wayfarers are welcome for the sake of one. "And who may that one be?" asked the King. — " None other than Robert the Bruce," quoth the goodwife, " rightful lord of this land, wha e'er gain- says it. He's hard pressed just now, but he'll come by his own, sure enough." This was good hearing for the King, who made himself known at once, was taken into the house and sat down to the best meal he had eaten for many days. While he was so employed, the three sons returned, whose mother straightway made them do obeisance to their liege lord. They declared their readiness to enter his service at once, but the King would put their prowess as marksmen to the test before engaging them. Two ravens sat together on a crag a bowshot off; the eldest son, Murdoch, let fly at them and transfixed both with one ' The name Craigencallie signifies in Gaelic " the old woman's crag," and is cited in evidence of the truth of the legend. 51 SCOTTISH GARDENS arrow. Next, Mackie shot at a raven flying over- head, and brought it to the ground, and the King was satisfied, although poor MacLurg missed his mark altogether. In after years, when the widow's woi'ds had been fulfilled by Bruce coming to his own and being acknow- ledged King of Scots, he sent for the widow and asked her to name the reward she had earned by her timely hospitality. " Just gie me," said she, " yon wee bit hassock o' land that lies atween Palnure and Penkiln" — two streams flowing into Wigtown Bay. The King granted her request. The " bit hassock," being about five miles long and three broad, was divided between the three sons, from whom descended the families of Murdoch of Cumloden, Mackie of Larg, and MacLurg of Kirouchtrie. Cumloden re- mained the property of the family of Murdoch till 1738, when it was sold to the Earl of Galloway to discharge an accumulation of debt. The fine shooting of the founder of the family is com- memorated in the arms borne by his descendants, and duly enrolled in the Lyon Register, viz., Argent, two ravens hanging palewise, sable, with an arrow through both their heads fess-wise, p-oper. In the Justiciary Records of Scotland there is brief record of a horrible outrage perpetrated upon Patrick Murdoch of Cumloden in 1605. Robert and John, sons of Peter M' Do wall of Machermore, a near neighbour of Cumloden, were arraigned upon a charge 52 GARTINGABER of having seized Murdoch and his servant Peter M'Kie, and cut oflf their right hands. Peter M'Dowall was accepted as surety for his sons, who were liberated on their father's undertaking that they would appear for trial at Kirkcudbright, after receiving fifteen days' notice. But the M'Dowalls were a powerful clan. When the case was called at the assizes, a jury could not be empannelled, twenty-seven persons who were summoned preferring to pay the statutory fine rather than serve ; and we hear no more either of the malefactors or their victims. 53 PRINCES STEEET GARDENS EDINBURGH RAVELLERS have been heard to utter unkind things about the climate of Edinburgh, which has been much the same, I suppose, for the last thousand years ; and those who have not visited the city may have been deterred from doing so by its by-name of "Auld Reekie," which its inhabitants do not resent, albeit that of the " Modern Athens " may be more alluring. In truth, both the climate and the atmosphere are compatible with horticulture of a very high class ; for the first is no worse than the rest of the east coast, where there is no dearth of fruits and of flowers, and the second is singularly free from smoke for a town of 317,459 inhabitants. Edinburgh earned its name of Auld Reekie from no internal murkiness ; it was conferred by a famous golfer of the eighteenth century, James Durham of Largo, who, from his home in Fife, used to watch the chimneys of the capital, and, as Robert Chambers records, "was in the habit of regulating the time of evening worship by the appearance of the smoke of Edinburgh. When it increased in density, in conse- 54 PRINCES STREET GARDENS quence of the good folk preparing supper, he would say, * It is time, noo, bairns, to tak the Imiks and gang to our beds, for yonder's Auld Reekie, I see, putting on her nightcap.'" And the nickname was confirmed and made in-evocable by a later and greater authority than James Durham. " Yonder stands Auld Reekie," says Adam Woodcock to young Roland Graeme, "you may see the smoke hover over her at twenty miles distant, as the gos- hawk hangs over a plump of young wild ducks." ' Of fresh air and light there is no lack in modern Edinburgh. One longs to bring back Sir William Brereton, were it but to cause him to recant the harsh judgment he passed upon the city in 1636. " The slutti.shness and ua.stiness of this people is such that I cannot omit the particularizing thereof. . . their houses and halls and kitchens have such a noisome taste, a savour, and that so strong, as it doth offend you so soon as you come within their wall ; yea, sometimes when I have light from my horse, I have felt the distaste of it before I have come into my house ; yea, I never came to my own lodging in Edinburgh, or went out, but I was constrained to hold my nose, or to use wormwood, or some such scented plant." Much more and worse has this stern old Puritan to reproach the sanitation of Edinburgh withal ; but that was more than two centuries before Sir Henry Littlejohn appeared on the scene. = ' The Abbot, chap. xvii. - Sir Henry was chief sanitary authority in the city for forty-six years, retiring under the Civil Service age regulations in 1906 with a remarkable record of good work to his credit, and, it is to be hoped, many years of well-earned repose before him. 55 SCOTTISH GARDENS The series of Scottish garden types would be far from complete if it did not include a town garden, and certain it is that we Scots owe much gratitude to the municipal rulers of our metropolis for the admirable manner in which the ground along the south side of Princes Street is beautified. Miss Wilson's view is taken in the eastern garden, between the Doric temple on the Mound, upon which John Ruskin erewhile discharged the fluent vials of his wrath, and the great monument which, perhaps, owes its magnificence even more to the degree in which Sir Walter Scott's personal character endeared him to his countrymen as a man than to their recognition of his accomplishment as a poet. Adam Black, founder of the well-known firm of publishers, un- doubtedly deserved well of his fellow-citizens, for he was twice Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and worthily represented that city in Parliament ; but when they resolved to commemorate him they acted some- what unkindly in erecting his statue in such near proximity to the canopy which soars over the homely figure of " the Shirra," and practically eclipses the lesser monument. Impressively beautiful as she is in a degree beyond any other city in the British Isles, Edinburgh might have become still more so had men foreseen what modern methods of sanitation have rendered possible. When the city wall was razed after the middle of the eighteenth century, before the New Town had come into existence, the hollow between the Old 56 PRINCES STREET GARDENS Town and Princes Street was occupied by the Nor' Loch, a sheet of water which formed an important part of the military defences of the city, but which we may well imagine had become the ofleusive receptacle of the waste products of a growing popu- lation. Accordingly it was drained away, and a matchless opportunity for landscape gardening was lost for ever. Still, the great glen remained, capable of conversion into a green valley with pleasant groves ; but all this was irremediably marred when, in 1844, the North British Railway was driven through the old bed of the loch, filling all the air with smoke and dreadful noise. Down to this time, the eastern part of this ground had been let to a nurseryman or market- gardener ; but the Town Council now resumed posses- sion, building the terraces and parapets and forming the walks which complete the design of the Scott memorial. More and more care and money was applied to the adornment of what became known as East Princes Street Gardens, until, under the ad- ministration of Mr. John M'Hattie, they now present a really remarkable example of spring and summer gardening in the formal manner. All the greater credit is due to Mr. M'Hattie and his staff for this result because of the stormy position which these gardens occupy, fully exposed to the pitiless easterly gales which blow in from the North Sea with relent- less persistency. Miss Wilson's study was made in spring when G 57 SCOTTISH GARDENS tulips and wall-flowers display their vigorous hues. The eflect is softer in summer, when the tints blend with gentler gradation, but in autumn the borders flame out again with a blaze of chrysanthe- mums, carrying one well into the dark days which intervene before the coming of the crocuses. In 1876 the Corporation acquired the West Princes Street Gardens, hitherto reserved for the proprietors of houses ex adverso. These grounds are of very great extent, lying right up to the foot of the Castle Rock, and, although bisected by the broad railroad, have been converted into a veritable jjleasaunce, less formal in manner than the East Gardens, Under Mr. M'Hattie's care, great improvements have been eflfected ; hardy trees, shrubs, and herbs have been liberally planted, and many borders are devoted to spi'ing and summer bedding. Warmly must the Cor- poration and their servants be congratulated on the result of their enterprise. They have turned the land at their disposal to the very best account, and created a brilliant foreground to the Old Town and the Castle such as those who remember Princes Street Gardens forty years ago could never have anticipated. We can only sigh after the departed Nor' Loch when we reflect what a feature it might have been made when purified and committed to Mr. M'Hattie's skilful hands to work into his landscape. 58 BABERTON MIDLOTHIAN ABERTON is a tyiJical example of the kind of country residence erected in the eighteenth century by professional men whose business lay in the metro- polis at a time when all classes in Scotland were beginning to feel the beneficial effects of the legislative union between the richer and the poorer realm. Whether that be the origin of this pretty demesne or not, I know not for certain, having had access to no records of the past of Baberton ; but the house, viewed from outside, appears to be of the date indicated, with some pleasing architectural features characterising that period. Since its foundation, Edinburgh has spread far beyond her pristine limits, and the district has become thoroughly suburban ; but the owners of Baberton have managed to keep their neighbours at ample distance ; only a golf course impinges upon the south side of their demesne, which remains a silvan oasis in the suiTounding labyrinth of villadom. The garden lies within walls in the fold of a 59 SCOTTISH GARDENS shallow glen, forming two wings divided by a central wall. The northernmost wing, sloping fairly to the south, is just a herb garden in the old Scottish manner, with aged apple trees, grass alleys and borders well filled with summer flowers. In the southern wing, the buttresses of the outer wall supply a pretty feature, of which advan- tage has been taken to establish thereon stonecrop and saxifrage. From this a steep rustic path descends into the hollow, which Miss Wilson has depicted in its vernal brightness, with a glimpse of the more formal garden beyond. There is also some well-constructed rock-work on the steep bank, whereon a small collection of alpine plants are thriv- ing satisfactorily. The whole enclosure appears not to exceed an acre in extent, but careful cultivation and discriminating care have rendered it far more beautiful and interesting than many more ambitious and extensive gardens. 60 BABERTON. POLLOK RENFREWSHIRE N the year of grace 1270 or thereabouts Sir Aymer Maxwell of Caerlaverock granted to his third son, Sir John Maxwell, the lands of Nether Pollok in the county of Renfrew, from whom the present owner, Sir John Stirling Maxwell, is twenty-third in direct descent, through his grand- mother, who married Archibald Stirling of Keir. Six hundred and thirty-seven years have wrought much change in nearly every part of King Edward's realm, but nowhere has the landscape undergone more wholesale metamorphosis within a like period than in the valley of the White Cart. When Sir John Maxwell took possession of his estate in the thirteenth century, Glasgow was a modest hamlet, clustering round the brand-new cathedral of Bishop Joceline ; it has now overflowed upon 11,861 acres on both banks of the Clyde, which winds through the municipal area for a distance of five miles and a half. It is not only the land surface which has altered 61 SCOTTISH GARDENS in appearance, forest and crag making way for closely packed dwellings and factories : the Clyde and its lower tributaries were allowed to become so foully polluted that a lifeless, evil-smelling current flows where once the silvery salmon thronged up from the firth and innumerable water-fowl flocked for food. That is in process of being remedied by a painstaking municipality ; but who shall purge the sky of the smoke rising from the hearths of 780,000 inhabitants and the reek belched from a thousand factory chimneys and gas-works? Nor is that all that must be reckoned. In a wide circle round Glasgow have arisen police-burghs — Kinning Park, Govan, Partick, PoUokshaws, Cathcart, etc. — each with a population exceeding that of many a mediseval city, each with its smoke-producing industries, and only a little further afield is Paisley with 87,000 inhabitants, Johnstone with 12,000, Port-Glasgow with 18,000, Greenock with 68,000, all combining to darken the air ; and, as though that were not enough to discourage horticulture, all the land unbuilt on is threaded with railways, honeycombed with coal-pits, studded with smelting furnaces, pouring forth volumes of smoke night and day. So it has come to pass that from whatever quarter the wind sets, it is charged with the products of combustion — in other words, with coal smoke. This, as every forester, gardener and amateur can testify, is a relentless foe to almost every kind 62 POLLOK of vegetable life. Strange to say, mosses and lichens, humblest in the scale, succumb first, so that in all this region stones and tree stems are devoid of that kindly covering which always gathers upon them in a pure atmosphere. The next to suffer are trees themselves ; for although many fine elms, beeches, oaks, sycamores, ash, and even pines survive in this wide strath, these grew to maturity under conditions very different from those now prevailing, and the growth of young trees, especially couifers and oaks, is sorely checked and blighted by carbon deposit and sulphurous fumes. Nevertheless, horticulture dies hard ; the instinct of every man owning a garden is to obey the primaeval command " to dress it and to keep it " ; and Miss Wilson has chosen a scene in the garden at Pollok as an example of what combined skill and resolution may accomplish in the most forbidding environment. The subject of the picture is a terrace wall, con- structed only five or six years ago of ashlar masonry, with slits purposely left between some of the joints for the insertion of suitable flowering plants. The park of Pollok is but a green oasis round which Glasgow and the neighbouring burghs have flowed like a dark and rapidly rising tide. Yet here, on this terrace wall, within constant sound of steam hooters and whistles, steam hammers and pumps, you may see alpine flowers blooming as profuselj and with colours as clear as they do on the loftiest solitudes on earth and in the purest atmosphere. 63 SCOTTISH GARDENS The chief display when this picture was painted — in May — came from the varieties of Auhrietia with their hanging cushions of purple and mauve, and golden Alyssum. Common things, these, yet priceless in their effect and unfailing in the reward they make for attention to their simple wants. A month later, the purple and gold had been dimmed ; a rose-coloured mist had spread along the wall, created by different kinds of dwarf Dia7ithus and Silene, with the common sea-thrift of our shores ; while through the mist shone stars of Arenaria and many species of saxifrage and stonecrop. Dwarf bell flowers, also, spread blue curtains over the stones, among the most effective being the glaucous variety of Caw/panula garganica, known as hirsuta, C. pusilla and the hybrid " G. F. Wilson," C. muralis, which must now be sought for under the preposterous title of C. portenschlageana. All these are anybody's flowers, anybody's, that is, who has the wit to raise them from seed, for they are not particular as to soil {though most of them show gratitude for an admixture and occasional top- dressing of old lime rubbish), or climate, as their luxuriance in this Glasgow atmosphere amply testifies. But among these commoner things are herbs, if not of greater beauty, of greater rarity. Specially to be commended are the little Himalayan Potentilla nitida, with silvery leaves and delicate flesh-coloured flowers, like miniature Tudor roses ; Myosotis rupicola, an exquisite forget-me-not which likes to be wedged tightly into a rock crevice ; our native purple saxifrage 64 POLLOK S. oppositifolia, the golden-flowered S. sancta from far Mount Athos, the fragrant S. apiculata, thickly set with panicles of sulphur-coloured blossoms, exactly the hue of a wild primrose, in early spring ; and, earliest and finest of all, the snowy-petalled S. Bwrseriana. Then the encrusted section of rock-foils, bewildering in variety, delight in such a position, growing into such exquisite bosses and wreaths that one almost grudges the profusion of their bloom, which conceals the delicate carving of theii' foliage. It is wonderful how readily these and other mountaineers adapt themselves to their unpromising environment. The truth is that, like the red deer, they have taken to the mountain tops because they have been crowded out of the low country, where they were overwhelmed in competition with other herbs ; so they survive only in places where their constitution enables them to endure conditions unfavourable to rank vegetation. A notable and oft-quoted example of this is the common thrift, which is found all round our coasts at sea level and on the summits of some of our highest mountains, both these situations being unfavourable to the majority of lowland vegetation ; but one may search in vain for a single specimen of thrift between these two extremes. That it would thrive anywhere is proved by the ease with which it may be cultivated in gardens at any level ; cultivation, in this inscance, amounting to no more than the suppression of com- peting vegetation. H 65 SCOTTISH GARDENS In planting a terrace wall like that at Pollok it is necessary to raise seedlings or cuttings which may be inserted while still small in the crevices of the masonry. After being settled in their places they drive their roots to almost incredible distance into the solid earth behind the wall, which protects them alike from summer drought and trying varia- tions of temperature in winter, while the vertical surface ensures rapid drainage and protection from frost. The narrow border at the wall-foot provides a congenial home for choice bulbous and other plants, which, if carefully selected, may keep up a con- tinuous display almost throughout the year. The list of suitable plants for this purpose might be made a long one. The following one contains sug- gestion for a small collection which may be added to at pleasure, suitable for a northerly climate. December to March — Iris reticulata and persica. Cyclamen coum and vernum. Eranthis hyemalis. Hepaticas in variety. A donis amui -ends. March and April — Scilla sibirica, ammna and hifolia. Chionodoxa Lucilioe and Sardensis. Narcissus minor and other dwarf daffodils. Crocus in variety. Erica carnea. 66 r POLLOK Anemone hlanda. Calliantheinum mtcefolium. Erythronium in variety. MuHtari Szovitzianum and other choice species. Fritillaria aurea. Tulipa 'pulcJiella, Lownii, saxatilis, etc. Sisyrinchium grandifloruin. Primula rosea and denticulata. May and June — Tulipa Greigi, Unifolia, etc. Daphne Gneorum and Blageana. Miiscari " Heavenly Blue." Sanguinaria canadensis. A7iemone nennorosa var. Rohinsoniana. Incariyillea grandijiora. Hyacinthus amethystinus. Ranunculus ainplexicaulis. Scilla verna. Sierembergia rivularis. Polygonum sphceroceph alum. Delphinium nudicaule. Ornithogalum nutans. Iris pumila and other dwarf species. Primula luteola, sikkimensis, etc. July and August — Hypericum fragile and reptans. Gaidtheria trichomanes. Allium pedeinontanum and other choice dwarf species. Erica Maweana. 67 SCOTTISH GARDENS Andromeda poli/oUa. Ajiof/iatheca cruenta. Primula capitata. Sej^tember and October — Colchicmn speciosu7n and other choice species. Crocus speciosus and other choice species. Polygonum vaccinifolium. Cyclamen europceum and lihanoticum. Cornus canadensis. November and December — Schizostylus cocci^ieus. Hellehorm altifolius. Primroses, garden varieties. 68 STONEFIELD ARGYLLSHIRE (ELO FAVENTE— weather permitting— the shores of Clyde and the Kyles of Bute present constantly shifting scenes of beauty to those who go down to the sea in the fine ships the lona, the Columba or the Grenadier; but of the many thousands who take their pleasure in this way every summer, what a small percentage suspect what treasures are stored in the sloping woods on either hand. No English gardener will believe, till he has seen for himself, what luxuriant growth of tender exotics can be produced on the west coast of Scotland, wherever it is possible to provide shelter from Atlantic gales. The fierce winds and mighty rollers that waste their fury for weeks together on the rock-bound western isles, can work no ruin in the long, narrow fjords which intersect the mainland. I was prepared, there- fore, to find evidence of a very gentle climate along the shores of Loch Fyne ; but what I found exceeded all anticipation. If you look at the map of Argyll, you will see 69 SCOTTISH GAEDENS that the promontory of Cantyre, a finger of land about forty miles long and, on an average, not more than seven miles wide, only escapes severance from the mainland by means of a strip of ground a mile wide. When Malcolm Canmore ceded to Magnus Barefoot, King of Norway, all the islands "between which and the mainland he could pass in a galley with its rudder shipped," the Northman secured Cantyre by running his craft ashore at the head of West Loch Tarbert, and causing it to be drawn on rollers across the isthmus to Loch Fyne, with his own hand on the tiller. Three hundred years later, Robert the Bruce repeated the feat, in token of his lordship of the Isles, and built a keep at the eastern end of the portage, which still presides, grim and time-worn, over the snug little town of Tarbert, with its tortuous, but profound, harbour. These incidents are commemorated in the name of the place, Tarbert signifying " boat draft " or portage, from the Gaelic taruinn hada. North of the isthmus lies the district of Knapdale, near the southern extremity of which is Mr. George Campbell's fine demesne of Stonefield, facing the blue waters of Loch Fyne on the east and sheltered from prevailing winds by high ground on the south-west and north-west. To enumerate half the rare forms of vegetation which thrive among the ample woodland of Stonefield would fill a very long chapter. Readers will kindly be content with the bare notes of a visit paid to these gTOunds in mid-April. 70 •S:.'r^le of successful culti-sa- tion. The flowers are but those whose constitution enables them to survive neglect and run wild ; but the drawing illustrates so well those gleams and flashes of colour which we sometimes see reflected from a forgotten past, that I could not rind it in my heart to put it aside. In this instance the colour comes from two species of Tropi\3olum — namely, the annual Indian Cress {T. iiasturtiuin), and the perennial T. specioMim, which cottagers sometimes call, by easy transposition of consonants, the " petroleum plant." Both of these are natives of South America, and, like many others 178 LECKIE from the same region, adapt themselves with re- markable readiness to the cool soil and humid air of the north. The exquisite beauty of the perennial species, with its delicate leafage, festoons of carmine blossom and blue berries, has been the despair of many English amateurs ; for there are very few places south of Yorkshire where it will consent to flourish. Yet it is very capricious ; establishing itself some- times in the most unexpected way and in the least likely environment. Thus in Mrs. Benson's beautiful garden at Buckhurst in Sussex, on a dry, hot soil, this tropaeolum has possessed itself of some of the borders, over-running shrubs and walls as wantonly and irresistabl}^ as in any Scottish cottage garden. Leckie, like most places in this central plain of Scotland, is rich in historic association. It belonged once to King Robert the Bruce, who, in 1326, gave half the lands to his ancient ally Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, receiving in exchange two plough-gates of land at Cardross on the Clyde,^ where he built him- self a country house and spent his declining years in the usual pursuits of a country gentleman — hunting, hawking, farming and yachting. It was at Leckie that Prince Charlie lay after Lord George Murray had routed General Hawley at Falkirk. It was the last house he occupied in the Lowlands, setting forth thence in the dark days of January, 1746, on his ill-starred march to the north, where his star was to be quenched for evermore on Culloden Moor. ' Not Cardross on the Forth, which is only a few miles east of Leckie. 179 DALZFJJ. ( ASTLE l,AN AUKSHIKK T is told of a (listiiinuislu'd l^'rciiclmian who ai)|)lic'(l liimseir rcsolutolv to uiastor the anoiualios of Kuglish oitlio, that!" Ki|ually deceitful is the pitfall ting It'or the southerner who mispronounces tlu> name Hal/ell according to its spelling. t)r, as he or she may feel disposed to ])ut it, pronounces it according to the misspelling. The correct pronunciation is attained simply by naming the consonants d l, with stress on the 1-. '• Then, why on earth, ' grumbles the English visitor, "cannot Scotsmen spell names as they wish them pronounced r' To w'hich fair rejoindtM- might be made by referring to such Knglish names as Worcester, Cirencester, etc. ; only that is the fu quoqiu; 180 DALZELL CASTLE form of argument — scarcely courteous, I trow ; so it may be explained that in the old Scottish alphabet the character z did not represent the soft sibilant as in " zebra," but the consonantal y, as in " youth," to distinguish it from the vowel y, as in " syllable." If you press nie further and inquire how "Dal" can fairly be supposed to represent the sound " dee," I am driven to retort that it is no whit more absurd than to uTite " Pontefract " when you mean one to read " Pomfret." So we start fair, you see : and having settled that point, let us look into Lord Hamilton's pretty Clydeside garden. It is formed in terraces cut in the steep side of a deep and rocky gorge, through which a burn brawls impatiently to join the sweeping Clyde. Quoth William Cobbett, who paid a visit to Dalzell in 1832, " Here, were I compelled to live in Scotland, would I choose to reside." Since that time seventy — nearly eighty — years have run, to the mighty detri- ment of the atmosphere ; for the development of mining, smelting, and malodorous industries in variety has greatly altered for the worse the aspect of this part of Clydesdale. Scarcely Avould Sir Walter Scott recognise the groves round neighbouring Cambus- nethan, where there is a railway station, solemnl}' placarded as " Tillietudlem," in compliance with the unconscious decree of the Wizard of the North. But what Dalzell has lost in environment it has gained in the charm of contrast. You step oflF the tram midway between the busy hives of Motherwell 181 SCOTTISH GAEDENS and Wishaw, enter the park gate, and you have not passed far beneath an avenue of limes before you have exchanged an atmosphere pulsating with industry and pungent with its waste products into one vibrating with the song of birds and redolent of hawthorn and lilac. On the way to the flower garden you pass some fine trees — notably, an im- mense oak close to the castle. It separates into several great branches at ten feet above the ground, and is not remarkable for height ; but it contains an enormous bulk of solid timber, the bole at its narrowest part measuring twenty-four feet in girth. It is a deceptive tree in one respect. At first sight I judged it to be of the sessile-flowered variety, which is the prevailing native form in the western districts of Scotland ; and this impression was confirmed by the fact that the leaves were set on foot-stalks. But closer inspection showed that the flowers were also on long foot-stalks, that the leaves had " auricles " or little rounded flaps at the base, and that they were perfectly smooth on the back, without the pubescence which the sessile oak invariably has in greater or less quantity. This tree, therefore, belongs undoubtedly to the pedunculate race. The flower garden is set on the terraces on the south side of the house, and very charming it is, with a happy combination of formality and freedom. Miss Wilson has chosen her subject on the upper terrace, when the Dutch borders, deeply bordered with box, were aglow with begonias. I followed her 182 DALZELL CASTLE in early summer, before the bedding out had taken effect, but there was plenty to please the eye and awaken interest. The terrace walls were so beauti- fully embroidered in parts with aubrietia, rock-roses, arabis, wall-flowers, saxifrages, dianthus, and such like, which had been inserted as seedlings in the chinks of the masonry, and had grown into hanging cushions, that one could not but wish that some of the ivy, of which there is over-much to please a gardener, might be cleared off in favour of choicer growths. The terrace stairs are neither prim nor kept too scrupulously bare. On the contrary, saxifrages, bell- flowers and yellow corydalis enliven every step and joint, with here a springing fern or foxglove, and there a hanging clematis. There is just enough allur- ing disarray to soften the architectural preciseness of the design. The lower terrace is even more delightful, for here a broad grass walk is laid between two long- herbaceous borders. Woad tosses its golden spray amid troops of iris, and woodrufl" wafts its delicate incense from every waste corner. And to complete the charm, the sound of running water is ever in one's ears, rising from the burn far below, where, in a grassy glade, Gunnera spreads her broad sails, to be viewed, as so seldom they are aright, from above. On the further cliff", the woodland mantle parts broadly here and there to display great bays of rhododendron. They are chiefly the common R. ponticwn, a plant with which familiarity has bred 183 SCOTTISH GAEDENS something stronger than contempt ; but viewed from afar in this way nothing could be more beautiful than those great pools and channels of soft rose interrupting the surrounding verdure. The beauty of this garden is greatly enhanced by its unison with the castle perched above it, which, originally built by the Dalzell, Earl of Carnwath, was sold in 1647 to James Hamilton, second son of John of Orbiston, who built wings to the old keep. Too many similar houses either have been abandoned for more commodious mansions and been sulfered to moulder in dishonoured neglect, or have been unskilfully and inharmoniously enlarged to meet the requirements of modern households. Dalzell Castle has escaped both these indignities. The original keep, grimly and massively defensive, with walls seven feet thick, received large additions in the picturesque style of the seventeenth century. Imminent was the danger of disfigurement when it was determined to make it yet larger in the mid- Victorian era — an afiluent period which was so fatal to many a historic pile ; but the late Lord Hamilton was gifted with a nice judgment in matters structural and decorative, and also had the rare advantage of co-operation with R. W. Billings, who, for three whole years, devoted his rare knowledge and skill to enlarg- ing and beautifying the old house, leaving it so that neither antiquaries, esthetes, nor landscape gardeners can find foothold for a single unkind comment. The castle occupies a site close to the Roman 184 DALZELL CASTLE military road, known as Watling Street, and anti- quaries may hear, with less or more scepticism, that the garden summer-house was built in 1736 on the site of a Roman camp. The spacious grounds beyond and around the terraces are planted with many choice trees and flowering shrubs. Never have I seen such abundance of pink and crimson hawthorn — pity 'tis that the lord of this fair demesne should miss them in their prime, for, like the Laird o' Cockpen, " His mind it ta'en up wi' aflFairs o' the State " at this season. Midway between the house and the kitchen garden is a well-ordered rose garden, sheltered from cutting winds by thriving conifers, deciduous trees, and hybrid rhododendrons. Two very shapely scarlet oaks add much grace to this part of the grounds. A dell near the carriage drive has been planned as a bog garden on a scale exceeding the means of keeping rampant growth in restraint. Coarse herbs almost invariably get the upper hand in such places to the obliteration of lowlier plants, and I saw little to enjoy here except bamboos, Siberian iris, and double lady's smock. It is a place to suit Primula japonica, which, when first brought to this country in 1874 was priced at 30s. a piece, but can now be grown in profusion by scattering the seed in moist places. The original strong crimson of this flower, dangerously near magenta, has broken into a variety of charming tints of pink, cream, and lavender. z 185 BARNCLUITH LANARKSHIRE I^ARNCLUITH, or Baron's Cleugh as it used to be, and should be still called, is in the same densely-peopled, clangorous, tram-ridden, smoke-shaded district as Dalzell, lying scarcely outside the mining and manufacturing town of Hamilton, as Dalzell does outside Motherwell. But the seclusion of one is as perfect as that of the other, owing to the precipitous nature of the glen where it is built and the luxuriant greenwood which clothes the clifls on each side of the Avon. Like Dalzell also in this, that it owes its erection to a Hamilton, namely, John of Broomhill, ancestor of the present Lord Belhaven, who built the triple dwelling house in 1583. Dorothy Wordsworth dismissed it in a sentence, devoting pages to describe the oppressive splendour of Hamilton Palace on the other side of the high road ; but it is certain that neither she nor her husband can have penetrated this delectable pleasaunce, for no poet might view unmoved such a felicitous fusion of art with nature. In good truth the approaches to 186 BAKNCIAITH. BARNCLUITH Barncluith are the reverse of promising. You turn o& the tram Une to the east of the town, and follow for half a mile or so what was once a country lane, but is now a partly-built line of small villas or large cottage dwellings. Great trees have been uprooted to make wa}^ for these, the roadway is worn into deep ruts in the course of transition into a common street, along which you proceed until, with dramatic suddenness, the scene changes. The way parts in two, passing on either side of a row of the weirdest sycamores you ever saw. Stretching their immense arms across both roads, these half dozen venerable giants remind one of the fantastic growths in Salvator Rosas impossible forests. The right-hand road leads up to the gate- way which admits to Hamilton High Parks, where the wild white cattle still browse beneath the gnarled oaks of Cadzow Forest ; the one to the left descends to another gate, within which round a narrow plateau of closely-mown sward, stand at diflferent elevations the three houses which form the mansion of Barncluith. One is puzzled to understand why there should be three, instead of but one, nor have I met anybody who could explain the mystery ; howbeit, the resulting effect is picturesque in the highest degree. "Barncluith," says Mr. Neil Munro, "is of all the ancient dwellings in that romantic neighbourhood the one which should most bewitch the angler ; it was so obviously built for peace and an artistic eye and the propinquity of good fishing, while all the others were built for war." 187 SCOTTISH GAEDENS But you will hasten forward to view the garden — not that modern arrangement of parterres which occupies the farther end of the plateau, which, indeed, is bright enough with roses and summer flowers within a girdling yew hedge, fantastically carved according to the archaic craft of toxidendry, but that other garden to the west of the house where the ground falls sheer to the sparkling Avon two hundred feet below, whereof Mr. R. S. Lorimer has written — " Barncluith is quite unlike anything else : a detailed description can convey but little idea of its charm. It is the most romantic little garden in Scotland. Lying on one side of a great wooded valley, it is a veritable hanging garden. Four or five terraces, one above the other, sticking on the side of a cliff the general angle of which is about 55 degrees. Two little summer houses, great trees of scented box, and the flowers gathered here you feel sure would be, not a bouquet, but a posy — such an atmosphere about the place. In the twilight or the moonlight destinies might be determined in this garden." The risk would not be less, methinks, at high noon, for there are alleys here and shaded bowers where Sol at his meridian can never do more than temper the green gloaming. It is not a garden wherein children could be turned loose to play, for the terraces are narrow — little more than dizzy ledges — with no guardian rail or breastwork to break or prevent a fall. The great extent of buttressed walls, with narrow borders at the foot, off'er the most fascinating field for the enthusiast in horticulture. At present ivy runs riot over far too much of the wall-space, which might 188 BARNCLUITH be occupied by au extensive collection of the choicest flowering shrubs. The borders also, eflfectively as they are stored with familiar things, such as rockets, stocks, poppies, wall-flower and ferns, present the most tempting variety of aspects to meet the requirements of every kind of hardy subject. This most enviable demesne has lately passed into the hands of a new owner (or at least occupier) for whom a most absorbing occupation lies await, if he has any turn for it, in improving these terraces into one of the most remark- able gardens in existence, horticulturally, as it is already architecturally. For the rest, these terraces are a fantasia of clipped yew and box. One need not grudge the labour spent on this somewhat barbarous form of decoration, albeit one may prefer a tree in the form which God has pre- scribed for it to one hewn laboriously into the shape of a peacock oi* a tea-pot. Nevertheless, there is time and money spent here upon what one cannot but regard as misdirected industry. For instance, the whole length of one of these terraces is occupied by no less than forty little square beds in the Dutch manner, each with its box edging, each enclosed with a gravel path. Weeding these paths and clipping this box must absorb a considerable amount of attention, without a corresponding spectacular result ; for the efiect would be far finer were these toy beds thrown into one long border, filled with the flowers of all sea- sons. They are designed, of course, for the separate cultivation of masterpieces of the florist's skill, and, 189 SCOTTISH GARDENS if employed in that way, would form a distinct and attractive feature ; but devoted as they are merely for the display of common flowers, the effect is meaningless and irritating. The delights of this garden are greatly enhanced by the lovely views up and down the winding Avon, and across to the rich woodland on the further shore. And over all reigns that sense of seclusion and repose which cannot fail to appeal to the hard-wrought man of affairs as strongly as to the habitual loiterer. 190 DUNROBIN SUTHERLAND UNROBIN CASTLE occupies on the east coast a position similar to that of Culzean Castle on the west. Each is built on the summit of a high sea cliff, the broad Moraj Firth stretches in front of one as the spacious Firth of Clyde does before the other ; and each has been in possession of the same family from a time anterior to any written record. We find, at least, no documentar}^ evidence of the ownership of Dunrobin previous to 1197, when the territory of Sutherland was forfeited by Harold Maddadson, Norse Earl of Caithness, for rebellion, and bestoM^ed by William the Lion upon Hugh, son of Freskin the Fleming. From this Hugh the present Duke of Sutherland traces direct descent through his great-grandmother, Elizabeth, daughter and sole heir of the nineteenth Earl of Sutherland. In yet another respect these two houses enjoy a common characteristic, inasmuch as the climate of Dunrobin is almost, if not quite, as favourable to the growth of choice and delicate vegetation as that of 191 SCOTTISH GARDENS Culzean, although Dunrobin is 280 miles further north than Culzean, and the winter of inland Sutherland is far more severe than that of Ayrshire. It is difficult to account for the peculiar clemency which distinguishes the shores of the Moray Firth, for that great inlet lies far out of the direct course of the gulf stream ; but certain it is that, wherever shelter can be provided from the furious winds which rage in this region during the winter months, all forms of vegetation display vigour and luxuriance in a remark- able degree. Robert Gordon of Straloch, geographer and cartographer to Charles I., took note of this. " Dunrobin, the Erie of Sutherland his special! residence, a house well seated upon a mote hard by the sea, with fair orchards, when ther be pleasant gardens jjlanted with all kinds of froots, hearbs and floors [flowers] used in this kingdom, and abundance of good saphorn [saffron], tobacco and rosemarie, the froot being excellent, and cheeflie the pears and cherries." One is disposed to murmur at the taste of an age which swept away this old garden and its contents, to make way for terraces and parterres on a grand scale in the Italian manner, when the second Duke of Sutherland en}arged the castle in 1845-51 ; never- theless, the ground lies so beautifully, the views from the terrace stairs are so commanding, and the trees crowd down so close to the tide, that the whole effect is very fine. At all events, we have here an example, scarcely to be surpassed elsewhere, of the art of horti- culture as it prevailed in the early Victorian era. Should the passion for cultivating rare plants ever 192 >*v DUNKOBIX. DUNROBIN overtake a lord of this stately demesne, soil, aspect and climate combine to assure him of an ample reward. In the garden of Dunrobin one cannot but be impressed, as in other historic Scottish houses, with a sense of contrast between past and present. Where everything seems so orderly and secure, it is good to remember the system of anarchy and violence which once over-rode all law. No part of Scotland was more fiercely riven with blood-feuds than the counties of Sutherland and Caithness. Administration of justice was, of necessity, committed to the barons, and, like all hereditary functions, was liable to gross abuse when it passed into unworthy hands. The chronicle of crime and terrorism in these counties is so confused, the actors in deeds of violence changed sides so often, that it is difficult to follow the intricate narrative. But in the six- teenth century two implacable rivals stand out among the ruck of minor marauders in the persons of the Earl of Sutherland and the Earl of Caithness. In 1514 the Earldom of Sutherland devolved upon Elizabeth, sister of John, eleventh earl. She married Adam Gordon, second son of the Earl of Huntly, and her husband became titular Earl of Sutherland. Adam, being a man of common sense, determined to put an end to the wasteful rivalry between the house of Dunrobin and the Earl of Caithness. Each had a common enemy in the clan Mackay, inveterate brigands, who raided the 2a 193 SCOTTISH GARDENS lands of both earls with fine impartiality. Adam made over certain lands in Strathiillie, now known as Helmsdale, to the Earl of Caithness, in consideration for assistance to be given against the Mackays. Caithness took possession of the lands, and straight- way joined forces with the Mackays, who, during Sutherland's absence in Edinburgh, made a destruc- tive raid upon the lands of Dunrobin. The countess was at home, however, and sent out her natural brother, Alexander Sutherland, who overtook the Mackays at Torran-dubh, near Rogart, and inflicted upon them a bloody defeat. " This," wrote Gordon of Straloch, "was the greatest conflict that hitherto lies been foughtin between the inhabitants of these countreyes, or within the diocy of Catteynes, to our knowledge." Alexander might have lived prosperous and popular after this, but his victory over the Mackays turned his head. He made alliance with the heredi- tary enemies of his house, marrying the sister of the very chieftain whom he had overthrown at Torran- dubh, and laid claim to the earldom of Sutherland, alleging that he was no bastard, but had been born in wedlock. He had a considerable following in the Sutherland clan, and, assisted by the Mackays, seized Dunrobin Castle when the Earl was again absent. The earl returned, however, raised his clan, recaptured the castle in which Alexander had left a garrison, and, in a subsequent raid by Alexander, took that gentle- man, struck off his head and stuck it on a pole on 194 DUNROBIN the top of Dimrobin Castle, " which shews us," says Gordon of Sti'aloch, " tha^ whatsoever by fate is allotted, though sometimes foreshewed, can never be avoyded. For the witches had told Alexander the bastard that his head should be the highest that ever wes of the Sutherlands ; which he did foolishlye inter- pret that some day he would be earl of Sutherland, and in honour above all his predecessors." For more than fifty years after this the two earls and their successors waged almost incessant guerrilla upon each other's lands and people, a condition of affairs far from unusual between country neighbours in Scotland during that troubled century, but accom- panied in this instance by deeds of more than common brutality. When Queen Mary came to the throne, John Gordon, twelfth Earl of Sutherland, known as " Good Earl John," held the upper hand ; but he was forfeited and banished in 1563 on a charge of complicity in the rebellion of his kinsman, the Earl of Huntly. After Queen Mary's abdication in 1567, he was restored by Act of Parliament, and returned to Sutherland with his third wife, widow of the fourth Earl of Menteith. During Sutherland's exile, you may be sure that the Earl of Caithness had not been idle. He had induced Sutherland's uncle, Gilbert Gordon of Gartay, to marry Isobel Sinclair of Dunbeath. Gilbert died, leaving one son, John, who lived with his mother at Helmsdale Castle, a lonely fortalice about thirteen miles north eastward along the coast from Dunrobin. 195 SCOTTISH GARDENS Sutherland, also, had but one son, Alexander, who alone stood between Isobel's son and succession to the earldom. Caithness persuaded his kinswoman Isobel that Alexander must be put out of the way. What will not woman dare and do for the sake of her son ? But more was wanted. A single murder would not suffice, for the Countess of Sutherland was known to be near her confinement. Caithness insisted that a clean sweep must be made of the whole brood. This was planned in the following way. In July, 1567, Isobel invited the Earl and Countess of Sutherland, with their son. Lord Alexander, to spend a few days at Helmsdale, that the young- lord might enjoy some sport with the deer in Strathullie. One evening she put poison in the ale prepared for supper. Sutherland and his countess drank of it, and were taken ill ; but Lord Alex- ander remained late on the hill and supper was finished before he and John Gordon, Isobel's son, returned. Sutherland, feeling the poison at work and suspecting the truth, dragged off the table- cloth, forbade his son to take bite or sup in that house of death, and sent him forward fasting to Skibo. The Earl and Countess managed to get to Dunrobin, where they both died within five days ; but not before their death had been avenged by a strange stroke of fate. Isobel, probably, had made some pretext to keep her son out of the supper- room ; but the lad, being thirsty and tired with hunting, sent a servant for a horn of ale, which he 196 DUNROBIN quaflFed, fell ill, and died after two days of agony. The wretched mother was taken by Sutherland's people, sent to Edinburgh for trial, was condemned to death, and only escaped execution by taking her own life in prison, after denouncing the Earl of Caithness as having commanded her to commit the crime. The said Earl was by no means diverted from his purpose by the miscarriage of his plot. The new Earl of Sutherland being under age, John Earl of Atholl was appointed his guardian, who most nefariously sold the wardship to Caithness himself, Sutherland's deadliest enemy, who carried the young earl off to the grim fortress of Girnigo, scene of innumerable and unspeakable cruelties. Even in that secret retreat, however, he did not dare immediately to attempt the life of his ward. As a preliminary, perhaps, he compelled him to marry his daughter, Lady Barbara Sinclair, a woman of open profligacy, the paramour of Mackay of Far. The bride was two-and-thirty ; the bridegi'oom only fifteen. Caithness then took up his abode at Dunrobin, where he destroyed all the Sutherland papers, and proceeded to administer his son-iu-law's estates, inaugurating a reign of terror, the memory whereof still haunts the hills and shores of this fair land. Many he drove from their homes by violence, slaying those who resisted and forcing others by inhuman tortures to surrender their property. He did not spare even his own son, the Master of 197 SCOTTISH GARDENS Caithness, who displeased him by showing too much mercy to the people of Dornoch, whom he had been ordered to massacre. He kept him in a dungeon at Girnigo for seven years, at the end of which the wretched man was put to a horrible death. His gaolers were two cousins of his own, David and Ingram Sinclair. Whether they wearied of their duty, or whether Caithness instructed them now to bring it to an end, certain it is that they left their prisoner without food for two or three days, then supplied him liberally with salt beef, gave him nothing to drink and left him to perish in an agony of thirst. The monster who could thus inhumanly treat his own son and heir was not likely to show much tenderness to him whom he had forced to become his son-in-law. Nor did he so. In 1569 Caithness left Dunrobin for Edinburgh, having given minute instructions for the assassination of the young Earl of Sutherland. The plot was betrayed to one of the Gordons, who collected a party and concealed them in Dunrobin Glen, not far from the castle. Alexander Gordon of Sidderay then went forward, disguised as a pedlar, obtained speech with Sutherland, warned him of his danger, and bade him come to the glen next morning. The servants of Caithness had instructions never to let Sutherland out of their sight ; but the young man managed to lead them to the appointed place, where they sprung the ambush. The Gordons overpowered the keepers, cut their 198 DUNROBIN throats, and carried off their chieftain to the strong castle of Strathbogie. Thereafter Sutherland managed to keep free from the clutches of his dangerous neighbour. Not only so, but he had no difficulty in obtaining decree of divorce against his wife, Barbara Sinclair, and in 1573 married Lady Jean Gordon, daughter of the fourth Earl of Huntly, the beautiful woman whom Bothwell had divorced in order to marry Mary Queen of Scots. Standing on the terrace above the garden at Dunrobin, one is on the very scene of these and many similar deeds which seem well-nigh incredible in our humdrum age. The keep still stands wherein the tyrant Earl of Caithness kept Sutherland a prisoner doomed to death, for it is incorporated in the great pile erected by the second Duke of Sutherland. From the same standpoint may be seen a memorial of a later age — the age of Gar- gantuan conviviality — in the shape of a large garden- house below the castle. This now is fitted up as a museum, and contains a fine collection of local antiquities and natural history ; but it served a different purpose in the eighteenth century. Hither the lord of the castle used to adjourn with his guests after an early dinner, to spend the long evening plying them with strong wine. Outside the servants assembled towards midnight on the broad stairway leading to this temple of Bacchus, the duty of each being to recover his master and lead (or carry) him to bed. 199 SCOTTISH GARDENS Thus " the old order changeth, yielding place to new." Each generation of men lives in a different fashion from the last ; but the blackbird's note in Dunrobin Glen — the plover's pipe on Dunrobin shore — the scream of the eagle on Beinn Dobhrain — the yelp of the fox on Creag-a-ghlinne — have changed no whit since the Norsemen first drew up their black kyuls on Golspie strand. Yet there is one sound which the people of these glens once had good reason to recognise with dread, that is no longer heard hereabouts — the howl of the grey wolf It was at the very close of the seventeenth century that some sheep were destroyed in the Glen of Loth, about half way between Dunrobin and Helmsdale. At first this was believed to be the work of dogs, for it was supposed that the last of the wolves had been killed two or three years before in Assynt and Halladale. But an old hunter named Poison, living at Wester Helmsdale, recognising the real character of the culprits, set out with his son and a herd laddie to explore the recesses of Glen Loth. This is a place of many memories, for here, where the Sletdale burn joins the Loth, are the standing stones of Carrickachlich, Cairnbran, where Fingal's good dog Bran lies buried, and the holy well of Tobermassan. In the ravine of Sletdale Poison found his quest in the shape of a rift in the rocks, with the ground well trodden into a track leading into it. The fissure widened inwards, but was too narrow to admit a full-grown man ; so, 200 DUNROBIN having first failed to rouse what inmates thei^e might be by throwing in stones, the two lads were sent in to explore the cavern, while Poison kept watch out- side. Sure enough, they found a litter of fine whelps, and shouted news of their discovery to Poison. "Kill them quickly," he cried, poking his head into the crevice, " and come away." Just as he withdrew his head, a great she wolf, which had come up unobserved, dashed past him into the hole. Luckily, he managed to catch and keep hold of her bushy tail, which he twisted round his left arm ; but it required the force of both arms to hold the maddened brute ; Poison dared not loose his right hand to draw his knife, and his gun was out of reach. His son, all unaware of the mortal struggle outside, cried out from inside — " It is dark here now, father ; what is stopjDing the light from us ? " "You'll soon know," answered Poison, "if the root of the tail was to break ! " After this had gone on for some time, the wolf lay still for a moment or two to gather strength ; Poison made a snatch for his knife, and stabbed the animal in the hind-quarters, which made her turn and attempt to come out of the hole. But the hunter had the powerful l)east at a disadvantage ; keeping her jammed between the rocks, he managed to plant his blade in a vital part, and the last wolf in Sutherland shed its life- blood on the rocks and heather. 2 b 201 STOBHALL PERTHSHIRE N one respect the beautiful house of Stob- hall impresses one witli melancholy. It is a notable and commendable example of the manner in which ancient archi- tecture should be preserved from the ravages of our most edacious climate ; but it is no longer "a home," except for the caretaker, whose presence only seems to accentuate the silence which reigns undisputed where of old — " Joy was within and joy without, Vnder that wlonkest waw [splendid wall], Quhair Tay run down with stremis stout Full strecht vnder Stobschaw." The lands of Stobhall were granted by Robert the Bruce to Sir Malcolm Drummond after the great victory of Bannockburn, when so many of English Edward's barons were dispossessed of their estates in Scotland. It was the birthplace of Sir Malcolm's great-granddaughter, Annabella, who became Queen of Scots by her marriage with Robert III. It has descended through a long line of Drummonds to its 202 STOBHAI.L. STOBHALL present owner, the Earl of Ancaster, whose abode is in Strathearn, at Drummond Castle, famous for its architectural garden and terraces. Some might deem that garden more worthy than Stobhall of a place in this series, but it has been made the subject of so many essays and illustrations that we have given preference to the lonely and less well- known house in Strathtay. In truth, there is little that can be called a garden at Stobhall, only the place once bright with summer flowers, whereof a few, such as the grey asters in Miss Wilson's picture, have clung to the soil, mark- ing the change of seasons as the old sundial does the fleeting hours, till hours and seasons together roll up into centuries. Perhaps the place is fairer in its desolation than it ever was when it teemed with busy life. Certes, it would be difiicult to find in all Scotland a more enchanting scene than I beheld one May morning on visiting this spot. The pearl-grey walls of the old house gleamed softly in the sunshine, deeply mantled in the fresh verdure of sycamore and beech. Steeply sloped the green- sward to the river, starred and wreathed with late narcissus, purple orchis, and myriad humbler blooms. Far below where I stood, the Tay, lordliest of Scottish rivers, swept in smooth curves, shimmering in the light, glowering in the shade, to fling itself in sudden tumult over the Linn o' Campsie. And all around, far as the eye could range, was wealth of woodland, ancient trees and affluent tillage. 203 SCOTTISH GARDENS What a paradise of flowers might be created here ! which, after all, is but a sorry pretext for including among Scottish gardens a place where a garden was, but is not. Our excuse is that Stobhall remains in its desolation one of the most fascinating places in the realm. Those who are curious in architecture will find in the buildings interest that they miss in the garden. As at Barncluith, instead of a single man- sion there is a group of detached dwellings, the oldest and chief of them bearing the date 1578, and containing a remarkable chapel and rooms for priests. The ceiling of the chapel is in five compartments, each painted with figures on horseback, except one, which represents Rex Mauritanse mounted on an elephant. This decoration, coupled with the profu- sion of heraldic devices and the repetition Drummond motto Gang Warily, recalls the coloured roofs of the Chateau de Blois, with the everlasting sala- mander of Franqois I"^ One cannot be too grateful to the family which has so faithfully preserved this choice example of the Scottish renaissance. 204 RAEDEN HOUSE ABERDEENSHIRE OBERT, by the grace of God King of Scots, ill the course of the strenuous years when he was making good his claim to that exalted title (being as yet recognised by the Pope and King Edward of England only as the rebel Robert de Brus, sometime Earl of Carrick), did receive no little encouragement and support from the burgesses of Aberdeen ; whereof he made due note at the time. Certain monarchs have been known to do the like under similar stress of circumstances, yet have they failed to consult their tablets after the fortune of war has put it in their power to recompense such services. But Robert the Bruce had ever a warm heart and a liberal hand. Moreover, the expulsion of English landowners furnished him with ample means for rewarding his adherents ; wherefore, when the King had come to his own, the royal burgh of Bon Accord was among the first to receive substantial recogni- tion of help rendered in time of need. Upon the burgesses and community was conferred a royal 203 SCOTTISH GARDENS charter, confirming them in possession of their burgh and infefting them, their heirs and successors for ever, as owners of the royal forest of the Stocket, saving only to the Crown the timber growing in the said forest and such beasts of the chase as might chance to he found therein. Were good " King Hobbe " (as Edward Long- shanks used in derision to nickname his doughty opponent), permitted to revisit Aberdeen, it would be fine to watch his puzzled countenance as his eyes roved in vain quest for some familiar landmark. All, all is changed; only the river runs in its accus- tomed course. As for the forest, so earnestly have the Aberdonians exercised the right conferred in their charter of erecting " dwelling-houses and other buildings," that one can but guess now where were its precincts. Streets and terraces climb the braes where of old the stag couched and the red fox prowled, a state of things whereof the memory lingers in the name of Mr. Barclay's pretty resi- dence, Raeden House — the lair of the roe. It was once the property of Provost More, who built himself here a country residence towards the end of the eighteenth century, and enclosed with high walls of lasting granite, faced with brick, an ample garden. House and garden are now sundered, the latter being occupied by a market-gardener ; and Mr. Barclay has filched from his pasture land the flowerbeds which Miss Wilson has depicted in their autumn glow of chrysanthemums. It is a charmingly tran- 206 RAEDEN HOUSP:. RAEDEN HOUSE quil retreat, for although the tide of villas has flowed around it, and continues to flow, fine old trees confer a venerable appearance upon the mansion, and completely screen it in sequestered dignity from the world of trams and pillar boxes outside. It would be diflicult to contrive a climatic contrast more rapid and complete than I experienced in leaving London on a dripping, smoke-laden even- ing in June, and arriving next morning in brilliant sunshine at Aberdeen. The all-prevailing granite of the northern city (Aberdeen possesses the only granite-built cathedral in the world) sparkled clear and clean-cut in the morning rays ; neither streets nor houses bore any suggestion of the grime and mud engrained upon those of London, and the drive out to Raeden lay through suburbs wreathed in verdure and garden fronts gay with Clematis montana, laburnum, hawthorn red and white, lilacs, Weigelia and hybrid rhododendrons. True, there was a "snell" north wind ; but nothing could dim the brightness or stint the abundance of blossom on tree and shrub and herb. 207 COCKER'S NURSERY ABERDEEN AS8ING from Raeden House over the hill-top known as the Cocket Hat, one comes upon a wide extent of nursery ground ; and, forasmuch as our series of Scottish garden types would not be complete without a sample of commercial horticulture, Miss Wilson has chosen a comer of this ground called Honey Braes, which forms a litting subject for her art. The day may come when this drawing may have an interest more than aesthetic ; for already this part of the nurseries has been marked off in building plots, and the red-roofed house is doomed to disappear at no distant date. It was under these red tiles that Mrs. Byron {nee Catherine Gordon of Gight) lived with her son George, whom she described to her sister-in-law, Mrs. Leigh, as being "very well and really a charming boy" in 1791. Seven years later the " charming boy " succeeded his great-uncle, the " wicked Lord Byron," as sixth Lord Byron, with such results upon English literature as we wot of It suggests cui'ious commentary upon 208 COCKER'S NURSERY early training and what surprises may await those who calculate upon its result, to read Byron's notes upon his start in letters. " I had," he says, " a very serious, saturnine, but kind young man, named Pater- son, for my tutor. He was the son of my shoemaker, but a good scholar, as is common with the Scotch. He was a rigid Presbyterian also." The owner of this nursery, Mr. James Cocker, is an enthu.siast in his profession, one in whose company an eager amateur will find no summer's day too long. Field by field the speculative builder has encroached upon his border, and field by field he has retreated further into the country. Roses are his speciality; but there is much else to interest him who concerns himself, like the present writer, more with natural species than with florists' varieties. The first display to attract attention on this bracing June morning was a breadth of St. Bernard's lily — the fine variety known as Antlcericum liliago majus or Algerieme. Myriads of milk-white, golden-anthered blossoms of perfect shape waved in the breeze, suggesting irresistibly the question — why is this lovely lily so seldom seen in private gardens ? The answer may be supposed to be that its flowering season coincides with the summer meetings at Epsom and Ascot, when so many country people of means and leisure, however little they may care personally for racing, leave the country at its fairest to undergo the rush and discomfort of a London season. The Chilian Ouruia coccinea, so chary of its Vjrilliant 2 c 209 SCOTTISH GAEDENS flowers in most gardens, was thickly set with scarlet tubes in an open, but rather shady, border. Alpine anemones, both the white and the sulphur, were just over, but bore traces of recent display in hundreds of seed-tufts on tall stems. Very conspicuous and attractive was a seedling perennial lupine, bearing spikes of clear salmon colour, and near it a starry firmament of globe-flowers {Trolliua), lemon-yellow, sulphur and fiery orange, none of them, in our opinion, equal in grace and delicacy to the native T. eura'prnus. Pansies and violas were in infinite variety and copious bloom, the pure tints of these easiest of flowers being admirably shown up by the plan of planting them in strips of diflerent colours drawn diagonally across a long border. Incarvillea grandiflora, hitherto reputed somewhat tender, here grows in the open and on the flat as generously as its taller and better known relative /. Delavayi ; and that, as we all have learnt to our content, combines the constitution of a dande- lion with the refinement of a gloxinia. SisyrincJdwn odoratissirnum I have not seen else- where. It is to be hoped that Mr. Cocker will succeed in propagating it, for it is an interesting thing, hanging out white bells striped with purple on airy stalks a foot and a half high. The rarest treasure in the herbaceous section is a pure white Aldrwmeria chilensis, of which Mr. Cocker possesses a single plant, obtained, after long and diflicult negotiation, from an amateur who raised it. A pretty feature in these nurseries is a pergola 210 COCKER'S NURSERY of laburnum, which only requires to be mixed with Wistaria to create a perfect summer dream. But as Wistaria flowers uncertainly and sparingly thus far north, this design might be carried out eflfectively in warmer districts. An interesting example of the influence of scion upon stock may be seen in this pergola. Laburnum with variegated leaves having been grafted upon the ordinary species at a height of five feet or so, the stock has responded by putting- out variegated leaves at a considerable distance below the graft. 211 SME ATON-HEPBURN ' HADDINGTONSHIRE MEATON- HEPBURN is delightfully situated on the river Tyne in the most fertile champaign of all Scotland — the seaward portion of the county of Had- dington. The remarkable collection of trees, shrubs, and flowering herbs which adorns the grounds owes it affluence to the enthusiasm of two generations of amateurs, for to the love of trees which inspired the late Sir Thomas Buchan-Hepburn, his son and successor Sir Ai'chibald has added a keen intelli- gence in the cultivation of herbaceous and alpine plants. The herbaceous plants occupy borders in the old-fashioned walled garden ; where also is a teeming and interesting nursery of that most perplexing, yet fascinating race, the Saxifrages. S. Elizahethce and apiculata are particularly luxuriant, having overflowed in verdant volume the stone compartments assigned to ' Owing to a severe illness in the spring of 1908, Miss Wilson unfortunately was prevented from visiting Smeaton-Hepburn in order to make a drawing in the garden there. Notwithstanding the consequent absence of a plate, I have thought that a few notes about this fine collection of shrubs and plants may be not with- out interest. 212 SMEATON-HEPBURN them. Two kinds of wind-flower, Anemone alpiiui and palmata alba were in great beauty when I saw these borders last ; and at that time, the end of May, the most conspicuous wall shrubs were Ceanothus rigidus sheeted with deep blue, and Coronilla emerus, pointilU or, as heralds would term it — in plain language sprinkled with clear canary yellow. Both these last betoken a genial, sunny climate, albeit we are here a long way north on the east coast. For the alpines, Sir Archibald has prepared a home worthy of his treasures ; a wide space sheltered by woods from cutting winds, yet lying fair to the sun, having been covered with rock-work constructed with far more attention to cultural requirements than to scenic eflect. Here is no tea-gardenish attempt to mimic the Himalayas or ape the Andes ; the plants are grouped upon raised ledges and mounds for the double purpose of securing rapid drainage and of bring- ing them under the eye for closer inspection ; while rocks are employed, not for mere effect, but to check radiation and evaporation, which, in excess, are the two chief adversaries to plant growth, and to provide a cool and natural root run for exacting mountaineers. To do justice to this fine collection would have taken more hours than I had to spare. Among the species which their luxuriance made it impossible to overlook were Gentiana verna, that capricious beauty so seldom seen taking kindly to imprisonment ; Mitella trifida, more attractive than the rest of the genus ; Saxifraga rhei swperha, really justifying its additional epithet, 213 SCOTTISH GAEDENS Primula farinosa making a miniature grove of rosy bloom, Ramondiu pyrenaica and Nathcdice, flowering profusely, but inclined to gasp for cooler shade. Pros- trate phloxes, Arenaria and encrusted saxifrages peopled the slopes in lavish abundance. The charming- Chatham Islands sorrel, Oxalis enneaphylla, had just opened one or two of its milky blossoms, and the time of Bianthus and Cainpanulce was at hand when a fresh chord of colour would be struck. Near the mansion house a fine deodar, 70 or 80 years old, stands in sisterly proximity to Cupressus mac7-ocarpa from the opposite hemisphere. They have been of mutual benefit to each other by encouraging upward growth, and so preventing that podgy, lateral spread which is so destructive of the true character of most conifers. When will landscape gardeners learn that fine park timber cannot be had without submitting it first to forest discipline ? A splendid bush of Garrya ellyptica stands on the lawn before the house. It measures 63 feet in cir- cumference, and is the growth of 47 years, for it was killed to the ground in the winter of 1861. In crossing the park to the lake, one cannot fail to be charmed by the clouds of poet's narcissus springing from the turf in all directions. Never have I seen such a display ; they have run abroad in millions. Perhaps there is no other flower which unites purity of colour so completely with simple grace of form. Was this, think you, the species whereof Mahomet spoke when he said — " Let him 214 COCKER'S NURSERY who hath two loaves sell one, and buy flower of narcissus ; for bread is but food for the body, whereas narcissus is food for the soul " ? The most delectable part of all this demesne lies round the lake. A precipitous crag screens the southern shore, planted with many choice trees and shrubs. It is a great pleasure to be escorted thither by Mr. Brown, who has tended these grounds for more than fifty years, and can show you conifers 100 feet high planted by himself under direction of the late Sir Thomas Hepburn. Specially notable are Picea sitcheims and Abies 7iobilis, and by ascending to the summit of the crag you may have the pleasure, unusual in this country, of viewing these lofty trees from a level with their tops. Here and there advantage has been taken of cleariugs in this fine wood to plant Himalayan rhododendrons, bam- boos and other shelter-loving growths. 215 ENVOI Farewell dear flowers: sweetly your time ye spent, Fit while ye lived for smell or ornament, And after death for cures. I follow straight, without complaints or grief, Since, if my scent be good, I care not if It be as short as yours. Gtorge Herbert. 216 APPENDIX A ^ Mention may be made of a few species of rhododendron which have been proved to endure the climate of the West of Scotland as far north as Ross-shire. Partial shade overhead is beneficial, and they must be completely sheltered from violent winds. It is best to start them in a compost of peat and coarse sand in equal parts ; afterwards they will thrive in any free or light soil provided it does not contain lime in any form. The flowers of the early kinds may be destroyed by frost in some seasons, but their beauty is so great as to compensate for many failures by success in a favourable year ; and the foliage of most species is so decorative that the plants deserve cultivation for that alone. What is most to be dreaded is frost in April or May, after growth has begun. This too often destroys the terminal shoots and buds, but their place will be taken by the secondary ones. As most of these rhododendrons are costly, it will be prudent to proceed tentatively at first with a few of the hardiest species, which are marked in the following list by an asterisk (*), and to give them every possible advantage of shelter from wind. [The above was written before the destructive frost of 24th April 1908, which caught early rhododendrons in full growth and destroyed masses of bloom. Probably it has also ruined the prospects of next year's blossom, for the secondary growths are feeble and bear few flower buds.] Species. Colour of Flower. Height. Time of Flowering. Remarks. Rhododendron Aucklandi, * „ arboreum, - Pearl white White, rose or blood red 8-10 ft. 15-20 ft. V iii-v Leaves 10-15 in. long. Flowers very large. There are fine pink and crimson varie- ties. Sikkim. Beautiful waxy flow- ers. Sikkim. 2d 217 APPENDIX A Species. Colour of Flower. Height. Time of Flowering. Remarks. * Rhododendron barbatum, - Intense blood red 40-50 ft. iii, iv One of the hardiest. There is a rose coloured variety. Sikkim. * „ calophyllum. White - 3-5 ft. V Sikkim. Flowers tubular. * „ campanulatum, Pale lilac 8 ft. iv Very hardy. Sikkim. ♦ „ Campbelli, White, with crimson spots 20-30 ft. iv, V Sikkim. * „ campylocarpum, Sulphur or clear yellow 6 ft. iv Sikkim. ♦ „ Caucasicum, - Rosy outside white within 1 ft. spreading vii The Caucasus. * „ ciliatum, Reddish purple or white 2 ft. spreading v Sikkim. Very hardy and fragrant. One of the best. * „ cinnabarinum, Orange-red and yellow 10 ft. V, vi Sikkim. Long, tubu- lar flowers, some- thing like Fuchsia conka. Being late in bloom it escapes spring frosts. # „ cinnaviomeum, White, spotted 15-20 ft. iv Oi arboreum t3pe. „ decorum, purple A newly introduced Japanese species, which I have not yet seen in flower; but the foliage is magnificent and it appears quite hardy. „ Edgworthi, Pure white 3 ft. straggling V, vi Sikkim. Very large flowers. ♦ ,, Eximmm, Cream, with purple base — vi Bhotan. Very fine foliage, nearly akin to R. Fakoneri. 218 APPENDIX A Species. Colour of Flower. Height. Time of Flowering. Kemarks. * Rhododendron Exoniense, White, tinged rose 5 ft. V Sikkim. Very frag- rant. * ,, Falconeri, White - 30 ft. V Sikkim. One of the hardiest, but im- patient of wind. Should be well mulched in the manure or brewers' draff to encourage the splendid foli- age. * ,, feiruffineum, - Bright rose 2 tt. v-vii The Alpine Eose : Central Europe. * ,, Fordii, - White - — vi China. ♦ „ Fortunei, Pale pink 12 ft. V China. Very hardy, with large flowers. Parent of many hybrids. ♦ „ fulgens, - Blooil red 6 ft. iv, V Eastern Himalayas. ♦ „ ijlaucum, Apple blossom rose 6 ft. V Sikkim. Leaves aro- matic. „ gr anile, - White - 30 ft. iii, iv Sikkim. Known also as R. argenteun. One of the finest, but somewhat ten- der and a shy flow- erer. ♦ „ kirsulum, Bright rose 2 ft. v-vii Alpine Rose, very near R. ferrugineum, but better. * „ Hodgsoni, Pale purple or rose 20 ft. V, vi Eastern Himalayas. Grand foliage. « „ Key si, • Red and yellow fi ft. vii Bhotan. Resembles R. cinnabarinum. 219 APPENDIX A Species. Colour of Flower. Height. Time of Flowering. Remarks. Rhododendron lacteum. White - — vi China. Hardy in Wicklow. Immense leaves. * „ lanatum, Primrose dotted red 15 ft. vi Sikkim. ,, Maddeni, White - 8 ft. vi, vii Sikkim. * „ maximum, Pale rose dot ted yellow, red or brown 20 ft. vii North America. Named maximum before Sir J. Hooker discovered the more lofty Sik- kim species. * „ Mvewii, Dark lilac 15-20 ft. V Sikkim. Fine foliage: very hardy. * „ parvifolium, - Pale rose 2-3 ft. iv, V China. Quite hardy. * „ racemosum, ■ Pale pink Dwarf iv, V Western China. Quite hardy. * „ Rhodora, Rosy 4 ft. iii North America. Quite hardy : de- ciduous. * „ Roylei, - Purplish red - 8 ft. V, vi Sikkim. * ,, Smirnom, Rose 6 ft. iv, V Caucasus. Quite hardy. Fine foliage. * „ Thonisoni, Blood red 10 ft. V, vi Sikkim. One of the best. „ Wiijhti, - Yellow, spotted crimson 12 ft. vi Sikkim. 220 APPENDIX A Of the common hybrid rhododendrons it is not necessary to give a selection : everyone may choose for himself at the annual shows. Many of them are marvellous productions, but even the best of them are deficient in the appearance of race which distinguishes the natural species. They are wanting, also, in the subtle harmony between flower and foliage which is such a fine feature in the wild rhododendrons. But these defects are not present in the following hybrids which are scarcely, if at ail, inferior in these respects to the true species. Species. Colour of Flower. Height. Time of Flowering. Remarks. Rhododendron AUaclarense, - Bright red 20 ft. iv R. mtawbiense x ponti- cum. „ Ascot Brilliant, Scarlet - V — „ Beauty of Tre- mough, Rose — — Raised by Mr. Gill, Tremough, Corn- wall. ,, Broughtoni, ■ Deep rose 20 ft. V, vi An arboreum hybrid. Immense truss and fine foliage. „ GeorgeHardy, Rose 1.5 ft. V, vi — „ Gill's Triumph, Rose iv, V A lovely flower, larger than Pink Pearl, but not so hardy. „ Gloria Pen- Rose _ iv, V Do., do. jerrick. „ Harrisi, Deep rose iii R. arboreum x Thom- soni. 221 APPENDIX A Kewarks. Colour of Flower. Height. Time of Flowering. Species. Rhododendron Kewense, IiOSe 12 ft. iv, V B. AucMandi x Hcok- eri. „ Luscomlei, Eose — iv R. Fortunei x Thom- soni. „ Manglesi, White, purple spotted — - R. AucMandi x album elegans. ,, Mrs. Stirling, Blush — V, vi - ,, Nohkanum, - Carmine, pale pink or white 16 ft. i-iv R. arboreum x caucasi- cum. „ Pink Pearl, - Rose vi Of Audiandi type. Eaised originally by the late Peter Law- son of Edinburgh. „ prcecox, - Mauve - 8 ft. ii, iii R. ciliatum x datiri cum. „ Sappho, White, with dark, almost black, throat V, vi A very showy variety. ,, Shilsoni, Bright crimson 12 ft. iv R. barbatum x Thom- soni. „ Smithianum, - Yellow - vi A very fine variety. 222 APPENDIX B The following is a list, far from exhaustive, of shrubs, other than rhododendrons, reputed more or less tender in the London and Midland districts, which have proved quite hardy in many parts of Scotland, especially in the West. Discretion should be exercised in the time and mode of planting. It is not advisable to plant such things in the open between the end of August and the beginning of May. Protection should be given during the first winter by a circle of wire netting loosely filled with dry bracken. Rough wind is far more to be dreaded than cold. Those species of which I have not personal experience are marked t. Name. Colour. Height. Season of Flower. Bemarks. Abelia floribunda, Rose purple - 3 ft. iv Caprifoliacem. A Mexican shrub. Re- quires a wall in most districts. Acacia dealbata, Yellow - 20 ft. iii, iv Mimosece. Requires protection till estab- lished and shelter from wind at all times. Was killed to the ground by April frost in 1908 after growing 16 ft. high. Akebiu quinata, Dark brownish purple 10 ft. V, vi Berberidece. A climber : China : flowers fragrant. Aralia Sieboldii {Fatsia japonica), White - 10 ft. viii Aralia;. Stands mod- erate shade. Azara microphylla, ■ Yellow - 18 ft. ii, iii Bixinem. Very fra- grant. 223 APPENDIX B Name. Colour. Height. Season of Flower. Remarks. Berberidopsis cor alii na, Carmine - 12 ft. vi-viii BerberidecB. From Chili. Requires wall. Buddleia Colvillei, Rose 8 ft. vi, vii Sikkim. Hasflowered freely in the open border at Edinburgh Botanic Gardens. ,, glohosa, Orange - 15 ft. v-vi LogamacicB. FromChili. „ variabilis mag- nijica, Purple - 15 ft. vi, viii China. A very superior variety of the species. Callistemon coccinea, - Carmine - 5 ft. V, vi The bottle brush plant. Hardy in the S.W. Flowers annually on a wall with the protection of a mat in winter. Camellia japonica, Red, rose or white 12 ft. iv, V Ternstrcemiacea. Best on a wall, sheltered from wind. Ca/rpenteria calif ornica, White, yellow centres 10 ft. vi, vii Saxifragacece. Flowers freely on a wall as far north as Inver- nesshire. Chionanthus virginicus. White - 15 ft. vi, vii Oleacem. "The Fringe Tree." Perfectly hardy as a standard in the west. Chm/sia ternata. White - 10 ft. V, vi Ruta^xm. From Mexi- co. Stands any amount of frost in the open, if sheltered from cutting winds. Clethra acuminata, White - 10-15 ft. viii-x Ericacece. Carolina. „ alnifolia, White - 4-5 ft. viii-x N. America. Both species are very fra- grant, C. acuminata being the better one. 224 APPENDIX B Name. Colour. Height. Season of Flower. Remarka. Clianthus puniceus, - Eosy scarlet - Climber V Papilionacece. On a south wall. Cordylim aiisiralis, - White - 20 ft. V, vi Liliacece.. Individual plants vary much in hardiness. The old leaves should not be cut off. Coronilla ghuca, Yellow - 4-5 ft. vi-ix PapilionacecB. Quite hardy in E. Lothian. Desfontainea spinosa, - Scarlet and yel- low 4-5 ft. vii-viii Loganacice. Like so manyChilian plants, this revels in the humid atmosphere of the west, but was severely cut by spring frost in 1 908. Eccremocarpus scaber, Reddish orange Climber vi-viii Bignonaceci. Chili. t Embothrium coccin- eum, Scarlet - 20 ft. vi Proteacem. I have not seen this fine shrub lowering in Scot- land ; but as it succeeds splendidly in Ireland it ought to do so on the west coast. Erica arbor ea, - Rose or white - 10 ft. iv, V — „ lusitanka, White - 10 ft. iv, V Ericacem. Escdbniaexoniensis, ■ White - 15 ft. vii, viii — „ macrantha, Rose 15 ft. vi, vii Saxifragacem. Chili. The Escallonias are perfectly hardy in the westof Scotland, Perhaps the hand- somest is E. Lang- leyense, a hybrid. 2 E 225 APPENDIX B Name. Colour. Height. Season of Flower. Kemarks. Escallonia ruh'a, Red 15 ft. vii Eucryphia cordifolia, - White, flushed rose 20 ft. viii, ix Eucryphinxece. Chili. This and the follow- ing species, which succumb to the win- ter at Kew, have re- sisted 22 degrees of frost in my garden. „ pinnatifolia, White - 1.5 ft. vii, viii — Fahiana imhricata, White - 3-4 ft. V Solanacecr. Chili. I have failed to keep this curious shrub, but have seen it growing luxuriantly 350 feet above the sea in Ayrshire. Fuchsia glohosa, Crimson and purple 15 ft. vi-ix Unagracece.. Mexico. This species and its offspring Rkartoni arethehardiest; but many other species succeed on a brick wall, or in an open border asherbaceous growth. Amongthe best are F. conica and serrulata. Garrya ellyptica, Grey-green cat- kins 12 ft. xii, i, ii Comacece. California. Requires a wall in cold districts : but grows freely in the open in E. Lothian. Hydrangea hortensia, • White, blue or rose 3-4 ft. viii, ix Saxifragacece. China. All species of Hyd- rangea luxuriate near the sea, shel- tered from the blast. 226 APPENDIX B Name. Colour. Height. Season of Flower. Remarks. Illicium religiosum, - Ivory 4 ft. iv, V MagnoUacece. Japan. Uninjured by 22 degrees of frost in 1907. Indigo/em Gerardiana, Rose 5 ft. viii, ix Papilionacece. Hima- layas. MvMsia decvrrens, Bright orange Climber vi, vii Compositw. A brilli- ant climber, quite hardy, east and •west. Chili. Myrtus communis, White - 10 ft. viii, ix Myrtacece. S. Europe. Except at sea level on the west coast myrtle requires the shelter of a wall. „ {Eugenia) apiculata, White - 10 ft. vii, viii Quite hardy in the open. Nandina domestica, - White - 5-6 ft. viii, ix Berheridacece. Pretty foliage, taking fine autumnal tints. China. Notospartium Carmich- alicB, Rosy lilac 20 ft. vii, viii PapilonacecB. New Zealand. Olearia Eaasti, - White - 10 ft. viii, ix Compositce. New Zea- land. There arenumer- ous species all desir- able, especially 0. Gunni, macrodonta, nitida, nummtUari/olia and inaignis. Except 0. Uaasli, these and the following species are liable to be killed to the ground in inland districts. Oxydendrm {Andro- meda) arborca, White - 40 ft. vi, vii Ericacem. Besides its fine blossoms this plant takes vivid autumnal tints. 227 APPENDIX B Name. Colour. Height. Season of Flower. RemarkB. Ozothamnus rosmarini- folius, White - 10 ft. vii, viii Composifce.. Austral- asia. Parrotia persica, Crimson sta- mens, no petals 10 ft. ii Harnamelideoe. Cen- tral Asia. Grows freely as a standard without suffering from frost, but I have not seen it flower. Fine autumn foliage. Pieris {Andromeda) formosa, White - 6 ft. vi, vii Ericacece. Piptanthus nepalensis,- Yellow - 10 ft. V Pa^nlionacece. Nepaul. In the west does not require a wall. Bhus cotinoides, Reddish - 20 ft. vi, vii Anacardiacece. Splendid leaf colour in autumn. North America. Sophora (Edwardsia) tetraptera, Yellow - 8 ft. V Papilionacece. New Zealand. Flowers best on asunny wall. Trachycarpus (Chamce- rops) eoxelsus, Yellow - 20 ft. V, vi Palmce. A perfectly hardy palm, only requiring shelter from wind. The old leaves should not be cut off". Tricuspidaria lanceolata, Crimson - 10 ft. iv - Vaccinium corymbosum, Rosy white 10 ft. V, vi Facciniacece.. Beauti- ful alike in flower and foliage. North America. Zenohia {Andromeda) speciosa pulverulenta, Pearly - 4 ft, vi, vii Ericacece. Thrives best among decay- ing logs. 228 APPENDIX C Decorative shrubs, herbs, and bulbs, suitable for an all-British border. Although the plants in this list are all truly indigenous to the United Kingdom, some of them are so local in distribu- tion or have become so rare that they must be obtained through the trade. Such plants are marked with an asterisk (*). The months of flowering are indicated by Roman numerals. Ranunculus Family. Ranunculacece. English Names. Botanical Name. Colour. Height. Time of Flowering Purplish 6 in. vii, viii Yellowish or 1-4 ft. vi, vii pale purple Yellow 2-4 ft. vii, viii Purple 6-12 in. v, vi White, with rosy and 4-8 in. iv, V lavender varieties Scarlet with 1 ft. v-ix dark spot Bright yel- low 3 ft. vii-ix Alpine Meadow Eue Lesser Meadow Eue Meadow Rue Fen Rue Pasque Flower Wood Anemone"! Wind Flower J Rose-a-ruby Red Morocco Pheasant's Eye Red Maidweed GreaterSpearwort Thalictrum alpinum Thalictrum minus Thalictrum flamim Anemone Pulsatilla Anemone nemorosa Adonis autumnalis Ranunculus lingua Requires peat. Foliage pretty, like Adiantum. Foliage resembling maidenhair, and more durable in water. Likes a moist soil. Deep soil, with chalk or lime. The most beautiful variety is called R()hinsoniana,oi-A charming laven- der hue with gold stamens. An annual ; re- quire.s a suuuy exposure. A very handsome buttercup for waterside or moist border. 229 APPENDIX C EDgliBh Names. Buttercup Crowfoot St. Antony's f{aj)e Buttercup Crowfoot Crazy Gold Knots Marsh Marigold^ Kini; Cups Brave Bassinets Boots Meadow Bouts Mare Blobs Globe Flower Troll Flower Lucken Gowan Bear's Foot Oxheel Setterwort *Columbine \ Culverwort / Larkspur \ Knight's Spui's J ♦Monkshood "\ Wolfsbane |. Friar's Cap j Aconite ; Baneberry "1 Herb V Christopher J *Pieony Botanical Name. Ranunculus bulbosiis fl. pi. Rammculus acris fl. pi. Caltha pahtstris Trollius earop(tus Hellehorus foetidus Aquilegia vulgaris Delphinium (ijacia Aconitum napellus Actcea spicata PceoHia officinalis Colour. Height. Time of Flowering Bright yel- low 1 ft. vi-ix Bright yel- low 1-2 ft. vi-ix Bright yel- low 1 ft. iii-vi Clear, pale yellow 1-2 ft. vi-viii Pale green 4 ft. i-iii Blue 1-3 ft. v-vii Bright blue 1-lA ft. vi, vii Dark blue 2-3 ft. vi White 1-2 ft. V, vi Crimson 1-3 ft. V, vi Only the double flowered forms of this and the fol- io w ing species are admissible. There are double flowering forms, iutna plena and monstrusa plena. For waterside or moist border. Better than any exotic species. Likes a moist border. Fine bold foliage, a good winter platit. Likes lime There are many varieties, single and double, of various colours. An annual, with pink and white varieties. Easily naturalised in open woods. Has black, poison- ous berries, whence the name Baneberry. OnlyfoundonSteep Holme Island in the Severn, whence it has been nearly ex- tirpated. 230 APPENDIX C Barberry Family. Berberidece. English Names. Barberry Pipperidge Botanical Name. Berberis vulgaris Pale yellow Height. 16 ft. Time of Flowering There are 43 varie- tie.s enumerated iu the Kew hand Iwt. Waterlily Family. Nymphoeacem. Water Lily Yellow Water-i Lily i Brandy-bottle j Candock J Nymphcea alba Xuphar luteum White Yellow Floating Floating Would be more highly esteemed if we had not the white water lily. Poppy Family. Papaveracece. Corn Poppy \ Papaver rhceas Scarlet. 1-H ft. vi-viii There are many Cop Rose varieties an sports of this Joan Silverpin native poppy, the Cheese Bouts j most beautiful being those known as ".Shir- ley " poppies. Longheaded Papaver Scarlet 1 ft. vi-viii Very near the last Poppy dubium species. Rough Poppy Papaver hybridum Red H ft. vi-viii Requires poor soil : chalk. Pale Poppy Papaver argemone Pale red ein.-lft. vi-viii All our true poppies are annuals. Welsh Poppy Meconopsis cambrica Yellow 1-2 ft. v-ix There is a double variety, and a beautiful orange one, this and a variety of the next species being the only instance of this colour in British wild flowers. This plant is a true perennial. 231 APPENDIX C English Names. Botanical Name. Colour. Height. Time of Flowering Remarks. Horn Poppy Glaucium luteum Clear yellow 2-3 ft vi-viii A biennial. Plant in pure .sand and grit. There is a beautiful orange variety with a dark spot. FuMiTARY Family. Fumariacece. Yellow Corydal Corydalit lutea Yellow 1 ft. v-viii Good on old walls. Wallflower Family. CrudfercB. Stock "I Stock-gilliflower / Wallflower ] Chevisaunce \ Wild Cheir ) Winter Cress Lady's Smock Cuckoo Flower Spinks Sweet Alison Whitlow Grass Candytuft Matthiola iticana Cheirantkiis cheiri Barharea mlgaris fl. pi. Cardamine pralentis fl . pi. A lyssum maritimum Draba azoides Iherii amara Violet Yellow to red Yellow Pale lilac White Bright yel- low White 1-2 ft. v-viii 1-U ft. ii-v 1-2 ft. vi-ix 1ft. iv, V 4-10 in. vi-ix 2, 3 in. iii 6-9 in. vi, vii The parent of the Brorupton and Queen Stocks. Parent of innumer- able varieties. Thedouble flowered variety is showy. The double variety is worth a place in a moist border. Valuable for its fragrance. A pretty alpine. An annual. Rock Rose Family. Cistinece. Spotted Rock Rose Rock Rose Helianthemum guttaium Helianthemum vulgare Yellow,with red spot Clear yellow 6-12 in. 3-10 in. vi-viii v-viii Au annual. Parent of the gar- den rock-roses, single,double,and of many colours. 232 APPENDIX C Violet Family. Violacem. English Names. Botanical Name. Colour. Height. Time of Flowering Reinarke. Violet Viola odorata Violet,white, or inter- mediate 3-5 in. iii-v Dog Violet Viola canina Lavender, bluish lilac, or white 3-5 in. iii-v Makes a beautiful mass of colour when grown by itself in rather poor soil. Pansy ^ Viola tricolor Purple,blue, 3-9 in. v-ix All the show and Herb Trinity •white, yel- fancy varieties of Heartsease low or Pansy can be Love-in-idleness mixed claimedasderived Kiss Me from this British Fancy wildflower. Flamy Three Faces under a Hood J Pink Family. Caryophyllarece. *Maiden Pink ♦Cheddar Pink Soapwort 1 Bouncing Bet ( Bruise-wort j Fuller's Herb 1 ♦Cushion Pink \ Moss Campion / Bladder Cam- , pion Spatling Poppy i- Witches' Thimble ) Nottingham Catchfly Night Catchfly 2f Dianthus deltoides Dianlhus Saponaria officinalis Silene acaulis Silene inflata Silene nutans Silene noctiflora Bright rose or white 6-9 in. vi-ix Pink 3-6 in. vi, vii Lilac or white 1-2 ft. viii, ix Rose, crim- son or white 2 in. vi, vii White 6in.-lft. vi-viii "White or pink 2-3 ft. v-vii Rose inside, yellow out- side 1-2 ft. vi, vii Lime and sand. There is a double variety. wall garden. Tlie glaucous mari- time form is the best. Flowers at night : fragrant. •233 APPENDIX C English Names. Botanical ! r.„i„,„ Name. | <^°'°"^- Height. Time of Flowering Remarks. White Campion Lychnis White vespertina 1-3 ft. V, viii Kose Campion Lychnis [ Rose diurna 1-3 ft. iv, ix The double form ■ is best. Ragged Robin Lychnis flos-cMCidi Rose 1-2 ft. V, vi ♦German Catchfly Lychnis viscaria Red- purple 10-18in. vi There are several varieties, includ- ing a double one. ♦Alpine Catchfly Lychnis alpina Rose 4-6 in. vi Vernal Sandwort Arenaria verna White 1-3 in. vi Sea Purslane Fringed Sand- wort Arenaria peploides Arenaria ciliata White White 3-4 in. 2-3 in. v-viii vi, vii For wall, garden, or rockwork Alpine Chiek- weed Cerastiwn cdpinum White 2-4 in. vi, vii ' Tamarisk Family. TamariscinecB. Tamarisk Tamarix gallica Pink 6-12 ft. Evergreen shrub. St. John's Wokt Family. Eypericinece. Tutsan \ Park Leaves ] Sweet Amber ) St. John's Wort Hypericum aiulroscemum Hypericum perforatum Yellow Yellow 2-3 ft. 2-3 ft. 234 APPENDIX C Flax Family. Linacece. English Names. Botanical Name. Colour. Height. Time of Flowering Remarks. Pale Flax Linuin angustifoUum Pale blue 1-2 ft. v-ix > Perennials. Perennial Flax Linum perenne Bright blue, pink or white 12-18 in. vi, vii J Flax \ Line J Linum usitatissimum Blue lift. vi, vii An annual. Mallow Family. Malvacew. Marsh Mallow \ Hock Herb J Althcea officinalis Blush 3-4 ft. vi, vii Moist soil. Musk Mallow Malva mosckata Rose or white 2-3 ft. vii, viii Tree Mallow \ Velvet Leaf / Lavatera arhorea Purple 6-10 ft. viii-x Geranium Family. Gercmiacece. Bloody Cranes- bill Meadow Cranes- bill Wood Cranesbill Geranium sanguineum Geranivirt pratense Geranium sylvestre Crimson 1 ft. Violet blue 2-3 ft. Violet blue 2 ft. The rose-coloured variety lancastri- ense is best. There are white and double blue varieties. There is a white variety. Spindle Family. Celastrinece. Spindle Tree Prick-wood Gad-rise Louse-berry Euonymus europceus Green 5-20 ft. 235 Valuable for its beautiful rose- coloured berries. There is a variety with white berries. APPENDIX C Leguminous Family. Leguminosm. English Names. Botanical Name. Colour. Height. Time of Flowering Remarks. F\irze 1 Whin V Gorse J UUx europoeus Yellow 3-10 ft. iv, V There is a fine double - flowered variety. Dwarf Furze Ulex nanus Yellow 2-3 ft. viii-x Greenweed Genista pilosa Yellow Pros- trate V, vi Dyer's Green- -i weed 1 Woodwaxen j Base Broom J Genista tinctoria Yellow 1-2 ft. vii-ix Broom Cytisus scoparius Yellow 5-8 ft. V, vi There are many varieties, includ- ing A ndreanus, with reddish- brown standard. Lucern ' Sickle Medick Snail's Horn Medicago falcata Pale yellow or violet Pros- trate vi, vii Clover Trifolium incarnatum Crimson 9-12 in. vi, vii An annual. BirdsfootTrefoil] Butterjags Crow-toes J Lotus eorniculatvs Yellow Pros- trate v-ix Makes a fine dis- play on wall gar- den. There is a double - flowered variety. Woundwort -v Kidney Vetch V Lambs' Toe J Anthyllis mdneraria Yellow, white,pink or red 6-18 in. vi-viii A tine variety, Dil- leni, has cream- coloured flowers with red tips. Purple Milk- vetch Astragalus hypoglottis Purple 3 in. V, vi There is a white flowered variety. ♦Alpine Milk- vetch Astragalus alpinus Purple Pros- trate vi There is a white flowered variety. Sweet Milk- vetch Astragalus glyciphyllus Sulphur Pros- trate vi •Mountain Vetch Oxytropis campestris White and purple • 3-6 in. vii 236 APPENDIX C English Names. Botanical Name. Colour. Height. Time of Flowering * Purple Moun- taiD Vetch Sainfoin French Grass Cock's Comb Tufted "Vetch Wood Vetch Oxytropis uralensis Onohrychia aativa Vicia craeca Vicia sylvatica Purple Bright rose Purple White and blue 3-6 in. 2-3 ft. Climber Climber Vl-Vlll vi, vii Rose Family. Bosacece. Dwarf Cherry Mazzards Merry Wild Cherry \ Gean / Birdcherry \ Hackberry / Willow Spiraea Meadow Sweet "^ Quet-n of the Meadows ] Meadwort I Bridewort ) Dropwort Mountain Avens Cloudberry "\ Noops / Blackberry Black Boyds Bumblekite Scaldberry Prunus cerasiis Pruniis avium Pruims padus Spircea salicifolia Spircea ulmaria Spiroea filipendula Dryas octopetala Rubus chamoemorui Rubus fruticosus White White White Pink Cream White White White White and pink 15-20 ft. iv, V 20-60 ft. iv, V 20-3U ft. V 3-5 ft. vii, viii 2-4 ft. vi-viii 2-3 ft. vi, vii Pros- V, vi trate 4-6 in. vi, vii Trailer vi-ix There are many beautiful varie- ties, including a double white. Do. do. Many varieties, but none better than the type. There are white and other varieties. There is a double variety. There is a fine double form. Likes lime. Peat and sand : moist. Has sweet yellow fruit. The double white and double pink forms are very ornamental. 237 APPENDIX C English Names. Botauical Name. Height. Time of Flowering 10 in. vi, vii Creep- ing vi-ix 2-3 ft. vi-viii 1-2 ft. vi-viii 1-3 ft. V, vi 3-6 ft. vi 6-15 ft. vi, vii 6-15 ft. vi, vii Trailing vi-viii 3-4 ft v, vi Knotberry SilverweeJ Goose Tansy * Shrubby Cinquefoil Kock Cinquefoil Burnet Rose 1 Scots Kose J Sweetbriar ^ Eglantine j Dog Rose Downy Rose Field Rose *Cotoneaster Rubus sa.vatilis Potentilla anserina Potentilla fnUicosa Potentilla rupestris Rosa pimpinelUfolia Rosa ruhiginosa Rosa canina Rosa inllosa Rosa arvensis Cotoneasier vulgaris Dull white Yellow Yellow "White Cream or pink Bright rose Rose, pink, or white White or pale pink White White Only useful for rock-garden on account of its car- mine fruit. Were it not such a common weed this would be reckoned a lovely plant. Many cultivated varieties. I There are many ( varieties. Easily naturalised, but only found wild in Britain on Great Orme's Head. Evening Primrose Family. Onagracece. Rose Bay -i French Willow Willow Herb J Codlins & Cream EveningPrimrose Epilobium angtistifolium Epilobium hirsutum Onothera biennis Deep rose 4-6 ft. vii, viii Deep rose 4-6 ft. vii, viii Pale yellow 2-4 ft. vii-ix Really an Ameri- can herb, but now thoroughly estab- lished among our native flora. The variety Lanxarck- iana is the best. 238 APPENDIX C Loosestrife Family. Lythraceoe. English Xames. Botanical Colour. Height. Time of Flowering Remarks. Purple Loosestrife Lythrum salicaria Reddish purple 2-5 ft. vii, viii The varieties roseum and super- hum are very niie. Stonecrop Family. CrassvIacecB. Roseroot Midsummer Men Orpine Livelon" Wall-pepper Bird's-bread Pricket Jack - of buttery Stonecrop the- 1 White Stonecrop Th ick 1 eaved Stonecrop Worm grass Rock Stonecrop Stonor \ Trip-madam / Houseleek "j Ayegreen I Youbarb [• Jupiter's Beard I Bullock's Eye j Sedum rhodiola Sedum telepkmm Sedum acre Sedum anglicum Sedum dasyphyllum Sedum album Sedum rupestre Sedum reflexum Senipervivum tectorum Dull yellow or purplish 6-8 in. Rose 1-U ft. Bright yel- low 2-3 in. White and 2-3 in. rose White and 2-3 in. rose White 4-6 in. Yellow 6-10 in. Yellow 8-10 in. Red or dull purple 9-12 in. Tlie best varieties of this plant should be chosen. Absurdly called English stone- crop ; though common in Ire- land and west Scotland, it scarcely is found in England. There are several varieties. vi-vTii There are some good varieties. The variety rusti- cum has broad bluish leaves. 239 APPENDIX C Saxifrage Family. Snxifragacece. Eiiglixh NamcH. Botanical Nftmc. Colour. Height. Time of Flowering Remarks. ♦Purple Thirl- Htaiie Saxifraga oppositifolia Bright red- dish purple 6 in. iii-v There are several fine varieties, but it i.s a mistake to grow the white- flowered one. Yellow TliirlntAiie Saxifrnga aizoides Yellow G in. vi, vii In damp, gritty loam. Marsli Thirlstane Saxifraga hircuhcs Yellow 6 in. vii-viii Moist ground. Eve's (Hishion "1 Dovedale Moss / Sax-ifraga liypnoides White 6-12 in. v-vii * Tufted Thirl- stane Saxifraga caspitosa White 3 in. v-viii Meadow Saxi- frage First of May J Saxifraga granulata White 6-12 in. iv, V The double form is very fine. ♦Alpine Thirl- stane Saxifraga nivalia White 3-G ill. vii, viii London Pride 'i None-80-pretty St. Patrick's Cabbage Prattling- Par- nel J Saxifraga umhrosa White, spots red 8-12 in. vi Kidney Saxifrage Saxifraga geum White, spots red 8-12 in. vi Not 80 good as the last. Grassof PariiaasuB Pamassia palnstri.i White 10-12 in. vi In moist ground. Umbkllate Family. UmielUferce. Astrantia Sea Holly Astrantia major En/ngium maritimum Pink Light blue 1-3 ft. 1 ft. vi, vii vii-ix The variety with greyish - white flowers should be avoided. Plant in pure sand. 240 APPENDIX C Ivy Family. Araliaace. .^ ,■ 1 XT Hotatiicnl EugliBli N»me8. Name Colour. Height. Time of Flowering Kcln»rl(K. Ivy Hedtra helix Greenish yellow Creeijer iz, X Innumerable varieties. MisTLBTOE Family. LomnthacecB. Mistletoe Vigiiim idbmn Green Piira«ite iii-v GrowB freely in tlie north if sown on poplar, apple, or hawthorn. CoRNKL Family. C'onuicea. Dwarf Cornel Cornut tuecica Purple with white bracts 6 in. vii Bears fine scarlet fruit. Moist peat and grit. _ Honeysuckle Family. Caprifoliacea. Wayfaring Tree yjlmritum buitann White 8-16 ft. V, vi Guelder Rose \ Water Elder \ Snowball Tree J Viburnnm opulus White 6-15 ft. vi The sterile variety should be culti- vated. Woodbine 1 Honeysuckle j lA)nicera periclymenum Red and yellow. Climber vi-viii ♦Linnsea Linn(ea borealin Pale pink Pros- irate vi, vii Moist heat and sand, in partial shade. iMAuuEK Family. Rulmcece. Lady's Bedstraw-i Galium oerum Yellow lift. vi-ix Not usually reckon- Maid's Hair 1 ed fit forj^ardens, Petty Mui;get j but beautiful and Cheese Rennet ) fragrant in a wall. Woodruff Atperula odorata White 6-12 in. V-Vl Squinancy Wort Atperula cynanckica White streaked with blue. 9-12 in. v-vi 2g 241 APPENDIX C Valerian Family. Falerianece. English Namea. Botanical Name. Colour. Height. Time of Flowering Remarks. Red Valerian \ Pretty Betsy J Cat's Valerian ^ All Heal [ Setwal I Herb Bennet j Centranthus ruber Valei-iana officinalis Red or white Pale pink or white 2-3 ft. 3 ft. vi-ix vi-viii Teasel Family. Dipsacece. Bluecaps Devil's Bit Forbitten More Blue Scabious Scabiosa 1-2 ft. Composite Family. Compositce. Hetup Agrimony *Alpine Fleabane Mountain Cud- weed Cat's Ear Goldilocks Golileurod Elecampane ^ Elfdock [ Horse -heal Scab-wort Daisy Bruisewort Herb Margaret Oxeye Moonwort Maudlinwort Eupatorium cannabimim Erigeron alpinus Onaphalium dioicum Linosyris vulgaris Solidago virgaurea Inula Helenium Bellis perennis Chrysanthe- mum leucanlhemum Reddish- purple Lilac, yellow centre Pink Yellow Yellow Yellow White, pink and crim- White with yellow cen- tre 2-4 ft. vii 9-12 in. vii, viii 3-6 in. vi 2 ft. viii, ix 1-2 ft. vii-ix 3-4 ft. vi, vii 4-5 in. iii-xi 2-3 ft. vi-viii There is a dwarf variety, cambrica. The numerous double forms are well known. 242 APPENDIX C English Names. Botanical Name. Height. |^-°f^ Corn Marigold "| Bigold Boodle Goldins Gools J Oxeve Camomile Sneezewort Goosetongiie Yarrow Milfoil Cotton Weed Sea Cudweed Tansy MUk Thistle Scots Thistle Cotton Thistle Cornflower Bluebottle Chryianthe- mum segetum Anthemii tinctoria Achillea ptarmica Achillea millefolium Diotia Tanacetum vulgare Carduui marianui Onoperdon acanthinm Centaurea cyanexis Yellow Yellow White White or rose Yellow Yellow Rose-purple Rose-purple Bright blue. U ft. vi-x 2 ft. vii, viii 1-2 ft. vi-ix 1-2 ft. vi-ix 8-10 in. viii, ix 2 ft. 1 vii, viii 1-4 ft. 4-8 ft. 2-3 ft. ; vi-ix An annual. There are some splendid varieties. There are fine double varieties. The variety cris- pum has beautiful foliage. A nnual or biennial. Annual or biennial. Inferior forms are rose and purple. Bellflower F.\JIIly. C'ampanulucece. Sheep's Bit Jagione montana Blue i-H ft. vi-ix Annual Rampion Phyteuma orbiculare Blue 6-18 in. vii, viii Spiked Ramjiion PhyteMma spicatum Blue, white, or cream 1-3 ft. vii Clustered Bell- flower Campanula glomerata Blue 1-2 ft. vi, vii Giant Bellflower Campamda latifolia Blue or white 3-6 ft. vii Likes shade woods. of 2g2 243 APPENDIX C English Names. Nettle - leaved Bellflower. Creeping Bell- flower Earaps ) Coventry Rapes / Bluebell -v Harebell I Lady's Thimble J Ivy Bellflower Botanical Name. Campanula trachelhim Campanula rapunadoides Campanula rapuncuhia Campanula rotundifolia Campanula hederacea Blue Blue Blue white Sky blue Pale blue Height. •2-3 ft. 2-4 ft. 2-3 ft. 1 ft. Creeping Time of Flowering There is a white variety and a dark blue one, Hoati. Moist ground. Heath Family. Gricacece. Bogberry Cowberry Brawl Flower ?rry -i ins [ nw' Box J Strawberry Tree Cranberry *Black Bearberry Bearberry Mealberry Bearberry \ Moorwort -i Marsli Rosemary V Holy Rose i St. Daboec'sHeath *Blue Menziesia Vaccinium uliginosum Vaccinium Vitis-Idma Arbutus unedo Vaccinium oxycoccus Arctostaphylos alpina Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Andromeda polifolia ifemie-na polifolia Menziesia coTulea Pink Trailer V Pink Trailer vi White 8-12 ft. ix Pink Creeping V White Pros- trate iv Pink Trailer iv Pink 8-10 in. v-viii Purple or white 1-2 ft. vi-ix bluish [)urple 6-8 in. vi, vii Moist peat. Moist peat. Usually recom- mended for bog, but grows well in ordinary peat border. One of the rarest British plants. 244 APPENDIX C English Names. Botanical Name. Colour. Height. Time of Flowering Remarks. Heather -v Ling Grigg J Erica culgaris Rose or white 1-3 ft. viii, ix There are a vast number of varie- ties, including a double lose. Bell Heath Erica cinerea Crimson 6-12 in. vii-ix Many good varie- ties. Cross - leaved Heath Erica tetrali.i- Rose 6-12 in. vii-ix Many good varie- ties. ♦Dorset Heath Erica ciliaris Pale red 6-12 in. vi-ix Mediterranean Heath Erica carnea Bright rose 6-8 in. i-iv Should be clipped after flowering. There are white and deep - rose varieties. Cornish Heath Erica vagans Pink or white 2 ft. vii-ix *Wintergreen Pyrola uniflora White 6 in. vi-viii Wintergreen Pylora rotundifolia White 6-10 in. vii-ix Wintergreen Pyrola media Wliite 6-10 in. vii-ix Yevering Bells Pyrola secunda White 4 in. vii Wintergreen Pyrola minor White 6-10 in. vii-ix Primkose Family. Primulacea. a. Primrose i Primula veris Sulphur 3 .5 in. iv, V f The ('owslip and b. Cowslip, Oxlip may be Paigle, Herb reckoned as Peter, Palsy- , racial varieties wort < of tlie common c. Oxlip, Poly. Primrose. The anthus ' varieties, single and double, are ^ innumerable. Bird's Eye \ Primula Rosy lilac 3-12 in. vi Mealy Primrose) farinosa 245 APPENDIX English Namea. Sowbread Yellow Pimpernel Creeping Jenny"! Moneywort ]- Herb Twopence J Marsh Loosestrife Yellow Loose- strife Star Flower Chickweed Wintergreen Botanical Name. Cyclamen europceum Lysimachia iiemorum Lysimachia mimmularia Lysimachia thyrsiflwa Lysimach ia vulgaris Trientalis europoea Rose or white Yellow Yellow Yellow Yellow White Height. 3-4 in. Trailing Trailing 1-3 in. 2-4 in. 4-8 in. Time of Flowering Moist soil. Periwinkle Family. Apocynacece. Large Periwinkle Periwinkle Vinca major Vinca minor Blue Blue, white or red 1-2 ft. Trailer There is a white variety. Gentian Family. Geniianacece. Centaury -i Eartligall V Christ's Ladder J Erythrcea centaurium Bright pink 4-6 in. v-ix There are several varieties. ♦Marsh Gentian ) Wind Flower / Oentiana pjieumonanthe Sky blue 1-2 ft. viii, ix Deep moist soil. *Spring Gentian Oentiana verna Gentian blue 3 in. iv, V Likes lime. Yellow Wort Chlora perfoliata YeUow 3-12 in. vii An annual. Buckbean i Marsh Trefoil ( Marsh Flower Menyanthes trifoliata LimnantAemum nymphceoides White, flushed pink Yellow 1 ft. Floating V, vi vii, viii One of the loveliest of British wild flowers. A full bog plant. 246 APPENDIX C Phlox Family. Pdemmiacece. English Names. Botanical Name. Colour. Height. Time of ■, . Flowering Kemarks. Jacob's Ladder \ Greek Valerian Charity J Polemonium aencleum Blue or white 1-3 ft. vi, vii BiNDWEUD Family. Conwlmlacece. Bearbind Hedge Bells Campanelle Bindweed Cornbind Sea Bindweed Sea Bells Convolvidus sepium Convolvulus arvensis Con volvuhts soldanella White Rose or white Pale pink Climber viiix Climber vii-ix Pros- vi-viii trate Plant in pure deep sand. Borage Family. Boraginem. Viper's Bugloss Purple Bugloss Lungwort Jerusalem Cow slip Oyster Plant .'ow- [■ Purple Gromwell Forget-me-not \ Scorpion Grass J Wood Forget- 1 me-not !- Mouse Ear Alkanet Bugloss Green Alkanet Echium vulgare Echhirn violaceum Pvlmonaria officinalis Mertensia maritima Lithospermum purpureo- cmruleiim. Myosotis pa Inst r is Myosotis silr alien A nch itsa officinalis Anchusa sempervirens Bright blue Bluish purple Rose chang- ing to blue Pink chang- ing to sky blue Bluish purple Sky blue Sky blue Gentian blue Gentian blue 247 2-4 ft. vi-viii 3-4 ft. vi-viii 6-12 in. iv-vi Pros- V, vi trate Pros- vi trate 6-12 in. vi-viii 1-H ft. vi-viii 2 ft. vi, vii H-2 ft. - A biennial. A biennial. Has several good varieties. In deep sand and grit. The white variety should never be grown. A biennial. A perennial. apim^:ni)ix i) NnariKirADK 1<'amii,v. Solavamc. lOiiuli"!! Niiim'H. Itotnnioal Nam«, Colour. HelgLt. Time of Flowering Remnrkf, llinliiiije Uw.tlc -1 Dr.Hll^ Ninhl-I hIiiuIc I'.rllmloiilia J Ui/otoj/am'iu nit/i'T A triijxi Ik'HiiiIohiui Dull yellow, veinccl jmrplo J'iir|>liHli l.liic 1-2 ft. 1 ft. vi-vii vi-vii A poiHOIIUllH annual. A poiHoiiniiM ))iTennial. Foxglove Family. Savphulwrmea. Great Mullein lla({ Taper .Iiipiter'H Stair Velvet Dock Dark Mullein Wliiti' Mullein Molli Miillciii Ildiirv Mnlleii: 'J'onilllax Ivy TriailHftX Kenilwcu'tli Ivy Mother of Thou- KoNKlove S[iiki(l Speedwell KimIv .Speedwell VcrhiiHciit/i tlidfiiiiis Verbatcum ni Wake-rol)in 1 LordH-aiiil- ( Liulies ' Ariim maculatum Purplish and green 8-12 in. iv There is a white- veined variety. The scarlet berries are the showiest part of this plant. Watkh Plantain Family. Alimaceai. Flowering Rush Bntomus umbellat-its Kosy lilac 3-4 ft. vi, vii In a diti-h or pond margin. Arrowliead Hiijfittiiria suyittifoliu White vii-ix There is a double- rtowered variety . An aquatic which can lie grown in moist border if started in water. Floating Plantain Allsma natans White and Fldiitinj,' vii, viii yellow Orchid Family. Orchidacece. Marsh Orchis Salep Hand Orchis Spotted Orchis Soldier Orchis Pyramid Orchis Long Pur))le8 I Slander- wort | Sweet Orcliia Butterfly Orchis Orchis latifolia I Purple Urchis maculata Orchis miliUiris Orchis pyramiddlis Orchis nuisculd Orchis conopseii Habenaria bifolia I'urple, lilac or white Lilac, spotted purple Rose Purple Deep rose Greenish white to ivory 250 1-3 ft. vi, vii 6-18 in. v-vii 1-2 ft. V 1 ft. v-vii 8-10 in. V 8-10 hi. vi, vii 8-12 in. vi, vii APPENDIX C English Namei. Botanioal Name. Colour. Height. Time of Flowering Remarlu. No En(,'lish name ♦Lady's Sli|>|)er Cephalantluva yrandijlora Cephalant/iera rtdrra Cypripedium catceohu Cream Pink Chocolate and yellow l-H ft. 1-li ft. Mi ft. vi vi, vii vi All but cxtini't in Britain. Our finest native orchid. Flag Family. Iridece. Yellow Iris ■> Sword Flag Orris J pseudttcoriti Yellow 2-3 ft. v-vii Gladdon ^ Roast beef plant/ IrU fmtidittima Pale grey blue 2-3 ft. v-vii •Corn Fla{{ i Sword Lily \ Oladiohiii communis Rosy li-2 ft. vi There are various Hlmdes from pur- plish to white. Spring Crocus Crocus vertim Deep violet 4-6 in. ii, iii Parent of many garden varieties. Naked Crocus Crocut nudiJUtrui Violet 4-8 in. ix, .X Daffodil Family. Amaryllidea. Daffodil ■> Lent Lily ■ Crow Bells J Narcissus pseiu/o narcissus Yellow 1 ft. iii, iv There ai'e many varieties, double and single. Primrose Peerless ifarcisitua hiflonu White, with paleyellow centre 1 ft. V Snowdrop ■» Fail- Maids of February J Oalanthus nivalis White and green 6-9 in. i, ii, iii The double form should be rigor- ously excluded. Summer Snow- Ij«acoium White and l-ljft. V. flake oestivum green 251 APPENDIX C Lily Family. Liliacece. English Names. Botanical Name. Colour. Height. Time of Flowering Remarks. Solomon's Seal \ David's Harp J Polygonatum midtiflorum Greenish white 2-3 ft. V, vi Lily - of - the - Valley Convallaria majalis White 6-8 in. V, vi ♦May Lily Smilacina bifolia White 4-8 in. V, vi Butcher's Broom"! Box Holly [ Pettigrew J Rxiscus aculeatus Whitish 2-3 ft. ii-iv Snake's Head \ Fritillaria Fritillary J meleagris Purple or white 12-18 iv, V *Wild Tulip Tulipa fylvestris Yellow 1-2 ft. iv, V (No English name) Lloydia serotina White or yellow 6-10 vi Yellow Star-of- Bethlehem Gaged lutea Yellow 6 in. iii-v Star - of - Bethle- hem Ornitkogalum umhellatum White 6-9 in. v, vi Spiked Star-of-1 Bethlehem [ French Sparrow- j grass J Ornitkogalum pyrenaicum Yellowish white If 2 ft. vi Spring Squill Scilla vema Grey blue 4-8 in. V Wood Hyacinth"! Culverkeys y Bluebell (Eng.) | Crawtaes (Scot.)J SciUa nutaiu Blur 9-18 in. ivv Many fine garden varieties, white, rose, and red. Starch Hyacinth Muacari racemosuvi Dark blue 6-10 in. V Bog Asphodel Narthecium ossifraga Golden yel- low 6-8 in. vii, viii Moist peat. Saffron Naked Ladies Colchicum autumnale Bosy mauve 6 in. ix, X Many varieties, single and double, white and col- oured. GLASGOW : PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRBSS BV ROBERT MACLEHOSB AND CO. LTD. DEC 1 ^908