Rambles by Road, River, and Rail. B A TOUR IN THE WEST OF SCOTLAND. II. CAMERON HOUSE. Y a preconcerted arrangement the village car was in readiness to post on to the Drymen station, so as we might be able to catch the early afternoon train to Balloch. Once there, we learned that we were some two miles distant from Cameron House, Mr Smollett's residence, where the late retired M.P. for Dumbartonshire resides. We found, after travelling over a rather circuitous road, that the mansion and pleasure-grounds were nestling at the lower reach of the queen of Scottish lakes, Loch Lomond. The grounds are somewhat limited in extent, but the picturesque views at salient spots are particularly beautiful, comprising a comprehensive panoramic scene of the waters of the lake and the adjacent hills that flank it in the background like a huge amphitheatre. It is quite an Edenic spot, whether we regard it from that point of view or from its agricultural richness. The fine glossy texture of the pasture, and the density of the "foggage" at once attested this, notwithstanding the contending influences of drought. The house is nicely situated, and modern in its character. The effect of it, however, situated as it is on the margin of the lake, is in no way enhanced by a huge bastion-like retaining wall of no inconsiderable dimensions and varied outline. In this latter respect, indeed, it is somewhat incongruous with the architectural surroundings, but it doubtless serves the purpose of enlarging the grass and gravel platform, and barring effectually the incursion of the waters. A judicious mixture of trees and shrubs shut out the gardens from the carriage-drive, conspicuous among which, in addition to common trees, are fine plants of Acacia inermis, purple beeches, rhododendrons, and hollies, which thrive with great luxuriance. The little flower garden adjoining the kitchen garden and forcing houses was very gay with ornamental plants, comprising such things as Aurea floribunda, Calceolaria, stella pelargonium, very effective indeed, with its huge conspicuous trusses of crimson; the fine old, but effective Mangles' variegated, which is a splendid sort for grouping, fronted up with verbenas of scarlet, and purple, and white. In addition to these were the charming tiny dark-leaved Oxalis, the now ubiquitous Viola cornuta, nasturtiums of sorts, the dull coloured Heliotrope, which emits so delightful a fragrance, and par excellence the violet coloured Clematis viticella, which must have astonished every visitor with the profusion of its blossom, so delightfully refreshing in contrast with the primary colours, and seeming to revel in pure wildness in the heat and drought of the past summer. But the soil is plastic and alluvial, and seems to have great capacity for feeding the roots of all plants. Witness the crops in the kitchen garden immediately adjoining the parterre of which we are discoursing upon! The onions, the peas, and the beans, and everything that is under cultivation, are of a size and freshness to delight an epicure, and this, too, in a season remarkable for the generation of mildew, and the consequent short duration of the cropping powers of such a valuable esculent as the pea. Nor were the fruit trees less noteworthy. Small fruits were large and fine in quality, and the apple grafted on the paradise stock had grown quite beyond estimated bounds. All seemed, in fact, to be cultivated to good purpose. But the mirabile dictu of the whole are the vineries. Year after year Mr M'Connachie -who, by the way, is an apt pupil of the Trentham school-has taken distinguished calls up many a testy argument among horticultural coteries, Mr M'Connachie expresses a most decided opinion that it is generally better with him this season, and he bluntly asserts that he does not know the cause. "I have treated the plants every year after the same fashion, my calendar of operations has remained unchanged, and you have seen samples of my produce for years past-you can judge for yourself." There can be no doubt that in respect of finish and general excellence the fruit is a move in advance of former seasons, and it must be entirely owing, seeing that no extraneous means were used, to the heat influencing the soil in the one' case, and the roots in the other, that the extra points have been gained. The geothermal state of a border is one of the germane points to be considered by the vine cultivator, and this of course premises a proper physical capacity for absorbing and retaining heat and dispensing with an inordinate supply of water. The plastic sort of oily soil that seems to abound in this quarter was a capital feeding medium in a year of heat and drought; soil of a lighter capacity prepared to do battle with excessive moisture, if not copiously irrigated, would have been quite impotent to carry through even an average crop well. positions both at the Edinburgh and Glasgow shows, and his produce has been at all times of the first degree of excellence. He certainly has occasionally been beaten by "foemen worthy of his steel," but his worst friends dare not refuse him a badge of honour as a grape grower. When one looks first to the houses, and then to the crops, and lastly to the borders, and sums up the gist of their observations thereupon, they are compelled to say that this is grape-growing on the limited system with a vengeance. There are four houses, each measuring 20 feet long by 12 feet wide. These houses have only a length of rafter of scarcely 14 feet, and you can touch the apex of the roof with your hand, so low are the houses set. Again, the outside border is only 8 feet wide, so that the vines, if they were confined to the borders intended for their reception, would only have 20 feet width of border inside and outside. But on questioning Mr M'Connachie as to whether the roots were walled in within that compass, he categorically answers, "No. They are growing away into the garden borders," and, mayhap, into the quarters of ground portioned out for vegetable culture. Well, either the soil must be very suitable and the drainage without question, else all our great growers who rest their claims to success upon a scientific basis may be cordially ridiculed. Of course, we must assume that the tilth for fruit tree or any kind of cultivation is all that could be desired, else the results would not systematically follow of so auspicious a character. The width of the borders, therefore, may be reckoned a mere nominal power, but the size of the houses and the length of the vine, and the weight and character of the crops are, taken together, astounding realities. In truth they are little better than huge Wardian cases or ground vineries. The vines will be planted about 3 feet apart, a very good distance for those grown under the restricted system, and the crops this year, in the aggregate, are reckoned by the grower to be larger and better in every way than those of former seasons. With regard to colouring of the fruit, which Coming to the more immediate inspection of the houses, we find that the vines have been planted eight years, and that they are all in the height of vigour. The early house had been nearly all cut at the time of our visit, but from the samples left, and from those we saw upon the exhibition table in July, they were admirable indeed. Black Hamburghs, although not up in size of berry and colour to those Mr Meredith usually shews, were very fine, and the clusters large and proportionate. In this house was an instance of a remarkable growth of a one year's cane of Hamburgh. It has grown up to the back wall of the house, run along that, and has returned, measuring in length about 40 feet, and the cane proportionately gigantic. One really knows little of the growing power of the vine under proper treatment, nor need any be surprised if under wise cultivation its dimensions could be extended to fill a v were comparatively free from red spider, and yet not a single puff of sulphur had been used, not even so much as painting the pipes with the idea of generating sulphurous acid. The great health that prevailed was the best antidote to the insidious approach and de vastating influence of the nimble red-coated enemy. The whole place was in a good state of keeping, and the results specified bear ample testimony to the general ability of Mr M'Connachie. large house in a few years. The Muscat at the maturing point. A great point notichouse was full of extra fine fruit, averaging, able in inspecting this little range, the vines over all, about 3 lb. per bunch. Estimating that, and then looking to the number of bunches, there would be something like from 20 to 24 lb. of grapes on each rod, which is a very heavy crop for a 13 feet rod. Mr M'Connachie adopts the principle begun under Mr Meredith's tuition, of stopping the wayward bunches at the period of setting, which induces a compactness very desirable for all cultivators to imitate. In one of the later vineries there were black St Peter's, Lady Downes, Hamburgh, and Muscat Hamburgh on its own roots, but by no means so good in quality or finish as its compeers, and not at all equal to those which we subsequently inspected, and of which we shall yet treat upon at Castle Kennedy. All these, with that single exception, were noble fruit, such as must, indeed, give unqualified satisfaction to the owner and employer. In the late black house there were Victoria Hamburghs, quite as large in berry as damsons; but then the flavour is not at all in keeping with the name which it bears. It is quite insipid, and then it is a shy setter, requiring to be artificially impregnated. Black Prince was much finer than we ever saw it before or since, the bunches and berries and bloom being quite up to the mark. On that one vine, moreover, there were eight bunches, and it is only a fair estimate to say they would weigh 30 lb. This is great grape growing, indeed such as would astonish Mr Hill the champion Black Prince grower if he saw it, the corrective manipulation of stopping these bunches adding powerfully to their contour and effect. In this house, also, was a vigorous vine of the Black Damascus. It bore extra good fruit of its kind. It is considered a good late sort by the grower when properly mature, only it is somewhat of a tardy setter. This is owing to the glutinous drop that hangs on the stigmatic surface, which a good shaking disperses, and allows fructification to take its course. The skin of this grape is very crisp, something in that respect like Chasselas Musqué, and has the same tendency to crack A rather inviting porter's lodge on the opposite side of the road induces us to have a hurried run over Mr Martin's grounds, a gentleman holding a high position in the commercial capital of Scotland. We find exceedingly well-macadamized well-kept roads, and pleasure grounds to match, with a few nice portable specimens of conifers dotted over the lawn. The gardens, and indeed the whole place is new, and considerable sums of money must have been spent in rearing what ultimately must be a well-appointed place. A fine range of hothouses adorn the principal wall in the kitchen-garden, some of them forming long limbs in span-roof form, standing north and south. Vineries are recently planted, and will in a few years be useful for supplying a table throughout the year. The plant department of the establishment is rich and varied, especially in such things as foliage plants, that so much entice ladies and gentlemen. These are to be found in several houses especially reserved for them, and must be useful for in-door decoration of all kinds. Retracing our steps into the approach, and crossing over a neat orna mental cast-iron bridge, we make the best of our way to the station, for, according to previ ous arrangements, the mapping out of our journey necessitated us to proceed with all despatch, return to Glasgow in time to catch the last train of the Glasgow and South Western Railway for Ayr, so as we might be able early in the morning to see the birthplace of Burns, and reach Kilkerran, the seat of Sir James Fergusson, by ten o'clock. III. CAMBUSDOON. *, Occasional tourists cannot always reckon upon the best accommodation at the various hotels unless some previous notice has been given. Arriving, as we did, at ten o'clock, at Ayr, we found the rooms of the principal hotels occupied by a "covey" of gentlemen about to engage in the delightful and interesting excitement of otter nting on the morrow after our arrival. Thanks, however, to mine host of the "King's Arr is," dormitories were secured for us in ar. adjoining unpretending hostelry, where cleanliness and comfort were evidently well catered for, and we slept soundly, after having done ample justice to the wants of the inner man. Our arrangements for the morrow had been agreed upon, and an order given to the "boots" to call us at six, to have a conveyance in readiness at 6.30 to take us to Cambusdoon and the Burns' Monument, which was faithfully attended to. In driving along the outskirts of the town of Ayr, the suburban villas are conspicuous for neatness of architectural features, and for charming gardenesque fronts. Nothing so pains an eye, educated to a proper blending of natural and artistic beauty, than to see fine blocks of masonry without cognate sur roundings. A cottage, or a villa, or a mansion, to be what it ought, should each have a fair and proportionate quota of tree, shrub, flower, and grass for proper harmony, and the well-to-do inhabitants of Ayr have been well advised in this matter. The bracing atmosphere had an excellent influence upon the physical system, and the glorious expanse of sea and land, that unfolded to our view as we passed along, incited the faculties of the mind, preparing us all the more to relish a view of the cherished hallowed spots where the great national poet rambled, and which furnished matter for his muse to revel upon. very furniture, has been preserved so far as that has been practicable. It originally stood alone, but being made use of for what the Scotch people call a public-house, some additional rooms have been added at right angles to the old building. It consists of what the girl attendant called a "but and a ben," and the very bed in which the poet was born is still there--a box-like recess about 6 feet by 3 feet, with a curtain hanging over the front. Many of the appurtenances common to a peasant's kitchen of the olden time were visible. In the "ben" apartment, the chairs, tables, and anything of a timber kind, were cut and carved with no end of monograms, notwithstanding a printed notice to the contrary confronting every entrant; and it is a pity that this should be so, when it seems to be an object to preserve as many things as possible in their entirety. Passing on towards the river Doon, we inspect the ruins of the auld haunted kirk of Alloway, rendered famous by the tale of "Tam o' Shanter;" and, looking first to that, and then to the road over which Tam's mare had to gallop before reaching the “keystane of the brig," one's curiosity is awakened, and they can peruse with much greater relish the most interesting and novel rendering of the tale, where the witches start in hot pursuit, and Tam, somewhat pluckily and confidently, calls upon his nag 1 "Now do thy speedy utmost, Meg, The fient a tail she had to shake." The site of the Monument has been well chosen, being placed so as to command all these places of interest, not to speak of the landscape that is to be seen from its summit. But we cannot dwell upon details in connexion with this, looking to the ground that has to be taken up before our notes are exhausted. Suffice it to state that the reader and admirer of Burns will be amply compensated by a personal inspection. He or she must, indeed, be an ingrate, and a stranger to the feeling of common humanity, who refuses to pay homage to the genius of notwithstanding all his failings, one of the brightest examples of Nature's own nobility. Mr Baird's residence is situated on the river Doon, quite in proximity to the ground we have touched upon. The ornamental features of the pleasure-grounds are very much enhanced by the river, with its "banks and braes," and the grass terracing and artistic borders, and beds of flowers are captivating. These sloping gardens, reminding one of the hanging Babylonic gardens of antient history, have a peculiar charm, more particularly when we look to the solitude that must ever be associated with them. The murmuring of the water rill over the pebbly boulders, and the limited range of vision by the side of the meandering stream, necessarily begetting quietness and solitude in every way well-fitted for creating poetic rapture. Mr Baird has also an auxiliary garden, with a range of forcinghouses, and a well-appointed home farm, which the eye skipped over en passant. To this must be added a fine stud of horses that met our gaze pacing lightly and gracefully along on a morning promenade. By this time the appetite was beginning to assert its prerogative, tacitly inviting the eye to rest for a while from its labours, and in obedience to physical demands, we made all haste to our hotel, had a substantial breakfast, shouldered our valises, and, after fairly satisfying all reasonable demands, got to the station in time to catch the early train from Glasgow to Kilkerran. The agricultural aspect of Ayrshire generally was more favourable than any of the other western counties over which we travelled. True, root crops were a partial failure, but then in some places, as, for example, Kirkcudbright-and Wigton-shires, they were all but a total failure. The fields, as far as the eye could reach, from Ayr through Maybole to Kilkerran, had a good appearance, and the yield, in some of the farms in that district, must have been quite up to the average, Mr Barnwell, the head gardener at Kilkerran, was in waiting at the station to receive us, and we found ourselves quickly within the dress grounds of the policies. IV. KILKERRAN. This fine estate, which comprise 22,000 acres of very rich alluvial soil, belongs to Sir James Fergusson, who has been for some time, both before and since his official appointments in connexion with the present Government, a non-resident at Kilkerran. He has, there fore, meantime let his mansion, garden, and pleasure-grounds to Mr. J. Fleming, and his home farm, we believe, to Mr J. Nicol Fleming, a brother of the present occupant of the mansion, and a well-known agriculturist, distinguished for his choice stock. Among them, and the spirited farmers of the neighbourhood, we can truly say that the face of the earth is well cared for, whether as regards agricultural husbandry and all things in connexion therewith, or horticulture in its many ramified details, comprising, of course, the production of fruit, flowers, and vegetables, general tidiness, and arboricultural features of a very high order. Keeping to the order of inspection as arranged by Mr Barnwell, we shall reproduce our notes in the order they were taken, and at once emerge into the Flower Garden. This forms an adjunct of the garden proper, being walled off from it transversely by means of a high brick wall, which is, in turn, utilized for the production of fruit, and some choice climbers, of which we shall hereafter speak. It is shut out exclusively from the road, on one side, by a continuation of the north wall, which runs up to, and forms a buttress for, the gardener's bothies-an indispensable adjunct to all horticultural establishments. On the south side, which first confronts the eye, there is a deep valley, and that valley has been planted with spruce, which have attained a gigantic size. Indeed, the eye first catches this sombre background, made up as it is with individuals of strict formal outline. Elsewhere they would be out of place, notwithstanding their portly figure, but here, as a back screen to a forest of flowers and geometrical beds, they are in keeping. Such an array with the undulating foreground, would have delighted Humphry Repton, one of the most precise, and probably one of the best, judges of a landscape either con |