184 THE GARDENP:R. [April 



DUNDEE HORTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. 



The ordinary monthly meeting of this Association was held in the Imperial 

 Hotel, Dundee, on Friday evening the 4th nit., the president, Mr D. Doig, in 

 the chair. Owing to the inclemency of the weather, the attendance was smaller 

 than usnal. After the usual preliminary business, Mr ]\I 'Arthur, gardener to 

 Mr John Leng of Kimhrae, Newport, read a paper on " The Iin[)ortance of a 

 Practical Knowledge of Vegetable Culture. " After a few introductory remarks, 

 Mr M 'Arthur said that culinary vegetables ranked high as articles of food, 

 being very nutritious, and at the same time acting as a corrective against many 

 diseases. They had been cultivated by the nations of the East from the re- 

 motest ages. Perhaps the most ancient mention made of any special kinds 

 was to be found in the sacred writings of Moses, the Hebrew lawgiver, who 

 incidentally referred to them in the Rook of Numbers, from which we learn 

 that Cucumbers, Melons, Leeks, Onions, and Garlic were in use in the land of 

 Egypt in these days — 4000 years ago. ]\Ir M 'Arthur then referred to the date 

 of introduction, and the native countries of many of the most useful kinds of 

 vegetables, and briefly traced their history up till the present time. As an 

 instance of the rise and progress of the Potato, he alluded to the enormous 

 consumption of this vegetable at the present day, compared with what he had 

 heard from the lips of an old gardener in the West of iScotland, who well re- 

 membered hearing his father say, that when the Potato first came among them 

 they carefully scooped out the eyes, with a small portion of flesh attached, 

 and preserved them as sets for the following year's crop, while the remaining 

 portion of the flesh only was used as food. Mr M 'Arthur then dealt with the 

 practical part of his subject. It was of the greatest importance that a gar- 

 dener should have a thorough knowledge of this department of his business. 

 He was afraid there are manifold signs of a growing tendency with many to 

 partly, if not altogether, overlook or despise this very necessary part of 

 their education — the more pleasing occupants of the stove or greenhouse 

 claiming by far the greater part of their attention. He by no means spoke 

 lightly of the love for the beautiful and graceful in flowers and foliage, 

 or of the intellectual pleasure or enjoyment that would ever remain insepar- 

 ably associated with their beauty and culture ; but the gardener who must 

 supply his employer's table with first - class vegetables every day in the 

 year, could not afford to overlook the requirements of the one for the 

 more pleasant duties associated with the other. The preparation of the 

 soil was of the first importance in vegetable culture : to study its nature and 

 capabilities, how best to husband its resources, and how to increase its fer- 

 tility. To be able to make a judicious choice of seeds was also a very neces- 

 sary acquirement, as experience in this matter went a long way to assist in 

 keeping up a continual succession of fresh and useful vegetables. The insect 

 and parasite pests of the kitchen-garden also demanded the skill and energy of 

 the gardener. How to prevent or lessen the ravages of the Onion and Carrot- 

 worm — what was the cause of that scourge amongst Peas, the mildew, and 

 how it always appeared when rain came after a tack of dry weather, — these 

 and the like were questions of weight and importance to the gardener, seriously 

 afifecting his work, and often frustrating his well-laid plans. 



Mr W. Williamson, Tarvit Gardens, Cupar-Fife, then read a paper on "The 

 Propagation, Cultivation, and Selection of Table Plants for Exhibition." He 

 selected twelve plants from five distinct genera, and treated in detail their 

 habits, propagation, and culture. These consisted of three Palms, three 



