8 THE GARDENING YEAR 



which is now a yearly institution at the Mansion 

 House, when a large and charmingly arranged 

 cornucopia of produce is presented by the Wor- 

 shipful Company of Fruiterers to the Lord Mayor. 

 Amongst the apples that were sent by us as a 

 gift to the Fruiterers' Company was one that 

 weighed a pound and a half. 



But I must return to the older students, the ones 

 who have been here some time, for they are at 

 work at an even more important job. They are 

 planting out the rooted layers of carnations. We 

 like to have a great many of these lovely flowers, 

 because, for one thing, we have chosen it as the 

 flower emblem of the College. The visitor finds 

 it before him on a painted sign-board as he enters 

 the gate, and continually throughout his visit he 

 will see either the real flower or a semblance of it 

 depicted in plaster-work or painted in oils. 



The students, that is to say the old-established 

 ones, have their autumn uniform on for the first 

 time, but the new-comers are still, like the army 

 recruits that have lately joined, " in mufti." Our 

 uniform is a very simple one, but answers its purpose 

 well by being practical and neat. It consists of 

 coat and skirt, khaki in colour, because the earth 

 here, having so much lime in it, is light-coloured, 

 and therefore does not show upon a drab-coloured 

 cloth. Over this when busy they wear a Hessian 

 canvas apron containing roomy pockets for knife, 

 raffia, tarred twine, and many other requisites that 

 a gardener has constant need of. The skirts are 

 what are called " Aviation " ones, and are cut so 

 that in windy weather, although they are short, 



