July 20, 1912. THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



559 



latter may certainly have '^picked up'' a 

 few trifles of the practical work of horticul- 

 ture^ but it can safely be said that few of 

 the gardening institutions or colleges in the 

 country teach the art and practice of horti- 

 culture as it should be taught. Of course, 

 they demonstrate some of the principal gar- 

 dening operations, but as for the student 

 ever showing himself or herself a capable 

 worker — this is a matter which ^ as a rule, 

 is left entirely out of consideration. 



Theory is usually a matter well taught 

 at most educational institutions, but, as a 

 rule, the practice is a mere sham. The in- 

 evitable result is that when in after life 

 the student becomes engaged under a skil- 

 ful employer, he quickly proves himself to 

 be, in many cases, an utter failure. Some 

 teachers who possess unquestionable quali- 

 fications for imparting knowledge to chil- 

 dren in the theory of agriculture and horti- 

 culture, also claim to possess a practical 

 acquaintance with one or the other, or even 

 both, of these professions. Hence, we find 

 schoolmasters occupying positions that 

 should properly »be filled by bona fide horti- 

 culturists. It is a noticeable fact that 

 school gardens, and other forms of purely 

 horticultural work, throughout the country, 

 are in many instances inspected by men of 

 the above class. Consequently, in spite of 

 his qualifications, the gardener is made 

 subordinate to the theorist. 



The Social Status 



of the gardener is a vexed question, which 

 many people have been tempted to write 

 upon with much heat and a great deal of 

 altogether unnecessary argument. To my 

 mind, the subject is scarcely worth discus- 

 sion, for a gardener who rises to the top of 

 his profession and can prove his worth as a 

 citizen and a man amongst men, need never 

 concern himself wita class distinctions and 



the difficult 

 therefrom. 



social questions that arise 

 Usually it will be found that 

 the loudest complaints on this matter ema- 

 nate from men who. although aspiring to 

 great heights in their profession, have not 

 the necessary ability or resourcefulness to 

 enable them to attain their desiree. 



To achieve something great in the domain 

 of horticulture is the aim of every ambitious 

 gardener. Manj^ gardeners, however, can 

 claim to have done nothing beyond growing 

 a few large cabbages, onions, carrots, etc., 

 or maybe they have produced healthy speci- 

 mens of the common types of barn-door 

 plants under glass. In this they have 

 scarcely even rivalled the performances of 

 many allotment-holders or amateur -gar- 

 deners. Hundreds of such men are to be 

 found in the rank and file of " single-handed 

 gardeners," and no doubt many of them 

 are very capable cultivators. Exceptions 

 there must, of course, be, but still the fact 

 remains that 



__perienced plant growers can 

 be obtained at anything from £1 to £1 10s. 

 per week, which is the standard rate of pay. 

 No legislation or agitation is ever likely to 

 compel employers to pay more. 



The greatest possible ambition must be 

 the premier attribute of any gardener who 

 wishes eventually to manage a large and 

 well-equipped establishment. The attain- 

 ment of his desires can only be properly se- 

 cured through the medium of a carefully- 

 thought-out plan of study and preparation, 

 such as will make him an eflScient manager 

 when tJie time arrives for him to put his 

 skill to the test. J. C. Newsham. 



Old Basins: 



"CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS" will 

 tell you pWiily how to grow these favourite flowere 

 to perfection. The work is freely illiistrat«d with 

 plates of leading varieties, and exp anatory diagname. 

 Prio© as. 6d net by post, in box, 2s. lOd., from W. 

 H. and L. CoUingridge, US amd 149, Alder&grate 

 Strett, London 



AUBRIETIAS. 



Quite two centuries have elapsed since 

 the now well-known Aubrietia deltoidea 

 was first brought to the notice of horticul- 

 turists, and m the interval it has given 

 b.rth to a numerous progeny, in whicli the 



original fioriferousness ot the type has been 

 accentuated in a marked degree, while the 

 increase in the size of flowers, and the rich^ 

 brilliant shades of colour, place the newer 

 varieties among tlie most exclusive of 

 hardy plants for garden decoratioii. 



It is as spring-flowering subjects that 

 aubrietias become prominent in gardens; 

 the low-growmg, trailing stems, when 

 allowed to develop naturally, as in per 

 nent planting^ become striknigly modified 

 when grown under what one might call 

 annual treatment j then, growth becomes 

 fairly regular, so that the plants make 

 rounded masses that later, when in bloom, 

 present an a^^^ect of low mounds, all aglow 

 with blossom. It is this dist.nctive charac- 

 ter that renders them, to a great extent, 

 popular in spring gardening. Other factors 

 are also present; for example, they are 

 all easy to propagate, while their cultural 

 requirements are readily understood, and 

 not diflicult to comply with. It follows 

 that even a tyro in things horticultural 

 may readily attain a high degree of success 

 v^ith these fine subjects. However tract>- 

 able aubrietias are m level planting, xt is 

 courting certain disaster to allow them to 

 remain m the same position for an inde- 

 fiii.te number of years with little or no 

 attention, as, sooner or later, they dete- 

 riorate. L believe this is primarily due to 

 the long-continued wet ot the waiter and 

 spring months that maintains the soil tem- 

 perature at a low levelj whereby tlie consti- 

 tution of the plants suffer, and thoy begin 

 to degenerate. It is certain that similar 

 varieties, planted on a sharp slope^ or on a 

 dry wall, awake earlier^ and with greater 

 vigour in spring, and are also perennial in 

 the strictest sense, exhibiting no visible 

 sign of deterioration over a great number 

 of years. 



The fact has been noted that aubrietias 

 attain to their greatest vigour when 

 planted on dry walls, or upon the rock gar- 

 den, and this is fortunate, inasmuch as 

 these positions disclose their highest capa- 

 city for scenic effect, for whatever degree 

 of beauty this lovely genus attains to in 

 level planting, it suffers in comparison with 

 the splendour exhibited by the various 

 varieties as they fling themselves in wildest 

 riot from depression and promontory, the 

 glowing purples and blues, the rich rose, 

 and intense violet of the flowers, softened 

 and subdued by the soft grey tone of the 

 weathered rock masses. 



None of the varieties of aubrietia present 

 any difficulty in cultivation^ as, provided 

 the position is well drained, they grow in 

 practically all kinds of ordinary garden 

 soil. Neither are they difficult to propa- 

 gate, as the majority produce seeds, and 

 if sown either when ripe or in spring, in 

 pans of prepared soil, these germinate freely^ 

 the subsequent plants being transplanted 

 into boxes, and either potted up singly or 

 planted in nursery rows in the open, ulti- 

 mately to take their place in the autumn 

 planting for spring display, or perma- 

 nently on the rock garden. _ 



The various colour forms that have origi- 

 nated in gardens, in some considerable 

 numbers, during recent years, marking a 

 p-reat advance over the type, are best pro- 

 pagated by means of cuttings, m order to 

 perpetuate the variety true. Cuttmgs 

 should be taken when the shoots become 

 soft, toward the end of April or May, in- 

 serting them in a prepared bed of sandy 



soil^ under a hand-light^ and keeping them 

 close until they emit roots freely. When well 

 rooted, the cuttings are potted up singly 

 in small pots, and plunged out of doors, 

 exposuig them to the w^eather, where they 

 make hard, firm growths, and an abundant 

 root system that eminently fits them eitlier 

 for bedding or permanent planting. Those 

 employed for bedding will, if Kfted in 

 May, bear dividing at that season and if 

 replanted in good soil 

 a number of years. 

 Aubrietia deltoidea 



will do service for 



is the type 

 whence originated the older forms, grseca, 

 purpurea, and Campbelli, coloured respec- 

 tively light purple, purple, and violet; the 

 latter, also known la^ Hendersoni, is still a 

 plant of great merit, holding its position 

 easily among the new-comers. Dr. Mules 

 is a compact variety with flowers of a rich 

 violet-purple. I have never obtained lustre 

 in the petals of this variety to equal Hen- 

 dersoni at its best. Pricliard's Al and 

 Mrs. Lloyd Edwards are violets of excep- 

 tional merit; while Violet Queen is, to my 

 idea, the last word in violet-coloured 

 aubrietias J the flowers being large, of in- 

 tense colour, and the plant of exceptional 

 vigour. In pink varieties, Leiclitlini is one 

 of the oldest, but when fully open, little, if 



rose colour is left. Moerheimi and 

 de W. Ingram are both more decided, 

 and retain the colour better in the fully- 

 expanded flowers. Fire King is, however, 

 deepest in colour ; the flow^ers are brilliant 

 in bud J and maintain their colour all 

 through the flowering season. 



In addition to the foregoing, the variety 

 Lavender has delightful large flowers of 

 the same shade as the name betokens, and 

 in A. deltoidea variegata auroA the foliage 

 is coloured soft yellow and green ; while 

 there is also a form having leavos varie- 

 gated white and green. The two laat- 

 named varieties are much prized subjects in 

 spring and carpet bedding, where their dis- 

 tinctive leaf-colourmg renders them spe- 

 cially valuable, in contrast to the richer 

 hues of flowers. Thomab Smith. 



Coomlie Court Gardens 



from 



Sou^ 



COREOPSIS GRANDIFLORA. 



Among the various hardy plants suitable 

 for the mixed border this subject is one of 

 the most delightful when planted in large 

 masses, for it commences to bloom in June, 

 and continues throughout the summer. It 

 is also especiallv valuable used in a cut 

 state, for its largo, rich yellow flowers are 

 produced on long, erect tstalks. This 

 coreopsis can be trcaKMl as an annual by 

 sowing seeds under glass early in the spring 

 and transplanting the seedlings to their 

 flowering quarters later on. But the 'best 

 results are obtained by treating it as a 

 biennial. For this purpose seeds should 

 be sown in a box at the present tinu\ and 

 placed in a cold frame to gcnuinati^ \\ hen 

 ...e seedlings are large enough transfer 

 them separately to GO^ized pots in which 

 they will make -sturdy plants, ready to 

 plant in their permanent positions m the 

 autumn. J- Gardner. 



Philesia buxif olia.— Tlie flowers of 



this philesia are an exact counterpart, except 

 in size of the well-known and popular Lapa- 

 fferia rosea. The philesia. however, forme a 

 dense tuft of upright stems, pushed up from 

 suckers, and they never a*isume a climbing 

 character. Like the lapageria, at needs a 

 poaty soil. A hybrid has l^een rau^ be- 

 U-een the two, and nam^i Philapreria 

 Veitchi, but it has proved difficult to culti- 

 vate. — K. 



