7G2 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



October 5, 1912 



in*!; first-rMt^^ vatiftus. 



\iv ill rh'W u 



He 



THE NEWER PERPETUAL 



CARNATIONS. 



The immense strides lately made by Eng- 

 lisli riiisors in froatiiiir n<nv porpetnal <-ar- 

 natioiis h'.iis fair to tiirther populariso this 

 fine ra.-e ot phmts. At one time we were 

 far behind the Ariieiiran raiser.s in 



l)ut We can now 

 linid our own with them, unless it 



bite and Marlet varieties. In 

 tbesi* two se<*tHiM> \\v >i W lia\e to de])end 

 lar^^t'lv upon Cousin .lonailian. But with 

 t lit- nt lu't colon r> ^unio m)tabl(. varieties 

 liav*' apiu.ired linni the hands of English 



Take ihf |unk and rose shades, 

 we note many i:o4)d tlnn;^>. Krnpire Day, 

 ra i^ed h\ Mr. Srn 1 1 li i w bo r;i I■^«•d i hp well- 



* 



known Hritaunia), is onr nl ilir ht\st . It is 



a soft salm<»n-putk, w\th si/.e, form, length 

 of steni, an<i a souihI < aly\ ; a g<KMl cut 

 n4)vver variety. Liwly .\lin;^lon, already 

 markt l hv growers as one of liin'st 

 va I I* t h-^ III commerce, is not al>h' for its 

 sbad4' ti\ ^a I ninn -rnsf w bich closelv foMows 

 tbe lii'aiider <<iloiir. It is an 4^asv <ri"ow<'r', 

 with well-tilled, fia^iain Mmsmhiis of the 



Knrhantress type, 



(J1(U lusa , one <>t t h»' lieu ci A inericans, 

 gi vi's otice a u:a Ml the del I^ht f ul ])ure 

 p nk (ivlonrin^ of ihf old Khwiana. It 

 pos^rssivs ;i Iree. i|Uick ;j;rowt[i, goofi stems, 

 and tiist-rate ^^lo^^^)|ll^ of good size, de- 

 eideyliy it < a mat ion for all growers, 

 liaroncss I$rieneii, one of the lovelif st 

 varieties extant, is Hntistj. and has e;rand 



it ' • 



flowers of a glorious salmon-pink colour. 

 It is essentially of t lie American tyjje, 

 with deeply f r Jiged edgt s. Stent an<l 

 habit aro good, and the blossoms are \f'rv 

 last ini^ l?<i>et te, a first-rate. American 

 nov.'lty. LMNes i\ wry well-fitnsbed bbxsoni 

 of a <leep rose-pink colour, iiid if it ret ue- 

 its giM»d character it h ds fair to lead in 

 the rose-pmk vhades for seme time t(t conu\ 

 Colossi I In a niassj \ o r<)N\ -f tri.se. It a p- 

 pears to io!lo\v Kuchantrcss in gro\\ili and 

 form, lull is. perhaps, liardly so i'm: as 

 some of the other novelties/ It is well 

 wojth a trial. Lady NortliclifFe. an excel- 

 ]<uit salmon-pitik, is as yet unkn<fwn to some 

 grow<'rs. but tiiese shades of pink are con- 

 stantly being rejieated in seecllings, so thab 

 this variety will Iiav*. to fight for popu- 

 larity. 



V 



Good scarlets are still few and far be- 

 tween, so the aflvent of the new St. 

 Nicholas, from Ameriea, should bo doubly 

 welcome. It is well spoken of, larger than 

 Scarlet Cloiv with a good stem. an<l dis- 

 tinct lasting properties. T^onfire is not 

 coming so uel! with British growers a,s with 

 Americans, ami we aro still awaiting some 

 really first-class things to fill up the vacan- 

 cies in tbe scarlet shades. 



Of crims(ui> the hvs{ is iindoubte<ny En- 

 gelmann's 1"riiimph, \vlii<'h is go<wl at all 

 points, free. sba|)ely. of good size, an<l 

 pleading in hue. Elektra, from tlie'same 

 raiser, will appeal to many, an<], in mv 

 opinion, its goo<l form and rich orange 

 colour, relieved only by an edge of pink, 

 makes it a distinctly pleasing novelty' 

 Rosa, a seedling from Mrs. T. W. Lawson, 

 is regardecl very highly, and its promise 

 to eclipse that favourite variety awaits ful 

 tilment. On its merits it will hav^ as a 

 rival (and a strong rival too!) the 

 famous Mrs. C. AV. Ward, which is grand 



Mrrc W^ir'l ^ The only fault with 

 ^virs. L.. \V. Ward is its comparative slow- 

 ness in pushing up new growths after the 

 hrst cnt of blossom. If I?o.a can prove 

 Itself better than its rival, carnation 



They 



Salome and Sunstar are typical fancy 

 varieties, and will doubtless find their way 

 into all representative collections, 

 can hardly find the same popularity as more 

 decided colours, although both are good in 

 form, and pleasing. Salome is pink and 

 heliotrope, Sunstar yellow^ lightly marked 

 with pink. 



The French variety^ La Rayonnante, a 

 soft clear yellow in colotir, has been boomed 

 since its arrival here. This winter will 

 firove its merits, but I would advise care 

 in feeding, as there is a danger of the 

 flowers bursting the calyx. It is a strong 

 grow(u-. Mandarin is an attractive fancy, 

 with rase-pink markings upon an orange- 

 yellow groun<l. The stem and calyx are 

 j^ood, while the blooms are bright enough 

 to effectively contrast with other varieties. 



White Wonder has been so largely in the 

 public eye of late that there is no doubt 

 of the plaie it is to occupy for some time 

 to come, and the coming season will esta- 

 blish it in public favour. "\Vith the new 

 giant AVodenethe the whites are further 

 enriched, but this has yet to make its posi- 

 tion as a continuous free variety. Of its 

 .size and purity we are assured, but more 

 tiian that is r<'f|U red nfiwadays. 



Wivelsfield Wondcu' should enhance the 

 K^piitation of tlie Alhvood Brothers; its fine 

 form and size, ami its colouriiig of pink 

 flakes on a white ground, were quickly re- 

 cognised by the Award of Merit granted 

 by the R.H.S. last January. Benora, an 

 American fancy, white, flaked with red, is 

 quite distinct from the previous one, and 

 merits a trial from all growers of fancy 

 carnations. Fire Clow should be welcome 

 ior Its rich <'olourings, its bright yellow 

 ground, lieaviiy marked with fire-red, mak- 

 iii'i it verv attractive. 



I should value a first-hand opinion of the 

 crimsons Pocahontas and Sultan, the former 

 an American, the latter a British, novelty; 

 also a note upon Princess Charming, as by 

 some it is ranked above Enchantress, while 

 others desci ibe it as inferior. Coronation, 

 the new silvery-pink, is full of promse' 

 but one should not expect too much from 

 Golden Ray and Golden Glory, two distinct 

 shades of yellow, for yellows, unless excep- 

 tionally good, wdll not command the same 

 ]>opularity as pink and other shades. 



P. S. Haywahb. 



GARDENERS AND 

 GARDENING. 



COLOUR SCHEMES AND 



HERBACEOUS BORDERS. 



It is the fashion to point to the Ion? h«r- 

 bac«)us borders at Hampton Court and 

 elsewhere, and to tell the entthusiastic ama- 

 teur that he should take such as a model. 

 It may be rank heresy on my part but I 

 venture to protesrt against such advice and 

 to a.ssert .that the Hampton Court border is 

 mode] f,)r us I It is not a fair example 



111 an v wav ^ 



F 



At the risk of being: cried down as hetero- 

 dox, I venture to say that colour schemes 



X- ."''^ P'"^ ^^^^y Martin/' for 



Dame .Nature does not make many mistakes, 

 and a ^ood old-fashioned mixture is the best 



r^Tm , Of there are a few 



difficult subjects, and it may be easy to pro- 

 duce a simply shrieking discord by the iuxta 

 posituui of, say, purple iris and Siberian 



poppy. 



This year I had a fine idea for a pink and 

 %vhite border, and all went well until the 

 antirrhinums and phloxes asserted the 

 selves. They simply killed the idea I had 

 in view for the pink snapdragons created all 

 kinds of discord, were warm of tint, and ^he 

 phloxes made matters worse. Colour 

 schemes!! I will have none of them But 

 really, a good jumble of almost every colour 

 under the sun with good masses and plenty 

 of white and foliage, is the thing 



F. R. H. S. 



Does Education Pay? 



Whilst appreciating the praiiseworthy 

 efforts of the i^ritish iiardeners^ Association 

 to raise the social status of the horticultural 

 profession, I am reluctantly forced, ,by the 

 various factors bearing on the case, to the 

 conclusion that, from a monetary point of 

 view at all events, higher education for the 

 average private gardener does not pay. 



I do n.ot intend by this that young gar- 

 deners should not seek to improve their edu 

 cation beyond that which they obtain during 

 their hours of labour, rather should they he 

 encouraged to do so, as knowledge is power, 

 and brings them into closer sympathy with 

 their daily work, and is a pleasure unto it- 

 self. What I wish to convey is that the 

 young man taking up >a course of exhaustive 

 study, such as would enable him to secure 

 the proposed Diploma of Horticulture, would 

 not be repaid for his labour when forced, as 

 hundreds of good mei, are, to accept the aver- 

 age gardeners' position at a wage of some- 

 thing like 28s, or 32s. per week. 



Like your correspondent " Nous Verrons" 

 (page 6f)8), I fail to see how the establish- 

 ment of a criterion of ability is going to 

 improve the position of the average gardener 

 for, after all, it is the employer who pays, 

 and I think it safe to say that in hfty per 

 cent, of the gardens in this country the em- 

 ployer is satisfied to employ a purely practi- 

 cal man, and would not be induced to pay 

 more on account of a man armed with a 

 diploma setting forth the holder's capabih- 

 ties in such subjects as botany, entomology, 

 chemistry, meteorology, and land-surveying. 

 Of course, I am fully aware that all these 

 subjects have a more or less direct bearing 

 on gardening, and tlie young men of the pre- 

 sent day fully recognise this, and take up 

 those subjects with no incentive other than 

 that they will prove usef^jil accesvsories in 

 their endeavour to become first-class gar- 

 deners. There are also other strong factors 

 bearing upon the success of the average pri- 

 vate gardener, such as personality and tact, 

 which are beyond the pale of a diploma of 

 horticulture. 



No doubt such a diploma (although more 

 suited to horticultural instructors) would be 

 a strong recommendation to the man seeking 

 employment under public bodies or in very 

 large establishments, botanical institutions, 

 or trial stations, but in. most cases the 

 diploma would go to college-bred men, due 

 to their better primary education, and. in 

 consequence, we should have men holding 

 prominent positions equipped with ample 

 theoretical and scientific knowledge, but de- 

 ficient in practical management. 



Your correspondent, " J. C, W," (page 574), 

 s€ems to think that the diploma would induce 

 a different clasg of men to enter the profes- 

 sion. This may be so, but, after noting the 

 general excellence — I might almost say per- 

 fection—of the exhibits at the recent Inter- 

 national Exhibition. I would ask, what is 



wrong with the men already in the profes- 

 sion ? 



The youth of the present day has far 

 greater opportunities of gaining acknowledge 

 of scientific subjects appertaining to his pro- 

 fession than had the youth of twenty or 

 thirty years ago. Technical classes, county 

 council lectures, and excellent books on vari- 

 ous subjects, written in a concise manner by 

 specialists, are within his grasp, and the in- 

 telligent young gardener with the ordinary 

 education of to-day can, and I am sure plenty 

 do, acquire sufficient knowledge of these sub- 

 jects without any incentive beyond the desire 

 to know as much as possible for the proper 

 performance of their duties, and in the 

 hope that such knowledge so gained will 

 serve them profitably as opportunity arises. 

 A man so equipped and with a sound practi- 

 cal knowledge of garden management, is ^1' 

 that is required by the average employer. 



I am inclined to think that if a diploma of 

 horticulture was inaugurated, the competi- 

 tion for it would set up a sy-^tcm of cramming* 



