418 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



EXAMINATION OF SCHOOL TEACHERS IN COTTAGE AND 

 ALLOTMENT GARDENING. 



April 23, 1913. 



There was a reduction of 93 in the number of candidates for this 

 examination, held on April 23, 1913, compared with last year, the 

 number being 996 as against 1,089 in 1912. Of them 142 obtained a 

 position in the first class, 426 in the second, and 320 in the third, leaving 

 83 failures, and 25 absentees. 



The Examiners, Mr. F. J. Chittenden, F.L.S., Mr. John Fraser, 

 F.L.S., Mr. John Odell, and Mr. C. R. Fielder, V.M.H., report as 

 follows : — 



Some of the questions in Section A were answered remarkably well, 

 showing a very fair knowledge of practical gardening and the factors 

 and conditions necessary for successful cultivation. This remark 

 applies particularly to Question 4 (on seed) which was mostly well 

 answered. Some candidates, however, failed to differentiate between 

 true seed and " seed " potatos. There is still an inclination to be over 

 lavish in the use of farmyard manure ; and in the case of artificial 

 manures, the proportions of Phosphate, Potash, and Nitrate were given 

 for certain crops, but frequently without any indication as to the 

 quantity to be applied per yard or rod — a most important detail. 



Some of the candidates did not know the difference between hardy 

 and half-hardy Annuals, and between shrubs and herbaceous plants, 

 the rose being frequently classed as an herbaceous plant, and the 

 Christmas Rose as a shrub. 



The Examiners are disappointed with the character of the answers 

 in Section B. Care was taken to frame the questions so that they 

 could not be answered adequately by Candidates who had merely 

 " read up " for the examination without making themselves ac- 

 quainted with the facts by observation of common garden plants. 

 The main faults in the replies arose from lack of such acquaintance 

 and a failure to read the questions asked as they were written ; whilst 

 the introduction of irrelevant matters into answers furnished evidence 

 of a deficient knowledge of the subject of the question. Only the 

 eleventh question in Section B was at all satisfactorily answered by 

 perhaps half of the candidates. 



