February 5, 1898. 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



LEAVES FROM A RAMBLER'S NOTEBOOK. 



MEN AND METHODS. 



THE turn of the year, with spring and its attending work in prospect, 

 brings eardeners face to face with numerous duties, and a decision 

 must be arrived at as to the best ways and means of accomplishing 

 them In this there seems to be no hard-and-fast rule, for though in 

 everv case principles must to some extent be the same, the methods 

 of applying them vary considerably. Nowhere is a gardener so much 

 at home as in his own garden, and interviewed there one has no 

 difficulty in seeing his methods, and also, if successful, of observing the 

 implicit faith he puts in them. In his own sphere the gardener is not 

 loth to argue in favour of his mode of procedure, and sometimes is apt 

 to ridicule anv other, no matter how successful, simply because he has 

 learnt ito pin his faith on one. To anyone quite uninitiated in the gentle 

 art this conflict of opinions is puzzling, and frequently amateurs in 

 difficulty are at a loss to know how to proceed, because Mr. A says this 

 is the best method and Mr. B recommends another quite different. 

 Both men speak from experience and their words are to be relied upon. 

 How, then, shall the novice proceed ? He frequently loses confidence 

 and is slow to accept the advice of either ; whereas if he took the trouble 

 to get to the root of the matter he would find that the principle of the 

 thing was the same in both cases, and the two gardeners went different 

 ways to reach the same end. 



has determined to prove for himself, having planted trees, and pruned 

 some, leaving others unpruned. The result will doubtless satisfy him, 

 and in due time the horticultural world will have another advocate of 

 either one system or the other. 



Garden visiting is always a pleasant occupation to anyone interested 

 in horticulture, and there is no better opportunity of studying men and 

 methods. When two gardeners meet they invariably talk shop, and if 

 the meeting takes place at a show or outside the precincts of the 

 garden, then the conversation is general ; but when friend meets friend in 

 the garden which either controls, they come at once to detail, and 

 exchange views over the cultivation of this crop or that. Tenacity of 

 idea is generally a strong point with gardeners, and many men 

 having proved from experience the success of any particular method, are 

 ready to swear by it, and look upon any other las being quite beneath 

 their consideration, Others, again, are borne here and there by every 

 breeze of opinion that blows, never forming one of their own, nor stick- 

 ing to anyone else's long enough to give it a fair trial. Rarely are such 

 amongst the most successful, and, as is generally the case when making 

 comparisons of this kind, the best plan is to strike a medium between the 

 two ; always being on the alert when viewing the operations of others, to 

 take advantage of anything that looks like improvement, but at the same 

 time having confidence enough in our own opinions to avoid following 

 the lead of every would-be reformer who comes along. 



Just one more instance, and this time vegetables— onions. We note 

 the advice of two successful growers and exhibitors. One, whom we will 

 call Mr. A, gives his methods of cultivation, and says the correct thing, 

 after raising the onions in heat, is to carefully transplant them in their 

 permanent quarters with a trowel, disturbing the roots as little as possible, 

 and removing the plants with good balls of earth attached. He goes cn 

 to detail the ill effects if this advice is not followed, and it all sounds so 

 feasible and practical that we are disposed to accept it as the correct 

 thing. Then Mr. B steps in, he also being an expert in the art of onion 

 culture. He tells you Mr. A's theory is all nonsense about the planting 

 with good balls of earth. His advice is, when transplanting, to wash 

 away every particle of soil from the roots, and thus give them a clear 

 start in the fresh compost. He argues that the onions make less root- 

 growth, and the force of the plant goes to the feeding and maturing of 

 the bulb. He clinches his argument by the production of first-prize cards 

 for onions, and knowing both men to be successful growers, how can we 

 refute the statements of either? As Sam Weller would put it, "it ain't 

 to be done," and is only one instance in the many of the different ways 

 leading to the same goal. The study of " men and methods " is an in- 

 teresting one, and, in spite of the complications existing, the summing 

 up seems to be contained in the old adage — Take the advice of both sides 

 and then act for yourself. H. 



Young gardeners during their years of probation, frequently have 

 opportunities of seeing this conflict of opinion that exists among heads, 

 and in some cases it has anything but an inspiring effect. Imagine, for 

 instance, a young man of studious, thoughtful turn of mind who is anxious 

 to make himself competent, serving for a period under a gardener of set 

 and somewhat biassed opinions. He has faith in his chief, who maybe 

 is not slow to impress upon him that his methods, founded on 

 experience, are correct, and any other ways of treating certain crops, 

 or doing specified work, are therefore wrong. The young gardener 

 gets to look at matters in the same way, and frequently finds himself 

 in a quandary of doubt when he leaves the establishment to pursue 

 his fortune in some other under a head gardener who holds different 

 opinions to those of his former chief. This kind of thing has damped 

 the ardour of more than one young man, and been the means of lowering 

 his interest ; while making due allowance for differences of opinion, and 



Wh U h g I he nght ° f any man t0 be J uslified in working on any methods 



asserV tW w P rov ? d *° b f successful, he should not go so far as to SO ciew presents mrai wu^u^ *™ « — u — ~ 7 * 



a*cn matins way is the only right one, and ridicule every other. Every me n. Thev are features that hundreds of young gardeners in isolated 



Chiswick as a School Garden. 



The mention in a recent issue of the scholarships available at Chiswick 

 in connection with the forthcoming R.H.S. examination again serves to 

 attract attention to the old garden and its uses. Whatever may be the 

 criticisms bestowed from time to time on Chiswick and its management, 

 there remains the undoubted fact that it is practically the only advanced 

 horticultural school garden in the kingdom in which general horticulture 

 can be taught. Of course I do not overlook first-class private nursery 

 and market gardens, all of which enable gardening in a very wide sense 

 to be learned, but none of these occupy the same public, and I may 

 almost say academical, position that Chiswick does. I may be told of a 

 garden in the Regent's Park as being also a public school garden, but 

 whatever its pretensions, it is evident it cannot properly be placed 

 in comparison, or in the same category as a school of practical horti- 

 culture, with Chiswick. The former may be able to evidence what is 

 termed decorative gardening ; the latter illustrates in admirable fashion 

 fruit culture, inside and out, vegetable trials, and both plant and flower 

 culture, within and out also. Chiswick has one other great advantage 

 as a school. It is presided over by a first-class practical gardener, and 

 to the future gardener such supervision is worth a score of pure scientists 

 or theorists. Of all things the future gardener, whilst yet a learner, needs 

 to be grounded in hard practice, and then, if a persistent learner, theory 

 and science can follow with all the greater ease. Then again, in garden 

 practice, whatsoever may be the temporary and changing value set upon 

 mere decorative gardening, the importance attached to productive 

 gardening as found in fruits and vegetables never varies ; indeed it 

 becomes the greater as the years roll on. Hence a professed advanced 

 school garden should give practical instruction in these great cultural 

 elements as well as in decorative gardening 



There is attached to Chiswick also, though not essentially under the 

 R.H.S., an exceedingly useful society in the Gardeners' Mutual Improve- 

 ment Association, this is a society well worth tangible support by the 

 R.H.S. council, as its meetings are held in the old council room. Such a 

 society presents most attractive as well as instructive features, to young 



young gardener may learn a lesson from this by taking observations of 

 then T thods ' then wh ? n he is in a P ositi . on to please himself act on 



country places would be only too delighted to be able to utilise, but 

 cannot. It is difficult to overestimate the usefulness of such gatherings 



the nnp tVi f TT r J,WU11 ^ picdbe iniubcii aci on cannot. It IS aimCUlt 10 overestimate tnc usciuiiic^ vi 3uui g<xwtiin5o 



voumr ma a ? Pea u t0 him . the most Poetical. Recently I heard of a as this association furnishes, not only for acquiring knowledge from each 



nrll oT ' en starting at a fresh establishment, was instructed other amonest the members, in learning to organise thoughts, and to 



whom Ha k V certain way. He protested that Mr. So-and-So, under * J L " 



von ™ „ *2 P re ™> usl y served, followed a different course. "When 



Now von ME S °- and - S <V' ^plied the chief, « you worked his way. 



rarrW ?™ W i? mC ' Y ° U wiU WOrk my way ' and when y° u are a head 

 better feJTX Y °u C . an WOrk yOUr OWn Way '" Surel V this tau g h * * 



cS, and to th^r" 8 ^ ° f * * WaS 



tJ^^JSS^ f t0 P art ^ularise at all, but current work in hand 



refe to Z^no J ° f 0ne °/ th J? P omts J wherc doctors disagree." I 

 now JXS' al if rears f whlch > as the calendars put it, should be 

 amateur was in , el T T ha \ e ? Ca f e ,n pomt ' and the other day an 

 h ad just planted « *n °l P er P lexi ^ y about s 1 ? me youn S a PP^ trees he 



ex pi, S . ° n V rune them , at aU the first seas °V said one 

 any rate to hU n S lv . e r hls . reasons for not doing so, and proving, at 

 expert cnmJl 1 ?™ »tisfection, the correctness of his theory. Another 



He, 

 s prin- 



01 course rin;^,i 07 \C V . 111 UC11CVC1 111 nrst-year pruning 

 ciples ,nd J,. leS the advice of the former a * being against hi 

 Planting ly s £f t° iUustratc ,f c advisa ™y of pruning after 

 ^ unpruned shorn? SS^W f ~ u Y *™*s breaking from the tips 

 amatJ.ir shoots » w,th all the lower buds blind. Hp th* P 



and 



oT 



°PPosed 

 ned. 



express them in terse language, but also in bringing gardeners together 

 for social intercourse and interchange of opinions. Altogether, Chiswick 

 seems to enjoy very many advantages, and youths there possess privileges 

 and have opportunities that many other young gardeners do not share in. 



There is one matter in relation to these preferred scholarships at 

 Chiswick, that needs full elucidation. As well known the examinations in 

 each year are open to any and all candidates, male and female. Nothing 

 is stated in the scholarship papers, so far as published that in any way 

 indicates the donor's intentions with regard to sex. It is well known 

 that women do enter the field of labour now as gardeners. Are these 

 eligible for the Chiswick scholarships, or not? It is true the term he 

 is used in the conditions, but it is not emphasised, and may be read, as it 

 stands, to include "he 7 ' or "she "-at present it is a comprehensive or 

 inclusive term. One point needs to be made very clear. When women 

 are included in the ordinary garden staff at Kew, it is difficult to see how 

 they could consistently be excluded from Chiswick. The matter is not at 

 all to be determined by sex bias and prejudice, but by good sense. 

 When the R.H.S. throws the doors of its examination rooms open to 

 male and female alike, without distinction, and on a footing of absolute 

 equality, can distinctions as to well-won scholarships be consistently 

 created ? I fail to see how they can. I hope to learn later that very 

 many more young gardeners have entered for the examination than last 

 year. It is for their benefit chiefly it is instituted. As an examination of 



"oiamed. Return X y ^r**i * lur ay, well-shaped trees are year, it is tor tneir oencut iw k> mounts ™ ^^-—^ — 



ceed, and the mZ i two the nov,ce ,s P u *zled to know how to pro- cottagers, and similar very elementary amateur gardeners, it is absolutely 



ic n. "»orai Obtained frnm It co^mc tn K« ' 1 • ., r • j 1 . Knf it i<; not nriQQi'hlf* tr» cnnnn<;p th#* nrnmoterS ever 



dang 



grower 



unfit indeed absurd ; but it is not possible to suppose the promoters ever 

 contemplated the examination would be for these classes. A. Dean. 



