254 
Horticultural  Exhibition  at  Gloucester. 
lead  to  their  efficient  control.  It  is  scarcely  a paradox  to  say 
that  it  requires  art  and  knowledge  of  the  same  order  to  produce 
a cattleya  as  a cauliflower.  But  there  is  this  distinction  to 
be  noted.  In  the  former  case  the  gardener  only  produces 
under  adverse  conditions  what  nature  under  different  ones 
achieves  without  an  effort ; in  the  latter  case  the  subject  of 
cultivation  is  itself  the  result  of  the  cultiyators’  persistent 
labours.  All  our  great  seedsmen  divide  their  work  between 
the  garden  and  the  field,  for  the  supply  of  both  are  ultimately 
dependent  on  the  same  principles  and  methods.  The  Conti- 
nental agriculturist,  to  take  a notable  example,  owes  the  sugar- 
beet  to  the  De  Vilmorins.  The  field  has  continually  to  go  to 
to  the  garden  to  be  stocked.  It  is  to  the  skill  of  the  hybridiser 
acquired  in  the  garden  that  the  farmer  looks  for  new  strains 
of  wheat. 
But  the  case  for  the  relation  of  the  two  can  be  drawn 
even  closer.  It  is  only  in  cool  climates  that  they  seem  opposed. 
The  division  disappears  with  increase  of  temperature  and  as 
the  plough  gives  way  to  the  spade.  Horticulture  is  only, 
in  fact,  the  intensive  side  of  the  cultural  art.  This  is  con- 
spicuous in  the  market-garden,  where  horticulture  and 
agriculture  blend.  The  French  methods,  which  at  present 
attract  so  much  attention,  were  fully  described  by  Mr.  W. 
Robinson  more  than  a quarter  of  a century  ago.  They  have 
long  been  practiced  to  some  extent  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
London,  but  are  pi’obably  most  completely  carried  out  at 
Evesham.  It  was  not  found  possible  to  induce  the  growers 
there  at  a somewhat  short  notice  to  exhibit  the  system  in 
actual  operation.  But  this  was  eventually  accomplished  by 
the  kind  aid  of  Messrs.  Sutton,  of  Reading. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  social  features  of  our  time 
is  the  popularity  of  gardening  and  the  passion  for  flowers. 
This  is  in  part  due  to  the  increase  in  national  wealth  and 
the  general  rise  in  the  standard  of  comfort.  Even  the  poor 
can  afford  some  little  margin  for  personal  gratification.  But 
another  factor  has  been  the  cheapening  of  production. 
Flower-farming  has  become  a branch  of  agriculture.  Within 
the  memory  of  the  present  generation  the  daffodil  was 
wholly  neglected.  Farms  are  now  devoted  to  its  cultivation 
in  multitudinous  forms  ; they  are  the  staple  industry  of  the 
Scilly  Islands,  and  the  streets  of  our  cities  are  bright  with 
them  in  the  spring.  But  a few  years  ago  carnations  of  the 
type  of  the  “ Souvenir  de  Malmaison  ” were  the  exclusive 
possession  of  the  wealthy.  The  somewhat  intractable  diffi- 
culties of  their  cultivation  were  mastered  in  their  gardens  ; 
they  are  now  grown  on  a large  scale  for  cut  blooms,  and 
have  become  the  basis  of  a considerable  and  profitable  industry. 
