January 8, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
31 
- From the same correspondent we have the following METEORO¬ 
LOGICAL Summary for the Year 1884 :—Mean temperature of the 
year, 48'9°. The warmest day, 11th of August. Mean temperature, 69’9°. 
Coldest day, the 30th of November. Mean temperature of air at 9 a.m., 
49-6. Mean temperature of soil 1 foot deep, 49 9°. Total duration of 
sunshine, 1233 hours, or 28 per cent, of possible duration. The brightest 
day was 28th of June. We had eighty-three sunless days, and 100 hours 
less sunshine than the average of the last three years. Total rainfall 
19'31 inches, which is nearly 5 inches less than our average. Maximum 
fall in twenty-four hours on the 9th of July, when 2-04 inches fell. Eain 
fell on 158 days. Snow fell on thirteen days. This year will be chiefly 
remembered for its small rainfall and for the absence of frosty weather. 
A WORD TO YOUNG HEAD GARDENERS. 
Very glad am I, in common with many others, to find the closing 
number of our valuable Journal for 1884 containing such an excellent 
and seasonable article as that under the above heading from the pen of 
“ A Working Gardener.” Every sensible gardener, be he young or old, 
cannot fail to admit the value of the many excellent suggestions contained 
therein. The old axiom, “It is never too late to mend,” is forcibly 
applicable to all ef those who occupy the position of head gardener, 
consequently many of us need an occasional reminder. But “ A Work¬ 
ing Gardener ” has not attempted to set himself up as the paragon, or 
essayed to teach moral philosophy to the elder brethren of the craft. He 
has rather striven in a very lucid manner to give young and aspiring 
head gardeners wholesome advice, the result of and founded upon actual 
experience. Sound, practical articles like these are of great benefit to 
young men who, like myself, can only boast of a couple of years’ expe¬ 
rience as head gardener. Such advice acts as a guide—a sign-post, in 
fact, to point the way out of the many labyrinths of difficulty which often 
beset us at the outset of our career. If there is one thing above all others 
that I admire the good old Journal for it is the sound advice which it 
gives every year, and is ever ready to give to young gardeners. Every 
young man who reads its contents carefully every week need not feel at 
a loss for a direction out of difficulty. I am not lavishing undue praise 
on it when I say that it has always shown a deep interest in the 
welfare of young gardeners, and has been the means of bringing out 
many brilliant men to the front as accomplished writers and gardeners. 
Your correspondent’s article is so thoroughly good that there is 
nothing to which a young head gardener may take exception. Every 
sentence teems with good advice. The moral duties of a gardener are 
especially good and ought to be attentively read and thoroughly digested ; 
the same, too, may be said of a gardener’s professional duties. The posi¬ 
tion of head gardener is too often coveted and obtained by young men 
who are by no means qualified for the post. A great mistake is made 
by many young men in supposing that if they can manage the glass 
department they are qualified for the post of head gardener. Never 
was a greater mistake made than this. A man to become thoroughly 
qualified for the post of head gardener must possess a good knowledge of 
kitchen, flower, and fruit gardening and its minor details. He must not 
be too proud to handle the spade or use a wheelbarrow, otherwise he 
cannot possess a practical knowledge of his business, and thus be able to 
profitably administer the labour power—a great point in the management 
of a garden. There is indeed a greater need of practical knowledge of 
outdoor operations, and of a much larger amount of skill, forethought, 
and anxiety coupled with it than many young men are aware of, as many 
find to their cost when taking to their first head place and are lacking in 
these essentials. Let young men, then, who wish to become efficient 
head gardeners serve at least two-thirds of their probationary career in 
the kitchen, fruit, and flower garden. Let no task be too humble for you 
to undertake, remembering that when you are head gardener you will 
have to direct men under you to do similar tasks with economy and 
despatch. 
Another point so ably dwelt upon by your correspondent is that of 
studying the wishes of your employer. Many a good gardener in all 
other respects has lost a good situation owing to his not studying the 
views and wishes of his employers. Gardeners often have particular 
hobbies which are displeasing to their employers, and despite hints to that 
effect the former persists in carrying them out; consequently, it finally 
ends in a separation between master and man. There is no defence to 
make in the matter, as an employer has a perfect right to demand that 
a servant shall obey his reasonable orders. Some gentlemen take parti¬ 
cular interest in their gardens, and possess no ordinary practical know¬ 
ledge of gardening. In these cases it is the gardener’s duty to faithfully 
carry out his employer’s wishes, which sometimes, especially in matters 
of taste, may prove advantageous from an instructive point of view. 
Gardeners learn much by social intercourse, and if they command respect 
from their employers they will often gain more knowledge of the artistic 
portions of gardening in conversation than from a hundred books. An 
employer who finds his gardener wishing to please will study the interests 
of the latter, as I have proved from very gratifying experience. 
There is much that might be said on this point, but I have already 
written enough to support what “ A Working Gardener ” has enunciated 
iu his article on this subject. One point omitted I must, however, men¬ 
tion. It is the necessity of keeping and giving a strict account of your 
stewardship in all matters relating to the garden under your charge. 
Be careful in all monetary matters, and see that your employer receives 
his due. Keep an account of all vegetables and fruits that are sent into 
the house. Much unpleasantness will thus be avoided. In conclusion, 
let us hope that what “ A Working Gardener ” has striven to inculcate 
into the minds of young men may be appreciated and turned to profitable 
account. That “ A Working Gardener ” may be able for many years to 
come to annually contribute a similarly useful article is the wish of—A 
Young Head Gardener. 
MUSCAT HAMBURGH GRAPE. 
This excellent Grape is probably the best black variety in cultivation, 
and is correctly described by Mr. Barron, especially when he states that 
its appearance is one of its primary qualifications. Few finer-looking 
Grapes have been exhibited than some of the samples wo have seen of 
Muscat Hamburgh. Though they are not often seen on exhibition tables 
at English shows, they occasionally create admiration such as few other 
Grapes do, and first-rate quality is sure to outdistance any compeers on 
the exhibition table which may be pitted against them. Fifteen or 
twenty years ago this Grape was more often seen in good condition than 
now. We have a distinct recollection of the bunches which came from 
Archerfield and Dalkeith Gardens, also the three grand bunches which 
were exhibited at Leicester when the Royal Horticultural Society made 
their provincial tour to that town. These perfect bunches of great size 
created much wonderment at the time, though, perhaps, not exceeding the 
admiration created by the fine examples of Golden Champion from Dalkeith 
at the same exhibition, which the late Mr. W. P. Ayre3 described as “the 
finest Grapes which the world ever saw.” The Muscat Hamburghs were 
grown at a small unpretending place in Oxfordshire, where the gardener 
acted in the capacity of the gardener and coachman. The great bunche3 
of large berries which Mr. Fowler brought from Castle Kennedy to the 
first International Exhibition which was held at Edinburgh are fresh in 
the recollection of those who had the privilege of visiting that grand 
Exhibition, where the finer kinds of Grapes were exhibited in great 
numbers ; and though such do not make a grand display before the un¬ 
tutored as the larger coarse kinds do, nevertheless the real pith of high- 
class culture is manifested in the highest degree of excellence when such 
examples are produced. With the succesful growers of Muscat Ham¬ 
burghs Mr. Johnstone at Glamis Castle is associated. When he made his 
remarkably successful appearance at the second International held at 
Edinburgh, Muscat Hamburghs were prominent amongst that veteran 
grower’s exhibits, and the quality was well tested by his bunch of this 
kind carrying off the first prize for flavour against all comers. At a later 
date, with Muscat Hamburghs, we have Mr. Boyd of Callander House, 
Falkirk, holding the highest honours at the late International Exhibitions 
both at Manchester and Dundee. Mr. Boyd makes no more difficulty 
in growing his Muscat Hamburghs than the other varieties grown so well 
at Callander House. Nevertheless we hold that there are soils which are 
suitable to one class of Grapes and do not act in the same substantial 
manner on others. Some of our friends who have grown Grapes well in 
one part of the country have found great difficulty in doing the same 
thing in other positions. Of course practical men who are in possession 
of sound theory well supported by perseverance, are successful wherever 
they are placed, a wet, dry, cold, or warm position being no barrier to 
their success. 
Some facts connected with my experience of Muscat Hamburgh Grapes 
may not be unworthy of notice. Several years since I succeeded one 
of the most intelligent gardeners that I ever knew, who had tried a number 
of experiments with Grapes as well as other fruits. In a house of late 
Vines he grafted two Muscat Hamburghs on Espiran, and planted 
one Vine on its own roots. The trio, which fell in my caie the following 
season, did most satisfactorily, but those which were grafted outdistanced 
the others for free setting and size of berry. All produced abundantly 
and gave little trouble for years, the grafted ones producing round berries, 
while the fruit from the Vine on its own roots was most oval in form. 
They gave great satisfaction at the dessert table from their finely finished 
appearance and large high-flavoured berries. I can wrtte thus freely on 
the merits of those Vines, the credit for their condition being justly due 
to another. 
I planted a Vine of Muscat Hamburgh on its own roots at the warmer 
end of an early house. They set, ripened, and coloured freely, but being 
forced to come in for use during May and June the berries were smaller, 
but equal in flavour and colour. Many excellent examples of Muscat Ham¬ 
burghs may be seen at private places where exhibiting is prohibited, 
consequently they are never heard of.—M. Temple. 
AURICULAS. 
A CORRESPONDENT, “ T.,” asks a question of seedling raisers, which 
I, as one of them, very readily answer. He is troubled by the solitary 
appearance and slow distribution of sterling new varieties of Auriculas, 
and the only solution to his mind is that thefb is perhaps “some under¬ 
standing that within certain limits they shall not be distributed.” One 
fundamental understanding certainly he has—though an Auricula grower 
not taken into account, and that is, Nature’s own. Nature has a kind 
of Statute of Limitations with regard to highly developed forms of the 
Auricula that no acts of ours can do much to amend. Briefly, the 
Auricula does not breed fast. Unlike the; Carnation and Picotee it is not 
compelled to “make grass” for a livelihood. There is no compulsory 
flight of suckers a3 with the Chrysanthemum ; no chance of an offspring 
on a detached leaf as with the Begonia ; no root-fang capable of producing 
