66 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AXD COTTAGE GARDENER 
January 22, 1886. 
rated upwards of a century, yet the top spit works badly owing to its 
clayey nature, and to bring up more clay only makes matters worse,'’ he 
would have been on safe ground ; and possibly his contention, now 
advanced, that “in the case of all clayey or heavy soils we should spend 
more money or labour on the surface soil and not attach undue importance 
to the efficacy of trenching ” would not have been seriously questioned. 
Still, in such a case those who have spent “ money and labour ” in charr¬ 
ing the adhesive mass to a depth of 20 inches know that the productive¬ 
ness of the land has been doubled, and the necessity for after manuring 
has been greatly reduced. But that method of treatment is not within 
the means of all, and such land a9 described may be managed as advised 
by Mr. Iggulden. The soundness of his practice, as applied to the 
soil he has to work, with the means at his disposal, has never been 
questioned. 
Your correspondent, however, does not so restrict the application of 
his remarks. He even refuses to admit the fact that a three-fold return 
from land by reducing its depth one-third is admissible evidence in 
favour of deep cultivation, but endeavours to explain it away because 
“ the season was highly favourable to his heavy land garden.” Here 
again the old error peeps out of founding arguments on heavy land, 
and inferring their applicability to light soil, for it so happens that the 
garden in question is as light and gravelly, as can well be imagined, 
and had not 2 inches of rain during the three hottest months of the 
summer. The season, then, that was “ highly favourable ” for heavy 
land was the exact opposite in the case of soil, the like of which he has 
confessedly “ never worked.” I must, therefore, really ask him to accept 
my evidence on this point, and the assurance that but for the deeper 
working, with all the surface mulching that could be given, the garden 
would have been even more profitless than before, so unfavourable was 
the season for crops in light shallow land in dry districts. This garden 
is being worked still deeper this year, and nothing but good can result. 
I do not know Mr. Chinery, but I believe he bears a good gardener’s 
name, and I cannot help thinking if he had been working in error during 
forty-five years that someone would have found it out. Yet his experi¬ 
ence only proves the practice of trenching “ time-honoured,” says Mr. 
Iggulden, not necessarily good. I fail to see the cogency of the argu¬ 
ment, and I shall believe that Mr. Chinery has done quite right under 
the circumstances, and that the garden he has tilled so long would not 
have been anything like so fertile as it is now if it had only been dug 
“ about a foot deep ” during all those years. 
There is a gardener named Gilbert that I have read about ; he lives 
at Burghley. Mr. Gilbert has the reputation of being an expert culti¬ 
vator, and the garden in his charge is, I believe, made to yield extraor¬ 
dinary crops. Is it worked about a foot deep only ? I will venture a 
guess that if it were not worked to twice that depth it would not be any¬ 
thing like so profitable as it is to-day. There is a gardener who writes in 
the Journal occasionally, and who, according to the reports of some of 
the leading shows, has won some prizes that are not usually received by 
men who make mistakes, time-honoured though they may be regarded. 
I mean Mr. J. Muir, and I have noticed particularly that he lays stress on 
trenching judiciously conducted. There is another gardener not unknown 
in the horticultural world—at least, not a few of his compeers at the 
“big shows” remember him very well. His name is Milep. Does Mr. 
G. T. Miles dig only a foot deep ? Let. him answer. Having drained the 
land he says, “ It should be trenched as deep as the nature of the soil 
will admit. None but those practically acquainted with vegetable culture 
are capable of fully estimating the advantages obtained in deeply culti¬ 
vating the land, and the process of trenching should be carried out year 
after year in a systematic way, so that at regular intervals the whole area 
under cultivation will in due course be treated in this manner.” 
And so I might go on. Mr. Iggulden thinks I am “ a little wide of 
the mark ” when I say that “ deep root-action is brought about by the 
speedy deprivation of moisture and sustenance from the mere surface soil,” 
and he explains “ it is not the deprivation of moisture so much as the 
poverty of the surface soil that is to blame.” He is right in one thing ; 
if I am wide of the mark it is indeed only a “ little,” for there 
cannot be a great difference between “poverty” and a “deprivation of 
sustenance.” 
We are next taken to Barham Court, where Mr. Haycock grows his 
preserving fruit, and to Holme Lacy. I will accept the invitation, and I 
shall not believe, except on the evidence of Mr. Haycock, that the trees 
from which he ga’hers his fruit have only about a foot of soil to grow in, 
and I will leave Mr. Iggulden to write for information if he likes to do so. 
As regards Holme Lacy it is not necessary to write, for Mr. A. Young was 
gardener there, and in all his articles on preparing the ground for fruit 
trees advocates a depth of not less than 20 inches. 
Lastly, as regards vegetable culture for market under plough culture 
in one district, and the trenching system in another ; the land in the 
former case does not let for half the rent that is realised in the latter. 
What is the reason ? Is it not obvious ? 
I have already said that many needlessly deep borders are made for 
fruit trees in gardens ; and that it is a grievous mistake to bury a foot of 
good surface soil under a similar or half the thickness of clay, as that is 
simply abusin? a practice that is good when intelligently conducted, for 
the deeper the soil is in reason, provided it is equally fertile throughout 
the mass, the greater is its productiveness; and I have a lurking suspicion 
that it Mr. Iggulden has made any Vine borders that he has prepared the 
soil a little more than a foot deep. Do Vines need deeper soil than the 
majority of garden crops ? 
Some complimentary letters have reached me for which I am 
obliged ; but I prefer acting on the suggestion of one who does not praise 
indiscriminately: he says, “Go on thinking by all means, but if you 
have much to say on one subject, such as tackling a man like IgguldeD, let 
him have it in an article.” I have complied, and remain—A Thinker. 
The Annual General Meeting of the Royal Horticultural 
Society will be held at South Kensington on February 10th, 1885. The 
following persons are recommended by the Council to be appointed to the 
offices of President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Auditors of the Society : — 
President, Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P.; Treasurer, William Haugh- 
ton; Secretary, Major F. Mason; Auditors, John Lee, James F. West, 
and William Richards. The vacating members of the Council are the 
Right Hon. Lord Aberdare, the Right Hon. Viscount Enfield, and J. H. 
Mangles (deceased). The Fellows recommended by the Council to fill 
the above vacancies are the Hon. and Rev. J. T. Boscawen, Colonel R. 
Tievor Clarke, and W. T. Thiselton Dyer, F.R.S. 
- Death of Mbs. Shibley Hibberd.—I t is with feelings of pa’n 
that we have to announce the death on the 21st January, at the Priory 
Park, Kew, of Ellen, second wife of Mr. J. Shirley Hibberd, the cause of 
death being peritonitis. Mr. Hibberd, if we remember rightly, had only 
been married about a year, and we accord to him our sincere sympathy, in 
which our readers will join on his great bereavement. 
- We regret to have to announce the death of Mr. R. T. Veitch of 
Exeter, which happened on the 18th instant at the age of 62. He was 
the last surviving son of Mr. James Veitch, sen., of Exeter, and brother 
of the late Mr. James Veitch of the Exotic Nursery, Chelsea. 
- We learn that Mr. Harry J. Veitch, as representing the firm of 
J. Veitch & Sons Chelsea, has received the Royal warrant appointing 
him nurseryman and florist to Her Majesty the Queen, the warrant not 
being granted to a firm as such, but only to individuals. Mr. Harry J. 
Veitch is also by Her Majesty’s command to present the bridal bouquet 
on the approaching marriage of H.R.H. the Princess Beatrice, this being 
the eighth occasion on which either his father or he ha9 been similarly 
honoured. 
- The statement of the receipts and payments of the Gardeners’ 
Royal Benevolent Institution reached us too late for publication, but 
we note that the income during the year was £2486 3s. 7 d., and the 
expenditure £1863 16s. Id .; £602 5s. has been added to stock, which 
amounts to £15,950, a balance of £386 8s. 10 d. remaining in the hands of 
the Treasurer and Secretary. We are glad to observe that £1762 4s. 2d. 
has been collected for the pension augmentation fund during the year 
and that the amount now invested is £3900. 
- Horticultural Club. —The usual monthly dinner and con¬ 
versazione took place at the rooms, 1, Hemietta Street, Covent Garden, 
on Tuesday evening last. Amongst those present were—Mr. John Lee 
(Chairman), Dr. Hogg, the Rev. F. H. Gall, Messrs. Cousens, C. T. Druery, 
L. Upcott Gill, and S. T. Collings. Mr. Druery exhibited pinnae of 
Athyrium Filix-fcemina clarissima, illustrating his recent discovery of 
apospory— i.e., the reproduction of the plant through archegonia and 
antheridia developed on prothalli, originating not in the normal way from 
spores, but by direct vegetative outgrowth from aborted sporangia. An 
interesting discussion took place on the whole subject. The annual 
dinner of the Club will take place on Tuesday, February 10th, under the 
presidency of Mr. John Lee, and as it will be the tenth anniversary, a 
large attendance of members is expected. 
- Mr. G. Windsor, Glangarra Gardens, Carnarvon, has sent us 
-some fine examples of Brussels Sprouts, “grown from imported seed 
procured from Messrs. James Dickson Sc Sons, Chester. The plants are 
closely studded with firm knobs of the medium size that are acceptable 
on the majority of tables. Accompanying them was a well-grown 
example of Asparagus plumosus, which Mr. Windsor observes, “ lasts in 
water for weeks.” He also sends a flowering stem of the brilliant and 
curious Strelitzia regina, which has such strangely foimed flowers and 
peculiar contrast of orange and blue. 
