April 16, 1385. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
309 
for six weeks. It commenced to expand its small flowers early in 
February. I took the precaution to cover with a bellglass, and they 
have maintained their beauty up to the present time (March 24th). 
Each bulb produced three spikes of flowers, which are being succeeded 
with a good batch of seed. The perianth is of rich crerulean blue, 
with deeper midribs leading to the limb segments ; it is indeed a 
gem, apparently quite hardy and very early, vieing with Ehves’s 
Snowdrop and the Netted Iris, a trio of beauties which should find a 
congenial home in every garden where har Jy bulbs are hobbied. 
Leontjce Alberti.— Under a small handlight this flowered well, 
the racemes being now succeeded by the lobate sub-glaucous foliage. 
The flowers are orange-yellow, borne in dense racemes about 6 inches 
high, but I do not think it will prove hardy in most gardens ; never¬ 
theless, it is well worth taking care of. Thorough drainage, light rich 
soil, with a sunny position, are requirements which must be met if its 
culture is seriously attempted. 
Colchicum montanum. —This is appearing now as if out of sheer 
contempt at its congeners, is interesting and welcome. The flowers 
are white tinged with purple, the leaves contemporaneous with them. 
Merendera sobolifera, a similar little plant, but much smaller, of the 
same colour ; the perianth segments are longer and not so wide, 
while there is a great difference in the rootstocks.—T. 
HORTICULTURAL DEPRESSION. 
We very often hear of agricultural depression, and the farmers are 
never tired cf invoking the sympathy and seeking the aid of Govern¬ 
ment in these evil times ; but the gardening world is, though not 
considered so important, and, consequently, is less heard about than 
the agricultural community, suffering from severe depression too. 
Whether such depression will be lasting or not it is hard to tell. One 
thing seems pretty certain, and that is, that our landed proprietors 
will not have such large incomes from their estates in the future as 
they have had in the past, unless, indeed, some new and at present 
unknown source of wealth springs up for them. At the present time, 
looking at things as they are, and as they appear likely to be, garden¬ 
ing seems bound to suffer by these evil times. Gentlemen who may have 
heavily encumbered estates, and who have had to give large reductions to 
the r tenants,cannot be expected to be able to afford themselves the amount 
of indulgence in horticulture that they have been in the habit of doing in 
times past. Retrenchment, therefore, is the order of the day, and many 
fine places are being reduced in a manner that is much to be regretted, 
but which, at the same time, seems unavoidable. 
True, other gentlemen—our merchant princes, and great numbers of 
less prominent, yet still wealthy, men of commerce in our country—are, 
in a greater or less degree, patrons of horticulture, and our general com¬ 
merce may again be as prosperous as ever it was. This, therefore, is the 
main hope for the future flourishing of horticulture. 
That it should flourish is, no doubt, the ardent wish of all your readers, 
and it should be the desire of all who love the beauties of the world of 
plant life, who can appreciate the qualities of fresh and luscious fruits, 
and the more prosaic, yet still valuable, qualities of vegetables, that horti¬ 
culture should flourish in all its departments ; and this, be it observed, 
not only in regard to the spread of the appreciation for gardening as a 
means of pleasure and a source of elevating and refining study, but also 
the great increase of gardening as connected with the abundant supply 
of good fresh fruits and vegetables to the masses. 
Looked at from every point of view, then, it will be well for the country 
if horticulture flourishes in years to come. While all must regret the 
sweeping reductions rendered necessary in some gardens, such must be 
looked at in a philosophic light, and, in fact, we must bow to the inevi¬ 
table. There can be no doubt that there are too many young men at 
present connected with gardening as intending gentlemen’s gardeners. 
Many cf them mu3t, I fear, content themselves with hopes of getting a 
good place. For one who does get into such a place as is considered 
good, there are many who are forced to toil on with hope deferred. Mo 3 t 
of the prominent nurserymen have great-numbers of names on their books 
of men waiting for places, many of them advanced in years ; men who have 
had large and varied experience, who are able gardeners, educated, and 
gentlemanly. Of course there are also numbers aspiring to places who 
are Dot so experienced, not s> well educated, or so gentlemanly. Still, 
taken as a class, gardeners may be considered a highly creditable body 
of men. 
No doubt in time the old rule of demand and supply will have had an 
effect in reducing the numbers of young men who take to gardening to 
something more in proportion to the chances of their all becoming head 
gardeners. More men who are simply labourers should be employed in 
much that goes on in gardens ; if such were done the gardening world 
would not be overstocked with disappointed men who began life with the 
hope of getting to some po-ition, but who are compelled by sheer com¬ 
petition to submit to hard lirie^, and never rise above a working gardener, 
doing much severe and unskilled labour, toiling on, and discovering when 
too late that their youthful vision has been a delusion and a snare. Such 
is a gloomy picture to look upon, hut unfortunately it is too true. 
In some cases of course the non-success rests entirely with themselves, 
but in many others, though deserving of success, they have not been able 
to command it. A young man commencing gardening now has many 
advantages which weie not possessed by the horticultural students of half 
a century back. Travelling is now so easy and cheap that little excuse 
can he offered for the non-visitation of other gardens, and the attendance 
at a flower show now and then. Gardening literature is both cheap, 
good, and abundant, and within the reach of all who care to read up in 
their profession. Gentlemen have sometimes been discouraged in their 
gardening pursuits by the want of skill and tact of their gardeners; when 
such is the case it constitutes a distinct blow to the progress of horticulture, 
and is much to be regretted. I have heard both ladies and gentlemen 
remark, “ Oh, I would much like to grow so-and-so, but my gardener 
does not care for it 1 ” or “ Oh, I wish I could get my gardener to go in 
for so-and-so, but he says it won’t do in our houses ! ” 
I would advise all young men entering the gardening profession to 
remember that they have to serve. Not exactly as they wish can they 
get all things done. They may advise when their experience enables 
them to do so, but refusal to carry out their employers’ wishes should not 
be for one moment thought of. If such a rule were strictly followed the 
effect would be beneficial to gardening and gardeners. A reasonable 
employer, finding his wishes carried out to the letter, and observing now 
and then that something his gardener remarked on—when being aske 1 to 
carry out, as being unlikely to succeed, yet at the same time never re¬ 
fusing to comply with the request—has not turned out as he expected, 
but as the gardener hinted, will in future be more inclined to trust his 
gardener's judgment and value his skill. 
Despite the term of dull and disheartening years which we are passing 
through, there may be brighter days in store for horticulture. One 
thing is especially to be desired, and that is that gardeners may more and 
more come to see that suaviter in mo do is very necessary, as well as 
experience and ability. Young men, remember the road to fame in the 
horticultural world is hard to travel, and comparatively few reach the 
highest pinnacles, but a moderate amount of success may be obtained by 
patient study, hard work, and a gentlemanly, obliging, and courteous 
demeanour. The love of horticulture must ever be consideied beneficial. 
May it increase, may it flourish in time to oome as it has done iu the 
palmiest days of the past.—S. 
TRENCHING GROUND. 
My opponents must not flatter themselves that their arguments in 
favour of trenching are unanswerable. On the contrary, I should be 
plea=ed to follow up the subject, only I think more will be gained by 
postponing the controversy. We all like novelty, and “Trenching 
Ground” has gone on long enough ; in fact the season for tienching is 
past. However, 1 find there are several practical gardeners, who, to a 
certain extent, favour my views, and now I have set men thinking, more 
will eventually be gained over. Once intelligent men have their faith in 
trenching somewhat shaken, they will gradually discover that the benefits 
attending that laborious operation have in many cases been much over¬ 
estimated. One friend writes, “I wish some of them” (meaning “A 
Thinker,” and others of his persuasion) “ had to deal with our land, and 
we should hear but little about trenching from them.” Another says, 
“ Stick to it; you are right on the whole, and right will eventually prevail 
over might.” Other somewhat similar remarks might be given, only I 
am not so fond of quotations as some people are. 
I do not, however, propose to let our facetious and would-be “ smash¬ 
ing” friend “A Thinker” off so lightly, simply because he has not 
met the case so fairly as the rest. It will be remembered he has twice 
mentioned Mr. Gilbert and his achievements at Burghley as being illus¬ 
trious examples of the advantages attending trenching. On page 66 he 
writes, “ Mr. Gilbert has the reputation of being an expert cultivator 
and the garden in his charge is, I believe, made to yield extraordinary 
crops,” and then confidently guesses that if it was not worked 2 feet 
deep it would not be anything like so profitable as it is to-day. Accord¬ 
ing to Mr. Gilbert’s own showing (page 246) the Burghley Gardens aie 
indeed surprisingly productive, no less than eight large establishment 
being supplied from it this winter. Yet we find Mr. Gilbert “ agree s 
with nearly all I say,” and he now considers trenching so much labou r 
wasted. “A Thinker” has invoked a powerful witness against himself 
It appears Mr. Gilbert objects to being considered a “surface scratcher,” 
and as he has rendered me good service, we will charitably suppose that 
his “cultivators” mere than “tickle” the surface. I did not attempt 
to make Mr. Gilbert’s practice appear ridiculous, quite the reverse. 
“ A Thinker” makes an unfair use of the statstics w.th regard to the 
unoccupied farms in Essex. He must know as well as I do that the 
land in the majority of cases is of a heavy unworkable nature, only fit 
for corn-growing, and to trench or break it up deeply with the steam 
plough would make it ten times worse. It is bad seasons (wet ones, 
remember) and low prices that has brought about this unfortunate state 
of affairs. Can anyone point to an unoccupied farm in Essex within 
carting distance of Spitalfields Market ? 
Who besides “ A Thinker,” who, I am beginning to perceive, does 
not think enough, would think of placing a Vine border with its concrete 
bottom, perfect drainage, and partial aeration, in the same category as an 
ordinary orchard or fruit border? Even with a Vine border experts ei- 
deavour to keep the roots near the surface, and it is of still grtattr im¬ 
portance that Apple, Pear, Peach, and other fruit trees should also be kept 
rooting near the surface. Then, again, do I advocate planting cr.hard 
and other tree3 in small holes dug in grass land 1 They are bouud to 
thrive best in cultivated, but not necessarily trenched land, as I took 
pains to point out. Mr. Whitehead’s trenching or subsoiling with a plough 
is very different to the practice advocated by Mr. Temple and others, of 
trenching three spades deep. Surf ice culture and “starvation systems j 
