46 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January 1 ,1884. 
of “X.” that the regulations do not hinder a few growers sweeping off 
all the leading prizes. There should be some rule to prevent such a state 
of things, and Mr. Douglas will at once see the justice of this suggestion. 
I wish the Society every success, but such matters as the one under 
notice do much to cause distrust and dissatisfaction in more quarters than 
one amongst would-be supporters and exhibitors.— AURICULA, North 
London, 
I DO not wish “X.” to think that I take exception to anything he or 
she may be pleased to write. If “X.” wri'es for information why should 
anyone take exception 1 I would like to know who are the numerous 
growers that are fearful lest the expenditure on the special societies will 
be greater than the results obtained. They are evidently not members 
of the societies, at least I think not, else why should they go to ‘'X.” 
about, it instead of expressing their alarm at the meetings of the 
societies ? Those who undertake the management of the societies are 
surely not expected to make any guarantee of that kind. I am sure I 
never gave it a thought. “ X.” is also fearful that the said societies are 
not of national utility. Dear me ! why should they be of national utility ? 
A few old fogies are fond of Auriculas, Carnations, &c.—so very fond of 
them that they go to the trouble to promote special exhibitions of them, 
thinking that a certain portion of the public would be pleased to see 
them. The public, or at least a portion of it, see and applaud. The 
fogies are satisfied, and do not trouble their heads about “national 
utility.” Special societies, or any kind of societies for that matter, 
always increase the number of growers; it is in the nature of things 
that it should be so. Surely no reasonable person need ask for “con¬ 
clusive evidence ” upon what is well known to be a matter of fact. 
Whether it is “ commensurate with the outlay ” is another thing. 
Your correspondent devotes a few lines to criticising the schedules 
sent to him, and gravely asks why in certain classes “one grower is 
allowed to take all the prizes offered 1" That is just the very thing he 
cannot do, although he has a chance to try. If he were successful in 
doing so the defeated exhibitors would carry him shoulder high round 
the building, and the victory would be proclaimed from Land’s End to 
John o’Groat’s. Fancy one man taking thirty-two prizes in four classes ! 
I hey are the most interesting part of the exhibition, and no exhibitor 
that I am aware of ever asked to have them altered. I expected “ X.” 
■would have sent me his name and address, and would have made some 
useful suggestions, but I am much disappointed.— James Douglas. 
CHOU DE BURGHLEY. 
I am pleased to find your three correspondents are of one mind as 
regards the subject under notice. On page 511 of your issue for 
December 13th we have it clear that Mr. Abbey’s experience respecting 
this vegetable has been formed during the present season, for he says :— 
“ I thought if Chou de Burghley were no better than these it were poor 
indeed ; hence it was through prejudice condemned before trial, and I 
•certainly was not prepossessed in its favour by what others had to say in 
its commendation. To solve matters to my own satisfaction I procured 
a packet of seed, sowed part in March and part in April.” This, I pre¬ 
sume, was March and April last. Previous to this Mr. Abbey appears to 
have regarded his now favourite vegetable as a “ bastard,” and identical 
with those we are all accustomed to find amongst Broccoli. On page 4 
Mr. Abbey says :—“ Lastly I may inform ‘A Working Man ’ that I have 
been acquainted with Chou de Burghley since 1878, when it was awarded 
a first-class certificate by the Royal Horticultural Society, and there 
■surely has been ample opportunities of testing its hardiness since ; but it is 
only this season I gave it a fuller trial to test its merits.” What I had was 
the true variety, and, as before, I repeat it is a coarse vegetable. I never 
for a moment suspected Mr. Abbey to be a “cook,” but I know that most 
■gardeners are equal to the occasion when required. I am quite willing 
to admit that I am in no way capable to judge the merits of this wonderful 
•Chou de Burghley if such delicious Cabbages as Ellam’s Early, Little 
Pixie, and Coleworts are so strong-flavoured as to impair my taste. 
How many tastes have been impaired, I wonder, before Chou de Burghley 
■came into existence with its strong flavour '? 
As to the time of boiling, it appears to me that Mr. Abbey and your 
other two correspondents possess ’cuteness far exceeding that of “A 
Working Man,” or even the raiser, for they have been ’cute enough to 
discover how to boil it as “ tender as a chicken ” in thirty minutes, while 
the raiser cannot manage it in less than “ one hour aud twenty minutes,” 
according to his statement in a contemporary.—A Working Man. 
This vegetable has been duly criticised, much praised, and even 
abused. Making much allowance for latitude and nature of soil I 
thought it unfair to give a verdict on its merits before this season. 
But now having tested it I am of opinion that it is an excellent vegetable, 
not at all unlike the Couve Tronchuda when properly cooked ; and so far as 
its requiring one hour and a half to boil till soft and melting as marrow, 
-only half an hour was allowed here, which cooked the heads to perfection. 
The Broccoli in the centre was formed about the size of a small egg, and 
of a decided Broccoli flavour. I never doubted what Mr. Gilbert said 
regarding his novelty, but believed it quite possible that Chou de 
Burghley might change its character in our soil and climate. Mr. Gilbert 
has several times favoured us with samples of products, and notably with 
a number of varieties of Melons raised by him, all of which were equal 
to what he described them to be, his selection of Victory of Bath being 
equal to the best Melons I had tasted before and since I received that 
kind from him. 
With vegetables much depends on the cooking, and the most and best 
cooked vegetables may be met with in noblemen’s and gentlemen s 
houses, where it is not uncommon to leave that important business to 
underlings who have never seen vegetables properly cooked, hence a bad 
name is given to really valuable articles, Potatoes especially. The Chou 
de Burghley here was placed in boiling water after the heads had been 
well washed in salt and water, and half an hour afterwards they were 
strained and served. Some weeks ago they probably would have required 
more boiling.— M. Temple. 
BOTHY LIFE-ROOMS AT KEW. 
The Editor of the Journal of Horticulture deserves the thanks of all 
for allowing the grievances of the young gardeners at Kew to be fully 
stated. These grievances are by no means of an imaginary character, as 
anyone may prove who will take the trouble to make inquiries. Whether 
the remedy should take the form of a bothy or an increase of wages is, I 
think, open to discussion. It is a most unwarrantable assumption on the 
part of “Boss” to suppose that these thirty men could not be housed 
together without making a sort of pandemonium. “Boss” would do 
well to remember that they are governed by stringent regulations. It is 
not necessary to commit a great offence to insure a severe reprimand, 
generally accompanied with the intimation that the second offence will 
terminate further service in the garden. The young men accordingly 
adapt themselves to the rules or the establishment, and there is no reason 
to suppose that they would not be equally attentive to bothy regulations, 
as the foreman might with advantage act the part of monitor. As to the 
moral side of the question, in my opinion it would be a decided improve¬ 
ment, for the habits and characters of some of the people that many of 
the young men are compelled to lodge with are very unsatisfactory. 
There is one thing in connection with a residence for the young men that 
would prove an immense benefit to their mental and physical health— 
I mean a good bath. This could be easily and cheaply constructed. An 
ample supply of water is obtainable, and this, together with well-cooked 
and wholesome food, would assist greatly in preventing the frequent loss 
of health that many suffer who go to Kew for twelve or eighteen months. 
On the whole I am inclined to think a bothy would act well and be 
of great advantage to the young men. In the absence of such accommo¬ 
dation the wages should be increased. The effect of the present rate of 
wages is to virtually exclude a numerous body of deserving young 
gardeners—those who cannot draw upon their relations or friends. 
In my opinion it is a mistake to admit very young men to Kew. I 
am convinced that older men, say from twenty-two and upwards, would 
be in every way more satisfactory, as the special knowledge obtainable 
at Kew would be far more valuable as a finish to a gardener’s education. 
Will “ Libertas,” who defends the existing system, undertake to prove 
that 165. per week at Kew are equal to 165. in a private establishment ? 
Assuming that 165. with bothy, vegetables, and frequently milk and other 
advantages, is the average remuneration of young gardeners, a reduction 
of at least of 6.?. will have to be made on going to Kew to balance these. 
“ Libertas ” says that the young men are transferred from house to house 
for their own benefit and to the disadvantage of the plants. To my 
certain knowledge that is done very irregularly, some young men 
receiving two or three changes, others only one, and some none at all. 
In short, this so-called shifting from house to house only occurs as 
vacancies arise, and as there are over thirty young men such a method is 
manifestly unfair to many. 
As to the science lessons, the excellent intentions, and commendable 
efforts of the authorities are rendered less useful than would otherwise 
be the case owing to the time at which the lessons are given. It should 
be borne in mind that most of these young men are confined to tropical 
houses, which is very well during the winter months, but quite different 
in the summer. For instance, every young man is confined to his 
respective house for five hours at a time—viz., from 1 P.M. till 6 P.M. 
during the summer months, and mostly, be it remembered, in high tem¬ 
peratures and humid atmospheres. After they have passed through this 
energy-destroying process they have to attend lessons on botany four or 
five nights every week. This is not all, for these lectures have to be 
written out afterwards, and it is difficult for young men to grasp even 
the rudimentary facts of botany under such circumstances.— SCRUTATOR. 
To become a good gardener we may, I think, safely assert that young 
men must not only study their work during the hours of labour, but also 
more especially in their leisure hours. In fact more depends upon how 
these leisure hours are spent than many of us were at one time aware of, 
or possibly we should have acted very differently. By having rooms 
or sharing a bothy with others in a garden, young men, besides being 
able to attend to their duties, also have a much better chance to improve 
themselves. If they fail in this respect they have only themselves to 
blame, at any rate they cannot blame employers who have done their 
best for them. That in some cases the young men are only kept in order 
by the head gardener or even the foreman must be admitted ; but this is 
no argument against the necessity for bothies, indeed it only serves to 
convince us of the good policy of providing rooms where they can be so 
controlled. Lodgings are distasteful to many young gardeners who 
have previously lived in bothies, and when these lodgings are expensive, 
not of easy access, and otherwise objectionable, there is all the more 
reason why more suitable lodgings should be provided, especially seeing 
that such generally prove advantageous alike to the employer and 
employes. 
I have always been an admirer of Kew Gardens, and rarely miss an 
