January 6, 1881 . ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 1 
6th 
Th 
Royal Society at 4.30 P.M. 
7th 
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8th 
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Royal Botanic Society at 3.45 P.M. 
9th 
Sun 
1st Sunday after Epiphany. 
10th 
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11th 
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Royal Horticultural Society—Fruit 
and Floral Committees at 
12th 
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Society o£ Arts at 8 P.M. 
[11 A.M. 
THE FUTURE OF GARDENING. 
CANNOT but believe that there is a great and 
successful future for gardening and gardeners, 
and that gardening will be carried on in coming 
years on a scale far larger than ever before. I 
do not allude to gardens as luxuries, but to 
gardens as a source of profit. 
The farmer’s prospect is gloomy enough. He 
cannot grow his crops to pay, or pay well. He is 
threatened with rivals in the meat market. Many 
farmers have collapsed, and I fear more will. The 
majority of these, though by no means all, have been idle, or 
extravagant, or vicious, or wanting in energy. I have known 
some even, unfortunately, who have eaten their dinner this 
Christmas in the workhouse. In every great alteration of 
course many go to the wall. Thus the introduction of railways 
ruined many coachmen, guards, and hangers-on at stables ; 
but others adapted themselves to their new circumstances—and 
happily there is much adaptability in energetic men—and such 
were not ruined but threw themselves and their powers in 
other and more profitable directions. It will be the same in 
this farming matter. 
The point I wish to impress upon our readers this new year 
is, that gardening should be extended into the domains of 
agriculture. No longer should it be confined within the tra¬ 
ditionary four square walls of a garden properly so called, 
but should embrace a large tract of country, particularly 
that lying around and near towns. 
Sir Gabriel Goldney, a particularly practical and far-looking 
member of Parliament, when recently addressing a large agri¬ 
cultural gathering, amid other remarks said, “ I see from the 
agricultural returns that no less than a quarter of a million 
acres of land had during the past fourteen months been turned 
into orchards and market gardens, and with the result of 
materially augmenting the profits, considering the small time 
the land has been devoted to that purpose." But lam sure 
this plan and change can be carried further. Why should a 
single Apple be imported from America ? 1 would say, Let 
land under the plough be planted with Apple trees. Of course 
the plough must not go quite up to the trees and so injure 
their roots. By planting the trees on such land they would be 
far less likely to be injured by the knives of idle mischievous 
boys, for a ploughed field is no pleasant place to stroll upon, 
as is a meadow ; also the sun and air w 7 ould get better to the 
roots, where was no entangling grass ; and remember grass is 
only weeds. Then further, when the trees began to fruit, the 
crops on the land would protect them from the pilfering of 
the afore-mentioned mischievous boys, who will, boy-like, eat 
fruit in its green state. Then, when the corn is cut, the Apples 
too will be ready to be gathered. The Apple crop is a very 
fairly certain one if proper arrangements are made, such as 
planting in a right aspect and planting proper varieties of trees. 
Let our great fruit-growers state what trees are the best— 
i.e., what they have found to be the best. Again, in England 
only and a few savage countries are lumps of meat consumed, 
and very expensive lumps they are. Look at the economy of 
French cookery ; and even the very Chinese never think of 
providing for themselves or guests thick lumps of meat as we 
do. Vegetables most certainly ought to bear a larger propor¬ 
tion in our meals, but town populations simply cannot get 
them ; but if large districts around every town were devoted 
to the production of vegetables the middle and lower classes 
would soon see the benefit and economy of becoming purchasers. 
All vegetables except Carrots are wholesome, and if children 
are early trained to eat them they prefer them to meat. Two 
things no child naturally likes—the one is beer, the other meat. 
Nature teaches it that water and milk suit it far better, and 
the child’s delicate palate loaths the medicine-like taste of 
beer, and pudding and vegetables and fruits suit its stomach 
better than meat. There is an old story of a Frenchman 
coming to an inn where four Englishmen had the only joint to 
be obtained turning on the spit for them—viz., a leg of mutton, 
which they stoutly refused to allow the Frenchman to share. 
“ But," said the Frenchman, “ would Messieurs allow me to 
put a knife here and there into the meat, and permit me also 
to have some pieces of bread and vegetables placed beneath ?’’ 
The permission was given, and the knowing Frenchman had a 
tasty pleasant dinner while the Englishmen had a dry piece of 
meat. 
I would instance a vegetable which is not nearly eaten 
cooked and from a dish as much as it might be—viz., the 
Onion ; and those that are, are Spanish and not English Onions. 
An Englishman eats little Onions, sometimes far earlier in the 
day than is agreeable to those who talk to him ; then he has 
them sliced around his beefsteak—another lump of meat—but 
how few have a vegetable dish full of large Onions of English 
growth stewed for supper! And yet no supper is cheaper or 
more wholesome. A poor tradesman’s family might sup for a 
few pence on them and bread and salt, yet where are the 
Onions in any great number to be bought cheaply ? Yet 
Onions may be grown in fields with profit. In another part of 
Sir Gabriel Goldney’s address he thus speaks of this as a pay¬ 
ing crop:—“A friend of mine was induced to follow the 
advice I gave him in regard to Onions, and when I was out 
shooting recently he drew my attention to two acres of Onions 
he had planted. My friend told me the difficulty he had was 
to keep his crop clean, and that was essential in their cultiva¬ 
tion ; but it had been properly carried out, and the result was 
that he had a magnificent crop. He had calculated to a nicety 
what expense he had incurred, and had found that with seed, 
rent of land, and so on, the cost had been as nearly as possible 
£20 an acre. He had had an offer for the crop from a man 
in the immediate neighbourhood of £37 an acre, but he 
thought he was entitled to have £40.” “Supposing," adds 
Sir Gabriel, “ this could be carried out to a larger extent, a 
profit of £17 an acre would be a very satisfactory result." 
Here, then, is one means to a desirable end. I make no 
apology for writing thus agriculturally in a “ Journal ” which, 
No. 28 .—Vol. II., Tuinn Series. 
No. 1684.—Yon. LXT.i Old Series. 
