510 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 13, 1883. 
condensation of the sulphurous vapours given off from burning gas in the 
ordinary way. In no case should such a stove of either make be used in 
a plant house without a dish to produce moisture, the heat given off by 
stove, though slight and local in its effect, being too dry of itself.— 
Experience. 
GATHERING PEARS—BISHOP’S THUMB. 
This is one of the most fruitful Pears grown here. It never misses 
a crop, and it is in no way delicate, as the trees of it are large ordinary 
orchard bushes. In Messrs. Richard Smith & Co.’s fruit list it is 
described as being “ large-sized, long, slightly tapering from the crown 
to the stalk ; skin yellowish green, dotted all over with russet, dark 
brown on the sunny side ; flesh greenish yellow, melting, juicy, and 
sweet; an abundant bearer.” This character suits it admirably, and 
October is said to be the month in which it is ripe. This is correct too. 
but by gathering the fruit at different times we have changed its season 
of ripening. In October we frequently have strong gales, which blow 
down and spoil many Apples and Pears. Knowing about the time these 
may be expected, we generally gather part of our crops to have them 
safe. Towards the end of September we gathered about half our crop 
of Bishop’s Thumb Pear and stored them in the fruit room. These 
ripened about the end of October. At that time a good quantity 
remained on the trees, and they were gathered and stored the first week 
in November. At that time they were quite hard and not fit for dessert, 
but they are just softening now, and will be in good condition until 
Christmas or thereabouts. Had they been all gathered in October w e 
should have had none of them left good for December ; and had none of 
them been gathered until November, none would have ripened at their 
stated time, so that the two gatherings have given us a very acceptable 
succession of ripe fruit. As a rule, when Pears are all taken in at once 
they ripen at once and must almost be used at once, as Pears do not keep 
after being ripe like Apples, and the want of a succession is often much 
felt. We often hear cultivators say “ We had a grand lot of such and 
such a variety. Many of them decayed before they could be used, and 
we wish we had some of them now ; ” and I am inclined to think that 
gathering and storing at intervals would cause many varieties to ripen in 
long and useful succession, and our Pjshop’s Thumb proves that it may 
be treated with advantage in this respect.—J. Muir, Mar gam. 
NOTES ON KEW—YOUNG MEN'S LODGINGS. 
As an old Kew man I gladly welcome any information respecting 
these magnificent public gardens, and especially interesting were the 
remarks made by “Veritas” in last week’s i-sue of the Journal, page 
491. All improvements are hailed with delight by a multitude of old 
employes widely scattered over the globe, among whom I am happy to 
be included ; and it strikes many as most remarkable that the authorities 
have been so slow in many instances to appreciate what are the require¬ 
ments of their own establishment. Large sums of money have been 
expended upon matters of far less importance than those hinted at by 
“ Veritas ” to the ultimate purposes for which the gardens exist, or for 
which they should exist—viz., to extend botanical knowledge in all its 
details and bearings ; and any exhibition of feeling should be deprecated 
which would make it a playground, or even monopolise it for specialists. 
At Kew there is ample room for a spirit of broad liberality, which, I am 
bound to say, has not on all occasions been shown. 
Alluding again to heavy expenses in matters of less importance, 
brings one directly to deal with the question respecting the accommo¬ 
dation provided for the young meD, which “ Veritas ” has so ably advo¬ 
cated. Of course the young gardeners there are employes, and unhappily 
much disparity is generally made between them and those in authority. If 
employes are dutiful there is equal obligation on both sides, and I am 
sure this has not been sufficiently taken into consideration. If such a 
building as “Veritas” mentions were erected and liberally managed for 
the accommodation of the young gardeners, although it would involve 
considerable outlay, it would bring great credit to our Government, and 
be an immense advantage to all. Imagine a young gardener with no 
means but those accruing from the service of the gardens—viz., 16.?. per 
week, with at least 3 s. per week to pay for lodging, or, if he requires a 
room to himself, a higher sum ; how is it possible for him to keep himself 
in good appearance superficially and bodily, as well as keep pace with 
the mental pursuits which the authorities require ? Many a young man 
in his sincere endeavour to do this has greatly impaired his health, and 
others have become disgusted with the system and taken but little 
interest in their duties. Whatever arguments may be directed against 
this line of thought, these are facts patent to everybody that cares to 
investigate. It is high time something was done to increase the happi¬ 
ness and facilities of accumulating knowledge for the young men, either 
by increasing the wages or, what would be far better, by the erection of 
a suitable building for their accommodation, so that the small pittance 
they now receive for keeping what is considered the botanical landmaik 
of the world in a state of efficiency should not be taxed by expenses 
incidental upon living in lodgings, without considering the incon¬ 
venience arising from the distance many of them have to walk to and 
from their meals.— Ex-Kewite. 
erection of suitable dwellings, without in any way interfering with the 
beauty of the gardens. That the employes should he duly considered 
in this respect is evident from the many inconveniences they have to 
contend with in lodgings. In the first place, we will take into considera¬ 
tion the time expended in going to and from their meals. Thosa 
gardeners who are conveniently situated, and whose work lies near to 
the exit for the workmen, do not feel this inconvenience so much, hut 
with others—the majority—it means something approaching running to 
meals. I have had practical experience of this inconvenience, as well 
as of others, as it was my lot to occupy lodgings, a distance oS 
nearly twenty minutes’ walk from my work, and as the time allowed for 
breakfast was three-quarters of an hour it left about five minutes to 
indulge in that meal. It is obvious that, speaking generally, the lodgings 
are not comfortable, and in my own case I found it necessary to make 
several changes during my stay at Kew, and had it not been for the 
pleasures and knowledge afforded to me by the gardens I could not have 
endured it. I think if those at the head of our national garden would 
only seek to remedy these keenly felt inconveniences so detrimental tj 
the well-being of the improvers there, they would deserve the thanks 
and support of the whole gardening fraternity. As a national outlay 
the cost of the erection of a suitable building would be trifling. Gar¬ 
deners from all parts of the United Kingdom, from the Continent also-, 
are to be found at Kew, and it is nothing short of a disgrace to such an. 
establishment that better provision is not made for them.— Experience. 
On page 491 of the Journal, under the heading of “ Notes at Kew,” 
I was pleased to see that “ Veritas ” had made reference to the 
desirability of providing better accommodation for the young gardeners 
there. There is ample convenient space in this establishment for the 
KEEPING LATE GRAPES. 
The attention of those who grow late varieties of Grapes is; 
naturally directed at this time of the year to the means of pre¬ 
serving them in the best possible condition during the next six 
months. Perhaps a few remarks upon this subject may not be- 
out of place at the present time. Our Grape room is at one eni 
of the fruit room, being a part of the same, divided by a wooden 
partition; the interior is lined with deal boards tongued together, 
a space being left between the board lining and the wall; the 
floor is also boarded and raised above the level of that of thai 
fruit room. Racks for holding the bottles are fixed to the sides 
of the room, and are made in the following manner :—Uprights 
are fixed to the wall 5 feet apart, to which are nailed rails with 
scallops cut out on the inner side to hold the necks of the bottles, 
corresponding scallops being provided on a batten on the wall 
behind, a little below the rails, for the base of the bottles to rest- 
in; 15 inches is allowed from rail to rail, and the bottles are 
8 inches apart. Live rows round the room can thus be accommo¬ 
dated all wilhin easy reach, for any attention that may be 
required to the Grapes, or for filling the bottles with water. 
The diagram (fig. 101) will help to illustrate this arrangement. 
For filling up the bottles we have a long-spouted tin can, a 
sketch of which I enclose, which holds half a pint. The spout 
is 18 inches long, and, being small at the end, can easily be 
inserted in the neck of the bottle without disturbing the Grapes. 
Bottles with clear glass should be used, so that the operator can 
see to a nicety how much water is required, and stop instantly 
enough has been poured in to come within an inch of the mouth 
of the bottle. Ventilation is provided by means of a skylight, 
across which we can draw a shutter to darken the room. 
