'214 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
March 7, 1895. 
proportion, though I have known the old Clove to be injured much in 
severe frost. 
Gladioli. —We shall soon be able to see how the Lemoinei hybrids 
have passed through this severe weather in the open ground. Profiting 
by former experience I did not leave them wholly unprotected, but 
placed over each clump some coal ashes, and as these have again been 
covered with 4 inches of snow I hope to find them all right. It will be 
well to turn over the beds in which planting is to be done, though this 
will be later than usual. 
Pansies. —It must have been a hard time for these if grown in beds, 
for even those in pots look miserable enough, although the frames in 
which they have been wintered had a thick covering of snow. They 
will soon be repotted in 32’s in a compost of loam, leaf mould, well 
decayed manure, and some sharp sand. 
Pinks. —There has been a vigorous attempt to revive the culture of 
the laced varieties of this fragrant flower in the South of England, but 
I hardly think much success will attend it, as even amateurs complain 
of the want of variety amongst them, and they seem to have almost 
gone out of cultivation. 
Eandnculus. —The neglect into which this beautiful flower has 
fallen is a sad episode in the history of gardening. When the bedding 
out system came into vogue no place could be found for them, and even 
now, when the more rational method of gardening has superseded it, 
there seems to be found in few gardens room for them ; and yet for 
variety of colour, for beauty of form, and delicacy of tint it is very 
difficult to surpass them. As soon as the ground is in proper condition 
the tubers should be planted 1^ inch deep in rows about 5 inches apart 
and 4 inches asunder in them. A little white sand or powdered char¬ 
coal should be placed round the tubers, and the bed smoothed over with 
the back of the rake. It would be a matter of great pleasure to many 
florists to see the culture of these beautiful flowers revived.—D., Deal, 
EXAMINATIONS IN HORTICULTURE. 
I WAS glad to see this examination brought before the notice of 
your numerous readers in the Journal of Horticulture, page 184 ; I 
think it is a great pity that more gardeners do not enter as candidates. 
I must differ from “ A Young Gardener,” for he thinks the age of 
the candidates should be limited. But why ? He says that “ young 
gardeners have no chance when our chiefs take the pen.” He evidently 
does not know that out of the eighty-four candidates who passed last 
year forty-nine were young persons whose ages were from sixteen to 
twenty-five, and I may say not all of these were gardeners. I think it 
is within the reach of anyone who possesses a knowledge of gardening 
and its scientific principles to gain one of the Royal Horticultural 
Society’s certificates ; ability here, in the practice or theory alone, is not 
sufficient to enable the candidate to pass well; he must know both, and 
then he need not fear the result. 
Last year sixteen questions were given. Four were to be answered 
from Division A, Elementary Principles ; and four from Division B, 
Horticultural Practice. Three hundred marks were given as a limit, 
but any persons gaining 200 or over were placed in the first class, 
those gaining from 150 to 200 in the second, and from 100 to 150 in 
the third ; anyone failing to gain 100 marks did not pass. It is easy 
to see by the above that one has as much chance to gain a certificate as 
another ; that is, if his answers are good, for upon these his number 
of marks depend. Here one is not, as it were, running a race, and must 
win or lose, for all who sit might (if their answers are good enough) 
gain a first-class certificate. 
It should be the aim of every young gardener to gain one of these 
certificates, for no doubt they will be of as much importance to him 
(in time) as a practical reference, for it naturally shows that the 
winners of them have their work at heart. When employers recognise 
the value of the certificates there will be no lack of candidates for 
them.—W. D., Turnford. 
Under the above heading in your last week’s “ Notes and Gleanings ” 
I was sorry to see the remark made by ” A Young Gardener,” and trust 
such a one-sided (not to say selfish) view does not pertain to many of 
his class. Why indeed should there be a limit to age ? Examinations 
such as these are tests of knowledge, and to be plucked is simply a proof 
of insufficiency. To prevent a man of years (perhaps well versed in his 
profession) from being examined cannot add one jot to “ A Young 
Gardener’s ” experience or knowledge of horticulture, or deter him from 
acquiring it. I recommend to him the motto, “ Palvia non sine fulvere ” 
(the palm is not gained without dust: no excellence without great labour), 
and if he then takes full advantage of the valuable information and 
notes on experiences given in the Journal of Horticulture week by week 
by some of ” the chiefs,” the abundance of horticultural literature and 
technical education, much of which was not available to men a few 
years his senior, he should certainly be able to hold his own with credit 
to himself and without prejudice to others.— A Young- Amateur 
Gardener. 
NOTES AND COMMENTS. 
I CAN fully endorse all that Mr. Duncan Pearson says about the beauty 
and utility of forced Daffodils. In our small way we have forced them 
successfully several times, and this year Horsefeldi, Stella, and Poeticus 
ornatus have more than repaid us. We also tried a semi-double Daffodil, 
an old garden variety, the name of which I do not know, possibly 
Telemonius plenus ; it, too, did well. The soil appears peculiarly suited 
for Daffodils of several varieties, and the ordinary Narcissus. Of the 
latter we can grow almost any number, and have taken in a piece of 
orchard ground for their further cultivation. Last year we noticed the 
unforced blooms were very small, and we attributed it (perhaps wrongly) 
to the long drought. _ 
From the Castle Gardens, Warwick, I note with pleasure the hint 
about Antirrhinums for bedding purposes. The colours are so good, the 
plants so compact, and they are such capital “stayers.” There is a 
posy of them to be gathered when many annuals have succumbed to 
the austerities of the autumn. 
Of Nemesia strumosa I cannot say so much, it was a disappointment, 
small variety in colour and “ legginess ” in habit of growth. Perhaps, 
like many other amateurs, we did not fully understand the plant’s 
requirements. I know we planted it firmly in well prepared soil, for we 
rather fancy ourselves at that. _ 
Double French Marigolds do not receive a word too much of praise. 
They have only to be seen to be appreciated, and to my mind, as table 
decoration, they are charming—the shading of light yellow to rich brown 
is so effective. 
We never consider ourselves complete here without a bed of Salpi- 
glossis. Seen first in an illustrated catalogue, we were inclined to 
think the brilliant colours must be an exaggeration, but the reality 
surpassed our imaginations. 
As to Tomato houses in the winter. If Arums here are sold now in 
February at Is. per spathe, surely in other places there must be a demand 
too, especially as they fill up so well in wreaths. Would it be possible 
to grow Arums in long boxes, as the round pots take up so much room ? 
Would the small Arums be as floi'ferous as the large variety ? 
The red Abutilons have a splendid habit, so neat and compact, and 
the flowers are thrown well out above the leaves. Is there a yellow 
variety with that habit, as the only one I know tucks the flowers care¬ 
fully away under its broad leaves, as though it were ashamed of them ? 
Here we are on March 4th with frost-bound earth, howling winds, and 
blinding snowstorms—not much like outside gardening, but surely 
better and warmer days are at hand.— The Missus. 
FRUIT TREES IN A CALIFORNIAN NURSERY. 
In treating the subject assigned to me, “Fruit Trees in Nursery in 
California,” I shall not attempt a lengthy history or recapitulation of 
the trials and struggles of the pioneers in the business, but merely to 
deduce a few facts which, in a measure, have been the outcome of these 
struggles, and which, at this date, have passed beyond the stage of 
experiment or theory as far as general culture is concerned, although 
there are constant improvements in method and detail, as well as in the 
introduction and dissemination of new varieties. 
It would be impossible for me to refrain, however briefly, from 
mentioning a few of the men to whom California and the whole of the 
United States owe so great a debt of gratitude—such men as John 
Lewelling of San Lorenzo, James M. Thompson of Napa, B. S. Fox of 
San Jose, who have gone to their rest; James Shinn, Dr. E. Kimball, 
W. B. West, Luther Burbank—these and others are the men who have 
done and are doing for their state and country a work the value of which 
is far-reaching and everlasting. I say the results of their labours will 
never die, for with their ardent and enthusiastic pomological work a love 
for horticulture in its more beautiful and aesthetic form is ever present, 
and its influence contagious and wide-spreading. 
First, Soil. This is all-important; a deep, sandy loam is generally 
preferred, rich in humus, or, in some places, a very rich black vegetable 
loam is found, which will grow fine trees for many years. Usually the 
land is rested every two or three years, or planted with some other crop. 
In such lands in Northern and Central California irrigation is seldom 
necessary in the cultivation of deciduous fruit trees. For eighteen years 
in Napa Valley I have never had occasion to irrigate trees in nursery. 
Where the soil is deep and the winter’s rainfall amounts to 20 inches or 
more thorough cultivation will cause the moisture to be retained within 
r few inches of the surface throughout the entire summer. Further 
south, when the rainfall decreases, irrigation is necessary. There are 
champions of irrigation who believe there can be no good trees or no 
good fruit raised in California that are not irrigated. There are those 
who assert just the reverse with equal vehemence. Mr. A will have 
j nothing but northern grown trees ; he would take them from Oregon, 
but prefers Washington, or even Alaska, if Professor Budd would find 
some varieties sufficiently iron-clad. Mr. B, his neighbour, prefers trees 
grown in the sunny south, in sandy soil, and with “ perfect root system.’' 
Mr. C ridicules both ; he wants an “ acclimated ” tree, one that is grown 
in his immediate vicinity ; while his neighbour D will take none but 
“ whole-root ” trees from Missouri, provided they can escape the vigilance 
of our State Board of Horticulture. 
Second, The methods of propagating and planting fruit tree seeds 
and stocks are of course similar to those in other States, with some 
variation owing to climatic conditions. We have no fall and spring 
seasons. We begin operations as soon as trees are sufficiently dormant 
