August 11, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
113 
selves. Again, with regard to work, the man that was afraid of doing 
too much was apt to be left behind in the struggle of life. Above all, 
let them be just in all their actions. The question of the social position of 
gardeners was one of individuality. He had mixed sufficiently long in 
communities to know that the mere possession of money was not unvary¬ 
ing evidence of greatness of mind ; and also to know that the absence 
of material riches involving the necessity to labour is perfectly com¬ 
patible with nobility of character. Speaking of employers, the 
lecturer remarked that there were cases when the gardener was the 
gentleman in the truest sense of the term, and the employer was, well— 
something of the other kind. (Laughter, and hear, hear.) But he went 
on to say they were abnormal and exceptional, the overpowering 
majority being considerate and kind. There were peculiar gardeners, 
too, some of whom were not particularly manageable ; and he expressed 
his belief that when the social position of gardeners was kept at a low 
level through circumstances beyond their own control there was an in¬ 
finitely greater number of cases where it might be raised by watchful¬ 
ness over their own conduct, such as forbearance under small provoca¬ 
tions, restraint in the expression of their feelings and views, with the ex¬ 
ercise of unvarying courtesy, especially in moments of difficulty when 
the temptation might be great to assume an attitude not conducive to 
harmony of feeling nor calculated to establish that confidence and 
mutual trust that it was so desirable to promote between master 
and man. Speaking of the intellectual position of gardeners, the 
lecturer said that a gardener should not only be a working, but a think¬ 
ing man ; and he enforced the importance of chemical and scientific 
knowledge. He should have some knowledge of hydrostatics, botany, 
and other kindred subjects. As to the professional position of 
gardeners, some of the men holding the best posts now were hard¬ 
working, plodding men. The most accomplished scientific gardener he 
ever knew was the best digger he ever met. Some of the best trained 
gardeners were digging yet, plodding honestly on for a better position, 
but that was not to be gained by impatience and from working grudgingly 
because the “place is not good enough.” The position of many a 
gardener had been ruined through that one mistake ; and whenever a 
duty is undertaken it should be performed faithfully and well or re¬ 
linquished. Mr. Wright concluded by quoting the following lines : — 
“ Praise not thy work, but let thy work praise thee, 
For deeds, not words, make each man’s memory stable; 
If what thou dost is good, this good all men will sea— 
Musk by its smell is known—not by its label.” 
The Chairman then invited discussion, and Mr. Woodcock (Sheffield) 
thanked Mr. Wright for his paper. He wished it could have been heard 
by young and old gardeners throughout the Riding. The subject was of 
great importance to societies such as their own, and there was no doubt 
thatthey could be made much more useful if scientific lectures could 
be given. They might be a means of getting young men to join. No, 
doubt, as the lecturer said, the position of the gardener depended a good 
deal on himself. He did not believe that a trades society in which they 
had to work in a certain groove would be a good thing for them. He 
Believed that was one time the case with regard to Sheffield. Mr. 
Wright, in reply to a remark of last speaker, dwelt on the importance 
of getting men to join societies, and having scientific lectures given by 
men of ability. Mr. Smith (Leeds) and Mr. Cooke (Rotherham) also 
"took part in the discussion, and a vote of thanks to the lecturer was 
passed amid loud applause, on the motion of Mr. Batley, seconded by 
Mr. Garnett, and supported by Mr. Kay. The lecturer suitably replied, 
and the vote of thanks to the Chairman brought the proceedings to a 
'dose .—(Barnsley Independent .) 
ROMAN HYACINTHS. 
The earliest supply of these bulbs can now be obtained, and the 
samples we have already seen are exceptionally good, being firm 
and of large size. Where a lengthened supply of these useful 
flowers for cutting and decoration in pots is needed, the bulbs 
should be obtained and potted without delay. Place five bulbs in 
each 5-inch pot, and the smaller ones, if only needed for cutting, 
may be placed thickly together in pans or boxes. This necessitates 
selecting the bulbs upon arrival, a practice we have followed for 
years. The best and finest are reserved for pot culture, while those 
of a smaller size have been reserved for grouping and cutting pur¬ 
poses. Some care must be exercised at this period of the year in 
the preparation of the soil, for at potting it should be on the moist 
side rather than the reverse, at the same time it must not be wet. 
We strongly condemn the practice of watering the soil after potting 
until the bulbs have filled their pots with roots and are removed 
from the plunging material. 
The position in which they are to be plunged should be in a 
northern aspect, where moderate moisture can be insured in the 
plunging material without entailing much labour. In a sunny 
place the moisture from the plunging material is quickly evaporated, 
and then the soil about the bulbs becomes perfectly dry, with the 
result that they rest instead of starting to grow and make roots. 
It is important that they be covered directly they are potted. A 
.greater depth of plunging material is needed over the earlier bulbs 
than for those a month or six weeks later. It is also a good plan 
io cover the surface of the plunging material with litter. 
There is no difficulty in maintaining a supply of these flowers 
from the end of October until February, provided they are potted 
at intervals of a month until the end of October or the middle of 
the following month. This depends upon the condition of the 
bulbs and how they keep. If out of the soil too long they begin 
to grow and then are soon useless. Our latest supplies are always 
obtained from bulbs planted in the open ground, and directly they 
show signs of coming through they are covered with handlights. 
Some to precede these are planted a fortnight earlier and covered 
in the same manner at the approach of severe weather. Bulbs 
treated on these principles have been lifted and are in excellent 
condition, and will be placed thickly together in boxes for yielding 
an early supply of flowers for cutting.—L. 
SEED SELECTION AND HYBRIDISATION. 
MESSRS. WEBB’S EXPERIMENTS AT KINVER. 
Foe several years an extensive series of experiments in the selection 
and hybridisation of garden and field crops has been conducted by 
Messrs. Webb & Sons at Kinver in Staffordshire, a few miles from their 
great seed establishment at Wordsley, near Stourbridge. Here many hun¬ 
dreds of acres are devoted to proving the varieties, and the subse¬ 
quent working up for sale of a stock of such of them as reach the stan¬ 
dard of excellence aimed at by the raisers. In the course of a few years 
they have been successful in producing and placing before the public a 
number of sterling novelties in garden and cereal crops, and the work 
is being pursued with undiminished energy at the present time. It is a 
favourite amusement with many persons in private establishments to try 
experiments in crossing vegetables and flowers. In many cases this is 
done with no definite view, and the knowledge and judgment necessary 
to insure something approaching a profitable result are entirely lacking. 
Still, chance sometimes favours the inexperienced in his interesting pur¬ 
suit, and the casual production of a “ good thing ” stimulates him and 
others to further experiments of a like nature. What private persons 
may amuse themselves by doing in a small way as a hobby, Messrs. 
Webb & Sons do in a large way with a serious business object. Instead 
of a few square yards to devote to experiments in plant and seed raising 
they have something like 1000 acres, and every yard of it is utilised. 
The greater portion of this land is freehold. It is not so much a seed- 
growing farm as a huge trial ground. Com: aratively few =eeds are 
saved for sale at Kinver. Nearly the whole of the ground is devoted to 
the selection of stocks for placing in the hands of their growers in 
various parts of this country and the Continent. Perhaps a faint idea 
can be gained of the amount of seeds required to meet Messrs. Webb’s 
trade when it is stated that they estimate the amount of land in 
various parts thus devoted to raising seeds from stocks supplied by them 
to be as much as 17,000 acres, The seeds are grown under contract, the 
firm stipulating for the right to inspect the crops with a view to 
“ rogueing” them—that is, removing any chance plants that are not of 
the true stock. This right they exercise with careful regularity, thus 
keeping their stocks pure. 
Two thousand three hundred trials of vegetables, flowers, and cereals 
are now being conducted at Kinver. Hybridisation is being constantly 
practised, and stocks are being worked up of “ crosses,” which, after 
careful trial, have been considered worthy of being brought before the 
public. The ordeal these varieties undergo is no light one, and it may 
be interesting to refer to the process by which new and improved varie¬ 
ties are raised on a large scale. Crossing is of course effected in the first 
case by artificial impregnation, judgment being exercised in the selection 
of suitable parents. The produce is carefully examined, and as it fre¬ 
quently occurs that the plants resulting from a cross differ not only from 
the parents but from themselves, several distinct varieties are secured, 
the worthless being thrown away and the promising ones preserved for 
future trial. The varieties preserved are carefully tested and compared 
a second year, further weeding out being practised, and it is only after 
full trial and comparison with standard sorts that a sufficient quantity 
of seed is raised to be placed in the hands of a skilled grower command¬ 
ing a suitable soil for being worked up in quantity for sale. The best 
are selected from the best. That is the system in a few words ; thus 
nothing is submitted to the public until repeated experiments have 
proved its distinctive merits. This care has its reward. Messrs. Webb 
find that their novelties invariably meet with a ready sale, so well satis¬ 
fied are their patrons of the reliability of their judgment in recommend¬ 
ing new varieties of ve etables or flowers. A few instances may be 
given haphazard in the Wordsley Wonder and Chancellor Peas, Emperor 
Cabbage, Kinver Longpod Beans, Improved Banbury Onions, Surprise 
Potato, &c., all of which are now in general demand as varieties of 
admitted excellence. 
It may be well to give some statistics of Messrs. Webb’s operations. 
Of Peas 85 acres are grown, 150 sorts being on trial, with various 
crosses, several of which bid fair to be of considerable value. It is the 
object of Messrs. Webbs’ able manager to get a race of handsome prolific 
and well flavoured Peas with square or blunt ends, and to gradually 
discard the varieties with pointed pods, in which, as he remarks, a Pea is 
wasted. Besides the two fine varieties already named, four others— 
Kinver Gem, very early, Electric Light, Stourbridge Marrow, a fine 
main crop variety, and Triumph—have recently been introduced, and 
all have been favourably received. Potatoes are also a great feature, 
Messrs. Webb doing a very large Potato trade. Seventy acres are 
devoted to them at Kinver, from whence several fine sorts have already 
