414 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ M*y S3,;i889. 
Working and Reading. 
Now let me put myself in touch with my audience, and those 
especially who are owners, occupiers, or workers of the little plots 
—men whose days are spent in labour, physical or mental, 
outside the gardens, and who cultivate them mainly as a health¬ 
giving form of recreation—let me, I say, put myself in touch with 
them by stating frankly that I have been an allotment holder, 
have rented my little plot in years gone by, and dug, and trenched, 
and sown, and planted, and reaped what was of service to me ; and I 
think I can say with truth that there is not one operation in the 
working of any small garden that I have not carried out with my 
own hands, no matter how rough or how smooth it may be. And 
here let me express my conviction, deep rooted by long practice 
and strengthened by observation, that the man who flinches from 
real labour, who evades the rougher duties connected with gar¬ 
dening, and skims over the surface lightly, making it smooth jet 
deceptive, is not the man to win substantial success. He may 
keep up an appearance for a few years, but his easy method is 
like sowing seeds by the wayside, which grow for a time, but only 
to be scorched up through lack of the nourishment that is essential 
to full, free growth and maturation. 
What I wish the hardest worker here to feel is that to the 
hardest work in the garden I am no stranger, that I have not been 
sitting all my life at the editor’s desk gleaning from books, and 
come here to give him of the gleanings. I have not ignored the 
teaching of past masters in the art of gardening, nor of present 
practitioners, for the man who does not read shuts himself up in 
a very small world. Perusing the records of the work of others 
enables men to practise what they would not otherwise have 
thought about, and they see ways pointed out which lead straight 
to an object that otherwise could not be found except by groping 
and losing their time in tortuous paths. 
Reading, and sifting what is read, seizing on and storing what 
is applicable to each man’s case, testing what is doubtful, and 
proving as far as possible all things by practice, that is the course 
which all men adopt who gain a good position in the world of 
gardening, as in any other vocation or profession in life. We must 
read then, but above all we must work ; and it is work accom¬ 
plished, not on words untested, that will constitute the foundation 
of my remarks to-night on the subject of useful gardening for 
amateurs—inexperienced amateurs I should say, because I have 
not a doubt there are expert amateurs in Nottingham who could 
teach me something on things which they have specially studied 
and learned the truth about by many a careful experiment. I am 
not here to teach the learned, I hope no such vanity as that has 
place in my constitution ; but I am anxious to guide those who 
need guidance in developing the resources of their small but 
cherished gardens, and rendering them more profitable or enjoyable. 
A Plain Story. 
My story will be a plain one, and if any persons are assembled 
here in the expectation of listening to the narration of some new 
doctrine — something that will enable them as with the wand 
of the wizard to transform their plots into gold fields, they will 
be greatly disappointed. That is the line which quacks adopt, 
not to benefit others, but to attract attention to themselves. 
You remember the story of the Israelitish maid and her re¬ 
buke to her proud master, who was told to wash and be cured, 
but who hesitated to adopt advice so simple. That rebuke will 
never die. “ If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing 
wouldst thou not have done it ?” I am not here to advance any 
startling novelty, to bid you do some great thing, but I will try to 
tell briefly and clearly how to dig and to sow, to plant and to grow, 
to crop and to cultivate, to fortify the soil and to make it yield 
usefully, if not abundantly, vegetables, fruits, and flowers as may 
be desired, and for disposal as may be deemed the most advan¬ 
tageous under the circumstances. 
The profit derivable from cultivation depends on the zeal, 
enterprise, good judgment, and aptitude of individuals much more 
than on methods. With soil identical in staple and worked 
under identical instructions, some men excel others in the work 
of cultivation as in other engagements - scholastic, scientific, and 
industrial. Yet methods of procedure must be pointed out, and 
those who need not the information will be the first to welcome 
that which may be advanced for the guidance of their less ex¬ 
perienced friends. 
The Search for Knowledge. 
Never before was there such a demand—such a thirst for 
knowledge on matters of gardening. This comes very closely 
home to me, for not a day has passed'for years that has not brought 
me letters of inquiry on every conceivable item, and some that I 
should have thought inconceivable if they had not been brought 
before me. More than 15,000 questions have I answered in print 
through the two journals with which I am connected, and though 
the work is at times exhausting I rejoice in it, because I am con¬ 
vinced it is doing good. And I am willing to answer 15,000 more 
if strength does not fail. And what do the questions teach me ? 
They tell me that a strong and ever-widening desire exists in the 
community for scientific as well as practical knowledge, or, in other 
words, people are no longer satisfied with being told this or that,, 
but they want to know the reason why certain methods are advised 
or condemned. And I am able to state that this disposition to 
dive beneath the surface in search of hidden treasures is just as 
marked, if not more apparent, among the amateur readers of the 
ABC paper than among those of the more advanced journal of the 
professional oultivator. Knowing this, I am not going to make the- 
mistake of under-estimating the intelligence of this audience, for 
though plain matter-of-fact routine is needed by plain and earnest, 
workers, they also want to know the “reason why ” certain opera¬ 
tions should be performed ; and, knowing this, they will proceed 
with greater confidence and travel along the straightest and surest 
paths to the object of their hopes. “ We well know,” wrote a. 
wise man, “ that science points out and illumines the path of the 
gardener, but the path itself is practice.” Along that path, and 
guided by that light, we will travel together for a little while. 
A Good Foundation—The Soil. 
When a man commences to build, his first concern is for a good 
foundation. So it is in gardening, and we will therefore start at 
the bottom and work upwards—start with the soil. What is soil ?’ 
It is the pulverised matter of rocks, and varies as rocks vary. It is- 
eventually enriched by the residue of vegetation, which grows and 
decays. It is this which gives to soil its dark colour, the colouring; 
matter being known as humus , and in due proportion serves an 
important purpose. In excess it is injurious, yet there is a remedy,, 
but of that more anon. Soils differ extremely—one extreme being 
clay, which represents density, retentiveness of moisture, and* 
heaviness ; the other extreme being sand, which represents porosity,, 
poverty, lightness. Blend the two in equal proportions and we- 
have what the gardener loves—loam. If the clay greatly prepon¬ 
derates over the sand we have strong or clayey loam ; if the sand 
much overpowers the clay we have light or sandy soil. The most 
fertile soils are the former, and provided they can be worked freely,, 
smashed, and pulverised (that being important) the stronger they 
are the better crops they will grow. These strong loams or soils 
are called “ holding,” a good “ holding soil ” being a common 
expression, and a scientifically correct one, because the food of 
plants is literally held in such soils for appropriation by their 
roots. Sand has no such power, and the food received naturally in 
the form of rain and atmospheiic gases, or artificially in manure,, 
slips through it. That is why sand is poor, and without the addition 
of clay or heavy soil cannot be made rich. 
What I say can be easily proved. Fill a flower pot with rather 
strong soil, damp enough for compression, and press it down tole¬ 
rably firm ; fill another with sand. Pour on them some dark liquid, 
that drains from a manure heap, and the water will pass through-, 
the soil nearly pure—the clay has seized and retains the matters in 
the water—plant food ; sand cannot do this. And not only does- 
the clay in the loam intercept visible matter suspended in water, 
but it will seize upon and hold matters that are dissolved in it, as- 
common salt is dissolved. Make liquid manure with that valuable 
fertiliser sulphate of ammonia ; this, if poured on.sand, will pass- 
through in practically its full strength, and be lost ; but apply it to 
loam or strong soil, and only the sulphuric acid it contains will run 
through ; this is of little value ; the ammonia is retained, con¬ 
verted into nitric acid, which is most valuable, and used. 
Now you see the importance of making light sandy soil heavy,, 
and there is no better way of doing this than drying clay, smashing 
it, and applying the powder ; raw lumps are of little use. If this 
cannot be accomplished something may be done in other ways_ 
Soils that are too heavy for working can be improved by the 
addition of coarse sand, gritty matter of any kind, ashes, old tan, 
sawdust—anything of an opening nature. Make them workable 
under favourable conditions and a great point will be gained. 
Now let another fact be impressed on all here who do not know 
it. It is this. Plants or crops do not feed on soil ; they do not 
eat it. It is not food for them, but simply the larder which con¬ 
tains it, and if j'ou do not keep this larder replenished crops 
languish ; while weeds you must regard as what they are—thieves,, 
robbers of the larder, for they live on the same kind of food as 
useful crops do, and if permitted will have the best share. 
The Food of Crops. 
Now we pass on to the food of crops, and how to apply 
| it. This is a matter of vital importance, and if it were as- 
I well understood as it ought to be, and the knowledge put 
