60 
JOURXAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ /annaiy 23| 1890, 
master and kindest-hearted man ever servant had served,” and a 
thorough-bred Yankee. Winters were occupied in chopping wood, 
taking manure to fields, and attending to stock. The winter 
season extended to four months, very cold, often at zero, and occasion¬ 
ally 39° below zero. The summer season was eight months, 
high temperature, 75° to 80° and often 90° in the shade. Winter 
wages, twelve dollars ; summer, fifteen, board and rations, which 
if not a great wage was amply met by the “ comfort and con¬ 
sideration shown and felt.” The farmer, it ought to be noted, 
had been a schoolmaster, saved some money, bought a farm, 
taking to rural life for employment and delight; but the Yankee 
must do or die— i.e., make money or lose it; therefore the farm 
must pay, working like a horse all the summer, and idle in the 
winter only— i.e., read and contrive all day long, and enjoy sum¬ 
mer’s givings, clearing in many “ a season more dollars than were 
given for the land.” “ Tons of books ” were this Maine farmer’s 
only solace.— Utilitari.ix. 
{To be continued.) 
The notes that appeared in this paper of December 19th bear 
forcibly on several conversations we have lately had with gardeners 
in various positions on the subject of gardeners out of situations. 
We do not intend to touch on emigration, but wish to say a few 
words on how it would be possible to better our position in this 
country. AVe are told there are fewer gardeners out of employ¬ 
ment in England than men of any other trade or profession. How¬ 
ever true or false this may be we know not, but about one thing 
there can be no mistake, there are numbers of gardeners out of 
situations at all seasons, and the temporary employment offered to 
them by nurserymen may account for their not being enumerated 
amongst the unemployed. 
A gardener may leave his situation for a variety of reasons, 
and in the event of no suitable situation presenting itself the only 
course left open to him is to go into the nursery, there to wait for 
the chance that does not always come as soon as he anticipated. 
AVhat does a gardener gain by working for a nurseryman for 
weeks or months, and in some cases for over a year, for a wage 
less than some of the common labourers ? He gains nothing for 
himself, and does a great deal of injury to the permanent staff 
in a nursery. AVe do not say that a gardener is doing wrong 
because if he cannot get a whole loaf he takes a half, far from 
hat. AVe honour the man who can take up the pick or the 
pade and bravely face whatever comes in his way, but we do say 
gardeners are wrong in not endeavouring to do something for them¬ 
selves against the evil day when a man finds himself out of a 
situation, and where is the gardener that has not this uncomfortable 
presentment ? A hundred things might happen over which he has 
no control, and which might be the means of his having to leave 
his place. 
There is no class of men in a better position than gardeners are 
for placing themselves out of the reach of this difficulty. That is 
one of the greatest drawbacks a gardener has to contend with in 
the present day. They are not, as a rule, so highly paid that they 
can afford to spend money on advertising, which we imagine is one 
of, if not the very best, modes of gaining situations. Nor can 
they be very long out of a situation without doing something for 
the means of existence. This being the case it must be apparent 
that some little help at this time would be the greatest benefit a 
man could wish for. Now, were gardeners to form a body, call it 
by some name, and pay a certain sum of money for twelve months, 
at the end of that time a man leaving or wishing to change his 
situation would communicate with the society, when they would at 
once begin to advertise for him, and so place him into a situation 
sooner and more suitable to his ability than he could ever hope for 
through a nurseryman, and in the event of his not i.nmediately 
obtaining a suitable appointment some sort of help might be 
devised for him. AVere a society of this sort once started there is 
no bounds to what it might include for the united good of the 
gardener ; but this we will leave to wiser heads than ours, and 
should this suggestion meet with the approval or otherwise of any¬ 
one who might read it, we should be glad to hear their views on the 
subject.—B , Cheshire. 
A FEW GOOD VEGETABLES. 
All who are wise will not readily discard old and well proven- 
favourities in favour of the unknown, the superior merits of which' 
have yet to be discovered, but if certain varieties have given every 
satisfaction in the past, some of them have been eclipsed by later 
additions to the list. This being so, there is every reason why a 
few novelties, or any strongly recommended by those who havo 
already given them a fair trial, should be tried alongside older 
varieties, and if the latter are surpassed, then ought they to go 
down before their superiors. But I annually try a few novelties, 
and when I come across a good thing I not only grow it again 
and more extensively, but also give others the benefit of my ex¬ 
perience. The latter I hold to be the proper thing to do, and I 
believe comments upon superior varieties of vegetables are always 
thoroughly appreciated by numerous readers of the Journal of 
Horticulture. 
Some of the leading catalogues first enumerate Peas, and to a- 
few varieties of these I will first allude. I find that AVilliam Hurst 
is equal to Chelsea Gem, both being excellent dwarf early varieties, 
suitable alike for frames and sheltered borders. There is nothing, 
very new among the taller growing early varieties, nor any startling 
novelty among the second early forms. None that I have tried 
equals Telephone for succeeding AA^illiam I., and Criterion is still 
my favourite for succeeding Telephone. I was never much in. 
love with Duke of Albany, as it invariably suffers badly from 
mildew here, but I can speak highly of Autocrat as a good main 
crop and late variety. Goldfinder is a good form of Ne Plus Ultra, 
and the same may be said of Magnum Bonum, the last named being, 
scarcely so tall growing as the type. Both succeed admirably in 
our strong soil, and fewer rows of the ever-popular Ne Plus Ultra 
are sown accordingly. Those who prefer or must have varieties of 
medium height only, will find Stratagem still unsurpassed for second 
early and main crops, and Carter’s Anticipation is well worthy of a 
trial. AVebb’s AVordsley AYonder is very serviceable, and one of 
the best for small gardens. It is a second early variety, and has 
long been a favourite with me. Very good also are Royal Jubilee 
and Satisfaction, both sent out recently by Messrs. Sutton & Sons. 
Latest of all and Sturdy are excellent for the latest sowings, and on 
the whole those who cannot afford room or stakes for tall-growing. 
Peas have no cause for complaint anent the scarcity of suitable and 
profitable varieties. 
Of Broad Beans the most profitable early variety is found in 
Veitch’s Improved Longpod, this being a great cropper, the lower 
pods, all of which are of a good length, quite touching the ground. 
No improvement can hardly be effected on this. Beck’s Dwarf 
Green Gem, though quite an old form, is still not so much grown 
as it deserves to be. It is dwarf, branching, and early, the pods 
being small and filled with small green beans, or just such as suit 
the cooks. If exhibition pods are needed, then Leviathan ought 
to be grown. The broad poddedjlater varieties are also being in¬ 
creased in length. Veitch’s (Exeter) Improved Broad AVindsor is a 
notable instance of this, and other firms have improved forms. 
There is nothing very new that is valuable in the way of Kidney- 
Beans, Canadian AVonder and Negro Long-pod still being the best 
for main crop, while for forcing and the earliest sowings in the 
open there is none to equal Ne Plus Ultra. Those who want extra 
long-podded Runner Beans can get them by sowing either A''eitch’s 
Mammoth Scarlet, Carter’s Juffilee, Girtford Giant, Mammoth 
AVhite, or Ne Plus Ultra. I give the preference to the last- 
named as being the least coarse. 
There is nothing fresh to chronicle concerning Beet, the best we 
have being the old Dell’s Crimson. Last season Veitch’s Improved 
Black was very superior, but the roots of this we are now using are 
too coarse. Dobbie’s New Purple, as shown at the Chiswick Con¬ 
ference, gained plenty of admirers, the colour of the by no means 
coarse roots pleasing all alike. AVe still prefer Read’s Hearting 
Borecole, the old Asparagus Kale being, however, more hardy, and 
is the best for a very late supply of succulent greens. The value 
of Veitch’s Self-protecting Autumn Broccoli is now too well known 
for the variety to need any eulogy from me, and Michaelmas AVhite 
is also early and good. Snow’s Superb AVhite affords a fairly close 
succession to the first named, and of this the Sandringham (Carter’s) 
is an admirable selection. 'The Cape varieties are far too delicate, 
and the Penzance Early AVhite is a wretched failure, an ordinarily 
severe frost destroying the plants. It cannot be kept in a dwarf 
or semi-hardy state. Spring AVhite, Cooling’s Matchless, and 
Leamington form an admirable t .tccession, while Safeguard 
