March 12, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
439 
with a view to obtain the feeling of the gardeners of 
England. 
You argue that the existing depression and the un¬ 
profitable nature of all occupations at the present time 
are against the experiment; now I think otherwise, 
and as a careful and prudent man very frequently 
prefers to commence business when he knows the work 
in which he is to he engaged is probably at its lowest 
ebb, so I think Mr. Penny and his friends cannot 
be far wrong in endeavouring to start this admirable 
Institution at the present time, when, as we all hope, 
commercial depression, with all its unfortunate sur¬ 
roundings, has reached its lowest pitch. 
With this experience the promoters will not move in 
the dark, they will know with much greater certainty 
the amount of support they may reckon upon, and 
with a knowledge of the unfortunate surroundings that 
accompany the inception of their designs, they will be 
better prepared to estimate future support and to guard 
against future contingency. 
I trust, therefore, sir, you will, with other editors of 
papers in the interest of gardening, support the objects 
of this Institution, not only by advice in your columns, 
hut by opening subscription lists, so that by the time 
Mr. Penny and his committee are in working order, a 
good substantial nucleus for a fund will have been 
provided, sufficiently important to justify these gentle¬ 
men in carrying out the objects sought to be attained 
by “The Gardeners’ Orphanage.”— C. R. S. 
Me. Hull is very sanguine as to the results of a call 
upon gardeners to support an orphanage, and quotes Dr. 
Barnardo’s success. Does he know that Dr. Barnardo 
must expend annually many hundreds of pounds in ad¬ 
vertising appeals alone, and also that he appeals specially 
to a class which usually have ample means. If we could 
induce gardeners’ employers to subscribe liberally, the 
proposed orphanage might become a reality; but they 
rarely have any interest whatever in gardeners, beyond 
their mere service. A few of the more highly paid 
gardeners might be able to subscribe, but in all cases 
such subscriptions would be entirely contingent upon 
their keeping their places ; and can any gardener assert 
that in any place or anywhere he is absolutely safe. 
The fact is, gardeners being on the whole a very 
poorly paid body, have no spare means. Every 
penny earned is needful to live, and to attempt to 
burden them with greater responsibilities is to break 
their backs. The enthusiastic few make themselves 
heard, the cool calculating mass are silent and hold 
hack. My own experience of orphanages is that they 
find life a very hard struggle indeed, and become 
dependent upon constant appeals to public sympathy, to 
bazaars, concerts, collections and similar aids, so that 
the committees are in a perpetual state of fear lest their 
institutions should collapse. We have but to take a 
look at the present pecuniary conditions of those great 
popular institutions, our London hospitals, to see how 
treacherous is the financial basis of any institution 
which depends absolutely upon voluntary contributions. 
Even this year so many and serious are the demands 
being made universally in aid of special Jubilee objects 
that a feeling of alarm is spreading, and ordinary good 
nature is fast becoming cramped and soured. The 
great body of our middle classes live right up to their 
incomes, and can find nothing for special objects. 
Gardeners are in the same boat, but their incomes are 
miserably poor in comparison. An orphanage with a 
limited income would be productive of little good, and 
even the most worthy of children may not get elected 
after all. Really we are, in our haste to be benevolent, 
fast pauperising thousands of children by means of our 
orphanages.— A. D. 
I hope the promoters of this scheme have now 
received sufficient proof of support to induce them to 
adopt some mode of operation that will be the means of 
raising a lump sum, sufficient to complete the work 
that may be decided upon, so as to obviate the trouble¬ 
some duty of collecting yearly subscriptions, as this 
will entail heavy labour and expense and become a 
wearisome business hereafter. Besides, under such 
conditions it would never look a sound going concern 
such as would encourage the introduction of new sub¬ 
scribers. Many insurance companies prosper by the 
yearly premiums regularly paid, but the case in hand 
is somewhat different, and I fear there are many who 
would not pinch for the sake of paying to an orphan¬ 
age, especially after their families had grown up to 
help themselves.— J. H. Goodacre. 
Hardening ffoTES from 
Seasonable Hints. — Strawberries are in many 
parts requiring attention. Those for late forcing have 
kept in capital condition with us, but would be all the 
better to have the pots moved, clearing off decaying 
leaves, and pressing the roots in other positions, the 
frost having raised the plants a little ; the roots are, 
however, sound, and a solid white mass. They would 
be the better to have the inert surface soil removed, 
and a surfacing of good rich loam pressed neatly over 
the surfaces. 
Our plants are standing on coal ashes with leaves 
packed round the pots. Where the system of 
“ stacking ” is preferred, it is well now to see that the 
roots are not suffering from dryness, and the shelter of 
frames or similar protection is advantageous after this 
season. The plants are now about to move into growth, 
and severe March winds, as often experienced in some 
cold districts, are against the well-being of Strawberries. 
Earlier lots forcing in pots offer well, but the absence 
of sun and the damp weather cause extra attention, 
especially to guard against over-watering and too much 
artificial heat; it being a good system in late northern 
districts (when last season’s plants can be spared) to lift 
a quantity, place them over a bed of leaves with gentle 
warmth, and then pack firmly good soil between the 
balls of roots. Ordinary frames with glass lights placed 
over the plants, will bring them into use a month 
earlier than those in the open ground. — Caledonian. 
Cottagers’ Kale. —There are evidently varieties 
of this vegetable which have not attained the popularity 
of the old Scotch Kale—I suppose the appearance may 
be against the Cottagers’ Kale. A quantity which we 
have growing in an auxiliary garden are decidedly the 
best of that class of edibles which have come under 
our notice. Testing them by cooking the other day, 
has raised the most favourable opinions concerning 
them, as they have a dark green colour and are of such 
substance which gave them the appearance of well- 
cooked Spinach. I had the seed from an English 
firm as a special variety, and will be induced to give 
them the best cultural attention in future ; but I do not 
suppose Scotch cottagers would be induced to defile 
their famous broth by such “mongrel” stuff, still a 
trial would prove that this coarse looking Kale is an 
excellent vegetable. It is true that ground and other 
circumstances change the quality of vegetables, for we 
have plenty of proof regarding this, as a high- 
class grower denounces Village Blacksmith Potato, 
while in this country it is valued by peer and plebian. 
We having it in excellent condition in one garden, while 
in another, divided only by a river, it is not so good. 
Parsnips come under the same criticism.— Caledonian. 
Pruning- of Trees and Shrubs.— The pruning 
of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs is generally 
performed immediately before growth commences. It 
must be remembered, however, that these do not all 
push into growth at the same time, and to be 
“orthodox” in pruning at the season indicated, one 
must begin at once. Many old trees we have pruned 
any time between cessation of growth and the renewal 
of it, and found little difference, if any, in the appear¬ 
ance of the trees at the end of the following season. 
In well-managed ornamental grounds, there is ad¬ 
justing and pruning, more or less, every season—keeping 
one tree or shrub from destroying its fellow, or when 
tops may have been destroyed, a vigorous top-shoot 
is lashed in the place of the defunct leader, and the 
adjoining branches cut back a little, to help the new 
“ leader ” to make headway. We often have practised 
this, with Conifer* especially, and been rewarded for 
our trouble. When there is much dead wood, it may 
be well to cut back severely, slanting the cuts, and 
painting them over with tar or styptic to throw off wet. 
We can now look upon numbers of old Thorns, Hollies, 
&c., which have been served so of late years, and are 
now bushy heads and in good health. If a mulching of 
manure can be given to reach the roots of such old 
trees, much benefit will result from the application. 
The time is at hand when removal of trees to give room 
to their fellows must have attention. We have been 
taking every opportunity during the last six months to 
advance such work, believing in planting thick and 
thinning early as being true economy. — Caledonian. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
Potato Planting. —The weather for the past few 
weeks has been exceptionally fine for forwarding work 
of all kinds out of doors, so that by this time all such 
work as pruning, nailing and digging has been com¬ 
pleted or nearly so. The ground is in excellent con¬ 
dition, and for that reason Potato planting of all kinds 
may be prosecuted with vigour. This applies especially 
to the southern part of the Island, and to all but the 
coldest and wettest places north of the Tweed. In 
clayey soils in the latter part of the country, it may be 
advisable to delay planting a little longer, especially if 
the soil is sodden or wet from recent rain or snow. 
Such wet soils should be manured and dug in autumn, 
and if the trenches have not been levelled down, they 
may be forked over now to level them, which will aid 
greatly in drying the soil. 
There are several methods pursued in planting, and 
no single method can be advised in all cases, as every¬ 
thing depends on circumstances. On light borders 
that have been manured and dug in autumn, a line 
may be stretched across where it is desirable to plant ; 
holes may be made with a large dibber at regular 
distances apart, the Potatos dropped in and the holes 
filled in with a Dutch hoe or rake. Another method, 
which could be prosecuted expeditiously by two persons, 
is to take out a trench alongside of the line, by one 
party working a spade from the walk and the other 
working from the ally behind the border. By adopting 
this method the work can be expedited without tread¬ 
ing on the border. This is to be avoided in any case 
where possible. Where large pieces of ground have to 
be planted, trenches may be taken out as above recom¬ 
mended, where the soil has already been manured and 
dug, the Potatos planted out and the trench again 
filled up as work proceeds. 
In some gardens, where the soil is heavy and has 
been regularly ridged in autumn, the Potatos are planted 
in the furrows when the soil is suitably dry in spring. 
The ridges are now levelled down and finely broken 
with the spade, when the process is complete. A very 
common practice is to leave the ground undug till 
spring, when the manure is either spread equally over 
the ground, or put in the bottom of the trenches. 
This latter custom with regard to manuring is not 
recommendable. A line is stretched across the ground 
and shifted backwards, as the digging proceeds, to that 
distance which it is required the lines should be apart. 
Having planted a line of Potatos in the trench last 
made, the line is again shifted, and another width of 
ground marked off. This method leaves the dug ground 
quite loose, and occasions no treading whatever on that 
planted. Twelve inches to 15 ins. between each Potato is 
a good distance, and for dwarf-growing sorts, 15 ins. to 
18 ins. between the lines will suffice. For general crop 
2 ft. is a good distance apart, but exceptionally tall- 
growing sorts should have 27 ins. to 30 ins. between 
the lines. 
Cutting the Sets. —It is often argued whether 
whole or cut sets yield the greatest produce. By experi¬ 
ment it has, however, been proved that cut sets, and 
that taken from large Potatos, produce the greatest 
return of usable tubers. If whole tubers are planted, 
small ones must necessarily be used, and the buds 
produced by such are necessarily weaker than those 
from large Potatos having large buds. The buds or eyes 
on uncut tubers will also be more numerous than is 
desirable, consequently there would be a crowding of 
small weak stems. In cutting large Potatos for sets, 
leave a sufficient depth of the tuber around the bud to 
support it, and further the development of strong stems. 
Very weak eyes should be rejected, using the waste for 
some other purpose. Some like to cut the sets some 
days previous to planting, in order to dry them, but 
this is not necessary. — F. 
“The Amateur’s Greenhouse Guide.” —Under 
this title we have a book of modest pretensions, con¬ 
sisting of fifty-eight pages of plain, practical andconcise 
directions for the cultivation of various greenhouse 
plants. The book has reached its third edition, and 
would seem to meet a want felt among amateurs, by 
whom only its contents are meant for perusal. It 
commences by giving a description of the soil best 
suited for plant-growing in pots, and goes on to describe 
potting, watering, liquid manure, the sizes of pots and 
the numbers under which certain ones are obtainable, 
seed-sowing, heating, insects and cuttings. A list of 
plants in season is given for every month in the year, 
and a list of Chrysanthemums is given under their 
respective classes, with cultural information. General 
treatment with regard to propagation, after-attention, 
and the best compost for the different kinds is given. 
Large groups, such as Ferns, Cacti, greenhouse climbers, 
Roses for pot culture, &c., are treated collectively, 
with mention of the leading sorts. The use of capital 
letters for specific names is not a very happy feature of 
the book. Messrs. B. Morley & Co., Preston, are the 
publishers. 
