December 15, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
247 
NOTES ON VEGETABLES. 
Long-Headed Savoy. 
A variety of Savoy grown in the gardens of the 
Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick, under this 
name, is strikingly distinct from most or all other 
kinds generally seen in cultivation, and appears to he 
a good one to grow for winter work, provided it prove 
sufficiently hardy to withstand the vicissitudes of our 
changeable winter. The heads are produced with great 
regularity, and are oblong, tapering slightly to the top 
in sugar-loaf fashion, and appear tender and good. 
The recent mild weather seems to he acting rather 
unfavourably upon them, causing the dark green outer 
leaves to unfold, slightly exhibiting the pale green 
and more tender leaves. In spite of this, however, it 
may prove a useful kind for general cultivation. The 
specimens under notice are grown between the lines of 
Pear trees, where, although they receive a fair amount 
of light, the soil is impoverished by the roots of the 
trees, otherwise the heads would be larger. For table 
use, however, very large heads are not desirable. 
Asparagus Chicory. 
A sample of this little-known vegetable was again 
exhibited at the Drill Hall, Westminster, on Tuesday 
last. As used, the fleshy stems and leaves together 
measure about 12 ins. or 15 ins. in length, and the 
latter resemble those of Chicory or Dandelion, but 
greatly elongated, narrow, linear, wavy at the margins, 
and more or less coarsely toothed. They are used in 
the same way as Chicory or Dandelion leaves, that is, 
cut green and boiled, a process requiring only about 
twenty minutes. Some were cooked on Tuesday and 
were found to resemble Dandelion, and pleasing 
enough to the taste. It may also he said that the roots 
can be obtained for forcing purposes, whereas those of 
Dandelion cannot be so procured. The plants are said 
to be tolerably hardy. It was exhibited by Mr. J. 
Willard, Holly Lodge Gardens, and received a First 
Class Certificate from the Fruit Committee. Mr. 
Barron has also had the same vegetable under cultiva¬ 
tion at Chiswick this year, from seeds supplied by the 
Novelty & Seed Co., Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire. 
-- 
THE R. H. S. COMMITTEES. 
As some alterations in the committees have been sug¬ 
gested by a sub-committee, and adopted by the Council, 
I think it might help those who are considering the 
system of Floral Certificates again to state how they are 
now awarded, and why members are not asked to vote 
on plants with which they are not familiar. When a 
beautiful Orchid is exhibited, the award of a Certificate 
often depends upon its being sufficiently distinct from 
others already in cultivation ; the judgment, in this 
case, must mainly rest with the Orchid experts on the 
committee ; the majority of the other members have 
not sufficient knowledge of the subject, and therefore, 
in many cases, do not vote, I think wisely, and many 
of the Orchid experts act similarly in the case of rare 
Alpines and other hardy plants. 
Some flowers bring out many voters—Chrysanthe¬ 
mums, for instance ; but even here the opinion 0 £ 
experts as to novelty carries great weight. Alpines 
perhaps, have fewest votes, though with them I have 
never known a “verdict of two or three out of twenty 
or thirty then present.” Friends have asked if it was 
right that a single Dahlia should get a First Class 
Certificate, and that a grand new Orchid-, such as 
Cattleya exoniensis, only got the same award. I have 
for years suggested that some special distinction should 
be devised for plants of very exceptional merit, but this 
has to be done by the Council—not by the committee. 
At present a First Class Certificate means only that the 
plant is considered a novelty of great merit, or a very 
pronounced advance on plants of its class. There is no 
comparison with plants of other classes any more than 
when the same words of praise are given to a Cattleya 
and a Primrose—“What a remarkably fine flower !” 
Again, I have been told that too many Certificates 
have been given at one meeting to Dahlias, and offhand 
this may appear to be correct, but those on the spot see 
differently. Once or twice in the season the principal 
growers make a great effort, and send up the cream of 
their seedlings, selected from a vast number. As 
Dahlias are of many colours—red, white, crimson, 
purple, variegated, &c.—each colour stands on its own 
merits. It sometimes happens that great improvements 
in colour or form have been made in most of the 
colours ; in tliis case many Certificates are necessarily 
awarded. As I cannot fall in with many of the sug¬ 
gestions which have been adopted in connection with 
the Floral Committee, I have given up my seat after 
this year ; but though freed from responsibility, I need 
hardly say that I wish to see it as efficient as possible, 
and hope that it will keep as free from undue influence 
as I now believe it to be.—George F. Wilson, Heather- 
bank, Weybridge Heath, Dec. 6th. 
(Hardening S’iscellany. 
cjo -soyi 
Bouvardias and Double Primulas at 
Cbildwickbury. 
Among the many things that are well done at the 
country residence, near St. Albans, of J. B. Maple, 
Esq., M.P., I was much struck with the above, which 
are grown in large quantities. The Bouvardias occupy 
a span-roofed intermediate house, and at the time of my 
visit, a few days ago, they presented a grand display. 
Mr. Nutting, the able gardener in charge, informed me 
that the whole of the plants were planted out on a very 
slight hot-bed early in June, which no doubt helped 
them considerably during the cold wet weather of the 
past summer. The plants are of large size, having 
made strong growths, and are covered with bloom, the 
trusses being exceptionally large. They were taken up 
and potted at the end of September, the balls being 
carefully cut round three or four times previous to 
lifting. The plants after potting were kept close and 
shaded for a few days, and a liberal supply of Messrs. 
"Wood & Sons’ Fertilising Moss was used in the compost. 
This is held in high esteem by Mr. Nutting. Most of 
the best kinds are grown, but among the cream I 
noticed Alfred Neuner, President Garfield, Dazzler, 
Blushing Bride and the Bride. Seldom have I seen 
the old Double White Primula in better condition than 
at Childwickbury ; the plants are grown in 6-in. pots 
on shelves near the glass, and are in the very best of 
health and well flowered. This is one of the most 
useful things grown for cutting purposes at this season 
of the year. Gardening at this establishment is well 
carried out in all departments. I found Mr. Nutting 
busy superintending the moving of a number of large 
trees in the park, such as Horse Chestnuts, Limes, 
Birch and Oaks, the heights of which ranged from 
30 ft. to 50 ft., and I was much interested in seeing 
one taken up, moved and replanted some distance away. 
It was easily done with the aid of a good machine, 
kindly lent by Miss Rothschild, of Eythrope, and 
fourteen men and eleven horses.— E. Beckett, Aldenham, 
Elstree. _*_ 
Peach Lore. 
In the very interesting paper of Mr. Rivers’ on the 
above subject, reproduced in your last issue, it is 
remarked that the Peach cannot be stored for future 
consumption like the Apple, which is, of course, true in 
the ordinary sense. But there is one method of storing 
both Apples and Peaches, which I have seen, when a 
lad, practised in American farmhouses, and which is 
to peel them, cut them into pieces, and hang them up 
until dried. I remember well bringing out something 
like a sack of these dried Peaches, which, however, 
never found their way into the pies or puddings which 
should have been their destination, but were discussed 
au naturel, so to speak, with every expression of appro¬ 
bation by appreciative connoisseurs of my own age. I 
have often wondered why these American dried Peaches 
have never found their way to this country among the 
many things we import from the other side.— M. B. 
Skimmia Foremani. 
The plant to which this name has been given is stated 
to be a hybrid between S. oblata as the seed parent 
and S. fragrans as the pollen parent. The stock has 
been grown by Mr. Frederick Foreman, Eskbank 
Nursery, Midlothian, N. B., for the last twenty years, 
and is evidently of very slow growth, but extremely 
floriferous, while it bears a great quantity of globular 
scarlet berries about the size of peas. The leaves are 
obovate-lanceolate, leathery, evergreen, of a rich dark 
colour, and much broader than those of Skimmia 
japonica. A group of some thirty-two plants of various 
sizes wa3 exhibited at the Drill Hall, "Westminster, on 
Tuesday last, and it has taken about twenty years to 
work up the stock, which has been propagated by 
grafting. They were grown out of doors, and have 
been subjected to 34° of frost, so that they are perfectly 
hardy. They were exhibited by Mr. F. Foreman, and 
received a First Class Certificate. 
Butter-nuts. 
Under this name, the fruits of Caryocar nuciferum, a 
tropical South American tree, have been exposed in 
the shops in Covent Garden Market for the past month 
or six weeks. Their high price, namely Is. to Is. 6d. a 
pound, will prevent any large consumption of the 
fruits in this country. Owing to the hard, thick, and 
woody nature of the shell, the kernels, when removed 
from a pound weight of fruit, constitute but a small 
part of the whole. The hardness of the shell will also 
prevent the nut being broken with an ordinary nut¬ 
cracker ; the kernel is, however, very pleasant to the 
taste, reminding one of the Brazil-nut, although both 
belong to different orders ; but it is much softer, with 
a greasy or buttery consistency when chewed. Hence, 
no doubt, we have the application of the name, Butter¬ 
nut, otherwise known as the Souari-nut. The shell is 
reddish brown, somewhat kidney-shaped, compressed 
on the sides, and covered with rough, warty protuber¬ 
ances. Four of these are borne in a fruit with its full 
complement, which would be about the size of a child’s 
hand. 
Impatiens Hookeriana. 
It is to be regretted that this fine species is not so 
easily grown or flowered as I. Sultani, otherwise it 
would become very popular. It naturally flowers in 
winter, but must have had some previous preparation 
in order to enable it to produce bloom. Being of a 
fleshy shrubby character, it must attain some size and 
have its wood well ripened off during the latter part of 
summer after it has made good growth. A light 
position near the glass with plenty of ventilation is 
also good for it; or the plants may be stood in the 
open air during autumn and receive hut a moderate 
amount of water. The flowers are of great size, pure 
white with crimson-red stripes on the lateral petals, 
and are borne in trusses or umbels of from two to six. 
These umbels are carried clear above the foliage, 
displaying the curious long curved white spur. There 
is a well-flowered plant of some size in the stove at 
Kew. It is a native of the mountains of tropical 
Ceylon, where it ascends to an altitude of 3,000 ft. to 
5,000 ft. 
Gardeners of the Future. , 
In your issue of December 1st, “ W. B. G.” points out 
that young gardeners, in order to acquire a leading 
position in after life, should obtain a knowledge of 
botany, chemistry, and entomology, and a first-rate 
suggestion it would be, provided the young gardeners 
had the means to follow it out. As “Southdown,” in 
your last issue, says, “many are the sons of poor 
agricultural labourers, and the parents of such are glad 
to get them installed in a gentleman’s garden,” and 
“ W. B. G.” should pause and think of the wages they 
receive. The average pay of journeymen gardeners is 
16s. per week, and if they have to take part in the 
decoration of the house, are always expected to keep 
up a respectable appearance. I do not say for one 
moment that these subjects are of no use to such men. 
On the contrary, a knowledge of chemistry is the 
greatest boon to any gardener ; but at the same time it 
is an expensive science, and if the uninitiated take to 
experimenting, a dangerous one too. Would that 
some of our leading lecturers came forward, to write 
a series of papers upon the subjects mentioned, that 
could be published in The Gardening World or some 
other weekly gardening periodical, so that young gar¬ 
deners could acquire the knowledge they thirst after, 
and which, from their means and isolated positions, they 
are unable to obtain. I feel sure their efforts would he 
greatly appreciated. I quite agree with “ Southdown, ” 
that the head gardeners of the present day do not take 
so much interest in their employes as they should do. 
As long as their men do the work allotted to them to 
their satisfaction, all is well ; but a few useful hints 
from them would go a long way towards the making of 
a young gardener. Alas ! now they are mostly allowed 
in their spare hours to follow the bent of their own in¬ 
clinations, and, I fear, too often pursue the course 
mentioned in the concluding words of “ W. B. G.’s” 
letter. A great many of them live in isolated country 
places, where they cannot obtain access to public 
libraries, and where they have not the chance of 
attending lectures. What are they to do ? A few good 
articles from leading men would go further with them 
than a dozen of books, which are mostly dry in detail, 
and contain a great deal that is confusing to even the 
more intelligent of young men. I trust that something 
in the way I have suggested may be carried out for the 
benefit of young gardeners like myself, so that when 
we rise to the position of head gardener we may he able 
to give advice to those under us, and also to give satis¬ 
faction to those by whom we are employed. — E. H. C. 
Anthracite Coal. 
Reverting again to this subject, allow me to corro¬ 
borate the remarks of “W. B. G.” at p. 224, both 
with respect to Anthracite Coal and the insufficient 
power of many heating apparatuses. Admitting that 
the fire-bars are liable to be melted with ordinary coal 
