274 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
December 29, 18S8. 
them, either in writing or orally, concerning certain 
plants or certain observations which he has made ; also 
systematic botany, so that he may ascertain the affinities 
of plants with regard to the processes of cross-breeding 
and hybridisation, as well as the cultural treatment 
necessary for particular groups of plants ; and physi¬ 
ology, so that he may become acquainted with the 
requirements of the subjects under his care, including 
food, temperature, and hygienic principles, of which 
proper exposure to light and air are all important ; and 
lastly, geographical and economical botany should not 
be beneath his notice. 
To the general cultivator, a good knowledge of 
chemistry as applied to horticulture is of inestimable 
value if he desires to excel or rise in his profession. It 
is not sufficient to know that his garden ground 
contains the elements that constitute a rich soil, when 
the fact remains that those elements may be locked up 
in an insoluble condition in the soil, which requires 
particular treatment in order to hasten those chemical 
changes that under natural conditions take place but 
slowly. The question of artificial manure is an im¬ 
portant one which no modern gardener should neglect 
or ignore. Certain crops derive great benefit from 
certain kinds of manure, some of which should be 
applied at a particular time or at a particular stage of 
the crop. 
Geology is in some respects allied to the subject of 
chemistry, inasmuch as both relate to soils and the 
plants to be grown upon them. A knowledge of the 
different rocks or formations of the earth’s crust would 
be serviceable to an intelligent cultivator, inasmuch as 
they have a direct influence upon vegetation where 
each respective kind comes to the surface. Many kinds 
of plants will grow upon various soils indifferently, 
while others are specially adapted for certain soils only. 
An acquaintance with these matters is most desirable. 
Draining—a most important operation in horticulture 
as in agriculture—is intimately connected with the 
subject of geology, as the nature of the soil and the par¬ 
ticular dip or direction of strata have a direct bearing 
upon the direction that drains should take, their depth 
and distances apart. 
Itis necessary toknowsomething of meteorology to give 
an idea of the best time to sow, to plant, and to expose 
tender plants to the mercy of the weather. Some 
acquaintance with fungology and entomology would 
be of immense assistance in enabling a gardener to 
cope successfully when possible with those enemies to 
plant life. Other ’ologies arise, such as ornithology, 
pathology, and pomology ; but I have no desire to 
frighten you. There is some utility in a knowledge of 
drawing and geometry, notwithstanding the so-called 
witty but harmless jokes of prejudiced men. A 
gardener should be able to take measurements of a 
garden or parts of it, to lay out a flower garden, a fruit 
or kitchen garden, to make beds or designs, make 
drawings of them on paper, or be able to transfer them 
from paper to the ground, so that except in the case of 
parks, pleasure grounds, or large and complicated 
designs, the aid of a specialist or landscape gardener 
would not be required. Is it any more to expect such 
ability in a master-gardener than it would be in a 
carpenter, builder, or engineer to be able to furnish 
plans of whatever they undertake ? 
The master operations in gardening, such as pruning, 
grafting, budding, propagating, sowing, watering, 
ventilation, the hastening or retarding of vegetable 
growth, the development of flowers or the maturation 
of fruit, all point to the fact that a gardener, in order to 
meet the exigencies of his occupation, must be a great 
and continual thinker, and always be able to give a 
reason for what he does. Fruit or vegetables have to 
be ready by a certain time, and not only so, but a 
continual supply of many things is demanded of him 
by his employer. 
If all these subjects are actual requirements of a 
good gardener, young listeners will be apt to exclaim, 
“Who then can be a gardener ?” or that no one can be 
so without a college education. The observations are 
intended merely to call attention to the fact that all 
good gardening is conducted or guided more by the 
development and outcome of brain faculty than mere 
muscular power. He that would rise superior to the 
condition of a mere labourer and be worthy of the 
name of gardener, must not neglect self-improvement, 
nor the development of the reasoning faculties in the 
above-mentioned subjects. 
It is true that a greater length of time is necessary 
for a gardener to acquire a knowledge of his profession 
than in the case of most other occupations, but a college 
training is not an essential feature at alL Insur¬ 
mountable and difficult as the above sciences may 
appear, they may be attacked singly and overcome in 
detail. Few, if any, will master the whole of them 
with any degree of thoroughness; but a wonderful 
amount can be accomplished by the man who is 
actuated by a spirit of inquiry and gives it close 
application. One or two subjects is quite sufficient for 
a gardener to study during the winter months of one 
year, during which time he should give them as close 
and regular attention as the stated duties of his 
occupation will allow. His attention to any one 
subject need not terminate with one winter’s study, 
but be continued as occasion may offer, or in proportion 
to the service the same is likely to be to him in after 
years. (To be continued.) 
-->X<-- 
SHELL DUST. 
The compound which I exhibited at the recent meeting 
of the Royal Horticultural Society, and to which 
reference is made at p. 240, was sent me by one of 
our East Coast pilots, a class of mariners, who, more 
amphibious than other seamen, yet present one of the 
most valuable elementsof our nautical life. This mariner 
wrote me such information as I was enabled to give con¬ 
cerning the shell dust, from on board his pilot boat— 
rather odd conditions under which to deal with garden¬ 
ing subjects. The communication included a promise 
to send particulars when he returned to land, and some 
further information has come to hand. 
I learn that sea-weed, as well as shells, are calcined 
in the kiln, which is of a home-made character, the 
material produced never having been offered for sale, 
but used solely by the manufacturer in his own 
allotment ground, especially with Asparagus and Sea 
Kale, and by his neighbours, all of whom seem to find 
it to be a valuable manure. The rough siftings from 
the dust are used for poultry runs, as it seems to be a 
fine thing for fowls, helping them to produce eggs. 
The very finest dust obtained from the harder shells is 
believed to be a valuable compound in the manufacture 
of the best pottery ; but that may be only supposition. 
To produce such shell flour, however, takes consider¬ 
able time and labour. 
My informant states that his neighbours not only 
hold the shell dust in high esteem as a fertiliser, but 
also think it a protection from Potato disease, but, of 
course, on that head I am sceptical. Soft shells make 
lighter bulk of calcined dust ; hard shells give the 
heavier bulk, and probably also the greater per¬ 
centage of nutritive properties. The manufacturer 
purposes keeping soft and hard shell dust separate 
henceforth, and testing each kind as manure. He 
offers to send me a bag of the material for trial as 
manure, and I purpose asking Mr. Barron to give it a 
fair test at Chiswick during the ensuing summer.— 
A. Dean. 
-- 
THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. 
Dates and Places 
January 15, Drill Hall. 
February 12, Drill Hall. 
March 12” aud 26*, Drill 
Hall. 
April 9* and 23,* Drill 
Hall. 
May 14*, Drill Hall. 
May 30 and 31, Temple 
Gardens. 
June 11* and 25*, Drill 
Hall. 
* A short popular Lect.u 
of Meetings, 1889. 
July 2, 3 and 9, Chiswick ; 
23, * Drill Hall. 
August 13* and 27, Drill 
Hall. 
September 17, Drill Hall ; 
24, 25 and 26, Chiswick. 
October 8* and 22*, Drill 
Hall. 
November 12'and 13, Chis¬ 
wick. 
December 13, Drill Hall, 
e will be given at 3 p.m. 
The Fruit and Floral Committees meet on the above 
dates at 11 a.m , except May 31, July 3, September 
25 and 26, November 13. 
The Scientific Committee meets at 1 p.m. in the Library 
on the above dates, except May 30 and 31 ; July 2, 
3 and 9 ; August 13 and 27 ; September 17, 24, 
25, and 26 ; November 12 and 13. 
The Annual General Meeting will be held in the Library 
on February 12 at 3 p.m. 
National Auricula Society’s Show, April 23, Drill Hall. 
Great Summer Exhibition, May 30 and 31, Temple 
Gardens, E.C. 
Great National Rose Conference, July 2 and 3, Chiswick. 
Chiswick Flower Show, July 9, Chiswick. 
National Carnation Society’s Show, July 23, Drill 
Hall. 
Great Vegetable Conference, September 24, 25 and 26, 
Chiswick. 
Chrysanthemum Centenary Conference, November 12 
and 13, Chiswick. 
Gardening Notes fromIreland. 
The Weather. 
The extraordinary mildness of the weather at this 
season is the subject of general comment, and its effect 
on flower and vegetable growths is most remarkable. 
For the last two months I have seen many of the garden 
varieties of Primroses partially in flower, but just now 
they are abundant, and even the common ones of the 
hedge-rows are to be frequently met with in well- 
sheltered positions. Pear blossoms, and even diminu¬ 
tive fruits, have been pointed out to me in gardens ; 
and I saw to-day a Pear tree, that was pruned a few 
weeks ago, pushing buds and developing leaves on 
several parts of it; also, in a sunny well-sheltered spot, 
a plant of white-flowering Syringa bearing a lot of 
opening flowers upon it. Chrysanthemums, too, where 
grown on walls or out of doors, are still giving a supply 
of blooms. Such varieties as Madame Lacroix, Peter 
the Great, King of Crimsons, and others, are showing 
and opening blooms well. There are other instances of 
plants flowering out of their usual season, which I shall 
allude to in their proper place. 
As regards vegetables, a very general thing has 
occurred with Cauliflowers intended for use at the 
present time ; they were fit to cut, but in ill-grown 
condition, long before they were wanted ; and Lettuces, 
Spinach, &c., is as forward in growth now as is usually 
the case with them in the spring months. In all this, 
however, I think there is nothing more remarkable 
than the very premature way in which the various 
varieties of Christmas Rose have flowered. 
HELLEBORUS NIGER. 
’Where it used to often occur that these would not be 
seen flowering until after Christmas, the best of their 
flowers are gone before that time ; and stranger still, 
the section known as Lent Lilies, and which usually 
bloom from February to May, are now beginning to 
show flowers. Of the class of Hellebore which produce 
their flowers on stems there are numerous named 
varieties, and a large collection of seedlings of the same 
kind, at the Glasnevin Botanic Gardens. Among them 
are some exceedingly interesting plants, all flowering 
freely, and with stems and foliage reminding one of 
well-grown herbaceous Psonies. The form and colours 
of these seedlings were very various, and ranging in 
colour from pink, white edged with pink, pure white, 
green, and white centred ones with purple or green 
edges. As another indication cf what Christmas 
weather is around Dublin, I may mention the hybrid 
perpetual 
Roses. 
In numbers of gardens where there are collections of 
these, flower buds are plentiful, and on two large beds 
in Glasnevin Gardens, I noticed, on the 21st inst., a 
numerous lot of buds and half expanded flowers. 
While many of the plants had lost most of their 
foliage, others were still retaining a good deal, and on 
these, among which I may mention such varieties as 
Dupuy Jamain, Jean Cherpiu and Madame H. Jamain, 
the half-opened Roses looked w T ell. In other respects 
the season is a most unusual one, as never before, I 
believe, has the pastures been covered with such a 
growth of grass, and it may well be asked, as many are 
doing, if this expenditure of growth now, means a 
correspondingly poor return next year from an over¬ 
worked soil. 
Orchids. 
There are, for this season, a good number of Orchids 
in flower at Glasnevin, chief amongst them being some 
good forms of Cypripediums. These are C. venustum 
pardiuum, C. Haynaldianum with its beautifully 
brown-blotched sepals, which are almost transparent 
and thrown out widely ; C. Dormanii, said to be a 
hybrid of C. Pearcei and C. caudatum ; C. nitens, a 
cross from C. villosum and C. insigne ; C. Spieerianum 
and C. callosum. There are a few good plants of 
Lrelia anceps, one of them carrying eight spikes and 
looking in robust health. There is a small plant of 
Trichopilia nobilis, with two beautiful white flowers ; 
these look showy, but its great value consists in the 
lovely perfume it exhales, the surrounding atmosphere 
being strongly impregnated with it. Then there were 
Lycaste Barringtonire (var. grandiflora), L. lanipes, 
L. Skinneri, Oncidium incurvum, O. tigrinum, 
Houlletia chrysantlia, Cymbidium Lowianum, and 
various Calanthes, conspicuous amongst the latter 
being C. vestita rosea, which looked very gay. With¬ 
out giving the names of others flowering just now, and 
which must be regarded amongst Orchid collections as 
