February 8, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
367 
The Lady Gardeners at Kew are progressing favour¬ 
ably. They talk about woman’s sphere as if it had 
a limit; why, even Kew is not complete without a 
woman in it .—Le Vert. 
The Andaman Islanders, the black Australian 
natives, the Digger Indians and other low types of 
mankind, subsist chieSy upon fruits, seeds, roots and 
leaves. 
Heavenly Blue Morning Glory.—Mr. F. Schuyler 
Matthews some months ago declared that true blue 
was unknown amongst flowers, as Nature had not 
the colour on her palette. A horticulturist seems to 
have found true blue, judging from the above name 
he gives to a variety of Ipomoea. 
A blue Rose.—My attention has been called to a 
statement that a Rose cannot be blue, because that 
blue, red, and yellow flowers cannot be borne on 
plants of the same species. I think it may be well 
to know and to remember that Roses are not all 
included in one species. Lindley described seven¬ 
teen species as natives of Britain, and Loudon, 
sixty-three as cultivated, which are far from being 
all the species of Roses known or believed to exist. 
Now for as much as Hyacinths are commonly blue 
or red, yet there are some said to be yellow ; and 
Lupines are mostly blue or yellow, yet red Lupines 
may be had rather cheap. I do not know why a 
blue Rose may not be had some day, though, 
perhaps, it may not be worth cultivating .—John 
Gibbs, January 30 tk, 1896. 
Rye Gardeners’ Society.—The members of this 
society celebrated their jubilee on the 22nd ult. at 
the Cinque Ports Hotel Assembly Room, the Vicar 
of Rye (the president) occupying the chair. There 
was a strong muster of the members and influential 
men of the town, from the mayor downwards. The 
latter proposed “ Success to the Society,” and was 
glad to say it was in a flourishing condition. Before 
resuming his seat he complimented the secretaries, 
Messrs. W. Robinson and H. G. Henbrey. There 
were numerous speakers during the evening, and 
vocal and instrumental music added to the enjoy¬ 
ment of the evening. 
Flowers in the West.—Scarlet-flowered Rhododen¬ 
drons may now be seen in full bloom around Pen¬ 
zance, Falmouth, and Torquay. Red and white 
Camellias are in the same condition. Snowdrops, 
Daffodils, Crocus, Pansies, Polyanthus, Wallflowers, 
Daisies, Marguerites, Stocks, and other garden 
flowers are also making the gardens look like spring. 
In Penzance Anemone fulgens, Scilly White 
Narcissus and the golden Princeps Daffodil have 
been offered for sale for some time past. The season 
is considered to be two or three weeks in advance of 
the average. Sheltered spots facing the sea are most 
conducive to earliness. 
Wakefield Paxton Society.—‘‘The Propagation and 
Cultivation of British Ferns ” was the subject of a 
lecture by Mr. W. H. Atkinson, curator of Batley 
Cemetery, at the meeting of the Paxton Society at 
Woolpacks Hotel on the 18th ult. The propagation 
of Ferns has long been exceedingly obscure, and is 
even now not generally understood. Mr. Atkinson 
was able, however, to make the process very clear 
by the aid of diagrams, &c., shown by a limelight 
lantern. The growth of a Fern from the spore to a 
perfect plant was set forth stage by stage, a very 
intricate subject being treated in an exceedingly 
practical way. Mr. Atkinson also dealt with the 
culture of Ferns, and showed a large number of 
slides of the best types, and also specimens of new 
varieties he had himself obtained from spores. 
Bark-cloth Fig.—At the meeting of the Linnean 
Society of London on the 16th ult., Mr. G. F. Scott 
Elliot exhibited specimens of Bark-cloth from Uganda 
and the shores of Lake Tanganyika, and gave 
an account of the mode of its preparation from the 
Bark-cloth Fig, also of the fleshy Euphorbias, and 
Acacias of British East Africa, illustrating his 
remarks with lantern slides from photographs taken 
by himself. Mr. Elliot remarked that the native 
cloth manufactured on the shores of the Tanganyika 
was made on the same sort of rough loom which he 
had seen employed near Sierra Leone, and that as 
the Tanganyika is ethnologically and botanically 
part of the West Coast, it was interesting to find 
that the methods employed in countries so far apart 
were so similar in detail. A discussion followed, in 
which Messrs. Rendle, Holmes, T. Christy, and W. 
Carruthers took part. 
Punishment for digging up Ferns. —Two men taken 
in the act of digging up Fern roots in a Devonshire 
lane were fined £5 and £2 10s. respectively by the 
County Bench at Totnes on the 20th ult. They 
went to prison unable to pay the fines. For this 
enterprise they had hired a horse, a cart, and an out¬ 
house, with the view apparently of establishing a 
steady business with Covent Garden. At Brighton, 
on the 30th ult., a basket of Primrose plants, burst¬ 
ing into bloom, and evidently dug up from some 
hedgerow or coppice was exposed for sale. There is 
a serious consideration whether his kind of traffic 
should be encouraged. 
Chester Paxton Society.—A lecture was delivered 
under the auspices of the above society on Saturday 
evening last by Mr. R. G. Waterman, Woolton, on 
“Soils and their Treatment." The meeting was 
held in the Grosvenor Museum, under the presi¬ 
dency of Mr. N. F. Barnes, Eaton Hall, when a good 
attendance of members was present. The essayist 
took a review of the most important features of his 
subject including the varied kinds of soil and the 
treatment most conducive to the highest result— i.e., 
draining, liming, and material for light and heavy 
lands, protection and site, manures, and rotation of 
crops. An interesting discussion followed, princi¬ 
pally upon trenching, lime, and how and when it 
should be used, peat moss, man ure, engine dust, &c. 
A cordial vote of thanks to Mr. Waterman for his 
valuable paper, terminated the proceedings. 
- — X »- - 
BOWLING GREEN. 
This is a very popular game in Lancashire, and 
played somewhat differently to that in the South, 
with bowls slightly smaller and with less bias. In 
the north the bowlers follow their own bowls, 
whereas, often in the south the players are divided, 
half of each side taking their allotted positions at 
each end of the green, bowling back the bowls sent 
up by their partner or partners. The green is made 
with a crown or raised in the centre from 4 in. to 14 
in., according to size or the fancy of the proprietor. 
The ground should fall equally from the centre to the 
sides, great care being required that the surface is 
absolutely true, with the exception of the fall from the 
centre, which is required to assist or check the 
bias at the will of the player. The most suitable 
form is a long square, which will accommodate more 
sets of players and gives a greater variety of “ land ” 
—that is, the fall can be selected in a greater num¬ 
ber of forms. The most approved size is from 
25 yards to 35 yards in width, and from 35 
yards to 45 yards in length, although irregular 
forms are often adopted from various causes. Good 
drainage is requisite, and feeding should be resorted 
to in cases where much play is required, to keep the 
herbage in good order. The green should be on a 
level with the surroundings, but if a terrace can be 
arranged on one side or end so much the better, as 
the onlookers can more clearly define the play, and 
so enhance their interest. The practical work of 
making a green would require more room than could 
be expected in the columns of the “ G. W.,” but I 
should be willing to give full instructions if a rough 
sketch of the proposed site was submitted.— R. G. IV., 
Woolton. 
-—►&, - 
THE GARDENER: A COMPARISON. 
(A reply to “ G. A. S.,” p. 355). 
A versifier moans the fate 
The gardener’s subject to. His state 
Is bad—alas ! it ne'er was blest ; 
His “ wage is low," his mind's distrest, 
His “ food is poor," his toil is spun— 
In fact, his “ work is never done! ” 
His disappointments, too, are keen ; 
How can he hope to change the scene ? 
Alas! that one who Flora tends 
Should e’er receive such poor amends I 
But is this so ? Do gardeners pine 
For “freedom," “honours,” baubles, wine? 
All states are bad, if we've a mind— 
The gardener’s common to mankind. 
The gardener with the clerk compare ; 
Who works in vitiated air ? 
Who toils all day in city pent ? 
Who fears the oft-recurring rent ? 
The gardener with the clerk compare; 
Who is it breathes the sweet fresh air ? 
Who lives amongst the birds and flowers ? 
Who feels Dame Nature's wondrous powers ? 
And if perchance some ills exist, 
The gardener is no pessimist. 
What if he have some cankering cares; 
The richest in the land have theirs— 
The clerk is pale—foul air will bleach; 
The gardener’s ruddy as the Peach, 
For while he rests from daily toil 
The penman burns the midnight oil. 
Oh ! give me; then, a pruning knife, 
A watering-can, a quiet life; 
Some unsophisticated light, 
Some homely fare—an appetite ; 
Give me a spade, I’ll spurn the pen, 
For gardeners are the happiest men. 
—Le Vert. 
-- «»« — 
EARLY TOMATOS. 
To secure a good crop of the above by June is not 
so easy a task as many growers imagine. The things 
essential, are, first of all, a good house in the open, 
away from any buildings that are likely to over¬ 
shadow it. It should be rather a low structure to 
guard against waste of heat. I have heard and read 
a good deal about Tomatos growing in nearly any 
corner and under almost any conditions, but many 
people's ideas of good Tomatos are like a certain 
doctor that I know. Noticing a plant he had in his 
room, I remarked it did not look very bright. This 
just touching him up a little, he informed me, point¬ 
ing upstairs, that he thought he had one of the best 
India-rubber plants in the town. I asked him if it 
had retained its lower leaves. Oh, no ! he said, and 
laughed. I pictured a straight stick and a few 
oddments ” in the way of leaves at the top, as the 
doctor’s idea of what a good plant was. 
However, to come to business, plenty of heat 
should always be at command if early Tomatos are 
to be grown. Let no one be misled as to this : I 
do not say that the best crops are always produced 
with artificial heat—rather the reverse—but in dealing 
with early Tomatos we are trying to make these first 
few months of the year into beautiful summer. 
After a while, what with electricity and the cold 
retarding house, we shall want for nothing. Air 
should be given on all possible occasions, to keep the 
plants as sturdy as the conditions will allow ; checks 
of all kinds must be avoided, however, as this means 
a proportionate reduction in the value of the crop. 
Everything should be done, therefore, to prevent 
this. 
In the first place the seed should be sown in small 
pots, putting three or four seeds in each pot, and 
thinning out the plants at the proper time, leaving 
the strongest. No material is better than loam of a 
light character. Guard against anything heavy for 
a start. Any hedge bottom contains excellent stuff 
for the purpose. The food suitable for plants at 
various stages of their growth is a subject I have 
often longed to have a go at. When the seed is 
sown, pack all pots into a box in rows, filling in with 
cocoa-nut fibre or any plunging material. Next 
cover the pots with glass, after which they may be 
put in any place for three days (mine go under 
the stage) ; but note that not an hour longer than 
they are through the soil do they stop, as a day 
too long will ruin them. It is merely to get the 
plants started that they are thus treated. I have 
always found it takes a considerably longer time to 
set them goiDg when the seed pots are placed on a 
shelf. * 
Keep potting the young plants on, not too fast till 
better weather appears. The final shift should be 
into a 12-in. pot, when, if they are good and well- 
rooted, the soil must be made as firm as possible also 
paying good attention to drainage. If the house has 
glass sides, which are a great benefit, the pots may 
stand on the staging, but if brick sides, start them 
within 6 in. of the glass roof. This can always be 
accomplished by the aid of a few boards packed up to 
the required height with bricks. This latter system 
has one thing in its favour for being clear of all stage 
material, breeze, pebbles, etc. Tomatos will catch 
hold of and root into nearly anything. A row of 
good sods 2 in. thick placed on the stage comes in 
very handy at a time when the plants require, as the 
“ bobby ” says, “ a move on.” 
Lastly, when a good set is secured, the plants 
should be stopped to assist the fruit, then starting, to 
swell and finish rapidly. Let a few laterals develop to 
a certain length, as a few of these never do much 
harm in a small state. 
When you have got your plants in position watch 
your boiler, and never by any means neglect venti¬ 
lation on favourable occasions, or long growth and 
fruitless flower clusters, disease, and disgust will 
be the inevitable result.— J, G. Pettingcr, Straw¬ 
berry Dale Nursery, Harrogate. 
