December 21, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
247 
some night-soil if it can be bad, and put a dressing 
over tbe top till sowing time, then dig it in lightly 
with a spade, working the ground fine and level. The 
bed should then be rolled. As soon as the plants 
appear, give the bed a slight hoeing to keep down the 
weeds, and thin out from 6 ins. to 9 ins. for large ones. 
I do not, however, advise thinning too severely, as I 
find medium-sized Onions keep better than large ones. 
A sowing may be made in August to stand the winter, 
and planted out in spring on well-prepared ground in 
rows 1 ft. apart and 9 ins. between the plants. 
Parsley. —Sow in March in drills 1 ft. apart ; thin 
out to 9 ins., and sow in June for winter use. 
Parsnips require a deep loamy soil ; trench the 
ground in autumn, leaving it in a rough state through 
the winter. Sow in March in drills 20 ins. apart, 
thin out when large enough ; take up a portion in 
November and store away in ashes in case of sharp 
frost. 
Peas. —Sow early sorts at the end of January or the 
beginning of February, on a warm border, and the main 
crop the first week in March. Make successional sow¬ 
ings till the end of June. Peas require a deep rich 
soil, deeply dug or trenched, with good dressings of 
manure. When the plants have grown about 4 ins. 
high the ground should be forked along the sides of 
the rows, giving some of the artificial manure and 
drawing a little earth to them, and properly staking. 
In dry weather give a mulching of manure, and water 
them when necessary. 
Potatos. —The best soil to grow Potatos in is a 
maiden loam, not too rich ; if the soil is rich the 
quality will not be so good, and should the land he 
stiff a dressing of lime will greatly improve it. Plant 
in rows from 2 ft. to 3 ft. apart, and 10 ins. between 
the sets. In selecting the latter it is advisable to 
choose the best shape and size. Cut the tubers into 
about three eyes or buds ; if it be a kidney, cut it 
longitudinally, so as to have a crown eye on either set. 
After the plants have come up, give the ground a good 
stirring between the rows and keep free from weeds, 
giving due attention to the earthing of the plants. In 
autumn, take up the crop when the weather is fine, 
and store away in a dark dry place where it will be 
safe from frost ; but that intended for seed should lay 
exposed for a few days to ripen before being stored 
away. 
Radish. —Sow in March, on well-prepared ground, 
making successional sowings to the end of August. 
Salsafy. —Sow in April, in drills 15 ins. apart, on a 
light soil, thin out when large enough to 6 ins. apart ; 
take up in November and store in dry sand for winter 
use. 
Scorzonera requires the same treatment as Salsafy. 
Sea Kale requires to bo grown in an open situation 
on a light rich soil. Trench the ground, working in a 
good dressing of manure. Sea Kale can be propagated 
by seeds or cuttings, the latter being preferable. When 
the plants are taken up select the strongest roots, and 
make into cuttings about 4 ins. in length ; put away 
in sand till early in March, then plant out in clumps 
3 ft. apart each way. Keep the ground free from 
weeds, and early in spring put pots over the crowns, 
covering them with litter to exclude the light. 
Scotch Kale. —Sow in drills 9 ins. apart, in March 
and April; plant out in rows 2 ft. apart each way in 
rich soil. 
Spinach. —Sow in drills in February, 1 ft. apart, 
and continue till May for succession through the 
summer and autumn. For winter and spring use, sow 
in July and August ; thin out when large enough, and 
keep free from weeds. 
Sayoy.—S ow in March and April, in drills 9 ins. 
apart ; plant out in rows 18 ins. to 24 ins. apart, on 
well-manured ground. 
Shallots require the same treatment as Garlic, only 
they should not be planted so deep. Keep the crowns 
of the bulbs a little above the surface of the soil. 
Turnips. —Sow from the first week in March until 
the middle of July for succession, on a light loamy soil, 
richly manured, in shallow drills 15 ins. apart. Thin 
out when large enough, give the bed a hoeing occasion¬ 
ally, and water in dry weather. The Turnip Fly is very 
troublesome in dry weather, but a dusting with soot 
and lime when the dew is on the plants will check 
them. 
Tomatos. —Sow in heat at the end of February, and 
again in March, in light soil, adding a good portion of 
sand to encourage root action. As soon as the seedlings 
are strong enough, pot off into small pots, and place 
near the glass to keep them sturdy. Shift when 
required into 48 or 32-sized pots, to get the plants 
strong for placing out by the end of May, or as soon as 
the weather is favourable. Plant against a wall or 
trellis iu a sunny position 18 ins. apart, keeping off all 
side shoots, and when necessary thin out the foliage 
that shades the fruit. When there is danger from 
frost, pick all fruits that will be of any use, and put 
them on a shelf under glass to finish ripening. 
Vegetable Marrows. —Sow in heat in April, and 
grow on until the end of May, when they should be 
planted out on good rich ground about 10 ft. apart. 
Protect for a few days with hand-lights, and when the 
plants are established remove the lights, and put some 
litter round them to keep the fruit off the ground. 
-- 
PRIMULA OBGONIOA. 
As with a good many of your readers, the recent 
rumours regarding the poisonous nature of this favourite 
were received by myself with a feeling of deep regret. 
Not that these suspicions had the remotest influence in 
prejudicing me against it, or lessening my estimate of 
its beauty and usefulness, but I saw at a glance the 
effect which such a character would have generally 
upon its future development. The alleged symptoms 
caused by handling it are of a nature so terrible, that 
few who are lovers of sound bodies would care to risk 
having it on their premises at any price. Consequently, 
without waiting to find out the authenticity of its 
supposed virulent qualities, it is more than likely that 
active measures for its destruction would immediately 
follow the announcement. Though means were now 
taken to show that all this hubbub about its poisonous 
qualities were imaginary, I am afraid those who formed 
contrary opinions would be little influenced, and would 
always touch it with a sense of fear. 
Of the propriety of this I have nothing to say, 
beyond that every person has a right to acknowledge 
his own feelings and sensations. 1 have known a man 
to whom Ribes sanguineum in smell and touch caused 
unbearable agony, and yet 1 do not believe the plant is 
poisonous. In the meantime the alarmists are busy 
recalling past experiences of its supposed effects, and 
comparing them with the recent evidences. In this, 
of course, they fairly succeed, and the conjured 
phantoms are favourable indexes to the hold the matter 
has taken upon their belief. One has a recol¬ 
lection of sore eyes, another of sore hands, which, when 
they look upon it now, was caused by the Primrose. 
Of course, nothing is more natural than referring a 
malady to some source. V e are not always so 
fortunate, however, in referring it to the right cause. 
We are guided in many cases by suspicion, and con¬ 
sequently hasten to premature conclusions which may 
be entirely based on error. 
The periodic symptoms described as following contact 
with the plant strongly point to suspicion, but is it not 
natural to suppose that when the symptoms are only 
found to show themselves in rare cases, the cause may 
be found in another direction ? If it could he shown by 
those whom this plant seems to affect, that a deliberate 
application of leaf, root or flower gave rise to the same 
symptoms, then I think we should have a clearer 
opinion of its qualities. And even though it should 
be thus demonstrated, I doubt Very much that it be 
sufficient to catalogue the plant as poisonous. Consti¬ 
tution is a great matter—a very simple thing will 
cause blood-poisoning at one time on a person, and 
at another will be quite harmless. A Nettle sting in 
one person will cause considerable inflammation and 
alarm ; in another, scarcely any uncomfortahleness. 
Some skins are so sensitive, that the merest irritation 
will cause very annoying and stubborn sores. 
I always considered it a pretty safe rule to go by, 
respecting the probabilities of a plant being poisonous, 
to study the order to which it belongs. Of course, 
there are exceptions here and there, but in the main it 
stands good. Now, though the Primulacere predomi¬ 
nate in acridity, I believe few, if any, are poisonous, 
at all events to the degree that simply the handling 
of the plants would be dangerous. Sparrows and 
chaffinches eat freely of Primula vulgaris, and seem to 
be none the worse. I have often noticed children, in 
school days, chew the yellow flowers. The delicious 
aroma, perhaps peculiar to the Primrose family, there are 
good reasons for supposing is due to the oleaginous 
principle the leaf and flower contain; this too, more 
than likely is the blistering matter complained of in 
the case of P. obconica. Thousands of plants have a 
similar acrid principle, and with these every gardener 
comes in daily contact. At the same time the formation 
of the epidermis of the majority of such plants require 
more or less compression to cause the secretions to flow, 
while in the Primrose, this secretion besmears the 
whole plant.— Gamma, Edinburgh. 
SINGLE-HANDED GARDENERS. 
The question you raised respecting the status and 
qualifications of single-handed gardeners has not elicited 
much that has any great practical bearing on the 
subject. Mrs. Partington once expressed astonishment 
at the great number of single-handed gardeners ad¬ 
vertised for, because, in her opinion, all those who 
have two hands could always find enough to do in a 
garden. But perhaps the old lady had no very great 
acquaintance with the subject, or she would have 
known that the increase in the material prosperity of 
the country had created a greater demand for the class 
of men known as single-handed than there was a few 
generations back. The large middle class have greatly 
increased in numbers, and it is this increase which has 
led to the greater demand for garden labour of the class 
under discussion. 
It may not be an unmixed good, it is true, as respects 
gardening as a profession, because it has lifted many 
into the ranks of the profession who have little claim 
to be styled gardeners at all ; regular ne’er-do-wells 
who would disgrace any profession have attached them¬ 
selves to it, and it is these men who do so much to 
bring dishonour upon the gardening community. 
Gardeners, as a class, suffer much from this unfair com¬ 
petition, and I am convinced, from personal observation, 
that could those without a proper knowledge and 
training in the profession be eliminated from its ranks, 
the genuine article would be able to command wages 
which would be a fairer recompense to them for the 
length of time they have to be in training to gain the 
knowledge and experience expected by employers who 
entrust them with the duties of a responsible position. 
The fact of a man filling only a single-handed place 
ought not in itself to lead to his being slighted by 
those members of the craft who have been more 
fortunate. [Hear, hear.J I have known a consider¬ 
able number of single-handed gardeners, many of whom 
have been good growers of ■whatever they have had 
an opportunity of showing their skill at, and it has 
only been the crowded state of the garden labour 
market that has kept some of these men down. At the 
same time there are many persons who keep only one 
man, and who delight in gardening, and treat their one 
man well. Such persons generally have some pet 
subject, which they give every encouragement to their 
gardener to do well, and many of the single-handed 
men who are so fortunately placed have much to be 
thankful for, and would not, if they knew all, envy 
man} 7 of the supposed great ones in the fraternity. 
Why men like these should have the cold shoulder, 
I am at a loss to understand, unless it arises from the 
snobbishness with which society in all its ranks is 
permeated and cursed. At the same time, anyone 
with a limited knowledge of the subject under discus¬ 
sion cannot fail to know that there are vast numbers 
occupying places of this description, who have not even 
a fair claim to be styled garden labourers. It would be 
to the interest of their employers to engage them 
only as such, paying a good man to call iu at stated 
times to supervise them and advise the employer, and 
do the work required beyond the skill of the labourer. 
This plan would apply mostly to places where the 
amount of glass is limited. Gardeners hold a similar 
position in the labour market to domestic servants, 
which makes any approach to trade unionism both 
difficult and, in some respects, undesirable. Though it 
has done much to raise both the level of men and their 
wages in some callings, I fear little will ever be. done 
for our profession on the same lines ; but as we rise in 
education, cannot we in time demand that our pro¬ 
fession be made a protected one, in a similar w ay to the 
medical, dental and veterinary professions ? Protection 
in their case has been beneficial to themselves and the 
public at large. Were this done no one would be 
allowed to take an appointment as gardener unless he 
had satisfied an examining body as to his fitness for the 
situation. In such a case, all others, whether working 
in public or private gardens, would be either pupils 
or labourers. As things are at present, many are 
imparting gratuitously the knowledge which has cost 
them dear, and I for one should like to know how 
many there are who think this just and fair. 
IF. B. G. 
---— 
Cleaning Foliage Plants in Dwelling-Houses.— 
The leaves of plants grown in dwelling-houses are 
liable to get coated over with dust to a greater or less 
extent, and to avoid the evil consequences of the 
dimming of the light and choking up of the pores, all 
broad-leaved subjects, including the India Rubber 
Plant, Palms, leathery leaved Ferns, Aspidistra lurida, 
Aralia Sieboldi, and others of that class, can readily, 
and should be, cleansed with a sponge and water. 
The latter may be clean, and if luke-warm will 
generally remove the dirt easily, otherwise a little soft 
soap in the water may be employed. 
