390 
February 17, 1894, 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
small fibres to be formed near the surface; but 
should it be found that the trees are growing too 
luxuriantly the earth may be taken out from one 
side of the tree as before described. But this time 
a trench should be cut not less than 6 ft. from the 
stem and the soil worked from between the roots till 
one half have been uncovered. These should be 
laid out evenly and fresh rich earth added as before 
and the hole filled in again, allowing two years 
before the other side of the tree is treated. I have 
dwelt somewhat at length on this important point, 
for many trees are spoiled through hacking the roots 
in an unskilled manner ; therefore I entreat you not 
to cut or mangle any roots, but to sever those that 
are going down straight, with a sharp instrument, if 
they cannot be brought nearer to the surface. 
[To be continued.) 
-- 
VEGETABLES FOR AMATEURS AND 
COTTAGERS. 
The catalogues which pour in from nursery and seeds 
men during the early months of the year are, perhaps, 
as perplexing to the amateur as they are useful and 
welcome. Every year finds fresh introductions, and 
we are at a loss to know how best to make up our 
seed list to the best advantage. Some strong 
adherents to the older varieties claim that many of 
the new introductions are not worth troubling about, 
whilst others again delight in experimenting, and 
prove beyond doubt that many of the new varieties 
are worthy of a trial, and give their experience 
accordingly. The question of new varieties is an 
open one, and whilst on the one hand they prove of 
sterling worth in one locality, they are comparative 
failures in another. Amateurs are not always pre¬ 
pared to risk their five shillings per packet in 
order to give other people the benefit of their ex¬ 
perience in the trial of new varieties, and are, there¬ 
fore content with those they have proved to suit 
their respective localities. Those who annually 
make experiments in the direction of testing new 
vegetables, had perhaps the worst summer that could 
possibly be for the work in some localities, and they 
must give them another trial this summer. 
Raisers of new varieties have a claim which ought 
to be respected by the gardening community, seeing 
the expense and trouble which is incurred in the 
raising of them, and it is due to them to praise their 
efforts when praise is due. It is not this, However, 
which concerns the amateur. He must be guided 
to a certain extent as to his pocket, and to his own 
experience in growing vegetables, and those who 
make a study of these particulars can quickly make 
out their order sheet. Those again who have before 
them a mass of information in a concise form are 
the greatest sufferers in mind. In order to alleviate 
a distressed mind in the direction of a selection of 
the best and most approved varieties of vegetable, 
I will enumerate them to the best advantage without 
partiality. Many of the older varieties do, in my 
opinion, stand unrivalled, and those I retain in my 
list year after year. 
Peas. 
This is perhaps the most popular ot all vegetables, 
but the varieties are so numerous as to confuse even 
the most experienced in the selection. In the selec¬ 
tion of the very early varieties, taste has much to do 
with it, in fact, the same might be said throughout 
the list. Those who prefer the round varieties can 
choose between Sutton’s Ringleader and Kentish 
Invicta. They both grow the same height, and 
although I have grown them side by side for two 
successive seasons, the only difference in the two is 
that Kentish Invicta is preferable in very dry 
seasons. Those who prefer a Marrowfat Pea cannot 
beat Sutton’s Ai. Side by side with William I. it 
compares favourably in point of earliness with that 
grand old variety, but in point of flavour it excels. 
No Pea of recent introduction has so much claim 
for trial by gardeners as this one, and coming early 
adds much to its favour. In the second early class, 
or those which follow the earliest sowing, a few 
must be selected in order to satisfy growers. 
Amateurs and cottagers are very partial to Prince of 
Wales on account, no doubt, of its heavy cropping 
and dw'arf height. Sutton’s Early Marrowfat has 
the advantage of being a little larger in the pod, but 
its dwarf habit may not be favourable to many, 
being one foot less than Prince of Wales. Sutton's 
Prolific and Early Paragon are both good varieties, 
the former being a round and the latter a wrinkled 
Pea, and both four feet high. Nelson’s Vanguard 
and Advancer are two good varieties of two and 
a half feet in height. 
Main crop Peas are those which find most favour 
amongst amateurs and cottagers. They are the most 
convenient to grow, and come in at the time of the 
year when most appreciated. In this class I give 
Duke of Albany the first place, and deservedly so, 
seeing that others, like myself, have given it a fair 
trial. It is a handsome pea, of immense size of pod, 
and has a rich marrowfat flavour. It grows to a 
height of five feet, and is a very convenient height, 
in fact Peas that grow higher than that are trouble¬ 
some. Sutton’s Maincrop Marrowfat is a most 
remarkable Pea, and one I can recommend to lovers 
of colour when cooked. Its flavour is not so good as 
Duke of Albany, but it is more productive. Tele¬ 
phone is the Pea for the cottager. Hundredfold is a 
useful and very productive pea, but in some seasons 
and in some localities' the h aulm is apt to become 
mildewed before the crop has finished. Prizetakeris 
too well known for me to advance much in its favour. 
Walker’s Perpetual Bearer should be in every 
collection as a maincrop Pea. Peas for late crops 
are few in my selection, the three best being, 
Sharpe’s Queen.British Queen,and Sutton’s “ Ne plus 
ultra.” Of the three, Sharpe’s Queen and “ Ne plus 
ultra,” are to be preferred; British Queen being a 
little too high for me, but useful for cottagers, as the 
Peas retain their juicy flavour, however long they 
hang upon the haulm. 
Broad Beans. 
The next vegetable in order is the Broad Bean, and 
it is undoubtedly a cottager’s vegetable. It is prized 
by them more than it is by the wealthy, and some of 
the varieties in cultivation are so close in point of 
merit that we hardly know which to choose. Of the 
long pods, Sutton’s Mammoth is, perhaps, the best. 
It is the earliest that I have grown, and very pro¬ 
ductive. Mazagan is a very productive variety, and 
sweet, though small. Improved Windsor is a 
decided improvement on the old variety, and cannot 
be beaten in that class of Bean. 
Scarlet Runners. 
This Bean is next to the Pea as a vegetable for the 
amateur and cottager. This again is not thought so 
much of by the wealthy. However, for my part, I 
prefer a good dish of Scarlet Runners to one of 
dwarf or French Beans. The new varieties of this 
Bean have been so well improved upon of late years 
that they have the preference in point of size, shape, 
and quality. Sutton’s Prizewinner, Sutton's Scarlet, 
and Girtford Giant are amongst the best, the latter 
being an old, well-tried variety, for general purposes. 
Dwarf or French Beans. 
Although the Scarlet Runner Bean is more of a 
cottager’s vegetable than the French Bean, still these 
can be grown with advantage in a limited area, and 
the produce under good culture has a very aristo¬ 
cratic taste about them, and should not be ignored in 
the seed list, for small gardens or where space can¬ 
not be profitably devoted to the culture of the Scar¬ 
let Runner. The old Canadian Wonder is still a 
favourite for out-door culture, and produces 
remarkably good crops. Of course, where early 
forcing is adopted under glass, Sutton’s Ne plus 
ultra is preferable. The nearest approach to Scarlet 
Runner Bean in taste and appearance is Sutton’s 
new Dwarf Bean, Triumph, and those should, who 
prefer the taste of the Runner Bean, select this one. 
Celery. 
Celery as a vegetable is very little known in low life, 
and is chiefly used as a salad by them. It goes 
further with the poor man as a salad than it does as 
a soup or vegetable, besides, its use as a vegetable is 
very little known to tfiem. The earlier we can get 
Celery, the better we all like it, and in order to get 
it early we must grow a variety that is dwarf in 
habit and hearts quickly. Sutton’s White Gem is 
an excellent early variety, and requires very little 
earthing up. Turnerls Incomparable White (or 
Sandringham White) is another very good variety 
of the same stamp. For late use. Standard Bearer 
and Major Clarke’s Solid Red are to be recom¬ 
mended.— Kentishman. 
GARDENERS* AND THEIR 
TESTIMONIALS. 
Your correspondent “Pinkie,” p. 337, has had a 
most unfortunate experience with his dull young 
man, but he may rest assured that his case is by no 
means an unique one. There are indeed far too 
many instances in which young men are foisted on to 
head gardeners as being capable of meeting their 
requirements, but whose knowledge of their work 
proves to be sadly deficient when they come to be 
tested. I have had young fellows sent to me with the 
most flattering testimonials, yet who had not been 
many hours at their work before I had seen only too 
plainly that it must be a case either of sending them 
to the right about at once, or of keeping a sharp eye 
on them, and if capable and willing to learn, to 
teach them what they were supposed to know. I, 
however, only once met with a case so bad as that 
described by your correspondent, and in this instance 
the young fellow, in addition to being dull and 
stupid, was uncivil into the bargain. 
As “ Pinkie ” aptly puts it, “ there are far too 
many weeds in the profession,’ and all the time that 
the labour market remains in its present condition, 
I fear there is small chance of keeping them out. 
There are so many who profess to keep a gardener, 
yet who pay such low wages that really competent 
men hesitate to accept them, and this opens the door 
to those whose knowledge of gardening extends but 
little beyond being able to dig, mow with a machine, 
and tidy up a place. Considering the numbers so 
employed, I maintain that really competent men, 
with a fair all round knowledge of their profession, 
are comparatively scarce. The system, or rather 
the want of it, of training gardeners is at fault, as is 
indeed our whole system of industrial training which 
requires re-adjusting. Complaints are rife on all 
hands respecting the inefficiency of vast numbers of 
modern workmen, and there can be no doubt a 
return to the old apprenticeship system under some¬ 
what modified conditions is highly desirable. Could 
not head gardeners in our leading establishments 
initiate a movement by requiring of young men 
seeking foremen’s places a certificate, showing that 
they have passed an examination in the theory and 
practice of horticulture, in botany and in chemistry. 
This would bring the most studious and steady 
young men to the front, and as it is mainly from our 
first-rate private establishments that our best 
practical men come, it would in all probability, after 
a time bring about a result which would ultimately 
preclude any but good men from obtaining situations 
worth coveting. This would raise the whole status 
of gardeners as a class. The best men would then 
stand the best chance, and employers would be less 
likely to be duped by mere pretenders, or “ weeds ” 
as “ Pinkie ” calls them, who have not had a proper 
training in hardy fruit and vegetable culture, who 
could not name tw'o dozen herbaceous plants, who 
would very likely pot an Indian Azalea in old potting 
soil, and stow Dendrobiums away under the shade of 
large pots of Eucharis and Maranthas. Some may 
possibly think these extreme instances of mismanage¬ 
ment, not at all likely to happen, but I can assure 
them what I am saying is within the strict limits of 
truth, having had the evils resulting from these and 
similar errors to contend with. I have sometimes 
thought employers would do better if they paid 
higher wages and required a money guarantee with 
their gardeners, so that if from wilful neglect or 
incompetency they might have some compensation 
for their losses. I have no hesitation in saying that 
the annual aggregate losses incurred by employers 
through the carelessness and incompetency of those 
entrusted with their plants is enormous. Many 
gentlemen begin gardening with a spirit of en¬ 
thusiasm, who through misadventure in the choice 
of a gardener get disgusted, and perchance give up 
entirely or curtail their expenditure to the smallest 
possible limit, yet who, had they been better served, 
might have long been liberal patrons of horticulture. 
Mark me, I have no wish to cast a slur upon the 
profession, as generally speaking it would be most 
unjust to do so ; nor do I wish to infer that the fault 
is always on one side. There are, unhappily, em¬ 
ployers who are anything but what they should be, 
and who are justly responsible for many of the mis¬ 
haps that occur in connection with their gardens by 
limiting the supply of labour and material to a de¬ 
gree which makes it an utter impossibility to carry 
on their places in a satisfactory manner ; whilst 
the poor gardener, knowing too well the state 
of the labour market, contents himself as best he 
can, and well will it be for him if this regime 
does not reduce him to the position of one of the 
incapables. Employers sometimes err in the choice 
of a man through looking at a gardener in the same 
way as they would a domestic servant, and attach¬ 
ing too little importance to his professional attain- 
