December 8, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
227 
THE SENSATIONAL NEW CHRYSANTHEMUM OF THE SEASON, “PHILADELPHIA.” 
(RAISED BY MR. HUGH GRAHAM.) 
Awarded FIRST PRIZE on every occasion exhibited, as the best Seedling of the year, and the SILVER-GILT MEDAL of 
the National Chrysanthemum Society, at the Royal Aquarium, on November 7th, 1894. 
B. S. WILLIAMS & SON 
Have acquired the Stock for European distribution. It will be sent out simultaneously in London and Philadelphia on 
March ist, 1895. Orders are now being booked. 
STRONG PLANTS, 7s. 6d. EACH; 6 FOR 42s. 
Special Quotations to the Trade. 
VICTORIA & PARADISE NURSERIES, UPPER HOLLOWAY, LONDON, N. 
SPECIAL CULTURE 
OF 
FRUIT TREES & ROSES. 
A Large and Select Stock is now offered for Sale. 
The Illustrated and Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits post free 
The Descriptive Catalogue of Roses post free. 
THOMAS RIVERS & SON, 
The Nurseries, SA WBRIDGEWORTH, Herts■ 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS 
NORMAN DAYIS has much pleasure 
in announcing that his new Catalogue of 
Chrysanthemums is now ready, and can 
be had free by post. This Catalogue is 
issued simply as a guide, such as a Cata¬ 
logue should be, and will be found com¬ 
prehensive and useful. You are welcome to 
a copy, even ii not a purchaser. 
NORMAN DAYIS, 
Chrysanthemum Nurseries, 
ILLFORD ROAD, CAMBERWELL, LONDON, S.E. 
ORCHIDS. 
Clean Healthy Plants at Low Prices. 
Always worth a visit of inspection. Kindly send for Catalogue. 
JAMES 
Exotic Nurseries, CHELTENHAM. 
BULBS, BULBS. 
Daffodils or Lent Lilies .. .. 3s. 6d., i.ooo. 
Sweet Scented Pheasant Eyed .. 3s. 6d., 1,000. 
Pure White Gladiolus (The Bride) .. 5s. 1,000. 
Spanish Irisoe .. .. .. ..4s. 1,000. 
Raspberries, Fruiting Canes, 2s.6d.,ioo, or 20s.,1,000. 
Cash with Order. 
CROSS PARK NURSERIES, WISBECH. 
FOR PLEASURE AND PROFIT 
THE 
Eighty Acres in Stock. 
BEST PROCURABLE- 
Lists Free. 
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS. 
Bushes in variety. Packing and 
Carriage Free, for cash with order. 
8s« perdoz., 60 s. per 100, 
A ll other Nursery Stock 
carriage forward 
n POTS From 15/- a dor. 
Ornamental Trees, 91 Acres. 
Four Acres of Glass. 
Clematis (80,000) from is/« 
per doz. 
N.B.—Single Plants are sold at 
slightly increased prices. 
GENERAL CATALOGUE 
(164 pages) of Nursery Stock, 
artistically produced, containing 
some hundreds of illustrations, 
\Ma. and full of valuable information, 
P2 sent free. 
RICHARD smith&C9Worcester 
For Index to Contents see page 238. 
“ Gardening Is the purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man."— Bacon. 
NEXT WEEK'S ENGAGEMENTS. 
Monday, Dec. ioth.—Sale of Hardy Plants, &c., at Protheroe 
& Morris’ Rooms. 
Tuesday, Dec. nth —Bulb Sale at Protheroe & Morris' Rooms. 
Wednesday, Dec. 12th.—Annual Dinner of the National 
Amateur Gardeners’ Association at the Guildhall Tavern, 
EC. 
Thursday. Dec. 13th.—Dutch Bulb and Lily Sale at Protheroe 
& Morris' Rooms. 
Friday, Dec. 14th.—Orchid Sale at Protheroe & Morris’ Rooms- 
Edited by BRIAN WYNNE, F.R.H.S. 
SATURDAY , DECEMBER 8 th,- 1894. 
Plant Doctor Wanted.— For many 
years past the importance of feeding 
plants not only with natural but artificial 
foods has been well recognised and acted 
upon. In respect of the latter, supplies in 
many and varied forms have been forth¬ 
coming, and in order to determine the value 
of them as well as the requirements of the 
land upon which they were to be placed, a 
public analyst became a necessity. Whether 
acting as a private practitioner or supported 
by the State, his duty consists in deter¬ 
mining by chemical means the actual value 
or nutritive qualities of any given sample 
of manure as plant food, as well as food 
stuffs for the feeding of cattle, and other 
matters of a like nature. In the case of 
plants, these important duties may be 
faithfully accomplished, and success might 
be looked for provided the weather or 
climatic conditions are favourable ; but in 
practice we find that other difficulties have 
to be surmounted, namely, the combating 
of plant enemies in the shape of insects 
and fungi as well as other contingencies of 
a like nature, the cause of which we may 
not comprehend. In order to be a success¬ 
ful cultivator, it very often happens that 
the gardener has to contend against some 
or any of these evils. The methods of 
combating with insect pests are sometimes 
very obscure, and remedial measures 
against parasitic fungi are in many cases 
even more difficult. 
The education of gardeners is a popular 
subject with members of mutual improve¬ 
ment societies, considering the frequency 
and earnestness with which the topic is 
discussed by men of widely varying 
opinions and experiences. We can well 
understand how those who are not well 
versed in the “ ologies,” or perhaps know 
nothing of them at all, must he appalled at 
the number of sciences which get added to 
the list of the gardener’s requirements by 
different authors. The small amount of 
remuneration generally offered to the 
efficiently equipped gardener does not 
seem sufficient to stimulate young gardeners 
to climb the stiff hill of knowledge. To 
many it will seem impossible. Neverthe¬ 
less, many will accomplish in a lifetime 
what they could hardly have expected in 
their early days. In these days of specialisa¬ 
tion it would be apvopos to the question to 
consider whether it might not be advan¬ 
tageous to gardeners generally, and to 
horticulture in particular, that some should 
devote their energies to the acquirement of 
an exhaustive knowledge of the life histories 
of insects and fungi that infest valuable 
cultivated plants, and also of the remedies 
for combating the same or preventing their 
attacks. What horticulture really requires 
is a plant doctor fully equipped with an 
up-to-date knowledge of the maladies to 
which plant life is subject, with appliances 
and apparatus to effect a remedy after the 
nature of the malady has been determined. 
This is no new idea, for we have already 
been forestalled in this respect by America. 
During the past season a new movement 
has been effected in this direction in the 
United States. An Act has been passed, 
known as the Nixon or Experiment 
Station Extension Bill, by which certain of 
the State Experiment Stations receive a 
grant to be expended in experiment work. 
When the fruit growers and others of 
Western New York became aware of 
the existence of such a fund, there 
was no lack of application for a plant 
doctor to come and inspect their planta¬ 
tions to see what was the matter. Pro¬ 
fessor L. H. Bailey of the Horticultural 
department of the Cornell University Ex¬ 
periment Station, made personal inspection 
of plantations whenever serious complaints 
were reported concerning the fruit crops. 
About 500 acres of plantations have been 
sprayed either directly or indirectly as a 
result of these inspections and advice, or 
otherwise treated according to the nature 
of the malady or enemy from which they 
were suffering. 
Doubtless these responses were more 
numerous than would happen, for a time at 
least, in this country, because there is not 
the same apathy nor prejudice to contend 
with, and the beneficial effects of spraying 
with fungicides and insecticides are better 
recognised in America. It is true that 
there are more plant enemies to contend 
with there than in this relatively small 
island, but that should not in any way act 
prejudicially upon measures undertaken to 
exterminate plant enemies or palliate the 
injury they do by reducing their numbers. 
Such experiments as have been made by 
competent persons in this country, have 
conclusively shown that preventive and 
remedial measures can be depended upon 
to reduce insect pests, and thereby secure 
comparative immunity to the crops. 
It may be urged that small gardens would 
be handicapped for ways and means to 
cope with plant enemies, on account of the 
additional apparatus required and the 
labour in connection with the same. Were 
the plant doctor a standing and well recog¬ 
nised necessity in this country, it would be 
most convenient for all parties concerned, 
that he should be supplied with all the 
necessary apparatus for his calling, and 
also procure the fungicides and insecti¬ 
cides. Large establishments would doubt¬ 
less provide their own requisites, and small 
ones might combine so as to lessen 
individual expenses, just as is done with 
some other kinds of machinery ; but in the 
