July 20, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
741 
shows in the district, but was allowed to drop and 
was not revived till this year. Under the circum¬ 
stances a large entry could not be expected, but the 
quality was a great deal above the average seen at 
small shows. In the cottagers' division H. Copping 
secured the largest number of awards, and in the 
class for subscribers Mr. H. Abbott was practically 
alone; his collection of vegetables would have done 
credit to any show in the county. Mr. Abbot also 
exhibited, not for competition, a grand collection of 
Ferns, an enormous Fuchsia, and a dish of excep¬ 
tionally fine Strawberries. B. Salter's collection of 
window plants was an easy first. Notwithstanding 
the long drought, Potatos were large and of good 
quality, as were the Beans. Peas and Onions were 
fair, but Cabbages and Lettuces made a poor show. 
Nothing extraordinary was shown in the fruit 
classes, with the exception of the firsts for Currants. 
Honey attracted a large entry and was of splendid 
quality. 
Dundee Horticultural Association. — The usual 
monthly meeting was held in the Technical Institute 
on the 2nd inst. Mr. Wm. Grant, gardener, Fern- 
hall, occupied the chair. Mr. Alexander MTntosb, 
gardener, Greystone, Invergowrie, read a very 
interesting paper entitled, “ Some Properties of the 
Vegetable Kingdom.'' He said the products of the 
vegetable kingdom played an important part in 
adorning the earth, and affording food for the 
inhabitants. The essayist referred to the various 
plants used as food and medicine, mentioning the 
various diseases for which they were supposed to be 
remedies, and closed with a reference to poisonous 
plants and the art of embalming. After a dis¬ 
cussion Mr. MTntosh received the hearty thanks of 
the meeting for his paper. Mr. George Masson, 
gardener, and Mr. J. B. Whitelaw, St. Fort, exhibited 
a large collection of single and double Begonia 
blooms, which were much admired, and a Certificate 
of Merit was awarded for a splendid sample of a 
double white bloom. Mr. James Reid, gardener, 
Dudhope House, exhibited a large bunch of cut 
Rose blooms, a bunch of Almond, a bunch of 
Clematis blooms (Hemyii), and a bunch of Plum¬ 
bago capensis. There was a large and varied 
assortment of early Peas shown by different mem¬ 
bers. The first place was unanimously awarded to 
the variety Gradus, a new Pea of excellent flavour, 
with pods as large and well-filled as the Duke of 
Albany, and coming into use with William the First, 
and height 4 ft. The second place was assigned to 
William the First, and the third to May Queen ; the 
fourth to American Wonder and William Hurst. 
The usual votes of thanks were awarded the 
exhibitors and the chairman, and the meeting 
adjourned. 
Past and Present Kewites at Play.—On Saturday 
last, 13th July, a goodly number of past and present 
Kewites held high festival upon the famous old Kew 
green with which so many pleasant memories are 
inseparably connected. The old boys turned up in 
stroDg force, whilst the present staff of gardeners 
employed in the gardens were also present in goodly 
numbers. The feature of the afternoon, and one 
which those who took part in it will doubtless long 
remember, was a cricket match between those that 
" used to be ” and those that " are. ” King Sol was 
shining his brightest, but his rays were not less 
bright than were the faces of the cricketers, who, 
having come out for a spree, tried their hardest to 
enjoy themselves, and succeeded. It is said that a 
Briton takes even his pleasures seriously, but who¬ 
ever made that statement should have been a spec¬ 
tator of that cricket match, when we think he 
would have altered his views; for mirth reigned 
supreme, and quips and jokes at one another’s ex¬ 
pense kept going the rounds. Despite all their 
efforts the " Arcients ” received a severe beating, 
being outplayed at all points of the game by the 
younger men, who, accustomed to practice together, 
fairly had their opponents on toast. However, as 
one gentleman facetiously remarked, “ Although it 
is not in mortals to command success the old 
Kewites did more, for they deserved it." As the 
sinking sun as well as the sinking sensations in the 
stomachs of the players announced that the time 
for drawing stumps had come, the party adjourned 
to the Rose and Crown Hotel, weary and worn 
but not sad, where mine host had provided a sub¬ 
stantial spread, to which ample justice was done. 
Here it may be remarked that, although in the 
cricket-field the " men of the present " had it all 
their own way, at the dinner table honours were 
fairly even, and more than one player of both classes 
" followed on ” with right good will his innings for 
roast beef and boiled mutton. After all had scored 
well the tables were cleared, and at the suggestion 
of the chairman, Mr. Goldring, the room was fumi¬ 
gated thoroughly and well. Of warblers there were 
plenty, and encores were freely and vigorously given. 
Short speeches were made by the chairman and by 
one or two other gentlemen present, and the 
announcement that this reunion was to be made an 
annual affair was received with hearty and voci¬ 
ferous cheers. Auld Lang Syne, sung as only a 
party of healthy and happy Britons can sing it, 
echoed forth at the close, and with hearty hand 
shakes an exceedingly pleasant time came to a close, 
the memories of which we doubt not will linger long 
in the minds of those who participated in it. 
•-- 
EARLY PEAS. 
This has proved a very interesting subject, 
because it is only by such dates that we can judge 
the earliness or lateness of the season, and of the 
localities in which they are recorded. It it also 
interesting to see Scotland—especially the north 
—recording its dates, because we are often told by 
our friends in the sunny south that we are too far 
north to do anything in the way of early fruit and 
vegetable growing; in fact, we have to be very care¬ 
ful in our speech lest they smile at us. 
Such is not the case, however, and in proof of this 
I, like Mr. Urquhart, Balnagowan, Ross-shire (Ross- 
glime is a misprint) referred to my notes. I shall 
not trouble with the coddling part; that is not a 
fair criterion, nor with sowings made on borders 
(because, there we have reflected heat off the walls), 
but with sowings in the open garden. William I. 
was sown on 19th March, and a continual supply 
obtained from 14th June. Sangster's No. 1 was 
sowd 22nd March, and I picked the first dish on 21st 
June. Duke of York (Taber’s), sown on the same 
date as William I. (19th March), but rather a late 
Pea, was not ready for ten days after William I. 
This is a splendid Pea of the Ne Plus Ultra style, very 
prolific, of good quality and not too tall, being only 
about four feet. These dates will compare favourably 
with those further south in Scotland, and in parts of 
England too, and will prove the old saying to be 
true that we are " nae sae heiland to be so far 
north."— Wm. Ogg, The Gardens, Duffus House, Elgin. 
--j*-- 
IS GARDENING HARD WORK? 
At sight of the above in one of the leaders in a 
recent issue of The Gaedening World I was greatly 
interested. It is comforting to know that at least 
there are a few that have their doubts about it being 
such an easy task. To my mind present day 
gardening is one of the hardest trades or professions 
that can be conceived. So many young men have 
the idea that the proper handling of the spade and 
other tools, mowing, sweeping, tying, watering, etc., 
spells gardening. Never were they who think so 
farther astray. Gardening is like the profession of 
music—so far do its devotees go and no farther. I 
have all sympathy for any head gardener, nursery¬ 
man’s foreman, or anyone else in power that has to 
work short handed, the direct result of this being 
that they are always behindhand. This is not what 
gardening should be. 
A private place or nursery should be well kept ? 
things must be put in their proper places and all 
operations performed at the right time; in fact, 
everything kept well in hand, then the hard work of 
gardening is considerably lessened, but at the same 
time there is plenty of it remaining. Then again, 
how many gardeners out of a hundred can be put 
down as real good men ? For myself I should not 
like to say more than twenty-five out of the hundred, 
—perhaps not even that are efficient men. Many of 
them are ruined, perhaps through no fault of their 
own, at half and half places—my readers will know 
what I mean—that place where the " handy man " 
is kept who has to be gardener, coachman, cowman, 
etc , ail in one. To my thinking this is the great 
evil attached to the trade. I have known men who 
have been five or six years in a place like I have 
described and then applied for a head gardener’s 
post. 
Let us just glance for a few minutes at what is 
required to make agood all-round man. Not to take 
things in any kind of order we will start with forcing. 
Rhubarb, Strawberries, early Potatos, Beans and 
endless other things have to be forthcoming as much 
out of season as possible, and the sooner he gets 
them the more he is thought of. The same applies 
to flowers of many descriptions. The gardener must 
thoroughly understand Vines, Melons, Peaches. 
Nectarines, Figs, Pines, Cucumbers, Tomatos, etc., 
and must, moreover, possess good taste fordecorative 
work. Chrysanthemums at present are a great 
undertaking in themselves. Very few employees of 
head gardeners would credit the ceaseless watchful¬ 
ness, morning, noon and night, that is necessary 
that they may have the pleasure of looking on fine 
blooms. The stove is another department in the 
management of which a great amount of knowledge 
is required. Button-holes, sprays of all sizes, 
bouquets, wreaths, anchors, harps, lyres, etc., he 
must also be able to make. Then again there are 
"Awkwards" or Orchids in endless variety to be 
looked after, many of the names of which would 
puzzle a dean or a bishop to get his tongue round. 
Grafting, budding and propagation of every descrip¬ 
tion must likewise not be forgotten. 
There are still many more things required of the 
all round man, but I think I have mentioned 
sufficient to show that a gocd gardener should be no 
fool. Good men can command a living wage whilst 
the others do not deserve it. As long as so many 
unqualified men are about gardeners' wages will 
continue to be low. Lastly, as a word of warning, 
let me advise parents who are about to put their 
sons to gardening to let the lad have a sincere liking 
for it in the first instance, and if so to send him to 
an establishment where a thorough knowledge of the 
various branches of the trade can be acquired.— 
J. T. Pettinger, Strawberry Dale Nursery, Harrogate. 
-*»-- 
SUMMER SCHOOL OF HORTICULTURE. 
In pursuance of their studies, the students attending 
the Summer School of Horticulture in the Technical 
Laboratories, Chelmsford, paid a visit to the seed 
farm of Mr. Seabrooke in the suburbs of Chelmsford 
on the nth inst. They were attended by the 
biological staff and were met by Mr. Seabrooke in 
person, who not only conveyed them over his 
premises, but in the most generous spirit explained 
his methods of working in order to obtain certain 
results. He showed them two extensive sowings of 
Godetias, including a new one of great merit, and 
detailed his method of selection and rogueing in 
order to keep the strain in the highest state of 
excellence and true to the type. He stated that a 
good crop of seed of a good strain of Golden Feather 
could only be obtained at intervals of some years, 
occasionally only once in ten years. The seed of 
Beet that has ripened on the ground often partly 
scatters itself, and will come up at intervals during 
the next six years. A self sown crop is now ripening 
a splendid crop of seed. He then took the students 
over his plantations of ycuDg fruit trees worked upon 
the English Paradise in the case of Apples. Peaches, 
Cherries and other fruit trees were also dealt with, 
and the methods of budding described. A visit was 
paid to the Tomato house where a heavy crop of 
fruit is now ripening. A detour was then made 
round a field of Peas, Cabbages and other members 
of the Brassica tribe, as well as a fine variety of 
Beet, and a beautiful strain of Moss-curled Parsley 
now maturing a crop of seed. The effect of drought 
upon the Peas and other crops was demonstrated. 
Here also was a plantation of some hundreds of 
Maiden Apple trees which had been grafted in the 
comfort of a room during the winter evenings, when 
work out of doors, and especially of this nature, 
could not be carried on. After thanks had been 
expressed to Mr. Seabrooke for his services the 
students returned to Chelmsford. 
On the afternoon of the following day the class 
was taken over the Chelmsford Corporation Farm, 
under the management of Mr. Holman at Springfield. 
The object of this visit was to demonstrate the value 
of the liquid sewage of towns in the raising of vege¬ 
table and other crops. There are tanks upon the 
ground for the reception of sewage, and Mr. Holman 
explained the method adopted to obtain the solid 
contents of the sewage for the purpose of manuring 
the land. Large earthenware pipes are also laid all 
over the farm for the purpose of irrigating or flooding 
the several squares to enrich the soil. This is done 
