274 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 31, 1892. 
ought to have well chosen, warm, and sheltered 
situations; they are not adapted for general 
planting in all parts of this country, but they are 
all worth bestowing a little trouble upon where 
that will suffice :—Paulowina imperialis, Catalpa 
syringsefolia, Myrtles, Pomegranates, Chimonanthus, 
Ceanothus, Escallonias, Camellias, Desfontaineas, 
Hibiscus syriacus, Hydrangeas, Cistuses, and 
many other equally beautiful plants which cannot 
be named here, as I am afraid my paper is already 
too long, and these lists are not intended to be 
exhaustive, but merely illustrative so far as they go. 
— F. Harrison, Kn owsley Gardens, Prescott, Lancashire. 
HORTICULTURE AS A 
SCHOOL SUBJECT. 
In the new Educational Code “ Horticulture” finds 
a place as a new extra subject, It excites a little 
surprise to read the announcement, for if horticulture 
is to be taught to children, the masters and mis¬ 
tresses should know a good deal about the subject, 
and so far as our experience goes, only a few of them 
know more than a very little about it. If this be so, 
how will the pupils fare ? We are afraid the only 
conclusion is that they will, at first, at all events, do 
but badly ; for there can be no doubt that to teach 
the elements of any subject well, the teacher must 
know the subject thoroughly. 
We are disposed to find fault with the framers of 
the code that they did not use the word “ Garden¬ 
ing,” which would have been better understood than 
” Horticulture,” but perhaps we must give them the 
benefit of a doubt, and suppose they know best what 
they are aiming at; but we think a much more 
serious fault is that they did not assure themselves 
that, at least, a large proportion of their masters 
and mistresses would be capable of teaching the 
subject in an intelligent and interesting manner. 
No experienced gardener would ever admit that 
really useful instruction on the subject can be given, 
especially to children, by teachers who are not prac¬ 
tically acquainted with gardening. Mere book 
knowledge on this subject imparted in lessons will 
necessarily be more or less lifeless. Gardening con¬ 
sists largely of knowledge acquired from actual ex¬ 
perience in carrying out the many and various pro¬ 
cesses involved, and we do not think it possible for 
anyone unfamiliar with those processes, gained by 
repeatedly doing them, to imparl an adequate 
knowledge of them to others. 
That horticulture is a good subject to be taught in 
country schools cannot, we think, be doubted, pro¬ 
vided that capable instructors are forthcoming, for 
every country child must be more or less familiar 
with it; and it is a subject which, if enlightened by 
intelligent teaching, can be made most interesting 
and of much value to the children, many of whom 
after they have left school will be engaged in garden¬ 
ing or farming operations. But the teaching must 
be thoroughly sound, or it will not only be useless 
but hurtful. 
The question then naturally arises, how can the 
teachers be qualified for the new task imposed upon 
them? We are inclined to think the County 
Councils may render valuable help. Several of them 
are employing professional lecturers on horticulture, 
and if arrangements were made that schoolmasters 
and mistresses should be specially thought of, and 
provided for, in the lecturer’s programme, much good 
might be done. Such arrangements would provide 
that opportunity should be afforded for acquiring a 
practical knowledge of garden operations. It is all 
very well to describe verbally the processes of 
digging, hoeing, raking, planting, transplanting, etc,, 
but a demonstration of how these operations are 
done by a skilful workman would be of great value, 
especially after the student has been made familiar 
with them by a good description, for as every 
gardener, amateur or professional, knows, skill is 
only to be attained by repeated practice ; and it is of 
consequence that the practice should be based on 
good models, and naturally the County Councils will 
secure the services of competent men who can supply 
such illustrations of the best way of doing things as 
would leave nothing to be desired. 
A really good text-book remains to be written to 
be placed in the hands of the children. It should be 
written in simple language by one who has a thorough 
knowledge of gardening. It should deal with the 
subject in a manner to make the youthful pupils 
interested by first of all speaking about things they 
are familiar with, and then gradually advancing 
from the known to the unknown, in such a manner 
as to awaken their interest. The lines of the book 
are laid down by the programme of the code, so that 
little is left for the exercise of special knowledge or 
individual taste; but a really capable man will 
manage to disregard the trammels of routine, and if 
such an one can be induced to undertake the work, a 
book will be produced which will be of untold use¬ 
fulness. It is too much to hope that such a book as 
we have in view will be the first produced, but it 
will be something to aim at providing such a book, 
whether it is the first or the last, for there can be 
but little doubt that the book for the occasion will 
be one to hold its own, and advance the technical 
education of the juvenile rustics of this country as 
the gardeners of the future. 
No one familiar with the state of gardening at pre¬ 
sent prevailing in this country will have any doubt 
as to the importance and value of sound technical 
teaching. English folk are credited with being a 
nation of gardeners, but, we think, without any just 
claim. They have a natural and inborn love for the 
subject, but their knowledge is often shallow and 
imperfect. They know a great deal about it ac¬ 
cording to “ rule of thumb,” but it is exceptional to 
meet with a gardener, however skilful he may be, 
who can reason about his work from first principles. 
Many can undertake the processes, but only a few 
can explain the reasons for doing them in the manner 
experience has shown to be best. We possess but few 
books in which gardening is dealt with from the 
scientific side. Dr. Lindley’s famous “Theory of 
Horticulture ” is our only book of any real value, 
and that has long been out of print, and was written 
so long ago as to be behind the times, especially in 
physiological teaching. There is great need for a 
thoroughly good book treating of the science of 
gardening in a sound and comprehensive manner, in 
which “ Practice with Science” are accurately and 
skilfully combined. Such a book would be in¬ 
valuable, for it is one of the greatest weaknesses in 
this country, that although our scientific botanists 
know so much about the physiology of plants, this 
important branch of knowledge is scarcely available 
for the young gardener, in a form likely to be within his 
reach. A good popular book on the science of horti¬ 
culture would do more for the advance of gardening 
—if it were within the reach of the young student, 
so that he could study his subject in a broad catholic 
manner, and see the reasons for the various opera¬ 
tions which he has daily to perform—than years of 
routine practice unenlightened by scientific know¬ 
ledge. Such a book as we have in mind would be of 
immense value to the schoolmasters and mistresses 
who will shortly have to teach horticulture to their 
advanced pupils, and would enable them to prepare 
their lessons in a manner very different from that in 
which they will be able to do so, as long as their 
only guides are mere text-books of practice. 
Our main hope in drawing attention to these 
points is that some of our enterprising publishers 
may be led to commission some competent authority 
to prepare a book something like what we have indi¬ 
cated, in which the theory of horticulture will be 
accurately set forth, and that County Councils will 
be induced to provide such a course of practical 
instruction in their various localities as will really 
assist the masters and mistresses of our schools to 
qualify them to give sound and vivifying instruction 
to their young pupils. — Midland Counties Herald. 
-- 
THE BLENHEIM SALE. 
The sale of the Orchids at Blenheim last week 
attracted buyers from all parts of the kingdom, and 
as a rule, satisfactory prices were made from first to 
last, considering the lateness of the season and the 
difficulty of moving such plants at this time of year. 
On the first day the 400 lots offered realised over 
£1,000. the most important items being Cattleya 
Lawrenceana, £3 3s. ; Coelogyne Sanderiana, £3 3s. ; 
Laelia harpophylla, £3 ; Vanda Hookeri, seven 
growths, £3 3s, ; Cattleya Mossiae, fine plant, £6 6s.; 
Laelia anceps Sanderiana, two spikes, £7 15s.; Coe¬ 
logyne pandurata, fine specimen, £9 ; Sobralia xan- 
tholeuca, large specimen, 9 J gs. ; Cattleya Mendeli, 
11 sheaths, 26 leads, 20 gs. ; Anaectochilus petola, 
7 gs. ; Aerides expansum leonis, with iS growths, 
6 gs. ; Cymbidium eburneum, four plants, £9 10s. ; 
Cattleya Mendeli, large specimen, £15; Cattleya 
Lawrenceana, with 150 large bulbs, 15 to 20 leads 
and sheaths, 25 gs.; Cattleya Skinneri, with a 
supposed portion of C. Skinneri alba mixed, 11 gs. ; 
Cattleya labiata autumnalis, 12 gs.; Cypripedium 
Morganiae, £5 ; Ada aurantiaca, fine specimen, £8; 
Cymbidium eburneum, with flower spikes, four 
plants, 6J gs. ; Cattleya Trianae, ten plants, 7^ gs.; 
Cattleya Gaskelliana Blenheimense, special variety, 
6 gs. ; Epidendrum prismatocarpum, a dark spotted 
variety, 8 gs. ; Cymbidium Mastersii, thirteen 
growths, 6 gs. 
On Tuesday there was a smaller attendance, but 
prices ruled higher. Among the best lots sold were : 
Cattleya Lawrenceanum, with fully 200 bulbs, £40; 
Cattleya Mendeli, with over 150 bulbs, 16 gs. ; Laelia 
elegans alba, with over 200 bulbs, in a boat-shaped 
basket, 12 gs. ; a pair of plants of Cattleya 
imperialis, 20 gs. ; 9 gs. for Sobralia xantholeuca, 
with twenty-four growths; g£ gs. for a pair of 
Cypripedium barbatum grandiflorum superbum ; 8 
gs. each for Vanda tricolor Patersoni, six growths, 
Cypripedium vexillarium, twelve growths, and C. 
oenanthum superbum, eight growths ; 7 guineas for 
a massive example of Cymbidium Lowianum; 6 
gs. for Cypripedium Rothschildianum, eleven 
growths ; 8J gs. each for Laelia anceps alba and 
Cattleya Trianae, fine specimens; 8 gs. for Laelia 
purpurata, with hundreds of bulbs; 6 gs for Den- 
drochilum filiforme, a very fine example ; £5 for 
Dendrobium chrysotoxum ; 5 gs. for Cypripedium 
Stonei; and 4 gs. for C. laevigatum; Cymbidium 
eburneum Dayanum, eight growths, 7 gs. ; Odonto- 
glossum Alexandrae (small plants in beds), fetched 
from twenty to thirty-five shillings per dozen Of 
these, about three thousand were disposed of, making 
six thousand in two days. The four hundred lots 
in the second day's sale realized £1,050. 
On the third day the attendance increased again, 
and prices again advanced. The principal items 
were : —Cattleya Mendeli, the largest plant in the 
collection, with 200 bulbs and many sheaths, 45 gs.; 
other good prices realised were—14 gs. each for Laslia 
anceps alba, with a dozen spikes and a fine example 
of Cattleya Mendeli; 10 gs. for a grand specimen 
of Ada aurantiaca ; 10 gs. for an extra large specimen 
of Laelia anceps Schroderae, with 400 bulbs ; 8 gs. 
for a noble example of Epidendrum prismatocarpum, 
with 200 bulbs; 7^ gs. for a good plant of Lycaste 
Skinneri alba ; 6 gs. for Dendrobium Cooksoni, with 
eight bulbs ; a like amount being given for a charm¬ 
ing example of Laelia purpurata, with numerous 
bulbs, and a Cattleya Mossiae with 100 bulbs ; 5J gs 
for a fine plant of Cypripedium Elliottianum, with 
six growths; 5 gs. for a big pan of Coelogyne 
cristaia; and 4 gs. for a plant of Cattleya labiata. 
The total result of the day’s sale was £1,103. 
--5.- 
A VISIT TO SHORT HILLS, N.J. 
One of the greatest treats I have enjoyed since I 
landed in the United States some months ago, was a 
recent visit to the world-famed nursery of Messrs. 
Pitcher & Manda, at Short Hills, New Jersey, a hor¬ 
ticultural establishment of great magnitude, and 
where there is always much to see that is of rare 
interest to a man fond of plants. At the time of my 
visit the ground was covered with snow, but under 
glass I found a plantsman’s paradise and welcome 
shelter from the wintry blast without. Having to 
wait a little time before I could see the courteous 
manager, Mr. Manda, I amused myself in his office 
by looking over some huge albums of plant portraits, 
made by the artist which the firm keeps constantly 
employed, and which include sketches or photo¬ 
graphs of everything that has flowered in the estab¬ 
lishment of any degree of interest. 
Of the plant houses, I was first introduced into 
section 1, which is a fine block 200 ft. deep and 250 ft. 
wide, with the offices and packing sheds in front, and 
potting sheds on each side, so that in no case do the 
staff have to go outside in order to enter tiny house, 
a great advantage when taking plants to the potting 
or packing sheds in securing them from the injurious 
effects of cold winds. This great block of glass con¬ 
sists of twenty distinct houses, the main one being a 
conservatory or Palm house 250 ft. long, with the 
nineteen others disposed on either side of it, and all 
admirably designed to promote plant growth. Here, 
as in most American nurseries, the massing system is 
adopted, that is to say each house is devoted to one 
particular plant or class of plants, and it is a plan 
that answers admirably. All the houses are filled 
to repletion with a splendid stock—indeed for 
general health, cleanliness, and the character and 
value of the plants, I have seen nothing like it in the 
States. 
