March 4, 1893. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
417 
ON KITCHEN GARDENING- 
Mr. William Andrews, gardener to Mrs. Biddell, 
Duryard, read an admirable paper on this subject 
at the last meeting of the Devon and Exeter Gar¬ 
deners’ Association. V 
Mr. Andrews opened his subject with a warning to 
the young men just launching into the gardening 
world against the neglect of out-of-door work. 
There was an idea with many, he said, that that 
class of work could always be picked up. It had 
often been said that the reason such clever gardeners 
came from Scotland was that the first few years they 
were kept at outside work, obtaining thereby a 
thorough and a practical knowledge of general 
routine. Undoubtedly there were as clever garden¬ 
ers and as practical men in Devon and the West as 
in any part of the kingdom. But, like himself, they 
did not seem to have the ambition to move abroad, 
and a man seldom received honour in his own coun¬ 
try. Young gardeners more particularly would do well 
to move into other counties in order to learn differ¬ 
ent methods and different treatments. After offering 
a number of hints as to what a gardener should do 
on taking employment, Mr. Andrews advised his 
hearers to have vegetables, especi¬ 
ally roots, of a nice size, not large 
and coarse. In Cauliflowers, for 
instance, instead of growing one 
as big as a peck measure, to be 
cut into two or three parts before 
being cooked, the gardener should 
have two nice sized ones with the 
inner leaves just folding back from 
the flower. Brussels Sprouts should 
be not larger than Walnuts, but 
solid, not loose. Carrots should 
not look in size like < Mangel- 
worzels, and Potatos should 
neither be black at one end, nor 
close and waxy, nor of such size 
as to be hollow in the centre. It 
was the medium-sized and well- 
grown vegetable that gave most 
satisfaction to employer and em¬ 
ployed. 
Mr. Andrews proceeded to pro¬ 
test with vigour against the ten¬ 
dency of showing gigantic specimens 
at horticultural shows. The gar¬ 
deners grew few such for a special 
purpose to the neglect of the rest. 
For instance, he would rear a few 
Celery in pots, his Beetroots would 
be covered with a frame or grown 
in pots. For his Parsnips he would 
make a few large holes, fill up with 
the best soil, and sow a few seeds. 
When such plans were adopted the 
rest of the batch had often to take 
its chance, and was not fit to be seen. 
Still if the gardener wished to be 
a prize-winner, he must do this soit 
of thing as long as huge specimens 
were the rage, and size was put before 
quality. What he, the speaker, would like to see was 
the adoption by committees of agricultural societies of 
a code of rules for their judges to work by, laying it 
down that quality and usefulness should rank first. 
He knew it was a difficult task, but if it was taken 
up by the Royal, or some such society, it might be 
done. One thing more particularly he desired was 
to see prizes offered for the best cultivated and 
cropped garden, somewhat on the same lines as the 
cups offered by agricultural societies for the best 
cultivated farms, and no doubt it was a thing that 
would come in time. Turning to the more practical 
aspect of kitchen gardening, the main portion of the 
work was the digging, which had not the care 
bestowed upon it that it deserved. As soon as a 
crop had been done with, the remains, with all weeds 
and rubbish, should be cleared off, and the manure 
wheeled on, the richer the better. 
As a method of preparing the ground, Mr. 
Andrews strongly recommended, that was if the 
gardener had time, trenching, or bastard-trenching 
as it was more generally called. Having explained 
this system in detail, he said that where the time 
could not be afforded, rough digging must be resorted 
to. He always preferred to keep manure well down, 
because it caused roots to search downwards for 
nourishment, and because the tender roots coming 
in direct contact with manure in too rank a condition 
often rotted at the tips, thus stagnating the growth 
of the plant. As an excellent substitute for artificial 
manure for a top - dressing he recommended 
thoroughly decomposed night - soil. What he 
accumulated of that with fowl droppings, etc., 
he generally made about a ton a year of, and it was 
a great deal safer than artificial manure. The 
ground should always be given a few days rest, 
exposure to the air sweetening the soil. The season 
of work had come round again. Presuming all spare 
ground had been dug, he advised them not to be led 
away by a fine morning and sow a lot of seed until 
the ground was in a thorough condition. Speaking 
especially of soil such as he had to do with, inclined 
to clay with a marly clay sub-soil, it would be 
preferable to have it rather dry than otherwise, as 
there was plenty of moisture beneath. In sowing 
seed, if the ground was very dry, he gave his drills 
a thorough soaking, letting them stand a few hours, 
and then sowed. Everything should be sowed in 
drills. This plan he had found particularly useful 
for Peas, far preferable to the practice of soaking 
them over night in water. 
In the purchase of seeds Mr. Andrews advised his 
hearers to go to a reliable firm, and to get the best. 
Speaking of Peas, he liked to sow first about the end 
of January two rows, each four lineal yards long. The 
sticks intended for them were placed between the 
drills as soon as the plants began to come up, as 
that served to help to keep back the March winds. 
A row of William I. was often sown at the same 
time, and another row in about ten days. He gen¬ 
erally followed with McLean’s Advancer, and after 
that Gold-finder, a Pea which was not to be beaten 
for every good quality. For a late Pea nothing was bet¬ 
ter than Walker’s Perpetual Bearer. The gardening 
papers, added Mr. Andrews in a note, were speaking 
very highly of a Pea which originated in the neigh¬ 
bourhood, the Exonian. Cabbage was another im¬ 
portant vegetable, the first sowing being in the last 
week of July, of Ellam’s D-varf. Having well 
manured a piece of ground after late Potatos they were 
put out in the middle of September, and got well 
established before winter set in. The dwarf was set 
18 inches by 15, and the ground cleared as soon as 
Cabbage was cut. For spring sowing, Earliest of All 
was chosen about the end of March, and was fit to 
cut about the end of August. There was one mem¬ 
ber of the family which was not grown as much as it 
deserved—the Portugal Cabbage. While the main 
stem could be cut and cooked as seakale, the re¬ 
mainder was a good Cabbage. The Cornish growers 
were trying Veitch’s Earliest of All Cabbage this 
season for early cutting, and one had written to him 
that he hoped to cut in the middle of April from 
seed sown last September. 
As Savoys, Cattell's Green Curled, and Gilbert’s 
Universal were mentioned, and as to Brussels Sprouts 
—another grand vegetable if well-grown, he made 
the first sowing of Veitch's Exhibition, putting in a 
cold frame at the end of February By taking off 
the heads before the spring, the frost, he said, was 
liable to get at the sprouts and destroy them. The 
Cauliflower and its sister, the Broccoli, it was 
possible to cut all the year round, particulary if the 
the winters were not too severe. For summer cut¬ 
ting he had been growing for the past four years 
Dean’s Snowball, generally pricking them out on a 
spent Mushroom bed trodden firm. If mildew 
appeared, a little sulphur with silver sand was 
sprinkled amongst them. Having grown from time 
to time nearly all the popular varieties of Broccolies 
he found Knight’s Protecting, Leamington, May 
Queen and Model were most to be depended on. He 
preferred to grow a small quantity of several varie¬ 
ties, as they were sure to vary by a few days in cut¬ 
ting, and if one sort failed another 
might stand. Passing on to Celery 
—both as a vegetable and winter 
salad of great importance — Mr. 
Andrews stated that the two best 
were Henderson’s White Plume and 
Clayworth's Prize Pink. The 
latter was a strong grower, stout, 
long, with a grand nutty flavour, and 
neither course nor stringy. The 
seed was put in a slight hot bed 
in March, pricked off on a bed of 
leaves and dung carefully prepared, 
and finally, as the Peas came 
away, placed in two rows one foot 
apart. They should be watered 
freely and receive manure water 
occasionally, but artificial manures 
tended to make the stems hollow. 
In a note Mr. Andrews remarked 
that he had been sent a few plants 
of a new variety—Early Rose, 
which he believed had a grand 
future before it, being a fast grower, 
and of splendid flavour. 
Speaking next of the Turnip, he 
said it was one ot those vegetables 
which liked liberal treatment 
although not very particular as to 
situation. It was not advisable to 
grow many of them, as they got 
hard and stringy. His favourite 
was American Red Top Stone for 
early summer work, while for autumn 
and winter, Veitch's Red Top Gar¬ 
den Globe was the best — the 
queen, in fact, of all the whites. It 
was a great pity that the yellow 
Turnips were not grown and appre¬ 
ciated more. The colour, of course, 
was the objection, but the taste, flavour, solidity, 
and keeping qualities by far surpassed that of the 
whites. Beans were not to be lost sight of, being in 
some families in great demand. Broad Beans he 
sowed in a warm border in the first week in 
February, making a second sowing at the end of the 
month, and a third about the end of March. As to 
French Beans, a vegetable liked and appreciated by 
everyone, it was a wonder to him that the dwarf 
kinds were not oftener grown. Three or four sow¬ 
ings of dwarf Beans would give a constant supply of 
delicious food for four months in succession. He 
preferred Canadian Wonder for all the outdoor work. 
Scarlet Runners would, he supposed, be a stand-by 
for some time to come, but he was surprised that 
there were so many grown, particularly in small 
gardens and by amateurs, especially when the 
expense of sticks was considered, dhe only sort 
worth growing was Girtford Giant, which liked very 
liberal treatment. 
For Onions he found that the best treatment was 
a well-manured piece of ground which had had a 
chance of rest with a sprinkling of stimulating 
manure at the beginning of March. The Leek was 
not grown and appreciated as it deserved, nor was 
proper care taken of it in its cultivation. They were 
a splendid vegetable when served as Seakale, and 
Mr. Jenkins, of Tenby, told them they were good 
