December 24, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
261 
Mildness of the Season.—Dr. J. W. Stone, of Cook- 
ham Dene, writes us : "I have at the present time, 
December 17th, a pyramid Pear tree (Gregoire 
Bordillon), standing in the open, out in full bloom, 
and hive bees very busy on this, to them, unexpected 
treat. Alas! what the bees gain I lose next season 
in the absence of fruit.'' 
Ealing and District Gardeners’ Society.—Oa the 
13th inst., in the Municipal Buildings, Ealing, Mr. 
C. B. Green presided over a meeting of this society, 
when Mr. E. Slade, of Hanwell, gave an interesting 
and historical paper on “ Some London Parks." 
Mr. Slade went most carefully, and at some length, 
into the history of Hyde Park, tracing its inception 
almost from prehistoric times, and recounting some 
of the chief events in the stormy periods through 
which this noble park bad passed. He stated that 
so recently as a hundred yearns ago this park was 
more or less in a rural state, and that the wild 
Strawberry, amongst other things, was found there. 
As to its present floral and sylvan beauties, he 
quoted from the Gardening World to show the 
great advances in respect to horticulture. Regent’s 
Park, St. James’s Park, Victoria Park, Battersea 
Park, and numerous others, received attention, the 
former and the latter provoking, perhaps, the larger 
share of comment. Regent’s Park is remarkable for 
its sweet surprises, its quiet nooks, its grassy slopes, 
and its general naturalness. Battersea, on the other 
hand, is noted for its sub-tropical effects, its great 
variety of animal and vegetable life, and its 
picturesque scenery. Mr. Gingell, superintendent 
of Ravenscourt Park, testified to the value of the 
paper, and to the advanced and systematic gardening 
which now prevails in all the London parks. 
Several members took part in the discussion, and all 
agreed that Mr. Slade had presented his information 
in an interesting and able manner. 
Messrs. Hurst & Son: Annual Dinner at the 
Holborn Restaurant.—Messrs. Hurst & Son, Hounds- 
ditch, entertained their employees to dinner at the 
Holborn Restaurant, on the 17th inst., under the 
presidency of N. N. Sherwood, Esq., when most of 
the representatives, heads of departments, and the 
general staff sat down to table, together with a number 
of visitors, including Messrs. J. H. Veitcb, T. 
Mackenzie, Gofton Salmon, G. J. Ingram, A. Smith, 
R. Dean, G. Gordon, B. Wynne, J. Fraser, and others. 
After an admirable and well-served repast, the chair¬ 
man proposed the usual loyal toasts, which were well 
received. ■■ Success to the Firm of Hurst & Son,” was 
proposed by Mr. T. Mackenzie, of New Zealand, who 
said that the firm possessed the honour and integrity 
to a high degree, and the direct control of affairs by 
the responsible head of the establishment, all of 
which ensured success. It was due to this firm that 
the leading seed industry was situated in England. 
While the imports of England were greater than the 
exports, the latter having gone back five per cent., 
it was quite otherwise with the firm of Hurst & Son. 
He thought that limited liability companies were 
. doing harm to the trade of this country, because 
there was no personal supervision in such concerns, 
the directors having neither time nor ability, perhaps, 
to attend even to the heads of departments. He 
reverted to the time when the control of Hurst & 
Son was taken in hand by Mr. N. N. Sherwood, and 
hoped his sons would be as successfully established 
after him. Mr.Sherwood in reply said he was thinking 
, of thirty-six years ago, when he, as a boy, joined the 
establishment in Leadenhall Street, and now. The 
staff then was twenty, all told. The catalogue sent 
out by the firm consisted of four small sheets of 
paper. The staff now numbered 204, and the 
catalogue ran to eighty or one hundred pages. Up to 
the present they had easily been able to hold their 
own. He was struck with Mr. Mackenzie’s remarks 
about limited companies,which ought to be personally 
supervised. The exports in the seed trade mentioned 
by the latter were correct and all that could be 
desired. Mr. W. G. Innes proposed " The Cricket 
Club and the Musical Society," and said that play 
was necessary as well as work, that they had 
made up their minds not to think of play 
while at work. He and his fellow men 
regarded their superior not only as master but 
as their friend. The cricket club had played seventy 
matches in four years, won thirty, and drawn about 
half. He sympathised with Mr. Edward Sherwood 
in bringing forward the Hurst & Son Musical Society 
and invited visitors to become honorary members, 
and so help the society. Mr. F. A. Washington, the 
secretary, would be delighted to receive subscriptions. 
Mr. S. N. Sampson, the captain of the cricket club, 
replied. Mr. Edward Sherwood also replied stating 
that a committee had been formed to organise the 
work for the coming year, and invited boys to join 
them and sing soprano. A Gold Medal for the best 
voice during the season had been offered by Mr. R. 
Dean. At this point Mr. N. N. Sherwood said he 
would supply the society with instruments, provided 
it made a successful start. Mr. T. N. Cox proposed 
“ The Visitors,” which was replied to by Messrs. 
Gofton Salmon and G. J. Ingram. Mr. D. Fairley 
proposed "The Press,” and Messrs. G. Gordon and 
R. Dean replied. Mr. Hugh Aiton proposed “ Mr. 
William and Mr. Edward Sherwood,” the two sons 
of the principal of the firm. Both the young gentle¬ 
men replied, wishing that they should gain the 
confidence and friendship of the employees, and 
fulfil the part of their father at similar happy gather¬ 
ings sometime in the future. Mr. N. N. Sherwood 
then proposed 11 The Representatives, Heads of 
Departments, and General Staff,” and cordially 
thanked them all, from the highest to the lowest. 
He held a record for which any man in the City of 
London might be proud. Twenty gentlemen had 
been twenty years and upwards in his service, and 
he ought to feel proud. Mr. John Hodgson had 
been so closely engaged with his duties that 
he had made up his mind to stay at home. The 
speaker considered he owed a great deal to this 
faithful servant who thus regarded duty before 
pleasure. He hoped his sons would strive to gain 
the esteem of the whole staff. Messrs. Elphick, R. 
C. Tucker, Bray, and F. W. Locke replied. During 
the evening soDgs, recitations, and instrumental 
music were rendered by Messrs. John Curran, John 
E. Dixon, D. Fairley, R. C. Tucker, V. F. Cummings, 
F. W. Locke, A. Cox, C. Papworth, T. Snewing, A. 
Mauthner, and the orchestra, which was conducted 
by Mr. Edward Sherwood. The principal announced 
that the offices would be closed from Friday night 
till Tuesday morning for the holidays. A most 
enjoyable evening was brought to a close by the 
singing of “ Auld Lang Syne.” 
ON METHOD IN STUDY. 
Messrs. Carters’ Vade Mecum.—In all good time for 
the forthcoming season Messrs. James Carter & Co., 
High Holborn, London, issue their annual "Vade 
Mecum ” of everything in the way of seeds requisite 
for the vegetable and flower gardens. The illustra¬ 
tions are very numerous, as usual, their standard 
varieties of Peas, French Beans, Scarlet Runners, 
Broad Beans, Broccoli, Cabbages, Cauliflowers, 
Carrots, Leeks, Celery, Potatos, and Cucumbers 
being brought into prominence by this means. The 
Royal Osborne Cucumber, a new variety, seems to 
be reproduced full size, for it measures about 16 in., 
going across two pages, while in reality it varies 
from 13 in. to 20 in. Its appearance is that of a 
cylindrical smooth fruit, representing an Improved 
Telegraph. It was raised by Mr. George Nobbs, 
gardener to Her Majesty the Queen, at Osborne, 
and is a cross between the Rochford and Improved 
Telegraph Cucumbers. The new Melon British 
raised by Mr. Owen Thomas, the Royal Gardens, 
Windsor, also figures here. It is a prolific and 
valuable cream-fleshed Melon, resulting from a 
cross between the white-fleshed Hero of Lockinge 
and the scarlet-fleshed Royal Ascot. Nearly all of 
the illustrations are reproductions from photographs, 
which, when done by a skilful artist, give a life-like 
idea of the vegetables or flowers they represent. 
The solidity and formality of various vegetables 
present no difficulty to the camera, quite contrary to 
what we should have suspected a few years ago. 
Their definite and well marked outlines enable them 
to be brought out with even greater fidelity than 
some flowers, whose colours are apt to interfere 
with the effect of light. A coloured illustration of 
mixed Pansies adorns the front cover of the cata¬ 
logue, while a similarly executed picture of Polyan- 
anthuses brightens the back cover. There is also 
facing p. 70 a full page plate of the leading or more 
popular florists' flowers, likewise done in several 
colours conformably to the respective kinds. As we 
mentioned recently, Messrs. Carter originated a sys¬ 
tem of prizes last season, and are now repeating it 
on a larger scale for the coming year. The details 
of the scheme are given on the inside of the front 
cover. 
From the correspondence in a contemporary, on the 
R. H. S. examinations, it is evident that young men 
are alive to the need of a sound theoretical knowledge 
of the higher branches of gardening ; and are anxious 
to equip themselves with the soundest and best 
teaching. There appears, however, to be a slight 
misunderstanding concerning the annual examina¬ 
tions held under the auspices of the R. H. S. ; 
would-be candidates profess to be handicapped by 
having to compete with school and college-trained 
fellow students. It is to be hoped that neither thjs, 
nor any other of the grievances aired in this corres¬ 
pondence will be used as an excuse for not studying 
for these examinations, which, by the way, are not 
an end in themselves, but a means to an end; a test 
or a measure of the knowledge acquired. 
A gold and silver medal would be useless to a 
student, if, after gaining such an award, that student 
ceased to study, thinking he had enough knowledge. 
On the other hand, the plodder and earnest student 
who looks upon an examination in the right light may, 
in the long run, be the best informed, even if he fails to 
satisfy the examiner by brilliant answers ; one failure 
spurs him on to greater effort, and it is well known 
that a mind which acquires knowledge by persever¬ 
ing efforts retains such knowledge perhaps long after 
the more brilliant student has entirely forgotten 
what he so easily learnt. 
This correspondence, I believe, is the outcome of a 
discussion upon a lecture delivered by Mr. A. Dean, 
before the Chiswick Gardeners’ Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Association, a few weeks ago, on " Functions 
of Plants." I was pleased to hear Mr. Dean 
emphasise the importance .of a young gardener hav¬ 
ing a knowledge of the structure, history, and func¬ 
tions of the plants he cultivates. 
It is an undoubted fact that a mind well stored 
with such knowledge is capable of much greater en¬ 
joyment and pleasure in addition to the greater power 
that such acquired knowledge affords; but to obtain 
the best results a proper system of study must be fol¬ 
lowed, concentrating the energies and thought upon 
those branches of the science which bears upon our 
work, and which will give us a good return for our 
labour. Such questions as " Do plants feel pain ? ” 
" What is a species ? ” and " Have plants brains ? ’’ 
are best left in the hands of those who have mastered 
the more elementary stages, and who, possessing 
more leisure, or feeling the pressure of work less than 
the busy practical maD, can amuse himself by prob¬ 
ing these deep problems. But those of us who are 
young, and desire to turn our knowledge of botany to 
practical advantage, need first to ascertain what 
branches of botany will best repay our study and 
assist us in our profession. 
It may be said with truth that all branches of this 
science are interesting, and repay careful study ; but 
to the cultivator the study of plant morphology, 
anatomy, physiology, and garden chemistry, is of 
more importance than economic, or paleontological 
and geographical botany. 
A system of study is essential to progress—to my 
mind, nothing assists a student better than to attach 
himself to a class, of which there are many, 
especially in the neighbourhood of London, ably con¬ 
ducted by good teachers; and I think an industrious 
student will be astonished at the end of a session at 
the progress he has made. Friends and fellow 
students of mine have quickly come to grief over the 
jaw-breaking parenchymas, sclerenchymas, and all 
the other ’enchymas; but when these are mastered 
and overcome, and the elements digested a little, 
other difficulties which appeared equally formidable 
are met with less fear, and what, to the beginner, 
was almost alarming, becomes a source of interest 
and pleasure. In short, the difficult science becomes 
a fascinating and interesting hobby. 
All the phenomena of plant life are exceedingly in¬ 
teresting to the cultivator, and records of observa¬ 
tions are valuable material, affording the student in 
after years—when he is able to comprehend and 
understand by reason of the exercise of his mental 
powers in mastering the elements—much pleasure, 
and also valuable data. 
Did not Prof. Henslow in his summer lectures 
complaia that the gardener would not record facts ? 
This noting and recording is, I believe, exceed¬ 
ingly useful and instructive; but speculation as to 
whether plants feel pain; what is a species, and 
