June 10, lb99. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
647 
ones beiDg shorter than the outer, but well formed 
and nearly as wide. The colour is bright and 
approaching to scarlet, but with more red in it. and 
flushed with rich crimson towards the base of the 
petals. The leaves are large, leathery in texture, 
and of a uniform rich green hue. Pips of this and 
another variety done up as buttonhole bouquets 
show a use to which the variety may be put. Inde¬ 
pendently of Mr. Dick’s description, the robust 
character of the variety in all respects would indi¬ 
cate that it might be used as a wall climber for cover¬ 
ing the back or end walls of greenhouses, conserva¬ 
tories, or corridors with magnificent effect. Only 
those who have tried or seen this method of culture 
can form any idea of the gorgeous appearance of 
Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums where they grow to cover 
many square feet of space. They furnish armfuls of 
flowers for cutting from early spring till Christmas. 
—Ed.] 
COMMON WEEDS. 
When I took exception to "J. D.’s ” article on the 
above title (May 6th, p. 573), it was on the labourious 
and expensive methods he advocated for exter¬ 
minating them. In his reply at p. 615, May 27th, 
he does not, in my opinion, clear matters much ; for 
here he tells us that “ otherwise digging or rather 
trenching to a depth of 5 ft. is the only means of 
riddance ” was only " added for completement to 
the list—an appendage, as it were. Did “J. D.” 
offer that advice for the guidance of the amateur 
gardener or for the practical gardener; if for the 
latter then no harm is done, as no practical gardener 
would think of trenching his ground "5 ft.” deep 
merely to bury weeds. But if for the amateur, then, 
to say the least, it is very misleading. 
Now I maintain that weed infested land can be 
effectually cleaned if the weeds instead of beiDg 
skinned off and wheeled away, are put in the 
bottom of the trench, an ordinary trench 
from 18 in. to 2 ft., and the hoe kept going 
the following season. Do not wait till the weeds 
appear and are several inches high before the 
ground is hoed ; for then you will have to rake them 
off and be in a similar state to the gardens “ J. D.” 
had "in view,” where there was two men’s work 
where one had to do it. I have never found the 
extermination of Nettles so very difficult as "J. D.” 
would make us believe. Seedling Nettles are quite 
easily killed with the hoe if taken young. Old and 
established Nettles if to be eradicated when in 
growth should be cut down with a scythe, turn the 
surface up with the spade and shake out the roots 
with a fork—the Nettle is a shallow rooting plant. 
Dig or trench the ground afterwards and hoe the 
surface if any should appear.— Ear. 
--—« i » 
POOR GARDENER! 
I was delighted to see the remarks of W. G. on p. 
567, not by reason, so much, of the sentiments there¬ 
in expressed as for the excellent review of the 
gardener’s position by the Editor in his leader, p. 
565, which that article called forth. I strongly 
advise those who look at the glossy side of the 
future to read and re-read this article. I myself 
have done so with very much pleasure and profit. 
One remark by W. G. expresses the view of a great 
number of men, and that is, in his words, " I think 
it is quite time that garden writers and lecturers had 
something to say about gardeners’ wages and house 
rent.” With regard to the latter it is purely circum¬ 
stantial and local, not general, and therefore can¬ 
not be admitted in a wide sense, and no amount of 
writing can influence or alter it. 
With regard to the question of gardeners’ wages, 
apply a little of the common sense with which the 
Editor credits us as a body, and it will be seen that 
it is a question of supply and demand. The gar¬ 
dener’s labour and skill is a marketable commodity, 
and, like garden produce, is subject to the law of 
supply and demand. What is it that raises the 
price of choice fruit, say, in the market, in any one 
week or in any one day ? Simply that the demand 
exceeds the supply ! If from any cause whatever 
the supply of gardeners was unequal to the demand 
a higher wage would be given. For instance, in this 
neighbourhood, which is a market garden district, 
owing to the construction of various buildings, water 
works, and other undertakings, there is a scarcity of 
labour, and in consequence the wages of garden 
labourers have increased. Employers have been 
forced to raise their men's wages in order to retain 
their services. It is matter of common knowledge 
that female domestics are very difficult to obtain, 
and high wages are offered for good servants. 
In one respect gardeners have themselves only to 
thank for the low rate of wages offered and paid. 
A friend of mine a few months since, having charge 
of a good garden and in receipt of £2 a week, 
resigned his position. His employer advertised for 
a successor, and received something like 300 appli¬ 
cations by post, which he handed to my friend, 
asking him to look them over and select a few for 
him. The perusal of these revealed the astonishing 
fact that a large percentage of these applicants were 
willing to undertake very onerous and difficult duties 
for the sum of, from 21s. to 25s. a week. Of course, 
not one in twenty of these men were qualified for 
the position, or they would not have offered their 
services for such a pittance. Doubtless, they failed 
to comprehend the nature of the position they 
sought. 
The question of trade unions and combinations of 
gardeners in order to force up wages has been dis¬ 
cussed in a contemporary recently, and the views of 
an employer were expressed in plain terms. Writing 
from memory I think he said that his gardeners were 
a luxury and not a necessity, and although he derived 
very much pleasure from his garden, rather than be 
bothered by the dictates of trade union men and 
such-like, he should forego his hobby and dispense 
with his eight or nine men he now employed. No 
doubt many other employers would take the same 
view. Of course, I do not mean to say that efficient 
gardeners are sufficiently remunerated; far from it. 
— A. P. 
Under this heading there has appeared several notes 
and also a leading article in The Gardening 
World during the last few weeks. I must say I am 
interested in this subject and have read those notes 
as well as your leader; and in the main I am at one 
with you in your way of summing up the whole. 
As to where the heading was taken from, or its 
author, I am not much concerned; but the term 
itself is far-reaching, seeing the word gardener 
itself covers a wide class of operators. 
We may be poor gardeners in several ways, 
namely, in purse, in manners, in education, and in 
several other ways. 
It is clear many of us must be poor in purse after 
paying our debts and keeping up the necessary 
appearance from the wages some of us receive. I 
venture to say that in some instances, considering 
the ability displayed and the work done, no other 
class of men are as badly paid as some gardeners. 
Nor can I see any remedy for this in some instances, 
as we have to minister to the calls and requirements 
of a hobby, and in consequence many a man is 
treated as a necessary evil. 
Regarding our conduct and address, who can say 
but we are above the average, as a class, when com¬ 
pared with the men of other trades or professions of 
equal standing? I admit there are weeds and black 
sheep amongst us, but this applies to every other 
class. 
As to our education—Yes; on this point, speaking 
as a whole, we can compare favourably with those of 
similar standing. Injproof of this—What can be 
said against those who display their ability as 
lecturers, also as correspondents to the Press ? I 
readilyjadmit some of us have not the education we 
should like,and which would be useful. For this we 
cannot be blamed, as a man cannot help being born 
where he was. The writer of this had no regular 
schooling after he was nine years of age. 
Should the fees for education be raised too high it is 
doubtful if privategardeninginmany instances would 
pay for it, and I am not sure those having it would 
take readily to some of the work we are asked and 
expected to do. From our own standpoint, I do not 
mean to say we are all we ought to be, and there are 
those to be found who in their youth never endeavour 
to help themselves. Many of us could not have been 
in our present position had we not adopted the self- 
denyiDg principle in study, added to that of thrift. 
After many years' observation I have never seen those 
who preferred to spend their evenings in places that 
cannot be advantageous to them able to hold their 
owd when out of place, or subjected to the evils 
common to human nature. Let all those, who talk 
of unions to raise the standard, try their hand first 
at helping themselves, and this can be done in many 
ways. Amongst the means of helping themselves is 
that of joining the United Horticultural Benefit and 
Provident Society, which has so many good points. 
I fail to see how trade unions could do good or be 
worked. 
I note some writers deal with the system of head 
men, taking youths into the garden to work the 
place cheaply. Would these people be so foolish as 
to give up a place because the owner will not spend 
what he thinks he ought to and be amongst the 
unemployed ? I think it is far more creditable to a 
man to hold on to a place and keep the place in the 
best way he can, and in any way rather than be out 
of place. I am convinced if many of the large 
country private gardens were not worked on these 
lines they would not be in their present condition, as 
not a few of the owners cannot afford to spend as 
they used to on them. All praise to those who can 
work them under difficulties. 
The question of having youths apprenticed has 
been thrashed out over and over in the press, and 
some of our best men to-day were never apprenticed. 
— J. C., F., Chari. 
— ■ - » » «■ - 
ORCHID NOTES & GLEANINGS. 
By the Editor. 
Orchids from Craigclowan, Perth.—A boxful of 
Orchid flowers in season reached us the other week 
from Mr. Francis Nicoll, gardener to Thomas Roy, 
Esq., Craigclowan, Perth. The Cattleyas were very 
fine, including varieties of C. Mossiae and C. Men- 
dellii of great size and substance with varied colour¬ 
ing. The last-Damed was notable for the delicacy 
of the colour of the sepals and petals. One flower 
was remarkable from the fact of its consisting of 
two, completely amalgamated together. There were 
four sepals, the dorsal pair appearing to consist of 
one divided to the base and diverging to the right 
and left. Just above and between these two was a 
completely dorsal petal nearly normal in outline. 
The lip had a central white furrow dividing the 
normal colours from base to apex, as if two lips had 
made a compromise to form one. The column was 
of great size, furrowed down the back, and carried 
two anthers, right and left, at the apex. 
Two varieties of Laelia purpuratahad white sepals 
and petals with a dark lip, which in one case was of 
fine proportions. Pretty also was Laelia elegans 
schilleriana, nearly white, with a dark lamina to the 
lip. A bold flower of Cypripedium hirsutissimum 
measured 6 in. across the petals, and was of great 
substance, remaining quite plump and firm for many 
days. Few, if any, other of the Oncidiums present 
such a cheerful expanse of clear, bright yellow as 
does O. concolor, all parts of the flower being 
coloured alike, except the wings of the column, 
which are tipped with purple. 
Odontoglossums were well represented, chiefly by 
varieties of O. crispum, many of which were large 
flowers of shapely proportions. Some of them were 
nearly white, others tinted with rose,and more or less 
blotched or spotted, sometimes handsomely. Several 
of them would come under O. c. guttatum, or modi¬ 
fications of it, those that were heavily tinted with 
rose in addition to the central blotches bsing very 
pretty. As good varieties of O. crispum go, many of 
them would come under this category, the segments 
being broad and well imbricated. A large and 
handsome form of O. hastilabium accompanied the 
rest, the concentric brown bands and lines being 
very distinct. A form of O. luteo-purpureum bore 
a remarkable resemblance to a dark form of O. 
triumphans, both in the colours, their arrangement, 
and in the obovate lip. Mr. Nicoll must have a fine 
collection under his charge, and knows how to grow 
the plants. 
Coelogyne dayana. — A splendid plate figuring 
this curious and beautiful Orchid appears in A merican 
Gardening for May 6th. It bears 150 flowers, and is 
growing in a 7-in. pot. The plant when coming into 
flower should, or rather it must, be strung bigh up, 
say in a Cattleya house or stove having a tempera¬ 
ture of 6o° by night and 65° to 70° by day. We 
have flowered this species with very little trouble by 
growing it all the year in a stove, giving it shade 
from strong sunshine. It requires plenty of water at 
the roots in the growing season, and very little when 
resting. Peat and sphagnum in equal parts, plus 
some crocks and charcoal, suit it for a compost, — D. 
