February 28, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
40? 
before many years the bothy such as in the past will 
be a rarity. 
■ Intelligent journeymen should certainly be better 
paid, but in most cases the head gardener can do 
little to assist in that respect. I should advise the 
journeyman to look up to the head gardener as his 
friend, and then there will be mutual confidence on 
both sides, which will be to their mutual advantage. 
The young gardener who keeps a diary shows that 
he is taking an intelligent interest in his work and 
certainly deserves encouraging. 
Re large and small places, I do not think there is so 
very much in it. The young man who is employed 
in a small garden where four to six hands are kept 
will do well to try and get into larger places as he 
goes on. The largest places are not necessarily 
always the best or most comfortable, but to make a 
sound, practical gardener, a practical training is 
necessary. Therefore, the place where modern gar¬ 
dening is carried out thoroughly is the best place to 
finish off, whether medium or large .—James Nicol, 
Hornby Castle, Bedale. 
As I am a journeyman myself, I would like to give 
my say in this argument. As regards how much one 
can learn in a place, my idea is that it does not 
matter much whether it is a large or small place ; 
but what does matter, is the use a fellow puts his 
time to. By visiting the different places in one’s 
district, reading some of the many very practical 
books relating to the craft, and asking questions, &c. t 
a lot will be learned of benefit to a chap no matter 
where he is situated, that is to say if he has any 
interest in his calling. 
Mr. Dick says he would give “ Peter Green ” a 
shilling less in the week than he would “John Ex¬ 
perience,” a thing I do not think is at all fair. I 
expect he was once in the same boat as poor “Peter,” 
and I am almost certain he would have grumbled if 
he had been expected to do the same work as " John 
Experience ” and get a shilling less. I know I 
would not have liked it. I know some bothies are 
not all they should be, but judging from what I bave 
seen, I think a lot depends on chaps themselves. I 
have had to do my share of the cooking along with 
the rest, but that was nothing as long as we enjoyed 
health and were happy and had the thought that 
"we micht gang farrer and fare waur.” I think a 
bothy is preferable to the majority of lodgings. I 
have never seen a bothy either in England or Scot¬ 
land where they had to make both a table and chair 
of their kits, except when the 'prentice was punished 
for swearing at the table. If I had seen it that 
would have been enough for me. I must say tbe 
most of journeymen I have come in contact with 
keep a diary and I keep one myself, but I aye like 
my supper first, as I consider it is a pity to let it 
spoil. I am pleased to say I am now in a bothy of 
the kind one seldom sees, and so am very comfort¬ 
able. Hoping, Mr. Editor, I have not encroached 
on your space and thanking you in anticipation, I am, 
" Carcluie." 
KitcKen Garden calendar. 
Ix is now that all digging operations will be pushed 
forward, and whenever the soil is in a fit state it will 
be busily prepared for the reception of seeds or for 
plants. Heavy land, especially in northern gardens 
where so much rain has fallen, will be benefited by 
having lain undug till now. Heavy soil remains 
drier the firmer it is, and on these grounds it is well 
to leave the digging to as late a period as possible. 
Still, frost has a mellowing effect on land that is 
turned up in a loose state, and has greater scope to 
break down and make the surface stratum friable. 
Gardeners, however, prefer to stick to the old prac¬ 
tice of digging as much as possible as early as they 
can. 
Parsley.— This always useful plant can be sown 
on a sheltered border in drills 15 in. apart and 1 in. 
deep. Cover the drills with finely sifted soil pre¬ 
pared for the purpose, and brought in a barrow. 
The seedlings appear in six weeks’ time, whence 
they may be thinned out so as to stand about 6 in. 
apart. It is good practice to thin the plants, 
although not a few gardeners seem to think it waste¬ 
ful to do so. The remedy lies in not sowing so 
thickly. When in growth, the Parsley should 
occasionally be dusted over with soot. 
Potatos.— The earliest planted Potatos in frames 
will now have started, and may even be through the 
soil in some cases. Great caution should be 
exercised in the airing of the frames. More than 
likely too, watering will be necessary, but any water 
that is used should be tepid at least. On very well 
situated borders plantings of Ashleaf Kidney Potatos 
can be made. 
Parsnips. —So soon as possible a sowing of 
Parsnips ought to be made in well prepared ground. 
Draw out drills 18 in. apart, ij in. deep, and sow the 
seeds thinly. Where special culture is to be given 
for exhibition roots, holes should be made with a 
crowbar to a depth of 2 ft. to be filled with prepared 
soil. This soil should be made moderately firm, and 
a few seeds may be sown upon the surface. Much 
care should be exercised in thinning the plants, and 
in giving them at all times the earliest and best 
attention. The soil between the rows of such crops 
as Parsnips should be kept hoed. Even although 
there are no weeds it does the soil infinite good to be 
aerated by this surface stirring. Maltese, The 
Student, and Sutton’s Tender and True are three of 
the best varieties of Parsnips. 
Carrots may again be sown in frames, for as yet 
it is somewhat early for general open-air sowing. 
These young roots become usable in a week or two. 
Parisian Forcing, Sutton's Inimitable Forcing, and 
Carter’s Long Forcing, can be depended on for such 
early crops. 
Onions. —A sowing of Onions can be made on a 
south border. Another batch should be sown in 
boxes for planting out in April. Start the seeds in a 
temperature of 55® to 6o° (placing glass over the 
boxes), and maintain them in a house with such a 
temperature till they are over an inch in height. 
Thence a cooler house will suffice, the plants having 
meanwhile been pricked off, until they are planted 
out. 
Broad Beans and Peas may be sown as a succes¬ 
sion to the earlier batch advised to be sown three 
weeks ago. These sowings in pots and boxes are 
much to be commended where a few dishes of very 
early Peas are desired. Even if only started indoors 
there are always chances of being able to plant out 
the potfuls in April if the weather is mild and genial. 
Much care would require to be exercised, however, 
as when plants, such as Peas, have been nurtured 
under glass, the chances are strong against a good 
set of pods, when they are placed out, in the later 
stages of their growth. 
Other sowings that should now be made for the 
kitchen supply include that of Tomatos and Cucum¬ 
bers. Lettuces never come amiss, and the smaller 
salads such as Radishes, Mustard and Cress, should 
be kept up. Forcing must be continued for a con¬ 
siderable time yet. Asparagus, Seakale, and Mush¬ 
rooms, are referred to in this connection. Garlic 
and Shallots may be planted at the present time. 
Sowings of Cauliflowers, French Beans, and Capsi¬ 
cums under glass, should also be made, while out¬ 
side Round Spinach can be sown .—Kitchen Gardener. 
WORK UNDER GLASS. 
The present is one o tbe busiest months of the 
whole year, so far a gardeners are concerned. 
Much of ihe success in the garden during the sum¬ 
mer and autumn depends on how much exertion the 
director of the garden bestows at this time. With¬ 
out going into details about stove work just now, 
seeing that plant cleaning and potting are the chief 
operations, we find that there is still much to be 
done with the bedding supply. March will be upon 
us in a few days, and one can calculate about six or 
eight weeks after then for the beginning of the bed¬ 
ding period. Even in the north, in all favourable 
seasons, bedding has started by May 20th, and from 
then till the end of the first week in June the men 
are busy planting. 
Of course, again, where the beds are filled with 
bulbous spring-flowering plants, Wallflower, Violas, 
Myosotis, dwarf Evergreens, and other suitable sub¬ 
jects there is not the same need to have plants so 
early developed. But nowadays so many owners of 
rural gardens leave them and their mansions during 
the winter season for a sojourn abroad that no 
spring bedding is attempted, and the alternative is to 
have the beds filled early in summer or even before 
spring fades. 
The bedding Pelargoniums may require to be 
boxed off; or potted, if there is space and sufficient 
pots. Begonias should be sought out and placed 
among leaf mould to start. When started and all 
are seen to be sound and good they may be boxed 
off, using a compost of leaf mould, some fresh loam, 
and old potting soil in quantities such as will pro¬ 
vide a friable, medium mixture. 
Dahlias for cuttings can be got into heat and 
treated much in the same way as the tuberous 
Begonias. The practice of raising Dahlias from 
seeds is not much attempted, but no doubt, by-and- 
bye, it will come much into vogue. 
Sowings may also be made of Petunias, edging 
Lobelias, Dianthi, Celosias, annual Chrysanth¬ 
emums, Ageratum, Pyrethrum Golden Feather, 
Phlox Drummondi, Nicotiana, Solanums, and 
Wigandias. It is quite early enough for some of 
these, such as the annual Chrysanthemums which 
develop rapidly, and which have to be kept hanging 
about for a prolonged period if the weather happens 
to be adverse in May. Many of the plants can be 
propagated by means of cuttings ; these usually pro¬ 
ducing the stoutest and strongest plants. Seedlings 
are usually laxer in growth, though there are no two 
-opinions but that they flower very freely. Cuttings 
and newly potted plants should be kept close for a 
period. So long as the leaves are upheld freshly and 
plump the conditions are favourable, but too close 
an atmosphere, especially when it is at the same 
time moist, is often the cause of damping off. Plants 
not yet disturbed in their cutting pans or boxes are 
safer to be kept somewhat dry at the roots.— D. K. 
©leanings fijnm flje HHnilti 
of Science 
At the meeting of the Linnean Society of London, 
on February 7th, the undermentioned subjects were 
discussed:— 
Address to the King—The minutes of the last 
meeting having been read and confirmed, the presi¬ 
dent announced from the chair the terms of an 
Humble Address to his Most Gracious Majesty the 
King, which was unanimously adopted, all present 
rising from their seats. 
Linnean Correspondence. —The president 
called attention to the fact that the large collections 
of letters comprising the " Linnean Correspondence ” 
and the “Swainson Correspondence” had recently 
been carefully arranged, and specially bound in folio 
volume, the latter series at the cost of the Hon. 
Walter Rothschild, F.L S , and that a handsome 
bookcase for their reception had been presented by 
Mr. Herbert Druce, F.L.S. A vote of thanks to the 
donors was proposed and passed unanimously. 
Property of some Vegetable Liquids. —The 
president, whilst demonstrating the property pos¬ 
sessed by certain vegetable liquids, such as coco-nut 
milk, and the juice of the Pineapple and the Potato, 
to cause the oxidation of guaiacum tincture in the 
presence of hydrogen peroxide, a blue colour being 
produced, drew attention to the recent researches of 
Raciborski on the subject. Raciborski has made the 
interesting discovery that certain tissues of the 
plant-body, more particularly the sieve-tubes and 
the laticiferous tissue, contain some substance, to 
which he gives the name leptomin, which likewise 
causes guaiacum to turn blue in the presence of 
hydrogen peroxide, and has gone on to infer that 
this leptomin may be regarded as discharging in the 
plant a function analogous to that of haemoglobin in 
the animal body. The president urged, against this 
assumpton, that although both leptomin and haemo¬ 
globin give the guaiacum reaction, yet this fact does 
not prove that leptomin can combine with oxygen, 
and can act as an oxygen-carrier in the organism, in 
the manner which is so characteristic of haemo¬ 
globin ; and that therefore the suggested analogy 
between the two substances is at least premature. 
Provisional Nomenclature. — Mr. H. M. 
Bernard, M.A., F.L.S., read a paper, of which an 
abstract had been previously circulated, ” On the 
necessity for a provisional nomenclature for those 
forms of life which cannot be at once arranged in a 
natural system." A discussion followed, in which 
Prof. Ray Lankester, Sir W. T. Thistleton-Dyer, 
Mr. Bateson, Mr. Elwes, and Prof. Jeffery Bell took 
part. It was proposed by Prof. Lankester, and 
seconded by Mr. H. J. Elwes, that the discussion be 
adjourned to another meeting and that resolutions 
be framed for submission to that meeting when 
called 
