January 24, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
I l 
WITHOUT PREJUDICE. 
Quizzings by “ Cal.” 
I am not really a quarrelsome individual, but I take exception 
to J. C. Dick’s opinion) on page 279 respecting diaries. 
* * * 
There is no occupation that offers more opportunity for making 
notes which afterwards prove of great value. 
* * * 
For my own part I do not rely on the usual form of diary, but 
use what I term an entry book. 
* * * 
The main feature is not merely to record the state of the 
weather or labours of the day, but rather to make notes of every¬ 
thing under way! 
* * * 
In short, it is a trial book, wherein is recorded the names of 
seeds or plants, where obtained, together with dates of sowing, 
germination, flowering, habits of growth, etc. 
•v •* ' * 
Such a book is absolutely essential to anyone dabbling in new 
things, and I would strongly advise every young man to keep a 
book of reference. 
* * * 
Such a book will prove a source of pleasure, and of greatest 
value in years to come. 
* * * 
Respecting the trailing “ Arbutus,” or “ Mayflower,” referred 
to on page 14, it has a close imitator in the new Verbena, “ May¬ 
flower,” which appeared some four years ago. 
* * * 
The latter is much the same in form, colour and scent, and was 
produced by Luther Burbank, of California. 
* * * 
No, Verbena is easier to grow, as it is most vigorous, and the 
exquisite shades of pink are admirable. 
* * * 
Maybe Mr. A. E. Thatcher has mot used celluloid for labels? 
The best labels I have used for outdoor work consists of a piece 
of rough ivorine, 2in. by lin., affixed by two brass linoleum tacks 
to 1ft. lengths of machine sawn laths. The latter are pointed at 
one end, and completely coated with coal tar. 
* * * 
The cost works out at about three a penny, complete, for they 
can be made by anyone in their spare time. 
* * * 
I fancy Mr. TV. Burbidge might find a few exceptions in respect 
to the cry “ Back to the land.” There are men who have lived in 
big towns all their lives eventually taking up land culture, and 
most successfully tool 
* * * 
I was recently conversing with a man who, not receiving the 
promotion due to him on the railway, resigned his post and took 
a small farm. He assured me that he would not revert to town life 
on any consideration. 
* * * 
As is sated on page 47, “ HeracJeum villosum ” is very fine in 
its place, but in small gardens it cannot be termed either in¬ 
teresting or beautiful. 
* * * 
I have seen advertisements referring to a flower as big as a 
cartwheel. In this country, mind, not in America. Consider the 
effect of such a statement on the mind of an owner of a small 
garden. One can imagine him saying, “ Good lor! big as a cart¬ 
wheel, eh? Guess I’ll get one of those, it will be the talk of the- 
neighbourhood,” and he straightway procures it. 
* * * 
I knew a man who did so, and he talked a great deal about his 
coming wonder. 
* * * 
it came eventually, and then everyone else began to talk. Not 
nicely either. Nasty, horrid ribald remarks ! Just an old cow 
parsnip what I’ve seen in the ’edges,” said one. “ Better’en an 
Orchid, ain’t it?” roared another. “ Going to use it for a summer' 
house ? ” queried a third. That man never again grew Heracleum 
giganteum. 
If “ Quo ” uses Kohl Rabi similarly to a turnip he cannot go 
far wrong. In flavour it has a semblance to Cauliflower, and in 
dry hot seasons, when turnips fail, it succeeds admirably. For 
ordinary purposes it can be sown outdoors, transplanting to one 
foot apart. The hoes should be constantly at work, and the roots 
lifted when of fair size, as it quickly gets tough and stringy. One 
great point with this vegetable is that it is little troubled by 
insects. 
* * * 
Speaking of cooking, I am in a position to supply readers with 
numerous little known recipes for preparing vegetables and fruits. 
* * * 
If any long-suffering epicure lias grown tired of boiled Potatos. 
raw Bananas, or Apple pies, etc., let him give the word. If 
T. D. W. requires two dozen Sweet Peas it would be advisable for 
them to be distinct. 
* * * 
If he strikes out Nos. 2, 4, 6 , 8 , 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 20, 22, and 
adds Miss Willmott, Lord Kenyon, Coccinea, Lord Rosebery, 
Gracie Greenwood, Mrs. Fitzgerald, Duke of Westminster, George 
Gordon, Prince Edward of York, Aurora, and Princess of Wales 
he will have a fair selection of shades. Of course, if he desires to 
be in the swim he should add the newer white Dorothy Eckford 
and King Edward VII., while Mrs. M. Wright offers a change 
from Lady G. Hamilton. 
■* * * 
The Harrogate gentleman picked Apples after frosts and 
blizzards did he? I suppose the cold made them colour well; 
anyhow, it does my nasal adornment. 
* * * 
Primroses here, primroses there, marvellous ! If we were all to 
chronicle such items the papers might be filled. I myself picked 
Pansies on the 10th inst., and they from plants sown last spring, 
and flowering from June! 
* * * 
The writer of “ The Kitchen Garden,” on page 6 , is substantially 
correct respecting trenching, but there are soils which are best 
left alone as far as bringing up the subsoil. These clayey, marl¬ 
like substances require merely breaking up, incorporating with 
manure and rubbish meanwhile, for a few seasons, before bringing 
to the surface. 
* * * 
There is essence of truth in W. Dallimore’s remarks concerning 
amateur efforts to generate sufficient heat, and its attendant 
expense. I once knew an individual who during one winter made 
away with 70 bushels of coke, at 5d. per bushel, merely to keep 
a lift, house going. Such .an item is more than a detail to a 
working man, and the one in question found it so. 
* * * 
IV. Andrews remarks that the Dodecatheon, although not a 
bulbous plant, merits notice. A similar par. preceding the Poly- 
gonat-um and the Kniphofla would have checked this quizzing. 
* * * 
J. C. grapples with a big thing in dealing with colours of 
flowers. It is not the colour that causes the worry, but the 
various shades and tints. The primary colours—red, blue, and 
yellow—are simple enough, but select the red for an instance. 
There are vast numbers of this colour in varying shades, yet a 
dozen different shades placed before the same number of persons 
might elicit the same result—red, just red. The fact is colour 
discernment can only be acquired by education, yet even that 
would fail in many instances, because so many individuals are 
colour blind ; not greatly so, but still colour blind. Therefore 
the R.H.S., backed up by all the artists of the Royal Academy, 
would not be able to convince everybody. More might be said, 
but perhaps a better opportunity may be afforded. 
* * * 
I am fairly observant, but of all the Sweet Peas I have examined 
I have never noticed that the keel was composed of two petals. 
To me the covering of the stigma and future seed pod appears to 
be a pccket with an open top. Maybe A. Hemsley sees differently 
to mvself. 
* * * 
Bothies appear to be ever a source of comment. I was never 
fortunate, or shall I say unfortunate, to live in one. The descrip¬ 
tions given by “ Fifer ” seem more befitting pigsties ; no, not 
even that humble animal would be comfortable. On the other 
hand, the palatial residences afforded in some places can scarcely 
be to the taste of a young, and perhaps an unruly, gardener. 
Everyone possesses the trait of making themselves comfortable 
with reasonable facilities, and such should be given either by 
supplying decent bothies or extra allowances for lodgings. 
