THE GARDENING WORLD 
Septcm ter 5. ]?w$. 
?5o 
gardeners together from all parts of the country in propor¬ 
tion to the importance of the show. The large shows thus are 
practically of international importance, bringing those of dif¬ 
ferent. countries! together, and affording them the means of form¬ 
ing new or cementing old friendships. 
The Sheriff seemed to be satisfied with the doings of the 
society and the influence for good which their members had 
been able to bring to bear upon all those connected with the 
show. Yet he thought that they were, or ought to be, pledged 
to 1 missionary enterprise. His idea, was that the influence of 
the society should be extended to other' sections of the com¬ 
munity not. a.t present in touch with them. As a matter of 
fact, he seemed to regard gardeners as on a. relatively high 
social scale and not requiring any part icular help or encourage¬ 
ment.. Indeed, on this occasion, hei directed attention, to farm 
servants living in bothies. The missionary enterprise lie in¬ 
dicated was that they should extend their influence, so long as 
there remained any unlovely spot® in the world and purpose¬ 
less lives amongst their neighbours. 
His words were, “ Could nothing bei done to beautify the 
farm bothy and t.o give new purpose to the. home life of the 
farm servant? ” There is a. good deal in this, suggestion, for 
even in the remotest rural districts gardeners consider them¬ 
selves superior to farm servants even though they may be 
earning less, as far as the' junior members of 1 the profession are 
concerned, a.t. any rate. In. most caisesi gardeners: certainly act 
a® if on a superior social scale to the farm servant, and as a. 
rule have their amusements in, accordance with that view. 
Thisi may to some extent bei due to the fact that gardeners 
require a greatly superior education, to that of the farm ser¬ 
vant hi order 1 to make the most of their profession, and that 
in itself often keeps gardeners employed when they might 
otherwise be wasting their time aimlessly, as do their neigh¬ 
bours of the farmstead adjoining. 
Except in the case of head gardeners, very rarely are separate 
gardens given, to gardener®. They have their exercise in the 
garden all day, and that may be sufficient, to occupy their time 
if they are at all enthusiastic in their occupation. On, the 
other hand, they usually have all the vegetables they require 
from their employer’s garden. More recently we have been 
informed that lady gardeners: are not satisfied with a. long 
day’s employment, in, the school garden, but, must needs, exem 
cise their opportunity in 'small gardens set apart! for their own 
particular employment, during the evening hours. How long 
that enthusiasm will last is more than we can say. In rare 
cases we have known foremen of a, fruit-growing establishment 
having a vinery of their own; and growing Grapes practically 
to sell in, the same market, as their masters. This, of course, 
is a, commercial aspect, of the question, though even in this 
case it, might have been, beneficial, as well as profitable, to those 
who thus occupied their spare hours. 
It seems that, the Sheriff’s idea wa,s that the farm servants 
should be encouraged to employ their spare time in gardening 
for their own particular benefit, and that, they should be en¬ 
couraged by means: of prizes ; and that, if the society could see 
its way to add this enterprise to their others: he should like to 
assure them that, whatever was necessary to provide prizes or 
other encouragement would be forthcoming. We are not sure 
if he has, not overlooked some facts, relating to the case. We 
know most farm servants living in: rural districts, and who may 
be married, have special dwelling-houses, set apart for them, 
and that, a, garden is. generally attached to. their house. In, 
most establishments! a, considerable number of the men live 
entirely in the bothy on the farm, and have neither garden 
nor the opportunity of occupying their time in the cultivation 
of plants, flowers, or vegetables. 
We have little doubt, that, some of the farm servant® living 
in houses would be quite pleased with the opportunity of ex¬ 
hibiting their garden produce, at, a, local show, but, most, of them 
who are so circumstanced, or, at least, a, great, number of 
them, have their spare time fairly well occupied. We think, 
however, that the Sheriff would have done well to specify more 
particularly the non-married farm servants living in bothies 
as most likely to require special encouragement in this respect. 
In the first place, it would be necessary for such men to have 
gardens or plots in the vicinity of their bothy, so as to occupy 
their spare time during the evenings. These men are mori 
likely to need such an occupation than those who already hav< 
a house and garden. There seems to us no reason why farn 
servants, could not become as expert gardeners as other ser 
vants in private establishments in rural districts. We knov 
that some of the coachmen and gamekeepers are expert gar 
denersi, and spend much time in keeping their gardens: gay witl 
flowersi and tidy, or filled with useful vegetables. They alsc 
compete successfully at local shows in classes set apart foi 
cottagers. 
It, does not seem to have occurred to the speaker that it 
would be an advantage for the young gardeners living fi 
bothies to have gardens of their own. In the case of head gar¬ 
deners a garden is usually attached to the house, but surelv 
it Avould bei some advantage for the younger members of the 
fraternity to have small houses to keep clean and filled with 
certain classes of plants by way of improving their talent 
during the spare time. We have ourselves experienced the ad¬ 
vantage of growing certain classes of plants of which a, feature 
may not have been, made in, the garden proper, and have nevei 
thought the time was badly spent in attending to this ever 
after the working day was over. 
Nymphaea gigantea Hudsonii. 
(See Supplement.') 
During the past decade and a half the hardy Nymphaea,- 
have undergone most improvement. It is pleasing, however 
to, note that the tender species are not, being neglected. Tin 
variety under notice was raised by Mr. James Hudson, gar 
dener to Leopold de Rothschild, Esq., Gunnersbury House 
Acton, W. The bloom which we .illustrate in our Supplement 
measured 10| in. across, making it, a real rival to the flowers 
of the Victoria regia, although we think that would not be diffi 
cult to do now, even amongst hardy Water Lilies, if certain ol 
the large forms were subjected to good cultivation, as we have 
seen them this year. 
The flowers of the original type of N. gigantea. were of < 
beautiful blue,, and as a rule measured 6 in. or 7 in. ir 
diameter. The new variety, then, excels the old one in tin 
size of its: flowers', the breadth of the, petals, and its rich darl 
blue colour. 
There are no hardy blue Water Lilies, though raisers ma.j 
yet succeed in crossing the hardy ones with some of tin 
hardier blue species', natives of South Africa, or elsewhere 
There is a, feature of these blue-flowered species which wt 
should like to mention, and that, is, the flowers do not lie oi 
the surface of tfie water as the hardy species usually do, bu 
rise clear of the water on a. stalk about a. foot in length. Wt 
have heard that the ordinary form of Nymphaea gigante; 
behaves like Water Lilies generally in lying upon the surfact 
of the water, but, although we have seen this species frequently 
for many years, we have always seen the stem carried clear o 
the water. Whether this is a permanent peculiarity of tin 
species, even in its native habitat, we are unable to say, bu 
under cultivation it, certainly behaves in this way. 
Tiie behaviour of Water Lilies often depends very much upoi 
the depth of the water in which they are grown. If the wate: 
is shallow the leaves of the more common hardy species rise 
up in the air whenever the plant, gets strong and the leave: 
get at all crowded. The flowers also do so to a slight extent 
but never in our experience do they stand so clearly above tin 
water a,s in the case of N. gigantea. On the other hand, whei 
the hardy Water Lilies are grown in deep water, it, seems tcj 
be a. greater effort for them to reach the surface, and in this! 
condition both the leaves and flowers lie flat upon the water 
In the case of the yellow Water Lily the leaves may, and' 
generally do, fail to reach the surface at all in deep water, but 
live as best they may under the water. The flowers, however 
make an effort to reach the surface even in deep water, and the 
