260 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 25, 1904. 
perfectly correct, tire inherent energy to push that is the natural 
possession of some people will enable them to overcome diffi¬ 
culties which those whose opportunities seem greater never 
attempt to overcome. The cheapness of literature will never 
be of any advantage to the gardener who has no natural desire 
to utilise it. 
The writer also states that young men from two or more 
neighbouring gardens may arrange to meet for the purpose 
of improving their status from a social and educational point 
of view. We have evidence also that in. a garden with a fair 
number of hands, and especially if encouraged by the head gar¬ 
dener, they may form practically a literary institute of their 
.own where a gardener can assist himself by the books at com¬ 
mand, or the gardeners as a body can assist one another by 
mutual co-operation, or, on the other hand, work under the 
supervision and assistance of thei head man or a well-educated 
foreman. 
The writer also mentions a number of subjects with which 
the gardener should endeavour to make himself familiar. The 
actual subjects in which the gardener should be versed will 
not in all cases be identical according to any teacher. There 
is, indeed, a great discrepancy of opinion as to the subjects 
that will be of advantage to a gardener, but that we think 
depends upon 'his individual bent. At the same time a general 
education in all subjects that bear directly upon a gardeners 
vocation cannot but be of some service to him, while if he is a 
specialist it will be to his advantage to enter more deeply into 
a study of the practical and scientific side of his own particular 
branch of gardening. 
Freehand and geometrical drawing is described as of incal¬ 
culable value, although the writer says a gardener need 
not carry this to the same extent as one would expect in, an 
architect’s assistant. His idea is that the gardener should be 
able to make correct working plans, drawings, or sketches to 
measurement. With this wei can find no fault, as a gardener 
is often called upon, even in private employment, to produce 
working plans for new buildings, gardens, etc., on estates. 
Even in carrying out ordinary summer bedding, it would be 
of the greatest service to a gardener if he had the ability to 
trace old or even original drawings of beds or systems of beds 
on paper, and also be able to transfer these to the beds them¬ 
selves when actually to be planted. Those employers who find 
pleasure or novelty in their flower gardens could scarcely do 
otherwise than sympathise with a gardener who is able to sub¬ 
scribe to then- taste in, this ready manner. It would also 
greatly facilitate ordinary practical work, for, instead of losing 
much time in trying to commit the plans to the soil, the matter 
would be expedited simply through this knowledge of plans 
a,nd their working. 
Mr. Burbidge next deals with the question by mentally 
pulling a plant to pieces and showing how wonderfully it is 
'built up “ with all appliances and means to boot,” so to speak, 
for enabling it to carry out its life work. He then advises' 
the gardener to follow these examples, but not all of them. 
He states that the seeds of many plants and trees have the 
means of flying through the air so as to obtain a fresh situa¬ 
tion. He says that “ the less gardener as a man is obliged 
to imitate these seeds the better. When lie obtains a good 
place lie should anchor himself to the! spot like a sturdy Scotch 
Fir.” It requires these two sentences we consider to be placed 
in juxtaposition to each other—thel one to balance the other. 
Unless a young man, becomes apprenticed to his gardening 
father, and waits for the same place after his father retires, 
from work, or dies, the young man must of necessity adept 
the very means accomplished by plants in order to find a fresh 
situation for himself, after which he may rightly settle! down 
and become rooted to the ground like a sturdy Scotch Fir. 
Further on be quotes some unadmirable traits in gardeners, 
such as the conceited gardener at “ Brenthani, in Lothair,” 
who was too busy with bis garden designs and too much occu¬ 
pied with such to find time to grow ai few Yioletsi for bis em¬ 
ployer’, the Duchess. He admits, a,si most people will, that a! 
gardener has not only to be able to manage fruit, flowers, and 
vegetables, but also be able to manage men and women, in¬ 
cluding her “often unserene highness the cook,” From this 
it would be evident that being able to- grow vegetables might 
not always serve him in good stead if the cook should happen 
to be of a disobliging turn of mind. There are, however, other 
underlings on the estate on whom the gardener is dependent 
for liis peace of mind, and to manage these with success is 
often a, difficult task. 
The National Gardeners’ Guild, mentioned in our page® last 
year by Mr. Burbidge, is here again brought to the front. To¬ 
day a Gardeners’ Association is actually a reality, although 
the provisions are as yet only temporary, as a scheme for a 
National Association of Professional Gardeners is-being pre¬ 
pared. We cannot say how far this will embody all Mr. Bur- 
. fudge/s view r s as to present-day requirements, but we hope 
he will have a strong hand in the matter, especially as he has 
for many years past had such a, real live interest in gardens, 
gardening, and gardeners. 
Iris sindjarensis. 
'[See Supplement.) 
The above is one of the bulbous-rooted early spring flower¬ 
ing Irises. It belongs to the same group as I. persica, and is 
therefore one of the Juno' Irises. The structure and habit of 
the plant place it with the particular group' best known per¬ 
haps; by its excellent representative, I. orchioides. The name 
would appear somewhat outlandish to most readers, and is 
indeed taken from Mount Sindjar, the wild home of the plant. 
It indeed comes from several neighbouring mountains in the 
district of Mesopotamia. Such being the case, it follows that 
the plant comes from a> much more genial climate than ours 
during winter. Out. of doors: the plant actually flowered in 
February this year, although in average seasons March might 
be stated as its month of flowering. 
Our illustration was prepared from a plant, grown in a pot 
and under greenhouse or cold frame treatment by Messrs. Wm. 
Cutbush and Son, Highgate, N. Wei wish to> make this clear, 
as the illustration shows more flowers expanded upon the plant 
than we have ever seen in any picture. Although the plant 
may flower out of doors, its full beauty can never be realised 
out of door's in an, ungenial winter like the past. The frosty 
mornings serve to blanch the segments, of the flower, and the 
incessant heavy rains tended to batter them down. Notwith¬ 
standing the fact that the plant flowers in winter, those who 
would realise its splendid and delicate' beauty should grow it 
under the protection of glass', even if fire-heat is not applied 
for the reason we have just stated. 
Figures of tins plant often show only one, bloom expanded, 
and it is described as having from two to four flowers on a stem. 
When our illustration was taken it had three flowers fully 
expanded, and the top one just commencing to fold inwards 
and curl up> in that peculiar way which is characteristic of 
Irises and a, large number of other plants belonging to the 
same family when fading. At the same time there was another 
bud at the base of the four shown, and this expanded the day 
after our photograph was taken. 
The species: belongs to the Juno Irises, in which the falls are 
very small and reflexed. In this particular species the falls are 
much larger than in any other of the Juno Irises that, have come 
under our- observation, the blade being actually 1 in. long, in¬ 
dependently of its stalk. The falls are the largest organs of 
the flower and are very strongly infolded at the sides, clasping 
the petaloid aims of the style. The general colour of the 
flowers was a light blue with rather darker veins with a. shallow 
ridge along the centre of the falls; this ridge and the region 
immediately around it is yellow, with blue spots. Looked at. 
in a general way, the flower is light blue or sky blue, tending to 
become paler towards the outside, but when all these flowers 
were fully expanded we cannot imagine anything more pretty 
during the dull days of February and March than a plant of 
the proportions' with the number of flowers above mentioned. 
The leaves are arranged in two rings and are of a pleasing 
light green, colour. The curled tips of the leaves shown in our 
