April 1, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
‘2'j'j 
work and learn. The point is, can an intelligent lad who 
wishes to learn do so by working as just a garden hoy equally 
as well as though he were apprenticed ? 1 say, Yes, many a lad 
has done so and is fully entitled to take his stand as a gardener 
and a member of the 13.G.A. Heather Bell. 
To the Editor of Thk Gardening World. 
.Sir,—I have been reading with interest the various letters 
on above in your paper, and if J understand some of them 
rij'ht one is not considered an apprentice unless there has 
been a premium paid for his apprenticeship. If it is only 
Mich as those who are accepted by the Ji.fi.A., I am afraid 
there will be very few members from Scotland, for 1 think the 
majority of us, instead of serving three years of apprentice¬ 
ship, as we thought, have only been “ confounded nuisances ” 
of gulden boys, in Mr. Blair’s estimation at least. Still, to¬ 
day we hold our own as well if not better than any of his 
“bound” apprentices, and are not the least ashamed to own 
that at the start of our career we did our share of pot-washing, 
cleaning Hues, etc. To be a practical gardener you must 
have practical experience of even the most humble work in 
connection with our profession. I fail to see how paying for 
your apprenticeship will make you a better journeyman at 
the end of your " time.” You may get clear of some of the 
dirty jobs, but I question very much if that is anything to 
vour advantage. Strath Endrick. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir,—I have been much interested in the discussion about 
apprentice gardeners, and pleased to see that you are < pening 
the pages of your valuable paper to this most important sub¬ 
ject. For my part, the subject does not seem to be in any 
way exhausted, nor yet very satisfactory conclusions arrived 
at. In answer to “ Fairplay,” I consider he is altogether 
wrong in his statement about the poor man’s son who has 
a keen interest in gardening, for there are few trades where 
apprentices are so well paid as gardening, and few where 
they are so poorly paid when they become journeymen. .So 
much for “ Fairplay.” 
I would like to say a little about my experience with the 
garden labourers. I heartily approve of Mr. Blair's opinion 
of them. In addition, a labourer sees that he is pretty well 
on in life, and must make the best of learning gardening. 
The head gardener encourages him, and often prefers him 
to the apprentice, and the result is that, according to cir¬ 
cumstances which any intelligent person can see, the labourer 
and apprentice change places, and the apprentice becomes 
the labourer. Compare this treatment to that of a mason’s 
labourer. I never yet heard of a mason’s labourer building 
a house, and an apprentice, and perhaps a journeyman also, 
wheeling bricks to him. When a labourer at length becomes 
a head gardener or a single-handed one he soon sees that he 
is not just as good a hand as he expected, but has often to 
fall back upon journeymen for hints, and succeeds in obtain¬ 
ing them. Of course, he is too dignified to acknowledge that 
any journeyman could teach him. Labourers should just be 
kept in their place, ana that is to do the rough work about 
the garden. 
There is no doubt that some labourers have got on well 
and have done much for the trade, but they owe much to the 
knowledge of journeymen, who freely imparted it to them, 
and who could write to garden papers, which the labourers 
would read. 
Then about the garden boy verms apprentice. I think 
that the garden boy who is so sharp and interested in garden¬ 
ing as Heather Bell ” speaks of should be placed as soon 
as possible into the shoes of the dunce apprentice. I am 
sure that it is a great advantage to have an apprentice certi¬ 
ficate. How would “Fairplay” and “Heather Bell” do if 
as journeymen they went to a head gardener in a good estab- 
isliinetit to engage as foreman inside or out, and the gardener 
asked where they' had served their time? In conclusion, let 
tue say that I am in favour of apprenticeships being served, 
iut, like Humility,' in worthy gardens. I would like to 
support Humility” in his opinions and method- of t• - 
apprentices. I ai ir< that there are few pi..' < »h<, 
tices receive the treatment that he describes. In most pL,., 
1 1" reverse. He gets a chance at all bothy amusemei 1 
and is encouraged to develop physically, mentally, and 
morally. Again, to conclude with, the labourer in one of 
the finest places in Scotland is never allowed within the 
walls of the garden except to carry away rubbish, etc. 
Garbages. 
Potato Sutton’s Ideal. 
1 lie above variety came under our notice when first intro¬ 
duced in 1898, we believe, at. the Crystal Palace, on the occa- 
~i‘;n of on< of the shows of British-grown fruit. V. 
much impressed by its beautiful form on that occasion, being a 
white-skinned, kidney-shaped variety with shallow eyes, and 
therefore likely to produce little waste when paring it for 
cooking purposes. It crops heavily, and those who have tried 
it during the period that lias elapsed since its introduction still 
think well of it. The skin is smooth, and the white flesh of 
excellent texture and flavour. The beautiful form of the 
tuber lends itself to exhibition purposes, and being of moderate 
size, compared even with some other gigantic kidneys, it 1 - 
[Copyright Sutton and Son*. 
Potato Sutton’s Ideal. 
well suited for table use ; and as a medium sized tuber, or one 
on the limits of fullest size for table use, it should he encour¬ 
aged by exhibitors and judges alike. 
It has the habit, stems and foliage similar to these of Wind¬ 
sor Castle, a relatively old and well-tried variety of excellent 
merit. When given very favourable treatment to the growth 
of large tubers, that is, rich soil and plenty of space, tubers 
may be obtained over 1 \ lbs. in weight. That we should con¬ 
sider exceptional, and we should not encourage that 
method of cultivation, either for kitchen use or exliil ition 
purposes; but when grown at moderate distances apart the 
tubers attain a good, useful size. It is classed as a second 
early variety, and as such would come in very useful. Messrs. 
Sutton and Sons, Reading, kindly placed the illustration of 
this Potato at our service. 
Potato Trials in Yorkshire. —The Yorkshire Council for 
Agricultural Education made some exp nments with 1’otao.s 
at Escrick and Garforth last year. Animal and chemical niamn 
were used in mixture. One of the principal conclusions arri\ 1 
at was that greatly increased crops could be obtaine 1 if atten¬ 
tion was given to the frequent change of the seed. This also 
conduced to the greater disease-resisting power of the varieties 
employed. When cut sets were used it was advised to plant 
them as soon as possible after cutting. If this was impossible, 
the advice given was to dust the freshly cut surface with lime. 
