406 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 13, 1908. 
Garden Tools. 
BY AN EXPERT. 
“ Call a Spade a Spade.” 
The use and object of a spade seems so 
obvious to all that it has become a com¬ 
mon saying, when desirous of making a 
plain unvarnished statement, to call “a 
spade a spade.” But mere are many 
varieties of spades, arm curiously enough 
weights and shapes differ even in the 
“next county.” Formerly spades were 
all made locally, and the country smiths 
fashioned the tools to suit the land and 
climatic conditions. In heavy clay land 
a stout spade with a strong plate, upon 
which the labourer could use his foot, 
was needed. But in light, sandy soil a 
light tool was required. In Cheshire and 
some other counties, the socket or straps 
of the spade are cranked, and the horti¬ 
culturist or farm labourer asks his trades¬ 
man for plenty of “come” in the tool. 
There are cast-steel faced spades and 
solid steel, and some are ground and po¬ 
lished bright. Then again, there are 
border spades, quite narrow, almost like 
the Dorset spades in size; for the men 
of the south use much lighter tools than 
those in the north. Now, all these differ¬ 
ences are fully understood by the lead¬ 
ing makers, such firms having the pat¬ 
terns suitable for all soils. When order¬ 
ing a spade from advertisers in this jour¬ 
nal, or buying from a local ironmonger 
or tool dealer, it is well to give full 
particulars and the kind of handle (eye 
or crutch! preferred so as to prevent dis¬ 
appointment. 
Implements for the Lawn. 
The humble grass plot of the suburban 
villa requires almost the same imple¬ 
ments and tools to keep it in order as the 
well-kept sward before a nobleman’s man¬ 
sion. It is true the machines employed 
may be less costly, but if smaller in size 
and of cheaper make, their purposes must 
be the same. The garden roller is essen¬ 
tial, and by its use the turf is kept level 
and the grass even. A well-rolled lawn 
denotes the care of its owner, just as a 
well-rolled pathway gives tone to the 
house by which it is approached. There 
are single and double cylinder rollers, 
and most of the modern makes have 
rounded edges and well-balanced handles, 
the former preventing injury to edging 
tiles or trees, and the latter causing the 
handle to swing in position and not lie 
awkwardly on the ground. Water-ballast 
rollers are favoured in some districts, and 
when filled with water their weight is of 
course materially increased, and the effect 
they produce much greater. When form¬ 
ing a new lawn, what is called a turf 
beater is useful; but after it has been laid 
down, the roller must be constantly ap¬ 
plied. The old-fashioned scythe is not 
often seen now, and the occupation of the 
gardener who went from house to house 
“cutting the grass,” making a merry 
sound with the stone upon which he shar¬ 
pened it, has gone, too. Lawn, mowers 
are so cheap now that everyone can afford 
to buy one ; for a guinea will procure a 
really handy machine. Such makers as 
Ransome's, Green’s, and others have de¬ 
vised mowers suitable for small or large 
lawns, and also for hilly slopes. Some 
of these machines have their knives set 
close to the cylinder; others are built on 
CALL AND INSPECT OUR LARGE SHOWROOMS. 
RD. MELHUiSH, LTD., 
FETTER LANE, LONDON. 
II 11'IHI'lll 1111 I I Nil I lllllll IIII—PIMI' 
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SPRAYING 
APPARATUS. 
LAWN SPRINKLERS 
HOSE PIPES. 
SETS OF TOOLS. 
WRITE FOR 
ILLUSTRATED 
CATALOGUE 
OF TOOLS. 
'he American principle, and the blades 
are set farther apart, and are intended to 
scatter the grass on the newly-mown lawn, 
although grass boxes are nearly always 
provided with the machines. In showery 
weather, when the grass grows quickly, 
lawns should be cut often, many experts 
say once a week. Some lawns are prolific 
in weeds, and these should be promptly 
extracted. There are some excellent pa¬ 
tent weed extractors on the market, as 
well as improved Daisy grubbers, useful 
tools to fetch out the weeds. The turf¬ 
cutting machines and edge trimmers now 
being sold help both professional and 
amateur to keep the lawn in order. It is 
during the month of June that special 
care should be given to the lawn so that 
it may be kept green during the summer 
months. 
Gardeners’ Company. 
At a dinner given by the Gardeners’ 
Company on May iqth the Lord Mayor 
of London said the company was founded 
in 1345 to exercise control over the fruit 
gardens of the City of London. There 
were not many gardens in the City now, 
but in those early days they gave employ¬ 
ment to some thousands of people, and 
the Gardeners’ Company, at one period in 
its history, had 500 members. As time 
went on, the walls of the City disappeared, 
and Greater London began to assume 
shape. The City companies were no 
longer able to hold their own by creating 
within the One Square Mile a monopoly 
of trade, and consequently a great num¬ 
ber of them had lost touch with the 
trades whose name they bore. That was 
not the case, however, with the Gar¬ 
deners’ Company, which had made con¬ 
siderable progress, especially during the 
past few years, and was doing a good and 
active work in the interests of gardening 
and gardeners. It was interesting to know 
that it was the intention of the company 
to present to himself as the Lord Mayor 
a gift of fruit and vegetables at the Man¬ 
sion House, and this year, at any rate, he 
should expect tQ find in consequence a 
reduction in_ the household expenditure. 
(Laughter.! Sir Thomas Dewar, who pre¬ 
sided, said that at the present time the 
company were doing all they could to 
foster and further the interests of gar¬ 
dening, 
British Gardeners’ Association. 
Mr. A. J. Hartless, secretary of the 
London branch of the B.G.A., writes us 
to state that the members will meet at 
Portland Road Station at 3 p.m. on Satur¬ 
day, June 13th, when Mr. Hawes will 
conduct the -party to Regent's Park and 
the Royal Botanic Gardens. Gardening 
friends, whether members of the B.G.A. 
or. not, are invited to join the party. 
Curious Behaviour of a Pear Tree. 
A tree of Pear Calabasse Grosse in the 
garden of John Carvill, Esq., F.R.H.S., 
83, St. John's Road, London, S.E., and 
High Street, Eltham, was headed down 
in November, 1906, and grafted in March, 
1907. During the course of the summer 
a small shoot upon the main trunk gave 
rise to a cluster of blossoms, followed 
by nine fruits which ripened and weighed 
b lbs. 9 ozs. The peculiarity about this 
shoot was that ir arose near the base of 
the trunk. The local “Times” said that 
a similar instance occurred in an orchard 
belonging to Dr. LTvedale, a collector of 
rare and curious exotics. He was aisc 
the raiser of the well-known stewing Pear, 
Uvedale’s St. Germain, the largest known 
Pear. He lived in Eltham in 1690 and 
later on removed to Enfield. In his case 
it was an Apple tree which produced a 
solitary fruit on a spur so short that it 
was completely hidden by the fruit, so 
that the Apple appeared to spring directly 
from the main trunk. 
“ The London Catalogue of British Plants.” 
Since the ninth edition of “ The London 
Catalogue of Plants” was published great 
strides in botany have been made and 
considerable alterations have been made 
in the names adopted for the various wild 
plants. Besides flowering plants, the 
catalogue includes the Ferns, Horse 
Tails, Club Mosses and a few allied plants 
of a lower order. Taken altogether, these 
number 2,075 species, but, of course, 
many species possess numerous varieties. 
Those who speak of Nasturtiums when 
they mean Tropaeolums may do so ac¬ 
cording to this catalogue without being 
mistaken as meaning the Water Cress. 
For many years that has been known as 
Nasturtium officinale. Indeed, it seems 
that the most correct botanical name is 
Radicula Nasturtium-aquaticum. 
The authors of this catalogue speak of 
the changes that have been made, and say 
that since the rules of the Vienna Con¬ 
gress have been taken as the guide they 
have now become pretty well agreed as to 
the correct names of the various plants: 
but they admit that there are still some 
concerning which it is very difficult to be 
definite. 
The number of British species of Roses 
has now been raised to twenty-four ex¬ 
clusive of the introductions. Many new 
names have been introduced, and the 
names of some of the old varieties have 
been raised to the ranks of species. If 
anyone requires a hobby that will afford 
him some labour and time in getting at 
the depth or limits of the various forms, 
he would find that in British wild Roses. 
The same would apply, of course, to seve¬ 
ral others of the more difficult groups. 
The catalogue may be obtained from 
Messrs, George Bell and Sons, 6, Portu¬ 
gal Street, London, W,C,, price od., OF 
interleaved and in limp doth is, 3d. 
