January  18,  1900. 
‘  JOURNAL  OB'  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
r)9 
HORTICULTURAL  EXAMINATIONS. 
Unless  I  am  much  mistaken,  it  will  be  readily  conceded  that 
examinations  in  horticulture  have  a  snfficient  bearing  upon  the  future 
of  gardening  in  this  country  to  justify  an  occasional  halt  being  made 
to  consider  whether  their  trend  is  beneficial  or  otherwise  ;  and,  what¬ 
ever  may  be  their  influence,  whether  they  are  not  capable  of  improve¬ 
ment.  The  present  time  appears  opportune  for  a  discussion  of  the 
several  questions  to  which  horticultural  examinations,  as  at  present 
conducted,  give  rise.  The  scheme  inaugurated  by  the  Royal  Horticul¬ 
tural  Society  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  knowledge  of  the  rising 
generation  of  horticulturists  has  been  in  operation  a  suificient  length 
of  time  to  enable  us  to  form  a  fairly  correct  idea  of  the  results  that 
have  been  obtained,  and  to  formulate  an  opinion  upon  them. 
In  opening  the  discussion  on  the  questions  that  present  themselves 
for  consideration,  I  would  first  state  that  I  have  long  had,  and  continue 
to  have,  a  decided  leaning  towards  examinations  ;  and  also  that  I  fully 
appreciate  the  public  spirit  shown  by  the  Council  of  the  Royal  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society  in  formulating  the  scheme  that  now  occupies  a 
prominent  position  in  the  Society’s  programme.  Therefore  it  is  with 
no  deep-seated  objection  to  examinations,  or  in  an  unfriendly  spirit, 
that  I  approach  the  question.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  with  a  strong 
desire  to  assist  in  devising  some  means  by  which  the  examinations 
could  be  so  conducted  as  to  bring  about  the  results  we  all  so  earnestly 
desire. 
The  two  questions  of  special  importance  in  this  discussion  appear 
to  me  to  be  :  Are  horticultural  examinations  serving  a  useful  purpose  ? 
If  not,  can  they  be  so  improved  as  to  make  them  useful  ?  A  direct  yes 
or  no  to  either  question  would  not  meet  the  necessities  of  the  case. 
They  ought  to  be  fully  considered  from  the  several  points  of  view,  and 
the  answers  so  formulated  as  to  indicate  the  course  that  should  be 
taken  to  insure  satisfactory  results.  There  is  no  doubt  whatever  in 
my  mind  that  those  examinations  might  be  made  to  render  valuable 
service  in  testing  the  knowledge  of  those  individuals  who  submit 
themselves  to  them.  I  am  equally  well  satisfied  that  if  they  fail  to  do 
this  it  is  because  of  some  defect,  trifling  it  may  be,  in  the  scheme 
under  which  they  are  held. 
In  turnit  g  our  attention  to  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  system 
we  may  with  advantage  endeavour  to  ascertain  the  object  the  Council 
had  in  view  in  its  formulation.  Unless  1  am  under  a  misapprehension 
the  object  was  the  provision  of  a  means  by  which  the  education  of 
young  gardeners  might  be  encouraged,  the  knowledge  of  those  attend¬ 
ing  courses  of  lectures  on  technical  horticulture  be  tested,  and  the 
ability  of  those  who  had  adopted  gardening  as  a  means  of  livelihood 
demonstrated. 
If  these  were  the  objects  of  the  scheme  we  shall  be  fully  justified 
in  stating  that  it  has  succeeded  in  effecting  the  first  of  the  three. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  examination  has  given  a  great 
stimulus  to  the  education  of  young  gardeners  in  matters  having  a  direct 
bearing  upon  the  work  of  the  garden.  They  may  not  have  taken 
advantage  of  the  facilities  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  iu  exactly 
the  right  way  ;  but  to  stimulate  a  desire  for  a  fuller  acquaintance  with 
the  gardening  art  than  can  be  obtained  from  rule  of  thumb  piactice 
is  a  distinct  gain,  and  this  much  1  gladly  place  to  the  credit  of  the 
scheme. 
If  the  second  of  the  objects  was  as  I  have  stated,  it  must  be  said 
that  in  this  particular  the  scheme  has  unquestionably  failed.  It  was 
to  me  a  foregone  conclusion  that  the  examination  must  fail,  and  1 
based  my  estimate  on  the  fact  that  an  examination  ranging  over  the 
whole  domain  of  horticulture  could  not  satisfactorily  test  the  soundness 
of  the  teaching  given  at  a  course  of  lectures  on  one  branch  of  it. 
It  is  surprising  the  examinations  should  have  been  projected  for  that 
purpose,  and  still  more  surprising  that  the  local  educational  authorities 
should  have  considered  that  they  could  effect  such  an  object.  It  was 
a  matter  of  common  knowledge  that  the  lectures  were  being  given  in 
courses  of  three,  four,  five,  or  six,  and  that  each  course  was  devoted 
to  some  special  branch  of  gardening,  as  fruit  culture,  plant  culture, 
and  kitchen  gardening.  What  was  being  taught  was  certainly  well 
known  to  the  committees  who  had  passed  the  syllabus  of  the  several 
courses,  and  they  ought  to  have  known  that  a  general  examination 
could  not  properly  show  the  extent  of  the  information  obtained  by  a 
candidate  in  attending  five  or  six  lectures  on  one  section  of  gardening. 
Let  us  for  a  moment  assume  that  students  attending  a  course  of 
lectures  on  vegetable  culture  sat  for  the  examination  held  in  1899,  and 
then  turn  to  the  examination  paper.  We  shall  find  that  there  are  two 
questions  only  relating  to  the  kitchen  garden,  one  referring  to  Peas  and 
Beans,  and  the  other  to  salads.  Those  who  had  attended  a  course  of 
lectures  on  fruit  culture  would  be  in  a  still  worse  plight,  for  the  only 
question  is  one  relating  to  the  culture  of  fruit  under  glass.  The 
thoroughness  or  otherwise  of  the  teaching  of  any  particular  branch  of 
horticulture  can  only  be  properly  tested  by  an  examination  based  on 
the  syllabus.  Had  examinations  been  conducted  on  these  lines  within 
two  or  three  weeks  after  the  concluding  lecture,  it  would  have  been 
readily  seen  whether  the  students  had  profited  from  the  lectures  they 
had  attended.  Had  this  been  done,  and  students  who  had  passed  two 
or  three  of  the  special  examinations  sat  at  the  general  examination  held 
at  the  close  of  the  lecture  season,  their  knowledge  would  have  been  put 
to  a  satisfactory  teat.— (First portion  of  a  paper  read  by  Mr.  Geo.  Gordon, 
V.M.H.j  at  a  meeting  of  the  Horticultural  Club  on  the  9th  inst.') 
ROYAL  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 
Scientific  Committee,  Jan.  9th. — Present :  Dr.  M.  T.  Masters  (in 
the  chair)  ;  Dr.  H.  Muller,  Mr.  Michael,  Mr.  E.  im  Thurn,  C.M.G.,  and 
Rev.  G.  Henslow,  Hon.  Sec. 
Horseradish  Attacked  by  Rhizogryphus. — Some  roots  of  this,  as  also 
of  the  Lily  of  the  Va  ley,  attacked  by  this  mite,  were  received  from  Mr. 
Abbey  of  Avery  Hill,  Eltham,  who  lorwarded  a  long  list  of  plants 
liktwise  attacked.  Mr.  Michael  obseived  that  it  is  a  subterranean 
species,  and  that  although  it  piefers  bulbs,  it  is  very  injurious,  to  many,, 
indeed,  most  other  plants  with  fleshy  mots,  though  it  may  not  thiive 
equally  well  upon  them.  Asa  remedy  Dr.  Miiller  suggested  lime  and 
sugar  or  Iretcle,  as  being  better  and  stronger  than  limewater,  as  well 
as  more  persistent  in  its  action.  Mr.  Michael  also  observed  that  heat,, 
as  in  b'  iling  water,  was  desttuctive,  but  the  mite  resisted  chemicals  to  a 
remarkable  degi  ee.  With  regard  to  the  life  history,  it  passes  through 
several  stages,  commencing  with  the  egg,  this  gives  rise  to  a  hexapod 
larva,  then  to  the  nymph,  a  very  active  octopod.  After  a  new  change 
of  skin,  in  a  large  number  of  cases,  but  not  in  all,  there  emerges — ■ 
without  any  discoverable  cause — a  being  totally  unlike  the  preceding, 
formerly  kr  own  as  Hyp  pus,  having  been  thought  to  be  a  quite 
different  genus.  This  has  a  soft  body  internally,  but  covered  with  a 
hard  and  itsually  chitinous  integument.  Its  mouth  organs  are  rudi¬ 
mentary,  and  it  probably  does  not  feed.  It  is  provided  with  discs  by 
means  of  which  it  adheres  to  insects  such  as  ants,  bees,  beetles,  &c., 
and  to  other  small  moving  creatures.  These  it  utilises  as  means  of 
migration,  clinging  to  them,  but  without  being  parasitic.  As  soon  as  a 
suitable  environment  is  met  with,  the  mite  changes  back  into  the  last 
nymphal  stage,  and  then  proceeds  to  pass  into  the  adult  male  or 
female  condition.  It  may  attack  plants  in  all  stages,  except  that  of 
the  migratory  Hypopus.  The  Hypopus  is  practically  impervious  to 
chemicals,  and  can  endure  without  injury  exposure  to  heat  and  draught 
which  would  destroy  the  creature  in  any  other  stage. 
Apples  Injured  by  Hail. — Some  fruit  was  received  from  Mr.  Wood- 
ward  of  Barham  Court,  Maidstone,  which  had  received  severe  injuries 
from  hailstones.  But,  although  the  skin  was  cut  through  and  the  flesh 
exposed,  this  had  dried  up  and  so  protected  the  interior,  which  had  not 
at  all  decayed.  The  storm  occurred  on  July  19th,  1899.  Mr.  Michael 
observed  that  when  birds  plunged  their  beaks  into  Apples  through 
thirst,  the  injured  spots  usually  resulted  in  decay. 
FRENCH  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 
The  members  of  this  flourishing  young  Society,  which  has  done  so 
much  under  the  generous  policy  of  its  Chairman,  Mr.  G.  Schneider,  to 
improve  and  strengthen  the  good  relations  existing  between  English 
and  continental  nurserymen  and  lovers  of  horticulture  generally,  held 
their  eleventh  annual  dinner  on  Saturday  last,  at  the  Imperial 
Restaurant,  Strand.  M.  Geoffray,  the  Minister  for  France  in  this 
country,  occupied  the  chair,  being  well  supported  by  numerous  French 
and  English  friends  of  the  Society,  among  whom  we  noticed  M.  Leon 
Clerc,  Secretary  of  the  French  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  London,  Mr. 
George  Schneider,  Mr.  George  Gordon,  Mr.  Harman  Payne,  Mr.  "rhos. 
Bevaii,  Chairman  of  the  Floral  Committee  N.C.S.,  and  others. 
The  Chairman  proposed  the  health  of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen,  and 
this  was  followed  by  the  toast  of  the  President  of  the  French  Republio,^ 
by  Mr.  Harman  Payne. 
The  next  toast  on  the  list  was  that  of  the  Chairman,  by  Mr.  Tucker, 
and  in  reply  M.  Geoffray  expressed  his  pleasure  at  the  useful  work  the 
Society  was  doing,  and  complimented  the  officials  on  the  energy  they 
had  displayed  in  helping  to  promote  good  feeling  between  the  horti¬ 
culturists  of  the  two  countries,  and  he  would  couple  Mr.  Schneider’s 
name  with  the  toast.  Mr.  Geo.  Schneider,  in  reply,  thanked  the  Chair¬ 
man  for  the  honour  he  had  done  the  Society  by  presiding  at  their 
gathering,  and  asked  permifsion  to  give  a  few  details  of  the  progress 
made  during  the  past  year.  He  was  pleased  to  say  that  the  list  of 
membership  had  largely  icoreased.  During  1899  they  had  elected  eight 
perpetual  honorary  members,  forty  ordinary  honorary  members,  fifty 
titular  members,  and  thirteen  corresponding  members,  or  111  in  all. 
Instead  of  printing  500  copies  of  their  annual  bulletin  it  had  been 
found  necessary  to  print  600.  From  a  financial  point  of  view  the  pro¬ 
gress  was  equally  satisfactory.  They  had  now  a  substantial  sum 
invested  in  stock,  which  was  productive  of  an  annual  income.  The 
library  had  also  been  increased,  and  they  were  largely  indebted  to 
English  nursery  and  other  friends  f  ir  help  in  various  ways.  Some  of 
these  were  present,  but  he  regretted  that  others  who  would  have  been 
there  were  kept  away  by  illness,  notably  Messrs.  G.  Nicholson  of  Kew, 
Mr.  Arnold  Moss,  and  Mr.  Drost.  He  would  ask  them  all  to  drink  to 
the  health  of  their  guests. 
An  opportunity  was  taken  of  presenting  to  Mr.  Schneider  a  testi¬ 
monial  consisticg  of  a  pair  of  handsome  porcelain  vases  from  the  young 
members  of  the  Society  in  appreciation  of  his  labours  iu  their  behalf. 
Mr.  Harman  Payne  responded  for  the  guests,  and  proposed  the  toast 
of  the  absent  members.  Towards  the  close  of  the  evening  the  oom|.any 
sang  “  La  Marseillaise  ”  and  “  God  Save  the  Queen,”  fellowing  which  a 
collection  was  made  for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  British  troops 
now  fighting  in  South  Africa. 
