il  arcVi  1 900. 
2(h; 
JOUIINAL  OF  UOllTKJULTDliF  AND  OOTTAOF  OARDFNKH. 
THE  yOUN(i  (GARDENERS’  DCJMAIN. 
BITS  FOR  THK  BOTHY. 
On  TIIK  MAKCII.  {Continued  from  ixvje.  ItiC. ) 
IOn  route  for  tlio  prornisod  land  of  a  young  gardener’s  hopes  and 
aspiratioriH,  every  stage  gives  deeper  and  wider  views.  ’  I'is  as  if  the 
moiuing  of  life  in  breaking  tiirough  a  haze  pregnant  with  possibilities 
advanoes  with  a  continually  lifting  iiorizon.  On  that  horizon  lays  the 
goal  of  ambition,  ever  temjjting  a  man  onwards  and  upwards. 
“  It  lleet.B  on  the  viHioii,  deluding  the  view  ; 
Its  bunks  still  retire  as  the  hunters  pureue." 
“This  is  a  queer  kind  of  logic,”  some  may  think,  it  is  a  natural 
thought.  One  jiarticular  point,  however,  has  to  bo  impressed,  oven  to 
the  risk  of  wounding  a  young  soldier’s  (i.maur  propre,  that  is  never  to 
feel  (piilo  satisliod  with  your  elTorts — with  yourself.  No  groat  man  or 
good  man  ever  did.  'rhoro  is  a  something  in  the  human  breast,  and  it 
has  been  there  since  man  was  placed  on  earth,  jrrompting  him  to  use  the 
highest  stop  he  over  reached  for  the  purpose  of  steirping  higher  still. 
Self-satisfaction  is  as  contemptible  a  thing  as  self-pity,  and  whore 
a  growth  of  either  crops  up  it  may  bo  rightly  concluded  that  something 
has  gone  wrong;  too  often  the  fault  of  the  trainer  it  is  feared,  for  “as 
the  twig  is  bent  the  tree’s  inclined.”  You  do  not,  perhaps,  quite 
understand  this  yet.  'J’hat  is  natural,  too.  Would  that  time,  and  space, 
and  ])owcr  permitted  such  things  to  be  placed  in  a  clearer  light  before 
you  to  prevent  any  young  recruit  who  is  now  manfully  steppitig  out 
from  perverting  the  incentive,  which  it  is,  into  a  stutnblingblock,  that 
it  may  aj)pear.  The  most  one  dares  to  liope  is  that  it  may  bo  the  germ 
implanted  in  the  fresh  medium  of  a  young  lieart  to  grow  into  the 
highest  and  noblest  of  thoughts  and  actions;  then — “what  then?” 
you  will  ask,  after  showing  that  the  ideal  still  lays  a  little  beyond — the 
great  beyond.  'J'hen,  “  In  the  temper  of  the  invisible  mind,  the  godlike 
and  undying  intellect.  'J'hero  are  distinctions  that  will  live  in  heaven.” 
There  are,  there  should  be,  cpiiet  moments  in  the  bothy  when  the 
day’s  work  is  done,  when  you  have  not  only  been  true  to  your  master, 
but  true  to  yourself  in  the  sell'-imposed  task,  when  it  is  good  to  elevate 
tlie  mind  above  the  comparative  smallness  of  its  surroundings,  and 
enjoy  in  the  \  evy  fetters  of  your  llesh,  as  Epiciotns  did,  the  highest  and 
noblest  of  freeborn  thought.  Do  so.  It  shall  one  day  place  you  high 
in  the  ranks  of  gardeners,  and  higher  still  in  the  ranks  of  men.  March 
on,  then,  my  young  recruits  ! 
As  physical  drill  brings  every'  muscle  into  play,  so  mental  e.verciso 
develops  the  faculties  to  a  degree  of  which  few  recruits  are  aware.  Do 
not  grumble  because  you  are  deprived  of  the  more  showy  advantages 
that  many  youths  jiossoss,  and  in  order  to  bo  saved  from  mediocrity 
you  are  compelled  to  work  out  your  own  salvation.  Self-education  is 
the  linest  form  of  education  extant,  although  it  is  the  fault  of  a  few 
and  the  misfortuiie  of  many  that  they  will  not  or  cannot  see  it.  'That 
the  method  is  not  an  easy  one  is  admitted,  but  the  harder  the  nut  the 
sweeter  the  kernel,  when  you  have  cracked  it  yourself.  Cramming  is 
a  mechanical  process,  and  although  the  recipient  may  sliine  on  an 
examination  paper,  one  is  sometimes  surprised  in  a  little  conversational 
rubbing  of  the  liigiily  polished  article  to  lind  it  is  only  veneer  after  all. 
Halt  !  'This  is  necessary  in  order  to  mark  time.  'To  follow  any 
eoiirse  without  a  method  is  to  court  a  muddle,  and  it  is  of  the  highest 
importance  that  censorship  of  some  sort  should  regulate  a  recruit’s 
elTorls,  more  especially  in  considering  that  he  is  a  freelance  in  bothydom. 
Necessary  P  Nay,  it  is  insisted,  that  each  recruit  halts  periodically 
for  inspection.  How  is  it  to  bo  done?  AVill  ho  trot  himself  out  for  a 
comrade’s  criticism  P  No;  that  won’t  do.  Or  for  his  olUoer’s  inspeo- 
tion  p  'That  might  do,  but  may  not  bo  ox[)odiout ;  and,  after  all,  there 
are  motives  of  delicacy,  perhaps,  forbidding  even  those  who  are  nearer 
and  dearer  from  coming  between  a  boy  and  his  cousoieuce.  Wo  will 
say,  for  example,  that  'Tom  Jones  is  being  reviewed,  but,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  best  part  and  the  worst  part  (matters  must  not  be  minced) 
of  'Tom  Jones  is  shut  up  inside,  and  this  is  the  part  we  want  to  see. 
Each  man,  each  iioy,  loads  a  dual  life;  the  outer  part  is  for  the  world, 
the  other,  the  inner  jiart,  is  not,  in  this  sense,  for  the  world  ;  it  is 
sacred.  You,  young  reader,  are  for  the  moment  Tom  Jones;  you  take, 
as  you  ought  to  do,  a  keen  interest  in  his  welfare,  and  you  are  going  to 
criticise  his  work,  i’lease  make  those  inspections  weekly,  monthly, 
quarterly,  and  yearly,  to  corresjumd  with  the  periodical  plans. 
For  the  weekly  inspection  a  few  minutes  will  do,  and  this  is  how  to 
do  it.  Y'ou,  as  'Tom  Jones  the  outer  man,  will  put  Tom  Jones  the 
inner  man  through  his  facings — call  him  to  account  for  the  week’s 
work.  Spare  his  feelings  by  privacy  if  you  will,  but  otherwise  bo  more 
inclined  to  raj)  his  knuckles  for  any  shortcomings  thau  to  pat  him  for 
just  doing  a  plain  duty.  He  has  not,  perhaps,  carried  out  his  weekly 
plan  as  he  should  have  done.  Why  not  p  you  will  ask,  sternly  and 
uuoomprcmisingly .  “  Oh  !  on  such  a  night  the  boiler  burst ;  all  had  to 
turn  out.”  Right;  that’s  a  real  excuse;  let  him  oil.  Another  night 
he  was  “  in  bad  form  ;  felt  a  bit  shaky  ;  couldn’t  settle  down  to  study.” 
Don’t  let  him  off,  shake  him  up,  and  record  all  excuses,  good  and  bad, 
in  the  diary.  Long  before  the  end  of  the  year,  before  the  grand 
review,  'T.  J.  has,  perhaps,  become  very  lax,  and  perhaps  “  dropped  oil  ” 
altogether.  “  Will  turn  over  a  new  leaf  at  the  new  year.”  Don’t 
believe  him  ;  you  ought  to  know  him  better.  Such  oases  are  hard  to 
cure;  to  prevent  them  is  the  earnest  desire  of — 'TiiJi  Old  BiiioADiEK. 
CTo  be  continued.) 
Fkeesias. 
Freesias  are  amongst  the  most  popular  and  useful  plants  we  have 
for  early  spring  flowering.  'The  graceful  flowers  are  most  valuable  for 
vases  when  cut  with  as  long  a  stalk  as  possible,  or  the  plants  may  be 
very  effectively  used  for  the  conservatory,  with  small  Ferns  and 
Orasses  dotted  in  between  them.  Freesias  should  be  potted  in  5-inch 
pots  at  the  end  of  August  to  flower  in  January,  putting  sir  to  eight 
bulbs  in  a  pot.  'They  succeed  well  in  a  compost  of  two  parts  of  loam, 
one  part  of  loaf  mould,  and  one  part  of  spent  Mushroom  bed  refuse, 
with  plenty  of  coarse  sand.  'The  pots  should  be  clean,  and  have  ample 
crocks  placed  in  for  drainage,  with  some  moss  on  the  top  to  prevent 
the  particles  of  soil  mixing  with  the  drainage,  which  would  soon  become 
choked  and  the  soil  sour,  and  the  roots  perish. 
After  potting,  the  Freesias  should  be  stood  on  coal  ashes  in  a  north 
frame,  and  covered  with  cocoa-nut  fibre  refuse  until  well  rooted,  when 
they  must  be  moved  to  a  frame,  where  they  will  get  plenty  of  light  and 
be  near  the  glass.  'J'he  plants  must  never  be  allowed  to  become  dry  at 
the  roots,  and  the  structure  containing  them  should  be  well  ventilated 
day  and  night.  When  the  weather  becomes  cold  they  must  be 
removed  to  a  shelf  in  a  cool  greenhouse,  where  they  will  get  abuudanca 
of  light  and  fresh  air.  'The  plants  should  bo  neatly  staked  with  small 
sticks  or  bamboos.  I  think  it  much  better  to  give  each  bulb  a  stake 
than  to  tie  thorn  in  a  bundle,  as  one  often  sees  them.  When  they 
begin  to  show  flower  spikes  they  should  be  fed  about  twice  a  week 
alternately  with  weak  diluted  cow  manure  and  clear  soot  water. 
After  Freesias  have  done  flowering,  water  must  be  gradually  with¬ 
held  and  the  bulbs  di-ied  off.  'The  pots  ought  to  be  stood  where  they 
will  be  free  from  moisture,  and  with  firll  exposure  to  the  sun.  'This  is 
very  important,  because  if  the  bulbs  are  not  well  ripened  by  the  sun 
success  will  not  bo  fully  attained  the  following  season. — F.  W.  F. 
Drawing  for  Young  Dardeners. 
Many  bothyites  and  young  gardeners  are  situated  in  localities  far 
from  towns,  and,  therefore,  cannot  attend  lectures,  evening  classes,  and 
things  of  that  kind.  'Then  some  have  not  the  energy  or  inclination  for 
a  course  of  hard  study  such  as  is  entailed  by  entering  for  horticultural 
or  other  examinations.  And  who  does  not  find  ordinary  reading 
tiring  if  continued  without  cessation  through  the  long  hours  of  a 
winter  evening  ? 
Yet  young  men,  and  especially  young  gardeners,  are  crammed  full 
of  energy,  and  must  be  doing  something.  'To  such  f  would  suggest 
that  they  take  up  drawing,  an  amusement,  which,  if  persevered  in, 
will  prove  profitable  and  instructive,  and,  moreover,  one  that  will 
become  fascinating,  after  the  i-udimentary  stages  are  [lassed.  I  say 
tkiat  it  is  instructive,  for  it  trains  the  eye  and  develops  the  faculty 
for  observation.  In  my  own  case,  for  instance,  I  have  noticed  many 
little  points  about  groups  of  trees  and  shrubs,  masses  of  flowers, 
landscape  scones,  and  structures,  that  I  should  never  have  observed 
had  1  not  taken  up  drawing  as  a  study.  And  these  apparently 
insignificant  details  might  prove  of  the  utmost  importance  in  any 
laying-out  or  planting  that  1  may  be  called  upon  to  do  in  the  future. 
Fvery  gardener  should  be  an  artist,  more  or  less,  and,  though  true 
artists  are  born,  not  made,  much  may  be  learnt  by  steady  application 
and  observation. 
Beginners  naturally  like  to  draw  from  printed  copies,  as  it  seems 
easier,  and  this  is,  1  think,  advisable,  until  some  slight  proficiency  in 
the  art  is  gained.  But  it  should  not  be  kept  to  too  long.  Very 
beautiful  copies  of  flowers,  fruit,  and  landscapes  are  to  be  found  in 
some  of  Vero  Foster’s  books  (price  2d.  each,  procurable  in  any  town 
or  by  post)  ;  there  are  also  numbers  of  text  books,  ranging  in  price 
from  2s.  upwards ;  any  friendly  schoolmaster  would  advise  as  to  the 
purchase  of  these. 
But  the  real  delight  comes  when  one  dispenses  with  books,  and  can 
sit  down  and  draw  from  nature.  'There  are  plenty  of  objects  all 
around  us — individual  (lowers,  plants  in  bloom,  trees  in  their  summer 
and  winter  garb,  and  so  on  in  endless  variety.  What  more  beautiful 
and  yet  couqiuratively  easy  subject  could  one  choose  than  an  Arum 
Lily  (Richardia  luthiopiea)  in  Mower  P  Again,  how  interesting  are  the 
wonderful  changes  of  light  and  shadow  on  a  tree  in  full  leaf.  Have 
you  ever  noticed  the  changes  in  this  way,  wrought  by  the  varying  lights 
of  a  summer’s  day  P  You  see  a  tree  in  the  distance,  and  say  that  it  is 
an  Oak,  an  Elm,  or  Beech  as  the  case  may  be.  Have  you  ever  stopped 
to  think  liow  you  can  determine  this,  not  being  sulliciently  close  to 
see  the  shape  of  the  individual  leaves  P  Could  you  explain  that  one 
tree  dilTered  from  another  in  outline,  or  in  the  mode  of  growth  or  ell'ect 
of  light  and  shadow  of  its  foliage  P  Drawing  would  teach  you  all  such 
things  as  these. 
'Then  there  is  another  valuahle  kind  of  drawing,  which  needs  the 
use  of  the  rule,  compass,  and  square.  1  refer  to  plan,  scale,  and 
perspeetive  drawing,  'This,  perhaps,  is  not  quite  so  interesting,  unless 
one  has  a  turn  for  mathematics,  but  may  prove  extremely  useful. 
Wubjects  for  beginners  can  bo  found  in  houses,  kitchen  garden,  and 
bothy  which  they  occupy  aud  work  in.  Ground  plans  and  front  and  side 
elevations  of  these  can  be  Worked  out,  and  thus  a  number  of  little 
structural  details  will  bo  observed  and  mentally  noted,  which  may 
prove  of  groat  use  at  some  future  time. 
I  may  at  some  future  date  have  more  to  say  with  regard  to  the 
tools  required,  and  my  own  method  of  working.  And  who  can  tell  ? 
perhaps  some  of  us  young  scribes  may  be  so  honoured  as  to,  some  day. 
