426 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  17,  1900. 
the  gardens  of  Swanmore  House  there  is  a  magnificent  example  of 
Spiraea  (Exoohorda)  grandiflora  that  forms  a  lovely  picture  when  in 
full  bloom.  In  addition  to  this  there  are  others,  which,  if  not  possessed 
of  such  striking  beauty  are  undoubtedly  deserving  of  inclusion  in  all 
well  appointed  pleasure  gardens.  But  how  can  the  list  be  completed  ? 
There  is  such  a  galaxy  of  beauty  that  several  articles  would  have  to 
be  written  ere  all  could  find  a  place.  In  brief,  however,  may  be  noted 
Cydonia  (Pyrus)  japonica,  Andromeda  speciosa  and  its  varieties, 
the  Foisythias,  Kerria  japonica  fl.-pl.,  Buddlea  globosa,  the  Deutzias  in 
variety,  which,  though  they  may  not  be  indispensable,  are  at  any  rate 
most  desirable  adjuncts  to  every  garden  in  the  kingdom. — F.  Rowe. 
[Weigelas  rosea  and  alba  are  depicted  in  fig.  114,  but  our  artist 
has  by  no  means  done  justice  to  their  beauty.] 
- >  « - 
Tlie  Young  Gardeners’  Domain. 
Bits  for  tlie  Botl]y. 
{Concluded  from  page  31G.) 
As  the  time  approaches  for  bidding  farewell  to  bothy  life,  most 
young  men,  probably,  take  more  serious  views  of  things  in  general,  and 
their  own  prospective  positions  In  particular.  All  right  thinking  ones 
will  certainly  do  so.  There  is,  and  it  goes  without  saying,  much 
anxiety  about  the  future,  but  there  should  be  something  more  than 
that,  and  ere  the  final  plunge  into  responsibility  is  made  a  self- searching 
glance  into  the  mirror  of  truth  may  possibly  prevent  false  reflections 
arising  hereafter.  It  has  been  the  endeavour  to  impress  through 
the  whole  course  of  bothy  life  the  value  of  personal  inspection  and 
mental  stocktaking,  but  never  befoi'e  has  occasion  appeared  to  demand 
so  exacting  a  survey  as  now.  Perhaps  some  reader  can  picture  life — 
a  gardener’s  life — as  one  bound  up  in  three  volumes,  the  first  of  which 
is  nearly  finished — all  but  closed.  Opened  hereafter  it  may  be,  altered 
it  cannot.  Oh!  Young  comrades,  the  youngest  of  you  just  commenc¬ 
ing  the  early  chapters,  ere  concluding,  you  are  asked  to  consider  how 
much  this  means  to  you.  I  would  that  in  the  years  to  come,  when  the 
silence  and  the  calm  of  life’s  evening  are  stealing  on,  this  first  volume 
should  be  to  you  very  pleasant  reading. 
Many  a  smart  foreman  feels,  doubtless,  quite  equal  to  the  charge  of 
a  garden  similar  to  that  in  which  he  as  yet  holds  a  subordinate  position. 
It  is  a  natural  sequence  of  circumstances  that  he  should  do  so. 
Nevertheless  ho  may  very  probably  have  to  begin  his  rule  in  a  much 
smaller  one,  and  one  apparently  below  the  par  of  his  ability  and 
experience.  This  so  frequently  happens  that  it  would  be  well  for  all 
at  this  stage  to  take  the  matter  into  serious  contemplation  ;  for, 
anomalous  as  it  may  appear,  a  young  man  may  be  less  inclined  to  do 
himself  justice  in  the  small  place  which  circumstances  have  forced 
upon  him  than  in  a  more  extended  sphere  of  operations.  In  short,  a 
measure  of  contumely  springs  up  for  the  situation  which  he  considers 
to  be  beneath  him.  In  any  case  the  first  command  of  whatever  degree 
may  well  be  regarded  by  the  young  head  as  a  trial  ground  from  which 
proofs  are  expected  of  what  he  professes.  As  many  must  start  in 
a  small  garden  or  protract  their  stay  in  bothydom  longer  than  may 
be  expedient,  there  should  be  some  consolation  to  them  in  reflecting 
that  from  such  comparatively  obscure  situations  some  of  the  leading 
places  of  the  day  have  been  filled  by '  men  who,  under  apparently 
adverse  circumstances,  have  contrived  to  find  or  create  the  opportunity 
of  showing  their  worthiness  of  being  thus  elevated. 
All  things  come  to  those  who  wait,  if  they  will  work  whilst  waiting 
inst'-ad  of  dissipating  their  energy  and  discounting  their  ability  in 
half-hearted  measures  and  vain  regrets.  Eventually  the  fittest  come 
to  the  front,  and  the  fittest  atop  here.  That  we  live  in  a  practical 
age  is  shown  by  the  practical  way  in  which  some  of  the  best  posts 
are  being  filled,  and,  although  few  young  men  may  agree  with  the 
writer,  the  opinion  has  long  since  obtained  that  these  low  grade 
gardens,  if  the  term  may  be  used,  are  fine  finishing  schools  for  young 
commanders.  There  are  little  things  in  bothy  life  which  during  that 
term  are  possibly  small  enough  to  be  overlooked,  or  only  thought  of  to 
be  despised,  but  at  the  critical  stage  of  leaving  it  are  of  sufficient 
weight  to  turn  the  scale  in  a  man’s  favour  when  competing  for  a 
situation.  Competing,  it  is  said,  for  in  spite  of  many  situations  being 
filled  privately,  over  the  dinner  table  as  some  have  remarked,  it  cannot 
be  overlooked  that  a  quiescent  kind  of  competition  has  taken  place,  and 
the  selected  one  has  been  pretty  keenly  criticised,  and  comparisons 
made  although  unknown  to  himself. 
So  far  as  ability  and  general  good  character  go  there  may  be 
nothing  wanting.  Some  young  men,  however,  show  a  magnificent 
contempt  for  the  little  refinements  of  speech  and  manner,  and  will 
bravely  tell  you  that  by  their  abilities  as  a  gardener  they  stand  or  fall. 
This  is  so.  But  how  much  easier  a  man  is  fitted  into  a  higher  position, 
and  how  much  better  he  fits  it  when  these  little  angularities  of 
character,  which  strike  the  eye  and  ear  of  cultured  people  with  whom 
from  henceforth  his  duties  keep  him  in  touch,  are  pruned  away.  The 
worst  examples  are  those  in  which  a  consciousness  of  these  failings 
brings  an  awkward  constraint,  placing  one  who  may  be  an  excellent 
gardener  and  a  good  man  in  his  worst  light.  This  should  not  -be. 
Surely  a  man  who  takes  such  infinite  pains  with  his  plants  to  exemplify 
in  them  the  highest  possible  cultivation,  does  not  do  justice  to  himself 
by  totally  disregarding  the  amenities  of  life.  Is  a  man  less  than  a 
plant  that  he  should  ignore  his  finer  instincts  ? 
It  is  sincerely  hoped  that  our  foreman  long  ere  leaving  the  bothy 
will  be  impressed  with  the  force  of  this  personal  cultivation  and  the 
weight  it  undoubtedly  carries  when  he  is  leaving  it.  A  notable 
characteristic  of  some  of  those  grand  old  gardeners  of  the  past  was  a 
certain  refinement  and  oourtlinpss  of  manner  which  one  seldom  meets 
with  in  the  hurry  and  crush  of  later  days.  Men,  manners,  and  methods 
have  changed  with  the  times,  but  as  gardening  is  steadily  growing 
into  a  factor  of  the  first  importance  in  the  world’s  economy  and  will 
ever  remain  the  purest  of  human  pleasures,  so  should  it  be  the 
endeavour  of  each  ministering  hand  and  responsible  head  to  elevate 
their  vocation  to  the  position  it  is  justly  entitled  to.  Never  was 
gardening,  itself,  more  highly  esteemed  than  it  is  to-day,  but  it  is  a 
fact  that  gardeners,  somehow,  are  not  as  a  class  recognised  in  ratio  to 
work  which  demands  such  high  intelligence,  elaborate  forethought,  and 
unremitting  attention.  The  reason  for  this  may  be  to  some  extent 
inexplicable,  yet  not  wholly  so,  for  “  our  remedies  oft  in  ourselves  do 
lie  which  we  ascribe  to  heaven.”  That  each  young  foreman  as  he  is 
called  to  the  front  may  go  forth  strong  with  faith  in  his  future,  firmly 
believing  that  he  can,  if  he  chooses,  be  a  unit  of  power  in  the  ever- 
spreading  gardening  world  of  the  great  British  Empire,  is  the  earnest 
hope  of— The  Old  Brigadier. 
•4- 
WKK.foilTHEWEEK.. 
^  il 
Fruit  Forcing. 
Vines. — Early  Forced  Houses. — Where  the  Grapes  are  ripe  afford 
fire  heat  only  to  prevent  the  temperature  falling  below  60°.  Admit  a 
little  air  constantly,  with  a  free  circulation  when  the  weather  is 
favourable.  Do  not  allow  the  border  to  become  dry,  but  keep  it  moist, 
and  mulch  with  rather  dry,  sweet  litter,  both  to  p' event  excess  of  air- 
moisture  and  keep  the  soil  from  cracking.  A  little  moisture  in  the 
atmosphere  is  not  injurious  to  the  Grapes,  and  is  highly  beneficial  to 
the  foliage,  which  must  be  kept  clean  and  healthy.  Fumigation  may 
be  resorted  to  if  thrips  appear,  rej  eating  in  the  course  of  a  few  days. 
For  red  spider  there  is  no  better  plan  than  vaporisation  with  sulphur 
placed  in  water,  not  allowing  the  receptacle  to  become  dry.  Even 
sulphur  placed  in  shallow  saucers  and  covered  with  water  or  kept  moist 
in  the  full  sun,  as  on  shelves  near  the  glass,  gives  off  fumes  inimical  to 
red  spider  and  prejudicial  to  fungoid  germs. 
Successional  Vineries  — As  little  fire  heat  as  is  consistent  with  the 
steady  progress  of  the  c  ops’ should  be  employed,  for  with  sun  heat  and 
abundance  of  atmospheric  moisture  more  real  benefit  is  gained  in  a  week 
than  in  a  month  with  the  aid  of  fires  during  dull  weather.  The  Vines 
being  in  full  growth  the  temperature  may  be  allowed  to  rise  to  90°  to 
95°,  closing  the  house  at  85°,  emplojing  fire  heat  only  to  maintain  a 
day  temperature  of  70°  to  75’,  and  to  prevent  it  falling  below  65°  at 
night,  yet  5°  less  will  do  no  harm  but  good  when  the  weather  is  cold. 
These  remarks  apply  only  to  Vines  in  full  growth  and  swelling  their 
crops,  as  those  that  have  the  Grapes  approaching  ripening  should  have 
a  lather  free  circulation  of  air,  those  more  advanced  being  kept  cooler 
and  drier.  Air  should  be  admitted  very  early  in  the  morning,  as  the 
sun’s  rays  acting  powerfully  on  the  condensed  moisture  formed  on 
the  foliage  during  the  night  usually  cause  scorching,  unless  air  has 
been  previously  admitted. 
Watering  the  borders  must  be  attended  to  as  required,  not  having 
stated  times.  Some  loams  are  naturally  very  loose,  sandy,  or  gravelly, 
while  others  have  opening  material  added,  such  as  lime  rubbish,  oyster- 
shells  (calcined)  and  charcoal,  which  makes  them  sieve-like.  The  con¬ 
sequence  is  the  greater  need  of  water,  besides  the  danger  attending  the 
finish  of  Grapes  grown  on  such  soils  through  insufficient  supplies  of 
water  leading  to  attacks  of  red  spider,  and  thin  foliage,  which  does  not 
assimilate  and  store  nearly  as  much  essential  matter  as  the  stout  leaves 
on  Vines  in  a  firm  sinstantial  soil  of  a  rather  retentive  nature.  Such 
soil  will  require  water  less  frequently,  but  in  no  case  must  there  be 
lack  of  moisiure  at  the  roots  throughout  the  swelling  periods. 
Liquid  nourishment  is  also  more  frequently  required  by  loose  and 
light  soils  than  by  compact  and  retentive  ones.  All  will  need  top- 
dressings  of  some  approved  fertiliser,  three  times  at  least  being  advis¬ 
able— 1,  When  starting  the  Vines;  2,  when  the  Grapes  aUain  to 
thinning  size  ;  and  3,  when  the  berries  commence  to  ripen,  supplying 
4  ozs.  per  square  yard  at  each  dressing  and  washing  in  lightly.  If  more 
stimulation  or  support  be  needed,  supply  the  manure  oftener ;  this  is 
