July  4,  1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
3 
by  the  ablest  horticultural  missioners,  but  that  they  will  be  far- 
reaching  may  be  admitted.  Exit  plough  and  reaping  hook  ;  enter 
spade  and  pruning  knife,  and,  what  is  more  to  the  purpose,  skilled 
workmen  to  use  them. 
Nq  ;  gardening  is  not  played  out,  though  a  host  of  the  players 
are  wearily  waiting  for  their  innings.  A  new  game  has  commenced, 
and  it  will  be  interesting  to  watch  it,  for  it  can  hardly  fail  to 
absorb  many  a  youth  of  horticultural  tastes  who  is  now  treading  on 
the  heels  of  more  experienced  men  in  his  desire  to  be  a  gentleman’s 
gardener.  This  may  be  a  side  issue,  but  I  think  it  is  not  assuming 
too  much  to  suppose  that  it  will  materially  affect  the  question  in 
the  future,  and  doubtless  there  is  a  great  future  for  this  section  of 
gardening,  based,  as  it  is,  more  on  commercial  than  sentimental 
principles.  Here,  too,  in  this  subdivision  are  facts  to  be  faced,  the 
chief  of  these  being  spasmodic  gluts  of  garden  produce  ,  but,  per 
Contra,  the  fact  cannot  be  denied  that  we — as  a  nation — are  able 
to  eat  more  than  we  produce,  but  a  great  deal  of  this  is  not  more 
than  we  are  able  to  produce.  In  proof  of  this  we  may  note  a 
demand  sufficiently  powerful  to  attract  supply  from  the  distant 
parts  of  the  earth,  and  colonial  cousins  or  intelligent  foreigners  are 
not  slow  to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity.  This  digression 
opens  up  fresh  matter  somewhat  ineligible  for  present  treatment, 
and  some  difficulties  will  have  to  be  faced  no  doubt,  but  presumably 
we  still  retain  British  pluck,  energy,  and  perseverance  ;  add  to 
this  the  sound  practical  teaching  of  the  new  crusade  there  is  at  least 
a  liberal  measure  of  hope. 
But  this  skirmishing,  which  I  trust'  is  not  devoid  of  purpose, 
shall  not  preclude  me  from  coming  to  the  main  point — that  sharp 
point,  poison-tipped  to  many  who  cry  more  for  present  thap 
prospective  relief.  It  is,  verily,  the  fact  to  be  faced.  Few  will 
rest  content  with  grumbling  at  things  as  they  are,  for  that  will 
never  make  them  as  they  should  be.  It  is  time  something  was 
done  fairly,  sums  up  the  prevailing  feeling.  Is  there  no  way  of 
coping  with  this  evil,  or  must  it  go  on — grow  on  in  its  cancerous 
development  until  a  crisis  is  reached,  and  its  putrescence  permeates 
the  whole  body  corporate  of  gardening  ?  That  Nature  is  capable 
of  adjusting  these  things  without  interference  from  us  may  be 
granted,  but  the  means  employed  are  so  violent  in  some  cases,  and 
productive  of  long  and  acute  suffering  in  others  (as  in  this),  that 
we  would  fain  attain  to  the  end  by  less  arbitrary  measures. 
Who  will  move  in  the  matter  ?  Gardeners  in  active  life  see  the 
necessity  of  doing  so  ;  gardeners  “  out,  waiting,”  feel  it — feel  it 
so  acutely  that  from  motives  of  delicacy  they  will  probably  be  the 
last  to  come  into  action.  Those  in  the  boat  can  pity  the  man 
out  ”  battling  with  the  waves  of  misfortune,  yet  that  sympathy 
if  often  accompanied  by  the  comfortable  feeling  which  safety  gives 
to  the  spectator.  This  must  not  be  the  case  with  us,  and  apart 
from  self — which  is  not  a  prominent  feature  in  gardeners — no  man 
can  feel  secure  who  is  but  half  way  on  the  journey. 
This  perennial  blight  is  so  generally  distributed  that  the  most 
casual  observer  must  note,  and  can,  doubtless,  quote  many  painful 
cases,  if  illustration  was  needed  to  add  force  to  the  subject.  Yet 
all  have  not  had  this  experience  of  being  ‘‘  out,”  so  the  impression, 
to  them,  is  not  so  clearly  defined  ;  even  to  the  man  himself — one  , 
shifted  by  some  vicissitude  of  fortune  out  of  a  situation  he  Las 
honourably  filled  for  years — it  is  at  first  but  vaguely  realised.  Has 
he  not  an  irreproachable  character  ;  a  life’s  experience  ;  and  does 
he  not  stand  an  excellent  chance  of  something  good  when  going  ? 
Here  I  will  digress  with  an  example  of  a  good  thing  going  and 
analyse  the  excellent  chance.  It  is  not  imaginary.  The  vacant 
situation,  £70  per  annum  and  the  usual  et-ceteras  ;  T23  applicants 
for  this  post — note,  one  chance  in  123.  All  the  applicants  are  not 
out  certainly,  some  are  trying  to  better  themselves,  and  one  finds 
in  his  endeavour  to  do  so  that  he  has  grasped  at  the  shadow  and 
lost  the  substance,  for  “  as  you  are  dissatisfied,  we  had  better  part.” 
Here,  I  am  glad  to  add,  this  man’s  “  outing  ”  was  of  short  duration. 
And  so  these  excellent  chances  corqe  all  too  slowly,  and  so  they  go 
all  too  quickly,  till  eventually  our  competitor  is  facing  the  bitter, 
bare,  miserable  fact — he  is  still  waiting. 
I  do  not  aimlessly  point  to  these  facts,  nor  wantonly  expose  a 
sore  that  many  would  rather  hide  for  time  to  heal.  No  good  pur¬ 
pose  would  be  served  in  doing  so  ;  nor  need  we  turn  out  his 
pockets  to  the  public  gaze  in  order  to  show  his  prudent  or  impru¬ 
dent  preparations  for  the  rainy  day.  For  this  he  may  be  praised 
or  blamed  accordingly  ;  but  I  do  feel  and  pity  the  enforced  idleness 
of  his  mental  and  physical  abilities.  It  is  a  time  when  the  most 
trivial  things  are  brooded  over  to  the  extent  that  if  he  finds  his 
eminent  friend  the  seedsman  omits  the  usual  handshake  he  feels 
his  cup  is  filled  to  overflowing.  Out,  so  many  months,  each 
month  adding  a  year  to  his  age  ;  out,  perhaps  for  years.  Then^ 
indeed,  is  hi#  spirit  broken  on  the  wheel  of  misfortune. 
In  looking  at  all  sides  of  this  subject,  and  it  is  worthy  of  the 
most  comprehensive  observation,  we  may -see  how  harbours  of 
refuge  are  provided  for  many  in  our  large  nurseries.  This  tem¬ 
porary  provision  is  good  so  far  as  it  goes.  To  a  man  compara¬ 
tively  youthful  and  unencumbered  by  family  ties  it  suits,  and  he 
suits  ;  but  to  the  man  who  has  for  years  occupied  a  good  position 
as  a  head  gardener  this  life  is,  from  various  reasons,  distasteful  ; 
nor  is  he,  as  a  rule,  adapted  to  the  work  required  of  him.  Here, 
then,  is  no  balm  for  the  sufferer  we  feel  most  for. 
So  far  as  I  have  viewed  this  matter — and  that  is,  I  fear,  as  far 
as  my  vision  extends,  I  see  but  one  way  out  of  the  bog,  to  where 
the  waiting  one  might  find  congenial  employment  and  fill  up  the 
weary  blanks.  Here,  prior  to  all  other  considerations,  I  place  the 
necessity  of  a  healthy  mental  occupation,  for  the  want  of  it  brings 
the  heaviest  strain.  Co-operation  is  the  solution — the  only  one  I 
see — the  one  way  out  of  the  bog.  The  formation  of  a  horticul¬ 
tural  association,  or  associations.  Were  it  not  for  facts,  quite  as 
disagreeable  in  other  phases  of  life,  which  have  been  successfully 
faced  beyond  the  most  sanguine  expectation,  I  should  hesitate  in 
suggesting  what  might  not  unreasonably  be  construed  as  of  the 
order  of  “Utopia,  Limited.”  In  any  case,  should  this  be  the 
means  of  bringing  forward  a  more  practical  scheme,  the  purpose  of 
this  paper  will  be  attained. 
At  best  but  a  brief  outline  of  my  idea  can  be  given,  and 
considering  the  dimensions  of  the  fact  I  am  endeavouring  to  face 
with  the  importance  of  it,  I  will  now  ask  the  indulgence  of  all 
interested  for  its  postponement  to  another  paper,  when  I  hope  to 
show  that  a  Horticultural  Association,  Limited,  might  be  unlimited 
for  good,  and  not  clash,  to  any  appreciable  extent,  with  the  interests 
of  trade  or  market  growers. — Invicta. 
STRAWBERRIES  IN  HAMPSHIRE. 
For  many  years  this  county  has  been  famed  for  its  Strawberry 
production.  Not  only  are  the  Hampshire  Strawberries  noted  for 
their  earliness,  but  they  are  equally  noted  for  their  quality.  In 
addition  to  the  immense  numbers  that  are  daily  dispatched  to 
Covent  Garden  Market,  a  very  large  trade  has  developed  with 
dealers  in  provincial  towns.  Liverpool,  Manchester,  Birmingham, 
and  Oxford  are' daily  supplied.  Quantities  go  also  to  Glasgow, 
Edinburgh,  and  Belfast.  Formerly  punnets,  packed  in  Orange 
boxes,  was  the  sole  method  of  transmitting  the  fruit.  Now  these 
have  been  supplanted  by  gallon  baskets,  oval  in  shape,  with  a 
strong  cross  handle,  generally  of  cane.  From  one  small  station — 
Swanwick — on  the  Southampton  and  Fareham  line  no  less  than 
7500  of  these  gallon  baskets  were  sent  away  after  four  o’clock 
in  the  afternoon  of  Monday,  the  10th  inst.,  while  close  on 
3000  were  sent  during  the  earlier  part  of  the  day,  making  a  total  of 
10,000  baskets.  A  few  years  since,  in  the  days  of  punnets  and 
boxes,  as  many  as  GO  tons  of  fruit  have  been  sent  away  from 
Botley  station  in  one  day. 
Taking  a  radius  of  3  miles  from  Sarisbury  Green,  there  cannot 
be  less  than  300  acres  under  Strawberries  alone,  and  this  is  only  a 
small  centre  in  the  district  where  they  are  cultivated.  As  showing 
the  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  pursuit  I  cannot  find  that 
any  one  person  cultivates  more  than  20  acres.  Of  course,  there  are 
mixed  fruit  gardens  that  consist  of  100  acres,  but  for  Strawberries 
alone  20  acres  is  the  maximum.  From  20  acres  occupiers  range 
downwards  to  quarter  of  an  acre  —  or,  in  fact,  there  are 
“marketers”  with  less  than  this  amount  of  land  under  Straw¬ 
berries.  Although  Strawberry  growing  produces  a  large  return,  it 
does  not  yield  the  same  profit  as  it  did  ten  years  ago.  Still,  with 
experience  in  culture  and  knowledge  of  marketing,  money  is  made 
in  the  occupation. 
The  great  aim  amongst  growers  is  to  be  first  in  the  market,  as 
obviously  the  best  price  is  the  result.  May  filst  appears  to  be  the 
first  date  of  picking.  One  grower  consigned  54  lbs.  fruit,  the  price 
obtained  being  Is.  9d.  per  lb.  In  another  instance  the  fruit  was 
packed  in  baskets  holding  3  quarts  each,  the  returns  being  5s.  9d. 
per  basket,  June  5th.  These  gallon  baskets  vary  in  size  somewhat, 
the  average  weight  of  fruit  being  5  lbs.  In  the  first-named  instance 
Noble  was  the  variety  sold,  in  the  second  a  variety  called 
“Garniers.”  These  two,  and  Sir  Joseph  Paxton,  are  almost  the 
only  sorts  grown.  The  last  named,  locally  referred  to  as  “Joe,” 
is  the  “  sheet-anchor  ”  of  growers.  New  varieties  receive  but  tardy 
encouragement.  Many  of  the  growers  have  heard  of  Royal 
Sovereign,  but  very  few  have  ever  seen  it. 
The  most  successful  cultivators  aim  at  early  planting.  They 
know  that  plants  properly  layered  in  the  beds,  lifted  with  all  the 
roots  intact,  and  planted  in  August,  will  give  sufficient  fruit  the 
first  season  to  pay  for  the  “  bedding.”  Not  only  is  it  important 
to  have  the  roots  well  established  early  for  the  first  season’s  crop, 
but  it  increases  the  second  season’s  yield,  which  means  many  pounds 
extra  in  the  fruit  returns. 
Open  air  culture  of  Strawberries  is  not  the  only  means  of 
earning  a  livelihood  in  this  part.  There  are  those  who  grow 
