244 
journal  of  horticulture  and  cottage  gardener. 
September  12,  1896. 
horticulture,  feel  it  advantageous  to  pass  a  portion  of  the  time  when 
they  might  be  resting,  in  acquiring  and  storing  their  minds  with 
still  more  information  that  may  be  helpful  to  them  in  their 
vocation,  how  much  greater  is  the  necessity  that  the  men  of  in¬ 
finitely  less  knowledge  on  the  science  and  practice  of  their  calling 
should  avail  themselves  of  every  possible  means  of  making  good 
their  all  too  obvious  shortcomings.  Yet  hundreds  of  them  do 
nothing  of  the  kind,  and  we  may  be  sure  that  these  mere  pleasure 
seekers  of  the  present  will  be  the  grumblers  of  the  future,  just  as 
so  many  incompetents  are  grumblers  of  to-day. 
The  truth  is,  and  it  is  coming  straight  out,  there  are  numbers  of 
young  men  who  in  some  way  or  other  have  found  positions  in 
gardens  who  never  ought  to  have  been  there,  and  who  have  no  right 
lo  expect  promotion  or  prosperity.  They  are  not  likely  to  attain 
either,  and  the  sooner  they  find  different  occupations  the  better  it 
may  be  for  them,  and  will  be  for  others  who  have  striven  by  all 
available  means  to  equip  themselves  by  knowledge  and  the  acquisi¬ 
tion  of  accomplishments  to  become  competent  and  creditable 
member#  of  the  craft,  such  as  gentlemen  who  have  the  power  are 
only  too  glad  to  help  onwards.  They  pass  by  the  thoughtless  and 
careless  all  unknown  to  themselves,  and  so  it  will  ever  be,  assisting 
the  striving  student  of  proved  or  promising  capacity,  who  is  also 
a  trustworthy  and  conscientious  worker  of  appropriate  demeanour 
whenever  they  can. 
So  much  for  the  schoolmaster’s  lesson.  What  did  these  earnest 
truth-seekers  learn  at  Wye  ?  They  learned  what  numbers  of  men 
have  had  the  opportunity  of  learning  if  they  had  been  watchful 
for  opportunities  by  County  Council  and  University  Extension 
teachers  in  various  towns  and  villages  near  where  they  reside  ;  and 
what,  in  a  small  measure,  the  writer  of  these  lines  was  once  glad  to 
walk  eight  miles  to  learn  on  rare  occasions  during  winter  evenings, 
when  his  fellow  working  “  know  enoughs”  sneered,  and  spent  their 
time  in  playing  dominoes.  Where  are  they  now  ?  Most  of  them 
out  of  the  gardening  ranks,  and  not  one  of  them  in  a  position  to 
be  envied.  The  schoolmasters  learned  more  of  the  nature  and 
functions  of  plants,  as  demonstrated  by  Professor  Percival  in  his 
daily  lectures,  than  any  gardener  could  learn  at  home — though  he 
can  learn  a  great  deal  if  he  is  a  close  and  thoughtful  reader  and 
persistent  student  when  his  daily  work  is  done,  also  a  good  deal  in 
the  doing  of  it.  The  roots,  the  leaves,  the  changes  and  motion  of 
the  sap,  the  production  and  extraction  of  chlorophyll  and  of  starch, 
with  the  impediments  or  hindrances  to  the  smooth  working  of  Nature’s 
beautiful  machinery  ;  the  very  life  of  plants,  and  so  far  as  human 
mortals  know,  the  life  of  everything  that  lives,  they  could  see  in 
verity  moving  more  or  less  actively  in  the  cells,  according  as  the  con¬ 
ditions  were  favourable  or  the  reverse — the  wondrous  protoplasm  ; 
they  could  see  the  invisible  enemy  causing  distortion  in  the  bud 
of  the  Black  Currant,  laid  bare  under  the  microscope  as  “  big  as 
a  shrimp.”  They  could  see  the  truth  revealed  of  the  statements 
made  on  various  points  as  each  man  followed  them  under  the 
instrument,  for  there  are  microscopes  for  many  at  Wye.  All 
interesting,  but  what  is  the  practical  use  ?  This  could  be  seen  in 
the  form  of  actual  work,  conducted  in  harmony  with  scientific 
teaching,  as  all  work  should  be,  in  pruning  root  and  branch,  in 
planting,  and  various  other  processes  that  Mr.  Deadman,  the  intelli¬ 
gent  gardener,  is  competent  to  display  in  lecture  room,  garden,  or 
field.  A  valued  helper  in  practical  matters  is  Mr.  Deadman  to 
the  scientific  staff  of  Wye.  They  have  been  fortunate  in  obtain¬ 
ing  him,  and  he  is  proud  of  his  learned  associates,  who  have  opened 
his  eyes  to  see  clearly  truths  of  which  he  had  a  glimmering 
before,  and  he  will  carry  out  with  fidelity  and  scrupulous  care 
all  desired  experiments  with  roots  and  cereals,  vegetables,  fruit, 
and  Hops. 
Hops !  The  mention  of  the  name  brings  to  mind  what  had 
nearly  been  a  great  omission,  and  we  hark  back  to  Mr.  Abbey  and 
his  easy  ineans  of  extirpating  the  Hop  eelworm  (Heterodera),  as 
narrated  in  the  issue  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  mentioned  at 
the  head  of  these  notes.  It  is  an  interesting,  suggestive,  and 
also  to  some  persons  and  for  some  purposes  a  valuable  article,  and 
had  been  read  at  Wye  ;  but  his  formulae  of  fertilisers,  however 
useful,  will  not  kill  the  eelworm  that  causes  the  “  nettle-headed 
skinkly  ”  disease  in  the  Hop  gardens  at  Wye,  and  in  Germany. 
Perhaps  they  might  if  tbe  “  gardens  ”  could  be  placed  in  solution 
for  a  few  hours,  as  in  a  bottle  ;  but  as  a  top-dressing  at  the  strength 
recommended,  and  up  to  five  times  greater,  they  had  no  effect  ;  at 
“  ten-strength  ”  doses  they  killed  the  plants,  but  not  the  enemy  in 
the  soil.  Thirty  thousand  pound#  have  been  spent  in  finding 
effective  remedies  abroad  and  at  home,  but  the  pest  remains  ;  and 
a  fortune  is  open  to  Mr.  Abbey  or  anyone  else  who  can  find  a 
practicable  method  of  eradication  without  injuring  the  plants. 
The  ^  particular  form  of  Heterodera  discovered  by  Professor 
Percival  is  admitted  as  new  by  the  most  learned  of  German 
savants,  and  has  excited  much  interest  among  them,  though  it  is 
not  suggested  that  it  is  more  difficult  to  destroy  than  the  familiar 
(to  investigators)  species  known  as  the  Beet  eelworm,  H.  Schachti, 
than  which  it  is  very  much  smaller. 
A  desire  being  expressed  to  see  a  specimen  the  Professor  at  once 
said  he  would  try  and  find  one,  though  he  was  not  sanguine  about 
succeeding.  Hops  do  not  grow  in  the  laboratory,  and  there  was  no 
time  for  going  to  an  infested  plantation.  As  a  trial  a  lump  of 
dried  clay,  weighing  3  or  4  lbs.,  was  hunted  from  a  treasure  heap. 
It  was  dug  from  the  garden  twelve  months  ago.  The  lump  was 
broken  and  searched  with  the  magnifier  for  roots.  A  few  dead  and 
dried  hair-like  threads  were  found,  and  it  was  thought  a  “  speci¬ 
men  ”  might  be  discovered  dead  or  alive.  Bits  of  roots  scarcely 
large  enough  to  be  seen  were  placed  under  the  instrument  in  a 
drop  of  water.  A  search  was  followed  by  a  regretful  “  No,  we 
must  try  again.”  Another  trial  and  another  “No.”  A  third,  a 
long  search,  and  a  glimmering  of  something.  More  power  applied, 
and  a  breathless  pause  ;  still  more  power,  and  then  a  jubilant 
shout  from  the  patient  but  enthusiastic  searcher  of  “  Hurrah, 
splendid  !”  and  there,  sure  enough,  was  the  enemy  revealed  by 
the  magnificent  instrument,  like  a  glistening  oval-shaped  fish, 
the  eggs  shining  through  the  cuticle,  the  normal  number  of  these 
being  300.  Its  tenacity  of  life  was  indisputable  ;  locked  in  a 
dry  clod  for  a  year  among  roots  as  dead  as  Julius  Caesar,  no 
one  knows  how  much  nitrate  of  soda  sprinkled  on  that  lump  of 
clay  would  have  been  necessary  for  “settling”  the  hard-to-kill 
“  animal  ”  in  it,  but  it  must  have  been  a  strong  dose  anyhow. 
Yes  !  Wye  is  a  splendid  institution,  destined  to  play  an  import¬ 
ant  part  in  preparing  the  coming  race  of  farmers  for  entering  on 
their  important  work  better  equipped  than  their  fathers  were.  It 
has  its — well,  non  admirers,  who,  of  course,  want  to  know  if  it 
“  pays.”  Do  our  elementary  schools  “  pay  ?  ”  They  are  supported 
by  the  rate#,  and  that  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  this  advanced 
school  of  technical  education  ;  but  probably  the  old  dog  in  the 
manger  policy  and  habit  will  never  become  obsolete. — Inspector. 
P.S. — After  describing  a  school  of  agriculture  in  France,  the 
correspondent  of  a  daily  paper  goes  on  to  say  : — “  A  generation 
hence,  without  doubt,  French  farming  will  be  the  most  scientific 
in  the  world.  In  spite  of  bad  seasons  and  agricultural  crises,  these 
practical  schools  of  agriculture  are  resorted  to  by  sons  of  the  small 
owners  as  well  as  those  of  the  wealthier  sort.  The  French 
Government,  moreover,  is  not  only  educating  the  peasant  farmer 
on  native  soil,  but  the  future  colonist  of  her  great  colonial  empire.” 
Then  why  should  England  lag  behind  ? 
THE  FLORISTS’  TULIP. 
( Continued  from  page  124.) 
The  two-year-old  seedling  bulbs  are  now  large  enough  to  be 
grown  on  in  the  open  ground,  and  the  cultural  directions  recom¬ 
mended  for  the  blooming  bulbs  can  be  followed  in  their  case  also. 
Great  care  must  be  taken  in  the  lifting  each  year  not  to  overlook 
the  droppers.  Figure  34  shows  a  three-year-old  bulb  and  dropper. 
During  the  fourth  year  a  few  will  probably  bloom, 
more  in  the  fifth  year,  and  in  the  sixth  year  prac¬ 
tically  all  the  remainder,  although  instances  are  known 
of  a  seedling  being  ten  years  old  before  it  was 
strong  enough  to  produce  a  flower.  The  blooms  are, 
with  very  rare  exceptions,  self  colours,  or  “  breeders  ” 
as  they  are  technically  termed,  and  as  they  bloom 
the  grower  will  be  repaid  for  his  years  of  waiting 
and  care  by  the  intense  interest  they  will  excite,  for 
every  one  of  them  is  unique  and  differs  in  some 
respects  from  any  variety  before  existing.  But  how¬ 
ever  interesting  they  may  be,  many,  if  not  most,  of 
them  will  be  found  sadly  wanting  in  the  qualities 
that  are  desired  in  a  first-class  flower,  and  the  grower 
must  harden  his  heart  and  ruthlessly  destroy  all  the 
inferior  ones.  Various  kinds  of  nondescripts  or  tri¬ 
colors  will  be  found  having  pink  or  rose  petals  and 
yellow  bases,  or  slate  coloured  petals  and  yellow 
bases  ;  these  are  worthless  from  trying  to  be  both 
yellow  grounds  and  white  grounds  at  the  same  time, 
and  should  be  destroyed.  Some  will  have  long 
narrow  petals,  others  be  very  much  stained  on  the 
filaments  or  at  the  base  and  must  be  discarded.  Care 
must  be  taken,  however,  not  to  discard  for  dullness 
of  colour.  If  the  shape  be  good  and  the  base  pure 
the  breeder  must  be  kept  even  if  the  colour  be  positively  ugly. 
Many  of  our  best  rectified  flowers  have  broken  from  dingy  breeders  ; 
“  Masterpiece  ”  may  be  instanced,  a  flower  which  when  broken 
can  scarcely  be  surpassed  for  its  intense  black  and  yellow,  and 
yet  while  in  the  breeder  state  it  is  in  colour  an  exact  match 
to  that  nursery  compound  brimstone  and  treacle.  It  is,  indeed, 
rather  uncommon  for  a  brilliantly  coloured  breeder  to  break  well  ; 
FIG.  34. 
