December  26,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
595 
inaptly  referred  to  as  the  year  of  the  great  fruit  agitation.  In  touching 
on  this  question,  to  some  a  vexed  one,  to  all  an  important  one,  yet 
one  in  which  a  confusion  of  ideas,  more  or  less,  prevails,  there  can 
be  but  one  opinion  of  its  merits  so  far  as  the  broad  ethics  of 
economy  are  concerned.  If  we  can,  for  the  time  being,  overlook 
these  temporary  gluts  and  wrong  balances  with  their  contingent 
evils,  and  see  in  the  future  the  spasmodic  reduced  to  a  steady 
supply  of  the  best  (Britons  want  the  best,  and  are  willing  to  pay 
for  it),  then  may  it  be  admitted  that  the  doctrines  now  preached 
are  the  solid  foundation  for  future  good  work.  Anyway,  whether 
it  is  beef  or  Bramley’s,  Potatoes  or  Pearmains,  with  milk  and  honey 
thrown  in,  these  pages  point  the  way — the  practical  way  to  extract 
the  bounty  from  our  old  Earth. 
We  cannot  ignore  that  even  at  this  season  of  good  cheer,  of 
handshakings,  and  good  wishes,  there  is  a  spectre  at  the  feast. 
Young  men,  if  conscious  of  its  presence,  have  possibly  not  felt  its 
grip.  They  are  buoyed  by  hope  and  all  that  aids  the  freshness  of 
life  to  relegate  such  things  to  the  dim  and  distant  future.  Duty 
compels  me  to  overcome  diffidence  and  say,  to  you  my  young  friend, 
a  word  in  season.  You  are  anxious — ambitious  to  be  a  gardener. 
Be  that,  and  not  only  that,  but  a  benevolent  gardener — a  Hoyal 
Benevolent  Gardener.  Doubtless  the  hint  will  be  understood,  but 
should  the  particulars  of  this  brotherhood  be  unknown  to  you, 
then  ask  and  you  shall  be  told. 
In  the  next  number  of  this  Journal  we  shall  look  for  the 
greeting  from  that  honoured  pen  that  has  so  long  adorned  its 
pages  ;  and  one,  too,  we  trustfully  hope  may  be  spared  to  do  so  for 
years  to  come.  These  closing  thoughts  of  a  passing  year,  all  too 
vaguely  expressed,  must  now  conclude  with  the  hope  that  in  its 
successor  we  may 
“ .  .  .  by  every  action  show 
The  happy  fruits  of  what  we  know.” 
— Invicta. 
SCHUBERTIA  GRANDIFLORA. 
Though  it  is  not  a  new  plant,  it  is  seldom  seen  in  cultivation,  and  we 
are  not  therefore  surprised  “  Young  Gardener  ”  has  not  seen  it.  It  is  a 
member  of  the  Asclepias  family,  and  a  native  of  the  Argentine  Republic, 
whence  it  was  introduced  in  1837.  The  stems  are  long,  slender,  and 
twining,  bearing  the  opposite  leaves  in  pairs,  elliptical  in  form,  about  6  in. 
long  by  3  broad.  The  flowers  (fig.  90)  are  borne  in  axillary  umbels  of 
seven  or  eight,  the  pedicels  covered  with  brownish  hairs  ;  the  corolla 
five-lobed,  8  inches  in  diameter,  white,  with  a  few  scattered  hairs,  and 
possessing  a  powerful  odour,  most  agreeable  at  a  short  distance.  This 
and  the  allied  species,  S.  graveolens,  with  yellowish  flowers,  require  a 
stove  temperature  and  a  compost  of  one-third  light  turfy  loam,  with 
two-thirds  of  peat  and  a  little  sand.  Plenty  of  water  is  needed  while 
they  are  growing,  with  occasional  syringing,  and  attention  to  keeping 
them  clear  of  insects,  especially  mealy  bug.  They  can  be  propagated 
by  cuttings  of  the  young  side  shoots  inserted  in  very  sandy  soil  in  strong 
bottom  heat. 
DRIED  VEGETABLES— A  DIRGE. 
You,  Mr.  Editor,  have  put  these  vegetables  under  the  head  of 
“  minor  products  but  let  that  pass.  The  article  at  page  567  is 
a  most  important  and  very  suggestive  one.  I  live,  as  you  know, 
in  the  midst  of  market  gardens,  and  the  growers  near  London  find 
it  more  difficult  every  year  to  make  ends  meet.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  they  have  one  way  only  of  disposing  of  their  produce,  or  two, 
if  I  may  put  it  so— the  Borough  and  Spitalfields  Markets.  Occa¬ 
sionally  things  go  smoothly — the  produce  sells  at  a  very  moderate 
profit  ;  but  often,  indeed  very  often,  the  market  is  glutted,  and 
the  English  market  grower  stares  vacantly  with  his  hands  and  his 
empty  purse  in  his  pocket.  I  have  seen  waggon-loads  of  spring 
Cabbage  brought  home  again  and  shot  on  the  manure  heap,  or  they 
have  been  sold  for  less  than  the  cost  of  cutting  them  and  carting 
to  market.  No  one  ever  dreams  of  doing  anything  beyond  Spital¬ 
fields  and  the  Borough.  It  is  a  mere  chance  if  any  crop,  from 
Potatoes,  down  to  Parsley,  will  pay.  The  farmer  cannot  tell ;  he 
is  never  sure  of  anything.  No  one  seems  to  have  thought  of 
drying  vegetables  ;  and  even  if  it  was  thought  of  the  results  would 
be  very  problematical.  A  high  rate  of  wages,  tithes,  rates  and 
taxes,  let  alone  rent,  handicap  the  farmer  and  market  grower. 
It  is  a  fact  that  our  English  fiorists  are  taking  their  business 
over  to  Belgium,  because  of  the  cheapness  of  labour  there.  The 
only  chance  for  the  market  growers  is  to  take  their  capital  over  too, 
and  let  the  labourers  fight  it  out  amongst  themselves.  There  does 
not  seem  to  be  enough  now  for  the  landlord,  the  tenant,  and  the 
labourer.  I  expect  we  could  not  compete  with  the  cheap  German 
labour.  I  picked  up  the  “  Daily  News  ”  after  reading  your  paper, 
and  read  a  chapter  on  toys.  What  has  toys  to  do  with  it  ?  say 
you.  I  will  tell  you.  The  children’s  Christmas  toys  are  made  in 
America,  and  those  not  made  by  our  “  kindred  beyond  the  seas  ” 
are  made  in  Germany. 
The  wholesale  dealer  in  toys  informed  the  “  Daily  News  ” 
reporter  that  he  had  imported  American  toys  for  ten  years. 
“  These  boats  are  all  of  American  build  ;  this  one  would  sell  for 
half  a  crown.  You  see  it  has  got  three  chimneys,  and  mounts 
eight  guns.”  “  Seems  a  pity  we  cannot  make  these  things  our¬ 
selves,’’  said  the  reporter.  “  ’Tis  a  pity,  and  there’s  no  doubt  we 
could  if  we  set  about  it,  but  our  people  don't  seem  to  have  the  enter¬ 
prise  and  go,"  |Put  that  last  portion  in  italics,  Mr.  Editor. 
Another  department  was  all  German  toys  ;  sold  at  half  the  price 
of  the  American.  To  quote  the  toy  salesman,  “  The  people  who 
make  these  German  toys  will  live  on  about  7d.  a  day,  and  look 
sleek  and  comfortable.”  Here  you  have  the  secret  of  the  dried 
Cabbage. 
The  English  labourer  as  a  rule  reminds  me  of  a  remark  of  poor 
Artemus  Ward,  “  He  never  let  his  work  interfere  with  his  drink¬ 
ing.”  Perhaps  you  will  turn  round  on  me  and  say,  “Would  you 
propose  to  feed  our  English  labourers  on  7d.  a  day,  like  these  poor 
Germans  ?  ”  You  need  not  trouble  to  ask  any  questions.  I  do 
not  propose  anything,  I  merely  place  the  facts  before  your  readers. 
The  tenant  farmer  and  the  market  gardener  may  labour,  but  his 
capital  slips  through  his  fingers  to  satisfy  the  landlord  (or  the 
tithe  owner,  who  is  sometimes  a  horse  jockey),  the  labourer,  the 
School  Board,  and  all  the  other  Boards,  for  goodness  knows  how 
many  Boards  there  are.  I  sometimes  tell  the  poor  persecuted  man 
that  it  will  be  all  right  some  day,  things  will  find  their  level 
