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January  6,  1898.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
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In  a  1  jrans  of  the  tropics,  from  Peru  across  America,  Africa,  and 
Asia  to  Siam,  Orchid  collecting  is  going  on  at  such  a  rate  that  natural 
Orchids  will  soon  he  as  rare  as  auks,  and  choice  varieties  of  natural 
Orchids  often  bring  very  high  prices  ;  but  at  present  the  highest 
prices  are  given  for  rare  hybrids  produced  in  this  country,  one  of  the 
best  known  and  most  successful  growers  of  which  is  Mr.  Cookson, 
who  has  such  an  excellent  collection  that  ev^n-  a  cursory  examination 
of  the  Contents  of  his  Orchid  liouses  would  occupy  the  greater  part  of 
a  day. —‘(“Newcastle  I'aily  Chronicle.'’):  ,  , 
AS  OF  A  DREAM  (See  Page  346,  No.  2534). 
I  WISH  YOU  A  Happy  New  Yeae  ! 
Pray  do  not  suppose  I  am  a  Rip  Van  Winkle.  “  I).,  Deal  ”  caused 
me  to  rub  my  eyes,  however,  and  to  Viecome  thoroughly  awakened  this 
morning  (December  31st,  Journal  of  Horticulture  a  day  late)  as  I  read  his 
cursory  mention  of  “Mr.  Robt.  P^enn,”  on  page  61*1.  He  “believes” 
one  thing  there,  and  “  thinks”  another.  Let  me  assure  our  “  Chaplain 
that  I  have  not  been  napping.  I  have  to  consider  the  burning  of  the 
candle  at  both  ends.  I  have  no  “  living  ’  resources  to  enable  me  to  put 
in  an  appearance  at  head  quarters  nearly  so  often  as  I  could  wish  — 
“  Out  of  sight  out  of  mind  ;  ”  still,  “  D.,  Deal"  need  not  have  wounded  me 
in  the  house  of  my  friends  b}' hurling  “  only  an  occasional  contributor”  at 
my  head. 
I  have  been  told  that  one  should  not  “  write  for  the  press  for  a  longer 
period  than  ten  years.”  Why,  1  had  written  reams  in  that  time  to  the 
old  Cottage  Gardener  before  “  D.,  Deal  '  had  become  connected  with  its 
pages.  ■  I  seldom  troubled  our  dead  and  gone  respected  Editors,  however, 
until  I  found  I  had  something  to  say  which  I  thought  might  be  beneficial 
for  the  public  good  in  my  particular  way  — which  is  not  that  of  a 
rosarian.  We  must  eat  to  live.  Aly  writings  have  always  been  devoted 
to  practical  work.  Treatise  upon  treatise  of  mine  can  be  shown  in  this 
periodical,  which,  combined  for  weight,  would  form  a  burden  too  heavy 
for  your  worthy  contributor,  “  D.,  Deal,"  to  bear,  and  all,  remember,  for 
the  sheer  love  of  trying  to  be  helpful. 
This  subject,  however,  of  the  “  longest  contributor  ”  has  arisen 
quite  often  enough.  I  was  in  hopes  it  was  buried  and  at  rest.  About 
•  this  time  two  years  a  challenge  was  thrown  down  by  a  writer,  in  a 
learned  article,  inciting  to  decide  this  query.  I  took  no  further  notice  ol 
it  than  to  reipiest  a  hope  that  you  would  let  the  matter  sleep.  Now  we 
have  got  it  rising  again,  and  it  is  best  to  have  it  “laid.”  We  shall  not 
want  “  parson,  bell,  book,  or  candle,”  for  I  send  you  bodily  the  old  type 
number  to  decide  the  phenomenon,  where  you  can  see  that  my  first 
public  writing  in  these  pages  began  in  1850,  No.  88,  page  154,  the  subject 
Potatoes,  and  my  last  communication  you  will  find  in  this  eventful  year 
of  grace.  No.  2534,  page  345  ;  and  now  I  am  awake,  I  will,  if  you  agree, 
let  you  know  what  I  have  been  doing  in  1897  for  horticulture  since  the 
above  was  written,  merely  throwing  in  here,  par  parenthesis,  that  I,  as 
a  Churchwarden,  have  taken  a  chief  interest  in  (“  Diamond  J  ubilee  ’  ) 
reseating  our  St.  Michaels  t  hurch.  I  hope  “D,,  Deal,"  will  not  find 
fault  with  that. 
They  say  that  gratitmle  in  its  noblest  sense  is  an  unknown  factor  in 
l)olitics.  Then  in  the  pursuit  for  improving  the  Cinderella  of  Nature  — 
the  Potato —how  must  I  reckon  ?  Is  virtue  to  be  its  own  reward?  The 
desire  to  benefit  mankind  has  caused  me  to  experimentalise  with  Potatoes 
in  earnest  from  the  year  1837,  and  to  bend  the  printers’  backs  in  Elect 
Street,  E.C.,  at  no  very  long  intervals  apart,  from  the  date  mentioned 
above.  A  propeller  anent  the  “  noble  tuber,”  I  take  it,  as  having 
enthusiastically  forced  me  on  without  any  consideration  of  the  cost,  for  if 
I  had  done  this  most  assuredly  the  present  generation  of  English  Potatoes 
(some  other  might  have  done  it  but  did  not)  would  not  be  in  existence. 
This  same  force,  I  take  it,  may  have  impelled  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  Avho, 
happening  to  be  in  a  quarter  of  the  world  where  the  Solarium  tuberosum 
grew  wild,  saw  the  natives  scratching  the  esculent  from  the  earth  as  a 
pabulum  for  food,  brought  some  to  his  home  in  Ireland,  withal  to  benefit 
his  fellow  man.  Whether  Sir  Walter  was  ever  recompensed  for  his 
patriotism  I  know  not,  but  his  name  and  fame  are  hoist  upon  a  Potato 
petard  for  ever. 
Sixty  years  ago  last  spring  I  caused  a  portion  of  glebe  meadow 
(see  2529,  page  226),  called  the  Hale  End,  at  Stanton  Lacy,  Shropshire, 
to  be  trenched  and  fenced  apart  for  experimental  purposes,  with  the 
object  of  improving  several  of  the  then  most  popular  varieties  of  Potatoes. 
I  could  not  satisfy  myself  in  this,  for  neglect  the  selecting  of  the  best 
from  the  most  promising  stools  for  a- year  or  so,  and  back  to  their  deep 
eyed  or  other  undesirable  normal  types  they  would  inevitably  go.  I  lost 
many  years  by  beating  about  the  bush  in  this  way  but  I  have  given  3'ou 
the  history  of  these  disappointments,  also  that  of  the  unsatisfactory  raising 
of  varieties  from  Nature's  promiscuous  workings,  that  the  word  tautology 
is  rising  up  with  extended  caution  before  my  eyes. 
As  the  3'ears  rolled  on,  however,  cross-fertilisation  came  to  aid  me  in 
1857,  and  enabled  me  to  resuscitate  the  esculent  from  the  disease  and 
decrepitude  into  which  it  had  fallen.  Your  pages  and  the  R.H.S.  Eruit 
Committee  (of  which  I  was  then  a  member)  were  soon  made  aware  oi 
these  proceedings,  for  others  to  take  up  the  tale,  which  ha\oup  to  this 
time  o’  day  proved  the  means  of  securing  for  us  the  best  Potato  food  in 
the  world  ;  and  the  Potato,  I  consider,  takes  a  second  place  only  to  Wheat 
in  perpetuity  for  human  sustenance.  1  have  for  a  long  time  thought,  and 
I  now  express,  that  we  can  go  no  farther  for  excellence  in  this  article  for 
food  than  what  we  have  got,  by  furiher  crossings  with  the  wild  Solaiium 
tribe  from  Virginia,  Peru,  and  those  of  the  .Vndes.  I  will  ne.xt,  if 
allowed,  hark  back  some  two  decades.— RoRT.  Eexx. 
(To  be  continued.) 
[What  can  we  say  to  reconcile  these  two  grand  old  men  of  the 
gardening  world  and  the  gardening  press  ?  We  are  bound  to  say  that 
the  “Pioneer’  in  Potato  improvement  (for  such  he  is)  was  the  first  to 
commence  writing  in  the  “  Cottage  (iardener,”  but  the  “Chaplain”  has 
written  the  most.  With  thjs  record,  which  is  founded  on  facts,  let  us 
hope  that  both  the  frisky  young  octogenarians  will  be  satisfied.  We  have, 
however,  a  word  or  two  of  historic  interest  to  add.  Mr.  Eenn  ■  has 
preserved  all  the  letters  he  has  received  during  his  long  and  busy  life. 
He  has  chestfuls  of  them,  and  knows  where  to  find  what  he  wants.  Some 
of  these  letters  we  have  seen,  and  will  cite  from  one  or  two,  because  they 
are  worth  reading  and  have  never  hitherto  been  published. 
We  will  first  take  the  last  letter  that  was  written  by  the  late  genial 
Air.  G.  W.  .Johnson  (the  founder  of  the  “  Cottage  Gardener  ”)  to  his  old 
friend  Air.  Eenn,  as  it  settles  the  matter  of  the  “oldest  correspondent.” 
The  letter  is  dated  January  2nd,  1879,  and  here  it  is — “You  mV  the 
oldest  of  the  ‘  Cottage  Gardener  s  ’  recognised  correspondents,  your  first 
contribution  to  its  pages  being  in  1850;  and  I  can  truly  say  that  no 
change  has  taken  place  in  the  twenty-nine  years  in  the  estimation  in 
which  you  are  held  by  G.  W.  .1.”  This  “first  contribution”  was  a 
short  note  on  soot  and  salt  for  Potatoes,  written  now  forty-eight  years 
ago. 
We  will  now,  as  our  old  friend  says,  “  hark  back,”  In  1861  he  seems 
to  have  bet  n  indulging  in  poetry ;  but  the  old  chieftain  was  one  too  many 
for  him,  as  on  November  24th  of  that  year  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Eenn  : — “Sir 
Godfrey  Knellar  always  thought  he  ought  to  have  been  a  soldier  rather 
than  a  iiainter  ;  and  Liston,  the  comedian,  as. persistently  maintained  that 
tragedy  was  his  forte  ;  whether  gou  think  you  excel, in  poetry  rather  than 
in  prose  I  do  not  know,  nor  need  I  sit  in  judgment  upon  such  an  opinion, 
as  we  do  not  intend  publishing  any  poetry  this  year.” 
This  was  rather  a  hard  hit,  but  the  genial  old  Editor  had  ready  a 
solatium  (and  it  indicates  the  date  of  no  doubt  the  finest  exhibit  of 
seedling  Potatoes,  the  result  of  careful  crois  fertilisation  that  the  world 
had  ever  seen),  for  he  goes  on  to  remark— “  lYhat  .an  interesting 
collection  was  yours  at  South  Kensington  last  week.  I  neyqr  saw  so  large 
a  collection  of  well-grown,  perfect,  and  useful  sized  Potatoes,  There  was 
a  cluster  of  ladies  round  it,  loud  in  their  praise,  and  it  was  long  before 
their  interest  in  it  slackened.”  After  that  the  “  poet  ”  could  not  very  well 
complain  by  being  told,  in  euphonious  phrase,  that  his  lines  had  gone 
into  the  W.P.B. 
We  have  not  quite  done  yet.  The  grafting  of  Potatoes  has  been  from 
time  to  time  adverted  to  as  somewhat  of  a  novelty,  but  here  we  find  the 
chieftain,  under  date  April  25th,  1872,  writing  to  the  “Pioneer”— 
“  Thanks  for  your  notes  on  the  Potato  grafting.  They  shall  be  fore  horse 
in  the  next  J.  of  11.  ’  They  were. 
Now,  for  the  last  and  not  quite  unseasonable  citation,  which  is  highly 
characteristic  of  the  man  who  penned  the  original  on  December  19th,  1873. 
“To  Air.  and  Airs.  Eenn.  To  the  latter  I  say,  with  Hudibras,  ‘  Aladam, 
I  do,  as  is  my  dutj',  honour  the  shadow  of  your  shoe  tie.’  To  the  former, 
‘  Alay  it  never  be  your  fate  to  lack  Grape  wine  and  sound  Potatoes’ ;  and 
to  both  I  say  heartily,  ‘  Alay  the  coming  Christmas  and  New  A'ear  be 
joyous,”’ 
To  this  may  we  add  that  during  the  period  which  has  since  elapsed 
Potatoes  of  his  own  raising  and  Grape  wine  of  his  own  brewing  have  not 
been  lacking  by  the  gardener,  larmer,  and  churchward'.  nof  Sulhampstead  ; 
and  still  further  may  the  hope  be  expressed— a  hope  in  which  many  will 
join— that  he  and  the  “Chajdain”  may  be  seen  crossiug  swords 
dexterously,  that  never  wound,  alter  their  next  jo^'ous  Christmas  and  new 
year.'— Ed.] 
SUCCESSFUL  VIOLET  CULTURE. 
Nowhere  have  I  seen  Violets  in  a  more  satisfactory  condition  than 
they  are  at  this  season  at  Bowden  Hill  House,  the  Wiltshire  residence  of 
H.  J,  Harris,  Esq.  Both  the  Russian  and  Neapolitan  types  are  grown 
extensively  to  meet  the  demand  for  blooms,  and  Afr.  M  .  lenton,  the 
gardener,  is  to  )>e  congratulated  upon  his  success  with  them. 
A  good  type  of  The  Czar  is  principally  grown  in  the  open,  but  a  trial  is 
to  be  given  to  the  newer,  longer  stemmed,  larger  flowered  varieties  of  more 
recent  introduction.  Eor  pit  and  frame  culture  the  popular  Afarie  Louise 
is  mostly  grown,  and  when  I  saw  these  recently  there  were  numbers  of 
fine  long  stemmed  blooms  on  the  plants  considerably  above  the  a\erag0 
in  qualitvq  while  the  old  Neapolitan  was  also  doing  well.  To  be  able  to 
pick  twenty  or  more  large  bunchi  s  at  a  single  gathering  during  the  dull 
w'^eather  prevailing  at  the  end  ol  December,  and  that,  too,  without  any 
forcing  or  undue  weakening  of  the  plants,  .conveys  ,a  good  idea  of  what 
is  going  on  at  Bowden  Hill  House. 
Air.  Penton  believes  in  young  stocks,  planting  newdy  TOotVd  la^^rs 
every  siiring,  and  the  strong  clumps  resulting  are  not  coddled  in  any  way 
after  they  are  moved  into  frames  and  pits — abundance  of  light  and  air 
best  suiting  them.  The  Russians  are  also  all  young  plants,  but  they  are 
larger  than  two-\mar-old  plants  are  usually  seen,  and  are  all  furnished 
with  abundance  of  fresh,  hea’thy  leaves.  Efesh  soil,  good  attendance 
during  hot  weather,  pure  air,  coupled  with  shade  from  tall  trees  during 
the  hottest  part  of  the  day,  are  the  conditions  that  suit  VUdels  so  well  at 
Bowden  Hill. — W.  I. 
