498 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  16,  1898. 
Third 
1.  F.  E.  Belcher,  Enfield  ...  146 
1.  A.  W.  Browning,  Gosford, 
Longniddry  . 145 
1.  Henrj'  Kingham,  Chelmsford  14.5 
1.  E.  Powell,  Yoxford,  Suffolk...  146 
5.  W.  Hind,  Aughton . 140 
5.  Henry  Hope,  Leicester  ...  140 
B.  P.  M.  Marshall,  Chelmsford  140 
8.  F.  South,  Holmes  Chapel  ...  135 
8,  H.  L.  Symes,  Milburn,  Esher  135 
10.  Mrs.  J.  Chapman,  Wimbledon 
Park  . 130 
10.  C.  Hew,  Ventnor  . 130 
10.  E.  H.  Niblett,  Sandown  ...  130 
10.  A.  McQuaker,  Edinburgh  ...  130 
10.  J.  F.  Sargeant,  Swanley  ...  130 
10.  D.  A.  Simes,  Chelmsford  ...  130 
10.  S.  W.  Whalley,  Streatley, 
Reading  . 130 
17.  H.  E.  Dave}',  St.  Albans  ...  125 
17.  Eobt.  Perry,  Milburn,  Esher  125 
Class. 
17.  J.  Wilson,  Wallingford  ...  125 
20.  J.  Hubband,  Mountfield, 
Faversham . 120 
20.  G.  Linter,  Yentnor . 120 
20.  J.  B.  Pratt,  Chelmsford  ...  120 
20.  W.  G.  Taylor,  Chelmsford  ...  120 
20.  W.  H.  Wield,  Kingston  Hill, 
Surrey  . 120 
20.  S.  Wren,  Chelmsford  ...  120 
26.  John  Atkins,  Caterham  ...  115 
26.  Samuel  E.  Brown,  Caterham  115 
26.  J.  Dent,  Wallingford  ...  115 
29.  F.  Wichelo,  Wallingford  ...  110 
30.  J.  H.  Brand,  Caterham  ...  105 
30.  G.  Hunter,  Gosford,  Long¬ 
niddry  . 105 
30.  G.  Braddy,  Chelmsford  ...  105 
30.  H.  G.  Chick,  Caterham  ...  105 
34.  J.  Fudge,  Holmes  Chapel  ...  100 
34.  C.  Rymes,  Surbiton . 100 
I  34.  A.  Wilkins,  Winchester  ...  100 
Glancing  at  the  list  of  candidates  and  their  marks,  the  observa¬ 
tions  of  the  examiners  on  the  “great  advantage  of  systematic  training” 
is  abundantly  justified,  for  what  do  we  find  ?  Eemembering  that  the 
maximum  number  of  marks  that  can  be  allotted  was  300,  we  find  that 
with  only  three  exceptions  the  nineteen  candidates  who  obtained  260 
and  upwards  were  college  or  technical  school  students,  and  eight  of 
them  ladies,  while  one  (Miss  Olive  M.  Harrisson,  Swanley  College)  has 
won  the  premier  position,  and  may  therefore  be  described,  with  con¬ 
gratulations,  as  the  Senior  Wrangler,  with  285  marks.  Seven  others 
of  the  nineteen,  who  are  not  more  than  60  below  the  maximum,  are 
Swanley  students,  while  six  have  been  trained  in  the  County  Technical 
School,  Stafford,  and  one  each  in  the  Technical  Laboratories,  Chelms¬ 
ford,  and  the  IMnnicipal  Technical  School,  Leicester.  The  three  others 
are  Mr.  F.  A.  Gwilliam,  Palace  Gardens,  Gloucester;  Mr.  A,  Tanner, 
schoolmaster,  Cobham,  Surrey ;  and  Mr.  H.  H.  Thomas,  Kew  Road, 
Surrey ;  and  all  are  complimented  on  their  success. 
Several  other  students  in  the  institutions  mentioned,  also  in  the 
Horticultural  School,  Holmes  Chapel,  Chester,  have  passed  in  some 
of  the  classes.  Altogether  we  find  eighty-five  students  in  the  lists 
from  those  technical  schools,  leaving  only  ninety-nine  from  the  whole 
of  the  counties  of  England,  in  fact  from  the  United  Kingdom,  where 
no  special  training  is  given  for  purposes  of  examination.  We  find 
the  names  of  tw'enty-two  ladies  in  the  lists,  all,  save  one,  with  the 
prefix  “  Miss  ”  fand  nearly  all  from  Swanley),  the  notable  exception 
being  Mrs.  J.  Chapman,  Wimbledon  Park,  and  we  think  the  men  folk 
ought  to  congratulate  them  on  their  diligence  and  success. 
Regarding  Swanley  as  cosmopolitan,  the  college  there  being  open 
to  all  the  world,  and  the  “  IMisses  ”  beating  the  “  Mr.’s  ”  out  of  the 
field,  the  county,  with  no  central  college  or  school  of  horticulture, 
which  heads  the  list  of  successful  candidates  is  Surrey,  with  twenty- 
three.  There  appears  to  be  the  same  number  from  Staffordshire, 
but  nineteen  of  these  are  from  the  Technical  School.  Then  the  fall 
is  great,  Berks,  Lancashire,  and  Hants  (including  the  Isle  of  Wight) 
coming  next  in  order,  none  exceeding  a  dozen.  The  “  Garden  Isle,” 
though  small,  seems  to  have  done  nearly  as  well  as  Yorlishire,  and 
better  than  any  other  county,  except  those  named.  Half  the  counties 
of  England  and  YJales  are  not  represented,  nor  is  Ireland,  though,  as 
the  report  states,  there  are  eleven  students  classed  from  Scotland. 
Are  the  results  satisfactory  ?  One  thing  seems  clear — namely, 
that  the  progress  is  not  so  general  as  the  promoters  of  these  examina¬ 
tions  can  desire  to  see.  Why  is  there  not  a  wider  increase  in  the 
numbers  of  candidates  ?  One  reason  is  that  a  very  considerable 
number  o(  gardeners  conceive  that  students  in  colleges  and  technical 
schools  should,  as  such,  have  a  separate  examination.  Whether  this 
is  advisable,  and  if  so  practicable,  is  for  others  to  determine,  but  we 
know  that  some  of  the  most  able  and  intelligent  gardeners  decline 
to  enter  the  lists  ol  candidates  under  the  existing  conditions,  and 
perhaps  they  would  not  enter  under  any  other.  They  object  Co  the 
scheme  itself,  which  they  regard  as  ter;ding  in  the  direction  of  the 
manufacture  of  gardeners  largely  by  artificial  processes,  to  the  ultimate 
disappointment  of  a  large  number  of  them  who  cannot  hope  to  find 
appointments  which  they  can  fill  with  satisfaction  to  themselves  and 
others  in  an  already  seriomsly  overstocked  market. 
It  is  not  unreasonable  that  this  feeling  should  prevail,  seeing  that 
so  many  excellent  men  cannot  find  employment  in  the  calling  to 
which  they  have  worked  so  long  and  well.  Furthermore  they  will  ask, 
as  we  have  been  asked  time  after  time,  if  the  very  best  gardeners 
in  Britain  to-day,  or  in  the  world,  have  been  made  w'hat  they  are  by 
paper  examinations  ?  It  is  difficult  to  meet  such  questions,  and  if 
the  examiners  can  do  so  we  shall  be  delighted  by  their  aid. 
^Ve  have  no  difficulty  whatever  in  answering  another  familiar 
question — “  Are  those  persons  who  obtain  the  greatest  number  of 
marks  to  be  regarded  as  the  most  competent  all-round  practical 
gardeners  ?  ”  The  reply  to  this  is,  “  Certainly  not ;  and  a  number  of 
them  never  intend  to  be  competitors  for  employment  in  the  gardeuin.; 
ranks.”  We  know  that  this  is  so,  both  in  the  case  of  ladies  and 
schoolmasters,  but  these  are  the  better  satisfied  with  themselves,  and 
may  be  of  more  service  to  others  by  the  knowledge  they  have  obtained 
in  an  art  in  which  they  are  interested,  and  which  they  believe  it 
would  be  w'ell  for  more  to  understand.  In  our  opinion  there  cannot 
be  too  many  persons  imbued  with  such  views,  for  we  are  convinced 
that  the  greater  the  number  of  people  who  are  brought  to  love 
gardening,  and  to  learn  all  they  can  about  it,  the  happier  will  be 
their  lives,  and  the  better  will  this  aggregate  love  and  knowledge  be 
for  the  community  as  a  whole. 
But  there  are  obviously  twm  kinds  of  gardening — the  higher  and 
mpre  elaborate,  and  even  luxurious,  type  for  the  comparatively  few — 
the  wealthy ;  the  more  plain,  useful,  attractive  in  a  small  way,  but 
not  less  enjoyable  for  the  many — the  workers.  For  these — small 
villa  residents,  artisans,  cottagers,  and  allotment  holders  who  delight 
in  gardening — the  teaching  and  the  tests  must  be  different.  Some  of 
them,  we  know,  struggle  with  the  R.H.S.  questions,  but  except  in  the 
case  of  a  few  educated  amateurs,  hopelessly.  They  indulge  in  the 
idea  that  by  passing  an  “  exam."’  they  will  pass  into  the  ranks  of 
professional  gardeners,  and  be  eligible  to  serve  in  that  capacity  in  the 
gardens  of  the  wealthy.  It  is  a  mere  dream.  There  is  better  hope 
for  them  by  starting  in  a  small  way  commercially,  and  by  degrees 
establishing  a  business  that  may  be  useful,  as  some  have  done.  The 
private  gardeners  w'ho  will  always  be  most  in  demand  arc  those  who 
are  not  only  well  grounded  in  the  theory  of  the  art  of  horticulture, 
but  who  have  also  gone  through  the  mill  of  experience  in  more  than 
one  arena  of  practice — or,  in  other  words,  they  must  be  expert  physical 
tvorkers,  competent  in  a  multitude  of  duties,  as  w^ell  as  trained 
directors,  whether  they  be  men  or  women.  It  is  admirable  to  see  the 
endeavours  that  are  being  made  to  this  end  ;  but  there  is  some  danger 
that  the  outcome  of  all  this  zeal  may  be  the  production  of  rather  too 
many  superficial  gardeners,  by  the  art  of  coaching  and  cramming  for 
the  Avinning  of  marks  in  pre-arranged  examinations — a  process  that 
has  been  tried  and  found  wanting  in  elementary  schools,  and  hence  in 
most,  if  not  all,  of  them  largely  discontinued  in  favour  of  surprise 
visits  by  inspectors  and  practical  tests  in  routine  work. 
PYRUS'  FLORIBUNDA  AND  GOLDEN  PIPPIN 
APPLE  AS  DECORATIVE  TREES. 
Apropos  of  the  former,  or  rather  of  its  variety,  atro-sanguinea, 
mentioned  on  page  463, 1  am  reminded  of  recently  seeing  several  fine 
specimens  in  charming  array  in  the  pleasant  grounds  at  The  Grove, 
Harborue,  the  seat  of  William  Kenrick,  Esq.,  M.P.  The  trees  in  question 
are  tall  standards  with  densely  branched  pendulous  heads,  growing  at 
about  50  yards  apart  in  a  long  boundary  border,  enclosing  a  portion  of 
the  grounds  from  the  public  roads,  the  whole  of  the  wide  border  being 
well  furnished  with  a  variety  of  other  ornamental  trees  and  shrubs, 
backed  with  a  line  of  principally  Austrian  Pines.  During  the  months 
of  May  and  .June,  when  Lilacs,  scarlet  and  pink  Thorns,  Brooms, 
Berberis  Darwini,  Rhododendrons,  Azaleas,  and  other  similar  plants, 
fronted  with  groups  of  hardy  herbaceous  flowers,  unfold  their  flowers, 
this  belt  is  very  handsome. 
Beautiful  and  attractive,  however,  as  the  various  forms  of  Pyrus  Malus 
floribunda,  including  spectabilis  (the  Chinese  Crab),  their  compeers,  some 
of  the  ordinary  Apples,  are  equally  beautiful,  and  worthily  claim  a  similar 
position  as  ornamental  trees.  Especially  does  this  apply  to  the  old 
Golden  Pippin  with  its  rich  deep  pink  blossoms  and  semi-pendulous  habit 
of  growth,  and  of  which  in  particular  I  recently  noticed  one  or  two  fine  old 
specimens  growing  amongst  several  other  sorts  in  a  large  cottage  garden,  or 
rather  orchard  garden.  The  scene  in  question  is  located  at  the  junction 
of  two  public  roads  forming  a  partial  boundary  of  a  field,  and  embosomed 
on  the  side  of  the  orchard  facing  the  field  is  a  very  quaint  old-fashioned 
Ivy-mantled  cottage,  thus  lending  enchantment  to  the  view. 
Long  may  this  unique  beauty  spot  be  permitted  to  remain,  and  not — 
it  may  be  relevant  to  remark — share  the  fate  of  an  adjacent  old  cottage  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  road  in  having  been  recently  razed  to  the  ground 
for  highway  improvements.  It,  too,  was  mantled  with  Ivy  to  the  ridge  of 
the  roof.  Tradition  says  that  a  lamily  of  Huguenots,  when  the^  were 
banished  from  France  upwards  of  300  years  ago,  found  an  asylum  in  this 
abode,  and  as  a  means  of  maintenance  pursued  the  art  of  silk  weaving. 
This  locality  is  also  additionally  rich  in  historical  attributes,  inasmuch  as 
within  a  stone’s  throw  from  the  two  old  places  adverted  to  is  the 
residence  once  occupied  by  Cox,  the  celebrated  landscape  painter,  and  in 
the  front  garden  of  which  is  growing  a  Weeping  Willow  hanging  its 
branches  o  er  the  public  footway.  It  is  said  to  have  been  planted  as  a 
slip  or  cutting  from  the  tree  growing  over  Napoleon’s  grave  at  St.  Helena. 
Also  along  one  side  of  the  same  road  or  street  are  growing  several  large 
ornamental-foliaged  Thorns,  the  gift  of  a  French  prince  when  on  a  visit  to 
the  neighbourhood. — W.  G. 
Peas  and  Strawberries. — It  may  interest  some  readers  to  know 
that  Green  Peas  were  picked  here  on  the  9th  inst.  I  cannot  say  the 
variety,  but  Harrison’s  Eclipse  on  a  warm  bank  is  practically  ready  too. 
The  first  unprotected  Strawberry  ripened  on  .June  6th,  a  yearling  root  of 
Laxton’s  No.  1,  Joeing  six  to  ten  days  earlier  than  similarly  treated  plants 
of  Royal  Sovereign  and  Noble. — Ea'ESHAM  Gardener. 
