October  21,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
387 
-  Royal  Appointment. — Messrs.  iJobbie  &  Co.,  seed  growers 
and  florists  to  the  Queen,  have  been  honoured  with  the  following  addition 
to  their  Royal  Warrant  of  Appointment: — “The  name  of  Andrew 
IMitchell  is  added  to  this  Warrant  as  one  of  the  firm  of  Dobbie  «k  Co.  b}- 
desire  of  the  Lord  Steward,  the  Earl  of  Pembroke.— Signed,  T.  C.  Alarch, 
Secretary,  Board  of  Green  Cloth,  Buckingham  Palace,  IGth  October, 
1897.” 
-  Distribution  of  Victoria  ^Medals. — The  next  meeting  of 
the  Committees  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  on  Tues¬ 
day,  October  26th,  at  the  Drill  Hall  for  fruit,  vegetables,  flowers,  and 
Orchids.  At  1.30  punctually  the  President  and  Council  entertain  at 
luncheon  the  sixty  recipients  of  the  Victoria  Medal  of  Honour,  granted 
by  her  IMaiesty’s  gracious  permission  in  celebration  of  the  completion  of 
the  sixtieth  year  of  her  reign.  The  lecture  announced  for  the  26th  will 
be  postponed,  and  instead  thereof,  at  three  o’clock,  the  sixty  medals  will 
be  distributed  to  the  recipients  by  the  President  in  the  Drill  Hall. 
- Herbaceous  PiEONiES. — Beautiful  as  these  are  in  the  summer, 
grand  indeed  as  are  their  flowers,  what  a  penalty  has  to  be  paid  in 
the  autumn  for  this  beauty,  because  the  leafage  dies  off  to  a  dirty  brown 
hue  so  earlj',  and  must  remain  for  some  time  apparently  to  mature  the 
crowns  ere  it  is  safe  to  cut  it  away.  Is  it  really  needful  that  the  stems 
should  thus  remain  uncut  so  long  after  the  leaves  have  become  brown  and 
unsightly  1  I  have  been  told  that  early  cutting,  that  is  as  soon  as  the 
leaves  begin  to  decay,  would  materially  weaken  the  crowns  for  the 
succeeding  year’s  blooming.  There  are  few  herbaceous  plants  where  such 
is  the  case,  and  of  which  the  growths  may  be  cut  so  soon  as  the  leafage 
dies.  The  various  German  Irises  are  also  very  unsightly  in  the  autumn 
as  the  flag-like  leaves  decay.  Really  these  plants  hardly  seem  worth 
places  in  the  garden,  especially  when  we  get  such  wondrous  beauty  from 
the  English  and  Spanish  varieties. — A. 
-  The  Qualifications  and  Duties  of  a  Gardener. — Mr. 
J.  Mayne,  gardener  to  the  Hon.  Mark  Rolle  at  Bicton,  read  the  first 
pajier  in  connection  with  the  autumn  session  of  the  Devon  and  Exeter 
Gardeners’  Association  at  the  Guildhall,  Exeter,  on  Wednesday  last, 
taking  for  his  subject  “  The  Qualifications  and  Duties  of  a  Gardener.” 
He  said  that  when  a  youth  started  to  learn  gardening  he  should  begin  in 
the  kitchen  garden.  The  majority  of  youths  wanted  to  start  under  glass, 
but  if  they  did  they  did  not  care  to  go  back  and  work  in  the  kitchen 
garden,  and  so  knew  next  to  nothing  about  the  latter  very  important 
branch.  He  considered  a  youth  ought  to  serve  at  least  two  years  in  the 
kitchen  garden,  and,  if  possible,  be  moved  into  the  flower  garden  for 
another  twelve  or  eighteen  months,  es]iecially  if  the  latter  were  awa\ 
from  the  kitchen  garden  any  distance,  and  where  a  regular  staff  of  men 
was  kept  for  each  department.  He  would  get  an  insight  into  bedding 
arrangements  in  early  summer  and  again  in  the  autumn,  as  well  as  the 
genei’al  routine  practised  in  a  well-kept  garden,  where  neatness  should 
always  be  noted.  The  youth’s  next  move  should  be  under  glass,  and  his 
first  duty  there,  for  a  few  months,  at  any  rate,  should  be  to  work  with  the 
foreman  or  a  good  journeyman  to  get  an  insight  as  to  airing, 
shading,  and  watering.  The  last-named  was  of  the  utmost  importance 
dn  gardening.  He  should  spend  one  year  at  least  in  the  plant  and  another 
year  or  more  in  the  fruit  department.  Then,  if  a  youth  had  done 
'between  three  and  four  years  outside,  as  advocated,  he  ought  to  make  a 
.  change,  and,  if  possible,  get  into  another  county,  as  the  climatic  conditions 
varied  so  much,  and  because  of  the  necessity  of  making  experience  as 
-  wide  as  possible  in  that  respect.  Two  years  was  quite  sufficient  for  a 
•young  man  to  remain  in  one  place  after  his  first  post.  What  he  required 
■was  to  gain  fresh  experience,  because  each  gardener  had  his  own  modus 
yoperandi,  and  in  after-life  he  would  be  able  to  use  his  own  discretion  as  to 
which  method  or  practice  would  be  most  successful.  Probationers  ought 
in  all  spare  hours  to  endeavour  to  educate  themselves  by  reading  and 
studying,  make  a  practice  of  keeping  a  diary,  so  as  to  be  able  to  enter 
each  day  what  work  had  been  done  under  glass  as  well  as  outside,  which 
they  might,  in  the  future,  find  of  great  service  as  a  book  of  reference. 
Mr.  Mayne  proceeded  to  consider  the  fully  qualified  gardener  and  his 
duties.  When  a  man  took  his  first  head  place  or  new  charge  his 
permanent  duty  should  be  to  find  out  what  his  employer’s  likes  and 
dislikes  were  respecting  fruit,  flowers,  and  vegetables  ;  next  to  secure 
discipline  and  punctuality.  He  must  thoroughly  understand  pruning, 
disbudding,  and  thinning,  and  should  perform  such  work,  as  well  as  the 
more  delicate  seed-sowing  and  the  packing  of  fruit  and  flowers,  as  far 
as  possible  himself,  and  should  closely  superintend  watering  and  outside 
work.  He  should  also  pay  nightly  visits  to  see  that  temperatures  of 
houses  were  properly  maintained.  A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  essayist  was 
passed. 
-  Death  of  Mr.  I.  Davies.— There  died  at  Ormskirk,  on  the 
lOth  inst.,  one  of  the  old  school  of  nurserymen,  Mr.  Isaac  Davies,  of  the 
Brook  Lane  Nurseries,  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty-five.  He  was  the 
raiser  of  many  good  Pelargoniums,  Cinerarias,  and  Calceolarias  nearly 
forty  years  ago.  Azalea  and  Rhododendron  hybrids,  through  his  skill, 
have  found  their  way  into  commerce.  Azalea  Daviesi,  Avalanche,  and 
Rhododendron  preecox,  the  beautiful  greenhouse  varieties.  Countess  of 
Derby,  Countess  of  Sefton,  and  Countess  of  Skelmersdale,  are  amongst 
the  many  the  deceased  gentleman  put  in  commerce. — A.  0. 
-  Cy'CAS  revoluta  in  Fruit. — I  send  herewith  for  your  notice 
a  fruiting  piece  of  Cycas  revoluta.  We  have  two  large  plants  here,  and 
this  year  one  has  thrown  up  a  fruiting  crown.  Will  some  reader  kindly 
say  if  it  is  a  common  occurrence,  also  if  it  will  spoil  the  plant  ?  I 
believe  there  are  male  and  female  plants,  which,  no  doubt,  through  want  of 
pollenising,  accounts  for  the  small  ovules,  of  which  there  are  several 
dozen,  being  hollow.  There  are  only  four  or  five  large  ovules  (as  per 
specimen)  ;  these  contain  a  kernel.  It  is  our  intention  to  try  if  they  will 
germinate.  Any  information  respecting  it  will  be  greatly  appreciated. — 
T.  Leith,  Beaurepaire  Park,  Basingstoke. 
-  “Faked”  Pots  op  Chrysanthemums.— A  fraud  that  was 
common  a  year  or  two  ago  seems  to  have  again  made  its  appearance,  that 
is,  the  “faking ’of  pots  of  Chrysanthemums,  which  are  palmed  on  an  unsus¬ 
pecting  public  by  peripatetic  vendors.  ( )ne  day  last  week  a  gentleman  in 
Kilburn  bought  half  a  dozen  pots  filled  with  vigorous  looking  plants> 
covered  with  beautiful  blooms,  at  Is.  6d.  each.  An  hour  or  two  later 
while  examining  his  purchase,  he  had  his  suspicions  excited  by  noticing  a 
couple  of  varieties  of  white  in  one  pot.  He  emptied  it  out  and  found  that 
the  spikes  had  been  cut  from  plants,  and  firmly  embedded  in  the  soil  in 
the  pot.  Not  one  of  the  lot  had  a  root ! 
-  Presentation  at  Eastnor  Castle  Gardens.  —  Mr . 
F.  Harris,  who  has  been  head  gardener  at  Eastnor  Gardens,  has 
resigned  his  position,  and  on  Saturday  last,  after  he  had  entertained  the 
garden  staff  and  a  few  friends  to  supper,  he  was  made  the  recipient  of 
a  gold  watch  and  an  illuminated  address.  Inside  the  case  of  the  watch 
was  the  following  inscription — “Presented  to  Frank  Harris  by  those 
who  have  been  connected  with  the  Eastnor  Gardens  during  the  nine 
years  he  has  lived  there,  as  a  token  of  esteem  (October,  1897).”  The 
address  spoke  in  praiseworthy  terms  of  the  way  Mr.  Harris  had  carried 
out  his  duties,  and  wished  him  every  success  in  the  future.  Mr. 
W.  Coleman,  agent  to  Lady  H.  Somerset,  made  the  presentation.  Mr. 
Harris  thanked  Mr.  Coleman  for  his  kind  remarks. 
A  GAl^DENER’S  HOLIDAY. 
As  the  season  comes  round,  even  a  gardener  looks  for  a  turu  some- 
wbere,  and  in  that  respect  I  am  one  of  the  fortunate  ones,  for  my 
enqiloyers  never  fail  to  remind  me  to  take  my  holiday. 
I  have  long  had  a  desire  to  see  Aberdeen,  so  I  made  my  way  to 
Hull,  placed  my  bag  on  a  steamer,  and  then,  having  a  few  hours  to 
spare,  went  to  Beverley  to  see  Mr.  G.  Swaile’s  Roses,  and  was  shown 
a  grand  collection.  The  plants,  which  have  not  been  fed  to  produce 
big  show  blooms,  but  short  solid  wood,  are  dwarf  and  sturdy,  and  I 
feel  sure  they  will  produce  excellent  flowers.  I  was  also  shown  an 
interesting  garden  at  Beverley  belonging  to  Mr.  Boyes,  which  is  full  of 
seedlings,  hardy  fruit  trees,  bees,  and  birds.  I  quite  expect  some  of  the 
seedling  Apples  will  be  heard  of  in  high  (juarters  in  the  future.  But 
time  and  tide  will  not  wait,  so  I  returned  to  the  boat,  which  arrived  in 
Aberdeen  after  a  twenty-two  hours’  run.  Being  Sunday  alternoon, 
everything  was  very  quiet.  Sandy  was  wearing  his  religious  face. 
However,  I  took  a  seven- miles  drive  up  the  Deeside,  and  found  it  both 
enjoyable  and  instructive.  The  next  morning  I  made  one  of  an  English 
party  who  took  return  tickets  to  Braemar.  The  railway  runs  along  the 
beautiful  valley  of  the  Dee  as  far  as  Balater,  thence  by  coach,  passing 
Balmoral  and  Old  Mar  Lodge  on  the  way,  I  wish  I  could  give  readers  an 
idea  of  this  lovely  piece  of  country.  Balmoral  is  situated  in  the  most 
beautiful  valley  imaginable.  The  Pine-covered  hills  are  superb,  and  such 
splendid  specimens  of  Araucaria  imbricata  show  the  climate  must  be  very 
temperate  there.  A  hearty  lunch  at  Braemar,  and  our  return  journey 
commenced. 
On  Tuesday  morning  I  found  my  way  to  Messrs.  Cocker  &  Sons’ 
Rose  Nursery,  and  was  being  shown  through  the  Rose  portion  when 
Mr.  Cocker,  jun.,  who  was  acting  as  guide,  was  called  away  to  the  death 
bed  of  his  father.  The  nurseries  are  situated  on  a  slope  facing  south, 
but  as  the  builders  are  making  sad  havoc,  laying  out  roads  and  streets 
through  the  middle  of  the  Rose  ground,  the  firm  will  have  to  seek  for  a 
fresh  site  very  soon. 
I  was  shown  over  the  granite  quarries  and  works,  which  were  very 
interesting.  Aberdeen  is  a  beautifully  clean  city,  and  well  worth  a  visit. 
Nothing  could  excel  the  trip  back  to  Hull.  The  sea  was  as  smooth  as  oil, 
the  sky  lit  at  night  by  innumerable  stars,  light  night,  and  the  day  vvarmed 
by  the  brilliant  sun.  After  spending  a  few  days  on  the  Lincolnshire  coast 
I  returned  home  to  my  duties. — .1.  Mallender. 
