40 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
Reminiscences. 
Time  speeds  on  with  rapid  wings,  and  once  again  we  find 
ourselves  giving  and  receiving  the  customary  New  Year 
congratulations.  As  we  sit  here,  within  view  of  the  snow- 
clad  Grampians,  we  would  cordially  extend  to  the  staff  of  our 
good  old  Journal,  and  to  its  numerous  readers  everywhere, 
our  sincere  and  hearty  good  wishes  for  continued  and  in¬ 
creased  prosperity.  Our  earnest  wish  is,  that  the  Journal 
which  has  so  long  proved  a  wise  counsellor  and  a  sound  and 
trusty  guide  to  many  in  days  gone  by,  may  in  the  future 
have  its  already  wide  field  of  usefulness  still  further  ex¬ 
tended.  It  is  well  nigh  a  quarter  of  a  century  now  since  we 
commenced  reading  the  pages  of  the  Journal,  and  many  a 
pleasant  and  profitable  hour  has  been  spent  during  that 
period  perusing  its  pages,  so  full  of  interesting  and  instruc¬ 
tive  matter. 
Almost  twenty  years  have  now  elapsed  since  we  had  the 
temerity  to  pen  a  brief  paragraph  for  its  pages,  and  it  was 
a  proud  day  indeed  for  us  when  we  saw  our  first  effort  appear 
in  print,  and  also  received  a  kindly  and  encouraging  letter 
from  the  sub-editor.  And  as  we  sit  to-day  and  ponder  over 
the  past,  many  a  pleasant  memory  of  bygoim  days  comes 
back  to  us — memories  of  those  who  were  once*familiar  to  us 
by  their  instructive  articles  in  the  columns  of  our  Journal, 
but  whose  pens  have  long  since  been  laid  aside.  Still,  their 
beneficent  influence  has  not  lost  its  effects,  and  their  wise 
and  practical  teachings  continue  to  bear  fruit.  How  memory 
wanders,  once  she  gets  a  loose  rein,  and  we  are  carried  away 
back  now  to  a  time  when  the  late  Editor  spent  a  brief  holi-, 
day  among  the  “  bonnie  hills  of  Eskdale,”  which  must  be 
seven  or  eight  and  twenty  years  ago.  Tlae  writer  of  these 
lines  was  only  a  schoolboy  then. 
Many  who  were  at  that  time  bearing  the  heat  and  burden 
of  arduous  cares  and  toils,  have  long  since  gone  to  their 
long  home,  but  their  memories  are  with  us  still.  To-day  do 
the  memories  of  those  dear  friends  come  back  to  us  with  a 
sweet  and  comforting  fragrance,  for  many  a  cheering  word, 
and  many  a  kindly  act,  did  they  accord  us.  But  we  must 
rein  in  our  wandering  steed,  and  come  to  more  recent  times. 
The  first  year  of  the  twentieth  century  has  come  and 
gone,  and  we  have  bfeen  permitted  to  pass  one  more  mile¬ 
stone  on  the  great  highway  of  life.  How  many  will  pass  the 
next  we  dare  not  presume  to  say.  The  great  army  of  horti¬ 
culture  is  still  pressing  on,  still  progressing,  still  achieving 
victories.  As  we  review  the  past  year,  we  have  mixed  feel¬ 
ings  indeed,  feelings  of  gratitude  to  Him  who  is  the  All-wise 
Ruler  of  aU  things,  for  the  large  measure  of  success  that  has 
marked  the  progress  of  horticulture  during  the  opening  vear 
of  this  century  ;  and  feelings,  too,  of  pain  and  sorrow,  as  we 
think  of  the  losses  that  our  ranks  have  sustained  during  that 
period. 
Amongst  the  fallen  are  some  who  exercised  a  great  influ¬ 
ence  upon,  and  performed  yeoman  service  in,  the  vast 
of  horticulture,  men  whose  names  were  familiar  the 
whole  wide  world  over,  men  who,  as  it  were,  were  leaders  in 
peaceful  army,  and  their  vacant  places  will  be  hard  to 
Cl  others  also  in  greater  numbers  in  the  rank 
anl  file  of  that  great  army,  men  whose  names  were  perhaps 
unknown  beyond  the  immediate  sphere  of  their  labours,  yet 
who,  nevertheless,  nobly  and  faithfully  filled  their  posts,  and 
conscientiously  discharged  arduous  duties  in  many  an 
obscure  position  they,  too,  have  gone  the  way  of  all  flesh, 
and  we  miss  them  much,  and  “  Long  for  the  touch  of  a 
vanished  hand,  and  the  sound  of  a  voice  that  is  still.” 
Repining  and  vain  regrets,  however,  will  avail  us 
nothing ;  we  must  be  up  and  doing,  fill  the  vacant  gaps  in 
the  ranks,  and  imitate  the  noble  example  which  such  faithful 
ones  and  true  have  left  behind — a  glorious  legacy  to  all 
succeeding  time.  Failures  there  have  been  in  the  past — 
aye !  many  of  them — but  to  the  man  of  pluck  and  determi¬ 
nation  these  only  act  as  incentives  to  renewed  and  strenuous 
efforts,  and  such  failures  are  eventually  made  stepping- 
stones  to  future  success.  Let  us  learn,  then,  the  lessons 
from  the  pages  of  past  experiences,  whether  these  be  failures 
or  successes,  and  thereby  equip  ourselves  more  fully  to 
battle  with,  and  overcome,  the  many  obstacles  and  diffi¬ 
culties  which  may  obstruct  our  progress  in  the  future.  Let 
unity  and  self-help  be  ever  our  watchword,  and  through  the 
medium  of  the  pages  of  our  dear  old  “Journal”  let  the 
strong  assist  the  weak,  and  the  old  and  experienced  stretch 
out  a  helping  hand  to  the  young  and  willing  learner,  and 
January  9,  1902. 
thus  we  shall  steadily  make  progress,  and  uphold  in  its  high 
position  the  grand  old  traditions  of  British  horticulture. 
Albyn. 
- - 
Things  I  Should  Like  to  Know. 
As  I  sit  down  to  write,  hosts  of  things  in  this  great  world 
of  ours— which  seem  to  be  beyond  my  comprehension— rise 
before  me  like  a  “mountain”  shrouded  in  mist.  About 
some  of  them  I  dare  not  write ;  of  others  I  should  perhaps 
not  learn  much  by  publishing  my  ignorance  abroad.  I  will 
therefore  come  down  to  the  common  things  of  life,  about 
which  the  followers  of  Adam’s  art  should  know  at  least 
“  something.” 
I  have  done  many  things  during  the  recent  festive 
season;  some  were  perhaps  “wise,”  some  “otherwise.” 
Such  matters  depend  upon  the  view  of  each  individual. 
One  thing  I  did — which  to  my  mind,  at  least,  seemed  not  a 
foolish  one — was  to  “  sample  ”  a  great  many  Apples  of 
various  degrees  of  excellence,  instead  of  partaking  largely 
of  more  substantial  fare.  I  ate  freely  of  the  good  old 
English  Blenheim  ;  of  the  still  choicer  Cox’s  Orange  Pippin, 
and  I  tried  hard  to  discover  some  great  point  of  merit  in  the 
famous  “  Newtown  Pippins,”  but  the  more  I  tried  the  more 
I  wondered  upon  what  their  fame  has  been  built. 
In  point  of  flavour  they  are  infinitely  inferior  to  Cox’s 
Orange  Pippin,  and  although  large,  not  so  attractive  in 
appearance.  Blenheims  are  also  better  to  look  at  than 
“  Newtowns,”  and  I  think  also  a  “  wee  ”  bit  better  in  flavour. 
Now,  this  is  one  of  the  things  I  want  to  know — why  the 
British  public  will  pay  sixpence  per  pound  for  Newtown 
Pippins,  when  they  can  get  good  Cox’s  for  threepence  ? 
These  are  the  retail  nrices  for  good  samples  in  hosts  of 
shops  at  this  season  of  the  year.  There  is  no  Apple  in  the 
world  to  compare  with  Cox’s  in  point  of  flavour,  or,  if  there 
is,  I  should  like  to  see  it.  A  hundred  acres  planted  with  that 
variety  at  once  could  not  fail  to  prove  a  profitable  invest¬ 
ment,  if  placed  under  skilful  and  energetic  management,  and 
I  want  to  know  if  anybody  is  going  to  do  it  1 
I  should  like  to  know  if  there  are  any  signs  at  present 
that  the  enormous  importations  of  Apples  are  likely  to  be¬ 
come  less  in  the  future  1  And  if  not,  why  not  1  Is  it  be¬ 
cause  good  samples  cannot  be  grown  with  ordinary  care  in 
England  'I  Or  because  there  is  only  a  limited  amount  of 
soil  suitable  for  the  purpose?  Neither  supposition  seems 
satisfactory,  because  I  have  seen  a  few  Apple  trees  during 
the  last  six  months,  and  although  they  were  growing  in 
soils  having  widely  different  characteristics,  the  Apples 
seemed  “all  right”  where  the  trees  had  been  well  looked 
after. 
I  have  noticed  during  my  peregrinations  that,  consider¬ 
ing  what  a  tight  little  island  this  is,  and  how  thickly  it  is 
peopled,  there  seems  to  be  a  precious  lot  of  land  growing 
“  nothing  much,”  even  in  districts  where  I  see  a  few  odd 
Apple  trees  doing  well. 
This  has  set  me  thinking  (I  do  think  occasionally!),  but  I 
have  never  thought  long  enough,  or  deep  enough,  to  find 
out  why  the  British  people  are  content  to  depend  so  largely 
upon  the  foreign  supplies  of  a  fruit  which  is  indigenous  to 
their  own  land. 
“  Ah !  ”  those  who  know  something  about  these  matters 
may  exclaim,  “  capital  is  required  to  embark  in  fruit  grow¬ 
ing.”  Well,  there  is  plenty  of  capital  in  this  country,  and 
it  seems  to  flow  in  freely  enough  when  some  wild  cat  scheme 
of  company  promoting  is  in  progress.  If  a  thousandth  part 
of  the  capital  which  has  been  lost  in  such  schemes  had  long 
ago  been  devoted  to  the  formation  of  a  British  Apple 
Growing  Company,  conducted  on  honest  and  business  like 
principles,  I  guess  there  would  have  been  fewer  foreign 
Apples  in  England  to-day.  And  the  “  wasted  ”  capital  would 
have  had  a  “  grand  asset  ”  in  the  shape  of  magnificent 
orchards. 
I  wonder  why  a  combine  is  not  formed  to  accomplish 
what  isolated  individuals  have  so  long  neglected.  This  is 
one  other  “  little  ”  thing  I  should  like  to  know.  Concerning 
all  these  matters  I  have  a  thirst  for  knowledge,  and  yet  my 
ignorance  is  so  great  that  I  feel  bound  to  subscribe  myself — 
]  Ignoramus. 
