256 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  March  20,  1902. 
these  diversions  are  more  fitted  for  the  younger  members  of  the 
craft.  When  a  man  is  becoming  older  the  responsibilities  of 
his  charofe  become  more  absorbing,  and  a  desire  to  do  justice  to 
his  work  monopolises  a  large  amount  of  his  attention.  To  these 
I  say  football  and  cricket  should  not  be  gods  to  worship,  but 
only  indulged  in  occasionally  as  a  break,  and  not  at  all  unless 
special 'y  fond  of  the  games. 
Gardeners,  as  a  rule,  obtain  plenty  of  exercise,  and  it  is  not 
advisable  that  they  should  seek  for  too  much,  in  a  physical  sense. 
There  are  other  exercises  which  might  be  advantageously  fol¬ 
lowed,  and  these,  which  ought  to  he  of  a  mental  character,  are 
equally  necessary  for  all  who  wish  to  succeed.  Young  men  differ 
in  their  capacities  and  desires  for  following  up  any  particular 
line  of  knowledge,  but  whatever  the  extent  of  that  desire  or 
capacity  is,  there  is  always  room  for  development  and  improve¬ 
ment,  whether  it  be  elementary  or  advanced  knowledge.  I  am 
not  going  to  give  a  list  of  subjects  which  gardeners,  as  a  rule, 
ou.ht  to  have  a  knowledge  of;  but  I  would  impress  upon  young 
meii  to  organise  something  in  tlieir  spare  hours  other 
than  card  playing,  dancing,  or  the  inveterate  practising 
of  .so-called  music.  Legitimate  entertainments  or  recrea¬ 
tions  are  not  for  one  moment  to  be  deprecated,  but 
let  them  only  have  a  fair  share  of  the  young  gardener’s 
va'nable  leisure.  Do  not  always  give  in  to  fancy,  but  cultivate 
the  higher  sentiments.  It  will  be  good  for  health  and  pocket 
and  open  up  possibilities  which  might  be  realised.  There  are 
plenty  of  opportunities  and  means  of  studying  available  now, 
even  if  the  young  gardener  does  not  feel  the  inclination  to  go 
deeply  into  subjects  which  may  be  considered  essential. 
One  of  the  best  means  of  improvement  which  is  open  to  all 
young  gardeners  rvho  live  within  a  reasonable  radius  of  a  large 
town  or  village  is  to  join  a  mutual  improvement  society,  or 
form  one  if  none  exists.  A  large  body  of  young  men  suppoiTing 
such  a  society  could  materially  help  the  executive  to  bring  good 
talent  among  them  whereby  knowdedge  of  exceeding  usefulness 
could  be  diffused  among  them.  The  most  illiterate  would  be 
interested  and  instructed,  and  all  could  gather  something  or 
impart  something  useful  and  acceptable,  Let  a  society  or  body 
of  men  secure  from  the  commencement  a  good  leader  or  secre¬ 
tary,  rally  round  him  and  support  him  in  all  his  efforts  to  benefit 
the  members  as  a  whole,  and  it  will  be  surprising  how  enthu¬ 
siasm  grows. 
It  has  been  said  that  horticultural  societies  cannot  exist  for 
long  without  substantial  prizes  for  exhibits  dangle  before  the 
members,  but  during  recent  years — only  two  years,  in  fact — one 
of  the  be.st  and  largest  mutual  improvement  societies  has  sprung 
into  existence  mainly  through  the  efforts  of  a  most  enterprising 
secretary.  The  example  and  enthusiasm  of  such  a  man  is  itself 
an  education  to  the  younger  members  who  attend  the  meetings, 
but  perhaps  take  no  part  in  the  discussions  or  otherwise.  Tire 
work  done  by  the  society  must  be  helping  them,  however,  though 
they  knew  it  not,  and  certainly  they  are  helping  all  with 
•  whom  they  are  in  association  by  being  members.  In  after  years 
these  things  will  bear  fruit ;  therefore,  I  say  to  young  men. 
Combine  for  intellectual  improvement,  and  the  gardening  world 
will  be  richer  and  better  therefrom.^ — Kentish  Cob. 
You  have  the  thanks  of  most  bothyites  for  opening  the  pages 
of  the  Journal  for  a  discussion  on  the  bothy.  We  know  that 
bothies  in  many  cases  are  not  what  they  might  be,  and  in  the 
majority  of  cases  the  fault  rests  with  the  gardener.  I  know 
bothies  that  have  been  first  class,  but  for  the  want  of  an  occasional 
spring  cleaning  they  have  become  anything  but  a  credit  to  the 
gardeners  who  have  charge  of  them.  In  a  month  or  so  we  shall 
see  a  staff  of  painters  at  work  on  houses  all  round  the  bothy, 
but  to  get  them  inside  there  is  out  of  the  question.  It  seems  the 
houses  must  be  attended  to,  but  the  bothy  doesn’t  even  get  a 
passing  thought.  The  building  itself  may  not  be  a  very  stylish 
affair ;  but  it  might  be  kept  clean,  for  a  couple  of  men  with 
paint  and  whitewash  can  transform  the  appearance  of  a  bothy 
in  a  few  hours.  The  sleeping  accommodation  is  also  sadly 
neglected.  I  think  that  each  should  at  least  be  provided  with 
a  single  bed,  if  not  the  luxury  of  a  single  room.  Again,  what 
have  we  in  the  way 'of  a  bath?  In  the  majority  of  bothies  a 
bucket  an.sivers  the  purpose,  and  after  a  week  “on  the  wheel,”  with 
the  bathroom  swinging  on  your  arm,  one  makes  tracks  for  the  stove 
tank,  which  I  think  is  the  recognised  winter  bathing  quarters. 
In  summer  you  take  your  “  Brighton”  in  the  vinery  tank.  The 
next  item  on  the  programme,  and  an  important  one,  too,  is  the 
bothy  woman.  A  poor  bothy  and  a  woman  to  match  are  bad, 
but  a  bothy  without  a  woman  is — well,  bad  too.  For  my  own 
part,  I  consider  myself  lucky,  for,  having  passed  through  the 
bauds  of  eleven,  I  can  lay  claim  to  know  something  about  them; 
but  with  every  fairness  to  the  ladies,  I  have  found  them,  with 
one  or  two  exceptions,  very  good.  Cooking  seems  the  stumbling 
block  of  many.  Take,  for  instance,  a  dinner,  something  after 
this  style,  and  which  I  have  sat  down  to  more  than  once  ;  Roast 
mutton.  Potatoes,  and  Cauliflower  (boiled  togetherX  and  Sago 
pudding.  You  make  for  the_  mutton,  and  find  it  nearly  half 
cooked,  but  by  going  half  an  inch  deep  all  over,  you  get  enough 
Tto  serve.  Then,  spoon  in  hand,  you  make  a  desperate  plunge  at 
the  Cauliflower,  and  get  a  reminder,  like  opening  the  doors  of  a 
menagerie.  You  look  round  and  find  there  is  a  vacant  chair,  the 
owner  having  done  a  sharp  flank  movement  for  the  back.  When 
he  returns,  looking  very  “choppy,”  he  tells  you  he  doesn  t  want 
any  Cauliflower.  So,  with  a  “  vengeance  is  mine  sort  of 
feeling  about  you,  you  make  for  the  second  and  last  course,  the 
Sago  pudding,  which  is  to  make  up  for  the  other  drawbacks; 
and  wlien  that  Sago  pudding  turns  out  to  be  one  of  pearl 
barley — well,  we  will  pass  over  what  follows. 
One  other  worthy  I  should  like  to  speak  of,  and  that  is  the 
doctor.  hen  being  engaged  by  some,  particular  stress  is  laid 
on  the  free  doctor.  You  wonder  why,  but  you  are  not  kept 
wondering  long.  After  a  few  meals  like  the  above,  you  are  only 
too  pleased  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  that  gentleman.  The 
half-holiday  on  Saturday  is  always  appreciated,  and  which,  when 
given,  one  always  works  well  for,  and  pays  back  in  oveiTime 
duty.-  A  Foreman. 
- - 
An  Archway  of  Gourds. 
In  sheltered,  sunny  situations,  ornamental  Cucurbitaceous 
plants,  as  represented  by  varieties  of  Cucurbita  Pepo  and 
C.  maxima  grows  exceedingly  well,  and,  so  far  as  our  voice  and 
pen  can  recommend  these  nlants  for  ornamental  uses  on  arch- 
w’ays,  pergolas,  and  columns,  we  will  do  so  most  heartily.  On 
page  257  we  illustrate  a  Gourd  archway,  from  a  photograph  by 
P.  A.  Molteno,  Esq.,  Parklands,  Shiere,  near  Guildford;  and  our 
correspondent  kindly  sends  a  letter,  which  we  print,  as  follows : 
“I  found  it  difficult  to  get  anything  to  grow  in  the  border  where 
the  Gourds  are  growing,  as  it  was  very  dry  and  sandy.  These 
condit  ons  seemed  to  me  suitable  for  the  growth  of  Gourds.  I 
made  a  light  trellis,  oft  wide,  6ft  high,  and  64ft  long.  Lengthy 
rods  were  pressed  into  the  earth  on  each  side,  and  bent  over  so 
as  to  form  an  arch,  with  a  connecting  rod  running  along  at  the 
top,  and  a  similar  connecting  rod  on  each  side  at  the  spring 
of  the  arch,  was  all  the  structure  necessary. 
“  The  Gourds  were  raised  in  the  usual  way,  and  planted  out 
at  the  end  of  May.  As  soon  a§  they  began  to  run  they  were 
bound  to  the  trellis,  and  as  the  warmer  weather  came  they 
made  very  rapid  growth,  climbing  freely  up  and  over  the  trellis. 
The  latter  was  soon  covered  with  a  fine  green  foliage,  very 
handsome  i)i  the  largeness  of  the  leaves.  There  were  from  ten 
to  fifteen  different  species  (?).  The  fruits  were  of  many  sizes, 
shapes,  and  colours,  as  salmon,  red,  orange,  variegated,  black 
and  white,  green  and  yellow.  The  whole  formed  a  very  unique 
and  interesting  vista.  Some  of  the  fruits  attained  to  a  con¬ 
siderable  size,  as  will  be  seen  on  an  examination  of  the  photo¬ 
graph.  There  were  no  difficulties  to  contend  with.  The  well- 
drained  sandy  character  of  the  soil  was  no  doubt  the_  key  to 
the  situation.  I  may  say  the  garden  is  situated  on  the  Surrey 
Hills,  about  350ft  above  the  sea  level.” 
Most  of  the  leading  seedsmen  nowadays  are  able  to  supply 
seed  collections  of  Gourds.  In  choosing  a  spot  in  which  to 
grow  these  plants,  look  first  to  shelter  from  violent  winds,  which 
frequently  tear  the  large  leaves  to  pieces  in  a  few  hours;  and, 
secondly,  to  a  good  sunny  spot.  They  are  “  greedy  feeders,” 
and  no  soil  can  be  made  too  rich  for  them..  Some  of  the  common 
names  of  (1)  Gourds,  (2)  Squashes,  and  (3)  Pumpkins  are  as 
follows:  Spanish,  Orange,  Warty-skinned,  Swan’s-egg,  Apple, 
Melon,  Turban,  Grey,  Boulogne,  Miniature,  Bicolor  Pear, 
Brazilian,  Sugar,  Whale,  White  Pear,  Mottled  Pear,  Umbrella, 
Gooseberry,  White-egg,  Citron,  and  Olive.  All  of  the  foregoing 
are  names  of  variet’es  of  Gourds  (C.  Pepo  vars.).  The  best- 
known  Squash  is  ti  'varted  one.  There  are  various  Marrows 
(also  C.  Pepo  vars.)  1  for  mere  ornamental  purposes,  as  the 
Golden,  ItaTan,  Ribbed,  Green-pointed,  and  Warted.  Pumpkins 
(C.  maxima  vars.)  are  represented  by  the  Yellow,  Etampes,  and 
Tours,  &c. 
Points  About  Asparagus  Culture. 
Our  national  taste  in  regard  to  vegetables  seems  to  advance 
— or  at  least  to  become  more  critical — as  time  speeds  on,  for  the 
choicer  kinds  of  vegetables  are  in  greater  demand  than  ever,  and 
Asparagus,  which  was  at  one  time  considered  as  a  luxury  for  the 
well-to-do,  is  now  within  the  reach  of  a  large  section  of  the 
community.  This  is  to  some  extent  due  to  the  following  of 
up-to-date  methods  of  culture,  Avhich  have  rapidly  displaced  the 
older  and  more  costly  ones.  The  end  of  March  or  beginning  of 
April  are  excellent  times  to  form  beds,  either  by  sowing  seeds  or 
planting  crowns.  I  am  therefore  tempted  to  advance  a  few 
remarks  about  A.sparagus  culture  generally.  It  has  been  proved 
over  and  over  again  that  splendid  results  may  be  obtained  without 
incurring  the  expense  of  raised  beds  in  all  fairly  good  soils  which 
are  not  stiff  and  wet,  and  last  year  I  .saw  an  extensive  flat  bed 
