March  27,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
273 
extravagant  wealth  of  flowers  (in  colour  a  rosy  white),  and  its 
lanceolate  foliage  suggestive  of  As;aleas,  are  very  graceful  at 
Trinity  College.  The  acme  of  culture  is  realised,  and  the  plant 
is  presented  to  the  utmost  advantage,  whilst  the  new  Cineraria 
stellata  has  become  indispensable.  The  method  of  permitting  it 
to  grow  to  an  unwieldy  size  may  have  its  advantage  for  cut- 
flower  supply,  yet  I  prefer  the  dwarfer  mode  of  culture,  per¬ 
mitting  a  better  display  with  an  equal  complement  of  bloom. 
However,  on  that  point  tastes  differ. 
Under  the  auspices  of  the  Science  and  Art  Department, 
Professor  Pethybridge  recently  gave  a  lantern  lecture  on  the 
mode  of  seed  dispersal,  and  showed  how  plants  have  acquired  the 
habit  of  seed  sowing,  thereby  securing  the  most  effective  means 
for  the  retention  of  their  species  in  cultivation,  whether  the 
means  be  by  force,  by  wind  appendages,  or  by  shape.  The 
illustrations  were  numerous,  and  were  described  in  a  simple, 
lucid  style  devoid  of  the  usual  technicalities  associated  with 
pure  botanical  themes.  Subsequently  several  dried  specimens 
were  shown,  to  exliibit  the  actual  size ;  and  this  gave  the  lec¬ 
ture  a  double  advantage. — A.  O’Neill. 
— - - - 
Bothies  in  Variety. 
The  Journal  of  Horticulture  has  ever  been  noted  for  the 
kindly  interest  it  has  taken  in  matters  connected  with 
gardeners  of  all  descriptions.  Young  and  old  alike  are 
drawn  together  through  the  medium  of  its  pages  by  a  bond 
of  family  affection,  and  although  the  interests  of  sO 
numerous  a  family  must  at  times  be  conflicting,  the  various 
sections  learn  to  understand  each  other  the  better  by  a  free 
exchange  of  ideas.  On  page  180  a  pithy  note  draws  attention 
to  “  The  Bothy,”  a  subject  which  may  undoubtedly  be  dis¬ 
cussed  with  advantage  to  all  concerned.  At  the  present 
time,  when  great  efforts  are  being  made  to  ensure  the 
better  houses  of  many  classes,  the  inmates  of  our  bothies 
should  certainly  claim  a  full  share  of  attention,  because 
such  abodes  are  only  established  on  the  premises  of  em¬ 
ployers  of  considerable  wealth,  and  it  is  somewhat  hypo¬ 
critical  on  the  part  of  such  to  make  a  great  show  of  being 
anxious  to  see  all  classes  well  housed  unless  they  begin 
by  setting — so  to  speak — their  own  house  in  order,  and 
giving  to  those  around  them  as  large  a  share  of  real 
comfort  as  they  are  undoubtedly  entitled  to.  Since  I 
began  my  gardening  career  I  have  noted  with  much  satis¬ 
faction  how  great  has  been  the  improvement  made  in  the 
accommodation  foi\  young  gardeners  in  many  places ;  but 
much  still  remains  to  be  done,  as  some  bothies  are  still 
a  crying  disgrace  to  a  wealthy  nation  in  the  twentieth 
century,  and  might  well  be  regarded  as  a  relic  of  the 
dark  ages. 
A  question  which  often  agitates  the  minds  of  young 
men  is.  Do  head  gardeners  as  a  rule  do  all  in  their  power 
to  make  bothy  life  as  comfortable  as  possible  I  After  an 
extensive  knowledge  of  gardens  and  gardeners,  I  hold  the 
opinion  that  they  do  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  for¬ 
merly.  Of  course,  there  are  exceptions  to  every  rule,  and 
I  doubt  not  that  instances  may  be  brought  forward  where 
head  gardeners  are  utterly  indifferent  to  the  comfort  of 
their  young  men ;  but  if  the  matter  is  put  on  no  higher 
ground,  the  majority  of  men  now  know  well  that  the  best 
way  to  get  good  work  from  aspiring  young  gardeners  is 
to  house  them  comfortably,  and  maintain  a  thorough 
interest  in  their  welfare.  I  have  had  a  most  chequered 
career  in  regard  to  bothy  life.  In  one  instance  the 
entrance  to  our  dismal  abode  was  through  a  rough  shed, 
in  which  a  stokehole  was  situated  just  outside  the  bothy 
door.  This  was  certainly  not  at  all  times  pleasant, 
especially  when  the  wind  was  in  the  wrong  direction,  and 
caused  the  smoke  from  the  stokehole  fire  to  fill  the  bothy 
instead  of  ascending  the  chimney.  It  has  been  said,  how¬ 
ever,  that  all  things  have  their  compensating  advantages. 
In  this  case  the  advantage  lay  in  being  near  at  hand  to 
stoke  the  fire  during  very  severe  weather,  when  it  was  some¬ 
times  necessary  to  rise  once  or  twice  in  the  night  to  do 
so.  But  what  of  the  inside  of  the  bothy?  Well,  it  had  a 
bare,  whitewashed  wall,  a  floor  of  red  uncovered  bricks, 
and  the  one  room  served  as  a  living  and  sleeping  place  for 
two,  with  two  other  young  men  similarly  placed  at  the 
other  end  of  the  shed.  The  bed  was  a  wonderful  combina¬ 
tion  of  usefulness  and  economy.  In  the  daytime  it  was 
strapped  up,  and  shut  in  by  folding  doors,  which  the  un¬ 
initiated  might  have  taken  for  a  useful  wardrobe.  Our 
larder  was  neither  elaborate  nor  extensive  ;  it  consisted  of 
a  small  safe  placed  under  a  tree  in  the  open  air,  and  in 
winter  how  hard  with  frost  our  eatables  used  to  get  ! 
Still,  in  that  place  affairs  might  have  been  worse,  as  we 
had  a  kindly  old  soul  who  used  to  clean  up  daily,  cook 
sometimes,  and  do  odd  jobs  in  the  garden.  Having  four 
comnanions,  I  managed  to  spend  a  couple  of  pleasant  years 
there,  and  many  evening  hours  of  study  flew  quickly  in 
that  forbidding  abode. 
At  my  next  place  I  was  more  fortunate,  as  there  were  six 
in  the  bothv,  a  good  mess  room  was  provided,  a  reading 
room,  good  bedrooms,  a  bath  room,  and  a  suitable  woman 
to  do  all  that  was  necessary  throughout  the  day.  That  is  the 
type  of  home  for  young  gardeners  I  should  like  to  see  estab¬ 
lished  in  every  garden  of  fair  size,  and  if  the  employer  pro¬ 
vided  also  a  library  of  suitable  books,  so  much  the  better. 
I  have  had  me  pleasure  of  inspecting  several  bothies,  which 
may  be  described  as  “  palatial  ”  ones,  but  one  can  scarcely 
expect  to  find  such  become  very  plentiful ;  they  are  only 
looked  for  in  the  case  of  very  rich  and  generous  employers. 
Young  men  who  are  fortunate  enough  to  gain  entrance  to 
them  ought  certainly  to  strain  every  nerve  to  take  full  ad¬ 
vantage  of  their  opportunities,  as  well  as  to  appreciate  their 
surroundings,  and  I  certainly  pity  a  young  fellow  who  has 
the  misfortune  to  go  from  a  “  high  class  bothy  ”  to  one  of 
the  “  dens  ”  which  may  yet  be  found  in  large  gardens  on 
estates,  where  one  would  expect  to  find  the  comforts  of 
employes  studied  to  some  extent,  considering  the  lavish 
expenditure  made  in  connection  with  some  showy  social 
functions. — An  Old  Gardener. 
Grammatocirpns  voluMlis. 
This  Chilian  annual  (Loasese)  is  well  adapted  for  covering 
trelliswork  in  the  flower  garden  or  in  plant  borders,  and  is 
unequalled  in  the  form  of  a  screen,  having  also  the  advantage 
of  giving  variety  to  those  generally  grown.  Although  perfectly 
hardy  as  an  annual,  it  is  advisable  to  raise  the  seedlings  in  a 
cold  frame  in  pots  at  this  time  of  the  year,  to  be  planted  where 
they  are  desired  to  flower  at  the  end  of  May.  The  figure  on 
page  272  illustrates  the  form  and  size  of  the  pretty  yellow 
flowers.  The  leaves  are  downy.  A  synonym  the  plant  was  for 
long  known  under  is  Scyphanthus  elegans. 
The  Timber  Used. 
In  the  United  States  4,000,000ft  of  Pine  timber  is  used  every 
year  for  matches,  or  the  equivalent  of  the  product  of  400  acres 
of  good  virgin  forest.  About  620,000,000  cross  ties  are  now  laid 
on  American  railroads  and  90,000,000  new  ties  are  required  an¬ 
nually  for  renewals  The  amount  of  timber  used  every  year  for 
ties  ^one  is  equivalent  to  3,000,000,000ft  of  lumber.  There  are 
now  standing  nearly  7,500,000  telegraph  poles.  The  average  life 
of  a  telegraph  pole  is  about  ten  years,  so  that  nearly  750,000  new 
poles  are  required  every  year  for  renewals.  These  figures  do  not 
include  telephone  poles  and  the  poles  required  on  new  railway 
lines.  The  total  annual  consumption  of  timber  for  ties  and 
poles  is  equivalent  to  the  amount  of  timber  grown  on  100,000 
acres  of  good  virgin  forest.  For  making  shoe  pegs  the  amount 
of  wood  used  in  a  single  year  is  equal  to  the  product  of  fully 
3,500  acres  of  good  second  growth  hardwood  land.  Lasts  and 
boot  trees  require  at  least  500,000  cards  more.  Most  newspaper 
p.nd  packing  paper  is  made  from  wood.  Although  this  industry 
has  been  developed  only  within  the  last  forty  years,  yet  the 
amount  of  wood  consumed  for  paper  during  that  time  has  been 
enormous.  The  total  annual  consumption  of  wood  for  paper 
pulp  is  equivalent  to  over  800,000,000  board  feet  of  timber,  for 
which  it  would  be  necessary,  were  the  trees  all  growing  together, 
to  cut  some  80,000  acres  of  prime  woods.  And  so  it  would  be 
possible  to  go  through  the  list  and  give  figures  which  in  every 
case  are  astonishing.  We  are  now  using  for  the  lumber  and 
paper  trade  about  40,000,000,000ft  of  lumber  a  year,  which  is 
equivalent  to  the  product  of  about  4,000,000  acres  of  good  virgin 
forest — an  area  equal  to  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  combined 
— and  yet  this  does  not  include  the  wood  used  for  fuel,  which  is 
four  and  one-half  times  more. — (“Yale  Review.”) 
