506 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
June  12,  1902. 
that  want  of  management  on  the  part  of  myself  or  others 
was  the  sole  reason  why  overtime  had  to  be  resorted  to 
alike  in  kitchen  garden,  flower  garden,  or  hothouse. 
At  the  present  moment  the  number  of  gardeners  who  are 
daily  working  far  beyond  the  hours  they  have  agreed  for 
must  be  enormous,  and  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  that 
generally  work  could  be  so  arranged  and  men  handled  as 
to  compress  all  the  labour  within  due  working  limits.  The 
fault,  or,  shall  I  more  correctly  call  it,  failing,  that  proves 
a  usual  hindrance  to  keeping  work  in  hand,  is  the  common 
practice  of  letting  some  work  stand  so  long  that  it  becomes 
imperative  to  spend  an  exaggerated  amount  of  time  in 
bringing  it  into  line.  It  perhaps  may  require  from  three 
to  six  times  the  number  of  men,  or,  in  other  words,  days, 
that  it  otherwise  would  if  taken  in  time,  and  by  a  well 
known  law  in  horticultural  operations,  time  lost  on  one 
item  is  lost  entirely,  and  some  other  work  must  in  tum 
become  so  far  past  the  right  moment  to  overtake  that  the 
loss  is  repeated  on  that. 
The  failing,  in  a  word,  is  cumulative  in  its  results,  and 
finally  extends  to  many  gardening  operations,  and  can  only 
be  brought  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion  with  the  advent  of 
winter,  if  then.  Common  instances  of  how  time  in  this 
way  is  lost  occurs  in  lawn-mowing,  walk-edging,  and  clean¬ 
ing,  hoeing,  which  becomes  wasteful  immediately  weeds 
become  a  hindrance  to  rapid  working.  Allowing  crops  to 
stand  too  long  previous  to  transplanting  consumes  time 
in  many  ways,  but  particularly  in  the  item  of  increased 
watering,  which,  in  general,  may  be  discounted  when 
planting  is  thoughtfully  managed. 
A  very  regrettable  leakage  occurs  through  want  of  care 
in  apportioning  men  to  particular  work,  and  of  the  same 
nature  is  the  practice  of  sending  more  men  to  a  job  than 
can  be  profitably  engaged.  One  might  go  on  indefinitely, 
but  to  perhaps  no  good  end.  It  is  so  entirely  in  the  hands 
of  the  superior,  and  it  is  not  so  easy  to  change  from  bad 
methods  to  good  ones  ;  but  to  young  men  who  think  for 
themselves,  and  are  not  bound  to  rule-of-thumb  practices 
that  are  obviously  deficient  in  common  sense  as  a  practical 
working  base,  many  matters  will  occur  that  will  show  it 
possible  to  dispense  with  overtime  in  the  garden,  just  as 
it  is  in  other  estate  departments,  and  as  it  should  be  in 
that. — R.  P. 
- - 
Plant  Breeding  Conference. 
The  council  of  the  Horticultural  Society  of  New  York 
announces  that  it  has  completed  arrangements  for  the  holding  of 
an  Internationa]  Conference  on  Plant  Breeding  and  Hybridisa¬ 
tion  in  the  fall  of  the  present  year,  the  dates  selected  being 
September  30,  October  1  and  2.  Acting  under  the'  instruction 
of  the  society  at  its  annual  meeting  in  May,  1901,  the  chairman 
of  the  council  addressed  letters  of  iiM|uiry  to  prominent  scientific 
societies  and  individuals  interested  in  progressive  horticulture, 
both  at  home  and 'abroad,  to  all  the  agricultural  experiment 
stations  in  America,  the  United  States  Department  of  Agricul¬ 
ture,  and  the  Minister  of  Agriculture  for  the  Dominion  of 
Canada,  in  order  to  enlist  a  widespread  support  and  to  ascertain 
views  as  to  the  most  convenient  date  for  the  attendance  of  the 
majority  of  those  interested.  The  responses  were  unanimously 
in  favour  of  holding  such  a  conference,  and  the  dates  announced 
were  finally  selected  by  the  conference  committee,  consisting  of 
Dr.  N.  L.  Britton,  chairman ;  Dr.  F.  M.  Hexamer,  J.  de  Wolf, 
H.  A.  Siebrecht,  and  Leonard  Barron,  secretary. 
By  the  co-operation  of  the  American  Institute  of  the  City  of 
New  York,  it  is  arranged  to  hold  the  sessions  of  the  conference  in 
the  lecture  hall  of  the  Berkeley  Lyceum  building,  19-21,  West 
Forty-fourth  Street.  New  York  City.  This  conference  will  pro¬ 
vide  for  the  reading  and  discussion  of  papers,  and  the  discussion 
of  special  toincs  pertaining  to  the  subject  of  plant  breeding  and 
hybridising.  Arrangements  are  being  made  for  the  publication 
of  a  complete  report  of  the  papers  and  discussions  in  book  form 
under  the  auspices  of  the  society.  In  connection  with  the  con¬ 
ference  there  will  be  an  exhibition  of  hybrid  plants  and  their 
products,  and  of  the  related  literature,  to  which  everyone  is 
invited  to  contribute.  Awards  of  the  society  in  the  form  of 
medals,  diplomas,  and  certificates  may  be  made  to  exhibits  of 
plants  and  plant  products  of  hybrid  origin  illustrating  some  par¬ 
ticular  plant  or  plant  industry.  It  is  further  proposed  to  add 
to  the  interest  of  the  gathering  by  making  arrangements  to 
visit  points  of  interest  in  the  neighbourhood  ;  and  for  the  con¬ 
venience  of  visiting  delegates  suitable  hotel  headcjuarters  will 
be  arranged  near  the  conference  hall. 
The  active  support  of  the  following  institutions  has  been 
promised  and  delegates  appointed  to  attend  the  conference  : . — 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  United  States  Department  of  Agricul¬ 
ture ;  Department  of  Agriculture,  Dominion  of  Canada;  Royal 
Horticultural  Society  of  Fngland,  American  Pomological  Society, 
Massachusetts  Horticultural  Society,  Pennsylvania  Horticultural 
Society,  Society  of  American  Florists,  American  Institute  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  New'  York  Botanical  Garden,  School  of  Prac¬ 
tical  Agriculture  and  Horticulture,  American  Pharmacological 
Society,  Tqrrey  Botanical  Club,  New  York  Florists’  Club,  Colleges 
and  Experiment  Stations  of  the  United  States.  A  large  number 
of  papers  have  been  promised,  including  “Recent  Experiments 
in  Hybridisation,”  by  C.  F.  Hurst,  England;  and  “Selection  vs. 
Hybridism,”  by  F.  W.  Burbidge,  Dublin,  Ireland. 
June  Broccoli. 
Of  the  months  of  the  year,  Broccoli  claims  a  greater  share 
than  the  more  delicate  Cauliflow'er,  and  though  the  time  may 
have  arrived  when  the  former  declines  in  favour,  there  still 
remains  a  desire  to  prolong  the  season  of  one  of  them,  so  as  to 
completely  overlap  the  other.  By  common  consent  this  is  the 
aim  and  object  of  gardeners  and  seedsmen  alike,  and,  favoured 
with  sufficient  glass  accommodation  to  forward  a  few  of  one  of 
the  early  forcing  sorts,  it  is  easily  possible  to  do  this,  given- 
reasonable  w'eather. 
The  past  winter  has  been  a  moderately  severe  one,  and  in 
some  localities  inflicted  a  telling  influence  on  the  beds  of  winter 
and  spring  Broccoli ;  but,  bad  though  it  has  been,  worse  ones 
ar  easily  recalled  from  this  one  particular  point  of  view.  Broccoli 
in  May  are  usually  plentiful  enough  ;  indeed,  it  may  be  called 
the  month  of  Broccoli,  but  it  often  happens  that  the  end  of 
May  finds  the  gardener  at  the  end  of  his  tether  with  this  parti¬ 
cular  vegetable.  Where  ambition  can  be  met  by  ample  means 
there  is  the  possibility  of  getting  the  early  batches  of  Cauli¬ 
flower  ready  some  time  before  Broccoli  becomes  extinct ;  but, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  I  do  not  see  the  gain  in  this 
apparently  unremunerated  labour.  Certainly,  Cauliflowers  are 
more  delicate  in  flavour  and  colour,  but  its  hardier  relative,  cut 
in  a  young  state,  and  the-  variety  a  good  one,  there  is  not  so 
much  difference  as  to  justify  the  effort  when  this  has  to  be. 
met  by  glass  forcing. 
Wo  have  cut  some  Models,  Continuities,  Late  Queens,  and 
such  like  that  would  almost  challenge  the  early  Cauliflower 
in  their  purity  of  colour.  Veitcli’s  Model  is  a  particularly  good 
Broccoli  for  the  end  of  IMay,  and  it  has  the  merit,  wlien  the 
stock  is  true,  of  being  so  thoroughl.V  protective  of  the  “  curd,” 
or  flower.  The  head  is  protected  by  leaves  when  in  a  young 
state,  almost  as  close  and  tight  as  a  Cabbage,  and  in  this  state 
I  repeat  that  a  Cauliflower  has  the  gain  of  but  a  slight  advan¬ 
tage.  Dickson’s  June  King  is  another  fine  variety,  and  one  I 
have  only  made  the  acquaintance  of  this  season,  but  it  is  one 
that  will  get  another  “  engagement.”  This,  though  not  pro¬ 
tected  exactly  in  the  same  manner,  is  easily  tied  up,  because  of 
its  ample  foliage.  This,  in  a  young  state,  is  beautifully  w'hite, 
and  is  one  that  is  accommodating  in  size  and  purpose ;  in  other 
words,  it  may  be  made  to  suit  the  dining-room  or  servants’  hall, 
ranging  as  they  do  in  size  from  3in  to  a  foot  across  the  head. 
Though  in  nature  these  Broccoli  are  late,  it  must  not  be 
supposed  that  Broccoli  can  be  had  in  June  if  the  seeds  are 
sown  in  March  and  April.  These  dates  do  well  for  the  early 
and  midseason  varieties;  for  the  later  batches  the  sowing  must 
be  timed  to  suit  the  season.  We  are  cutting  at  the  present 
time' — early  June^ — Broccoli  the  seed  of  which  was  not  sown 
until  about  the  middle  of  that  luontli  in  1901,  and  some  I  find 
Avere  not  finally  planted  until  August  was  becoming  well  spent, 
yet  these  later  planted  batches  are  not  later  in  maturing  than 
the  others  not  penalised  in  their  time  of  starting,  and  are  equally 
as  strong  in  plant. 
It  is  courting  defeat  to  promote  A'igour  in  June  Broccoli  by 
early  summer  planting,  and  to  giv'e  them  rich  ground.  It  is 
apparent  to  the  observant  mind  that  a  change  of  weather, 
or  from  the  merging  of  Avinter  into  spring,  there  is  an  activity 
promoted  in  the  progress  of  both  leaf  and  stem.  Plants  now 
are  quite  tAvice  the  size  that  they  Avere  in  March.  Their  condi¬ 
tion  then  to  a  casual  observer  Avould  not  have  raised  a  compli¬ 
mentary  note,  but  fcAv  noAv  Avould  be  inclined  to  decry  their 
strength  of  leaf  or  breadth  of  head. 
It  is,  therefore,  obvious  that  early  soAving,  correspondingly 
early  planting,  nor  strong  ground  is  a  desideratum  in  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  late  Broccoli,  no  matter  Avhat  the  variety  may  be, 
and  there  are  a  sufficiency  of  these  to  be  found  in  any  catalogue, 
apart  from  and  including  those  mentioned  in  this  note,  to  suit 
the  later  Broccoli  season,  June. — W.  S. 
