Juno  19,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
533 
Gardeners’  Education. 
I  liacl  a  reluctancy  to  say  anything  in  this  matter  till  the 
^feitions  ot  the  gladiators  became  apparent.  Now  that  this  diffi- 
ujty  Jias  been  removed  I  venture  my  quota  to  the  subiect. 
1  e  nnmy  otheirs  I  felt,  after  reading  “Domestic  Working 
oppiial  contribution,  the  fountains  of  compassion 
overflowing  with  niingled  sorrow,  pity  and  admiration.  A 
.  ran^  enough  mixture,  but  true.  Whatever  the  writer’s  aims 
ave  been,  1  knmy  not;  nor  do  I  see  what  remote  benefit.'  he 
i  foresee  would  be  derived  from  a  declainatorj'  tirade  against 
wnat  appears  to  be  now'  beyond  the  hopes  of  rescue.  He  is 
lowever  not  a  philosopher.  His  story  is  pitiable,  but  not  ex 
ceptional.  Ihe  world  is  full  of  cases  such  as  his — good  intentions 
ana  spasmodic  resolutions  fallen  to  the  ground  for  the  moment, 
betore  the  fleeting  pleasures,  mayhap,  of  a  passing  butterfly.  In 
the  interval  time  is  lost  and  aspirations  blunted  till,  alas!  day 
has  gone  and  night  is  lurking  on  the  bleak  horizon.  “  D.  W.  G.” 
can  claim  along  with  his  other  qualities  a  bit  of  the  cynic  in  his 
composition.  His  ability  in  presenting  a  fairly  dismal  picture  of 
the  art  of  gardening  and  all  appertaining  thereto,  is  certainly 
worthy  of  such  a  designation.  His  tinctured  view’s  forcibly 
remind  one  of  the  many  dark  pictures  of  life  so  vividly  depicted 
by  the  cynic  s  brush.  The  umbering  is  too  strong,  and  the  whole 
picture  so  irrepressively  subjected  to  the  powers  of  despair  that 
he  leaves  little  worth  contending  for  in  the  whole  realm  of  horti¬ 
culture.  The  blight  wdiich  he  .so  strenuously  labours  to  let  fall 
W’lth  such  ruthless  severity,  is  so  formidable  that  one  cannot 
avoid  thinking  that  he  has  more  than  ordinary  reason  to  dispute 
with  his  circum.stances.  In  such  a  case  I  am  certain  he  has  the 
sympathy  of  every  man  in  the  profession.  Otherwise  by 
parading  his  misfortune  he  is  only  giving  clearer  evidence  of  the 
incapacities  which  led  to  his  maligned  position.  Gardening,  in 
point  of  fact,  is  like  most  other  operative  trades  and  professions. 
It  has  its  good  and  its  bad  sides.  There  are  certainly  in.stances 
where  the  head  gardener  is  dignified  with  the  honour  of  dis¬ 
pensing  the  duties  of  butler,  coachman,  pig-feeder,  shoe-cleaner, 
<fec.,  &c. ;  but  these  are  rare  berths,  perhaps  as  difficult  to  get 
at  as  the  few  prizes  wiclely  distributed  over  the  three  kingdoms. 
I  think  “  D.  W.  G.”  is  confounding  servility  w’ith  deference. 
Many  people  do,  and  more  is  the  pity.  Every  intelligent  person 
ought  to  make  no  mistake  in  this  matter,  for  it  is  a  duty  we  ow  e 
to  our  superiors,  and  in  due  course-  reflects  with  interest  on  our¬ 
selves.  I  have  never  yet,  in  England  or  Scotland,  met  wdth  a 
superior  wdio  showed  the  barest  symptoms  of  servility  in  their 
conduct.  No  lady  or  gentleman  would  tolerate  such  imbecile 
relations.  Again,  I  am  convinced,  long,  long  ago,  that  there  is 
no  royal  road  to  success  in  anything  worth  having.  That 
making  the  best  of  one’s  opportunities  and  talents  is  the  only 
w’ay  to  attain  the  summit  of  one’s  ambition.  It  is  an  egregious 
mistake  to  wait  for  the  genius  wiio  never  comes  with  the  golden 
key  to  unlock  the  treasures  of  the  world.  The  secret  lies  wdth 
ourselves.  This  is  my  own  experience,  and  though  I  never 
possessed  any  extraordinai*y  prize  I  alwaysi  gained  what  I  aimed 
for,  and  wdiat  more  does  anyone  need?  In  gardening,  as  in  all 
other  trades,  the  success  of  one  very  much  depends  on  the 
measures  of  shrewdness  and  tact,  a  person  incorporates  in  his 
duties.  When  these  qualities  are  made  still  more  acute  with  a 
liberal  knowledge  of  men  and  things — call  it  education,  if  you 
like — the  chances  of  a  man  so  placed  must  be  better  than  one 
differently  situated.  The  no  education  argument  is  simply  what 
I  would  expect  from  the  man  of  the  street.  It  is  really  too 
incongruous  to  elicit  the  least  consideration.  We  have  what 
are  termed  “  stickit  ministers  ”  in  Scotland ;  it  is  cpiite  possible 
there  may  be  “  stickit  gardeners  ”  in  the  Empire,  too.  “  D.  W.  G.” 
from  his  own  account  would  lead  one  to.  think  such  is  the  case. — 
Anti-“  Luck.” 
I  do  not  remember  a  more  serious  accusation  brought  against 
an  honourable  cla,ss  of  men  such  as  gardeners  undoubtedly  are, 
than  that  of  your  correspondent,  who  signs  himself  “  Another 
Unfortunate,”  on  page  513  of  your  last  issue.  So  far  as  my 
experience  of  head  gardeners  g,oes,  it  is  exactly  the  reverse  to 
that  of  “Another  Unfortunate.”  I  am  acquainted  with  a  great 
many  head  gardeners.  Some  have  a  large  staff  of  subordinates 
to  control,  others  few' ;  but  one  and  all  have  the  same  desire, 
viz.,  to  do  their  duty  both  to  employer  and  employes.  I  can 
speak  more  emphatically  of  my  near  neighbours,  and  say  truth¬ 
fully  that  not  one  of  these  makes  a  rule  of  seeing  “  how  many 
days  a  w'eek  they  can  get  away  from  their  places.”  But  I  can 
say, and  that  wdth  truth,  that  each  one  does  his  duty  in  an  honour¬ 
able  way,  and  in  many  cases  wall  be  found  at  work  while  his 
subordinates  are  away  enjoying  themselves  at  cricket  during  the 
summer  evenings.  Speaking  for  myself,  during  the  fourteen 
years  I  have  been  a  head  gardener,  my  days  of  absence  from  the 
gardens  have  not  averaged  fourteen  days  a  year,  including  the 
annual  short  holiday  allow’ed  to  me.  I  say  annual,  but,  alas!  it 
is  not  annual,  because  I  am  not  always  able  to  see  my  way  clear 
to  leave  the  gardens  for  a  week’s  holiday,  and  much  less  to  see 
how'  many  clays  in  each  week  I  can  bo  away.  I  am  proud  to  say 
that  this  is  not  because  I  coujd  not  trust  my  young  men  to  do 
duties  properly  during  my  absence.  They  would 
CIO  this,  I  am  sure,  and  I  am  also  sure  that  I  am  voicing  the 
vvliole  of  the  gardeners  of  these  hills.  But  I  hope  that  they  wall 
all  come  forward  and  contradict  this  statement.  I  fear  that  the 
upkeep  of  the  stately  Homes  of  England  would  soon  crumble  to 
pieces  if  the  head  gardeners’  “whole  desire”  was  to  be  aw'ay 
from  his  duties  and  leave  them  to  their  subordinates.  I  am 
sorry  for  “  Unfortunate,”  not  so  much  for  his  unfortunate  posi¬ 
tion  as  for  his  dissatisfied  spirit.  My  advice  to  him  is  to  brace 
himself  up  and  try  and  become  an  honourable  head  gardener, 
putting  the  present  generation  to  shame  if  he  can,  by  setting  a 
berier  example.  But  first  of  all  he  must  become  a  satisfied  man. 
— Ihomas  Arnold. 
Points  about  Celery. 
u  a  reference  to  the  sentence  remarked  upon  by 
S.  E.  H.,  Birkenhead,”  on  page  454,  I  must  at  once  say  that 
it  was  written  as  the  outcome  of  personal  experience.  I  have  no 
desire  for  a  controversy  with  my  kindly  critic  upon  this  subject 
of  liquid  manure  for  Celery,  but  having  noticed  that  large,  highly 
fed  samples  have  a  tendency  to  produce  pithy  stalks,  the  Avam- 
ing  w'as  written.  Perhaps  I  had  in  my  mind  the  man  who-  tells 
you  Avith  much  ferA'our  tAvo  or  three  times  a  Aveek,  “My  Avord ! 
I  have  given  ’em  a  tanking!”  Still  I  cannot  forget  the  results 
of  my  O'AA'n  practice,  and  the  fine  “  sticks  ”  I  have  seen  groAvn  for 
market,  in  the  culture  of  the  latter  very  little  manure  of  any 
kind  having  been  used.  There  may  be  something  in  your  cor¬ 
respondent’s  thumb  and  finger  test  of  the  plants  at  an  early 
stage,  though  I  must  confess  the  idea  is  neiv  to  me.  Years  ago 
I  found  a  marked  difference  betAveen  plants  which  had  been 
highly  fed  Avith  licpiid  manure  and  those  hav'ing- had  a  much 
smaller  supply ;  the  percentage  of  those  having  holloAv  stems 
being  much  loAver  amongst  the  latter.  Perhaps  some  one  can 
enlighten  us  as  to  the  cause  of  the  defect'  in  the  early  stages 
spoken  of  by  “  S.  E.  H.”  It  is  only  right  to  state  that  I  think 
heaA'y  feeding  is  but  one  of  the  causes  of  defectiA'e  CelerA'. — J.  W., 
Hopton  Hall  Gardens. 
The  Cornish  Spade. 
The  note  on  this  subject  (p.  509)  taken  from  the  “  Western 
Mercury  ”  interested  me,  because  I  had  prevdously  thought  ot 
drawing  attention  to  it.  In  CornAvall  and  parts  of  Devon  the 
ordinary  spade  is,  of  course,  not  unknowai  in  these  days,  but  it  is 
hardly  ever  seen,  and  is  despised  as  much  inferior  to  the  tool  of 
the  country.  This  odd-shaped  article  to  the  eyes  of  gardeners  or 
labourers  in  the  home  counties  has  a  long  hanclle  just  like  that  of 
a  rake  or  hoe,  to  Avhich  the  spade  itself,  exactly  of  the  shape  of 
the  Ace  of  Spades,  is  fastened  at  an  angle.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  it  is  the  primitive  spade,  and  that  (as  suggested  in  the  article 
referred  to)  the  modern  spade  only  came  into  use  Avith  the  liabit 
of  Avearing  thick-soled  boots.  I  expect  that  in  very  old  pictures 
of  husbandmen  you  w'ould  find  this  type  of  spade,'  Avith  its 
pointed  blade  and  long  handle;  and  that  from  it,  by  an  easy 
transition,  Avas  developed  that  barbarous  implement  the  “  breast 
plough,”  which  is  still  to  be  seen  in  use  (or  w'as  a  few  years  ago)' 
in  small  holdings  in  Oxfordshire.  Now,  adepts  at  the  use  of  the 
Cornish  spade  are  quite  ready  to  defend  it  as  superior  to  the 
modern  type,  and  I  have  been  much  surprised  to  see  Avhat  good 
Avork  they  can  do  Avith  it.  An  educated  gentleman  told  me  he  • 
could  not  think  hoAv  material  could  bo  put  into  a  cart  Avithout  the 
long-handled  spade.  In  ditching  and  forming  banks  (the  latter 
an  important  item  in  Cornish  liand  labour)  the  long-handled  spade 
is  used  cleverly  and  easily,  and  with  excellent  effect ;  and  in  some 
forms  of  such  Avork  I  believe  it  to  be  as  good,  if  not  better,  than 
the  more  modern  tool.  In  Avhatever  Avork  Ave  are  engaged,  it  is 
a  pity  Avhen  Ave  have  not  the  best  implement  for  the  purpose ;  and, 
if  prejudice  could  be  set  aside,  I  think  many  a  one,  after  seeing 
its  deft  use  by  an  old  hand,  Avould  add  a  Cornish  spade  to  his  stock 
for  certain  purposes.  For  ordinary  garden  Avork  it  cannot  com¬ 
pare  Avith  the  ordinary  spade,  but  for  ditching,  banking,  and  road 
Avork  it  becomes,  Avith  practice,  very  useful. — W.  R.  Raillem. 
- - 
Early  Outdoor  S/.  eet  Peas. 
La.'^t  Aveek  avc  received  from  Mr.  F.  J.  Polkinghorne,  gardener 
at  PolyAvin,  Bodmin,  a  nosegay  composed  of  very  large-floAvered 
SAveet  Peas,  representing  the  A’arietie.s  Dorothy  Tennant,  Salo¬ 
pian,  and  Stanley.  Mr.  Polkinghorne  at  the  same  time  AArote 
that  “  the  SAveet  Pea.  blooms  Avero  gathered  out  of  doors.  The 
first  lot  Avere  picked  on  May  21,  and  Avere  very  much  better  and 
fresher  than  those  sent,  as  the  storms  Ave  have  had  have  bloAAn 
them  about  considerably.  The  seeds  Avere  soAvn  on  July  7,  1901, 
and  planted  out  eatly  in  October,  1901.  and  are  noAv  standing 
(5ft  high.  We  are  close  to  the  sea,  being  only  15yds  from  high 
Avater  mark.” 
