122 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  8,  1901. 
necessary  for  it,  I  have  been  most  successful  with  C.  superba  in  a 
fairly  large  pot,  and  a  greater  thickness  of  com|  ost  than  usually  given  ; 
but  I  may  say  that  1  looked  closely  after  the  plants  myself,  and 
whenever  the  watering  has  to  be  done  by  inexperienced  assistants  or 
careless  ones,  then  the  thinner  the  compost  for  C.  superba  the  better. 
And  the  quality  of  the  compost  must  also  be  good  and  lasting,  60  that 
repotting  will  not  often  be  required.  Frequent  disturbance  at  the  root 
is  the  bane  of  many  of  these  somewhat  fastidious  species.  The  East 
Indian  house  is  the  best  place  to  grow  C.  superba,  and  ample  sunlight 
must  be  allowed  in  autumn  to  ripen  and  consolidate  the  growth  made, 
enabling  the  plants  to  pass  the  winter  in  safety.  Rest  during  the  dark 
<  ays  is  absolutely  essential  to  this  spee’es,  plants  with  leads  moving 
sluggishly  at  a  time  when  the  conditions  are  unfavourable  never 
keeping  long  in  health. 
Next  to  C.  superba,  perhaps,  the  species  requiring  most  heat  is 
C.  aurea,  or  more  coriectly  C.  Dowiana  aurea.  Hung  up  close  to  the 
glass,  almost  in  the  full  sun,  and  with  abundant  moisture  in  the 
atmosphere,  no  trouble  will  be  found.  The  pans  need  not  be  large,  as 
though  fairly  vigorous  the  roots  grow  more  closely  together  than  those 
of  some  others.  When  the  sheath  of  this  species  is  forming  there  is 
often  a  great  deal  of  glutinous  matter  about  it  and  the  leaf  that 
prevents  the  free  access  of  the  flower  spike.  This  should  be  removed 
by  sponging  it  off  with  hot  water,  or  many  spikes  will  be  lost.  It 
may  be  necessary  in  extreme  cases  to  use  the  haft  of  a  budding  knife 
and  so  free  the  spike.  The  same  applies  to  0.  gigas,  and  also  the  fine 
natural  hybrid  between  these  two — viz  ,  C.  Hardyana. 
So  far  I  have  not  touched  upon  the  group  of  species  with  erect 
cylindrical  stems  and  a  pair  of  apical  leaves,  such  as  C.  intermedia, 
0.  amethystylum,  C.  guttata,  and  C.  bicolor.  But  these  do  not  differ 
greatly  in  their  likes  and  dislikes  from  the  labiata  group,  and  as  this 
note  is  already  rather  long,  these  may  be  left  for  a  future  occasion. 
Great  care  is  necessary  in  spring  to  avoid  damping  of  the  young 
growths,  and,  like  those  of  the  labiata  group,  they  must  be  kept  to 
their  proper  annual  routine. — H.  R.  R. 
Zygopetalum  Mackavi. 
It  may  be  thought  that  the  subject  of  our  illustration  on  page  123 
is  too  well  known.  But  cab  we  have  too  much  of  a  good  thing? 
Well,  sometimes  yes.  Zygopetalum  Mackayi  is  smaller  than 
intermedium,  and  has  sepals  and  petals  pale  in  colour;  the  vein-like 
lines  of  the  lip  are  coloured  deep  blue.  We  have  seen  it  stated  that 
the  true  Z.  Mackayi  is  rare,  but  so  nearly  does  it  approach  to 
Z.  citrinum  and  Z.  intermedium  that  these  pass  for  it.  The  original 
plants  were  brought  from  Brazil  in  1827.  It  is  the  type-plant  of  the 
genus,  and  from  it  Sir  Joseph  Hooker  described  the  generic  characters. 
Zygopetalums  are  limited  in  numbers,  and,  so  far  as  our  experience 
goes,  they  are  amongst  the  easiest  of  all  Orchids  to  cultivate. 
Tlie  Gardening  Handy  K(an. 
Eighteen  shillings  a  week,  that  is  his  pay,  and  he  is  well  satisfied 
with  it.  His  weekly  wage  is  not  the  entire  source  of  his  income,  for 
attached  to  his  cottage  there  is  a  la»ge  garden,  which  gives  sorn^ 
returns  over  and  above  the  family  requirements,  and  behind  the 
tenement  there  are  two  little  fields,  just  enough  to  keep  a  cow  at  d 
rear  a  calf,  and  every  Wednesday  morning  a  stout  female  figure  may 
be  seen  trudging  her  way  to  the  neighbouring  market  with  a  basket 
on  each  arm,  containing  the  results  of  yesterday’s  churning.  She  is 
a  happy  soul,  and  though  the  effect  of  hot  days,  low  prices,  and 
melting  butter  somewhat  depresses  her  spirits,  she  says,  “  Ah, 
well-a-day  !  we’ve  seen  the  likes  afore,  and  wus,  so  it’s  no  good  o’ 
grumblin’.” 
I  am  writing  of  a  garden  labourer,  just  a  single  specimen,  picked 
out  of  the  hundieds  scattered  about  the  country,  that  are  treasures  in 
more  respects  than  one.  No  one  knows  the  value  of  a  good  labourer 
better  than  head  gerdeners,  to  whom  the  former  is  an  untold  blessing. 
The  conditions  of  his  employment,  or  his  association  with  horti¬ 
culturists,  raise  him  above  the  ranks  of  his  fellows,  and  long  experience 
makes  him  conversant  with  the  routine  of  the  garden.  He  is  in  a 
position  to  render  valuable  assistance  to  the  head  gardener  when  the 
latter  takes  over  a  new  charge,  and,  let  it  be  said  in  fairness  to  him, 
that  the  head  man  sometimes  gets  the  credit  fer  that  which  the 
labourer  has  accomplished.  With  a  staff  of  go.'d  labourers  to  carry 
out  his  commands,  the  bead  gardener  is  saved  a  deal  of  anxiety  and 
worry,  and  by  a  good  labourer  I  do  not  refer  to  simply  a  working 
machine,  but  a  man  who  brings  intelligence  to  bear  on  the  fulfilment  of 
his  duties,  and  knows  when  and  how  a  certain  task  shtu  d  be  done 
without  having  to  be  told. 
And  now  let  me  return  to  my  example.  Old  Joe,  as  everybody 
calls  him,  is  one  of  the  best  specimens  of  a  garden  labourer  I  have 
ever  met.  Indeed,  in  his  way,  he  is  a  bit  of  a  genius,  and  I  have 
often  thought  it  a  pity  that  his  lot  was  not  ca^t  in  a  line  of  life 
offerir  g  more  scope  for  his  abilities.  But  Joe  has  no  regrets  in  this 
respect.  Like  the  rest  of  Englishmen,  be  possesses  a  knowledge  of  his 
capabilities,  and  woe  unto  the  younger  man  who  attemjtsto  teach 
him.  About  gardening  under  glass  he  knows  nothing,  never  did  know, 
and  doesn’t  want  to  know.  He  says  that  department  belongs  to  the 
your  g  chaps  with  stiff  collars  and  blue  aprons,  and  he  is  quite  content 
to  do  his  bit  outside.  But  Joe  is  a  thorough  handy  man,  and  even 
the  glass  department  is  not  independent  of  him,  for  whenever  a  leaky 
joint  wants  caulking,  or  anything  goes  wrong  with  the  heating 
arrangements,  there  is  a  cry  out  for  Old  Joe,  and  from  some  unknown 
place  be  unearths  the  necessary  implements  and  generally  puts  matters 
right.  Joe  knows  something  of  the  principles  of  heating  with  hot 
water,  but  he  rarelv  argues  the  theory  of  the  thing.  With  him  it 
either  “  wull  work  ”  or  it  “  wunner  work,”  and  usually  his  decision  is 
correct.  He  doesn’t  profess  to  be  a  bricklayer,  but  the  work  dees  not 
ccme  amiss  to  him,  and  among  his  store  of  hols  there  are  a  few  trowels 
and  other  implements  ready  in  case  of  emergency,  and  if  a  frame 
wants  building  or  a  wall  put  up,  Old  Joe  is  the  man  for  the  task. 
The  labourer’s  knowledge  of  the  world  at  large  is  not  extensive. 
He  has  been  to  the  seaside  several  times,  and  once  to  London  ;  but 
apart  from  that  he  has  not  travelled  much.  His  experience  is 
confined  to  the  little  world  around  him,  and  within  its  limits  he  is  an 
authority.  Though  he  was  not  born  in  the  garden  where  he  labours. 
Old  Joe  first  saw  the  light  within  a  short  distance  of  the  place,  and  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  has  been  spent  within  its  precincts.  Naturally 
enough  he  knows  a  good  deal  about  the  establishment,  has  seen  many 
changes,  and  is  never  loth  to  talk  about  them.  He  discusses  tbo 
capabilities  of  the  various  garceners  under  which  he  has  worked,  and 
remembers  scores  of  young  men  who  have  spent  their  few  years  of 
probationsbip  as  tenants  of  the  bothy.  One  by  one  his  sons  came  into 
the  gardens  as  they  grew  old  enough,  and  then  passed  on.  They  are 
now  head  gardeners,  and  Joe  is  more  than  a  little  proud  of  them. 
Like  most  of  the  labourers,  the  old  man  has  his  favourite  jobs,  and  one 
of  them  is  bedding.  In  the  palmy  days  of  carpet  bedding  there  was 
a  lot  of  it  done  in  the  establishment  of  which  I  write,  and  Joe  proved 
himself  to  be  an  adept  at  the  work.  He  knew  nothing  of  drawing, 
but  some  of  his  designs  were  works  of  art,  and  even  now  he  has  an 
eye  for  symmetry  such  as  few  men  possess.  I  have  watched  young 
men  work  beside  him,  and  attempt  to  keep  pace  with  him,  and  at 
times  they  looked  like  leading,  but  the  regular  plod  of  the  experienced 
hand  told  its  tale,  and  before  evening  he  was  always  ahead. 
And  no  task  seems  to  come  amiss  to  Joe,  whether  it  be  making  a 
tennis  court  or  forming  a  new  garden.  Rough  and  uneducated  though 
he  is,  his  ideas  of  landscape  work  are  excellent,  and  if  left  to  carry 
them  out  without  interference  he  never  fails  to  produce  a  satisfactory 
result.  I  know  of  more  than  one  head  gardener  now  who  has  reason 
to  be  thankful  that  he  was  sent  as  a  youth  to  work  “along  with  Old1 
Joe.”  It  is  all  very  well  to  talk  about  horticultural  education,  but, 
after  all,  practice  is  the  best  of  schools,  and  strange  though  it  may 
sound,  some  of  the  ablest  teachers  may  be  found  in  labourers  of  the 
type  of  Old  Joe,  who  teach  not  so  much  by  their  precept  as  by  the 
way  they  do  their  work.  Though  18s.  per  week  is  not  a  princely 
income,  the  man  is  not  bad  off,  and  is  contented.  His  work,  his  home, 
his  garden,  and  his  little  farm  are  all  part  of  his  life,  and  with  them 
his  anxiety  ends.  When  the  clock  strikes  six  in  the  morning  he  is 
at  his  work  ;  when  it  strikes  the  same  hour  again  in  the  evening  he 
leaves  it,  as  he  has  done  week  in,  week  out,  for  the  greater  part  of  his 
life,  wishing  lor  nothing  better,  and  making  the  best  of  what  he  has. 
There  are  many  men  like  him  in  th9  horticultuial  world,  and  though 
we  know  them  as  labourers  only,  both  gardeners  and  gardens  would 
be  poor  without  them. — G. 
- - 
Single-flowered  Hollyhocks. — These  flowers  are  so  conspicuously 
distinct  and  beautiful,  that  they  have  never  gone  out  of  fashion ; 
but  of  late  years  many  growers,  especially  on  hot  and  dry  soils  in  the 
south  of  England,  have  had  to  discard  them  on  account  of  a  fungoid 
pest  known  as  the  “  Hollyhock  disease.”  We  have  found  that  by 
rearing  seedlings  every  year,  and  planting  them  as  far  as  possible  in 
new  or  fresh  soil,  they  have  flowered  well,  and  they  are  so  varied  in 
colour  and  so  handsome  that  no  other  flowers  can  quite  replace  them  in 
big  borders.  Mr.  George  Massee,  who  is  the  fungus  expert  at  Kew,  is 
of  opinion  that  kainit  is  one  of  the  most  efficient  of  all  fungicides,  and, 
being  likewise  a  manure,  it  should  be  useful  to  all  who  grow  Hollyhocks 
and  other  garden  flowers  likely  to  become  infested  and  fail  owing  to 
fungoid  disease.  Even  if  this  fertiliser  only  enabled  us  to  again  grow 
the  Hollyhock  in  our  gardens  successfully  it  would  be  an  enormous 
boon,  and  cultivators  generally  will  do  well  to  act  on  Mr.  Massee’s 
special  knowledge  and  advice  in  all  oases  where  fungus  in  the  soil  is  a 
trouble  or  annoyance  to  them. 
