December  19,  1901.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
555 
A  Horticultural  Class. 
Quite  recently  there  have  sprung  up  in  various  parts  of  the 
country  elaborate  and  splendidly  equipped  Horticultural  Training 
Schools  and  Colleges — places  where  gardening,  theoretical  and 
practical,  can  be  studied  in  all  its  branches,  and  with  every  advantage. 
But  money  for  this  purpose  was  not  always  so  plentifully  forthcoming, 
and  some  of  the  establishments  and  gardens  where  horticultural 
instruction  is  now  imparted,  replet*.  as  they  are,  with  every  con- 
venie’nce,  had  rather  small  beginnings.  Of  such  value,  and  so 
successful  has  the  work  initiated  by  some  of  these  classes  and  courses, 
of  lectures  proved,  that  pupils  of  a  few  years  ago  look  with  surprise 
as  well  as  pleasure  at  the  way  in  which  they  have  since  prospered 
and  developed. 
It  is  only  six  or  seven  years  since  that  the  writer  had  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  attending  one  of  these  classes,  organised  mainly  as  an 
experiment — -an  experiment  against  the  success  of  which  there  were 
some  drawbacks,  but  the  results  of  which,  on  the  whole,  proved  so 
satisfactory  that  it  has  since  been  extended  into  one  of  the  best 
systems  of  horticultural  training  in  the  country.  The  students  were 
thoroughly  representative  of  the 
gardening  youth  of  the  country ; 
intelligent  young  fellows  engaged 
in  nurseries  or  private  gardens, 
with  some  knowledge  of  the  pi-ac- 
tical  part  of  their  work,  and  most 
of  them  willing  and  eager  to  learn 
something  of  the  scientific  side 
also — of  the  why  and  wherefore 
of  the  various  operations  that  they 
knew  how  to  perform.  With  the 
ablest  of  instructors,  a  well 
equipped  laboratory,  and  every¬ 
thing  necessary  for  botanical  and 
entomological  study,  there  was  the 
finest  opportunities  for  doing  this, 
and  if  the  conveniences  for  prac¬ 
tical  work  were  somewhat  limited, 
they  were  certainly  made  the 
best  of. 
It  would  be  no  exaggeration  to 
say  that  to  some  of  those  who 
attended  that  class,  the  first  few 
days’  work  was  a  revelation.  The 
plant,  hitherto  looked  on  as  a 
mere  thing  to  be  cultivated  by 
treating  in  a  certain  way,  took  to 
itself  a  new'  and  previously  un¬ 
known  interest.  We  learnt  that 
it  was  not  just  a  solid  body  of 
leaves,  stalk,  and  root,  that  some¬ 
how,  we  knew  not  how-  or  why, 
managed  to  grow  and  bear  fruit 
and  seed,  but  a  thing  that  lived 
and  fed,  had  an  appetite,  and 
possessed  its  likes  and  dislikes, 
and  that  its  parts  were  as  wonder¬ 
ful  and  diversified  as  those  of  our 
own  bodies,  till  itbecame  something 
to  be  respected,  a  thing  of  dignity, 
something  to  be  handled  carefully 
and  with  discretion,  and  that  ought 
almost  to  be  stood  in  awe  of. 
What  fresh  wonders  were  revealed  by  the 
microscope !  The  faces  of  some  of  those  students,  viewing  for  the 
arranged  in  front  of  us,  fearful,  in  spite  of  assurances  to  the  contrary, 
of  burning  holes  in  our  hands,  or  launching  ourselves,  laboratory  and 
all,  into  space ;  and,  indeed,  one  or  two  carried  home  the  marks  of 
sulphuric  acid  on  their  clothes,  whether  they  retained  any  knowledge 
of  it  in  their  heads  or  not.  But  once  fairly  set  to  work,  and  it  was  hard 
to  leave  it,  we  would  have  liked  to  go  on  analysing  and  conducting  many 
more  experiments  on  our  own  account.  As  it  w-as,  our  investigations 
led  to  a  considerable  number  of  weird  and  unsavoury  odours  being  let 
loose,  and  a  small  amount  of  gunpowder — the  connection  of  which 
with  horticultural  chemistry  was  rather  obscure — was  manufactured  ; 
a  composition  which  no  amount  of  coaxing  would  induce  to  explode. 
What  a  humane  thing  would  war  be  if  only  gardeners’  gunpowder 
were  used  ? 
The  practical  part  of  our  gai-dening  work  afforded  diversion  as 
well  as  instruction.  We  were  handicapped  by  the  fact  that  the  area 
of  garden  to  be  cultivated  was  little  more  than  sufficient  to  afford 
standing  room  for  all  the  pupils.  It  was  an  experimental  garden,  its 
chief  feature  being  a  magnificent  crop  of  fine  healthy  labels,  with  a 
Cun-ant  bush  standing  nobly  in  the  centre.  But  some  digging  and 
trenching  had  to  be  done,  and  selecting  a  portion  where  the  labels 
were  least  numerous,  we  trenched  it.  Then  another  gang  trenched 
it.  and  afterwards  a  third  party,  and  we  concluded  that  if  soil  could 
be  improved  by  trenching,  that 
ought 
portion 
anything. 
Meanwhile 
Cypripedium  x  Helena. 
use  of  the  lens  and  the 
first  time"  the  structure  of  the  various  tissues,  the  cells,  the  circulating 
sap.  the  strands  of  plotoplasm  and  the  stomata,  would  surely  have 
been  a  study  for  an  artist.  Whatever  might  be  forgotten,  these 
wonders  of  Nature  seen  through  the  microscope  certainly  would  not 
be.  With  names  some  of  us  were  not  perhaps  so  suacessfui. 
Gardeners,  as  a  class,  are  famed  for  the  number  of  high-sounding 
names  they  can  mystify  their  lay  brethren  with, but  when  the  “words 
of  learned  length  and  thundering  sound  ”  were  rolled  forth,  when  it 
came  to  wrestling  with  parenchyma  and  sclerenchyma,  with  mono¬ 
cotyledons  and  dicotyledons,  some  of  us  began  to  feel  our  hair  rising, 
and  when  afterwards,  in  pursuing  our  studies  of  insect  life,  we  made 
acquaintance  with  the  fearsome  Lepidoptera,  the  grim  Hymenoptera, 
and  the  blood-curdling  Coleoptera,  not  a  few  gave  in  in  despair.  One 
young  fellow,  who  had  lmd  some  years  in  a  fruit  nursery,  felt  assured 
that  he  had  nothing  to  learn  about  budding  and  grafting,  but  on 
hearing  of  the  upward  and  downward  flow  of  sap.  of  the  cortex  and 
the  cambium  layer,  and  the  oxidation  of  exposed  tissues,  he  quickly 
changed  his  mind. 
The  chemical  laboratory,  too,  was  another  field  of  knowledge 
opened  up  for  the  first  time.  Here  we  learnt  of  the  different  con¬ 
stituents  of  soils  and  manures,  which  elements  were  essential  and 
which  not.  and  something  of  the  method  of  testing  and  analysing 
them.  It  was  only  with  difficulty  that  we  overcame  our  misgivings 
with  regard  to  handling  the  questionable  bottles  of  acids  and  salts 
to" the  best 
—A.  W.  D. 
advantage,  and  it  is 
to  grow  well  nigh 
another  student 
vigorously  hoed  a  plot  that  did 
not  require  hoeing,  and  another 
came  after  him  and  ameliorated 
it  still  further  by  raking,  after 
which  the  rakings  were  carefully 
put  back  again.  The  meagre 
supply  of  plants  and  bulbs  on 
hand  were  potted  and  repotted,  till 
they  were  nearly  potted  to  death, 
ancl  finally,  when  we  were  required 
to  show  our  skill  in  staking,  we 
fell  like  wolves  on  six  unhappy 
Balsams,  that  under  ordinary  cir¬ 
cumstances  no  one  would  have 
dreamt  of  staking,  and  staked  them 
and  unstaked  them,  and  restaked 
them  so  many  times,  than  eventu¬ 
ally,  in  protest  against  this  extra¬ 
ordinary  treatment,  they  hung 
their  heads,  and  refused  to 
stand  up  except  when  securely 
tied. 
Then  there  was  the  planting 
lesson,  when  few  plants  served 
for  many  hands,  though  I  cannot 
guarantee  that  the  continual 
transposition  gave  the  plants 
greater  incentive  to  grow. 
There  was  undoubtedly  some 
amusement  as  well  as  a  great  deal 
of  instruction  obtained  from  that 
class,  but  all  who  attended  bene¬ 
fited  thereby,  and  went  away  with 
a  greater  interest  in,  and  a  higher 
conception  of  their  calling  than 
they  came  with,  and  the  small 
theoretical  garden  has  now  de¬ 
veloped  into  a  magnificent  place, 
where  everything  may  be  grown 
well  worth  anybody’s  while  to  see. 
Pernettya  mucronata. 
By  planting  beds  of  this  plant  and  its  varieties,  showy  masses  of 
colour  may  be  had  all  winter,  for  although  the  berries  are  often 
coloured  early  in  September  they  will  usually  hang  on  the  plants 
until  March.  As  an  evergreen  shrub  alone  it  is  w-orth  growing,  for  it 
is  of  neat  appearance.  Bising  to  a  height  of  from  2  to  3  feet  it  makes 
a  dense  busli  with  small,  dark  green  leaves.  As  a  flowering  shrub  it 
has  also  some  claim  on  our  attention,  for  in  late  spring  it  bears  a 
profusion  of  small  Heath-like  white  blossoms.  In  the  typical  plant 
the  fruits  are  bright  red  when  ripe,  but  a  great  variation  of  colour 
exists  among  the  varieties,  all  shades  being  found  between  white,  rose, 
and  deep  red.  It  is  one  of  the  members  of  the  Erica  family  that 
prefers  loam  mixed  with  the  peat  in  which  it  is  planted,  and  in  some 
gardens  it  thrives  remarkably  well  in  loam  alone.  When  once 
established  and  doing  well  it  should  be  left  alone,  as  undisturbed 
plants  produce  by  far  the  best  crops  of  fruit.  When  beds  have  been 
planted  a  little  while  it  is  not  desirable  to  fork  betw-een  the  plants,  or 
the  young  suckery  shoots  which  travel  for  a  considerable  distance 
under  ground  wrill  be  disturbed.  In  seasons  when  a  particularly 
heavy  crop  of  fruit  is  borne' it  is  advisable  to  support  the  most  heavily 
laden  branches  with  forked  sticks. — W.  D. 
