JOURNAL  OF  jrORTTGULTURE  AND  COrrAOE  GARDENER. 
February  2,  1899. 
«2 
r 
thereby  causing  exuberance,  it  is  far  tlie  bettor  plan  to  use  the  simple 
au'l  effective  remedy  of  ringing,  ind  allow  the  roots  to  remain  as 
before. 
There  are,  it  is  true,  cases  where  only  root-pruning  will  mend  the 
grievance.  If  the  subsoil,  into  which  the  roots  have  plunged,  be  of  a 
wet  stagnant  nature  through  improper,  or  the  absence  of  any  drainage, 
it  is  evident  that  ringing  would  bo  utterly  useless,  but  in  the 
majority  of  cases  I  think  it  should  supersede  the  laborious  task  of 
root-pruning,  giving  as  it  does  equally  good  results  at  less  cost. 
— W.  If. 
(’HAFF  AND  (^1{A1N. 
Eric  the  number  for  January  19th  of  the  aged,  but  ever  new, 
Jourmil  of  HoriicuUure  is  shelved  in  the  ganlener’s  home,  or  in  the 
bothy,  I  would  tain  ask  for  it  a  second  reading,  particularly  in  the 
bothy.  If  second  thoughts  are  best,  second  readings,  like  second 
siftings,  oft  disclose  the  grain  amid  the  chaff.  This  number, 
methought,  opened  unusually  chaffy.  To  the  strains  of  “  A  Lost 
Cliord  ”  upsprang  a  “  Femi  and  a  Fungus”  in  mortal  combat.  ’Twas 
grand  to  see  the  champion  of  I’otatodom  puffing  anti-blights  (through 
a  bellows,  I  mean).  No  matter;  he  teaches  some  line  lessons  to 
practical  gardeners,  and  the  lesson  for  the  day  as  given  out  by  him 
seems  with  sonorous  sound  to  say,  Work — work — work!  That 
charming  wTiter  Mrs.  S.  C.  Hall  once  said  of  a  certain  race,  “  ()h,  if 
those  jieople  would  only  w'ork  instead  of  talking,  how  different  they 
might  be.”  Somehow  life — a  gardener’s  life — seems  too  short  to  over¬ 
take  a  tithe  of  the  science  meted  out  to  us.  And  somehow,  too,  the 
pilots  of  “our  Journal ’’seem  inclined  to  guide  us  back  into  the  old 
familiar  channels.  I’erhaps,  after  all,  there  are  fewer  rocks  and  less 
wrecks  in  them. 
Is  there  really  a  change  in  this  direction?  It  looks  like  it.  The 
very  number  of  the  Journal  snipped  from  seems  imbued  with  the 
spirit  of  common-sense  teaching  as  opposed  to  scientific  searching. 
It  is  almost — nay’’,  quite — stiirtliug  to  find,  on  page  41,  a  chockful  of 
science  gardener  chatting  about  “  muck,  handy  lime,  and  tell-tale 
soot,’’  and  generally  praising  the  blissful  ignorant  past.  Note,  young 
men,  what  Mr.  Abbey  says  of  “the  good  old  times— 8s.  a  week  and 
bothy  for  a  growing  lad  far  on  in  the  teens.”  But  thereby  hangs  a 
tale.  1  will  not,  however,  tell  it,  but  the  sequel  is  that  8s.  then  often 
went  farther  than  18s.  now,  although  the  bothy  and  the  kitchen  were 
a  mile  apart. 
Turning  over  to  page  48,  “  Soil  Analysis,”  wo  reach  (in  the  second 
paragraph)  the  “  half-way  house  between  exact  science  and  rule-of- 
thumb.”  A  very  safe  place,  too,  one  thinks — for  gardeners.  Here 
men  wearied  with  many  things  may  rest  in  comparative  security,  and 
if  threatened  on  the  one  side  by  advanced  scientists,  or  ou  the  other 
by  those  in  the  rear  of  elementary  teaching,  may  say,  “Let ’em  all 
come,”  for  this  “  half-w'ay  house  ” — the  golden  mean — is  a  tower  of 
strength. 
Again  would  I  ask  young  Britons  of  bothydom  not  only  to  read 
their  Journals,  but  to  sift  out  the  common-sense  morals  they  convey. 
A  grand  one  is,  1  think,  easily  discovered  in  the  leader  of  the  latest 
number  to  hand,  “Life  and  Food,”  page  59.  Under  this  simple 
heading  that  mysterious  link  between  the  two  great  kingdoms  of  life 
is  more  than  hinted  at.  It  is  not  a  chaffy  subject,  but,  although 
heavy  with  chemical  constituents  and  saturated  with  science, 
intensely  interesting.  Without  courting  mental  dyspepsia  a  modest 
samjJing  is  able  to  yield  foretastes  of  the  pleasure  and  profit  in  store 
for  those  who  come  to  regard  the  objects  of  their  care  as  living, 
breathing  subjects,  demanding  due  recognition  as  such  from  thinking 
heads  and  ministering  hands.  Granted  this,  then  mere  work  is 
merged  in  a  labour  of  love  conducive  to  the  best  results. 
It^  is  not  easy  to  describe  the  subtle  influence  of  the  love  of 
girdeniug.  It  may  be  noticed,  however,  that  some  plants  in  jiarticnlar 
seem  “  uncertain,  coy,  and  hard  to  please.”  This  .arises  from  their 
cliaracter  being  misunderstood ;  yet  some  few  arc  able  to  woo  them 
into  health,  happiness,  and  beauty.  Witness  those  grand  specimen 
plants  and  grand  sjiecimen  gardeners  of  the  past,  aye,  and  of  the 
jiresent  too.  Some  of  them  were,  and  some  of  them  are  still,  terribly 
deficient  in  revealed  science,  but,  judging  by  results  obtained,  what 
they  lacked  in  that  direction  was  more  than  made  up  for  by,  that  love 
which  amounts  to  a  passion  reciprocated,  in  the  silent  life  of  their 
subjects.  One  such  I  knew  who  was  rarely  beaten  with  his  twelve 
stove  and  greenhouse  plants.  Ho  worshipped  them,  and  though  his 
knowledge  of  bi  ok  science  was  nil,  mentally  analysed  them  and  know 
their  wants  better  than  any  chemist  could  tell  him.  Science  may 
surj'ass  the  old  miracles  of  faith,  but  it  will  never  supplant  intuitive 
love,  and  one  (piestions  still  if  it  has  even  shaken  the  great  “muck  ” 
doctrine. — Watchman. 
Weathkr  in  London. — The  frost,  which  remained  with  us 
from  Wednesday  until  Saturday  last,  ap[)eared  to  meet  with  general 
appreciation.  It  was  not  very  severe  on  any  morning,  but  still  water  w’as 
thinly  coated  over  on  Friday.  During  Saturday  the  coming  change 
could  be  felt,  and  Sunday  was  a  thoroughly  wet  and  dull  day.  The 
rain  hardly  ceased  until  evening,  and  then  only  for  a  very  short  time. 
Monday  opened  wet,  but  became  dry  and  colder  later,  followed  by  frost 
in  the  early  hours  of  'I'uesday  morning.  Wednesday,  like  the  preceding, 
was  dull,  foggy  at  times,  and  cold. 
-  Weather  in  the  NoufTii.  —  The  prolonged  course  of  rainy 
weather  has  been  followed  by  a  week  of  pretty  keen  frost.  From  the 
23rd  ult.  to  28th  from  13°  to  17°  were  daily  registered.  On  Sunday,  and 
again  on  Monday  afternoon,  there  was  some  appearance  of  a  change  to 
milder  weather. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
-  “  SlNHliE-HANDED”  GaUdeners. — At  our  show  we  have  a 
class  for  “single-handed’  gardeners.  'I'he  regulation  reads  as  follows  ; — 
“A  single-handed  gardener  is  a  man  without  regular  assistance.”  It  is  a 
source  of  endless  trouble  to  the  Committee  to  decide  questions  as  to  when 
a  man  ceases  to  bo  eligible  for  this  class.  Will  some  brother  secretary 
help  me  with  his  experience  to  define  a  “single-handed  gardener?” — 
T.  W.  Thornton,  Beckenham  Horticultural  Society. 
-  Presentation  to  Mr.  J.  Carrutiiers.  —  Mr.  .Tames 
Carruthers,  lately  gardener  at  Ilillwood,  Corstorphine,  has  recently  been 
the  recipient  of  a  present  from  his  friends  to  show  their  appreciation  of 
his  services  to  horticulture,  and  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  was  held. 
This  was  supplemented  by  a  contribution  from  the  Scottish  Horticultural 
Asscciation.  A  small  deputation  of  subscribers,  headed  by  Mr.  li.  W.  E. 
Murray  and  Mr,  M. Todd,  waited  on  Mr.  Carruthers,  at  Kavelston,  where 
he  has  acquired  a  business,  and  presented  him  in  name  of  the  subscribers 
with  a  cheque  for  over  £G0.  Mr,  Todd  happily  expressed  the  great 
pleasure  it  gave  the  subscribers  to  show  their  hearty  goodwill  towards 
him,  congratulated  him  on  his  improving  health,  and  expressed  the 
warmest  wish  of  his  many  friends  that  his  strength  and  activity  would 
return,  and  that  great  success  would  attend  his  new  business  venture. 
Mr.  Carruthers  replied  in  a  few  brief  remarks. 
-  IIani-EY  FkTE. — We  have  been  favoured  with  advance  proofs 
of  the  schedule  of  the  Horticultural  FHe  that  is  to  be  held  at  this  Stafford¬ 
shire  town  on  Wednesday  and  Thursday,  July  5th  and  6th.  The  prize 
list  and  the  rules  governing  exhibitors  are  very  comprehensive,  and  it 
will  be  scarcely  possible,  after  a  careful  perusal  of  the  latter,  for  anyone 
to  get  on  the  wrong  track.  Slightly  over  100  classes  are  embodied  in  the 
list,  these  being  divided  into  sections  that  are  open  to  all,  open  to 
gardeners  and  amateurs,  and  open  to  cottagers  only.  Several  of  the 
leading  firms  offer  prizes  for  various  products,  and  these  of  course  are 
subject  to  the  customary  stipulations.  The  Society  will  give  many 
liberal  prizes  in  several  classes,  notably  £70  for  a  group  of  plants  ;  £30 
for  a  group  of  Orchids  ;  £22  10s.  for  twelve  specimen  plants  ;  £12  for 
eight  exotic  Orchids;  £15  for  forty-eight  Roses;  £13  for  thirty-six 
Roses  ;  and  £22  lor  a  floral  display,  with  numerous  others.  The  Secre¬ 
tary  is  Mr.  ,T,  Kent,  The  Park,  Hanley,  from  whom  full  particulars  may 
be  had, 
-  Decorating  Fruit  Exhirits  at  Flower  Shows. — Dis¬ 
cussions  have  been  heard  of  late  as  to  whether  exhibits  in  fruit  classes 
should  be  enlivened  by  floral  decorations  or  not.  At  some  shows  I  have 
found  it  difficult  to  distinguish  one  entry  from  another  because  the 
exhibits  wore  so  massed  together  ;  so  confusing,  one  had  to  stop  and 
consider  which  was  one  entry  and  which  was  another,  and  so  on.  1 
think  they  ought  to  be  a  little  more  distinct  in  arrangement  than  they 
sometimes  are.  At  Chrysanthemum  shows  some  societies  offer  a  prize 
for  a  specimen  Palm,  and  we  do  not  usually  find  the  exhibits  massed  in  a 
corner  or  other  similar  space,  but  distributed  where  their  presence  is 
more  needed  and  effective.  In  decorative  classes,  such  as  for  epergnes 
and  vases,  the  exhibits  are  often  quite  spoilt  by  being  so  crowded 
together  ;  and  I  would  suggest  that  if  these  epergnes  and  vases  could  be 
disposed  at  intervals  between  collections  of  fruit,  the  effect  would  be 
far  greater,  and  the  fruit  tables  not  seem  so  monotonous,  while  judges 
would  bo  aided  in  making  their  awards  to  the  decorative  exhibits.— 
R.  H.  Jeffery,  NursUny,  Southampton. 
