February  23,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
139 
A  FEW  SPECIALITIES. 
Barr’s  Monstrous  Long  Pod  Broad  Bean.  — The 
earliest,  best  flavoured,  largest  podded,  and  most  pro¬ 
ductive.  Per  quart,  2/6. 
Barr’s  Green  Haricot  Dwarf  French  Bean.— Of  very 
delicate  flavour,  and  unsurpassed  as  a  Haricot  Bean  in 
Winter.  Per  quart,  2/6. 
Batr’s  Best  of  All  Autumn  -  cutting  Cabbage. — 
Dwarf  and  compact,  very  early  and  of  exceptionally  fine 
cooking  quality.  Per  packet,  6d.;  ner  oz.,  1/6. 
Barr’s  Earliest  French  Short  Horn  Carrot.— A 
favourite  for  soups,  and  extremely  early ;  the  best 
variety  to  sow  in  frames.  Per  packet,  4d. :  per  oz. ,  lOd. 
Barr’s  “Pride  of  the  Market”  Cucumber. — A  speci¬ 
ally  fine  dark-green  variety  of  handsome  shape ;  a 
favourite  in  Covent  Garden  Market.  Per  packet,  1/6. 
Barr’s  Long  Keeper  Onion. — A  fine  handsome  Onion, 
and  a  very  long  keeper.  Per  packet,  6d. ;  per  oz.,  1/3. 
Barr’s  “First  of  All”  Radishes.— Scarlet  or  white,  fine 
little,  short-leaved,  very  early  Radi.shes.  Per  oz.,  6d. 
Barr’s  Early  Ruby  Tomato.— Bright  scarlet  solid  fruit 
of  fine  form  ;  an  abundant  cropper  ;  the  best  Fiest 
Early  Tomato.  Per  packet,  1/-. 
Barr’s  Thick-fleshed  Tomato.  —  Surpasses  all  other 
varieties  for  depth  of  fruit,  solidity  of  flesh,  high 
quality,  and  heavy  cropping.  Per  packet,  1/-. 
BARR’S  SEED  GUIDE  (Free)  contains  a  full  descriptive 
List  of  the  best  Vegetables  and  most  beautiful  Flowers, 
with  many  Practical  Hints  on  Culture  valuable  to 
Gardeners,  Amateurs,  and  Exhibitors. 
DADD  S  CnilC  12  &  13,  KING  STREET. 
DAIflf  <x  OUllO,  COVENT  GARDEN,  LONDON 
Nurseries:  LONG  DITTON,  SURREY. 
NOVELTIES 
RAISED  AT 
WINDSOR  AND  OSBORNE. 
It  is  Messrs.  CARTERS’  privilege  to 
offer  the  following  new  and  choice 
productions  to  the  notice  of  gardeners 
and  private  cultivators. 
BRITISH  QUEEN  MELON. 
Raised  and  named  by  Mr.  Owen  Thobias,  Suiit.  of 
the  Royal  Gardens,  Windsor.  Awarded  the  First- 
Class  Certificate  R.H.S.  Pronounced  by  the  Com¬ 
mittee  to  be  not  only  the  very  best  wliite-flesb 
melon  ever  submitted,  but  the  richest  flavoured  of 
any  colour.  Awarded  the  Gold  Medal  of  the  Royal 
Caledonian  Society  in  association  with  other  fruit 
exhibited  by  H.M.  The  Queen. 
In  sealed  packets,  price  2/6  and  3  6  each,  post  free. 
ROYAL  OSBORNE  CUCUMBER. 
A  valuable  cross  between  the  Rocbford  and  an  im¬ 
proved  type  of  Telegraph,  raised  and  named  by  Mr. 
George  Nobbs,  Head  Gardener  to  H.M.  the  Queen 
at  Osborne.  In  our  opinion  it  is  one  of  the  best  all 
the  year  round  varieties  introduced  in  recent  years. 
In  sealed  packets,  price  2/6  &  3, 6  each,  post  free. 
ILLUSTRATED  CATALOGUES,  POST  FREE. 
kv£  HOLD  THE  ENTIRE  STOCK  OF  SEEDS 
OF  THESE  TWO  NOVELTIES. 
CARTERS, 
Ube  Queen’s  Seebsmen. 
Only  Address — 
237,  238  &  97,  HIGH  HOLBORN,  LOfiOON. 
WARE’S 
NEW 
SEEDS 
TOTTENHAM  1016  COLLECTION 
OF  SELECT 
POST  FREE,  contains  : — 
pts.  Broad  Beans 
i  pt.  French  Beans 
1  pkt.  Red  Beet 
1  pkt.  Borecole,  best 
1  pkt.  Broccoli,  best 
1  pkt.  Brussels  Sprouts 
1  pkt.  Cabbage,  best 
2  pkts.  Carrot,  best 
1  pkt.  Celery,  red  or  white 
2  oz.  Cress,  curled 
1  pkt.  Cucumber 
1  pkt.  Endive,  best 
1  pkt.  Leek,  best 
2  pkts.  Lettuce 
2  oz.  Mustard,  white  .. 
3  pkts.  Onions,  best 
1  pkt.  Parsley,  curled 
1  pkt.  Parsnip,  best 
4  pts.  Pea.s,  selected 
1  oz.  Radish,  best 
1  pkt.  Savoy  Cabbage 
2  oz.  Spinach,  fine 
2  pkts.  Turnip,  best 
1  pkt.  Vegetable  Marrow 
2  pkts.  Herbs,  sweet  and 
pot 
&  Son’s 
CHOICE 
OTHER  COLLECTIONS  AT  15  -,  21/-,  42/-,  63/-. 
COLLECTIONS  OP 
CHOICE  FLOWER  SEEDS, 
From  1-  upwards,  Post  Free. 
SEED  CATALOGUE  with  130  Beautiful  Illustrations, 
containing  also  Full  Descriptions  and  collections  of 
BEGONIAS,  CHRYSANTHEMUMS, 
FREE  UPON  APPLICATION. 
THOS.  $.  WARE,  Ltd. 
HALE  FARM  NURSERIES, 
TOTTENHAM,  LONDON. 
VEGETABLE  &  FLOWER 
Seeds 
FOR  PRESENT  SOWING, 
AND 
BULBS  AND  PLANTS 
FOR  SPRING  PLANTING. 
Collections  of  Vegetable  and  Flower  Seeds, 
Made  up  of  the  most  popular  Varieties,  and  to  suit 
all  requirements,  from  21-  and  upwards. 
Orders  for  Vegetable  Seeds  of  10/-  and  upward.s  sent 
Carriage  Paid. 
Orders  for  Flower  Seeds  of  3/-  and  upwards  free  by  Post. 
DESCRIPTIVE  CATALOGUE  of  the  above,  with 
Cultural  Directions,  will  be  sent  post  free  on  appli¬ 
cation  to  our  Offices  at  OVERVEEN,  near  HAARLEM, 
HOLLAND,  or  to  our  General  Agents — 
Messrs.  MERTENS  &  CO., 
3  CROSS  LANE.  LONDON,  E.C. 
THURSDAY",  FEBRUARY"  23,  ISOO. 
THE  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  can  be  obtained 
from  the  Office,  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers  Fleet  St., 
London,  post  free  for  a  Quarter,  3/9.  Editorial 
communications  must  bo  addressed  to  8,  Rose 
Hill  Rd.,  Wandsworth,  S.W. 
SCIENTIFIC  KNOWLEDGE. 
A  Primrose  bj'  a  river's  brim, 
A  yellow  Primrose  was  to  him, 
And  it  was  nothing  more. 
“AN  ounce  of  practice  is  worth  a  pound  of 
IjL  theory.”  How  often  these  words  have  been 
thrown  out  as  an  unrefutable  argument  in  favoui- 
of  rule  of  thumb  or  empirical  knowledge  alone  I 
It  must  be  admitted  they  are  difficult  to  answer, 
because  the  statement  is  true  up  to  a  certain 
point.  What  is  meant  is  that  practice  alone  is 
better  than  theory  alone,  and  this  no  one  will 
deny  in  matters  horticultural.  Can  we,  however, 
go  so  far  as  to  say  that  theoretical  knowledge  is 
absolutely  useless  ? 
Those  who  object  to  scientific  teaching  as 
worthless  or  are  carried  away  by  their  prejudices 
against  such  instruction  —  even  in  some  cases 
considering  it  absolutely  mischievous — either  do 
not  know,  or  have  not  considered  seriously,  what 
is  meant  by  it.  With  the  best  of  intentions  they 
speak  disparagingly  of  this  kind  of  teaching, 
regardless  of  the  fact  that  (to  quote  Smiles) 
“  though  many  of  these  facts  aud  observations 
seemed,  in  the  first  instance,  to  have  but  slight 
significance,  they  are  all  found  to  have  their 
eventual  uses,  and  to  fit  into  their  proper  places.” 
We  all  admire  the  “practical”  man,  but  if  we 
consider  seriouslj’’  we  must  acknowledge  that  he 
is  brimming  over  xvitli  theoretical  knowledge — 
in  many  cases  obtained  through  great  tribulatiou 
— much  of  which  could  have  been  obtained  by 
the  study  of  reliable  books. 
We  are  aware  there  is  a  great  improvement 
in  recent  years,  but  with  the  development  of  glass 
culture  which  has  made  such  immense  strides 
during  the  laat  decade,  there  are  hundreds  of 
workmen  engaged  in  horticultural  pursuits  who 
have  no  acquaintance  with  the  facts  in  science 
connected  with  their  occupation.  They  are  mere 
machines,  hewers  of  wood  and  draw-ers  of 
water. 
Then,  again,  there  are  the  small  nurserymen. 
Many  of  these  are  striving  their  utmost  to  make 
No.  2630.— Y"0L.  C.,  Old  Series, 
No,  974.— VoL.  XXXVIIT.,  Third  Series, 
