421 
JOUR^^AL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  25,  1S99. 
LEGAL  RIGHTS  AXD  OBLIGATIONS  OF 
MAIIKKT  GAIiDENEES. 
Will  you  oblige  by'  giving  me  information,  through  the  medium 
of  ihc  Journal  of  Horticulture,  on  the  following  questions  as  to  what 
is  the  law  in  regard  to  the  tenant-rights  of  bona-fide  market  gardeners 
and  their  claims  in  respect  of  the  following  ? — Enquiree.  [As  the 
whole  subject  is  of  considerable  importance,  we  publish  the  questions, 
with  replies,  but  draw  particular  attention  to  the  saving  clause  at  the 
end.] 
1,  Can  the  Acts  compel  a  landlord  or  incoming  tenant  (when 
leaving  a  place  in  October)  to  take  at  valuation  such  things  as 
Daffodils,  Narcissus,  or  other  bulbs  ?  Do  they  come  under  the 
same  rule  as  other  root  crops  ? 
[A.  1,  There  is  no  mention  of  bulbs  in  the  Market  Gardeners’ 
Compensation  Act  or  in  the  Agricultural  Holdings  Act,  and  it  is 
doubtful  whether  any  claim  for  them  could  be  substantiated.  In  the 
first  case  tried  in  Scotland  under  the  Market  Gardeners’  Act  (Taylor  v. 
the  Governors  of  George  lleriot's  Trust),  decided  by  arbitration,  a 
claim  for  Narcissus  bulbs  was  made  and  withdrawn,  and,  the  referee 
said,  “  very  ))roperly  ”  withdrawn.  It  would  be  much  safer  to  raise 
and  sell  the  bulbs,  unless  the  landlord  will  give  a  w'ritten  agreement 
10  pay  for  them  by  valuation.] 
(>.  2,  What  is  the  law  in  respect  to  such  things  as  Raspberries, 
Currants,  Gooseberries,  StraAvberries,  Rhubarb,  and  herbaceous  plants 
generally  ?  If  the  tenant  ]  lant  such  things  in  the  soil,  how  long  is  it 
necessary  for  them  to  be  planted  before  the  time  expires  in  which  they 
can  be  moved  by  the  tenant  ? 
[A.  2,  In  the  first  place,  it  must  be  stated  that  claims  for  com¬ 
pensation  under  the  Market  Gardeners’  Act  are  valid  under  only  one 
or  the  other  of  two  conditions  :  (a)  If  under  a  tenancy  current  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Act  (1st  of  January,  189G)  the  holding  was  in 
use  as  a  market  garden  with  the  knowledge  of  the  landlord,  and  the 
imi)rovements  were  carried  out  by  the  tenant  without  his  having 
received,  previous  to  their  execution,  a  written  dissent  from  the  land¬ 
lord  ;  or  (l>)  if  the  holding  has  been  taken  since  the  commencement  of 
the  Act,  and  it  has  been  agreed  in  writmg  that  it  should  be  let  or 
treated  as  a  market  garden.  I  nder  either  of  these  conditions  the 
landlord  can  bp  compelled  to  pay  the  out-going  tenant  for  all  fruit 
trees  or  fruit  bushes  permanently'  set  out  by  him,  for  all  Strawberry 
I'lants  set  out,  and  for  the  plaiting  of  Asparagus  and  other  vegetable 
crops,  no  doubt  including  Rhubarb.  '  All  fruit  trees  and  bushes  net 
permanently  set  out  can  be  removed  by  the  tenant;  but  if  he  does 
not  remove  them  before  the  termination  of  his  tenancy  he  will  not  be 
entitled  to  any  compensation  for  them.  The  moment  after  they  have 
been  permanently  set  out  compensation  is  claimable  for  them  if  the 
tenant  quit  his  holding,  and,  as  w'o  understand  the  law,  he  cannot 
afterwards  remove  them  without  the  landlord’s  consent.  But  if  he  is 
a  nurseryman  who  habitually  sells  trees,  it  might  be  assumed  that 
the  trees  rvere  not  necessarily  intended  to  remain  permanently.] 
Q.  3,  Can  a  tenant  plant  an  open  space  with  such  things  as  are 
mentioned  in  question  No.  2,  or  permanent  fruit  trees,  and  c’aim  for 
them  on  leaving;  or  is  he  compelled  to  remove  them  in  case  the  land¬ 
lord  or  incoming  tenant  declines  to  take  them  ? 
[A.  3,  This  question  is  answered  in  No.  2.  The  landlord  is  bound 
to  pay  for  all  fruit  trees,  bushes,  &c.,  permanently  set  out,  no  matter 
whether  the  incoming  tenant  agrees  to  take  them  or  not.] 
Q.  4,  hen  a  tenant  enters  uprn  a  place  and  pays  no  inventory, 
and  there  are  already  planted  1000  Rasps,  Gooseberries,  or  other  things 
of  a  fjmilar  kind,  and  the  same  tenant  remains  ten  or  twenty  years, 
and  those  things  are  either  worn  out  by  time  or  neglect,  is  ho  bound 
to  replace  them,  or,  if  he  has  planted  others  to  replace  them,  can  he 
claim  for  those  so  planned  when  leaving  ? 
[A.  4,  A  tenant  is  liable  to  pay  a  landlord  for  dilapidations,  due  to 
h's  neglect  or  mismanagement ;  but  we  do  not  think  he  would  be 
bound  to  replace  trees  or  bushes  worn  out  by  age,  unless  he  agreed  to 
do  so  in  his  coritract.  On  the  other  hand,  a  claim  on  his  part  vrould 
presumably  arise  if  he  did  away  with  a  worn-out  plantation  and 
planted  a  new  one.] 
0.  5,  In  the  event  of  a  place  having  been  resold  in  the  middle  of  a 
tenants  tenancy,  and  there  has  been  no  agreement  between  the  tenant 
and  the  new  owner  in  resjiect  of  inventor^’,  how  w'ould  the  matter 
stand  on  the  tenant  leaving  ? 
[A.  5,  Ihe  new  owner  would  take  over  the  liabilities  of  the  old 
one  in  relation  to  the  tenant.] 
It  rnust  be  understood  that  these  opinions  simply  express 
our  interpretation  of  the  IMarket  Gardeners’  Act,  that  we  do  not  give 
thorn  as  the  judgment  of  a  legal  expert,  and  that  we  cannot 
assmne  responsibility  for  their  accuracy.  The  Act  can  be  bought  for 
V  ^  penny  by  post  from  Messrs.  Eyre  &  Spottiswcode, 
j.ist  llarding  Street,  E.C. ;  and  our  correspondent  and  readers  may 
101  m  their  own  opinions  as  to  the  correctness  of  our  interpretation  of 
it,  or  consult  a  legal  adviser. 
LIN  ARIA  MACEDONICA. 
Such  is  the  name  of  the  specimen  forwarded  by  “W.  Raby,”  and  he 
ma}'  also  like  to  know  that  many  species  of  Linarias,  or  Toad-flax  as  they 
aro  often  called,  make  charming  plants  when  grown  in  pots  for  a  cool 
house.  The  genus  being  a  large  one,  including  both  hardy  herbaceous 
and  annual  kinds,  it  is  rather  difficult  to  make  a  selection  ;  but  L.  raace- 
donica  (fig.  93)  is  highly  ornamental,  and  might  be  used  with  good  effect. 
It  commences  to  bloom  in  early  spring,  and  continues  for  a  long  time. 
Like  most  of  the  Linarias  it  is  of  easy  culture,  requiring  only  some  rich 
soil  and  a  light  position  in  a  cool  house  or  frame.  It  freely  reproduces 
itself  from  seeds,  growing  about  18  inches  high,  and  flowers  profusely 
in  a  short  time.  The  flowers  are  of  a  bright  orange  colour  and  very 
attractive. 
EL  ALLAN  I). 
A  MORE  culious  and  extraordinary  part  than  the  Low  Country  it 
has  rarely  been  my  lot  to  experience.  Returning  lately  from  a  visit 
to  the  Balkan  Provinces  and  Turkey,  and  fresh  from  the  mountain 
regions  along  the  Elbe  and  the  picturesque  chateaux  perched  high  on 
seemingly  impossible  crags  and  such  like  points  of  vantage,  my 
surprise  and  interest  was  extreme  on  arriving  at  Amsterdam,  and  with 
that  place  as  mj'  centre,  inspecting  the  country  around  in  all  its 
peculiarities  of  dykes,  dams,  canals,  windmills,  and  luxuriant  meadows. 
Such  an  absolute  and  perfect  flat  I  have  sien  nowhere  else  in  the_ 
nature  of  cultivated  land  (excepting  the  partially  cultivated  great 
plains  of  central  Europe),  the  nearest  apjrroach  to  it  being  its  first 
cousin  the  Lincolnshire  fen  and  marsh  land. 
All  reclaimed  from  the  sea  and  protected  by  high  banks  there  is 
not  the  vestige  of  a  hill  or  mound  of  any  description,  the  only 
elevated  parts  being  where  the  ground  has  been  ra'sed  to  bridge  over 
a  dyke.  It  speaks  volumes  for  the  indomitable  energy  of  the  people 
to  have  conceived  and  carried  through  such  a  monstrous  undertaking. 
Talk  of  the  Emerald  Isle,  I  doubt,  indeed,  if  the  green  of  those  Dutch 
meads  can  be  anywhere  equalled;  such  luxuriance,  they  looked  as  if 
fattening  bullocks  w’ere  the  veriest  pastime. 
I  travelled  across  a  good  stretch  of  this  n  markable  country,  out  to 
the  Zuyder  Zee,  where  I  visited  the  island  of  hlaiken,  a  curious  spot 
inhabited  by  natives,  who  have  preserved  their  pristine  customs  and 
dress  against  the  blandishments  and  the  march  of  civilisation  and 
progress. 
I  reached  the  island  in  a  small  sailing  lugger,  almost  flatbottomed, 
and  drawing  an  incredibly  small  amount  of  water,  the  depth  of  the 
Zee  varying  from  2]-  to  4  feet.  It  reminded  me  of  nothing  so  much 
as  punting  over  Port  Meadow  in  time  of  flood  during  my  under¬ 
graduate  days  at  Oxford. 
The  open  flower  markets  all  alongside  one  of  the  principal  quays  in 
Amsterdam,  and  leading  to  the  centre  and  focus  of  the  town  called 
“  the  Dam,”  is  a  charming  sight.  Not  only  the  far-famed  bulbs  of 
every  description,  but  beautiful  flowering  shrubs  and  plants  of  all 
kinds  in  their  dampr  peaty  mould  greet  the  eye.  Rhododendrons, 
Azaleas,  Pansies,  Anemones  of  every  shade  of  colour  attracted  one. 
Seeds  in  5  cent,  packets,  too,  of  all  sorts,  entice  the  sous  from  the 
recesses  of  your  pockets.  I  was  tempted  to  try  a  dozen  Strawberry 
plants,  they  looked  so  fresh  and  healthy,  and  trust  they  may  render  a 
good  account  of  themselves  in  a  few  weeks’  time. 
The  farmhouses  of  these  low  lands  of  Holland  look  exactly  like 
red  brick  pyramids,  such  being  their  shape  as  appearing  to  within  a 
short  dis'ance.  Except  the  tiny  villages  there  is  nothing  else  to  relieve 
the  eye  (there  being  no  trees),  but  the  windmills,  of  which  there  are 
very  large  numbers,  used  principally  for  pumping  away  into  the 
main  dykes  the  surplus  water.  No  reference  to  a  visit  to  Holland  in 
spring  would  be  complete  without  a  word  on  the  bulb.'>.  Of  course 
I  went  out  to  Haarlem  to  have  a  look  at  tlu  m.  I  visited  several 
gardens.  All  afforded  the  same  gorgeous  d'splay.  Great  patches  of 
superb  pink,  mauve,  yellow,  and  white  Hyacinths  varied  their  beauties 
with  richly  perfumed  plots  of  white  and  orange  Narcissus,  while  the 
Tulips,  which  were  just  in  their  prime,  made  a  very  bold  bid  for  first 
favourites.  I  noticed  the  Pansies  as  being  very  much  in  evidence, 
and  making  a  very  beautiful  though  modest  display  as  compared  with 
the  stately  beauties  before  mentioned. 
It  was  altogether  a  most  enjoyable  and  successful  jaunt  to  the 
bulbs,  and  I  returned  to  Amsterdam  much  jdeased  wdth  myself  and 
things  in  general.  In  a  short  time  I  terminated  my  stay  in  this  most 
interesting  and  unusual  country,  after  a  last  and  brief  visit  to  one  of 
the  Hollanders’  little  bathing  pfiaces  Zandwort — a  curious  place 
among  the  sand  dunes,  and  only  regretted  the  season  not  being 
sufficiently  advanced  for  a  bathe  in  the  good  old  Dutch  briny. — 
J.  A.  Carnegie-Cheai.es. 
