93 
JOLllNAL  OF  UORTIGULTUllE  ASD  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
Janiiaiy  £.9,  1903. 
Vagaries  of  Fears. 
I  am  .sorry  to  do  it,  but  must  take  exception  to  the  statement 
that  Marie  Louise  is  good  everywhere.  I  have  nevet  once 
tasted  it  of  first-rate  quality  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Batli.  It 
i.s  not  to  be  named  in  the  same  day  as  Beurre  Superfin,  for 
instance.  The  fruit  is  generally  small,  and  lacking  that  fine 
texture  and  buttery  character  that  Marie  Louise  should  have. 
The  fact  i.s,  it  will  never  remain  on  the  tree  long  enough  to  come 
to  perfection,  and  is  generally  gathered  early  in  September.  I 
consider  the  soil  is  too  light  for  it.  Louise  Bonne  of  Jersey,  on 
the  other  hand,  does  splendidly,  often  colouring  a  rich  criiiison, 
and  has  a  flavour  and  texture  of  the  finest  possible  quality.  At 
Longleat,  where  the  .soil  in  the  .garden  is  heavy,  Marie  "Louise 
used  to  produce  splendid  fruit  on  the  walls.  One  tree  on  a  west 
wall  bore  fruit  almost  of  a  creamy  colour,  which  was  large  and 
very  rich,  while  Louise  Bonne  in  that  same  garden  was  never 
fit  to  eat,  having  a  disagreeable  bitterness. — Wm.  Taylok. 
An  Appeal  to  Gardeners  and  Employers, 
The  question  is  often  asked  (yea,  very  often)  why  the  Gar¬ 
deners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution  does  not  receive  the 
universal  support  it  .so  richly  deserves.  Why  should  not  an 
institution  noble  in  the  extremei,  as  this  one  is,  be  better  sup¬ 
ported,  not  only  by  gardeners  themselves,  but  by  their  em¬ 
ployers?  An  institution  which  has  for  its  motive  the  saving  of 
the  gardener  from  the  workhouse  in  his  old  age  deserves  far 
more  support  than  the  Gardeners’  Benevolent  is  obtaining.  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  being  present  at  the  smoking  concert  last 
week  held  annually  by  the  Bristol  and  Bath  Auxiliary,  M'hen 
the  report  and  balance-sheet  was  read,  and  secretary,  treasurer, 
and  committee  elected  for  the  ensuing  year.  A  goodlj’  number 
of  the  gardening  fraternity  were  present,  and  each  and  every 
one  spent  a  very  enjoyable  evening.  .  .. 
These  auxiliaries  are  doing  their  utmo.st  to  improve  the 
condition  of  the  gardener  in  hi.s  old  age,  working  in  conjunction 
with  the  parent  society,  and  all  praise  must  be  given  to  them  for 
the  energy  they  display ;  their  toiling  is  not  altogether  on  a 
level  road.  But,  thanks  to  their  committee,  they  have  been 
enabled  to  add  seven  life  members  to  the  institution,  four  from 
Bristol,  and  three  from  Bath.  Their  mode  of  working  is  a  good 
one,  and  practised  on  all  sides,  and  it  is  a  great  pit5'  that  more 
of  the  local  gardeners  do  not  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages 
which  this  admirable  auxiliary  affords. 
A  gardener  joining  pays  2s.  6d.  per  year,  which  makes  him 
an  ordinary  member.  A  sJuall  amount  indeed  is  this,  and  one 
which  evei'y  gardener  should  feel  it  his  duty  to  subscribe.  In 
■  due  time,  if  he  wishes  to  become  a  life  member  of  the  parent 
^society,  he  notifies  the  secretary  of  Ihe'fact,  who  places  his  name 
on  the  list  of  candidates,  which  is  issued  in  the  form  of  a  voting 
paper  to  all  members  of  the  auxiliary.  Should  he  be  .successful 
with  the  number  of  votes,  the  sum  required  to  make  him  a  life 
inember  is  ten  guineas;  of  this  the  auxiliary  finds  five,  the  can¬ 
didate  finding  the  remaining  five.  In  this  way  it  does  not  tax 
the  pocket  of  a  gardeirer,  and  it  certainly  makes  him  feel  that  he 
is  still  on  the  right  side  of  the  workhouse,  and  likely  to  re¬ 
main  so. 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  satisfaction  in  this,  for  it  is  not  all 
pleasant  for  one  to  lock  forward  to  his  old  age  being  spent  in 
such  a  country  residence.  Now,  if  any  of  my  brother  gardeners 
have  this  feeling,  let  ine  advise  them  to  join  the  Gardeners’ 
Royal  Benevolent  Institution  without  d^Iay,  and  thereby  feel 
somewhat  independent  of  such  places.  Lvery  gardener  can  well 
afford  an  annual  subscription  of  half  a  crown  to  thesei  auxiliaries. 
It  does  not  work  out  to  threepence  per  month,  and  even  if  they 
do  not  intend  to  become  life  members,  they  have  the  unboundecl 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  they  are  helping  their  fellow  gar¬ 
deners  less  fortunate,  perhaps,  than  themselves,  besides  doing 
the  horticultural  world  a  noble  service. 
Then,  again,  why  do  not  more  employers  of  gardeners  sub¬ 
scribe  to  this  institution?  How  many  gentlemen  in  our 
wealthy  centres  subscribe  their  guinea  per  year?  Alas!  their 
number  is  not  legion.  It  is  no  credit  to  them  that  their  gar¬ 
deners  who  have  toiled  night  and  day  for  their  interests  are, 
when  old  age  and  infirmity  creeps  on  them,  and  they  are  no 
longer  able  to  follow  their  ennobling  calling,  left  out  in  the  cold 
on  the  mercy  of  their  fellow  men. 
The  gardener’s  wages  now  adays  are  not  overdone,  and  gentle¬ 
men  assuredly  get  full  value  for  their  money.  Surely,  then,  it 
is  their  unbounded  duty  to  help  those  who  in  oft  cases  are  not 
able  to  help  themselves.  There  are,  I  am  happy  to  say,  many 
gentlemen  who  have  the  Gardeners’  Benevolent  Institution  at 
heart,  and  annually  subscribe  to  its  funds,  and  their  sub.scrip- 
tions  are  gratefully  received;  and  there  are  others  who  allow 
their  gardens  to  be  thrown  open  for  the  benefit  of  the  institu¬ 
tion,  which  materially  helps  the  funds,  as  the  balance-sheet  of 
the  Bristol  and  Bath  Auxiliary  shows.  When  Antonj'  Gibbs, 
Esq.,  allowed  his  beautiful  grounds  at  Tyntesfield,  Flax  Bourton, 
to  be  opened  for  the  benefit  of  this  auxiliary,  Avhich  benefited  to 
the  amount  of  £9,  he  was  doing  a  public  service.  Other  gentle¬ 
men  in  the  district  have  generously  done  the  same,  but  there  are 
still  many  others  who  liav^e  not  subscribed,  and  who  are  very 
able,  if  only  they  would.  Here  in  Bristol  we  have  only  about 
half  a  dozen  of  our  residents  who  annually  subscribe  to  our 
funds. 
It  has  been  remarked  that  gardeners  are  linked  together 
by  a  feeling  of  fraternal  brotherhood.  Let  us  have  tangible 
proof  of  this  by  knowing  that  ever>'  lover  of  his  garden,  and 
every  gardener,  is  a  member  of  the  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent 
Institution.  Then  we  can  say  with  a  truth  that  gardeners  are 
linked  together  with  fraternal  brotherhood,  and  not  till  then. 
H.  K. 
- - 
Book  on  Table  Decorations. 
I  .should  like  to  mention  one  other  excellent  book  on  table 
decorations  in  addition  to  tho-se  named  by  your  correspondent 
on  page  49.  It  is  entitled  “  Floral  Designs  for  the  Table  ”  by 
John  Perkins,  head  gardener  for  twenty-nine  years  to  the  late 
and  present  Lords  Henniker.  I  think  the  price  of  the  book  was 
five  shillings,  but  although  I  have  at  present  looked  it  carefully 
otmr,  I  fail  to  see  it  -  stated  on  same.  The  publishers  were 
Wyman  and  Sons,  81,  Great  Queen  Street,  Lincoln’s  Inn  Fields, 
London,  W.C. — \\k  McH.  [What  is  the  date  of  it?] 
Malmaison  Carnation  Cultnre. 
An  inquirer  writes  to  say  that,  “  having  read  through  the 
article  on  Malmaison. Carnations,  in  your  Journal  of  January  1, 
page  3,  I  noticed  it  was  there  stated  that  the  temperature  of 
the  house  should  not  be  more  than  35deg  F.',  with  artificial 
heat.  I  beg  to  ask  if  this  is  not  a  printer’s  error?  dr  should  it 
be  oddeg? — M.  M. 
This  letter  we  received  a  day  or  two  ago,  and  thought  it 
advisable  to  place  it,  for  an  answer,  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Cook, 
who  wrote  the  article  on  Malmaison  Carnations,  and  who  w'rites 
thus:  “In  reply  to  your  correspondent,  ‘  M.  M.,’  I  beg  to 
inform  him  that  there  has  been  no  error  in  printing.  Mal¬ 
maison  Carnations  should  not  be  subjected  to  high  tempera¬ 
tures  such  as  he  suggests  (55deg),  as  it  is  very  injurious  to  the 
plants.  If  he  will  I'ead  my  article  again,  he  will  see  it  stated 
not  to  clo.se  the  house  entirely  until  frost  Is  registered  in  the 
open  air.  Artificial  heat  is  only  necessary  to  the  extent  of 
keeping  out  frost,  or  to  dry  the  atmosphere,  and  when  used  in 
the  former  case,  do  not  allow  the  house  to  rise  above  35deg. — 
G.  H.  Cook.” 
Knowing  well  the  many  failures  in  Carnation  culture  that 
are  traceable  to.  coddling,  we  give  the  matter  as  much  pro- 
mineaice  as  possible. 
- •••*» - — 
Possibililies  of  Hybridising. 
The  ver3'  excellent  reminders  .set  forth  by  “  H.  D.”  in  his 
leader  on  pages  4o  and  46  of  jmur  issue  for  January  15  may 
have  been  the  means  of  quickening  practitioners  in  one  or  two 
instances  either  to  commence  the  good  work  of  thoughtful  and 
definite  plant  hybridisation,  or  have  stimulated  others  who  may 
have  hitherto  devoted  inadeexuate  attention  to  the  matter.  I 
have  not  the  leisure  to  enter  into  the  “  i30ssibilities  of  hybri¬ 
dising  ”  further  than  to*  draw  attention  to  a  statement  and  (X)ni- 
putation  made  bj^  that  famous  worker  in  this  line,  Mr.  Luther 
Burbank,  of  Santa  Rosa,  California,  which  statement,  indeed, 
j’our  own  Journal  was  the  first  to  publish  in  England,  At  the 
recent  conference  on  plant  breeding  in  New  York  Citjq  he  con¬ 
tributed  to  the  proceedings  a  ver^"  interesting  and  suggestive 
l^aiier,  in  which  he  wished  to  show  how  the  question  of  plant 
breeding  wa.s  as  yet  merely  touched  upon  by  those  who  were 
interested  in  it.  The  few  statistical  observations  he  made  are 
aijpalling  in  their  significance.  To  think  that  one  grain  per 
ear  of  Wheat  would  add  to  the  yield  of  the  country  fifteen 
million  extra  bushels,  and  that  one  Potato  more  to  each  hill 
would  increase  the  yield  by  twenty-one  million  bushels  1  is  surel.v 
sufficient  of  itself  to  cause  all  gardeners  and  growers  to  pause  and 
consider  whether  they  cannot  be  of  service  in  adding  to  the 
national  and  to  the  world’s  wealth  by  developing  the  yielding 
powers  of  other  plant  foods  and  products. — Anothee  H.  D. 
