April  16,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
337 
the  ■weather.  Some  of  the  varieties  of  Auriculas  are  highly 
fragrant,  especially  the  self  yellows;  and  there  is  a  scent  about 
the  foliage  which  is  gratefully  noted  on  entering  a  house  of 
plants  which  has  been  kept  closed  during  the  night.  In  the 
case  of  the  show  varieties  the  seifs  lead  the  way,  and  thanks  to 
the  Rev.  F.  D.  Horner,  and  Mr.  James  Douglas  in  particular, 
the  section  is  being  reinforced  by  very  fine  and  valuable  varieties  ; 
the  green,  grey,  and  white  edges  follow  after  with  little  order 
of  precedence.  And  then  those  wdio  have  been  fortunate  enough 
to  raise  seedlings  have  the  additional  gratification  of  witnessing 
their  expansion  of  blossoms.  The  blooming  of  seedlings  is  the 
very  poetry  and  romance  of  floriculture,  and  I  would  have  every 
cultivator  endeavour  to  save  some  from  his  best  flowers ;  and 
even  if  there  is  nothing  in  the  progeny  worth  saving,  there  is 
yet  the  pleasant  experience  of  an  engrossing  interest.  The 
successful  cultivator  of  Auriculas  is  a  person  to  be  envied. — 
R.  Dean. 
Early  Single  Tulips. 
Early  .single  Tulips  are  very  finely  grown  and  exhibited  at  the 
Midland  Daffodil  Show  at  Birmingham.  As  a  matter  of  course, 
the  Daffodil  dominates;  but  it  is  well  to  have  some  touches  of 
different  colours  to  relieve  the  monotonous  sheen  of  gold  which 
meets  the  eye  at  every  point,  and  the  early  single  Tulip  comes  in 
admirably  for  that  purpose.  I  like  to  witness  power  in  exhibited 
subjects;  the  cultivator,  having  a  knowledge  of  the  possibilities 
of  development  in  a  particular  plant,  can  assist  by  means  of  his 
cultural  process  to  manifest  theau  to  the  utmost.  This  is  done 
at  Birmingham  in  the  case  of  the  early  single  Tulips.  The  result 
is  large,  stout  flowers,  brilliant  in  colour,  and  handsomei  in 
marking. 
One  can  see  in  the  springtime  in  some  of  the  London  parks 
the  leading  varieties  of  early  Tulips  used  with  excellent  effects — 
the  flowers  lai’ge  and  bold ;  but  when  cultivated  in  pots,  as  they 
are  at  Birmingham,  they  become  grand  in  their  development. 
At  Birmingham  it  is  customary  to  place  six  bulbs  in  a  Gin  or  7in 
pot.  The  result  is  lusty  growth,  bold  foliage,  and  magnificent 
blooms.  The  size  of  the  flowers  is  one  of  the  distinguishing 
features. 
Of  self-coloured  flowers  Grace  Darling  may  lead  the  way,  a 
stout  petalled  flower  of  fine  build,  colour  orange-scarlet,  shading 
to  orange  on  the  petal  edge.  Joost  Van  Vondel,  white;  a  large, 
long  petalled  flower,  which,  though  lacking  the  fine  form  of  some 
others,  is  yet  a  very  fine  exhibition  variety;  clear  white.  Mon 
Tresor;  this  I  regard  as  the  finest  yellow  Tulip  among  the  early 
flowering  varieties,  deep  in  colour,  stout  in  substance,  and  fine 
in  build.  Pottebakker,  pure  white,  a  well  known  variety  of  fine 
build ;  one  of  the  most  popular  of  this  colour,  with  large,  well 
formed,  stout  flowers;  excellent  for  pots  or  beds.  Prince  of 
Austria,  orange-scarlet ;  a  very  finely  formed  and  striking 
variety.  Proserpine,  one  of  the  most  useful  as  well  as  one  of  the 
best  formed  of  Tulips ;  colour  silken  rose ;  it  makes  a  splendid 
bedder;  Mr.  Charles  Jordan,  of  the  Regents  Park,  sometimes 
puts  four  thousand  bulbs  of  this  variety  in  a  bed,  and  the  effect 
is  supei’b.  Snowflake,  white,  remarkable  for  its  purity,  and  of 
fine  build.  Van  der  Neer,  a  large  and  finely  formed  variety  of  a 
bright  violet  purple  colour;  and  Vermilion  Brilliant,  dazzling 
vermilion  variety,  but  as  it  is  early  in  flowering,  it  becomes  diffi¬ 
cult  to  keep  in  character  to  the  third  week  in  May. 
The  edged,  feathered,  and  flamed  flowers  are  represented  by 
several  very  fine  varieties,  such  as  Fabiola,  flaked  white  and  pale 
rosy  purple,  a  large  and  finely  formed  variety.  Joost  Van  Vondel, 
rosy  red,  more  or  less  flaketl  with  wdiite,  a  bold  and  striking 
flower.  Keizerskroon,  a  grand,  oentm-y  old  variety,  and  not 
to  be  surpassed  for  size,  beauty,  and  usefulness.  Unique,  or 
Pottebakker-white-and-gold,  is  a  white  Pottebakker  with  a  flame 
of  pure  yellow  running  up  each  petal,*  a  charming  variety  which 
ha,s  unfortunately  been  renamed  Brunhilde,  though  publicly 
exhibited  in  the  Birmingham  Show  for  several  years  past  under 
the  name  of  Unique.  Queen  of  the  Netherland.s,  a  large  and 
very  beautiful  Tulip,  white,  suffused  with  the  most  delicate  rosy 
pink  ;  and  Spaendouck,  a  veiy  distinct  variety  of  excellent  build  ; 
colour  lake,  feathered  and  flaked  with  creamy  white.  It  would 
not  be  difficult  to  add  to  this  li.st;  yet  the  foregoing  varieties 
may  be  taken  as  repre.senting  the  very  cream  of  those  suited  for 
exhibition  and  general  i>ot  culture. — Ealing.  j 
Counly  Council  Lecturers. 
Referring  to  your  article  on  the  above  subject,  page  285,  I 
think  the  county  of  Worcester  was  the  first  to  appoint  an 
in,structor  to  give  the  whole  of  his  time  to  the  work.  I  com¬ 
menced  my  present  duties  in  September,  1891.  I  believe  the 
county  or  Worcester  is  also  the  first  to  appoint  a  representative 
ot  horticultural  instruction  upon  its  education  committee, 
formed  under  the  new  Act,  the  Rev.  F.  R.  Lawson,  vicar  of 
Clentj  otourbndgG,  liaving  been  elected  o-n  the  committee  for 
that  purpose.  Mr.  Lawson  has  been  honorary  .secretary  for 
horticultural  instruction  in  Worcestershire  since  the  Technical 
llidu cation  Act  came  into  operation  in  1891,  and  under  his  able 
and  tactful  guidance  our  work  has  considerably  increased  and 
prospered.  Mr.  Law, son  is  a  genuine  lover  of  a  garden,  and 
IS  one  of  the  happiest  writers  and  lecturers  upon  Rose  culture, 
ike  your  clerical  correspondents,  the  Revs.  C.  Ellison,  of  Brace- 
bridge,  and  Foster  Melliar. — James  Udale,  Droitwich. 
Back  to  the  Laud. 
Since  reading  “  H.  D.’s  ”  able  article,  entitled  “  The  Old  Order 
Changcth,”  in  the  Journal  of  March  12  (page  215),  the  words 
“  back  to  the  land  ”  have  kept  crossing  my  mind.  Articles  on 
the  unemployed  problem  have  appeared  at  different  dates  in  the 
daily  and  weekly  new.spapers,  yet  no  one  seems  to  solve  the  ques¬ 
tion.  Some  of  the  articles,  I  am  sorry  to  ,say,  are  very  mislead¬ 
ing  in  regard  to  the  wages  obtained  and  country  work  that  is  to 
be  had.  Take  some  of  the  counties  mentioned  as  requiring 
labourers.  I  can  prove  that  there  are  plenty  of  men  in  the 
country,  men  who  can  turn  their  hands  to  any  kind  of  farm  work, 
willing  to  accept  places  with  a  fair  wage.  What  do  the  majority 
of  the  unemployed  in  a  large  town  know  about  farm  work.^ 
Most  of  them  have  spent  their  lives  in  the  building  trade  or  in 
factories,  working  by  the  hour,  and  after  Saturday  have  nothing 
to  do  or  think  about  in  connection  with  their  work  till  Monday 
morning.  Some  of  these  would  cut  a  sorry  figure  at  the  plough 
tail,  or  among  cattle,  working  from  6  a.m.  till  G  p.m.  all  the  week 
(and  more  hours  than  that  very  often  with  horses),  including  part 
of  the  day  on  Sundays,  the  v  ages  at  the  end  of  the  week  being 
13s.  or  14s.  per  week  if  a  cottage  and  garden  is  provided  free. 
Few  places  are  found  nowadays  vhere  the  men  have  Potato- 
ground,  wood,  cider  or  beer,  Ac.,  free,  as  some  writers  state  in 
some  of  the  newspapers.  In  .some  counties  12s.  weekly  is  only 
paid. 
Before  proceeding  further,  I  may  say  that  I  spent  my  school¬ 
days  in  a  rural  district  of  Shropshire,  and,  lad-like,  was  always 
among  the  neighbouring  farmers.  Since  then,  during  my  term  in 
the  bothies  in  different  parts  of  England,  I  have  taken  more  than 
a,  passing  interest  in  agricultural  work  and  the  workers.  Now 
comes  the  question :  What  inducements  are  there  in  the  country 
to  keep  a  young  man  on  a  farm.^  If  he  has  had  a  fair  education 
(which  everyone  may  receive  in  these  day.s),  and  has  got  any 
energy  at  all  in  him,  there  is  no  reason  whj^  he  should  not  better 
himself.  I,  for  one,  do  not  blame  any  young  man  leaving  farm 
work  if  he  can  get  a  better  position,  ivith  more  wages,  fewer  hours, 
and  cleaner  work.  Among  the  unemployed  in  towns  there  are 
not  so  many  countrymen  as  some  may  think.  Most  of  them  have 
regular  woi'k  offered  them  before  leaving.  My  opinion  of  the 
majority  of  unemployed  is  that  they  are  chiefly  men  afraid  of 
hard  work,  .standing  at  a  street  corner  with  their  hands  in  their 
pockets  and  a  short  clay  pipe  between  their  lips.  It  is  work  one 
day,  play  the  next,  with  them,  and  I  am  certain  men  of  tliis 
class  would  not  suit  many  farmers,  because  if  they  Avere  cor¬ 
rected  about  anything  they  would  soon  “  chuck  it  up.” 
Now,  what  becomes  of  the  smartest  young  men  in  the  vil¬ 
lages?  Some  are  gardeners,  having  had  a  start  as  garden-boy 
at  “the  Hall”;  the  finest  built  men,  as  a  rule,  can  be  found  in 
the  various  police  forces;  others  are  draymen,  and  .so  on.  How 
does  the  change  come  about  ?  Thus  it  is :  Tho.se  who  have  gone 
away  come  back  for  a  holiday,  meet  with  old  school  mate.s,  talk 
them  over ;  back  Avith  them  the  old  .school mat e.s  go,  and  this  is  a 
yearly  occurrence  in  some  of  the  country  districts.  At  the  pre¬ 
sent  time,  is  not  the  floAver  of  England  leaving  her,  seeking  fresh 
fields  in  Canada  and  South  Africa?  It  is  only  the  pick  of  our 
young  men  aaLo  are  going  to  Canada  to  seek  fresh  homes.  These 
are  going  back  to  the  land,  but  not  that  of  Old  England.  And  is 
it  not  true  that  as  these  go  away  foreigners  come  and  take  their 
place,  and  help  to  savcH  the  unemployed  and  cut  doAvn  Avages? 
