May  7,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
413 
Young  Gardeners’  Domain.* 
An  Insight  to  Bothydom. 
It  is  with  no  small  pleasure  that  I  see  others  as  well  as  myself 
interested  in  this  matter  of  bothies  ;  and  I  was  very  pleased  to 
know  that  at  least  one  foreman  read  my  letter.  “Foreman,”  in 
his  letter,  seems  to  think  that  I  haven’t  seen  much  of  bothy  life  ; 
but  having  started  in  the  bothy  at  a  very  early  age,  he  may 
gather  from  tliat,  that  I  have  had  several  years’  experience,  and 
not  all  in  the  same  bothy.  He  also  seems  to  think  that  I  judge 
all  fellows  alike,  but  not  at  all,  because  there  are  always  the 
good  with  the  bad,  and  he  seems  to  have  been  fortunate  to  have 
lived  with  the  good.  A  great  deal  depends  upon  the'  foreman 
one  is  living  with,  as  I  think  that  it  is  through  him  that  every¬ 
thing  could  be  put  right.  Only  a  few  days  ago  a  missionary  was 
speaking  in  the  village  here,  and  he  said  that  he  had  visited 
some  of  the  woi'st  slums  in  London.  He  was  describing  how 
thickly  populated  they  W’ere,  and  he  said  he  got  into  conversa¬ 
tion  with  a  .sharp-looking  little  boy,  so  he  asked  him  where  he 
slept.  “  Oh,”  he  said,  “  in  that  bed  there,  along  with  father  and 
mother  and  four  more  brothers  and  sisters.”  “  But,”  said  the 
mis.sionary,  “  you  surely  don’t  all  sleep  in  there  together  ?  How'- 
ever  do  you  manage  to  turn  over?  ”  “  That  is  quite  easy,”  said 
the  boy.  “  When  father  turns  we  all  turn.”  So  the  same  with 
a  foreman  in  a  bothy  :  when  he  sets  a  good  example  the  younger 
ones  as  a  rule  follow  it.  And  I  don’t  want  my  companions  to 
imagine  I  desire'  them  to  always  be  at  work,  although  I  myself 
think  they  would  be  doing  themselves  much  more  good  at  that 
than  at  card  playing.  If  you  care  for  play,  go  a  step  higher 
than  cards,  and  play  the  more  manly  games,  such  as  cricket  or 
football.  You  will  then  find  that  you  will  he  doing  yourselves 
much  more  good,  both  physically  and  mentally. — B.  U. 
The  majority  of  head  gardeners  throughout  the  counti’y  have 
experienced  more  or  less  a  period  of  bothy  life,  and  I  think  if 
one  runs  over  with  just  a  passing  glance  those  with  whom  one  is 
acquainted,  we  must  beg  to  differ  from  your  correspondent, 
“  B.  U.”  The  evil  effects  which  your  correspondent  would  make 
believe  are  grounded  into  a  youth  during  his  tenure  of  bothy 
life  are  certainly  lost  in  the  man  when  he  assumes  the  position 
of  head,  since  I  can  only  look  back  and  think  of  those  head 
gardeners  under  whom  I  had  the  pleasure  of  w'orking,  as  men  of 
high  moral  standing,  and  generally  kind  disposition.  Although 
books  are  a  great  help  to  every  man,  yet  if  a  man  is  a  very  great 
slave  to  book  learning,  often  he  is  a  poor  cultivator.  I  happen  to 
know'  one  of  our  able.st  cultivators,  who  positively  ignores  garden 
books.  He  is  a  poor,  narrow-minded  man  who  cannot  indulge 
in  an  hour’s  honest  pleasure.  Britain  as  a  nation  owes  much  of 
her  high  moral  standing  to  the  athletic  training  to  wdiich  her 
■sons  are  subjected,  and  undoubtedly  every  man’s  mental  abilities 
- — even  a  gardener’s — are  improved  by  some  reci'eation. — W*.  B. 
I  read  wdth  much  interest  the  various  letters  on  “  An  Insight 
into  Bothydom,”  and  have  been  looking  for  more  decisive  proof 
to  bear  out  the  statements  made  by  “  B.  M.”  and  “  Gradus.”  So' 
far,  the  letters  published  seem  to  contradict  the  matters  men¬ 
tioned  by  them,  and  if  they  wuuld  only  come  forward  with  the 
proof  of  their  .statements  it  w'ould,  I  take  it,  be  satisfactory  to  us. 
“  A.  H.  F.”  and  “  H.  P.”  have  written  contradictory  to  “  B.  H.,” 
and  I  quite  agree  with  them. — E.  G. 
“  Foreman  ”  evidently  takes  exception  to  the  remarks  of 
“B.  W.,”  and  would  endeavour  to  become  personal  as  to  the 
standing  of  our  young  friend.  Personally,  I  have  never  had 
cause  to  even  enter  a  bothy,  much  less  live  in  one,  and  the 
numerous  references  that  have  been  made  concerning  them  in 
various  papers  do  not  serve  to  make  me  desire  any  close  con- 
pection  with  them.  I,  myself,  have  passed  through  several  voca¬ 
tions,  and  in  all  of  them  I  have  found  it  neces.sary  to  assert  my 
pow'er  of  manhood  in  order  to  avoid  falling  into  the  w'ays  of 
others,  whose  narrow^  mindedness  and  bigotry,  coupled  wdth 
ignorance,  will  compel  them  to  remain  in  the  sphere  they  were 
cutting  out  for  themselves.  To  me  it  is  a  pleasure  to  know^  that 
there  are  others  wdio  are  striving  for  first  place  in  the  horti¬ 
cultural  world.  The  reference  by  “Foreman^’  as  to  all  work  no 
play,  &c,  is  practically  wasted  upon  the  young  man  who  is  eager 
to  push  ahead. 
Personally,  reading  affords  me  a  great  amount  of  pleasure, 
coupled  with  profit,  inasmuch  that  it  increases  my  knowledge. 
Moreover,  being  blessed  with  a  nature  bordering  on  liveliness,  I 
gain  enjoyment  from  little  occurrences  which  the  surly  would 
pass  over  with  contempt.  As  far  as  pleasure  making  goes,  I  am 
quite  content  with  one  evening  per  w'eek  in  town,  which  is  usually 
spent  in  watching  other  people  and  purchasing  supplies  for  the 
week.  What  I  term  “  special  turns  ”  is  a  visit  to  a  London  show', 
or  a  day’s  tramping  on  the  road.  If  I  should  read  that  Shamrock 
III.  pulls  off  the  old  mug  there  will  be  high  jinks  from  this  child. 
— CXJPID. 
*  The  editor  invites  young  gardeners  who  are  readeis  to  contribute  to  the 
Domain,  and  he  will  at  all  times  endeavour  to  ensure  the  publication  of  their 
letters. 
Fruit  Forcing. 
EARLIEST  FORCED  PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES.— 
On  the  very  early  varieties,  such  as  Alexander  and  Waterloo 
Peaclies  and'  Cardinal  Nectarines,  the  ripening  fruit  must  be  kept 
dry,  but  the  border  should  be  maintained  in  a  proper  state  of 
moisture.  The  other  early  varieties,  such  as  Early  Beatrice  and 
Early  Louise  Peaches,  wdth  Precoce  de  Croncels  Nectarine,  are 
also  taking  the  ripening  swelling,  and  the  fruit  must  be  kept 
dry.  The  other  varieties,  such  as  Hales’  Early,  Rivers’  Early 
York,  Early  Alfred,  Dr.  Hogg,  and  A  Bee  Peaches,  with  Lord 
Napier,  Early  Rivers  and  Darwin  Nectarine,  also  are  taking  the 
last  sw'elling  ;  but  the  fruit  wdll  not  be  ripe  until  the  end  of  May 
or  early  in  June,  therefore  keep  the  atmosphere  moist  by  fre¬ 
quently  sprinkling  the  floor  during  the  day ;  or,  when  practicable, 
syringe  the  trees  in  the  morning  and  again  at  closing  time. 
Directly,  how'ever,  the  fruit  commences  ripening,  syringing  the 
fruit  must  cease,  or  water  resting  on  it  will  cause  the  skin  to 
become  rough,  not  only  spoiling  the  appearance  of  the  fruit,  but 
causing  it  to  acquire  a  musty  and  unpleasant  flavour.  The  night 
temperature  will  be  perfectly  safe  at  60deg  to  65deg,  or,  if  de¬ 
sired  to  accelerate  the  ripening,  65deg  to'  70deg,  and  70deg  to 
75deg  by  day,  wdth  lOdeg  to  ISdeg  advance  from  sun  heat. 
TREES  SWELLING  THEIR  FRUIT.— The  fruit  swells  most 
at  tw'o  stages,  one  after  setting  until  the  commencement  of  the 
stoning  process,  during  rvhich  there  is  a  gi'adual  development, 
and  after  stoning  the  progress  is  rapid. 
The  first  sw-elling  is  materially  influenced  by  the  previous  .storing 
of  matter  in  the  trees  and  the  available  food  in  the  soil ;  but  a 
genial  condition  of  the  atmosphere  accelerates  the  sw’elling  of 
the  fruits,  this  being  still  further  promoted  by  a  good  root  action, 
which  is  greatly  facilitated  by  a  judicious  and  gradual  regulation 
of  the  growths  by  disbudding  and  affording  proper  space  for  their 
exposure  to  light  and  air.  The  more  vigour  the  tree  the  greater 
is  the  danger  of  the  fruit  being  cast  in  stoning,  and  the  evil  is 
further  increased  by  severe  disbudding,  also  by  a  close  and  moist 
atmosphere.  In  the  last  swelling  after  stoning,  tie  the  shoots 
down  and  draw  the  leaves  aside,  so  that  the  fruit  may  be  fully 
exposed  to  the  light;  but  moderate  extension  will  as.sist  the  swell¬ 
ing,  carci  being  taken  that  the  principal  foliage  be  not  interfered 
with.  Supply  water  to  in-side  borders  as  required,  and  afford  top- 
dressings  or  liquid  nourishment  to  weakly  trees. 
VINES  STARTED  AT  THE  NEW  YEAR.— The  Grapes  are 
colouring  and  need  a  moderate  amount  of  air  moisture  to  swell 
well,  damping  the  house  two  or  three  times  a  day  until  the 
colouring  approaches  completion,  when  a  drier  atmosphere  wdll 
be  advisable;  but  moisture  must  not  be  entirely  withdrawn,  or 
red  spider  will  seriously  damage  the  foliage,  and  premature  ripen¬ 
ing  of  the  leaves  will  be  induced,  the  Vines  starting  into  growth 
when  they  should  be  going  to  rest.  Afford  free  ventilation, 
having  a  little  at  the  top  of  the  house  constantly,  a  circulation 
of  warm  air  contributing  to  good  finish  and  quality.  Moisture  at 
the  roots  must  be  furnished  thoroughly,  one  good  soaking  of  tepid 
liquid  wdien  the  Grapes  change  colour,  and  a  mulch  of  partially 
decayed  manure  wall  generally  secure  sufficient  moisture  until  the 
Grapes  are  ripe.  The  roots,  how'ever,  must  not  lack  moisture, 
nor  must  the  soil  be  made  sodden  and  sour  by  needles.s  supplies, 
or  shanking  is  almost  sure  to  ensue.  Atmospheric  moisture  will 
not  improve  Grapes  of  this  class  (Hamburghs  and  Sw'eetwater) 
at  this  time  of  tlie  year  provided  it  is  not  stagnant  and  deposited 
on  the  berries,  and  this  will  not  occur  if  the  ventilation  is  properly 
attended  to,  and  a  gentle  warmth  is  nurintained  in  the  hot  water 
pipes.  Keep  the  night  temperature  at  65deg,  a  little  more  on 
warm,  and  a  few'  degrees  less  on  cold  nights;  70deg  to  75deg  by 
day,  80deg  to  90deg  wdth  sun  heat  and  full  ventilation,  clo.sing 
at  80deg,  all  but  a  small  space  at  tne  top  of  the  hou.se. — 
St.  Albans. 
Kitchen  Garden. 
RI^NNER  BEANS. — First  sowings  may  now  be  made  in  the 
open  ground,  the  present  time  being  quite  early  enough,  so  that 
the  plants,  Avhen  through  the  soil,  may  escape  being  cut  off  by 
late  frosts  which  are  practically  certain  to  occur  during  the  third 
week  in  this  month.  The  position  for  Beans  should  be  open 
and  sunny,  the  soil  suiting  them  best  being  of  a  light,  rich 
charactor,  and  W6ll  drained.  It  is  usual  and  genoially  con- 
venient  to  sow'  in  double  rows  9in  apart,  and  about  8ft  asunder. 
Three  inches  may  be  the  depth  of  the  drill,  placing  the  seeds  4in 
apart  in  the  rows.  Stakes  may  be  inserted  at  once,  or  placing 
them  deferred  until  the  plants  are  in  growth. 
WEEK. , 
