January  24,  1901. 
■JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
Book  Gardeners. 
After  waiting  patiently  for  many  weeks  the  perennial  appeal  for 
ignorance  at  last  appears  on  page  33  to  cheer  those  of  us  who  do  not 
want  to  improve  ourBelves  ;  who  do  not  want  to  study  the  principles  of 
our  profession;  who  do  not  want  any  tests;  and,  in  fact,  who  do  not 
want  to  be  bothered  with  anything  beyond  the  three  R.’s.  That 
illustration  of  the  far-sighted  duke  is  most  refreshing,  and  must 
convince  all  of  us  that  the  time  has  arrived  for  the  foundation  of  a 
strong  “  Society  for  the  Suppression  of  Knowledge  among  Gardeners.” 
A  charter  should  be  applied  for  granting  power  (a)  To  confer  degrees 
of  R.R.R.  on  its  members ;  ( b )  to  abolish  all  scientific  education  and 
all  examinations  ;  (c)  to  secure  priority  of  employment  for  its  members. 
It  would  assist  the  society  materially  if  powers  could  be  obtained  to 
punish  all  disturbers  of  our  peace,  such  as  promoters  of  examinations 
and  of  education  generally,  and  especially  the  irrepressible  Sootsman 
who  will  persist  in  improving  himself  while  young  with  a  view  to 
sweeping  off  all  the  plums  of  our  profession  throughout  the  world ;  we 
stand  no  chance  against  him  now.  All  head  gardeners  of  fair  education 
should  be  dismissed  summarily,  and  so  cause  healthy  promotion  for  us. 
Any  gardeners  who  have  been  so  misguided  as  to  obtain  the  R.H.S. 
certificates  might  be  punished  by  fine  for  a  third  class ;  lengthened 
imprisonment  for  a  second  class  ;  but  nothing  less  than  penal  servitude 
for  life  for  a  first-class  certificate.  That  dreadful  person  who  advertised 
the  other  day  for  a  gardener  holding  the  R.H.S.  certificate  should  suffer 
the  extreme  penalty  of  the  law,  together  with  “  J.  S.”  who  on  page  41 
has  the  temerity  to  thank  “An  Old  Boy”  for  trying  to  help  young 
ones.  With  a  powerful  chartered  society  of  our  own  we  could  sleep  in 
peace,  resting  serenely  calm  in  the  consciousness  that,  like  horticultural 
Joshuas,  we  had  done  our  best  to  make  the  sun  of  knowledge  stay  in  its 
course,  and  should  be  proud  of  our  signature — R.  R.  R. 
- - 
Gardeners’  Education. 
Although  it  is  not  possible  for  any  liberal-minded  man  to  ooincide 
with  “  A  Working  Gardener  ”  when  he  asserts  that  a  knowledge  of  the 
three  R’s  is  enough  for  any  intending  gardener,  yet  there  is  absolute 
truth  in  his  assertion  that  books  or  theoretical  knowledge  is  not  required 
for  or  estimated  in  making  appointments  to  head  gardeners’  positions. 
It  is  a  case  of  less  of  what  do  you  know  than  of  what  can  you  do,  and 
the  clever  grower  and  good  manager  of  labour  aud  a  garden  is  a  long  way 
ahead  of  one  whose  theoretical  knowledge  is  great,  but  whose  practical 
knowledge  and  auaptability  are  small. 
It  is  possible  were  a  lady  engaging  a  woman  as  her  head  gardener, 
that  she  would  be  less  concerned  as  to  her  practical  knowledge  than  as 
to  her  collegiate  courses,  and  if  she  had  been  successful  in  passing  her 
exams,  that  would  no  doubt  be  highly  esteemed.  Probably  not  one 
lady  or  gentleman  in  a  thousand  puts  questions  as  to  collegiate  training 
to  a  man.  They  are  much  moi  e  concerned  as  to  his  appearance,  his 
demeanour,  his  integrity,  his  gardening  experience,  and  the  references 
he  brings  from  previous  employers.  This  may  be,  of  course,  intensely 
disappointing  to  the  collegiate  or  class  student  who  has  passed  well, 
but  it  is  so  all  the  same.  Still  it  would  be  folly  on  the  part  of  any 
young  man  to  ignore  the  many  advantages  he  will  possess  when  he 
secures  a  head  charge  if  he  has  gone  in  education  very  much  beyond 
the  three  R’s. 
Most  valuable  to  him  will  be  some  knowledge  of  botany,  and 
especially  of  plant  or  vegetable  physiology.  So  also  of  plant  constituents, 
and  the  suitable  foods,  called  manures,  to  provide  for  the  sustenance 
of  plant  life;  also  a  knowledge  of  drawing  and  plan  preparation  of 
ground  work  is  most  useful.  Drawing  especially  furnishes  admirable 
training  to  the  eye,  which  is  greatly  needed  in  gardening.  Some  little 
mathematical  knowledge  is  useful ;  so,  too,  is  a  little  of  science  as 
applied  to  the  heating  of  glass  houses. 
These  are  only  some  of  the  things  a  gardener,  or  an  intending  one, 
of  which  he  may  well  get  knowledge.  Of  course  much  of  this  knowledge 
can  be  picked  up  as  the  years  roll  on,  but  the  young  man  who  has 
acquired  sound,  systematic  knowledge  early  in  life  is  in  the  best  position 
to  apply  such  knowledge  usefully  and  practically  as  he  goes  along. 
Even  sitting  for  an  examination  and  attending  classes  must  do  a 
youth  great  good,  even  if  an  employer  should  not  appraise  such  labours 
one  iota  in  a  salary.  The  experience  is  helpful  in  life,  and  the  know¬ 
ledge  thus  obtained  is  also  both  adv*  ntageous  and  pleasurable.  Young 
men  should  use  their  youth  and  spare  time  well,  even  if  no  real  pecuniary 
benefit  arises,  for  the  knowledge  thus  acquired  will  certainly  aid  them 
in  the  performance  of  their  duties  and  greatly  assist  to  render  life 
happier  and  pleasanter — A.  D. 
Old  Hotbed  Manure. 
“  A.  D.”  writes,  on  page  55,  strongly  on  the  virtues  possessed  by 
the  above.  I  wonder  how  many  gardeners  put  it  to  the  uses  claimed  by 
\  our  correspondent?  Paying  a  friendly  visit  to  a  neighbouring 
gardener  recently  I  found  his  men  busy  wheeling  out  an  old  hotbed  to  a 
vacant  quarter  of  the  kitchen  garden.  Being  both  readers  of  the 
Journal,  the  conversation  turned  to  the  virtues  possessed  by  the 
manure  under  notice.  My  friend’s  opinion  was  not  a  high  one,  as  he 
made  the  remark  that  he  would  gladly  give  “  A.  D.,”  or  anyone  else, 
four  loads  in  exchange  for  one  good  load  of  cow  manure. 
As  a  rule,  much  of  the  solid  matter  has  been  extracted  for  Mushroom 
growing,  thus  leaving  the  bulk  of  the  material,  when  made  into  a 
hotbed,  a  mixture  of  decaying  straw  and  whatever  leaves  are  obtainable. 
After  doing  duty  as  a  hotbed  the  manure  is  frequently  put  to  one  of  the 
uses  “  A.  D.”  mentions — that  of  top-dressing,  or  rather,  as  a  thick 
mulch  to  rows  of  Peas,  Dwarf  and  Runner  Beans,  and  other  plants, 
which  in  a  hot  season,  and  growing  on  sandy  shallow  soils,  are  benefited 
by  a  mulch  of  any  sort.  Growers  of  giant  Onions  generally  prefer 
Mushroom  refuse  to  the  rougher  material,  the  former  being  of  a  closer 
texture,  and  certainly  much  tidier  in  appearanoe.  The  use  of  this 
mulch  is  not  so  muoh  for  its  fertile  value,  as  to  conserve  the  moisture  in 
the  ground  during  the  drying  droughts  which  we  usually  experience  in 
July  and  August.  In  gardens  where  the  soil  is  of  a  strong  nature,  and 
much  trenching  is  annually  carried  out,  quantities  of  hotbed  manure 
usually  find  a  final  resting  plaoe  at  the  bottom  of  a  2-foot  trench.  As 
an  aid  to  successful  Chrysanthemum  growing,  it  is  questionable  if 
many  gardeners  include  this  manure  in  their  final  potting  soil. 
— T.  H.  B. 
Decorative  Chrysanthemums. 
I  was  pleased  to  read  “  H.  R.’s  ”  courteous  reply  (page  33)  to  my 
criticism  of  his  article  on  “Decorative  Chrysanthemums.”  But  I 
would  like  to  ask  “  H.  R.”  why  Chrysanthemum  blooms  of  exhibition 
standard  are  a  luxury  any  more  than  bush-grown  sorts,  for  in  95  per 
cent,  of  cases  are  they  not  grown  for  and  used  amidst  luxurious 
surroundings  ?  Are  not  all  plants,  fruits,  and  vegetables  which  are 
cultivated  under  glass  luxuries  ?  They  certainly  are  not  necessaries  of 
everyday  life.  “  H.  R.”  states  that  large  blooms  are  wasteful,  because 
after  being  cut  the  foliage  quickly  withers,  and  although  the  flowers 
remain  fresh  they  are  comparatively  worthless,  owing  to  the  want  of 
foliage.  This  must  be  very  vexing,  but  I  am  glad  it  is  not  my 
experience,  for  I  find  no  difficulty  in  keeping  the  foliage  quite  fresh 
equally  as  long  as  the  bloom  continues  in  a  presentable  condition.  I 
always  make  a  point  of  splitting  the  stem  in  an  upward  direction  for  a 
distance  of  at  least  3  inches  before  arranging  them  in  vases  containing 
water.  If  the  water  is  changed  every  alternate  day,  and  half  an  inch 
cut  off  each  of  the  stems,  it  is  surprising  what  a  long  time  the  foliage 
and  blooms  remain  fresh.  Vases  that  hold  a  fair  amount  of  water 
should  be  chosen  if  possible. 
If  the  decorations  of  small,  hot  rooms  have  to  be  catered  for  during 
the  season  of  the  autumn  queen  it  would  be  necessary  to  cut  the 
blooms  with  short  stems,  or  the  flowers  will  soon  collapse ;  this  applies 
to  all  varieties  of  Chrysanthemums.  I  should  like  “  H.  R.”  to  fully 
understand  that  I  recognise  that  bush-grown  Chrysanthemums  are 
indispensable  in  every  garden,  both  for  early,  midseason,  and  late 
flowering,  when  suitable  varieties  are  chosen.  The  value  of  the  variety 
Princess  Victoria,  when  grown  in  this  form,  cannot  be  overestimated 
for  late  flowering.  I  have  now,  January  12th,  several  plants  in  bloom, 
just  at  their  best. — A.  Jefferies,  Moor  Hall  Gardens,  Essex. 
Manures  and  Leguminous  Plants. 
Your  correspondent,  “  Practitioner,”  at  page  490  (last  vol.),  refuses 
to  accept  my  statement  that  the  action  of  farmyard  manure  as  plant 
food  is  slow,  and  says  that  with  the  exception  of  manures  in  liquid  form 
no  manure  is  more  active  or  speedily  utilised  by  plants  than  is  good 
animal — i.e.,  farmyard  manure. 
In  reply  I  wish  to  state  that  the  nitrogen,  or  available  plant  food  of 
farmyard  manure,  exists  in  very  different  conditions.  That  due  to  the 
urine  of  the  animals  will  be  most  rapidly  available,  corresponding  as  it 
does  to  good  liquid  manure ;  that  in  the  finely  comminuted  matter  in 
the  fceces  will  be  much  more  slowly  available,  and  that  in  the  litter  still 
more  slowly ;  in  fact  its  availability  will  extend  over  several  years — 
hence  the  small  proportion  that  is  at  once  effective,  and  the  very  large 
amount  that  accumulates  within  the  soil  to  be  gradually  nitrified  and 
made  soluble. 
As  an  illustration  showing  the  slow  action  of  farmyard  manure  in 
comparison  with  chemical  artificial  manures  I  may  quote  an  experiment 
at  Rothamsted  with  Potatoes.  These  experiments  were  commenced  in 
the  year  1876  on  specially  exhausted  land,  and  have  been  continued  up 
to  the  present  time.  One  portion  of  the  land  has  been  without  manure 
during  the  whole  of  the  period,  other  portions  have  received  the  same 
description  of  manures  year  after  year.  In  the  first  year  (1876)  the 
