February  21,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
155 
May  I  be  allowed  to  offer  my  opinions  upon  the  subject  of  lady 
gardeners  as  one  who  has  worked  with  them  ?  Your  correspondent  of 
February  2nd  admits  their  physical  incapacity  for  the  ordinary  routine 
of  garden  work,  and  proposes  to  overcome  that  difficulty  by  employing 
them  to  do  the  lighter  duties  in  gardens.  I  should  like  to  ask  him  if 
he  has  considered  the  claims  of  the  rest  of  the  garden  staff  in  making 
such  a  proposal  to  take  effect  in  a  private  garden  ?  In  my  opinion  he 
has  not.  Imagine  a  Swanley  graduate  having  completed  her  two 
years’  course  of  tuition,  including,  as  it  does,  a  multitude  of  subjects, 
nearly  every  one  of  which  would  occupy  any  person  for  that  period  if 
any  appreciable  amount  of  knowledge  of  the  subject  was  desired. 
Imagine  this  young  “encyclopaedia”  taking  such  a  post  in  a  privale 
garden  among  journeymen  not  much,  if  any,  her  senior  in  years,  but 
having  “graduated”  from  the  pot-washing-tub  and  crock-bench, 
through  at  least  five  or  six  years  of  varied  experience,  and  now,  just  as 
they  are  rising  from  the  drudgery  part  of  their  chosen  profession,  this 
young  lady,  who  two  years  ago  left  school  to  enter  a  horticultural 
Training  college,  steps  in  and  approoriates  the  “plums”  coveted  by 
these  hardworking  sons  of  the  soil  through  many  somewhat  weary 
years. 
In  every  charge  usually  held  by  journeymen  in  private  gardens  there 
is  a  certain  amount  of  light  work  which  might  perhaps  be  done  as  well, 
but  not  better,  by  a  lady  gardener.  Bub  if  one  was  employed  to  go 
round  the  various  charges  and  perform  these  light  duties  while  the 
responsible  man  was  doing  some  heavy  work  or  other,  say  Grape 
thinning  (as  suggested  by  another  correspondent),  and  the  man  carrying 
water  in  6-gallon  cans  to  water  the  border,  the  injustice  would  be 
apparent  at  a  glance,  and  in  all  probability  the  result  would  be  a 
revolution  on  the  part  of  the  men,  which,  in  my  opinion,  would  be  quite 
justified.  No ;  such  an  arrangement  would  not  work,  and  the  lady 
gardeners  must  be  aware  of  it.  If  they  have  anything  to  do  in  a 
private  establishment  let  it  be  a  charge  to  themselves,  then  if  any 
rough  or  heavy  work  is  to  be  done  they  can  have  a  labourer  to  do  it. 
The  new  woman  objects  to  being  the  helpmeet  of  mere  man,  but  all 
the  same  6he  must  not  be  allowed  to  have  him  as  her  servant.  Not 
all  the  lady  gardeners  are  new  women,  some  are  most  intelligent,  and 
fully  aware  of  the  somewhat  awkward  position  in  which  they  are 
placed  through  taking  up  gardening  as  a  means  of  livelihood  because 
of  their  enthusiastic  love  for  plants  and  flowers. — Janox. 
The  Persimmon. 
I  notice  in  the  Journal  of  December  13th  a  reply  to  a  correspondent 
about  the  Persimmon.  You  do  not  seem  to  know  about  the  best 
Japanese  Persimmon  (Diospyros  Kaki),  as  you  say  that  it  is  easily 
raised  from  seed,  but  the  plants  that  I  got  direct  from  Japan  have  no 
seeds  in  their  fruit,  and  seem  to  be  very  much  superior  in  every  way  to 
the  ores  you  describe.  Mine  were  planted  on  the  13th  January,  1892, 
and  they  commenced  fruiting  in  1895;  the  trees  flower  at  the  end  of 
March.  There  seem  to  be  four  different  kinds,  but  the  tickets  were 
not  readable  when  the  plants  arrived.  The  trees  bear  very  well,  but 
are  inclined  to  set  too  many  fruits  ;  the  size  of  the  tree  is  as  you  state, 
small;  after  nine  years  the  tallest  of  mine  is  only  7  feet.  The  colour 
of  the  fruit  is  reddish  orange,  with  a  smooth  shining  skin  ;  size  of  fruit 
varies,  but  can  be  taken  as  3£  inches  diameter  and  3  inches  deep.  As 
there  are  no  stones  in  the  fruit  the  whole  of  the  pulp  inside  is  edible; 
it  is  like  a  jelly,  and  is  eaten  with  a  spoon  ;  the  skin  is  thin.  The 
shape  of  the  fruit  differs  in  the  different  varieties  of  the  trees,  just  as 
Apples  do,  some  are  pyriform,  others  round,  and  others  globose.  One 
tree  this  last  year,  after  producing  regularly  pyriformed  fruit  for  five 
years,  suddenly  seems  to  have  gone  mad,  and  produced  over  thirty 
fruits,  all  of  which  were  deformed;  no  two  were  alike;  they  were 
apparently  combinations  of  two  and  three  fruits.  They  had  horns 
sticking  out  here  and  there,  some  were  like  bullocks’  heads  with  curved 
horns,  but  they  were  all  good  to  eat. 
The  Persimmon  (D.  Kaki)  ripens  here  from  the  end  of  September 
to  the  end  of  December.  For  two  years  at  first  the  fruit  was  not 
damaged  by  birds  or  animals,  and  the  bright  fruit  hanging  on  the  trees 
in  the  winter  after  the  leaves  had  fallen  was  a  very  pretty  sight.  But 
alas!  in  the  third  year  the  birds  and  night  animals  tasted  the  blood  of 
the  Persimmon  as  it  were,  and  since  that  nothing  but  stout  wire  netting 
will  protect  the  fruit;  wrapping  up  in  cloth  is  no  use,  as  it  is  torn 
away.  The  butcher  birds  have  been  most  noticed  trying  to  get  at  the 
fruit.  As  to  the  taste  or  flavour  of  tie  fruit,  opinions  differ  from  yours 
— “  it  is  tolerably  pleasant  ”  to  “it  is  perfectly  dtlicious.”  My  own 
opinion  is  that  it  is  more  than  “tolerably  pleasant.” — A.  C.,  Dehra 
Dun,  India. 
English  Vegetables  in  East  Africa. 
We  notice  in  the  interesting  article  under  this  heading  during  last 
month  your  correspondent  states  that  he  experienced  difficulty  in 
raising  English  Potatoes.  Some  years  ago  a  botanist  to  one  of  the 
East  African  Administrations  wrote  us  as  follows  in  this  connection  :  “  I 
have  raised  magnificent  Potatoes  from  seed  (not  sets),  and  have  noted 
something  like  500  varieties  to  select  from.  They  are  producing  at  the 
rate  of  five  tons  per  acre  without  manure,  and  there  is  no  trace  of 
disease.  Within  twelve  months  from  sowing  I  am  reaping  full  grown 
large  Potatoes  from  the  second  planting.  These  consequently  will  be 
regularly  native  reared  African  varieties,  some  of  which  I  have  no 
doubt  will  become  of  great  value  and  suitable  to  the  country.”  From 
this  it  will  be  gathered  that  Potatoes  can  be  grown  from  seeds  in  that 
climate.  Indeed,  Dr.  Peters’  expedition  up  the  Shire  River  is  regularly 
supplied  with  seeds  from  this  country. — James  Carter  &  Co. 
- - 
Should  Tomatoes  be  Stopped? 
The  opinions  of  experienced  growers  of  Tomatoes  upon  the  following 
point  would  be  valued  by  a  young  grower  : — The  ground  in  my  hot¬ 
houses  is  planted  with  Tomatoes,  which  I  intend  to  train  up  to  the  roofs, 
to  last  for  the  whole  season.  Should  I  stop  the  plants  after  they  have 
set  four  trusses,  and  then  let  them  run  up  afterwards  from  a  side  shoot  ? 
Or  should  I  leave  the  leader  to  run  up  unchecked  ?  The  advantage  of 
the  former  plan,  I  imagine,  is  that  ripe  fruit  is  obtained  earlier  by  it, 
which  is  beneficial  with  reference  to  price.  Whether  there  is  any 
corresponding  disadvantage  from  stopping  the  leader  I  do  not  know. 
If  the  plants  are  stopped,  should  the  stopping  be  done  as  soon  as 
four  trusses  of  flowers  have  just  been  formed,  or  at  a  later  stage,  and 
what  stage,  in  the  setting  of  the  fruit  ?  Again,  would  it  be  desirable  to 
keep  on  stopping  for  a  time,  and  for  how  long  ?  Or  should  a  side  shoot 
be  allowed  to  run  up  immediately  after  the  leader  has  been  stopped  ? 
Lastly,  should  the  side  shoot  allowed  to  run  up  be  the  topmost  one  ? 
It  seems  to  me  that,  although  by  stopping  the  plants,  I  shall  get  more 
fruit  ripe  in  the  latter  part  of  May  and  in  June,  I  may  perhaps  get  less 
ripe  altogether  by  the  end  of  June. — Beginner. 
- - - - 
'  Liliums. 
Those  who  have  tried  to  grow  many  varieties  of  these  gorgeous 
flowers  will  very  probably  agree  with  “  D.,  Deal,”  that  for  outdoor  work 
in  the  generality  of  gardens  there  is  no  perpetuality  about  them.  Like 
our  old  friend,  I  am  very  fond  of  them,  and  though  it  is  very  often 
“  Love’s  labour  lost  ”  I  still  cling  to  them.  I  have  often  thought  as 
regards  the  old  L.  candidum,  and  its  freak  of  preferring  a  little  cottage 
garden  to  show  off  its  beauties,  that  it  probably  gets  a  far  larger 
amount  of  care  and  attention  in  the  smaller  place,  whilst  in  the  larger 
there  is  not  much  time  given  to  what  after  all,  and  in  spite  of  its  beauty, 
is  a  very  common  flower. 
In  many  gardens  I  am  certain  it  gets  no  chance  ;  slugs  and  snails 
dote  on  it  and  pay  it  continual  attention,  but  their  tender  mercies  are 
cruel.  Often  have  I  seen  the  stems  literally  stripped  of  leaves,  and 
under  such  circumstances  the  bulbs  naturally  suffer.  The  cottager,  no 
doubt,  has  snails  also,  but  if  the  gudewife  succeeds  with  them — I  mean 
the  Lilies — I  think  it  is  because  with  candle  or  lantern  she  looks  for  the 
culprits  at  night  and  stops  their  depredations  ;  in  the  daytime  they 
know  where  to  hide.  In  a  large  garden  it  is  difficult  to  do  this,  and 
there,  if  you  begin  pest-hunting,  there  seems  no  end  to  it.  Take  the 
ii  jury  done  to  wall  fruit,  especially  Peaches  and  Nectarines,  and  if  the 
wall  be  an  old  one  you  .may  look  in  the  daytime,  and  unless  you 
accidentally  lift  a  leaf  may  never  notice  a  wood-louse,  but  come  with 
a  lantern  at  night  and  the  not-yet-ripe  Peach,  which  has  been 
attacked,  will  be  black,  with  all  sizes  feeding.  Where  are  they  in 
the  day  ? — in  every  nook  and  cranny  of  the  wall.  I  have  killed 
hundreds  night  after  night,  but  the  hosts  seem  undiminished. 
So,  again,  with  snails  and  slugs  on  a  wet  evening ;  bub  if  it  is  a  dry 
time  I  do  not  think  these  appear  till  a  plentiful  dew  has  fallen,  and 
we  are  in  the  “arms  of  Porpus,”  as  Sam  Weller,  I  think,  puts  it. 
Unfortunately  for  us,  the  depredators  of  the  Lilium  tribe  are  under 
the  soil.  I  know  Wallace  &  Co.  advise  planting  many  of  the  bulbs 
surrounded  by  sand  and  peat  to  keep  off  worms.  I  believe  worms  feed 
on  decaying  vegetable  matter,  and  possibly  they  do  not  touch  the  bulb 
until  decay  has  begun  from  some  other  cause  ;  worms,  however,  seem  to 
me  like  cats,  they  prefer  going  through  a  ho'e,  even  if  a  small  one,  to 
the  ordinary  road,  and  so  they  slip  into  the  scales  of  the  Liliums,  and 
if  when  there  they  coil  themselves  up,  they  seriously  disturb  the  scale, 
and  it  may  commence  to  decay.  Although  I  do  not  believe  they  are 
the  original  cause  of  mischief,  I  have  rarely  taken  the  dilapidated  bulb 
to  pieces  without  finding  a  worm  therein;  the  small  pink  centipede  I  am 
disposed  to  blame  for  the  loss  of  many  Liliums. 
Then  again,  what  is  the  soil  of  the  Lilium  tribe  in  Japan,  where 
they  seem  to  grow  better  than  weeds?  I  have  sometimes  had  auratums 
that  looked  as  if  they  had  been  grown  and  packed  in  a  moist  yet  friable 
light  coloured  clay,  very  different  from  our  garden  soils.  Now,  Wallace 
and  Co.,  in  their  Lily  Catalogue,  give  us  three  kinds  of  soil  for  Lilies. 
1,  Any  good  garden  soil,  well  dug,  with  the  addition  of  a  li  tie  loam 
