March  7,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
195 
A  National  Sweet  Pea  Society. 
I  have  received  a  circular  signed  by  Charles  E.  Wilkins  advising  me 
that  a  meeting  will  be  held  in  the  City  on  Tuesday,  March  12th,  with  a 
view  of  forming  a  National  Sweet  Pea  Society  ;  and  the  reason  assigned 
for  this  course  is  “  that  the  labours  of  the  bicentenary  committee 
should  not  be  lost.”  What  is  meant  by  this  ?  There  is  no  fear  whatever 
of  the  labours  of  the  bicentenary  committee  being  lost.  At  the  present 
time  the  executive  committee  are  putting  through  the  press  a  full 
report  of  the  proceedings  of  the  celebration,  and  thus  a  permanent 
record  of  them  will  be  banded  down.  The  executive  committee  having 
published  its  report,  will  then  lay  it  before  the  general  committee,  and 
that  body  will  have  to  determine  whether  the  committee  shall  be 
continued  in  some  permanent  form  or  whether  it  shall  dissolve.  Seeing 
therefore  that  the  bicentenary  committee  has  not  yet  completed  its, 
labours,  it  seems  premature  to  propose  to  form  a  National  Sweet  Pea 
Saciety  while  this  truly  national  committee  is  still  in  existence,  and 
quite  capable  of  taking  care  that  its  labours  are  not  lost. — Richard 
Dean,  Hon.  Secretary  to  the  Committee  of  the  Sweet  Pea  Bicentenary 
Celebration. 
- > - .*•*. - - 
Book  Gardeners. 
Some  few  yearB  since  I  seriously  thought  of  entering  for  the  R.H.S 
exams,  but  after  looking  up  some  of  the  questions  asked  at  previous 
examinations,  I  failed  to  see  how  answering  a  few  questions  as  to  the 
structure  of  a  certain  bulb  or  flower,  or  describe  the  process  of 
germination  of  a  particular  seed,  would  prove  that  I  was  at  all 
capable  of  taking  charge  of  a  garden  establishment,  even  though  I 
obtained  the  maximum  number  of  marks.  It  is  not  a  case  of  what  do 
you  know,  so  much  as  what  can  you  do,  with  employers.  Can  you 
keep  up  a  good  supply  of  flowers,  fruits,  and  vegetables,  and  at  how 
little  cost  ? 
The  efforts  of  the  R.H.S.  are  no  doubt  most  praiseworthy  in 
instituting  exams  with  the  idea  of  raising  the  status  of  the 
gardener.  But  will  it  better  the  present  position  of  the  gardener  in 
any  way  ?  Will  it  raise  the  standard  of  wages  ?  Is  it  likely  to  induce 
employers  to  keep  up  a  full  garden  staff,  instead  of  the  ever  increasing 
reductions,  wbioh  makes  the  most  important  point  a  gardener  has  to 
study  “  How  to  make  three  do  the  work  of  four  ?”  I  think  that  to  test 
anyone’s  knowledge  by  examination  much  the  best  way  would  be  to 
select  a  subject  or  a  group  of  subjects,  and  require  to  be  written  say, 
an  essay  in  so  many  words,  giving  the  practical  details  as  to  cultivation, 
and  treatment  on  the  appearance  of  disease.  But  after  all  the  best  test 
of  a  gardener’s  knowledge  is  what  he  produces.  I  know  one  or  two 
most  able  and  successful  gardeners,  who  have  served  in  some  of 
England’s  famous  gardens,  the  products  of  the  gardens  in  their  charge 
being  of  the  highest  order,  yet  they  have  admitted  to  me  that  in  the 
exams  under  notice  they  would  probably  not  figure  very  high. 
I  often  think  that  the  se  who  write  so  much  about  horticultural 
schools  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  there  are  scores  of.  publications  on 
every  conceivable  point  in  horticulture  by  eminent  and  practical  men; 
also  that  we  have  at  our  disposal  so  many  excellent  gardening 
periodicals. — W.  Henry  Wilson. 
- <♦♦♦> - 
Manures  and  Leguminous  Plants. 
It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  take  up  the  cudgels  in  defence  of  Mr. 
J.  J.  Willis,  but  I  wish  to  assure  him  that  there  are  some  at  least  of 
your  readers  who  do  not  despise  his  teachings;  in  fact,  I  find  they  so 
much  agree  with  what  I  have  picked  up  from  various  sources,  that  I 
literally  devour  his  contributions,  especially  such  as  are  based  on  the 
Rothamsied  experiments,  of  which  I  have  extracts  in  various  elementary 
works,  and  wish  1  had  more.  Gardeners,  as  such,  have  not  the  training 
to  fit  them  to  carry  <  ut  experiments  with  mathematical  precision,  and 
in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  eironeous  conclusions  are  formed  from  so-called 
experiments.  The  ordinary  case  is  that  a  man  sets  himself  to  prove 
what  he  has  already  made  up  his  mind  he  will  prove.  He  tells  you,  for 
instance,  that  Teas  require  a  very  large  proportion  of  farmyard  manure 
to  produce  a  heavy  ciop.  He  will  put  the  mar  ure  in,  aDd  grow  a  good 
crop  accordingly.  Do  you  want  anything  more  convincing  than  that? 
Well,  1  have  heard  of  a  nut  being  cracked  by  a  20  ton  hammer,  and 
think  it  quite  possible  it  might  have  been  done  with  lees  pow*  r,  and  it 
so  happens  that  some  of  us  can  grow  an  equally  good  crop  of  Peas  as 
can  be  grown  on  a  dunghill  by  simply  pulliDg  up  a  row  of  Cabbage 
stumps,  making  a  drill,  flooding  it  with  clearwater,  sowing  the  seed, 
and  giving  nothing  but  a  dressing  of  superphosphate  and  kainit.  Of 
course  this  does  not  prove  that  Peas  require  no  nitrogen  or  ammonia, 
any  more  than  my  friend’s  experiments  prove  they  want  as  much  as 
Mangold  Wurtzel  or  Rhubarb. 
Some  years  ago  I  visited  Mr.  Milne,  gardener  to  Miss  Jarratt  of 
Camerton  Court,  not  far  from  Radstock,  and  had  not  gone  far  before  1 
paused  to  look  at  an  extra  good  crop  of  Brussels  Sprouts  growing 
apparently  in  nothing  but  red  brickdust.  “  Come  along,”  said  my 
friend,  “  we  don’t  want  to  look  at  8prouts  to-day.”  But  before  he 
could  induce  me  to  shift  he  had  to  fetch  a  spade  and  dig  down  fully  a 
couple  of  feet  and  take  up  a  plant  with  roots  as  nearly  entire  as  possible. 
I  expected  to  find  soil  containing  vegetable  matter  below ;  but,  no  ! 
there  was  nothing  but  roots  and  brickdust,  the  former  of  which  we 
followed  to  the  end,  but  not  the  latter.  Now  most  cultivators  know,  or 
ought  to  know,  that  vegetable  matter  partly  consumed  by  smother 
burning  is  very  rich  in  almost  everything  that  is  necessary  for  plant 
life,  but  here  everything  had  been  consumed  that  was  consumable  by 
fire.  A  coal  pit  is  close  by,  and  the  owner  of  the  garden  is  also  the 
owner  of  the  pit.  Most  gardeners  know  of  patches  outside  the  dressed 
grounds  where  there  is  much  that  is  undesirable  in  the  shape  of  both 
animal  and  vegetable  life  ;  such  a  patch  was  probably  here  before  I  saw 
it,  and  now  I  cannot  detect  a  particle  of  vegetable  matter  in  any  shape 
except  the  Sprouts.  Where  did  they  get  their  nitrogen  from  ?  I 
believe  every  trace  of  carbon  had  been  consumed,  and  I  was  assured  no 
manure  liquid  or  solid  had  been  applied. 
Unfortunately  gardeners  are  not  the  only  persons  who  play  with 
experiments  nowadays.  Since  the  demand  sprang  up  for  technical 
education  there  has,  under  county  councils  and  other  governing  bodies, 
arisen  a  multitude  of  teachers  who  experiment  in  their  fashion  for  one, 
two,  or  three  years,  and  then  give  to  the  world  their  mature  judgment 
on  subjects  such  as  Sir  John  Bennett  Lawes  was  only  beginning  to  learn. 
I  am  afaid  some  of  us  learn  a  little  too  fast. — Wm.  Taylor. 
Vanilla  planifolia. 
In  the  economio  house  at  the  Glasgow  Botanic  Gardens  there  is  at 
present  a  very  interesting  plant  of  this  West  Indian  Vanilla  just 
ripening  its  fruits,  which  number  over  400.  A  full  grown  French  Bean 
will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  shape  and  size  of  its  pod.  It  flowered  in 
June  of  last  year,  so  it  takes  a  good  time  to  ripen  its  fruit  in  this  part 
of  the  country.  Very  shortly  the  house  in  which  the  plant  is  growing, 
and  in  the  adjoining  ones  as  well,  will  be  filled  with  the  pleasant  odour 
of  the  Vanilla.  This  is  the  Vanilla  which  is  used  for  commercial 
purposes. — A.  B. 
Womei|  Gardeners. 
With  interest  I  have  read  E.  Welthin  Winlo’s  article  on  page  557, 
re  women  gardeners,  and  take  it  for  granted  that  she  classes  gardeners 
with  garden  labourers  by  the  way  she  has  written.  I  am  sure  she  would 
soon  find  out  her  mistake  by  going  round  any  garden  of  note,  and 
taking  notice  of  the  men  employed.  For  generally  speaking,  nowadays 
the  gardener  Btarts  as  a  “  foreman’s  boy,”  and  works  his  way  up 
inside,  with,  perhaps,  a  few  years  in  the  kitchen  garden.  If  Miss  E.  W. 
Winlo  will  study  any  of  the  advertisements  in  the  gardening  papers 
every  week  she  can  then  see  how  many  years  of  experience  are  required 
before  a  man  can  think  of  taking  a  situation  and  calling  himself  a 
gardener.  As  a  rule  gardeners  are  very  quick  at  picking  anything  up 
they  may  see  done  at  other  places,  and  often  when  looking  round  a 
great  deal  of  discussion  follows  whilst  passing  through  on  various 
subjects.  But  for  all  this  no  one  can  learn  gardening  unless  they 
actually  do  the  work  themselves.  It  is  all  very  well  watching  and 
being  taught,  but  that  is  not  doing  it  yourself.  We  know  it  is  well  to 
keep  our  eyes  and  ears  open,  but  without  other  or  further  experience 
this  alone  is  useless.  No  true  gardeners  have  the  confidence  to  take 
a  place  without  having  the  real  practical  knowledge.  I  know  in 
gardening  there  is  always  something  new  to  learn,  and  much  is  learnt 
from  mistakes  and  failures ;  but  to  anyone  who  wishes  to  be  a  gardener, 
my  advice  is  to  get  into  well  kept  gardens  and  go  through  the  various 
departmems.  Anyone  doing  so  would  be  a  more  fit  person  to  take 
charge  of  a  garden  than  one  who  has  gone  through  the  courses  of 
lectures,  &c.,  at  one  of  the  colleges.  I  do  not  wish  to  run  down  the 
work  that  may  be  done  at  any  of  these  places  ;  but  is  it  possible  for 
any  person  to  hold  their  own  against  one  that  has  put  study  and  practice 
together  for  a  lifetime  ?  At  the  present  time  the  labour  and  expenses 
are  so  cut  down  in  the  garden  that  it  is  only  with  sound  j  udgment  and 
forethought  that  ends  are  made  to  meet.  No  one  oan  deny  but  that 
this  is  getting  a  general  thing  right  through  England.  There  may  be 
plenty  of  men  and  women  that  know  how  to  do  work  by  reading,  or  think 
they  do,  but  when  it  comes  to  superintend  work  and  men  under  them, 
they  find  their  mistake.  Then  the  man  is  soon  picked  out  that  has 
had  a  thorough  practical  learning,  and  been  through  the  mill  himself. 
This  man  can  show  and  explain  how  things  should  be  done  to  those 
under  him. — John  Botley. 
