254 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  28,  1901. 
opportunities  of  observing  how  the  methods  of  their  various  chiefs 
differ,  and  if  of  an  observant  turn  of  mind  they  may  put  the 
experience  to  good  account  by  noting  which  method  ends  in  the 
best  results.  I  have  a  word  here  for  the  heads.  Do  not  criticise 
the  ways  of  another  gardener  to  the  young  journeyman  who  is 
anxious  to  learn.  Remember  that  if  the  other  man  is  successful 
by  the  methods  he  adopts  his  opinions  are  as  valuable  as  yours.  I 
recollect  an  instance  of  a  head  gardener  who  was  instructing  a 
subordinate  as  to  the  way  in  which  he  was  to  perform  a  certain 
operation.  The  young  mm  observed  that  Mr.  So-and-so,  whom  he 
had  been  under  previously,  used  to  have  it  done  in  another  manner, 
and  he  got  this  sensible  reply — “When  you  were  with  Mr.  S>and-so 
you  did  it  in  his  way,  now  you  are  with  me  you  will  do  it  in  my  way. 
Learn  which  is  the  best  of  the  two,  and  when  you  are  a  bead  gardener 
have  it  done  as  you  like.”  Was  not  that  better  than  attempting  to 
shake  the  faith  of  the  young  man  in  his  former  chief  ? 
Even  in  the  most  elementary  operations  opinions  differ,  and  I 
suppose  they  always  will.  It  is  yet  an  open  question  how  best  to 
treat  the  ground  for  the  growing  of  vegetable  crops.  Most  gardeners 
are  agreed  as  to  the  law  of  deep  cultivation,  but  they  are  decideily  at 
loggerheads  as  to  the  best  ways  of  working  the  few  feet  of  soil  next 
to  the  surface.  One  expert  grower  believes  in  trenching  anything  and 
everything,  bringing  up  the  subsoil  and  burying  the  top  spit,  in  order 
to  turn  the  whole  into  one  even  state  of  feriility.  You  look  at  the 
examples  he  produces  by  the  practice  of  this  theory,  and  decide  at 
once  that  it  is  the  best  way.  Then  you  interview  another  crack 
vegetable  man  who  gets  results  equally  as  good,  but  does  not  believe 
in  trenching  in  the  same  way.  No  amount  of  persuasion  would  ever 
induce  him  to  bring  the  subsoil  to  the  surface,  and  he  argues  (with  a 
big  reputation  to  back  him  up)  that  so  long  as  the  lower  spit  of  soil 
is  worked  where  it  is,  and  well  manured,  it  can  be  made  as  good  as  if 
it  were  brought  to  the  top,  while  the  most  is  got  out  of  the  best  soil 
by  allowing  it  to  remain  where  it  is.  Grower  number  three,  also  a 
champion,  does  not  agree  with  either  of  them,  though  at  the  same  time 
he  agrees  with  both.  He  is  not  averse  to  bringing  up  the  subsoil,  but 
not  all  at  once.  A  little  at  a  time  is  his  method,  and  the  revolutionary 
operation  lasts  over  a  period  of  years.  Results  prove  that  neither 
system  is  wrong,  but  which  is  the  best  for  his  own  case  every  gardener 
has  to  prove  for  himself. 
We  must  manure,  everybody  is  agreed  about  that,  but  what  to 
use,  and  ihe  best  way  of  applying  it,  are  matters  of  open  controversy. 
The  disciple  of  the  dung  barrow  sticks  to  the  prop  ot  his  grandfather 
in  the  shape  of  the  material  from  the  farmyard,  and  will  not  be 
convinced  that  concentrated  fertili.-ers  are  of  any  good.  Ir  these  men 
hear  of  failures  thev  put  it  down  to  that  “  patent  stuff”  used,  but 
never  take  the  trouble  to  study  the  simp'est  rudiments  of  chemistry. 
The  champion  of  artificials,  on  the  other  hand,  is  sometimes  disposed 
to  underrate  the  value  of  the  material  that  has  stood  tne  est  of  ages. 
Experiments  do  not  prove  much,  lor  the  results  d  ffer  widely, 
ac  ording  to  the  conditions  of  sod  and  weather.  While  the  haggling 
goes  on  the  wise  man,  who  has  no  particular  prejudice  eith  r  way, 
observes  that  there  is  something  to  be  said  for  both  sides,  and  if  he 
combines  forces  by  using  farmyard  manure  and  concentrated  fertilisers 
in  a  proper  manner,  invariably  gets  the  best  results.  • 
One  champion  Onion  grower  believes  in  deeply  cultivating  and 
manuring  liberally  for  the  cr  p,  but  he  has  no  faiih  in  t<>p-dresdng, 
feedi  g,  or  watering  after  the  plants  are  established  ;  in  fact,  he  names 
the  evils  that  are  the  result  of  this  procedure,  and  brings  living  proofs 
to  substantiate  his  remarks.  One  story  stands  good  till  another  is 
told,  and  Onion  champion  No.  2  laughs  the  non-feeding  the  ry  to 
scorn.  He  Ukes  the  greatest  delight  in  showing  how  much  the  Onion 
may  be  improved  in  size  and  quality  through  stimulating  it  during 
the  growing  period  ;  and  in  frout  of  such  conflict ing  ev  deuce  it  is  not 
to  be  wondered  that  the  novice,  who  has  vi-ions  of  2  lb.  bulbs 
before  him,  is  at  a  loss  how  to  proceed.  Sha  1  I  give  him  a  hint  ? 
Comp  ire  how  far  the  two  experts  are  agreed,  and  he  quite  sure  that 
the  points  where  they  differ  are  not  of  vital  importance. 
These  points  of  difference  not  only  occur  amongst  vegetables, 
but  fruit  and  flowers.  In  fact,  there  is  hardly  a  gardening  operation, 
even  to  the  crocking  of  a  flower  p>ot,  on  wh  ch  there  are  not  shades  of 
opinion.  One  man  produces  splendid  Cyclamens  by  keeping  the 
plants  gr  wing  all  the  year  round,  and  is  the  champion  of  his  method. 
Another  grows  the  same  flower  equally  as  well,  but  follows  the 
orthodox  plan  of  resting  the  corms  over  a  certain  period.  Which  is 
right  ?  Results  say  both. 
The  grower  of  Grapes  is  a  stickler  for  his  own  theories,  and  perhaps 
no  fruit  has  a  greater  fascination  for  gardeners.  Hardly  any  two 
successful  growers  follow  exactly  the  same  methods,  and  of  course 
everyone  supports  his  own  views.  Tne  result  is  that  much  advice  of 
an  apparently  diversified  character  is  given  on  the  culture  of  this 
important  crop,  and  every  exponent,  of  course,  pu's  forth  his  views  in 
the  firm  belief  that  they  are  correct.  They  may  be,  of  course,  and  so 
may  those  of  somebody  else,  with  just  the  difference  in  the  way  thev 
are  put  into  practice. 
We  may  argue  and  wrangle  about  these  matters,  and  good  is  often 
brought  to  light  by  doing  so  in  a  friendly  and  reasonable  manner,  but 
after  all  the  best  method  for  each  grower  to  practice  is  that  which 
gives  the  most  satisfactory  result  in  his  own  particular  case.  The 
lesson  is  learnt  by  observation  and  experience,  with  willingness  aud 
aptitude  for  observing  the  strong  points  in  the  arguments  of  those  who 
hold  contrary  views. — G.  H. 
. . - 
The  Value  of  Botany  in  tlie  Garden. 
Why  gardeners,  as  a  rule,  do  not  attach  more  value  to  the  knowledge- 
of  botany,  in  its  relation  to  their  everyday  work  in  the  garden,  says 
T.  H.  Smith,  of  Kidderminster,  is  a  problem  not  yet  solved,  although  it 
has  frequently  been  the  subject  of  controversy  in  the  various  horti¬ 
cultural  periodicals.  The  doctor’s  medical  practice  and  the  study  of 
chemistry,  although  closely  related,  are  often  found  quite  separable 
from  each  other ;  and  so  it  may  be  with  regard  to  gardening  and 
botany. 
The  science  of  botany  and  the  art  of  gardening  are  not  often  found 
associated.  A  clever  botanist  may  be  quite  unable  to  go  through  the- 
rudest  elements  of  gardening  in  a  respectable  manner,  and  a  first 
grade  gardener  may  be  quite  ignorant  of  the  distinction  between  an 
Umbelliferous  and  a  Composite  flower.  But  the  value  and  use  of  botany 
to  the  practical  gardener  is  of  more  value  than  the  practical  knowledge- 
of  gardening  to  the  botanist.  It  is  of  great  importance  to  the  gardener 
that  he  should  have  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  botany.  The 
botanist  is  interested  in  the  numbers  of  stamens,  the  distinctive 
characteristics  of  corolla  and  calyx,  the  structure  of  the  ovary,  and  the 
relation  of  pollen  to  stigma,  &c.  The  problems  the-  gardener  has  to 
deal  with  are  of  a  different  nature.  He  has  to  learn  by  experience 
how  much  food,  light,  moisture,  and  air  are  required  by  certain  classes 
of  plants  when  brought  into  cultivation.  What  part  of  the  plant  has  to 
be  converted  into  use,  whether  for  commercial  or  domestic  purposes  r 
and  what  regions  of  the  earth  the  plants  inhabit  ?  are  other  questions 
a  gardener  has  to  be  capable  of  answering  correctly  if  he  is  to  succeed 
in  the  cultivation  of  his  plants.  As  a  mother  stands  in  relation  to  her 
family,  so  does  the  gardener  stand  to  his  plan's.  Individualities  vary 
greatly  in  plant  life,  and  the  gardener  can  only  expect  to  be  successful 
in  so  far  as  he  is  capable  of  anticipating  and  providing  for  the  needs  of 
each  of  his  dependents. 
The  gardener  who  is  ignorant  of  botany  loses  a  great  deal  of  the 
interest  and  delight  to  be  found  in  the  everyday  work  of  his  calling.. 
The  wondeiful  truths  connected  with  the  fertilisation  of  plants  and  the 
constant  variation  going  on  in  all  the  different  parts  of  a  flower  are  all 
enigmas  to  him,  although  to  be  conversant  with  these  wonderful  changes 
and  results  in  plant  development  and  reproduction  as  items  of  botanical 
science  would  be  helpful  to  him  in  arriving  at  successful  resu'ts.  What 
are  the  laws  of  plant-life  as  relates  to  food,  drink,  chemical  properties, 
duration,  and  development  ?  are  questions  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  every  gardener.  In  order  to  apply  the  right  class  of  manure,  the 
cultivator  must  know  something  of  the  constitu  ion  of  a  plant.  A  living 
plant  feeds,  breathes,  grows,  develops,  multiplies,  decays  and  ultimately 
dies.  In  order  to  carry  on  these  various  operations,  it  must  naturally 
spend,  accumulate,  and  change.  Generally  more  than  one  ot  the  above 
operations  are  going  on  at  the  same  time,  and  the  action  of  one  is 
modified  by  and  influenced  by  that  of  another.  Under  certain 
conditions  these  operations  are  favoured,  and  by  ohers  hindered.  The 
gardener  is  concerned  with  all  these  changes  and  conditions,  so  that  it 
may  be  fairly  assumed  that  it  is  indispensable  to  him  to  realise  what  is 
the  work  which  a  plant  does  and  how  it  does  it.  The  beautiful  structure 
of  the  minute  pollen  grains,  which  form  the  fertilising  bodies  of  all 
fliweis,  is  known  to  very  few.  Nature’s  operat  ons  and  agencies  in 
this  respect  are  much  higher  than  those  of  man.  Some  of  his  fairest 
creations  are  seen  to  be  rough  and  unfinished  when  highly  magnified; 
but,  if  we  magnify  the  pollen  grains  of  various  types  <>f  plants,  we  find 
that  with  added  power  there  is  greater  charm  ;  and  irregular  structures, 
when  brought  under  microscopioal  investigation,  are  found  to  be  of  the 
most  beautiful  internal  fiuish.  To  know  that  every  grain  in  every 
flower  consists  of  a  cell  and  two  nuclei,  one  vegetative  and  the- other 
reproductive,  and  with  every  one  of  them  lies  the  potencies  of  the  entire 
species,  strikes  the  reflective  observer  as  extraordinary  and  amazing. 
What  sources  of  delight  and  springs  of  utility  must  these  additions  of 
botanical  knowledge  be  to  the  gardener,  whose  life  is  mixed  up  with 
the  cultivation  and  perfection  of  plant-life,  and  why  so  many  practical 
cultivators  should  neglect  this  advanced  stage  of  their  profession  is. 
utterly  perplexing. 
