204 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
portion  of  the  show  was  the  large  number  of  loaves  of  bread, 
jam  tarts,  jams,  dressed  and  undressed  salads,  boiled  Potatoes, 
and  table  decorations.  Prizes  were  also  offered  for  those  who 
had  the  best  kept  forest  gardens,  generally  in  each  road  or 
lane,  the  gardens  to  be  judged  from  January  1  to  show  day. 
Such  a  scheme  as  this  surely  deserves  success?— W.  G. 
A  New  Yariegated  Poplar. 
I  herewith  enclose  leaves  of  the  new  Poplar  (Populus  Ontari- 
ensis  variegata).  This  grand  variety  was  raised  by  Mr.  John 
Carter,  Willow  Bank  Nurseries,  Keighley,  Yorks,  and  he  holds 
the  entire  stock.  I  had  the  privilege  of  inspecting  the  plants 
a  few  days  ago,  and  may  say  that  this  new  Poplar,  with  its 
large,  blotched  and  variegated  leaves,  stood  out  with  grand 
effect.  The  variety  has  been  awarded  a  Silver  Medal  at  Ghent, 
and  an  Award  of  Merit  by  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society. — ■ 
F.  R.  Hayes.— [The  leaves  are  variegated  with  yellow.  The 
larger  ones  measured  7in  in  length  by  5in  in  breadth. — Ed.] 
The  Golden  Poppy. 
As  one  who  grows  more  of  the  Golden  Poppy  than  he  cares 
for,  let  me  advise  those  who  covet  it  to  beware  of  letting  it 
seed  too  freely.  The  Welsh  Poppy,  Meconopsis  cambrica,  as 
Mr.  Woodward  says,  “does  well  in  gardens,  sowing  its  own 
seed  around  it,”  but,  alas !  one  may  have  too  much  of  a  good 
thing,  and  one  finds  that  it  may  become  ubiquitous,  and  difficult 
to  eradicate.  Its  roots  go  deeply  into  the  ground,  and  even  if 
the  top  is  cut  off  or  pulled  away  as  deeply  as  possible,  the 
plant  has  a  Dandelion-like  capacity  for  springing  again.  It  is 
a  splendid  plant  for  the  wild  garden,  but  beware  of  introducing 
it  among  choice  little  flowers  of  the  rockwork.  The  double 
form  is  good,  and  a  proportion  of  the  seeds  come  true  to  name. 
Very  few  people  seem  to  know  the  orange  coloured  variety,  a 
garden  introduction  of  recent  years.  Some  day,  perhaps,  we 
shall  have  white  and  scarlet  varieties  of  what  would  then  be 
a  true  perennial  rival  to  the  Iceland  Poppies.  By  the  way, 
some  do  not  know  that  an  easy  way  of  distinguishing  the 
Meconopsis  from  the  Poppy  lies  in  the  long-shaped  seed  pods 
of  the  former  as  distinguished  from  the  globular  ones  of  the 
latter. — Sconces.  ^  , 
Cricket  y.  Gardening. 
Tastes  differ  and  opinions  vary,  but  for  my  part,  Oh !  “  Never 
Despair.”  I  would  rather  have  your  subtle  pen  than  the  best 
bat  that  ever  Grace — d  all  England.  That  demon  delivery  of 
alternate  patting  and  punching,  on  page  175,  quite  bowled  me 
out,  and  I  stand  confessed  a  sinner- — the  sin  of  omitting  cricket 
from  my  curriculum  for  young  gardeners.  What  do  I  think 
of  cricket  for  young  gardeners?  Alas!  not  much,  since,  as  a  very 
young  gardener  at  a  home  match  (too  near  home),  my  left- 
handed  batting  put  the  ball  through  the  home  window,  carrying 
away  several  small  diamond  panes  (a  pane — ful  affair  for  me), 
part  of  the  old-fashioned  lead  casement,  and  all  the  savings  of 
a  lifetime  to  pay  damages.  Then,  too,  a  good  hiding  that  I 
shouldn’t  forget.  Forget?  Forsooth,  with  the  violated  money¬ 
box  staring  me  in  the  face.  No,  I  don’t  think  much  of  cricket, 
but  the  fact  remains  that  it  has  proved  to  be  a  tower  of  strength 
to  “  N.  D.’s”  friend  “H.,”  who  is  having  a  good  innings  through 
its  influence.  Truly,  a  gardener  should  be  a  man  of  many  parts. 
It  is  unfortunate  that  it  is,  too,  for  gardening  in  itself  is  more 
than  able  to  absorb  an  ordinary  lifetime.  Take  consolation, 
“  N.  D.,”  that,  if  you  are  not  an  expert  cricketer,  it  may  be 
for  years,  and  it  may  be  for  ever  ere  another  is 
required  to  fill  (?)  the  post  of  gardener.  Possibly 
the  next  gardening  plum  will  be  snapped  up  by  a  sort 
of  organist-choirmaster-gardener,  or  other  such  triple  anomaly  ; 
and,  of  course,  it  is  always  just  possible  that  a  first-class  gardener 
will  be  wanted,  one  who  is  simply  that  (and  enough)  and  nothing 
more.  That’s  where  my  boys  come  in,  God  bless  ’em.  I  read 
my  indictment  with  mingled  feelings  of  pleasure  and  pain,  for 
thou  hast,  my  dear  “  N.  D.,”  such  a  nice  way  of  saying  nasty 
things — nasty  because  they  are  true ;  but,  as  you  will  “  probably 
have  another  turn  at  those  triangles,”  I  conclude  that  gardening 
is  your  first  love,  as  it  was  mine,  and  that  it  will  be  our  last 
love,  too ;  hence,  congratulations,  with  sincere  hopes  that  you 
will  get  a  good  innings  on  your  merits  as  a  gardener  alone. 
Truly,  the  head  and  front  of  mine  offence  is  not  having  written 
to  (or  for)  “  the  fellow  who  is  out.”  That  may  be  so — that  is 
not  as  an  Old  Boy ;  but  I  have  thought  a  lot,  and  said  something 
to  older  heads  on  that  head  under  other  noms  de  plume.  If 
I  was  a  millionaire  instead  of  a  much-worried  working  gardener, 
it  should  be  my  first  care  to  put  precept  into  practice  by  a 
strenuous  endeavour  to  mitigate  the  unmitigated  evil.  Oh  for 
a  golden  magnet  to  draw  the  iron  out  of  many  a  poor  soul 
which  has  entered  as  deeply  into  mine  as  into  those  of  most 
men ;  but  it  is  a  sore  we  like  to  keep  “  inwards,”  for  all  the 
sympathetic  poulticing  that  draws  it  out  will  not  remove  it, 
hence,  Cui  bono  ?— An  Old  BOy. 
August  28,  1902. 
Gathering  Tomatoes. 
The  advice  which  “  W.  R.  Raillem”  criticises  on  “Gather¬ 
ing  Tomatoes,”  given  by  me  on  page  164  is  not  so  wide  of  the 
mark  as  he  implies.  My  advice  referred  to  the  outdoor  plants 
which  most  people  naturally  wish  tp  make  the  most  of  by  net 
allowing  the  fruits  to  hang  too  long.  The  reasons  might  have 
been  given,  which  are,  that  ripe  fruits  are  subject  to  cracking 
if  kept  hanging  when  the  plants  are  still  being  freely  watered 
and  fed  for  the  benefit  of  later  fruits.  It  is  quite  true  that 
the  perfect  flavour  of  Tomatoes  is  best  secured  by  gathering 
them  direct  from  the  plants  when  fully  ripe.  I  have  often 
recommended  this  method  of  acquiring  a  taste  for  Tomatoes 
to  non-lovers  of  the  fruit. — East  Kent. 
Baths  for  Bothies. 
I  am  pleased  to  read  of  your  proposed  prizes  kindly  offered 
for  the  best  plan  of  a  bothy ;  it  will  give  our  young  men  a  chance 
who  have  studied  drawing,  and  so  made  good  use  of  spare 
moments.  I  would  like  to  remind  all  who  contemplate  competing 
that  one  seldom  sees  a  bath-room  provided.  I,  therefore, 
earnestly  trust'  all  will  put  such  in  their  plans.  Unfortunately, 
this  has  been  sadly  neglected  by  those  responsible  at  the  time 
when  many  of  our  bothies  were  built,  and,  as  a  bath-room  takes 
up  so  little  space,  I  hope  that  all  who  can  see  their  way  to  do 
so  will  add  such  a  desirable  compartment.  I  am  sure  all  young 
men  in  a  garden  ought  to  be  very  clean  and  smart'  in  personal 
appearance,  and  they  may  work  better  for  the  addition  of  a 
bath-room. — A.  J.  L.,  Tyfold  Court  Gardens,  Reading. 
Gardening  in  the  Transvaal. 
It.  appears  from  a  letter  published  in  a  Glasgow  newspaper, 
from  a  gardener  recently  gone  from  there  to  fill  an  appointment 
in  Johannesburg,  that  the  look  out  for  gardening  is  not  so  bad 
as  one  would  expect,  after  a  period  of  nearly  three  years  of 
war  in  the  country.  The  Avriter  expresses  surprise  to  find 
gardening  establishments  very  little  the  Avorse  of  the  ravages 
of  war,  and  says  that  they  are  in  much  the  same  state  as  in 
this  country.  This  state  of  things  must  be  exceedingly  gratify¬ 
ing  to  every  one,  and  more  especially  to  those  Avho  have  already 
made  up  their  minds  on  the  question  of  sooner  or  later  going 
thence  in  pursuit  of  their  fortunes.  That  the  home  profession 
can  well  afford  to  spare  a  feAV  is  very  apparent  from  the 
melancholy  state  of  matters  elicited  by  the  letter  of  “  Never 
Despair  ”  in  this  week’s  Journal.  There  is  an  old  saying,  and 
we  think  it  is  full  of  wisdom,  “  If  you  have  discovered  that  your 
existence  in  the  Mother  Country  is  one  too  many,  emigrate ;  if 
not,  stay  at  home  where  you  will  more  likely  prove  the  better 
citizen.”  Notwithstanding,  we  Avould  seriously  advise  those 
who  find  the  horticultural  bands  daily  tightening,  to  make 
strenuous  efforts  to  reach  the  paradisical  shores  of  South  Africa. 
The  letter  referred  to  gives  graphic  accounts  of  the  genial  nature 
of  the  climate,  and  inferring  from  the  rapid  growth  of  things, 
little  of  the  mental  troubles,  incidental  to  the  home  groAyer, 
need  ever  ruffle  his  happiness  or  tend  to  hasten  his  dissolution. 
Trees  and  shrubs  planted  only  ten  years,  we  learn  froni  the 
Avriter,  iioav  stand  from  30ft  to  40ft  in  height.  At  the  time  of 
writing,  being  midwinter,  Acacias  of  the  same  height  were 
blooming  profusely,  as  Avere  also  Roses,  Pelargoniums,  Peach 
trees,  and  countless  other  no  less  interesting  plants.  The  frosts, 
if  any,  do  not  in  the  least  injure  them.  Fruits  of  all  kinds  seem 
to  be  abundant ;  Oranges  and  Lemons  cover  the  trees,  ripen  and 
waste.  Vegetables  groAv  well,  much  better  than  in  Scotland. 
They  comprise  the  usual  class  groAvn  in  every  home  garden. 
They  are,  however,  very  dear,  for  a  Cabbage  or  a  CaulifloAver 
realizes  from  Is.  to  Is.  6d.  in  the  market.  This  truly  must  be 
the  heaven  of  the  much-to-be-pitied  market  gardener.  Gardeners 
there  do  not  use  the  Avater  pot,  all  watering  being  done  by  a 
species  of  irrigation.  A  Avater  reservoir  is  placed  in  a  con¬ 
venient  part  of  the  garden,  and  from  which,  at  pleasure,  the 
Avater  is  conveyed  in  open  drains  all  over  the  garden.  These 
conduits  are  stopped  Avhere  necessary,  and  the  Avater  rises  and 
covers  the  ground.  Food  is,  however,  double  what  is  paid  for 
at  home,  and  most  other  things  are  proportionately  dear.  The 
coolie  makes  a  very  good  worker,  and  the  Indian  a  very  excel¬ 
lent  cook.  In  consideration  of  such  an  outlet  for  the  damped 
enthusiasm  of  the  faithful  genera  who  have  been  sedulously 
imbibing  the  mysteries  of  Euclid’s  self-eArident  truths  and  pons 
asinorum  to  boot,  truly  this  is  a  fertile  field  for  the  full  employ¬ 
ment  of  all  they  have  acquired  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the 
triangular  of  a  circular  parterre  or  the  squaring  of  a  Cyclus. 
A  marginless  country  like  the  fertile  regions  of  South  Africa — 
ought,  we  divine,  conduce  to  every  active  or  latent  talent  being 
fully  and  capably  exercised.  HoAvever,  we  may  be  tolerated  to 
say  this  much,  in  the  form  of  a  rider.  “Learn,  learn  ye  devils, 
but  dinna’  get  conceited,  for  sometimes  it  interferes  with  the 
bread  and  butter,  and  that  is  a  bad  look  out  for  the  wife  and 
weens.”  The  dingling  sound  of  triangles  and  a  sic  unchristian,. 
