September  4,  1902.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
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and  that  circumstances  had  given  us  opportunities  for  it  to 
have  acquired,  as  it  were,  a  rounder,  and  more  delicate  flavour. 
Does  it  not  appear  to  “  Kepouros  ”  (we  really  wish  he  had 
adopted  a  more  intelligible  nom  de  plume)  that  the  palliative — 
savouring  of  wormwood — -which  lie  suggests  to  the  “  faithful 
genera”  (men  who  are  on  their  beam  ends,  and  who,  when  in 
regular  employ,  have  been  privileged  to  earn  barely  more  than 
sufficient  to  buy  the  necessaries  of  life,  with  the  addition,  perhaps, 
of  a  few  valued  books,  leaving  just  a  margin  for  sickness  and  mis¬ 
fortune)  that  palliative,  I  say,  is  a  trifle  “  unchristianlike,”  I 
might  almost  say  gratuitously  insulting  to  them. 
Time  and  again  we  are  told  by  those  best  qualified  to  know, 
that  it  is  not  the  skilled  artisan,  or  the  clever  professional,  who  are 
wanted  in  South  Africa,  but  the  man  with  at  least  some  few 
hundreds  capital.  Horticulture  (I  do  not  mean  that  kind  which 
grows  Cauliflowers  at  Is.  (kl.  a  time,  although  the  exigencies  of 
bread  and  butter  for  the  wife  and  weens  may  compel  us 
to  resort  to  it,  and  which  in  no  way  do  we  wish  to 
pooh,  pooh)  horticulture,  I  take  it,  is  the  natural  out¬ 
growth  of  a  prosperous,  not  to  say  luxurious  age,  and  which, 
from  the  professional  point  of  view  constitutes  its  great  weak¬ 
ness.  When  the  Rhodes,  Beits,  Bamatos,  Ac.,  have  made  their 
millions,  they  commence  buying  or  building  mansions,  acquiring 
estates  and  works  of  art,  and  forming  gardens,  but  mark  you, 
not  in  South  Africa,  nor  are  there  yet  any  indications  of  them  so 
doing.  Those  who  are  in  South  Africa  are  there  not  with  the 
idea  of  spending  money,  but  of  making  it,  either  out  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  or  out  of  other  peoples’  labour — this  latter 
infinitely  the  easier  plan  to  the  capitalist.  Even  in'  America,  a 
country  of  much  older  growth,  it  is  only  within  recent  years  there 
has  been  so  much  progress  in  the  direction  of  high-class  garden¬ 
ing.  Of  course,  it  might  be  that  our  horticultural  emigrant 
would  be’  content  to  find  temporary  employment  underground  in 
that  horticultural  paradise  (I  believe  white  men  are  now  being 
given  a  monopoly  in  that  kind  of  work  at  5s.  a  day,  and  which 
sum,  I  am  told,  will  purchase  a  very  respectable  dinner,  I  don’t 
want  any  awkward  questions  asked  about  the  other  meals),  and 
in  which  work,  although  intimately  connected  with  the  soil,  he 
would  hardly  find  bearing  for  his  “  Cabbage-like  learning,”  but 
we  reflect,  had  he  “  sedulously  imbibed  ”  of  the  waters  of  geological 
and  perhaps  metallurgical  research,  he  might  much  sooner  be 
in  a  position  to  acquire  the  necessary  capital  for  his  big  horti¬ 
cultural  effort.  To  some  of  us,  eminently  practical  perhaps  in 
other  respects,  gardening  is  not  altogether  a  means  of  obtaining 
bread  and  butter,  but  a  kind  of  terrestrial  heaven,  in  which  we 
find  a  species  of  happiness  unobtainable  outside  of  it,  and  the 
thought  of  an  existence  other  than  along  the  road  on  which  we 
have  been  travelling,  and  at  the  end  of  which  we  hope  to  attain 
our  ideal,  or  something  approaching  it,  would  be  extremely 
painful,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  we  keep  pushing  on  and — ■ 
Never  Despair. 
Horticultural  Lecturing  and  Judging. 
As  autumn  is  now  fast  approaching  when  County  Councils  and 
other  bodies  will  be  busy  selecting  men  as  horticultural  lecturers, 
I  think  this  an  opportune  time  to  impress  upon  them  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  selecting  men  of  practical  experience,  consequently  who 
know  what  they  are  talking  about.  Of  course,  I  am  fully  aware 
that  the  great  majority  of  men  so  engaged  are  the  right  men  in 
the  right  place ;  at  the  same  time  I  have  in  my  mind  an  instance 
of  a  man  engaged  by  a  public  body  in  the  Midlands  to  go  about 
lecturing  on  horticulture  to  amateurs  and  cottagers,  and  who  even 
has  the  audacity  to  judge  at  flower  shows,  who  never  had  a 
month’s  training  in  a  good  garden  in  his  life,  neither  amongst 
vegetables,  fruit  (inside  or  out), nor  yet  the  simplest  forms  of 
stove  or  greenhouse  plants.  That  these  public  bodies  are  inno¬ 
cent  of  any  intention  of  selecting  any  but  the  best  men  I  verily 
believe,  but  not,  in  many  instances,  being  practical  horticul¬ 
turists  themselves,  they  are  too’  often  carried  away  by  high 
sounding  titles,  the  “  gassy  ”  utterances  and  assuming  manners 
of  applicants,  instead  of  subjecting  them  to  a  severe  practical 
test,  in  which  case  their  ignorance  would  be  demonstrated,  and 
amateurs  and  cottagers  would  be  saved  the  trouble  of  listening 
to  men  whose  horticultural  knowledge  is  less  than  their  own. 
The  same  remarks  apply  to  judging  at  flower  shows,  I  mean  the 
smaller  flower  shows  ;  because  I  know  the  larger  ones  are  managed 
by  men  of  experience,  whose  judges  are  experts  at  growing  the 
things  they  are  called  upon  to  judge  ;  but  not  always  so  at  these 
smaller  shows,  which  are  often  managed  by  men  of  business,  who 
have  a  commendable  love  for  their  garden,  and  are  ardent 
supporters  of  horticulture.  These  men,  I  have  no  doubt,  are 
sometimes  unintentionally  carried  away  by  the  alluring  title  of 
F.R.H.S.,  Ac.,  hence  the  mistakes  occur  that  I  have  alluded  to, 
mistakes  which,  in  the  interest  of  horticulture,  it  is  always  wise 
to  avoid.  The  importance  of  a  wise  expenditure  of  public  money, 
and  the  putting  of  the  right  men  in  the  right  place,  is  my  only 
excuse  for  troubkng  ycu  with  this  epistle. — Horticulturist. 
The  Destruction  of  Unhealthy  Plants. 
Mr.  J.  Ollerhead,  an  old  Journal  correspondent,  whose  paper 
on  the  Microscope  may  have  been  read  with  interest  by  many, 
writes  as  follows: — “I  would  be  glad  to  know  if  any  of  your 
readers  has  any  experience  with  the  pests  Macrobiotics  Hufelandi 
and  the  Oribata  demersa,  which  are  quite  new  garden  enemies  to 
me.  At  the  same  time  I  have  been  for  years  convinced  that 
thousands  of  plants  are  annually  consigned  to  the  rubbish  heap 
both  by  gardeners  and  nurserymen,  and  too  often  a  great  many  of 
them  of  considerable  value,  and  that  without  knowing  the  cause 
of  their  disease  or  unhealthy  condition.  The  cultivator,  or  the 
man  in  charge  of  them,  gets  the  credit  of  neglect  or  unscrupulous 
use  of  the  water-pot,  whereas,  if  the  plants  were  submitted  to 
a  thorough  investigation  of  the  microscope,  the  hidden  mysteries 
of  insects  or  disease  would  be  revealed  in  such  a  way  that  would 
exonerate  the  cultivator  from  the  slightest  tinge  of  blame.  If 
you  think  it  worth  while  to  ventilate  this  through  your  columns, 
it  may  be  the  means  of  benefiting  both  the  employer  and  culti¬ 
vator,  and  cause  the  former  to  make  a  closer  investigation  before 
blaming  the  latter,  and  thus  do  a  public  service  in  the  right  direc¬ 
tion.  ’  Has  Mr.  Abbey,  or  any  scientific  reader,  any  experience 
with  the  subjects  named  by  our  correspondent  ? 
High  Jinks  in  Ireland. 
I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  O’Neill  !  That  puts  us  right  at  start¬ 
ing.  But  is  it  possible?  Can  it  be,  I  wonder?  Ahem!  Ex¬ 
cuse  my  “  imperence,”  but  is  there  not  a  little — a  very  “  leetle  ” 
mistake  anent  that  picture  of  Cordyline  australis,  on' page  205? 
I  hear  that  you  have  had  high  jinks  in  Ireland.  Your  unique 
horse  show ;  your  admirable  flower  show ;  fine  sport  on  your 
splendid  new  racecourse  at  Ashtown  ;  good  running  on  the  ex¬ 
cellent  old  one-  at  Leopardstown ;  and  a  new  Lord-Lieutenant  you 
have  got,  or,  at  least,  will  have  him  when  you  get  him.  Why 
tarried  the  wheels  of  his  Excellency’s  chariot  when  he  was  so  much 
wanted  for  the  gala  week?  Oh!  it  was  rare  old  times,  I  hear, 
and  what  with  “  purty  ”  colleens  hovering  about,  poteen  flying 
around,  and  elegant  Potatoes  at  sixpence  per  stone,  small  wonder 
that  the  littlest  of  little  errors  might  creep  into  Irish  correspon¬ 
dence.  But,  mind,  I  don’t  say  it  did ;  yet,  certain  sure,  that 
Cordyline  australis  both  in  foliage  and  flower  is  different  to  the 
many  fine  specimens  seen  during  a  prolonged  visit  to  the  Emerald 
Isle.  The  foliage,  as  depicted,  is  so  much  like  Dracaena  Linden! 
(stove  plant),  and  the  flower  spike  so  much  unlike  those  heavy, 
drooping,  massive,  ramified  heads  usually  borne  by  D.  australis, 
that  I  think — I  thought’ — it  possible,  just  barely  possible,  you 
know,  that  a  little,  very  little,  error  had  crept  in.  Then,  too, 
the  camera,  I  have  been  told,  is  an  awful  1 - r.  It  is,  I  believe, 
not  guiltless  of  telling  a  few,  judging  from  the  view'  taken  of 
a  small  pond,  where  each  yard  of  its  length  appears  as  a  mile  in 
the  photo.  Anyway,  I  don’t  want  any  blackthorns  humming 
around,  so  if  I  am  wrong,  I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  O’Neill,  and 
that  puts  us  right  at  the  finish. — Quiz. 
Plan  Drawing  Competition. 
Enclosed  is  an  advanced  copy  of  our  competition  for  under 
gardeners  for  next  year.  Whereas  the  piece  of  ground  last  year 
was  20  acres,  that  this  year  is  about  3  acres.  I  found  that  last 
year  some  people  read  the  description  as  indicating  an  actual 
piece  of  ground.  Both  last  year  and  this  year  the  plan  is  wholly 
imaginary.  I  shall  be  very  glad  if  you  will  again  make  this 
matter  public  in  the  interest  of  the  young  men  for  whom  the 
competition  is  intended. — P.  Murray  Thomson,  Secretary  to 
the  Royal  Caledonian  Horticultural  Society,  5,  York  Place, 
Edinburgh. 
We  print  the  instructions  for  the  plan  competition  as 
follows: — “For  a  plan,  drawn  to  scale  (16ft  to  inch),  for  laying 
out  a  piece  of  ground  about  3  acres  in  extent,  as  shovrn  on  the 
sketch  plan,  which  the  secretary  can  supply  on  application  to 
him.  The  dotted  contour  lines  show  the  elevations,  in  feet,  of 
the  ground  to  be  laid  out  and  of  the  adjoining  properties.  The 
ground  is  to  be  laid  out  suitably  for  a  suburban  residence  garden. 
The  glass  may  be  conservatory,  forcing-house,  and  cool  green¬ 
house,  with  the  necessary  frames,  heated  or  unheated ;  and  the 
fruit  house  is  to  be  either  vinery  or  Peach  house,  in  the  option  of 
the  competitor.  A  lodge  may  be  provided  as  a  gardener’s  house, 
or  a  gardener’s  house  may  be  placed  otherwise,  or  in  addition  to  a 
lodge.  The  estimated  cost  of  laying  out  is  not  asked  for  on  this 
occasion,  but  in  future  it  will  probably  be  required.  First,  60s.  ; 
second,  40s. ;  third,  20s.  The  first  and  second  prizes  are  given 
by  Sir  John  Gilmour,  Bart..  Montgrave,  and  the  third  prize  by 
the  society.  On  each  plan  there  should  be  a  short  explanatory 
key.  Each  plan  and  description  must  bear  a  motto  and  be 
accompanied  by  a  sealed  envelope  bearing  the  same  motto  and 
enclosing  the  competitor’s  name  and  address.  All  plans  for  this 
competition  must  be  in  the  hands  of  the  secretary,  Mr.  P.  Murray 
Thomson,  5,  York  Place,  Edinburgh,  not  later  than  April  1,  1903.” 
