January  14,  1904. 
JOURNAL  CF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
37 
Horticultural  Club :  Experimental  Gardens  of  the  Future. 
Subsequent  to  tlie  usual  monthly  dinner  of  the  above  club, 
I'.old  on  Tuesday,  the  5th  inst.,  at  the  Hotel  Windsor,  under 
the  chairmanshp  of  Mr.  Harry  J.  Veitch,  Mr.  George  Gordon, 
V.M.H.,  in  a  very  interesting  paper,  gave  expression  to  his  views 
as  to  the  lines  upon  which  experimental  gardens  should  be 
conducted.  The  large  majority  of  horticultural  societies,  out- 
shle  the  “Royal,”  took,  he  con.sidered  far  too  narrow  views  of 
their  functions,  confining  themselves  almost  entirely  to  exhibi¬ 
tions,  and  doing  little  or  nothing  to  contribute  to  experimental 
linowledge.  Mr.  Gordon  considered  that  a  minimum  area  of 
about  thirty  acres  should  be  devoted,  in  various  parts  of  the 
country,  to  the  cultivation  of  fruits  and  vegetables  in  conjnnc- 
t’on  Avith  standard  types  of  recognised  superiority,  without  which 
little  is  to  be  learnt.  A  garden  on  these  lines  would  then  form  | 
same.  The  various  forms  of  training  shoidd  also  be  shown  on 
up-to-date  lines  for  educational  purposes,  and  new  things 
shojild  be  tested  side  by  side  with  old  ojies  and  under  .same 
conditions  to  secure  fair  comparison  of  merits.  Mr.  Bunyard 
and  Mr.  S.  T.  Wright  remarked  that  the  experiments  at 
ChisAvick  had  been  conducted  for  some  time  precisely  on  the 
lines  indicated,  at  the  same  time  they  and  others  cordially 
appreciated  the  necessity  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Gordon  that 
students  Avho  really  mean  to  adopt  horticulture  as  a  profession 
must  begin  at  the  bottom,  and  be  prepared  to  Avork  hard, 
and  to  keep  early  hours.  "Too  great  a  tendency  was  pointed 
out  in  the  students  to  treat  the  business  in  a  dilettante  fashion, 
Avhich  Avould  never  result  in  horticultural  laurels — at  any  rate, 
of  the  honourable  type.  To  a  very  large  extent  indeed,  the 
moral  of  the  paper  was  the  need  of  thoroughness  first  of  all  in 
I  arranging  the  proper  basis  of  the  experiments  themselves,  next 
DoubIe=fIowered  Cherry'. 
an  educative  centre  for  attendant  students.  The  cultivation 
of  inferior  forms  Avas  strongly  deprecated  ;  but  in  the  subsequent 
discussion,  in  Avhich  Messrs.  Bunyard,  Monro,  AVright,  Bilney, 
H.  Veitch,  and  Molyneux  took  part,  it  AA  as  pointed  out  that  in 
this  latter  respect  the  public  were  largely  to  blame,  since  they 
AA'ould  not  accept  the  experts’  assurance  of  superiority  of 
certain  varieties,  but  insisted  on  receiving  old-fashioned  and 
inferior  ones  Avhich  consequently  had  to  be  groAAii  to  meet  the 
demands.  The  importance  of  making  all  comparative  trials  on 
the  same  kind  of  soil  Avas  insisted  upon  as  very  misleading. 
My.  Gordon  also  advised  care  in  soAving  seeds,  say,  of  suc- 
cessional  Peas  at  different  times,  but  Mr.  Bunyard  stated  that 
in  his  experience  seed  of  early,  medium,  and  late  Peas,  all  soAvn 
at  the  same  time  in  Febrimry,  asserted  their  periodicity  all  the 
in  carrying  them  out  and  making  systematic  records  of  results, 
and  lastly,  but  not  leastly,  of  earnest  A\ork  and  conscientious 
study  on  the  part  of  the  young  men  whom  it  is  desired  to 
educate  as  the  gardeners  of  the  future. 
D0UBLE-FI.0AVERED  Cherry. — The  above  illustration  depicts 
a  brancblet  of  this  beautiful  floAvering  tree — a  tree,  happily,  that 
is  Avell  knoAvn.  It  is  a  most  effective  tree  for  the  ornamental 
grounds,  or  for  small  villa  gardens.  Prunus  pseudo-cerasus 
Watereri  is  another  fine  A'ariety,  Avith  pink  floAvers ;  and  the 
recently  introduced  James  H.  Veitch  is  also  charming,  the  floAvers 
being  intense  deep  rose.  The  trees  like  a  fairly  moist  Avarm  soil 
and  .sunny  situation. 
