284^ 
JOURNAL  OR  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
March  31,  1904. 
vinia,  and  from  a  botanical  point  of  view  tliej-  are  extremely 
intere.stino;.  Pilularia  globniifera  occurs  on  the  edges  of  marshes 
in  Great  Britain,  and  has  long  grass-like  leaves ;  Azolla  folicn- 
laris  spreads  rapidly  in  open-air  water  tanks,  and  from  two  or 
three  plants  (they  are  about  the  size  of  a  threepenny-piece  and 
float  on  the  water)  tossed  into  a  tank  at  Barr’s  Long  Ditton 
nurseries,  thousands  of  plants  have  multiplied  until  now  the 
water  can  scarcely  he  seen.  They  are  thus  as  had  as  the  ill- 
favoured  little  Duckweed.  Salvinia  natans  (which  grows  with¬ 
out  roots)  is  to  he  found  throughout  the  South  of  Europe  in 
pools,  and  is  cultivated  in  the  I>ily-house  at  Kew,  and  in  many 
other  gardens  and  nurseries.  La.stly,  the  species  of  IMarsilea  are 
very  widely  spread  in  tempei’ate  and  hot  climates,  and  are  suh- 
aquatic.  In  the  temperate  fern-house  at  Kew  there  are  plants 
on  one  of  the  stages,  of  the  species  IM.  macra.  These  are  grow¬ 
ing  in  an  ordinary  loam  compost,  and  succeed  admirably.  Theii- 
appearance  is  very  much  like  that  of  a  large  Trifolium,  only 
that  the  two  pairs  of  leaflets  (arranged  in  a  cross)  are  felted 
with  silvery  hairs.  Each  pair  of  leaflets  is  borne  on  a  stalk  Gin 
to  9in  long. 
These  water-ferns  are  always  included  with  plants  spoken 
of  as  “  fern  allies,”  along  with  the  Equisetums,  Selaginellas  and 
Lycopodiums,  and  they  have  been  the  subject  of  considerable 
disciussion  from  time  to  time.  Eor  small  aquaria  or  for  green¬ 
house  tanks  they  are  interesting  plants,  hut  the  gardener  with¬ 
out  some  knowledge  of  botany  would  doubtless  see  nothing 
either  of  beauty  or  interest  in  them. 
Pteris  semipinaata. 
The  name  is  an  index  to  the  character  of  the  fronds  of  this 
species,  hut  a  true  idea  of  the  anomalous  growth  can  hardly  he 
portrayed  in  words.  The  fronds  are  14ft  to  2ft  high,  slender, 
with  black  rachis,  and  dark  green  pinnules.  But  these  pinnules 
or  leaflets  are  only  borne  on  one  side  of  the  stalk  :  the  fronds  are 
literally  one-sided,  as  the  name  implies.  The  top  three  or  four 
inches  of  each  fi'ond  is  piniTate  on  both  sides,  and  clo.sely  I'esemhles 
the  fronds  of  Blechnum  occidentale;  hut  lower  than  these  few 
inches  they  become  one-sidedly  pinnate.  It  is  a  very  graceful 
fern,  and  deserves  sirecial  notice. 
Cheilanthes  mypiophylla  e'egans. 
'Cheilanthes  represents  a  genus  of  very  elegant  ferns,  of 
which  .some  .sixty  species  are  now  known.  They  vary  consider¬ 
ably,  and  members  from  what  were  lately  described  as  distinct 
genera,  have  been  placed  under  Cheilanthes.  Alost  of  the 
species  and  varieties  are  either  ^A■oolly  oi'  covered  by  a  fine 
powder,  and  they  do  not  thrive  when  their  fi'onds  are  sprinkled 
with  water.  A\  atering  must  at  all  times  he  carefully  attended 
to,  for  if  the  plants  are  allowed  to  become  dry  tire  fronds  curl  up 
and  die.  The  divisions  of  the  pinnules  in  the  sjiecies  named 
above  are  very  minute,  and  the  frond  has  a  delicately  light 
anpearance  that  surpasses  even  the  finest  Gymnogrammak  The 
Cheilanthes  are  not  always  easy  to  cultivate. — J.  H.  D. 
» 
The  Cultivation  ol  Vegetables, 
The  following  paper  was  read  before  the  Woking  (Sui'rey) 
Horticultural  Society  by  Mr.  G.  Carpenter,  The  Gardens,  West 
Hall,  Byfleet  : — All  of  us  are  aware  of  the  importance  of  growing 
good  vegetables,  not  especially  for  exhibition,  but  for  general 
use.  It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  every  gardener  that  he 
should  keep  up  a  continuous  su]3ply  of  good  vegetables  for  his 
employer’s  table.  No  matter  the  size  of  the  establishment, 
vegetables  must  be  had  ;  and  in  nearly  all  cases  it  falls  to  the  lot 
of  the  gardener  to  provide  them.  Everyone  with  expfu  ience  will 
know  how  difficult  it  is  at  times  to  keep  up  the  supply.  This  is 
especially  the  case  with  some  gardeners  when  they  are  cramped 
for  room  or  when  their  gardens  are  undermanned. 
One  of  the  greatest  mistakes  made  when  planning  out  a 
kitchen  garden  is  to  plant  standard  fruit  trees  here  and  thei’e 
on  the  vegetable  ground.  This  may  be  all  right  for  the  fii’st 
year  or  tAvo,  hut  afteiuvards  the  trees  overshadoAv  the  ground, 
and  make  it  impossible  to  groAv  good  vegetables.  The  ground 
cannot  be  too  open  and  free  from  shade,  although  any  shelter 
from  north  and  ea.st  would  be  very  beneficial.'  Many  gardens 
hav'e  come  under  my  notice  in  AA'hich  the  groAA'ing  of  vegetables 
to  perfection  has  been  rendered  impossible  0A\ing  to  the  ground 
l)eing  smothered  AA’ith  Apple,  Pear,  and  Plum  trees.  The  gar¬ 
dener,  hoAvever,  has  been  expected  to  send  in  a  regular  supply 
of  good  vegetables  in  their  sea.sons. 
It  i.s  not  always  an  easy  thing  to  supply  an  establishment  AA'ith 
vegetables  all  the  year  round  Avithout  a*  break,  even  if  one  has 
every  convenience  and  plenty  of  open  space.  Scores  of  things 
maj'^  happen  to  damage  or  ruin  the  particular  ciop.  The  gar¬ 
dener  s  troubles  do  not  ahvays  end  after  a  crop  has  been  groAA  ii, 
tor  he  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  cooking  of  them.  All  of  us 
knoAA'  hoAA'  important  it  is  that  vegetables  should  he  properly 
cooked  Are  they  ahvays  cooked  as  they  should  he  P  I  am  afaid 
not.  If  they  were,  I  am  .sure  so  many  complaints  AAould  not 
leach  the  gardener  about  his  Amgetahle.';.  To  take  a  f(‘\A' 
examples  that  liaAm  come  to  my  notice.  Potatoes  for  cooking  at 
night  have  been  prepared  in  the  morning,  and  left  in  AAater  all 
day.  Could  anyone  expect  a  good  Potato  after  that?  The  gar¬ 
dener  Avould  be  informed  that  the  Potatoes  Avere  not  good. 
Peas  also  AAere  treated  in  the  same  AA  ay — shelled  in  the  morning, 
and  left  all  day  to  get  dry.  Little  AAonder,  AA’hen  cooked  at 
night,  that  they  Avere  not  satisfactory.  Again,  the  gardener 
Avould  he  informed  that  his  Peas  AA  ere  too  old.  Celery  is  another 
vegetable  that  is  badlv  treated.  If  prepared  as  soon  as  taken  in 
in  the  morning  and  placed  in  pure  AA'ater  until  AA  anted  it  Avill  be 
ciisp  and  delicious  ;  but  AA’liat  a  difference  if,  as  is  frequently  the 
case,  it  is  left  out  of  AAater  until  just  before  it  is  AAanted  for 
the  table;  it  is  then  toAigh  and  hard,  and  not  like  the  same 
vegetable.  The  poor  gardener  again  is  blamed.  I  might  give 
more  examples,  but  these  are  sufficient  to  .sIaoaa’  AA'hat  I  mean. 
Do  not  think,  hoAA  ever,  that  the  cook  is  alAA  ays  to  blame.  By 
no  means.  The  gardener  often  has  his  faults,  but  I  do  think 
that  some  of  the  mistakes  made  in  the  kitchen  do  not  rest  on 
the  right  shoulders.  My  experience  in  this  matter  teaches  me 
that  the  last  person  to  be  unfriendiv  Avith  is  the  cook.  Take 
my  advice,  and  ahA  ays  he  good  friends  AA-ith  her  ;  her  friendship 
is  Avorth  looking  after,  although  so  hard  to  obtain. 
As  an  ideal  site  for  a  kitchen  garden,  I  should  prefer  a  piece 
of  ground  sloping  gently  to  the  .south,  AA’ith  some  kind  of  protec¬ 
tion  on  the  north  and  east.  All  bush  fruits,  as  Currants,  Goose¬ 
berries,  Ac.,  .should  have^a  place  to  themselves,  and  not  be  dotted 
about  here  and  there  all  or^er  the  ground.  When  all  together, 
they  are  more  easily  netted  over  AA’hen  in  fruit,  and  in  the 
AA’inter  it  is  much  easier  to  keep  the  birds  from  the  bxids,  Ac. 
The  soil,  for  preference,  should  he  a  rich  sandy  loam,  but  of 
course  Ave  have  to  put  up  AA’ith  AA’hat  Ave  can  get.  If  the  soil  is 
not  to  our  liking,  we  mu.st  do  our  best  to  improve  it.  A  stiff 
and  heaA^y  clay  is  about  the  Avovst  to  deal  Avith,  but  even  that 
can  be  made  to  groAV  some  of  the  best  vegetables  if  sufficient 
labour  is  expended  on  it  to  bring  it  into  good  Avorking  order. 
I  have  not  the  time,  even  if  I  Avi.shed,  to  deal  Avith  each  separate 
vegetable  .singly.  I  propose  to  deal  Avith  them  in  a  more  general 
Avay,  AA’hich  I  think  Avill  lie  more  irseful,  my  motto  being:  “  Good 
vegetables,  and  plenty  of  them.” 
I  believe  that  good  vegetables,  fit  even  for  exhibition,  can  be 
groAvn  AA’ithout  going  to  such  lengths  as  are  recommended  bv 
some  of  our  experts.  Not  one  gardener  in  ten  could  follow  their 
instructions  AA’ithout  neglecting  something  else,  and  this  has 
been  the  doAvnfall  of  many  exhibitors.  Scarlet  Runners,  they 
say,  .should  have  a  trench  tAvo  feet  deep  and  the  same  Avide  dug 
out  for  them.  This  should  lie  filled  AA’ith  good  Avell-decayed 
manure,  some  of  the  soil  replaced,  and  the  plants,  previously 
groAvn  in  pots,  should  be  iilanted  in  this  prejiared  bed  of  manure, 
for  AA’e  can  call  it  nothing  else.  Leeks  and  Onions  are  other 
expensive  vegetables  to  groAV  for  sIioaa’.  The  labour  spent  on 
them  is  enormous.  I  do  not  think  I  should  be  far  Avrong  in  esti¬ 
mating  the  co.st  of  each  Onion  or  liCek,  reckoning  from  the 
time  the  seed  is  soAvn  to  the  time  they  are  placed  on  the 
exhibition  table,  to  be  5s.  It  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  the 
right  thing  to  recommend,  such  costly  cultivation.  It  is  all  very 
Avell  from  an  exhibitor’s  point  of  AueAv.  but  only  a  very  feAV  of  the 
large  aimy  of  A^egetable  groAvers  I'eallv  go  in  for  exhibiting.  I 
think  the  aim  of  such  societies  as  this  should  be  the  advancement 
of  horticulture,  and  I  cannot  think  that  the  practice  of  some  of 
our  experts  tends  in  that  direction.  I  am  positive  that 
thoroAighly  good  A^egetables,  fit  for  exhibiting,  can  be  groAAn 
AA’ithout  all  this  exti'a  special  trouble. 
Is  it  not  a  mistake  to  endeavour  to  groAv  such  large  vege¬ 
tables?  Quality  is  often  pa.ssed  over  for  size  by  some  of  our 
best-knoAvn  judges.  This,  I  say,  is  not  as  it  should  be.  Mode¬ 
rately-sized,  AA’ell-groAvn  vegetables  are  much  preferable  to  large, 
overgroAvn  .stuff,  fit  onlv  to  look  at.  Some  vegetables,  of  course, 
are  not  spoilt  by  their  size.  I  am  pleased  to  see  that  some 
people  are  beginning  to  take  up  this  subject  of  “  size  versus 
quality.”  If  they  can  he  combined,  then  I  have  nothing  to  say 
again.st  it,  hut  hoAv  seldom  one  sees  them  together. 
I  once  kneAV  an  exhibitor  of  veeetahles,  aa’Iio  ahvays  said 
good  vegetables  AAOuld  lealise  good  prices  in  the  nAarket, 
and  that  AA’heji  he  retired  fiom  serA'ice  he  intended  still  to  gro.A’ 
vegetables  in  the  same  manner  as  he  did  for  shoAV.  The  oppor¬ 
tunity  came  for  him,  and  he  started  to  groAV  for  market.  He 
soon  found  out,  hoAAever.  that  all  special  extras  must  be  left 
out,  and  that  he  must  gf)  in  for  a  more  general  Avay  of  ei'OAA’incr. 
getting  cpiality  and  ouantity  combined  .as  far  as  nracticable,  AA’ith 
(|uick  crops,  never  alloAA’ing  the  ground  to  be  idle.  It  seems  to 
nie  to  bo  useless  to  try  and  teach  people  to  groAV  vegetables  in  a 
certain  AA  ay  if  it  cannot  be  done  in  practice  and  be  made  to  pav- 
The  same  applit's  to  jAiivate  gardens;  good  vegetables  and  plenty 
of  them  are  AA’hat  is  AA  anted. 
(To  be  continued.) 
Our  Sprixo  Nujiber. — Mr.  Geo.  Abbey  AAriting  on  March  IG, 
says: — “May  I  compliment  you  on  your  Spring  Number?  It  is 
one  of  the  best  I  have  seen.”  *  *  Another  correspondent 
AA’i’ites: — “Many  aaIII  echo  the  sentiments  of  “K.”  regarding  the 
Sprins:  Number  cf  the  Juvinal,  and  none  more  heartily  than — ,S., 
from  Scotland.” 
