503 
December  3,  1903 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE 
hands  of  an  expert  grower  the  ever-ready  Clirysantheroum 
ceases  to  be  a  natural  and  becomes  an  artificial  flower — if  tbe 
term  be  accepted.  In  fact,  it  is  just  what  the  grow'er  makes  it, 
and  herein  the  charm  consists.  Under  ordinary  cultivation 
Nature  will  produce  a  Rose  perfect  in  form  and  substance,  but 
Nature  unaided  will  not  produce  a  Chrysanthemum  flower  of 
show  standard,  and  when  such  is  obtained  the  grower  knows, 
that  the  credit  belongs  very  largely  to  himself  and  his  own  skill. 
“While  this  is  so,  shows  may  be  abolished  and  prizes  withheld, 
hut  large  Chrysanthemums  wdll  be  grown  if  only  to  illustrate 
the  prowess  of  the  cultivator.  What  a  Chrysanthemum  flower 
is  depends  almost  entirely  on  the  treatment  the  plant  receives, 
and  ample  evidence  is  afforded  of  this  in  tbe  case  of  certain 
varieties  that  are  gems  w’hen  seen  on  the  showboard,  but  if 
cultivated  on  ordinary,  commonplace  lines,  they  would  hardly 
be  recognised  as  the  same. 
Coupled  with  the  possibilities  of  the  plant  are  its  glorious 
uncertainties.  Looking  back  over  the  years  that  are  past,  one 
can  see  the  part  that  the  Chrysanthemum  has  played  in  British 
floriculture;  but  who  will  be  so  bold  as  to  say  that  the  plant  is 
played  out  ?  The  development  of  cultivation  has  been  wonder¬ 
ful  ;  the  varieties  raised  almost  innumerable,  and  still  there  is 
the  future.  Who  knows  what  it  has  in  store  for  the  plant  that 
has  captivated  the  hearts  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  culti 
vators,  from  the  millionaire  on  the  one  hand,  to  the  humble 
artizan  or  labourer  with  his  home-built  greenhouse  on  the 
other?  And  the  possibilities  of  the  Chrysanthemum  are  largely 
responsible  for  it  all.  I  will  admit  the  usefulness  of  the  plant, 
its  beauty,  its  accommodating  nature,  and  all  else  that  can  be 
said  for  it;  but,  after  all,  its  present  position  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  it  is  amenable  to  cultivation,  and  readily  responds  to  the 
skill  of  the  grower. 
#  *  :!« 
It  is  not  a  far  cry  from  the  conservatory  to  the  kitchen 
garden  w'here  big  Onions  come  in  for  reproaches  at  the  hands  of 
the  critic  who  can  see  nothing  but  ugliness  in  large  vegetables. 
Yet  big  Onions  continue  to  be  grown  year  by  year.  Why  is  this? 
For  exhibition,  some  may  say,  and  in  a  measure  this  is  true,  but 
not  entirely,  as  there  are  many  who  take  a  pride  in  “  big  Onion  ” 
growing  and  never  show  them  at  all.  The  fact  is,  the  Onion  is 
in  the  vegetable  garden  what  the  Chrysanthemum  is  in  the 
floral  department,  inasmuch  that  it  is  a  plant  which  lends  itself 
to  cultivation,  and  possesses  wonderful  possibilities.  I  know 
men  who  spend  time  and  money  every  year  in  trenching  and 
manuring  and  raising  plants,  and  they  seem  to  begrudge  neither 
the  labour  nor  the  expense  that  is  bestowed  on  the  Onion  bed, 
and  it  is  all  for  tbe  satisfaction  of  obtaining  bulbs  that  will  turn 
the  scale  at  two  pounds  weight  or  more.  It  would  be  absurd  to 
say  that  big  Onions  are  grown  primarily  for  the  kitchen,  because 
bulbs  one  quarter  the  size  and  produced  at  one  quarter  the  cost 
are  more  useful  in  that  department ;  but  there  is  a  certain 
fascination  about  Onions  that  is  attractive  to  growers.  It  is  a 
plant  possessing  possibilities,  and  responds  readily  to  liberal 
treatment ;  consequently  the  enthusiastic  vegetable  grower  finds 
in  the  Onion  something  on  which  he  can  bestow  his  cultural  skill 
and  see  the  results.  It  matters  nothing  to  him  whether  the  giant 
bulbs  are  the  least  useful  and  profitable;  they  are  unique  and 
out  of  the  common,  and  in  pointing  to  them  he  is  able  to  say 
that  Dame  Nature  would  not  have  produced  them  without  his 
aid. 
*  * 
Occasionally  I  read  reports  of  the  shows  of  one  of  those 
unique  Lancashire  institutions  known  as  Gooseberry  ClubSj  and 
am  surprised  at  the  weights  and  dimensions  of  some  of  the 
berries  staged.  Long  before  critics  began  to  rail  about  size. 
Gooseberry  Clubs  existed,  and  competitors  adopted  the  many 
devices  best  known  amongst  the  Lancashire  Gooseberry  growers 
for  the  production  of  giant  fruits.  This  cult  is  confined  practi¬ 
cally  to  the  one  county,  and  many  of  the  large  berried  varieties 
originated  in  it.  It  is  generally  admitted  that  large  Gooseberries 
are  wanting  in  flavour  compared  to  smaller  varieties,  but  what 
does  the  Lancashire  weaver  care  about  that  ?  He  grows  for 
size  and  weight,  and  Gooseberries  to  him  are  what  Chrysanthe¬ 
mums  and  Onions  are  to  other  classes  of  cultivators  [?] 
In  fact,  I  mention  the  instance  as  an  illustration  of  a  plant 
possessing  possibilities,  and  those  possibilities  being  put  to  the 
test  by  enthusiastic  cultivators.  Thus  it  happens  that  certain 
subjects  amongst  fruits,  flowers,  and  vegetables  stand  out  con¬ 
spicuously  above  their  fellows  in  general  popularity.  They  may 
have  beauty  or  usefulness  to  recommend  them,  but  above  all 
they  will  generally  be  found  to  possess  possibilities,  either  in 
their  adaptability  to  development  at  the  hands  of  cultivators, 
or  their  readiness  to  respond  to  the  skill  of  the  hybridiser.  In 
AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
short,  to'  the  gardener,  possibility  is  a  word  with  a  meaning. 
In  almost  everything  he  does,  he  sees  a  vision  of  what  niigl  b 
be,  which  urges  him  forward;  and  what  matter  if  the  vision 
never  actually  beeomes  reality?  In  attempting  something 
great,  he  invariably  does  something  meritorious.-— G.  H.  H. 
- - 
County  Council  Instruction :  Horticulture. 
[Continued  from  page  489.) 
Isle  of  Man. — We  have  no  Horticultural  Instructor  in  connection 
with  this  Council. — A.  Robektson,  Town  Clerk,  Douglas. 
Somerset. — The  names  and  addresses  of  the  County  instructors  in 
this  County  are  as  follows  :  County  Instructor  in  Agriculture,  Mr. 
J.  H.  Burton,  M.Sc.,  Spring  Villa,  Clevedon  Road,  Weston-super-Mare  ; 
County  Instructor  in  Horticulture,  Mr.  John  Ettle,  F.R.H.S.,  Stanley 
Grove  Road,  Weston-super-Mare;  County  Instructor  in  Poultrvr 
Keeping,  Mr.  C.  E.  J.  Walkey,  2,  Malvern  View,  Stanley  Grove  Hoad. 
Weston-super-Mare. — C.  H.  Bothamley. 
Staffordshire. — There  are  in  this  County  thirty-one  practical 
gardening  classes,  at  each  of  which  twelve  pupils  receive  instruction. 
I  enclose  herewith  a  copy  of  the  directory  of  this  committee,  on  pag  > 
65  of  which  all  information  relating  to  the  classes  will  he  found.  Onr 
Horticultural  Instructor  is  Mr.  Robert  Cock,  F.R.H.S.,  11,  Meyrick 
Road,  Stafford. — Graham  Balfour. 
Surrey. — Mr.  J.  Wright,  F.R.H.S.,  V.M.H.,  of  8,  Rose  Hill  R<“ad. 
Wandsworth,  S.W.,  is  chief  instructor  and  inspector.  The  Surrey 
C.C.  has  no  central  experimental  garden  for  training  professional 
gardeners.  The  Surrey  routine  is  (a)  affording  instruction  to 
amateurs  and  cottagers  on  vegetable,  fruit,  and  flower  cultivation, 
for  making  their  gardens  as  productive  and  their  homes  as  attractive 
as  possible;  (b)  conducting  experiments  with  various  manures  on  all 
kinds  of  important  garden  crops  on  differing  soils  in  suitable  districts  ; 
(c)  conducting  trials  of  the  more  useful  vegetables  for  ascertaining 
the  best  varieties  to  cultivate  ;  (d)  instructing  over  300  youths  (eacli 
on  a  separate  plot)  in  the  “principles  and  practice  involved  in  the 
profitable  cultivation  of  a  cottage  garden  or  allotment.”  Training 
and  encouraging  the  sons  of  the  industrial  classes  to  become  hearty,, 
intelligent,  expert  w'orkers  on  the  land  is  a  prominent  object  in  the 
Surrey  garden  teaching.  Many  of  the  youths  do  their  work  as  well 
as  any  man  could  do  it,  and  have,  on  the  average,  increased  the- 
productiveness  of  their  plots  by  over  100  per  cent  since  the  teaching 
commenced.  All  work  under  identical  conditions  in  the  supply  of 
seeds,  manure,  and  instruction,  and  are  rewarded  by  prizes  and 
certificates  according  to  the  merit  marks  obtained.  Over  5,000  crops 
have  been  grown  this  year.  Assistant  instructors  are  Mr,  Alex. 
Dean,  F.H.H.S.,  and  Mr.  Horace  J.  Wright,  F.R.H.S. 
Sussex. — The  name  of  the  lecturer  on  horticulture  engaged  under 
the  Education  Committee  of  the  East  Sussex  County  Council  is  Mr. 
W.  Goaring,  Haywards  Heath,  Sussex.  I  herewith  enclose  copy  of 
the  prospectus  of  the  Agricultural  aud  Horticultural  College,  Uckfield. 
If  you  will  refer  to  page  20  you  will  find  the  syllabus  of  the  lectures 
which  are  delivered  in  the  county,  also  particulars  of  the  frnit  garden 
at  the  training  farm  attached  to  the  said  college  are  given  in  thi 
prospectus. — Edwin  Young,  Secretary,  County  Hall,  Lewes. 
Warwickshire. — The  County  Instructor  in  Horticulture  is  Mr.  H. 
Donkin,  Coventry  Road,  Warwick. — A.  H.  Whipple. 
Westmoreland. — No  permanent  Instructor  in  Horticulture  ha‘» 
been  appointed,  but  arrangements  have  been  made  for  the  following 
to  give  lectures,  demonstrations,  &c.:  Mr.  E.  W.  Payne,  Fulwood 
Park  Nurseries,  Preston,  and  Mr.  G.  Shotton,  Pant  House,  Felton,. 
Northumberland.  We  have  no  experimental  garden. — Charles  J.  R. 
Tipper,  Secretary,  Lowther  Street,  Kendal. 
Wilts. — The  Instructor  is  Mr.  T.  Sharp,  Westbury,  Wilts.  No 
garden. — C.  H.  Cobbett, -County  Offices,  Trowbridge. 
Worcestershire. — The  Instructors  in  Horticulture  are  Mr.  Jamea 
Udale,  Ombersley  Road,  Droitwich  (appointed  September,  1891)  and 
Mr.  Joseph  Lansdell.  St.  Wulstan’s  Crescent,  Worcester  (appointed 
September,  1899).  There  is  a  oounty  experimental  garden  at  Droit¬ 
wich,  established  January,  1896,  of  w’hich  Mr.  James  Udale  is  superin¬ 
tendent.  There  are  also  eighteen  centres  in  the  county  for  the 
instruction  of  youths  in  the  theory  and  practice  of  horticulture,  under 
local  teachers,  at  which  275  youths  receive  instruction,  the  whole- 
being  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Udale. 
Yorkshire. — Professor  Seton  writes :  The  clerk.  Joint  Agricultural 
Council,  County  Hall,  Beverley,  and  the  director,  Education  Depart¬ 
ment,  County  Hall,  'Wakefield,  have  banded  me  your  letters,  and  in 
reply  thereto  I  may  say  that  our  Instructors  on  Horticulture  are 
(1)  Mr.  Thos.  Redington,  (2)  Mr.  Alfred  Gaut.  Assistant  Instructor, 
Mr.  Frank  Redington.  .Letters  addressed  to  “The  Yorkshire  College,. 
Leeds,”  will  find  each  of  the  instructors.  The  old  kitchen  garden  al 
the  Manor  Farm,  Garforth,  has  been  slightly  extended  for  the 
purposes  of  experimental  work.  The  prospectus  of  this  department, 
and  an  illustrated  pamphlet,  which  I  send,  may  interest  you.  I  also 
enclose  a  copy  of  the  “  proposals  ”  of  the  Yorkshire  Council  for 
Agricultural  Education,  in  which  you  will  find  full  -  particulars 
regarding  the  educational  gardens  established  by  the  Council 
throughout  the  County,— R.  S.  Seton,  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Yorkshire  College,  Leeds. 
