December  17,  1903.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
551 
particulars,  ■which  arc  typical  of  the  courses  of  instruction  at  these 
places. 
At  the  Agricultural  and  Horticultural  Training  School  and 
Farm,  Saltersford  Hall,  Holmes  Chapel,  Crewe,  the  staff  includes  : 
(1)  Principal,  who  is  lecturer  on  agriculture  and  agricultural 
chemistry,  and  manager  of  farm,  and  conductor  of  experiments. 
(2)  A  lecturer  on  land  surveying  and  levelling,  farm  mechanics, 
book-keeping,  and  assistant  to  the  principal  in  agriculture. 
13)  A  lecturer  on  chemistry  and  analyst.  (4)  A  lecturer  on 
natural  sciences,  mathematics.  (5)  A  lecturer  on  veterinary 
science. 
(6)  A  lecturer  and  instructor  in  horticulture,  and  head  gar¬ 
dener.  (7)  A  teacher  of  drawing.  (8)  An  instructor  in  practical 
woodwork  and  cariientry.  (9)  A  drill  sergeant.  (10)  Matron  of 
the  school. 
“  The  course  of  work  and  study  laid  down  for  the  students  may 
be  described  as  theoretical  work  in  the  shape  of  lectures,  &c., 
during  the  mornings  and  practical  work  during  the  afternoons. 
Practical  work  includes  not  only  taking  part  in  the  ■various  opera¬ 
tions  on  the  farm  and  in  the  garden,  or  on  the  experimental  plots, 
or  management  of  the  cattle,  &c.,  as  they  occur  throughout  the 
year  j  but  the  land  surveying,  practical  chemistry,  woodwork,  &c., 
forming  part  of  the  curriculum.  The  practical  work  in  the  garden 
is  under  Mr.  Neild,  while  that  in  the  laboratory  receives  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  Mr.  Thompson,  and  the  biological  work  that  of  Mr. 
Eastham.  The  practical  work  is  obligatory  on  all.” 
“  An  important  side  of  the  work  at  the  School  is  the  attention 
given  to  .gardening  in  all  its  branches,  and  excellent  provision,  is 
made  for  such  in  the  gardens,  which  cover  seven  acres,  and  are 
fitted  up  with  orchards  of  young  finiit  trees,  and  a  considerable 
range  of  glass  houses  for  the  culture  of  Grapes,  Melons,  Tomatoes, 
Cucumber.s,  flowers.  Considerable  attention  is  also  given  to  the 
cultivation  of  bulbs,  while  the  propagation  of  fruit  trees,  and  of 
grafting,  is  made  a  special  feature.  The  cost  of  providing  this 
agricultural  and  horticultural  School  was  necessarily  great  ;  the 
amount  so  expended  at  Holmes  Chapel  being  £13,437.” 
Essex. — “  The  aim  of  the  County  School  of  Horticulture  is  to 
impart  sound  elementary  instruction  in  the  best  methods  of 
cultural  treatment,  based  upon  a  knowledge  of  the  structure  and 
physiology  of  plants.  The  School  is  organised  to  give  courses  of 
sysiematic  laboratory  and  garden  instruction  to  two  kinds  of 
pupils.  (1)  To  pupils  who  are  unable  to  attend  the  School  for 
more  than  three  or  four  weeks’  at  a  time  ;  and  (2)  To  pupils 
desirous  of  obtaining  a  full  year’s  course  of  continuous  instruction. 
The  classes  meet  daily  for  lectures,  demonstrations,  and  practice.” 
“  (1)  Short-term  courses. — A  complete  junior  course  of  instruc¬ 
tion  is  given  in  the  four  terms  corresponding  with  the  four 
seasons  of  the  year.  Three  of  these  terms  last  for  three  weeks 
each,  and  one  of  a  more  advanced  character  lasts  for  four  weeks. 
In  the  intervals  between  the  short-term  courses,  students  are 
supposed  to  be  engaged  in  gardening  and  putting  into  practice 
the  principles  and  method.s'  taught  at  the  School.” 
“  (2)  Ordinary  School  course., — The  ordinary  School  course 
includes  at  least  one  year’s  continuous  instruction,  and  is  divided 
into  three  terms :  (1)  Autumn  term  (September — December). 
(2)  Winter  term  (January — April).  (3)  Summer  term  (May- — 
July).” 
'The  fees  are;  (1)  Short-term  counses :  Essex  county  students, 
free;  outside  students,  £1  per  week.  (2)  Ordinai'y  school  course; 
Es.sex  county  student.s,  £15  a  year;  outside  students,  £20  a  year. 
The  laboratories  accommodate  44  students.  They  are  well 
lighted,  heated  and  ventilated,  being  provided  with  lockers,  kits, 
microscopes,  tables,  and  there  is  a  good  library  of  books  u.seful 
to  horticultural  students.  A  small  greenhouse  is  attached  to  the 
laboratory  for  the  conveni'enoe  of  students  in  their  observational 
and  experimental  work.  Visits'  are  made  from  time  to  time  to 
nurseries,  fruit  farms,  and  market  and  private  gardens,  for  pur¬ 
poses  of  demonstration  and  study,  in  the  summer  field  excursions 
are  organised  for  the  study  of  open-air  botany. 
The  garden  covers  an  area  of  three  acres,  and  is  entirely 
devoted  to  educational  uses.  It  is  divided  into  five  main  sections. 
(1)  A  botanical  garden,  in  which  the  plants  are  .systematically 
arranged  in  Orders,  according  to  the  natural  system  of  classifica¬ 
tion.  (2)  A  vegetable  garden  well  stocked  with  all  useful  English- 
grown  vegetables  in  sea.son.  (3)  A  fimit  plot  A,  for  growing 
varieties  of  fruit,  and  demonstrating  different  forms  of  ti'ees. 
(4)  A  fruit  plot  B,  to  be  used  as  an  orchard.  ^5)  An  experimental 
plot  for  trials  of  new  plants  and  competing  varieties.  In  addition 
to  the.s0  five  main  sections  there  are;  (6)  The  borders,  forming  a 
very  distinct  feature  of  the  garden.  The  south  border  is  furnished 
with  a  representative  collection  of  .shrubs,  and  the  east  and  nortli 
borders  with  Conifers  and  forest  trees.  (7)  The  Rose  garden,  con¬ 
sisting  of  seven,  beds,  each  representing  a  different  class  of  Rose. 
(8)  Plant  houses,  consisting  of  a  range  of  greenhouses,  including  a 
propagating  pit,  a  vinery,  warm  and  cool  plant -hou.se.s,  and  frames. 
A  working  bench  is  provided  for  each  student,  which  he  is  expected 
to  keep  tidy,  and  a  numbered  set  of  tools  which  he  is  required 
to  keep  clean.  Bins  are  provided  for  the  different  kinds  of  soils, 
Ac.,  and  a  right  place  for  everytliing,  and  .students  are  reque,sted 
to  avoid  disorder.  Each  student  provides  himself  with  an  apron, 
and  with  pruning  and  budding  knives. 
At  I'ckfield,  Sussex,  there  arc  good  lecture-rooms,  splendid 
analytical  and  bacteriological  laboratories;  a  botanical  room  with 
appurtenances,  carpenter’s  shop,  and  the  residential  portion  of 
the  college  contains  every  convenience  for  a  healthy  and  enjoy¬ 
able  life.  The  gardens  extend  to  nearly  five  acres,  and  is  sectioned 
on  the  lines  indicated  in  the  Chelmsford  notice,  above.  Fruit- 
bottling,  and  the  drying  and  preserving  of  various  fruits  and 
vegetables,  we  are  glad  to  see  forms  a  feature  in  the  curriculum. 
From  the  foregoing,  it  will  be  seen  that  Great  Britain — Eng¬ 
land,  we  ought  rather  to  say— has  of  recent  years  come  to  recog¬ 
nise  that  agriculture  and  horticulture  demand  more  than  mere 
empirical  application,  in  order  to  successfully  meet  foreign  com¬ 
petition  and  practice,  and  though  the  advance  made  is  utterly 
inadequate  to  the  needs  of  the  times,  yet  will  we  hope  on,  and 
strive  each  to  do  soinething  toward  the  transfusion  of  that  .spirit 
for  efficiency,  for  which  Lord  Rosebery  pleaded  two  years  ago. 
Carnations  and  Begonias. 
■Winter-blooming  Carnations. 
Messrs.  George  Boyes  and  Co.,  of  Aylestone  Park  Nurseries, 
Leicester,  show  banks  of  Carnations  at  a  number  of  the  Chry.san- 
themum  shows  in  November,  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 
When  Mr.  Boyes,  the  head  of  the  firm,  was  at  the  Cry.stal  Palace 
Show  some  three  weeks  ago  I  got  him  to  mark  a  few  of  the  best 
out  of  the  many  that  he  grows,  and  they  are  as  follow.s ;  Stanley 
Weyman,  a  free  flowering,  large  scarlet,  the  best  in  this  colour  ; 
Dr.  W.  G.  Grace,  another  bright  scarlet,  the  largest  .scarlet  yet 
sent  out,  a  larger  bloom  than  Lawson.  It  is  beautifully  scented, 
and  a  strong,  vigorous  grower,  giving  abundance  of  bloom  on 
long  stiff  stems;  ‘‘As  far  in  advance  of  all  other  scarlets  as 
Grace  was  in  advance  of  all  other  cricketers,”  says  Mr.  Boyes. 
When  once  before  the  public  it  will  cause  a  greater  sensation 
than  Lawson,  which  is  surely  saying  a  good  deal.  Then  there  is 
A.  J.  Webbe,  still  among  scarlets,  the  edges  being  serrated  or 
fringed  in  the  true  American  style,  and  it  is  sweetly  scented. 
Also  Hon.  A.  Lyttleton,  an  exquisite  .salmon  coloured  variety, 
very  free  flowering.  Lady  de  Trafford  was  one  of  a  set  sent  out 
in  i902,  and  is  spokeir  of  as  the  be.st  of  that  lot.  In  colour  it  is 
clear  red,  magnificent  in  size,  and  is  “  sure  to  take.”  Lastly 
we  have  Lady  Carlisle,  magnificent  pink,  one  of  the  largest, 
clearest,  and  most  solid  pinks  yet  seen,  and  sweetly  scented.  One 
bloom  is  quite  sufficient  for  an  ordinary  buttonhole  ;  it  wears  well 
and  keeps  its  shape  after  cutting.  Lord  Kitchener  is  a  very- 
large  and  splendid  crim.son.  All  of  those  here  named  are  trees 
for  winter  blooming,  but  they  vary  considerably  in  price.  What 
beats  the  Carnation.^ 
Ware’s  Tuberous-rooted  Begonias. 
The  display  of  these  choice  and  increasingly  popular  green¬ 
house  and  bedding  plants  at  the  Bexley  Heath  Nurseries  of 
Messrs.  T.  S.  Ware  (1902),  Ltd.,  is  worth  half  a  day’s  journey  to 
see.  The  most  gorgeous  colour  scenes  on  the  stages  of  theatres 
hardly  eclipse  the  brilliance  and  richness  of  the  beds  side  by  side 
and  stretching  away  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  under  the  orchard 
trees  in  the  nursery  first  named.  The  varieties  are  assorted  into 
unitary  colours,  and  it  would  not  be  a  bad  idea  at  all  if  here  and 
there  a  private’ garden  could  utili.se  some  of  the  spare  space  that 
is  generally  to  be  found  by  planting  it  up  with  breadths  of  these 
radiantly  rich  dwarf  flowering  plants.  Mes-srs.  Ware  cultivate 
about  100,000  of  the  tubers  in  this  open-air  fashion,  there  being 
nearly  twenty  long  and  broad  beds,  and  the  range  of  colours 
embraces  crimson,  scarlet,  pink,  salmon,  bronze,  white,  yello^^, 
magenta,  blmsh,  and  orange,  though  that  does  not  even  complete 
the  entire  list.  Many  of  the  plants  are  gro\\ii  for  the  supply  ot 
seed,  but  the  majority,  of  course,  are  for  the  tubers,  which 
everybody  can  manage  without  much  fear  of  failuie,  ^ud  tlie 
.sort.s  can  then  be  guaranteed  true  to  name.  Of  nev  varieties  I 
would  name  Mary' Pope,  a  grand.  Camellia-shape,  double  white; 
Queen  Alexandra,  a  beautiful  Picotee  type;  Mrs.  W.  G.  Valen¬ 
tine,  a  large  double  crimson;  Miss  Barbara  Ray,  a  double  ot  a 
dark,  intense  orange  hue.  There  are  also  Countess  of  Cadogan, 
a  o-olden-orange  ;  Lord  Rosebery,  rich  deep  crmison  ;  and  Mrs. 
Andrew  Tweedie,  Camellia-shaped  and  cream  coloured  ;  a  gem 
With  these,  there  was  a  magnificent  collection  of  double  and 
sino-le  flowe’red  seedlings  in  flower  little  over  a  month  ago.  not- 
Aviriistandiiig  the  rain,  the  winds,  and  the  cold  weather.  \\  liat 
beats  a  double  Begonia  ?•  J.  H.  D. 
- - - - 
A  Pit-Mason  Duchess.— I.  for  one 
thought  the  “  Pit-IMason 
Duchess”  (and  I  am  English!)  quite  funny  enough  to  smile  at  a  very 
larmless  thing  to  smile  at,  too.  It  reminded  me  of  a  little  incident 
}hat  occurred  to  myself  a  few  years  back.  An  old  man  (a  rare  old 
vegetable  grower)  invited  me  to  see  a  fine  bed  ot  Cablifges.  i 
naturally  asked  him  the  variety.  He  replied ;  “  Dan  Is  ;  ,  \ 
puzzled  over  his  answer  for  an  instant,  when  it  struck  me  that  Daniels 
Defiance  was  intended.  Daniels’  Defiance  is  a  grand  Cabbage  v  it  i 
eottagers,  and  Pitmaston  Duchess  is  a  grand  Pear  m  some  soils. 
_ P  S.  I  fancy  “Pit-Mason  Duchess”  and  “  Dan’ls’  Siance  wculd  be 
sonietliing  for  Dean  Hole  to  smile  at. — A.  B. 
