JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER.

From observations taken near London during forty-three years, the average day temperature of the week is 41.7°; and its night temperature 29.0°. The greatest heat was 57', on the 3rd, 1860; and the lowest cold 11° below zero on the 4th, 1867. The greatest fall of rain was 0.86 inch.

THE OLD YEAR TO THE NEW YEAR.

M

botany. They toiled cheerily, and in this was their strength; for cheerfulness and diligence are the best ingatherers of wisdom and success, and method the most powerful aid to secure them. "Method," said a good observer, "is like packing into a box; a good packer will get in half as much again as a bad packer;" and the prime rule of method is, "One thing at a time." Much has been done in my days to impress these and other results of experience upon the readers of THE JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE, and from one who has never ceased from enriching its pages come these weighty notes:—

"Education has received far more prominent attention in 1872 than in any time preceding. The how in the matter is not yet thoroughly decided, but the people as a whole have gone hand in hand with the Government in determining that the rising race shall not be reared in ignorance. Reading, writing, and arithmetic shall be taught to all that are capable of learning. Possessed of these, as with a key, to unlock the resolved, may by application and self-denial enjoy all the pleastorehouses of knowledge, the humblest labourer, if thoroughly sures that science and philosophy can bring.

"The great point to be impressed on our young friends is just this-that, thanks to day schools for the young, and night schools and classes for the youth of both sexes, the time is fast coming when such instruction and far greater knowledge will cease to be a distinction. Many who pride themselves on such distinction now, and act as if they thought that a little in the head would make amends for a good deal of slackness in the hands, will find that they must alter very much if they scholar,' will soon cease to be urged by first-class labourers, mean to retain their position. The saddening plea, I am no

Y brother, although thou wilt live a few hours less than were allotted to me, thou wilt have learned long before thy last day arrives lessons similar to those I have learned. Thy first day's existence will have taught that proverbs wise in the olden time are infallible no longer. It was said at that time, "A soft Yule makes a green churchyard," yet my Yule was soft, and deaths thou wilt find unusually few; moreover, methinks thou wilt bear witness that that other old saw, "Under water, famine; under snow, bread," is not a verity. Yet privations will happen in thy days, and thou wilt find that Death's scythe, like that of the gardener, will not spare the flowers that are mingled with the grass. Mown down were many flowers in my days, but thou wilt bear witness, as I do, that other flowers clustered round the bereaved spots, and that here, as in all other events of thy days, there is beneficent compensation. Thou wilt have multitudes of complaints from masters against their servitors, and from servitors against their masters, but thou wilt bear record that a gentle word and a lapse of a few of thy days were like a soft bandage on a fresh wound. In my days were grievous complaints that there were no fruits in the land, and hard thoughts were towards the gardeners; but in thy days it will be appreciated that they cannot rule the seasons, though they may shelter from them, and thou mayst be remembered as "the year of more glass." In days long gone a gardener was known to be capable of hieroglyphic book-native village, when otherwise they might have lived in comkeeping only he made an O for a cheese, and put a dot in the centre for a grindstone. Those were the days when pruning was done only during the moon's decrease, and sowing at her full; but thou wilt see, as I have seen, the creations of gardeners literary and scienced, titled and among England's magnates- men who know the reason why of every operation-men who, like one in my days, would not have a weed pulled up without a reason. Such men have raised England's gardening to the superlative; and it was no exaggeration when the man of many travels observed, "England has naturally the greenest grass, but her exotic fruits and flowers are more delicious than in their native homes." Thou wilt observe that the best bookmen are the best toolmen, for books are evening companions that preserve men from that most enervating of habits-drinking. Teach the young of your days to be guarded in acquiring habits, for truly has a wise man written, "Principles are but another name for habits. Principles are words, but the habits are the things themselves, benefactors or tyrants according as they are good or evil." Among those habits, then, encourage that of reading, but let the choice of books be like that of associates-let the choice be confined to the best. Labour and study are not only compatible, but mutually assistant. Robert Dick toiled as a baker, yet his herbarium was a model; Linnæus laboured at the lapstone, yet he rendered himself the regenerator of

No. 614.-VOL. XXIV., NEW SERIES.

tion, felt themselves compelled to vegetate as it were in their who, as a consequence of the want of the rudiments of educafort in other places in their own land, and enjoyed much greater remuneration still for their labour in other lands. Hundreds of gardeners have told what a drawback it was, in the case of many good painstaking labourers, that they could not read a tally. It is a cheering prospect that this drawback will soon be remedied. We may well rejoice that in this free land of ours all men are equal in the eye of the law. Ere long the whole of the population will be placed on an equality as to the great educational starting point, and that is all the education the country ought to secure, leaving to private and individual enterprise to obtain all that otherwise may be desired.

66

Rejoicing in the equality possessed and in that which will soon be here, yet it is not the equality which is keenly contended for by some at the present day-namely, that men engaged in the same labour and the same trade and occupation shall be paid equally. Facts and natural laws will be too much for all combinations in this direction; and the effort for unnatural levelling will only succeed when men and women grow up alike in stature, in physical strength, in mental vigour, and intellectual endowments. Meanwhile let those who now pride themselves on their education make sure that the prized laurels do not drop from their brow.' They will not long

stand alone and distinct in this matter.

"The second topic worthy of serious consideration is the effort being made to better the condition of labourers-by migration and emigration if other means should fail; and we do rejoice that the subject has hitherto been conducted, with a few exceptions, with great good sense, good feeling and

No. 1266.-VOL. XLIX., OLD SERIFS,

2

JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER.

courtesy. One of the most encouraging aspects is, that labour- I
ers that had received no education themselves are extra anxious
that this blessing should be secured for their offspring. For
ages to come may this land of ours remain great, glorious, and
free. A doubt has arisen when it is recorded that the bulk of
men and women who have left us for our colonies and other
lands have been those distinguished for their readiness and
activity of hand, their persevering industry, and their extra
intelligence. No country could long maintain its pre-eminence
if thus yearly deprived of the manliest, the sturdiest, and the
most intelligent of its population; yet hope revives with the
efforts making for social and mental improvement that there
will be plenty of men left, hard-handed, keen-headed, and tender-
hearted, to support the still growing honours of old England.
"If knowledge will ere long cease to be such a distinction as
now, let no young man lean too much upon it. It is true that
"in all labour there is profit.' It is also true that for the greatest
brain-work there will be the greatest reward-the very highest
wages-if such work is in demand. For want of that demand
some of our greatest scientific men, besides the pleasure de-
rived from their investigations, had little reward, though famed
when in their graves. There is no discouraging intended to the
greatest attainments in knowledge, when the Book of books
says, 'Rather let him labour with his hand the thing that is
good.' Our learned professions, our scientific men, our mer-
chants with their myriads of book-keepers and clerks, do great
things, but there would be little to act upon but for the produce
of the hands, as these hands are directed by intelligence. There
is a craving for the 'genteel' in these days, and a sort of looking
down on hard manual labour; yet the gentility must pay for
it, and ere long even more than now. A high authority states
that for one man that is wanted in our colonies to act as clerk
or book-keeper, there are thirty-nine left to starve, unless
they throw their genteel notions to the winds, and labour with
their hands. It requires no seer's vision to foretell that more
than ever the most comfortable and happy people will be those
who can develope and direct activity of the hand with expanded
intelligence.

"Get rid of the baneful idea which has blasted the life prospects of many a young man, that there is anything vulgar or degrading in even the humblest manual labour. A man may well be degraded when he labours merely as a matter of routine, without heart, or mind, or thought in his work, becoming what the late Joseph Knight would have called 'a mere six-o'clock | and looking-ever-at-the-clock man.' But the humblest kind of labour faithfully and intelligently performed will ever exalt and ennoble the workman. The greatest and most spotless Who ever trod our earth probably worked as a mechanic before entering

on His divine mission, and it is certain that the Jews in ancient times, and still, whatever their wealth and whatever the education they could give to their children, wisely took care that all should be so instructed in some kind of manual labour as to be able under any reverse to earn a living. Bring heart and mind to bear on work, and that will make the work a source of happiness and enjoyment to the worker. Providence diffuses happiness more equally than is generally imagined, and the greatest share falls not to the man who has inherited wealth and does not need to labour much with the hands, but happiness comes almost unasked to the man who works faithfully with mind, and heart, and hands. How differently our poor crossingsweepers do their work! One sweeper will be all activity when he sees a promising crosser coming towards his muddy pathway. Another prides himself in having his crossing clean, crosser or no crosser. Doing the humblest work thoroughly is the best preparation, and security too, for getting better work to do. The young gardener who throws in mind and heart in attending to furnaces, so as to secure just the heat wanted and when wanted, and with the least waste of fuel, will most likely occupy a different position afterwards, when compared with the man who does such work as a mere work of routine, and feels that he is a sort of do-drudgery in attending to such things.

"So far about work and working; but what about the returns? Everything is dearer than in former years, and there has been little or no increase of wages. Ought not gardeners and under gardeners, and garden labourers to combine to obtain better terms? 'Don't,' is the wisest reply. Men have the right so to combine, but it would be folly until the men that are able to dig, to mow, and sweep are greatly diminished in numbers. Let the stokers of the London gas houses furnish an example. They, no doubt, looked on themselves as skilled workmen, and as such thought they had the ball at their feet, but fresh stokers were obtained in a very short time. It is true it is easier to find fifty men that can dig than one man who, from his acquaintance with vegetable physiology, and his knowledge of geography and climatal relations, knows how best to nurture every esteemed foreign plant, and also the right treatment in all diversified circumstances for flowers and fruits. Such a man with employers who valued such attainments might easily make an alteration in terms if the wish were courteously expressed. But even to such employers, and especially to those who

men,

entered very little into such inquiries, they might be content
what would be the use of standing out, so long as there
with a less scientific gardener for a time. And as for the work-
were so many that could dig and mow ready to take their
position?
"More is usually effected by frankness and courtesy, forming,
as it were, of themselves a board of arbitration to settle all diffi-
In all cases where there are more
culties, than by menace.
men wanting employment than can find it, strikes will be a
mistake; and when the numbers of workmen are reduced in a
locality so that workmen shall be eagerly sought after, then
strikes will not be needed, for wages will rise as a matter of

course.

'Finally. Waving all reference to those who do not require to labour with their hands, but who may be extra workers with the brain, let all workers with the hand bring all possible heart and intelligence to bear on their work, and have good definite objects in their working if they wish their labour to be a source of elevated pleasure. One good object is to work so as to have the means of honest living. None but the very poor, the young, the aged, the extra unfortunate, and the afflicted care. The most accomplished may have great reverses, but_it ought to be dependant on others, and thus be subjects of anxious is more manly and dignified, for a time at least, to use a spade, a barrow, an axe, or a hammer, than to pester acquaintances and friends to get some cosy place for them in which their hands may scarcely be soiled. When a taunt of untidiness was thrown at an old Scotchwoman she pithily replied, 'It is good dirt that water can remove.' Nothing need be said of dishonesty, would be required to clear out the ingrained stains from cringing falsehood, and deceit, but let it be remembered a vast of water Again, work for a comfortable home, bearing in cosiness than on its extended size or grand appearance, and will mind that its comfort will more depend upon its fitness and depend more on the union of hearts, and a concentration of the liberal and the prudent as respects all good aims and aspirations, than upon fine furniture and flashy accomplishments. Again, work for the glorious privilege of being independent, using the last word in its very limited sense, as laying aside something, and making some provision in the days of youth and health for the changes that must be expected. Otherwise we have no idea of independence, for in society the highest and the lowliest have interwoven between them the bonds of mutual dependance." Such is the testimony of one of the best-informed, most right-hearted of the men who have now passed to live in your days-the head gardener of Putteridgebury; and those who cause to acknowledge that you were to them adopt him as their model during your time will have ample

meanness.

A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

POTATO EXPERIENCE.

A VOICE from Staffordshire on the merits of "Suttons' Redskinned Flourball may not be uninteresting to some readers of the Journal. I plant many different kinds, but the Flourball has, last year especially (1872), proved itself far the best both in quality and quantity. The yield was very good, the tubers large throughout, and the crop almost entirely free from disease, which, considering the extraordinarily wet and unfavourable season, must speak volumes in its favour. In the boiling they have proved themselves well worthy of the name they bear, and they are also of excellent flavour. When reading the remarks of "W. B.," I could not help wishing I had been the They were grown in a lucky recipient of his two bushels.

field of light land with a gravelly subsoil.-W. G. W.

I HAVE been a Potato-grower for twenty years, and for many years, say eight or ten, have adopted the plan, not of cutting off, but drawing out (roots and all) the tops of Potatoes as soon as the haulm manifested unmistakeable symptoms of being diseased. Last year (1872) my Ashtops and Lapstones treated in this way have scarcely had a bad Potato among them, while mine up till October-slightly too late, for the Brussels Sprouts, my neighbours have lost nearly every tuber. I did not take which I planted when the tops were removed, had become inconveniently large, and were in the way.

Of course Potatoes treated in this way should be planted as early as possible, and previously sprouted, so as to be as nearly as possible mature when the disease comes, otherwise the produce, though good, is small.-GEO. F. WADE, St. Lawrence Vicarage, York.

I HAVE grown Suttons' Red-skinned Flourball on light ground with a chalky subsoil, and I had an excellent crop, far above that of any other kind, and very few tubers were diseased.

With us they are when cooked good in flavour, white, and E. Copland being in the chair. There were present Dr. King, mealy.-R. S.

THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S
MEETINGS.

A FEW notes at South Kensington. Not the least interesting of the meetings held in the Council-room of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1872 was that on December 4th. It was the last of the season, and the large attendance of visitors showed how these useful gatherings are appreciated. We cannot set aside the large exhibitions with their scores of vanloads of plants and hundreds of dishes of tempting fruits; but to those on the out-look for new plants, flowers, and fruits -to the enthusiastic gardener, botanist, and pomologist-these social gatherings are a great boon. To the Fellows residing in the neighbourhood they must be a source of never-failing enjoyment.

As the meeting in question was the last of a series of most successful ones, it is worth while to notice some of its most salient features. Two or three small prizes were offered for cut blooms of Chrysanthemums, which brought out quite a host of exhibitors. The best flowers were over, but a few noble blooms of the large-flowered section were still to be had. These, mixed with the quaint forms of the Japanese section, made a fine display, and with some handsome bushes of the different varieties of the common Holly told of coming Christmas. The first heralds of the new year were also to be seen in the shape of some fine pans of the early Roman Hyacinths, the snow-white Winterdelicate trusses of which have a charming effect. flowering Carnations were represented by healthy plants in pots. These are truly valuable for winter work; the flowers are sweet and of many different shades of colour, and from not a very large number of plants flowers may be cut every week in the year. I noted the following: Lee's Purity, pure white, a very fine fringed flower, full and free; Prince of Orange, the best yellow; Le Grenadier is a very fine scarlet flower. Of rose shades King of the Belgians and Minerva are first-class; Miss Jolliffe is a delicately perfumed flesh-coloured flower. Conqueror, maroon, almost black, is by far the best of this colour. Gloire de Lyon is a very good red flake, and flowers profusely.

Then, who could fail to be in raptures with the lovely Orchids, welcome at all seasons, but doubly so in dull December? The thanks of all lovers of beautiful flowers are due to those who risk the injury of their precious gems at such a season. The rare and beautiful garden hybrid, Cattleya exoniensis, was there to be admired by all but possessed by few, its price placing it beyond the reach of all save those of ample fortunes. Not so the handsome Lycaste Skinneri; it can be purchased for a mere trifle, and is one of the easiest grown of Orchids. It will thrive in a hot or a cool house, and flower abundantly in either. Its richly-coloured flowers continue a long time in perfection, and are peculiarly attractive. It flowers during the winter and spring months. The Pleiones, or Indian Crocuses, were represented by P. Reichenbachiana, a very distinct species, producing two flowers on a spike; the sepals and petals are mottled with rosy lilac, the lip white spotted with violet purple. These beautiful Orchids lose their leaves after finishing their growth, and the flowers are produced just before the new leaves appear, but they have a charming effect when grouped with Maidenhair or other Ferns. Barkeria Skinneri is another useful plant for winter; its graceful spikes of rosy purple flowers have a charming effect.-J. D.

CHARLES LAWSON ROSE.

I AM surprised that in the lists of Roses mentioned of late as superior kinds, the very beautiful summer Rose Charles Lawson has no place. There is nothing to equal this when in a good situation; and none here, although there is a great choice, can be compared with it or is more admired. A plant was turned out of a pot a few years since, placed against a south-east wall, and now covers a space of more than 18 feet wide and 12 feet high. No matter what the weather may be, this Rose tree is a perfect picture-one mass of flowers in different stages of bloom, and very fragrant.-M. D.

Professor of Botany, University of Calcutta, and Superintendent of the Royal Botanic Garden there; Professor Tattle, Instructor in Microscopy, and late Professor of Marine Zoology, Harvard University; Judge Scudder, of the Superior Court, Boston, U.S.A.; Baron O. Prost, well known at Nice, and as having successfully introduced various exotic plants and shrubs from foreign countries; and several other floral friends. Numerous suggestions were made as to the best mode of proceeding during the present season, and it was agreed that regular meetings should be held the coming spring for the purpose of investigating the flora of Nice, and naming and giving information respecting such plants as may be brought by those who may wish to know more of them.

The Chairman produced a large collection of dried specimens arranged according to their families, and also some beautiful coloured drawings of many of the wild flowers of the neighbourhood, by a lady. A very interesting discussion followed as to the Ferns, wild flowers, and cultivated plants of the country; and a rare specimen of Saxifraga florulenta, found only on the mountains of Nice, and which has excited much interest in the botanical world, was produced for inspection. Dr. King handsomely offered to send to Baron Prost choice seeds and plants from India for introduction into Nice. Important results may therefore, perhaps, follow from these meetings.

1. Devoniensis
2. Hippolyte Flandrin
3. Alfred Colomb
4. Charles Lefebvre
5. John Hopper
6. Gloire de Dijon
7. Maréchal Niel
8. Maréchal Vaillant

9. Marie Baumann
10. Maurice Bernardin
11. Madame Rothschild
12. Duke of Edinburgh

13. Abel Grand
14. Baron Prévost
15. Beauty of Waltham
16. Comtesse d'Oxford

18. Clémence Raoux

17. Camille Bernardin

19. Centifolia Rosea

20. Dr. Lindley

21. Ferdinand de Lesseps
22. Felix Genero

23. La France

24. Souvenir d'un Ami

25. Madame Willermoz

83. Pitord

34. Prince Camille de Rohan

35. Coupe d'Hébé

36. Mons. Woolfield

37. Paul Ricaut

38. Charles Lawson

39. Madame Creyton

40. Madame Bosanquet

41. Madame Vidot

42. Madame Clémence Joigneaux

43. Madame Fillion

44. America

45. Solfaterre

46. Lord Macaulay

47. Gloire de Vitry

48. Rev. II. H. Dombrain

49. Laneii (Moss)

50. Madame Zoutman!

TEAS AND NOISETTES.

1. Maréchal Niel

2. Gloire de Dijon

3. Souvenir d'un Ami

4. Niphetos

5. Céline Forestier

6. Triomphe de Rennes

7. Souvenir d'Elise

8. Devoniensis

9. Adam

10. Madame Margottin
11. Bougère

12. Marie Sisley

Mr. P. GRUBB, Warminster.

26. Madame Clémence Joigneaux
27. Fisher Holmes

28. Louise Van Houtte
29. Madame Boutin

30. Madame Victor Verdier
31. Marquise de Castellane

THE FERNS AND WILD FLOWERS OF NICE.
A PRELIMINARY meeting of ladies and gentlemen interested
in this subject was lately held at the Hotel Royal, Nice, Mr. 32. Caroline de Sansal

33. Dr. Andry

84. Elie Morel

35. Vicomte Vigier

36. Jean Cherpin

37. Madame Charles Verdier

38. Thyra Hammerick

39. Souvenir de la Malmaison 40. Leopold I.

41. Princess Mary of Cambridge 42. Boule de Neige

43. Duchess of Sutherland

44. Pierre Notting

45. Madame Fillion

46. Dupuy-Jamain
47. Exposition de Brie
48. Victor Verdier

49. Marquise de Mortemart
50. Louise Peyronny

TEAS AND NOISETTES.

1. Maréchal Niel

2. Devoniensis

3. Madame Margottin
4. Madame Willermoz
5. Niphetos

6. Souvenir d'un Ami
7. Souvenir d'Elise

8. Gloire de Dijon

9. Céline Forestier

10. Triomphe de Rennes

11. Madame Bravy

12. Madame Levet