tion as espaliers, they will nevertheless still be valuable in this case. After they have been removed a twelvemonth, treat them according to Mr. Knight's mode of changing the sort; that is, leave the horizontals at very nearly the full length, but cut off all the spurs, leaving only bare poles at every twelve, fifteen, or eighteen inches, according to the growth of the sort you intend to introduce. On the upper side, all along the branches, make a notch a little deeper than the bark: it may be done by two cuts with a sharp knife, the side nearest the trunk being perpendicular, the other sloping; the graft may then be introduced by the common mode of crown-grafting; train the shoots from the grafts as before directed. In two years and a half most kinds will produce an abundant crop, and the trees will be very nearly as large as those on the wall from whence they were taken; thus having an advantage over young trees of at least ten years.

Should this method of treating pear trees be objected to by any one who wishes to have the Colmar, Crassane, and other shy-bearing kinds, in their gardens, they may possibly not dislike the following method, by which they may get as many of the rare sorts of French pears as are usually obtained on the same space of wall, with the addition of an equal quantity of those kinds of pears which are produced on freebearing and moderate-growing trees, and at the same time avoid that most disagreeable sight which a tree bearing fruit only on its extremities always presents. By the common mode of pruning and training, the shy-bearing kinds will invariably be found without blossom buds for the first six or seven feet from the stem of the tree; therefore, any one determined on training according to the old horizontal plan should plant those sorts which are known as moderate growers and free bearers, many of which are very good pears. As each pair of horizonal branches arrives at the distance of six or seven feet from the stem of the tree, whip-graft them, with a well-ripened short-jointed shoot taken from the extremity of a full grown Colmar, Crassane, or other shy-bearing sort you may wish to cultivate, taking care to preserve the terminal bud of the graft: the upper branches should not be grafted nearer the stem than the lower, for although at six feet from the stem they may be fourteen or sixteen from the root, they will be found quite as much disposed to throw out strong breast-wood as the branches within two or three feet of the ground, the sap flowing stronger into every pair of branches as it approaches nearer to the top of the wall, the tree continually attempting to gain its natural position, which is nearly

erect. By this method, upon the first six or seven feet on each side of the stem full crops of the moderate-growing kinds may be produced, and from that distance to the extremity of each branch, good crops of the shy-bearing sorts may be obtained, thus causing the tree from one end to the other to be covered with fruit.

Grantham, December 6. 1826.

ART. II. On saving Garden Seeds by Gentlemen's Gardeners. By an OLD GArdener.

Sir,

SOME gentlemen require their gardeners to save all their own seeds, and that from one garden, particularly if the garden is of considerable size; and in case of failure from wet or dry seasons, such as the last, the gardener, if unfortunately he cannot save enough of seeds for his use, incurs his master's displeasure, if not his discharge. My object is to show to those gentlemen that the thing cannot be done beyond the commonest sorts of peas, beans, potatoes, &c. Many gentlemen are not aware that the seeds of the whole tribe of Brassica plants, including all the varieties of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, borecole, savoy, turnip, &c. &c. will become hybridised by the pollen of the flowers coming in contact promiscuously. As most of those plants flower at the same time, not only the wind, but the bees, butterflies, and other insects, are sufficient to effect an intermixture of the pollen. If the whole be in one garden, the saving the seeds of such a variety of sorts as are wanted by the gardener cannot possibly be accomplished; a disappointment not easily to be endured must take place. To have his cauliflowers genuine and early, his broccoli of sorts (six at least) true, his cabbage early and late, so as not to disappoint him at the time they are most wanted; his turnips of the different varieties, not to mention lettuce, radishes, onions, carrots, &c.—which, it is well known, are as easily hybridised by proximity as the Brassica tribe, - is not possible, unless the seeds are saved from plants growing at proper distances from each other; and I maintain that the limits of any garden, however large, do not admit of their being placed at this distance. Perhaps a garden of 10 acres, (and there are very few in the country which can boast of such an extent,) may be thought by many to answer all the purposes of seed saving; but it is a well known fact, that an intermixture of

the pollen has been effected at a much greater distance than such a garden will afford; consequently, disappointments must ensue of a nature calculated to endanger the gardener in his situation. The established nursery and seedsmen of celebrity round the metropolis may always be depended upon for correctness in their different varieties of seeds, as their credit and success in trade depends on their particular attention to that department of their business. But how do they maintain this credit? It may not be known to many gentlemen, that the nurserymen do not save all their own seeds, for the very same reason that the gardener cannot; namely, for the want of extent, and yet there are several nurseries above 60, and some above 100 acres.

Flower seeds may with greater facility be obtained, where there is a large flower-garden, and the season favourable for ripening; but in many parts of the country tender annuals, when planted out into the flower-garden, will not in wet seasons ripen their seeds and seed-pods, and the withered flowers that necessarily accompany them are at all times unsightly in such a situation. But suppose beauty no object, still in a wet season, or when by any other cause a crop fails, the gardener can have no alternative but to apply to the nurseryman for a supply for the ensuing year; and that gardener must be hardly dealt with, if, notwithstanding the reasons above stated, his employer insists upon him saving all his seeds.

To conclude, I maintain that the business of seed saving is quite a different branch of horticulture from that professed by gentlemen's gardeners, whose business it is to obtain and furnish for their master's tables every thing in as well as out of season, especially where forcing is carried on to any extent, and not to keep things back to mature their seeds for another I am, Sir, &c.

season.

AN OLD GARDENER.

It would be easy to point out the utter impossibility of any gardener saving the whole, or even any considerable part of his garden seeds, and at the same time having the sorts true to their characters. How very easily varieties of the Brassica family may be contaminated, and what important consequences result from their contamination, may be seen in a long account of a law-suit on the subject, in the Farmer's Magazine, vol. x. p. 2. A garden of 5000 acres would not be sufficient to admit of a gardener saving the requisite varieties of Broccoli with the certainty of having them true, since it is proved that bees will go two miles in quest of flowers. Hence the great care of

the London seedsmen in having their seeds grown in different parts of the country, distant from each other. We should, however, be glad first to hear what can be said on this subject by gardeners of more experience than ourselves. — Cond.

ART. III. On the Treatment which Apprentices and Journeymen Gardeners receive from Master Gardeners. By a NOBLEMAN'S GARDENER.

Sir,

As I consider the letter of G. R. G. (Gard. Mag. vol. i. p. 410.) would, if suffered to go unnoticed, be a severe reflection upon head-gardeners in general, I trouble you with a few observations as to the manner I treat the young men I employ.

When I first came to my present situation, which is a little more than three years ago, I got permission to have a room fitted up for two young men, who were to attend the fires, &c. to sleep in. In a short time, some changes took place among the men which I found here; and as the work of the place soon very much increased, particularly in the department of green-house plants and other plants in pots, I suggested to my employer the propriety of having young lads, who were light, and could do the work of watering as well or better than men. My suggestion was attended to, and I have now three of these at 8s. per week; I have two who have 12s.; and to the oldest hand, who I make my foreman, I give 13s., and this is the only difference I make with him from the rest. In the room I make them all stop till nine o'clock at night in studying their books, and I lend them one of your Encyclopædias, and any other books I have got; and when one of them is disposed to purchase a book, they consult me as to what one is best; they join together for candles, and, as I think it cheapest and best for them, they all board together. As I am anxious they should improve every minute of their own time, I allow an old woman to prepare their meals, &c. When they first come to me, I tell them that the more they learn, and the faster they improve themselves, the more I shall approve of them. As a sort of general rule, I desire them to keep a journal of the work, &c.; and seeing them almost every night, I now and then examine their journals, and put questions to them as to the meaning of botanical terms, or upon any subject they have been reading. I some

times also hear them read aloud, and examine and instruct them in every thing I think useful. In particular, I impress upon their minds the propriety of their learning the common native plants: I am often sorry to see how much these are neglected, and treated, as it were, with contempt, even by those who have great pretensions to the knowledge of plants. I remember having met with a very striking instance of this sort. Between four and five years ago, I was on a visit to my friend Mr. Walsh, at Earl Plymouth's, when a nobleman's gardener, from a place noted for plants in a neighbouring county, called, and in walking about the grounds, in a piece of rock-work, a plant of Prunella vulgáris in full flower was discovered, and very much admired by the stranger, who wondered what it was! thought it was quite new!! and that he had never seen it before!!! In my opinion an utter ignorance of native plants is inexcusable; for even where no collection is kept, a knowledge of natives may be acquired, and if it is, how greatly will it facilitate the learning of exotics whenever an opportunity offers. In speaking for myself, I know of no pleasure of this sort equal to it; for with a slight knowledge, no road can appear dull, and one can no where travel and say that "all is barren;" for at almost every step we must meet with an acquaintance, and sometimes with one we have not seen for many a day before. In the beginning of summer, I give my lads a bit of waste ground under a hedge for them to plant the plants as they find them, and every two or three days I name all I can for them; and I assure you this has the very best effect, for their minds are now completely wrapt up in their business, and they do not appear to have a wish or a thought but in it, in some way or other. The plants gathered in the summer we plant in autumn according to their class and order for flowering next summer, which wonderfully assists them in that part

of the science.

If there is so much cause of complaint against head-gardeners in general, as the letter of G. R. G. seems to imply, I am very sorry for it, as I am convinced that a little attention to the improvement of the minds of those employed under them would, in the end, be of infinite advantage to the masters themselves. This opinion of mine is not new: I have practised it, more or less, for ten years past. And as a proof that I have not done it from selfish motives, I have never received a penny from any one, or from the friends of any one I have ever had under me.

I intended to have communicated to you not only the manner in which I manage the lads now under me, but also