Gardening for women

The following syllabuses of British colleges and schools are submitted for the use of ladies interested in gardening. It is hoped that they may assist all those who, in England or abroad, have the management of such training centres. By means of them it will be easy to compare notes as to the various methods of imparting practical information the form in which foreign syllabuses are staged may inspire fresh ideas. I should like to add that I do not, of course, consider what I am able to give of these particulars as in any way comprehensive; but it has been my endeavour to insert only details of colleges and schools that have been in existence some time. I have received the syllabuses and many interesting notes through the kindness of those who have at heart the wish that ladies should succeed in the profession of horticulture.

THE THATCHAM FRUIT AND FLOWER FARM SCHOOL OF GARDENING, HENWICK, NEAR NEWBURY

Principals: Lily Hughes Jones, F.R.H.S.; Mary Peers, F.R.H.S.

(1st Class Certificates and Bee Experts)

The farm is situated on high ground in the Kennet Valley, facing south, one and three-quarter miles from Newbury, two miles from Thatcham Station, about twelve miles from Reading, and one-quarter mile from the Bath Road.

The residence is a roomy old farm-house, facing south. Its position is thoroughly healthy, 400 feet above sea level.

An old-fashioned garden lies to one side of the house, and four acres of land on the other side, on which the main crops are grown, consisting of hardy fruits, perennials, and other crops.

The farm is conducted as a market garden for business purposes. Students will thus see practical work—the object being to provide outdoor work of the healthiest kind, and at the same time to give a thoroughly practical knowledge of country life—knowledge that may be used as a means of livelihood or in superintending a garden, and will, in any case, be of unfailing interest and use in after life. It is not intended to take a large number of students, so that each student will have individual attention, and her capacity be carefully studied.

The greatest care is taken with regard to the food of the students, and their health carefully guarded.

PRACTICAL WORK

Horticulture.—Instruction in all branches of outdoor gardening; specialities being made of herbaceous plants, violets, and fruit.

Bee-Keeping.—Instruction in the management of bees, including lectures and coaching for the B. B. K. A. Experts’ Examinations. Practical work and manipulation is carried on in the farm apiary.

Carpentering.—Students are instructed in the workshop in the making of various gardening and bee-keeping appliances.

Jam Factory.—Jam making is taught in the small factory which was instituted for the production of homemade preserves.

A French garden has now been added, and a competent Frenchman teaches this branch only. It is worked upon the lines of the famous “Maraîche” system, and differs in every detail from an English garden. All vegetables and fruits are brought on out of season. At present we have 400 frames, all made, glazed, painted, by the students, and 1,000 cloches.

Two other French gardens have been started in England, and have proved successful.

THEORETICAL WORK

Horticulture.—Complete courses of instruction are given in the various branches of horticulture, including Entomology, Soils and Manures.

[2]Botany, for R. H. S. Examinations. Lectures on the elements of morphology and physiology of flowering plants, with practical work, can be attended.

Students also get a thorough insight into packing, purchasing, and marketing produce.

Floral Work.—Demonstrations are given in bouquet-making and floral arrangements.

Session.—The year is divided into three terms of about thirteen weeks each.

Fees.—For the full course, including everything with the exception of botany lectures, £55 per annum. Botany, 30s. per term, in addition.

Extras.—A small fee of 5s. per annum is charged for the use of all tools in various departments. All fees payable in advance at the beginning of each term. A term’s notice of removal of any student must be given, in writing, to the principal, otherwise a term’s fees will be charged. Application for forms of entrance and further details to be addressed to the principals. It is advisable to train for a period not shorter than two years, as experience necessary for success in an after career cannot be gained in less time. Short courses of instruction are arranged when desired.

INSTRUCTION IN PRACTICAL GARDENING FOR LADIES, GLYNDE, NEAR LEWES, SUSSEX

Principal: The Hon. Frances Wolseley

The school was founded in 1901–2, and is supervised by the Hon. Frances Wolseley. The number of students is limited, and great care is taken as to their selection. A personal interview and the highest references are required before admission. The following arrangements for the course of work are a development upon specialised lines of the scheme which has up to now existed. The chief objects of the course are:—

To give a thorough foundation in the management of all the more hardy garden plants.

To improve taste in the laying out and arrangement of gardens. To teach the daily routine work of a private garden, so essential to those who, later, wish to become private head gardeners.

To give students responsibility and thus enable them more easily to be competent to undertake posts when their course of training is completed.

A competent, practical superintendent gives instruction in flower, fruit and vegetable growing. In addition to this well-known advisory experts visit the school from time to time and give lectures upon the theory and special branches of horticulture. H. Edmonds, Esq., B.Sc., of the Municipal School at Brighton, lectures upon Botany and the Chemistry of the Soil.

Mr. Back gives demonstrations upon fruit culture. Mr. Paris lectures upon Bee-keeping. Mr. Edmund D. Foster, Head of the Engineering Department of the Brighton Technical College, has undertaken to lecture upon Land Surveying.

A special feature of the garden is the arrangement of Italian Oil Jars and Lemon Pots.

Students are encouraged to take personal interest in all alterations and improvements made in the gardens.

Attention is given to the every-day work of a garden, comprising:—The care of grass, paths and beds; mowing, sweeping and general tidiness; digging, trenching and other ground operations, raising plants from seeds and cuttings, their subsequent treatment; culture of herbaceous alpine plants and roses; forcing violets, Dutch bulbs, richardias, etc.; watering, ventilation and other points of glass-house management. Gathering and packing flowers and general varieties of vegetables for market is carried out. Fruit is grown, including bush, standards, espaliers and strawberries.

Arrangements are made by which students can visit local gardens. They are required to keep notes of these visits and to answer in writing questions upon them. The advantages thus gained to students, in comparing their own work with that of those having life-long experience, will be a special feature of the school.

Students are encouraged to stay two years if it is found that their special needs can be provided for. In any case they should not stay less than one year. Advice is given as to their future.

A half-holiday is given once a week when the necessary work allows. This implies that quiet times alternate with busy ones, and it is necessary that a high standard in the appearance of a garden should be maintained.

Fees for practical instruction, £10 per annum, payable after a week’s mutual trial. Should the student, owing to any serious breach of discipline, be asked to leave at Miss Wolseley’s wish, this sum is refunded.

The lectures of experts are £2 per annum extra.

Preparation for Royal Horticultural Society’s Examination, £1 extra, but only two-year students go in for this.

Lodgings, conveniently near the gardens, where several students board together, can be secured at 17s. per week, for board and lodging. Each student defrays these expenses.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, READING

Principal: W. M. Childs, M.A., Keble College, Oxford (Professor of Modern History).

Director of the Department of Agriculture and Horticulture: Professor John Percival, M.A., St. John’s College, Cambridge.

Assistant Directors: Edward Brown, F.L.S. (Agriculture); Charles Foster, F.R.H.S. (Horticulture).

Registrar: Francis H. Wright.

The day classes of the college are open to men and women students over the age of sixteen. Students who do not live at their own homes are required to reside in the college hostels or in lodgings licensed by the college. Women students in residence for not less than one session (three terms) are required to reside in the college hostels, unless they have received the principal’s permission to reside elsewhere.

COURSES IN HORTICULTURE

The Department of Agriculture and Horticulture was founded in 1893. Its work is carried on under the inspection of the Board of Agriculture. Courses in Horticulture consist of lectures and laboratory work in the college and of practical work in the college garden and fruit station.

The college garden, four acres in extent, adjoins the main college buildings in London Road, Reading. It consists of vegetable and flower gardens and orchard, and is provided with horticultural buildings. The houses, greenhouses, vineries (early and late), peach house, etc., are used for plant and fern growing, general florist work, market work, and the culture of grapes, pot fruit trees, etc. Students spend upwards of twenty hours per week in the garden, and, in addition, pay frequent visits to neighbouring private gardens, as well as to Messrs. Sutton and Sons’ Trial Grounds, the exhibitions of the Royal Horticultural Society, and the Royal Gardens, Kew.

Besides instruction and practice in the routine operations of the garden, students are placed in charge of sections of both indoor and outdoor work. In their second year they may specialise in market and florists’ work, or in fruit growing, in preparation for work at home or in the Colonies. In all cases they pay special attention to the business side of horticulture and assist in the work of marketing and book-keeping.

During their two sessions’ course, students may take advantage of the workshop, and of the instruction in carpentry, etc., provided, to learn how to make up boxes, staging, and how to repair, glaze, and paint.

In addition to preparing for the college diploma or certificate, students may also prepare for the examinations of the Royal Horticultural Society or of the Board of Education, South Kensington.

During the session 1905–6, eleven acres of the college farm at Shinfield, two and a half miles from Reading, were planted as a fruit station. On this station students will be able to study modern methods of fruit and vegetable cultivation on a commercial scale.

Courses of instruction have been arranged as follows:—

The diploma in horticulture is awarded at the end of a two years’ course in the science and practice of horticulture. The course is designed for students who intend to take up horticulture as a career. It provides training in the sciences on which the practice of horticulture is based, in market and florist work, and in fruit-growing.

Each session of the course extends over forty weeks, including the thirty weeks of the ordinary college session, together with ten weeks of practical work only, arranged to suit the convenience of individual students.

The diploma with distinction in special subjects is awarded to students who, having gained the diploma, spend a third year at the college pursuing special studies, and who pass the examination prescribed. The course is adapted to the requirements of those who may become teachers of horticulture or specialists in some particular branch of horticulture.

Note.—The above diplomas are granted by the Oxford and Reading Joint Committee, on which are represented the college, the University of Oxford, the Royal Agricultural Society, and the Royal Horticultural Society.

The certificate in horticulture (granted by the college) is awarded to students who have followed a one-year course at the college (forty weeks) and have satisfied the examiners in the subjects of the first year examination for the diploma.

The subjects of examination for the diploma and certificate are as follows:—

Diploma (First Year) and Certificate

Diploma (Second Year)

The fees for the above full courses are as follows:—

For students who have resided for not less than a year in the County Borough of Reading or the administrative Counties of Berkshire, Oxfordshire, or Buckinghamshire, £18 the session of forty weeks; for other students, £24 the session.

Students may, however, enter for shorter periods than one year, and may take courses of practical work, together with such lectures as may suit their requirements. The fees are:—For five weeks, £7 7s., for ten weeks, £10 10s. In addition to the above fees, all students pay the registration fee of one shilling per session, and there are entrance fees for examinations. The cost of board and lodging at the college hostels is 21s. per week (for a cubicle), or 25s. to 30s. (for a study bedroom).

Diplomas are not awarded to candidates under the age of twenty-one.

Scholarships tenable at the college are awarded from time to time by the County Councils of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Somersetshire, and Gloucestershire. Application should be made to the Education Secretaries of these counties.

Courses in Agriculture, Dairying, and Poultry-keeping are held at the college. Practical instruction is given at the College Farm, Shinfield, the British Dairy Institute, Reading, and the College Poultry Farm, Theale.

List of Women Students who have Passed the Examinations for the Diploma in Horticulture

1904.—Ellen C. Wallace. 1906.—Caroline Pellew, Lilian S. Tuckett, Brenda M. Young. 1907.—Dorothy M. Cayley, Dorothy A. E. Dyson, Adelaide M. Taylor, Henrietta C. Tuke.

THE HORTICULTURAL COLLEGE, SWANLEY

Principal: Miss F. R. Wilkinson

Vice-Principal and Secretary: Miss M. Kekewich

Lady Superintendent: Mrs. Watson, South Bank, Swanley

LECTURERS

Bee-keeping, W. Herrod, F. E. S. Book-keeping, H. W. Kersey (Lecturer on Book-keeping, Wye College). Botany, Vegetable Pathology, R. J. Tabor, F. L. S. Dairy, Miss Dawson, N. D. D. (Certificate Midland Dairy Institute). [3]Entomology, F. V. Theobald, M. A., F. L. S. (Lecturer on Entomology, Wye College). Gardening, Miss Villiers-Stuart. [3]Greenhouse Construction, F. A. Fawkes. Horticultural Science and Rural Economy, F. J. Baker, A.R.C.Sc. Lond. Manual Training, W. Herrod. Poultry, Miss Dawson.

Head Gardener: Mr. J. Lawson

There is also a staff of under-gardeners and labourers.

The college is situated seventeen and a half miles from London, and one and a half miles from Swanley Junction Station on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway.

Women were admitted in 1892, the college being the first place to open its doors to women students who wished to obtain a thorough training in horticulture.

It stands in forty-three acres of freehold land, allotted to flower, kitchen, market gardens, fruit plantations, playing fields, also conservatories and glass-houses for market work.

Lecture rooms and laboratories form part of the college, while adjoining are a workshop, farm buildings, apiary, dairy, poultry runs, etc.

It aims at giving a thorough training to fit women to become market growers, gardeners in private places, teachers of nature-study and colonists, or to enable them to manage their own property.

COURSES OF INSTRUCTION

The full horticultural course lasts two years, and consists of practical work out of doors and under glass, with lectures on scientific principles. Diplomas or certificates are awarded to students who have qualified.

COLONIAL BRANCH

Courses are specially arranged for intending colonists, which, in addition to gardening, include a simple training in cooking, housework, laundry, needlework, and hygiene.

NATURE-STUDY COURSE

A course for training Garden and Nature-Study mistresses in botany, zoology, geology, meteorology, and simple gardening, extends over one year.

A holiday course for school teachers is held in August, and affords special opportunities for field work, gardening, dairying, etc.

SHORT COURSES

In the spring and summer terms, courses are arranged, lasting six weeks. These include the following subjects:—gardening, dairying, poultry-keeping, bee-keeping, and fruit preserving.

ADMISSION AND FEES

The fees, which, include all expenses except medical attendance, fire in bedroom, laundress, books, and small charge for loan of microscope and tools, and the extras stated below, are, for a cubicle, from £80 a year of three terms, study-bedroom from £96 a year of three terms, out-students from £40 a year of three terms, colonial students from £16 5s. per term.

At the examination held in April, 1907, by the Royal Horticultural Society, sixteen students from the college competed, and secured places among 142 competitors:—

First class, 8; second class, 6; third class, 2.

SCHOLARSHIPS

The County Councils of Kent, London, Norfolk, and Staffordshire offer scholarships at the college to residents in their own counties. As the regulations are not identical, intending competitors should apply to the secretaries of the respective Education Committees for particulars.

Since 1892, 410 students have attended the college courses.

Through the kindness of Miss F. R. Wilkinson, I am able to quote the following interesting statistics:—

AFTER-CAREERS OF STUDENTS

Landscape gardeners, 3; market gardeners, 25; head gardeners, 26; under gardeners, 13; working in home garden, 49; “jobbing” gardeners, 9; teaching, 23; working at science, 5; poultry-keeping, 2; manageress milk depôt, 1; principals in gardening schools, 2; apiarist, 1; at Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, 2.

AVERAGE SALARIES

Landscape gardeners, two guineas a week to two guineas a day head gardeners, highest, £100 a year with rooms, light and vegetables lowest, £20 a year resident; under gardeners, highest, £80 non-resident; lowest, 18s. a week, cottage and coals; schools, highest, £65 resident; lowest, £30 resident; institution, highest, £75 resident; lowest, £20 resident; jobbing, 4s. to 7s. a day; companion gardener, highest, £100; resident lowest, £30 resident.

NATURE STUDY

The following syllabus may be of interest, although the course has already taken place (July, 1907). It will show what an important place Nature Study takes in the education of women.

A course for helping those who are desirous of extending their knowledge of Nature Study will be held at the Horticultural College, Swanley.

Most of the instruction will be given (weather permitting) out of doors, rambles in the country under the guidance of experienced teachers being the chief feature.

Miss Hibbert-Ware (Science Mistress, Queen Margaret’s School, Scarborough) and Mr. Tabor (Resident Science Lecturer) will lead combined excursions for studying birds, pond life, insects, wild flowers, trees, grasses, etc., in their different environments.

The college gardens, greenhouses, orchards, farm, and fruit-preserving appliances will be in working order, and students will be able to obtain an insight into the work carried on in each department. Miss M. Agar will give demonstrations and instructions in simple gardening, and on the care of school gardens. Demonstrations in dairying and poultry-keeping will be given by Miss M. Dawson (N.D.D. and Certificate Midland Dairy Institute), who will explain the chief points of farm operations during the year.

As far as possible the open-air studies will take place within easy distance of the college, but excursions will be arranged to districts with varying soils and climate, and the accompanying variety of natural objects. Students having bicycles are advised to bring them.

It is hoped to combine the natural history excursions with points of antiquarian, artistic, and other interest in outlying districts, and endeavour will be made to render the course useful, both for home life and school work.

FEES

(Payable in advance or on arrival)

For teachers and those training to be teachers, including tuition, board, and lodging, and expenses of excursions, £5 5s.; single room; extra, 10s. 6d.; to those not engaged in teaching an extra fee will be charged of £1 1s.

STUDIES IN PLANT LIFE AND PLANT GEOGRAPHY

By R. J. Tabor, F.L.S. (Resident Science Lecturer), and M. Wilson, B.Sc. Lond.

The work of this course will be arranged on the assumption that most of the students will have had some previous training in elementary botany.

Its objects will be to extend their knowledge of plants in the field, and especially of the various plant associations and their adaptation to their surroundings. For this purpose excursions will be arranged to study the flora of woods, ponds and streams, moors and heaths, fresh and salt water marshes.

An explanatory lecture, illustrated with lantern slides, will be given on the eve of each excursion, in which the special features to be noted in the next day’s work will be described.

The special subject for this year’s course will be “Common British Trees and Shrubs,” and on alternate days laboratory work will be provided, in order that students may become familiar with the distinguishing characters of their leaves, twigs, buds, etc., to enable them to identify these plants in summer and winter.

Facilities will be provided for making collections of common plants for subsequent reference. Students are recommended to bring a flora and a vasculum.

If time permits, a demonstration will be given towards the end of the course on the arrangement and carrying out of simple experiments in plant physiology.

STUDIES IN POND LIFE, INSECTS AND BIRDS, GEOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY

By Miss Hibbert-Ware (Science Mistress at Queen Margaret’s School, Scarborough)

Pond Life.—The management of aquaria. The life-history, breathing, adaptations, etc., of the various aquatic creatures obtained on the excursions.

Insect Life.—Some garden friends and foes (e.g., ladybird, cockchafer).

Birds.—The habits and call notes of common British birds so far as they can be studied during August. Opportunity will be given to students of learning to identify the birds from museum specimens, and also of preparing the skins of birds and small mammals for class use.

Geology.—The origin, composition, and history of some common rocks and fossils, especially those observed and collected on the excursions.

Astronomy.—The subjects of four of the evening lectures will be: 1. The solar system; 2 and 3. The starry heavens; 4. The earth as a member of the solar system.

A part of these lectures will be held out-of-doors.

N.B.—Students are recommended to bring note-books containing both blank and lined pages and paint boxes.

GARDEN LECTURES AND DEMONSTRATIONS

By Miss M. Agar (College Diploma, Landscape Gardener to the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association)

Sowing Seeds.—Seed-bed, temperature, moisture, depth of sowing, vitality of seed, pricking out seedlings—potting on.

Propagation by Cuttings.—Nodes, internodes, growing points, callus, formation of roots—potting on.

(Supplementary: Propagation by leaves, roots, “ringing stems.”)

Budding.—Scion, stocks, time for budding.

Pruning.—Fruit trees, bush fruits, roses.

Demonstrations will be given in the grounds with the exception of pruning, for which the time of the year is unsuitable.

The last published report of the Swanley College will be found of interest.

REPORT: DECEMBER 31ST, 1906

During the past year gratifying progress can be reported in each department of the college work. The value to women of systematic training in the various branches of horticulture is becoming more and more widely recognised from both the utilitarian and educational standpoints. It opens the door to attractive and remunerative employment in many directions, while it serves as an admirable complement to the mental training of the High School or the University. No one doubts that healthy occupation in the open air for a couple of years or so goes far towards counteracting the morbid tendencies which occasionally result from exclusive attention to literary studies, and promotes moral no less than physical development. That the advantages offered by Swanley in this respect are appreciated is evidenced by the number of students who attend solely to cultivate those faculties for which the ordinary school or college makes no provision, and to acquire a knowledge of natural and physical phenomena that will prove of increasing interest throughout their lives.

For those destined for a professional career, whether as teachers or gardeners, the opportunities are daily increasing. The growth of gardens, as instruments of education, in connection with elementary and secondary schools within the past two or three years has been remarkable. The number of elementary school gardens has risen from 379 in 1903 to 570 in 1905 according to the last report of the Board of Education. In 1906 there was a very considerable advance, but the exact figures have not yet been issued, nor are any statistics available in regard to secondary schools. The great difficulty in every county is the scarcity of teachers qualified to undertake gardening and general nature-study. For these duties the training at Swanley affords an excellent preparation. Lord Onslow, when, as President of the Board of Agriculture, he distributed the prizes in July, 1904, particularly emphasised this point. A student who has followed the complete course may obtain a position as gardening or nature-study mistress at a secondary school, or as a peripatetic teacher of those subjects for a group of elementary day schools. With the object of assisting those already engaged in such tuition as well as those who contemplate a similar appointment, the college now provides a Special Third-year Course in natural history.

The demand for well-trained gardeners, capable of acting as the head and assuming the responsibility for a large private garden, exceeds the supply. Applications have again and again to be refused. These posts are desirable in themselves, and furnish infinite scope for the exercise of individual taste and skill. We are glad to note that the salaries offered are somewhat higher than formerly, but they are still often insufficient to attract the best and most promising students.

STUDLEY HORTICULTURAL COLLEGE, STUDLEY, WARWICKSHIRE

Founder: The Countess of Warwick

Warden: Miss Mabel C. Faithful

STAFF OF INSTRUCTORS

Horticulture, Mr. W. Iggulden, F.R.H.S., and Mr. W. Sarsons; Botany, Mr. W. B. Groves, M.A. (Cantab); Poultry, Mr. George A. Palmer; Dairy Farming and Agriculture, Dairy Instructress, Miss K. A. Baynes, N.D.D., B.D.F.A., Diploma; Book-keeping and Business Training, Mr. A. E. M. Long (Chartered Accountant); Apiculture, Mr. W. Herrod, F.E.S.; Fruit Bottling and Jam Making, Miss Cran; Cooking Lessons, Miss Faithfull.

Studley Castle is situated about two and a half miles from Studley Station (Midland Railway) on a branch line between Birmingham and Evesham.

Students may enter for a course of instruction in any of the following groups:—

The Session (year) is of 40 weeks’ duration, and consists of three terms of about thirteen weeks each, beginning respectively in September, January, and May. Students are advised to enter at the commencement of the session, in September, although they can be admitted at any time.

An examination in each group is held at the end of every term. A final examination is held at the end of the session (July), and Studley College certificates and diplomas are awarded to successful candidates who have completed their full course.

Short courses of instruction lasting either six or ten weeks are held at the college, the subjects taught being in accordance with the work done in each department at the particular time of year.

Studley College grants diplomas and certificates to those students who have completed their training, and who have passed the necessary examinations. It is believed that these diplomas and certificates will have a distinct value in the educational and business world, as being the distinctions awarded to skilled and practical workers.

The arrangements for the horticultural sections are as follow:—

Certificate in horticulture, both practical and theoretical, will be granted after two years’ training; it will include horticulture, botany, soils and manures, entomology, and book-keeping. The diploma in horticulture will only be granted after three years’ training.

SCHEME OF WORK

1.—Students may prepare for either or both the examinations of the Royal Horticultural Society and Studley College certificate and diploma.

(a) The Royal Horticultural Society.—This examination is held in April or May, and includes:—

Practical Work.—This includes the care of lawns (mowing and rolling), paths and beds; weeding, potting; planting and propagating flowers and vegetables; mixing soils; seed sowing. Work in kitchen and flower gardens, shrubberies, greenhouses, frames, and hot beds. Budding, grafting, pruning, and planting. Rotation of crops. Orchard work. Cultivation of tomatoes, cucumbers, and melons. Planting of herbaceous borders. Classification of plants, fertilisation. Diseases of plants. Labelling plants and seeds. Table decorations, wreath and bouquet making.

Bee-keeping.—Students are prepared for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Class Experts’ Examination of the British Bee-keepers’ Association and are fully instructed in apiculture, both in theory and practice.

Fruit bottling and preserving.—Course of instruction in fruit bottling and preserving, jam making, etc., will be held during the fruit season (June to October). Students can join for two weeks at a time or longer. Fee, including board and residence, £5 5s. for two weeks.

Marketing department and business training.—Students, on the completion of their full course, may take a course for three months in the marketing department, at the usual fees. This will enable them to obtain a knowledge of this important branch, which it is impossible for them to get during their regular period of training. Students may enter for this branch alone if desired.

The course includes:—Business methods; the markets, and methods of buying and selling goods; packing; railway rates, etc.

Manual training.—Instruction in manual training and woodwork is given by the college carpenter, and includes:—Tools, their names and uses, proper methods of using and sharpening; simple joints, etc. Construction of portable poultry-house and appliances; beehives and appliances, garden appliances, and various articles of general utility.

FEES

All fees are required to be paid terminally in advance, i.e., on or before the first day of each term. A full term’s notice in writing must be given to the Warden before the removal of any student from the college in default of which notice payment of the term’s fees will be required. Notice of removal received after a term has begun will take effect at the end of the term next ensuing.

Short courses:—Students may enter for these at any time when they are arranged.

All fees must be paid in advance. In no cases can fees be returned.

RESIDENT STUDENTS

Full training, with board and residence at the college, in horticulture, or dairy and poultry work: cubicle, £80 a year; study-bedroom, £100 and £120 a year. Short courses for ten weeks: cubicle, £25; study-bedroom, £30. Short courses for six weeks: cubicle, £15; study-bedroom, £18. Bee-keeping is optional, and may be combined with either of the above courses, an additional fee of £5 5s. a year, or £2 2s. a term, being charged. Fruit bottling and preserving:—Two weeks’ course, including board and residence, £5 5s. Manual training and carpentering, £3 3s. a year, or £1 10s. a term. Cooking lessons, £1 5s. a term. Extra charges: Use of microscopes, 5s. a year; use of gardening tools, 5s. a year; use of carpentering tools, 5s. a year.

NON-RESIDENT STUDENTS

Non-resident students can be received at the college under certain conditions. Fees for instruction in each department, 25s. a week, or £13 6s. 8d. per term.

Candidates for admission to the college are requested to write to the Warden for full particulars and admission form, which must be filled in with the name, age, and experience of the intending student, the particular course of study which she wishes to follow, and her ultimate object in seeking instruction. (These admission forms will be regarded as strictly confidential. After receiving notification that her application has been accepted, the intending student will be liable for a term’s fees.)

The Warden of the college prefers to interview intending students previous to admission whenever possible.

The college is open to visitors, but they are asked to make an appointment beforehand. The best route is from Euston, 9.20, reaching Birmingham 11.30; train for Studley, 12 o’clock, from same station; returning from Studley, 4.38, and Birmingham, 7 o’clock. Studley can also be reached from Paddington, G.W.R., viâ Evesham. Students must be in residence at the college on the day previous to the commencement of a term.

ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY OF LONDON PRACTICAL GARDENING SCHOOL FOR LADIES

Held in the Society’s Gardens, Regent’s Park, and officially recognised by the Technical Education Board of the London County Council.

The course of instruction extends over three years, and commences on October 1st.

SUBJECTS: FIRST YEAR

Outdoor Work.—Ground operations, implements used; levelling with borning rods; draining; formation of paths, beds, and lawns; trenching, digging and hoeing; preparation for planting, etc.; care of lawns—mowing with machine, sweeping, weeding, and rolling; flower gardening—herbaceous borders, pricking off, planting; staking, tying and watering; vegetable and fruit garden—double digging, manuring; preparation of seed beds; aërating the soil.

Indoor Work.—Cleaning and crocking pots; materials required for composts; potting, watering, cleaning, staking, tying and top-dressing plants; propagation by cuttings, as geraniums, etc.; pricking off seedlings.

SECOND YEAR

Outdoor Work.—Preparing and storing manure, methods of application; care of lawns, flower and kitchen garden, shrubbery, fernery, etc.; sowing vegetable and flower seeds, and planting tubers; growing vegetables, flowers and fruits; outdoor tomato culture.

Indoor Work.—Horticultural buildings, repairing, painting and glazing; propagation by division of roots, stems, and tubers; forcing and retarding; insects and fungoid pests; methods of extermination; melon, cucumber and tomato culture.

Theoretical Work.—Suitable manures for various soils; principles of hot-water heating.

THIRD YEAR

Pruning trees and shrubs; mowing with scythe; special classes of plants; hybridisation and selection; care of conservatory, plant houses, frames and pits; spraying plants; mushroom culture; vine and fig culture; budding and grafting; labelling.

Theoretical Work.—Keeping garden accounts, stock books, stores, etc.; purchase of pots, gravel, sand, peat, manure, etc.; elementary meteorology; theory of landscape gardening; plant parasites; sprays and washes for insect pests; classes and laboratory work in botany and horticultural chemistry.

The society undertakes that each pupil shall be given opportunities for studying and practising each of the above subjects, but it cannot guarantee that in every case the order of the above list will be adhered to.

FEES FOR THE ABOVE COURSE

First year, £20; second year, £15; third year, £10. Floral decoration is £1. 1s. per annum.

A year’s course in gardening is given to ladies who possess gardens in the country. Early application should be made to the superintendent, Mrs. J. Bryant Sowerby, Botanic Gardens, Regent’s Park.

Amongst the rules I see that pupils must attend at the gardens at 9.30 a.m. in summer, and 10 a.m. in winter, and are allowed an interval of one hour and a half (12.30 to 2) in the middle of the day.

Six students having passed out of the Royal Botanic Gardens are working their own gardens. Two have started as market gardeners. Several are working as jobbing gardeners and companion gardeners.

THE EDINBURGH SCHOOL OF GARDENING FOR WOMEN, CORSTORPHINE, EDINBURGH

Miss Barker and Miss Morison,

Diplomées of Swanley Horticultural College; Certificated Gardeners, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh

The objects of this school are to prepare women for the various branches of practical professional gardening—to fit them for managing a market garden, or for taking charge of private gardens—and to give instruction to those who wish to devote themselves with intelligence to gardening as a private interest.

Situation.—The gardens are situated on the south slope of Corstorphine Hill, in a charming district just beyond the suburbs of Edinburgh. They are within two miles of the west end of the city, within three minutes’ walk of the 'bus service, and within seven minutes’ walk of Corstorphine railway station. The position is eminently suitable both for gardening and for residence.

Grounds.—Part of the garden is devoted to growing for market, and students are taught how to work a market garden through all its stages—from the preparation of the ground and sowing the seeds to the packing of the produce for the market. In this department is included the growing of stuff under glass, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, flowers, etc. Another department deals with the requirements of good private gardens, and includes a vinery, peach-house, mushroom-house, rose garden, herbaceous border, and kitchen garden.

Practical Instruction.—The practical instruction includes all the details of actual work, such as hoeing, digging, care of glass-houses, propagation of plants by seeds, cuttings, etc.; planting-out, thinning, potting, pruning, gathering, and packing. Demonstrations, in which the students take a practical part, are given by experts in bee-keeping and floral decoration, including bouquet-making, sprays and button-holes, table decoration, and wreaths.

Theoretical Instruction.—All intelligent practical work must include a certain amount of theoretical instruction in order to explain the reasons for the various operations necessary. At the same time a more formal and exact study of the sciences underlying the practice of gardening is necessary, and in order to obtain this the students attend certain classes at the Edinburgh and East of Scotland College of Agriculture. Students are prepared for the Royal Horticultural Society’s Examination.

The Curriculum.—The full curriculum extends over two years. Shorter courses may be arranged for those who wish to study with a view to private instruction only, and do not propose to follow gardening as a profession.

The Diploma.—Every care is taken in the arrangements for practical instruction, lectures and examinations, to ensure that the diploma shall be a reliable guarantee of thorough efficiency in the theory and practice of gardening. It will be granted only to students who have taken part in the regular practical work of the school for two years, and have passed satisfactorily examinations in the following subjects:—

Horticulture (Royal Horticultural Society’s Examination), practical horticulture, botany, agricultural chemistry, book-keeping.

Boarding arrangements.—Both resident and non-resident students are received. Resident students live with the principals, Miss Barker and Miss Morison. Two references are required from each student.

Terms.—The session is divided into three terms, beginning respectively in May, October, and January. Students are advised to begin either in May or in October.

Fees.—Resident students, £70 a year; resident students, with separate bedroom, £86; non-resident students, with dinner and tea, £40. Fees are payable at the beginning of each term. A term’s notice is required before a student leaves, otherwise the fee for the term will be charged.

Examiner in Practical Horticulture—Mr. Berry, East of Scotland College of Agriculture.

CLASSES TAKEN AT THE EDINBURGH AND EAST OF SCOTLAND COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE

Horticulture, Mr. G. P. Berry. Agricultural Chemistry, A. Lauder, D.Sc. Agricultural Natural History, R. S. MacDougall, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.E.

CLASS TAKEN AT THE HERIOT-WATT COLLEGE

Botany (Advanced and Elementary), R. S. MacDougall, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.E.

The Year’s Work

The following sketch calendar of the actual work shared in by the students month by month may be of service to those who have little practical acquaintance with gardening. No sketch of this kind can show all the details of daily work, and the separation into months is merely for convenience, as in almost every case the work of one month overlaps with that of another. Certain operations, such as hoeing and weeding, extend throughout the greater part of the year; plants under glass require daily attention, and, in addition, there is the specialised culture required by special classes of plants—vines, peaches, tomatoes, etc.—which is not indicated in this calendar:—

January.—In this month there is much important work to be done under glass and in the forcing-houses. Seeds are sown almost daily—flower seeds, such as annual carnations, petunias, antirrhinums, etc.; and vegetables, such as lettuce, leeks, onions, cauliflowers, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. There are also the gathering and packing of forced flowers and rhubarb, and the forcing of these and other plants. When possible, seed-beds are prepared in the open.

February.—Much of January’s work is continued this month. Seed-sowing goes on, some of it in the open. Plants sown in January have to be potted and pricked out in pans and boxes. Watering, heating, and ventilation in the various glass-houses require great attention. The taking of chrysanthemum cuttings is continued from last month.

March.—This is perhaps the busiest month of the garden year. The preparation of seed-beds and the cleaning of the ground must be completed, as well as the sowing of almost every vegetable that is in the garden, of hardy annual flowers in the open, and of half-hardy annuals in frames. Strawberries are planted, young tomatoes potted on, cucumbers attended to, and more seed sown for late crops. Rooted chrysanthemum cuttings have to be potted on.

April.—Much time this month must be devoted to seedlings to prevent overcrowding and weakening. Cauliflowers are planted out, and vegetable marrows sown in pots for planting out later. More sowings of vegetables and of hardy annuals are made, and half-hardy annuals are hardened-off previous to planting in the open.

May.—In this month sowings are repeated of all vegetables required for succession. Celery plants are pricked out and trenches prepared. Cabbages are planted; out runner beans are sown; weeding and hoeing go on constantly.

June.—The gathering, bunching, and packing of cut flowers form an important part of this month’s work. Celery is put in trenches; mushroom-beds are prepared. Much attention is required by tomatoes and cucumbers.

July.—Flowers for cutting are now more plentiful, and, in addition, the smaller fruits have to be gathered and packed for market. Carnations have to be layered, and strawberry runners pegged down. Broccoli and cabbage are planted out; biennial and perennial flowers may still be sown.

August and September.—These months are the school holidays. The chief work in the garden is the continued gathering and packing of fruit and flowers, and keeping the ground clean.

October.—Bulbs are potted to be forced when well rooted; wallflower is transplanted to its blooming quarters; chrysanthemums are brought in, and celery is earthed up. Vacant plots of ground can be made ready for winter by digging and manuring.

November.—Some bulbs can be planted out in the open; plants ready for forcing are brought in. Cucumbers for an early crop are sown now, and mustard and cress are sown weekly. The glass and brickwork of the houses are thoroughly cleaned. When weather permits, the pruning of fruit-trees and bushes is carried on in this and the other winter months. Chrysanthemums are bunched and packed for market.

December.—Rhubarb is brought in for forcing; vines are pruned, and peach-trees trained.

In bad weather, work is carried on in the glass-houses or the potting-shed, or the time is allowed for study.

ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, GLASNEVIN, DUBLIN, IRELAND

F. W. Moore, Esq., Director of the above gardens, is kind enough to admit two ladies as students in horticulture. No fees are charged, and there is no remuneration of any sort given. There is no syllabus, as the students work under the immediate direction of Mr. Moore. They obtain a thorough knowledge of general garden practice. Cross pollination, collecting seeds, fruit pruning, and all kinds of work, both indoors and out-of-doors, is taught. It is not possible to obtain a more general gardening experience than is given here. All lectures are free. The places are usually taken some years in advance. The first two ladies came on July 1, 1898, and eighteen in all have passed through up to 1907. Of these, the following are at present actively employed as follows:—

Lucy Douglas, County Council Instructor in Horticulture, Co. Cavan; Jane Langley, gardening, laying out gardens, giving advice, good employment in Co. Waterford; Katherine Kinnear, market and nursery gardening in Scotland; Rose Pollock, private secretary and assistant to F. W. Moore, Esq., Botanic Gardens, Dublin; Jean Rogers, working as head gardener; Christina Carlyon, instructor in horticultural college in South Africa; Jane Garner, working her own garden, and botanical and horticultural teacher in Dublin; Emmeline Crocker, head gardener over a large garden in Cornwall; May Crosbie, working her own garden. The students can obtain comfortable and cheap rooms in Dublin, in order to attend daily at the gardens.

The London County Council has organised classes for gardeners, which ladies may attend at

THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL NORWOOD TECHNICAL INSTITUTE, KNIGHT’S HILL, WEST NORWOOD

The following are the syllabuses:

BOTANY (THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL), 5s. PER COURSE

Stage I.—(Elementary): Fridays, 9–10; Practical Class, 7.30–9. Stage II. (Advanced): Fridays, 6.30–7.30; Practical Class, 7.30–9

Lecturer: Miss Eva Whitley, B.Sc.

Stage I. (Covering the London Matriculation Syllabus)

Elementary.—The study of the typical flowering plant; the form and function of the plant organs and the variations which adapt them to special conditions; the inflorescence; the pollination and fertilisation of flowers, fruits and seeds; germination; the nutrition, respiration and growth of plants; the movements exhibited by plants; the outlines of the cellular structure of plants; elements of plant classification, with special reference to some of the more important British natural orders.

Stage II. (Covering the Inter-Science Syllabus)

Advanced.—More advanced work in the subjects taken in the elementary course. Study of typical members of the larger sub-divisions of the plant world (pinus, picra, selaginella, aspidium, funaria, pellia, fucus, spirogyra, hæmatococcus, agaricus, eurotium, puccinia, parmelia, collema, pythium, mucor, saccharomyces), and of additional natural orders to those taken in Stage I.; plant œcology.

In the practical class specimens are examined and described, microscopic preparations made, and a few of the simpler experiments illustrative of physiological processes are carried out.

Two or three museum visits are arranged during the session. These classes should prove useful and interesting to those engaged in horticulture and the allied callings.

GARDENING, 2s. 6d. PER COURSE

Lecturer: Chas. H. Curtis, F.R.H.S.

Tuesdays, 7.45–9.15

SYLLABUS

Introduction.—Need for better methods. How to plant.

Soils.—Kinds and values. Cultivation and improvement. Manures and their value for certain crops and soils. Propagation. Seeds and seedlings. Cuttings and layers. Budding and grafting. Spring-flowering bulbs. Selections.

Planting and potting.—Chrysanthemums for garden and greenhouses.

Small fruits.—Varieties for town and suburban gardens. Pruning and training. Choice fruits; peaches, nectarines, figs, grapes and melons.

Beautiful trees and shrubs.—Flowering, deciduous and evergreen. Rock, wall, and water gardening.

Lawns and walks. Fences and screens. Edgings. Window, balcony, and home gardening. Garden design and improvement. The use and abuse of garden tools. Herbaceous borders. Selections and times of flowering. Summer bedding plants and flowers. Autumn flowers. Conservatory and greenhouse. Annual and biennial plants. Roses for summer and autumn.

Vegetable culture.—Root crops. Onions, leeks, and shallots. Cauliflowers, winter greenstuffs. Salads. Peas for small gardens, beans, marrows, tomatoes. Asparagus, seakale, mushrooms. Forcing.

The syllabus is subject to alteration to meet the needs of the class. Each lecture will be illustrated by specimens, demonstration, blackboard diagrams, etc. Several outings and daylight demonstrations will be arranged during the session.

Ladies may attend the following courses arranged by the London County Council at

BROWNHILL ROAD EVENING SCIENCE, ART, ETC., COMMERCIAL CENTRE, CATFORD, S.E.

Five shillings the session is charged to students over sixteen, and 2s. 6d. to those under sixteen, for one or more subjects, including science and art.

BIOLOGY AND NATURE STUDY

Instructor: Mr. G. Alford

In the first stage, students will investigate the external features, general structure, mode of life, surroundings, life-history, and habits of flowering plants, yeast, frog, amœba, etc.

In the second stage the subjects of the elementary class will be studied more fully, together with the earthworm, crayfish, dogfish, pine, fern, selaginella.

The practical work will deal with nutrition, respiration, etc., including dissection and the microscopic examination of the smaller organisms.

HORTICULTURE

Instructor: Mr. E. H. Smith

This course of lectures is arranged specially for those who take an interest in gardening.

The syllabus of instruction deals with: the cultivation of vegetables, hardy fruit, etc.; the management of the orchard house, flower garden, flowers under glass, seed growing, propagation, etc.

Ladies may attend the courses offered by the London County Council at

BLOOMFIELD ROAD EVENING COMMERCIAL AND SCIENCE AND ART CENTRE, PLUMSTEAD

Five shillings the session for one or more subjects, including science and art, for students over sixteen. For those under sixteen, 2s. 6d. per session for one or more subjects.

BOTANY—STAGES I. AND II.

Instructor: Mr. W. P. Bolas

The lectures will cover but not be confined to the syllabus of the Board of Education. Every assistance will be given to those engaged in the teaching of Nature study. Practical work with experiments forms a special feature of the course. Formation of collections of dried specimens of leaves, fruits, seeds, etc. Special study of British wild flowers. Occasional botanical rambles and visits to places of botanical interest.

Text Books:—Stage I.—Oliver’s “Elementary Botany.”

Stage II.—Lowson’s “Second Stage Botany.”

HORTICULTURE

Stage I.—This stage provides an elementary course on the science of plant life and soil, and will be taught chiefly by experiment and observation.

Plant life.—Seeds. Roots. Leaves structure, transpiration, formation of starch. Stems. Buds. Flowers. Fruits. Seeds. Annuals, biennials, bulbs, tubers, perennials.

The soil.—Plant food. Origin and composition of soils. How plants appropriate food from the soil.

Stage II.—Soil and situation.—Conditions which render land suitable to particular forms of horticulture. Market gardening. Hardy fruit growing. Nursery stock. Cultivation under glass. Proximity to markets or stations. Cost of labour and manure. Conditions of tenure.

Arrangements.—Design of a garden to suit particular purposes. Shelter hedges and wind breaks. Water supply. Roadways and paths.

Tillage.—The various operations and tools required. Drainage. The amelioration of the soil by liming, claying, the incorporation of lightening materials on clay soils.

Composts and manures.—Loam, peat, leaf mould, farmyard manure, liquid manure, artificial manures.

Vegetables.—The cultivation of the standard vegetables in the open air (1) for show, (2) for private consumption, (3) for market work. Preparation of land, time of sowing, manures, management, insect pests, harvesting and storing of each crop. The character of the leading varieties of the cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, etc., celery, turnips, beet, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, onions, peas and beans, asparagus and seakale, tomatoes in the open air. Succession of crops. Forcing. Growth of tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, etc., under glass. Mushrooms under glass and in sheds.

Hardy fruit.—Preparation of the land, planting, pruning and root management, manures. Spraying. Leading varieties of strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, currants, apples, plums, pears and cherries, filberts and other nuts. Renovation of old fruit trees.

Orchard house.—Peaches, nectarines, figs, apricots, cherries, etc. Insect pests, etc.

The flower garden.—Hardy and half-hardy annuals. Bedding out. The herbaceous border. The rock garden and hardy fernery. Management of roses, etc., for show.

Flowers under glass.—Azaleas, ericas, etc., lily of the valley, etc., rose, chrysanthemums, etc.

Shrubs and trees.—Flowering shrubs, etc.

Seed growing.—Saving and storing seed. Cross fertilisation and hybridising. Selection and fixation of new varieties.

Propagation.—Division, offsets. Bulbous plants. Soft and hard wooded cuttings. Layering. Stocks for fruit trees, etc. Grafting and budding.

Ladies may attend the course of instruction offered by the London County Council at