THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 307 



fail in blooming it. No bulbous plant will flower satisfactorily if 

 always kept growing without a rest, w^hich is the way this plant is 

 treated by the general run of cultivators. Pot in good loam and 

 rotten dung, give plenty of water when growing, grow in cold pit 

 close to the glass and plenty of air, and you will have spikes of 

 bloom two feet in length, irrespective of the bare portion of the 

 stem. After the plants have done flowering, dry off, and lay the 

 pots on their sides under the greenhouse stage. This is quite hardy 

 if planted deep close to the foot of a wall, or along the front of the 

 greenhouse. The flowers are rather small, pale flesh-coloured, which 

 changes to green, and they are deliciously fragrant. 



W. 



THE VILLA FUriT-aARDEN. 



EX GEORGE G0ED0:N". 



SHOULD fancy that in few places would a liberal 

 supply of good fruit be more acceptable than in the 

 villa ; but it is seldom one meets with a fruit-garden 

 attached to this class of structure ; and where a portion 

 of the garden is set apart for fruit-growing, it is gene- 

 rally in such a wretched condition through bad management, that I 

 apprehend disappointments are more plentiful than fruit. The 

 space at disposal is limited, and what there is is invariably made 

 little use of. I do not for a moment expect to find people who 

 are engaged in business throughout the day to be as great adepts 

 in fruit-growing as professionals, who have been in the garden and 

 amongst fruit all their lives, but I do think that many who have a 

 garden, and manage it themselves, may do better than they do. I 

 do not expect that I shall be able to teach all that must be known 

 upon the subject, to transform them into first-rate fruit-growers, but 

 I hope to be able to give a few hints that may be useful, and serve as 

 a guide to those who are inclined to go into the subject in earnest. 

 It is surprising what one can do with but the merest superficial 

 knowledge, if the mind is given to the matter in hand, and pays close 

 attention to it, \vhatever it may be. I have often taken plants in 

 hand to grow that I have known nothing about, and succeeded with 

 them beyond my most sanguine expectations, by watching them, 

 and giving them what little attention they required, when I was 

 they needed it. A close observation of this kind would enable the 

 merest novice to grow tolerable fruit, which, if followed up, would 

 undoubtedly enable him to excel in the production of good fruit. 

 Many growers of both fruits and flowers fail in realiziui^ their ex- 

 pectations, simply because they fancy they know everything about 

 the subject, and give themselves very little trouble in carrying their 

 knowledge into execution. Much better results can be obtained in 

 all gardening matters by knowing little, and doing that little well, 

 than by knowing much and doing little. At all events, I have found 



