THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 363 



manure, in exactly the same manner as advised for seakale, with the 

 exception of having a medium sized tub, instead of an ordinary 

 sized seakale-pot. Or if they have the convenience of a mushroom 

 house a few stools can be stowed away, where they will occupy au 

 analogous position to those in the forcing-houses. I have also grown it 

 in large barrels, closely covered, and placed in the pine stove, and 

 have found it to be anything but a despicable way of obtaining a 

 good supply of blanched rhubarb. 



EOUGH AND EEADY GARDENING.— No. Y. 



By Josiah Illma]s^, 



Wellington Nurseries, Strood, Eent. 



TEACnES, I^ECTAEINES, A^'D ^SrEICOTS, WITII0T7T THE AID OF 

 WALLS Oil GLASS. 



jHE Editor has invited me to contribute my mite towards 

 his series of papers on " Eough and Eeady Gardening." 

 I cheerfully comply, both Irom feelings of personal 

 respect and because of my admiration of the Eloeal 

 WoELD as one of the most useful works of a most 

 useful class. I might, indeed, be pleased with the opportunity of 

 communicatiniy what I have to say, because I believe it to be 

 important, and because I know it to be novel ; however, I will 

 leave the reader to judge on those points, and will deliver my message 

 as briefly as possible. 



My nurseries are not in Italy, nor even in Devonshire, as some 

 appear to suppose, but in Kent. The climate is not one of the trest 

 in England, nor is it one of the worst. We have visitations of frost 

 late in the spring, as in ail the Midland and South-Eastern Counties, 

 and vegetation frequently suffers thereby, especially in those years 

 that are characterized by extra warm weather in February. These 

 few particulars are essential points of my story, as the sequel will 

 prove. It is to be understood at the outset that there is no peculiar 

 advantage of climate to be obtained by residence at Strood ; so we 

 conclude that what has been done here may be repeated in ten 

 thousand gardens in various parts of Great Britain. 



In February, 185S, I found myself in possession of a considerable 

 surplus stock of peach, nectarine, and apricot trees — a common event 

 enough with nurserymen. Instead of potting them, as is the custom, 

 to have them ready for sale at any time, I planted them out. Now, 

 to obviate all possible mystification, I must say that our soil, like 

 our climate, is of a common-place character. It does not consist of 

 gold dust ; it is neither particularly fruitful nor particularly barren. 

 It is a good sandy loam, in which almost every kind of hardy plant 

 (trees included) thrive fairly. The peach, nectarine, and apricot 

 trees were Euch as are called " dwarf one-year cut-back trees'' in the 



