04 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



find it difficult to select a dozen that 

 may be trusted ; they take no interest 

 in their work, for casual jobbing is at 

 variance with a man's pride in his 

 craft ; and between what your ground 

 may produce, and what you may get, 

 there may be the difference of many 

 a parcel dropped over the wall to be 

 converted into beer ; and as to the 

 work generally, it is of a kind that 

 leaves the surface of things neat for 

 a day by a sleight of hand — there is no 

 soundness, no heart in it. I know, from 

 an experience of more than twenty years, 

 that vegetable culture pays well when 

 skilfully accomplished. I could grow 

 cucumbers and celery fit for exhibition 

 before I was fourteen, and though I 

 have, between that time and now, been 

 engaged in many various pursuits, the 

 fertile soil has always been the anchor- 

 ing of my sympathies. I like to 

 see the well-planted rows following 

 the " right line " of the geometrician ; 

 I like to see the loam crumble from 

 the' fork ; the pleasure of fruiting 

 strawberries in pots, is worth ten times 

 the market value of the fruit they 

 give me, and if I were condemned to 

 choose between flowers and vegetables, 

 one department only to be allowed 

 me, I should cling to the profitable 

 garden, and give up the laughing 

 Flora for the matronly Pomona, with 

 a sigh of course, but not with a regret 

 that would embitter me for ever. De- 

 pend upon it, it is no mean art that 

 enables a man to take off potatoes at the 

 rate of five tons to the rood, to gather 

 a thousand cucumbers from one vine, 



and then strike cuttings, and go on 

 again without the help of seed, or to 

 manage a succession of crops, so that 

 there shall always be plenty and 

 variety, and not a single waste leaf to 

 cumber the ground. It is not a sor- 

 did feeling that stimulates a man to 

 cultivate such things as shall increase 

 the enjoyments of his family, and 

 prove welcome as gifts to friends ; and 

 the task of rearing handsome crops of 

 eatables, each in perfection at its sea- 

 son, and some thrust out of their 

 season, to gratify an honourable caprice, 

 is one that has its rewards in many 

 ways beside the profit; or, rather, the 

 profit should be understood to include 

 the pleasure attendant on the exercise 

 of skill and industry, the source of 

 health which a garden always proves 

 to a man who loves it, and the per- 

 manent inducements it holds out to 

 exchange the excitements of the 

 tavern, the theatre, and quarelsome 

 debates on politics for fireside peace, 

 and true home comfort. And this is 

 equally true whether a man be called 

 to the hurry of commercial life in 

 town, or be blest with country air and 

 singing birds in the midst of farms and 

 gardens. I write as I feel on these 

 matters ; I cannot bring myself to 

 harsh prosing, when the subject in- 

 vites one's heart as much as one's head, 

 and the world is never more ready to 

 pardon enthusiasm than when it is the 

 sign and token of a love of out-door 

 pleasures, and has for its end and aim 

 the improvement of the social ties that 

 bind the human family together. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Vines, with other Plants. —Amateur.— Vines 

 may be, and are frequently fruited very suc- 

 cessfully in houses containing mixed collections. 

 The best system of pruning is the one you 

 adopt; and the vines ought to give you a good 

 crop this season. Carry a rod up each rafter ; 

 let them break at about 50 degs!, aud syi - inge 

 every day, taking care to keep the floor of the 

 house as dry as possible, and to give air fre- 

 quently, to prevent injury by damp to other 

 things. If the roots are in the house, they will 

 be sufficiently active to maintain the progress 

 above ; but, if out of doors, they ought to be 

 mulched over with litter, aud protected from 

 heavy cold rains, by thatched hurdles ; though, 

 if the border is warm, and well-drained, a little 

 mulching with dung and leaves may be suffi- 

 cient. Give as much moisture in the air, by 

 syringing, as is consistent with the health of 

 the other plants, which will now bear a mode- 

 rate increase of heat aud moisture, without in- 



jury, if they have plenty of light. Increase the 

 heat gradually to 65 degs., as the vines come 

 into bloom ; and to set them well, syringing 

 ought to be discontinued, and the house kept 

 close and warm till the berries are formed. This 

 is the time when greenhouse plants are apt to 

 suffer, and the chief source of what little diffi- 

 culty may occur in fruiting vines with other 

 plants. As soon as the berries arc set, the 

 syringe may be used again, and air admitted 

 plentifully, to swell the berries, and keep down 

 pests. In a house not artificially heated, good 

 grapes may be grown : and, of course, the 

 natural progress of the season will determine 

 the order of their growth ; but where heat is 

 at command, even to any amount, we should 

 never force early, unless the house were appro- 

 priated entirely to grapes, and then the vines 

 may be broken from September to April, accord- 

 ing as the fruit may be desired — early or late. 

 A gentle heat should be used at first— not more 



