1869.] SEASONABLE HINTS FOR AMATEURS. JANUARY. 11 



that we have for many years experienced, and yet withal I have seen no improve- 

 ment. I make this statement upon a somewhat extensive survey, for, when 

 acting in the capacity of a juror, I have had to decide on the merits of not less 

 than from twenty-five to thirty at a time, but among the whole I have seldom 

 found more than two or three the flavour of which was even tolerable ; very 

 often they proved inferior to thef thick-skinned, hard-fleshed, insipid Cantaloups 

 so generally grown forty years ago. 



From what has been stated it is not to be inferred that a high standard of 

 quality is rare among Melons, for by perseverance and the aid of fertilization 

 with the Kashmirs, the Cassabars, and other kinds, we have secured a progeny 

 which in some cases possess so exquisite a flavour as to lead us to suppose that 

 nothing more is required. Breeding between so many near relations has, how- 

 ever, been going on so rapidly of late, as to have brought on debility of con- 

 stitution, so that many of the best varieties have scarcely strength enough to 

 ripen a crop. Are we driven, then, to the conclusion that the deficiency of 

 quality of which I complain, is owing to the want of ability in this particular 

 branch of horticulture ? Such an impeachment would be exceedingly unjust ; 

 and were I to attempt to support any such statement, I should have all the blue 

 aprons in the kingdom rising against me. 



Damaged foliage from whatever cause, an excess of water at the roots, and a 

 too moist atmosphere after the fruit begins to ripen, are, I fear, the proximate 

 causes that produce deficiency in flavour. The loss of even one principal leaf 

 diminishes the elaborating power of the plants, so that the material out of 

 which flavour is formed is greatly reduced. The secondary leaves — those that 

 constantly appear on succeeding shoots — are of less consequence, and the further 

 they are removed from the primary ones, the less important do they become. 

 But this is a subject that I must not discuss at present. 



The Gardens, Tort-worth Court. Alexander Ceamb. 



SEASONABLE HINTS FOB AMATEURS.— JANUARY. 



f~)NDEB this head I intend to give such brief practical directions as may be 

 useful to that large class of amateurs who possess a small garden, and 

 icj who, with the occasional assistance of a man or boy, manage it them_ 

 ^ selves. My remarks will not include all the details of a general calendar, 

 but will be confined to " Seasonable Hints." 



If the weather be open and mild, as it sometimes is in January, the amateur 

 may find much out-door work to do. If he loves flowers, as he is sure to do, 

 and particularly the Queen of flowers, the Rose, he may increase his stock of 

 plants by putting in cuttings now ; the autumn is a preferable season, but cuttings 

 of the last year's wood from five to six inches long, put in now, oftentimes do very 

 well. They should be planted in rows one foot apart, and the cuttings should 

 be three or four inches apart in the rows. The soil should be pressed firmly about 



