1871.] GARDEN SUPERINTENDENCE. 25 



fullest extent, though his pride does generally sustain it for a great 

 while. But to come nearer the question in hand, let us imagine a 

 young man leaving a subordinate situation in an establishment, where 

 everything has been kept in that trim order which he has been accus- 

 tomed to regard as necessary to his peace of mind, to take charge of 

 another, where, in addition to an inadequate squad in a chronic state 

 of mutiny, he finds everything suffering from long-continued misman- 

 agement and neglect — houses in a state of chaotic confusion, great 

 encouragement for painters and glaziers, and particularly for car- 

 penters, though there may be an easy-going colony over the way, upon 

 whose staid habits our young friend's energetic representations fail 

 to make any perceptible impression. In the kitchen-garden things 

 are on a par — walks, the outlines of which are here and there indi- 

 cated by vestiges of extinct edgings, he finds to serve both for pur- 

 poses of traffic and main-drainage, becoming small mountain-torrents 

 after a thunderstorm, which, following the well-worn barrow-tracks, 

 turn in at the first door of a range of sheds, where, after filling up the 

 inequalities of the floor, they find their way to a Mushroom cellar, which 

 they traverse, eventually finding their way through a hole in the wall, 

 knocked out with an eye to expediency, and pouring like a small 

 waterfall into a deep stoke-hole on the other side, drawing forth, at the 

 same time, a very emphatic commentary from the superintendent of 

 these regions, who nevertheless displays great engineering ability in 

 contending with an element so unfavourable to his operations, the cir- 

 cumstances never failing to set him a-cogitating on a grand drainage 

 scheme that is for ever to emancipate him from his troubles. As 

 regards vegetables, let him imagine some crops tolerable, some very 

 bad, with here and there large tracts bearing marvellous crops of 

 Groundsel and Sow-Thistle ; Espaliers contending for very existence 

 with long rows of ancient Gooseberry-bushes planted in front of them, 

 and everything else in the same cheerful order. In such circumstances, 

 great reliance has been placed upon a field of Turnip-tops for furnishing 

 a second-course dish; and for bedding-stock, &c., an extensive acquaint- 

 ance with friends better off has been found of great advantage. In 

 addition to all this, a civil understanding with a number of important 

 individuals who entertain the most innocent ideas concerning the 

 capabilities of a garden has to be kept up, not to speak of employers, 

 whose hobbies the gardener must adopt as his own, until such time as 

 he can modify them at his discretion. Now, this, though a tolerably 

 bad case, is no imaginary picture ; the great consolatory feature being, 

 that there is plenty of room for improvement. A young man placed 

 in such circumstances is very likely to be the subject of what a certain 

 class of individuals would call " salutary reflections." His self-esteem, 



