84 



FOREIGN NOTICES. 



and the foot-stalks of the blooms classic, and 

 brandling well away from each other, to form 

 a rich mass of flowers without crowding. 

 The individual flower depends entirely on 

 the form of the purse ; it should be a perfect 

 round hollow ball ; the orifice and calyx can- 

 not be too small, nor the flower too large. 



The color should be very dense; whether 

 the marking be a spot in the middle, or stripes, 

 or blotches, it should be well defined ; the 

 ground should be all one color, whether white, 

 straw, sulphur, yellow, or any other color 



The color of a self should be brilliant, and 

 all over of the same actual shade ; dark flow- 

 ers with pale edges, or clouded and indefinite 

 colors, are bad and unfit for show. 



The bloom should form one handsome 

 bunch of pendent flowers, commencing where 

 the foliage leaves ofl"; the flower-stem should 

 not be seen between the foliage and the flow- 

 er, which latter should hang gracefully', and 

 be close to each other ; the branches of the 

 flower-stems holding them so as to form a 

 handsome spreading surfac-e. 



The Market Gardens Round London, by 

 James Cuthill, Florist, Camberwell. — Covent 

 Garden, the head market of this great metropo- 

 lis, has long been celebrated for the finest fruits, 

 vegetables, and flowers in the world, being dif- 

 ferent now from the time when the poor German 

 gardener settled on a piece of land near the Mon- 

 ster public house. Chelsea, on the lands of the 

 Westminster family. This man bought dung 

 where he could find it, and put it on his ground. 

 The landlord brought an action against him; 

 "but," says the landlord, " as you are an indus- 

 trious man, I shall forgive you if you will promijse 

 me never to poison my land any more, by putting 

 such filthy stuff" on it." The market gardenei-s 

 round London from time to time have been stimu- 

 lated by receiving large prices for their articles, 

 from living in the vicinity of such wealth. It 

 being the head-quarters of the government of this 

 mighty empire of a hundred millions of people, can 

 it be doubted that the most extravagant prices 

 could be obtained in Covent Garden market? For 

 dung the carter is allowed 2s. 6d. for a single 

 load, and for waggons 5s, I have known many 

 coachmen in the Mews at the west end, that were 

 obliged to give those carters 6d., 9d., and Is., to 

 clear the manure away. These men have long 

 hours; but between wages, which are from 15s. 

 to 20s. weekly, and the buying of manure, their 

 wages sometimes reach 30s. per week. A coun- 

 try person will hardly believe me when I tell him 

 that nine cart and waggon loads of vegetables 

 have been brought by one grower, the celebrated 

 Messrs. Fitch, of Fulham, off their 100 acres of 

 land, and all sold in Covent Garden by Mr. Fitch 

 by 9 o'clock in the same morning. Those men 



once sent in a four-horse waggon of scarlet Ten- 

 weeks Stock, ail pulled up by the roots, and in 

 full bloom; they were sold by 7 o'clock in the 

 morning, an.d fetched 301.; but it did not pay the 

 expenses, and was discontinued another year. 



Sixty pounds have been obtained for an acre of 

 cabbages, and upwards of 1001. for an acre of 

 rhubarb, and more for asparagus, 1401. for an 

 acre of white Cos lettuce, 1501. for an acre of 

 strawberries, 84c. I have myself taken 301. for 

 15 rods of ground of early potatoes in the open 

 ground, managed as I have directed in my pam- 

 phlet: 10s. for a cucumber, and 20s. for a melon, 

 2s. an ounce for forced strawberries, and 25s. for 

 forced grapes per pound. I have also taken 6s. a 

 pound for early strawberries, in the open ground, 

 upon early borders. The above prices seem high, 

 but the expenses are enormous. Mr. Fitch, of 

 Fulham, has told me that his 100 acres have 

 some years cost him, everj-thing included, very 

 nearly 40001. The above prices cannot any longer 

 be maintained ; an immense change has taken 

 place since free trade and railroads have been in- 

 troduced. 



The change is fearful upon the old market gar- 

 deners — thej- cannot understand it. They little 

 think how many fresh market gardens have sprung 

 up in all directions, and along the lines of rail- 

 ways — land at 30s. an acre instead of 101., labor 

 low, railway carriage cheap, and everything else 

 in proportion. And again, all those families that 

 used to consume the London grown article, now 

 have their own garden produce sent bj' railvvav. 

 They little think, also, that railways and steam- 

 boats are continually emptying London on the 

 Sundavs. and all other times, by the tens of thou- 



