610 



PRODUCTIVE FAMILY GARDENING. 



a house, occupied by roses, where no fire 

 heat was applied, and ripened its fruit by 

 the 2d of July. Mr. Smith will not offer 

 plants for sale until the vine inarched comes 

 into bearing ; then purchasers can have 

 occular demonstration as to its merits. The 

 above vine that he has possession of, I know 

 to be genuine, having introduced it myself 

 from Stradsett Park, in the spring of 1847. 

 As I conducted the gardens at Stradsett 

 Park for six years, previous to my coming 

 to this country, I can confidently speak of 

 its good qualities ; and my (then) employer, 

 Wm. Bagge, Esq., M. P., who is a first 

 rate judge of good fruit, used to say that it 

 ranked next to the Muscat of Alexandria, 

 and was the second grape in cultivation. 

 Mr. Joseph Harrison sent a plant of this 

 variety to Stradsett, from Petworth, in 1839, 



being one of the first plants propagated from 

 the original. 



Having extended this article to a much 

 greater length than I intended, I must crave 

 your indulgence for encroaching so much 

 upon your valuable pages. In conclusion, 

 I would recommend not another variety to 

 be added for pot culture ; and to have the 

 very best, I would repeat, use Black Ham- 

 burgh, Black Prince, Chasselas Precoce, 

 (true ;) and, when obtainable, Cochin China^ 

 and Clay Hall Seedling. 



The first opportunity I have, I will give 

 you a description of the Clay Hall Seedling 

 grape, and how it originated. And now, 

 hoping to see vine culture advance rapidly, 

 both in and out of doors, I remain, sir, yours 

 truly, James Stewart. 



WashinglOH, D- C, Feb. 14, 1849. 



PRODUCTIVE FAMILY GARDENING. 



[from the LONDON HOET. MAGAZINE.] 



The great secret of getting rich is to make 

 the most of what we have ; and whether 

 this applies to money, to time, or to land, 

 it is the same. You may almost tell what 

 a man is by the appearance of his garden. 

 Does he make the most of his ground? then 

 there is some hope he is prudent. Does he 

 make the most of his labor ? he will rarely 

 want. We do not mean that such men are 

 never unfortunate, that they have not their 

 troubles and trials like other men ; but 

 under every kind of visitation such men are 

 better prepared, and therefore suffer less 

 than careless reckless persons. In a gar- 

 den no rod of ground should be ever idle. 

 If a man who is naturally lazy has not kept 

 his ground well cropped, he may have his 

 excuses about laying fallow, ridging it in 

 ■wdnter to mellow the soil, or leaving it 

 rough that the frost may get into it ; but 

 there is no occasion for all this, — the soil 

 need on no occasion to be at rest ; change 

 of work is. a holiday to man, and change of 

 crop is all that any ground needs ; for no 



two crops require the same kind of feeding, 

 and consequently, by changing from one 

 which requires high feeding of one kind to 

 another that requires no feeding, or feeding 

 of another sort, the ground continues at 

 work without being exhausted. If ground 

 has been used for carrots, parsnips, or beet- 

 root, it may be immediately cropped with 

 lettuces, or some crop which has no tap 

 roots. Turnips, also, and potatoes, may 

 be followed by peas. Very little attention 

 (if that be properly devoted) will be neces- 

 sary to prevent ground being wasted, or 

 crops being out of place. When a garden 

 is wanted for a family, and economy rather 

 than variety is to be consulted, we are 

 quite sure that asparagus, sea-kale, and 

 similar expensive things, ought not to be 

 undertaken. The first object is plenty, the 

 second object is the choice of those subjects 

 which last on the ground, or preserve well 

 when taken off. Potatoes are a first con- 

 sideration, onions, carrots, parsnips, and 

 beet-root, are next, and Jerusalem arti- 



