THE 



GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



AND 



HORTICULTURIST. 



DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE, ARBORICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS. 



Edited by THOMAS MEEHA.N. 



Vol. XXI. 



FEBKITARY, 1879. 



Nnniber 242. 



Flower Garden and Pleasure Ground. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



A gardener writes to know what he shall do 

 with his situation. Three years ago when he en- 

 gaged he found a place of four acres, mostly 

 lawn, part vegetable garden, and three green- 

 houses. He was to have one man to assist him, a 

 house to live in free of rent, coals, and such vege- 

 tables as might be raised over and above the 

 wants of the proprietor, and fifty dollars a month 

 in cash. After he was there a year he was told 

 they could give him only forty dollars a month, 

 and to this he agreed. Last Fall they told him 

 he must get along without the extra man, and 

 he said he would try. ITow they say for the 

 next year they shall give him only thirty dollars 

 a month, and he must do the best he can with- 

 out anyone to help him. He does not want to 

 throw himself out of work and his family with- 

 out food, and though no better off than a labor- 

 ing man without any horticultural knowledge, 

 had he not better stay on so long as they are 

 personally satisfied with him ? Of course we can 

 ofier no advice in a case like this, but it brings 

 us back to a thought we have often given expres- 

 sion to, that people often make gardens with- 

 out any thought of the after expense. The 

 owner of the place our correspondent refers to 

 cannot possibly take any pleasure in that place. 



To keep in a pleasurable condition, a place such as 

 our correspondent describes requires at least an 

 annual expenditure of iSl,200 to $1,500 to make it 

 creditable, and no one should think of starting 

 such a place unless he can see clearly that he 

 will have that amount to spend on it without 

 interfering in any way with other affairs. Very 

 much may be done to have a place neat and nice 

 by what are called handy laborers. Men who 

 can mow, dig and plant, and look after an occa- 

 sional horse, at an expense of three or four 

 hundred a year, can often be found who can 

 make a fair sized place look neat and clean ; and 

 if the owner himself has taste, andean mark out 

 clearly what he wants, even creditable garden- 

 ing can often be accomplished, and the fruits, 

 vegetables and flowers raised between whiles 

 and used in the family will pa}^ for the man's 

 wages. But where anything like garden taste or 

 garden beauty is aimed at, very much garden ex- 

 pense must be expected and provided for. Our 

 experience is that half the gardens where gard- 

 eners are kept are considerably too large ; they 

 are found to be too expensive. Instead of cut- 

 ting down half the work, annoying reductions 

 are made, which only aggravate the gardener 

 and take out of him all ambition to excel. He 

 simply " puts in his time," as our correspondent 

 probably will, till something better turns up. 

 And the same holds true of gardens where no 



