16 



JOUEWAL OF HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE : GARDENER. 



[ July ; 



swai-ms of blackbirds, the clouds of tlu-ushes, the numbers 

 of dishwashers or water-wagtails, and starlings (the last two 

 we have taken under our peculiar protection), the swarms of 

 linnets hopping fi'om bush to tree, and ever and anon 

 emitting theii' sweet plaintive notes, and even the armies of 

 the soot-balls of London — the tliieving span-ows. What 

 cared they if the finest Strawberries were nibbled, and the 

 best Peas purloined? "Why we would have a garden for 

 the very pui-]i50se, and let the sweet fellows take all they 

 liked, if we could only get such hopping beauties, such 

 choirs of harmony." It reminded us of a conversation be- 

 tween a lady and her gardener. Says Blue Apron, " I am 

 sadly pestered with vermin. Madam ; will you allow me to 

 take means to lessen the evil by destroying the vermin ? " 

 " Certainly, why should you be thus annoyed 'i but what is 

 or are the vermin ? " " The bii'ds, Madam, the bkds ; I must 

 trap and shoot them." " O ! the birds, the beautifiU bii-ds ! 

 call them vermin ! The sweet, lovely songsters ! No, indeed. 

 You siu-ely would not have the heart to kill them, and you, 

 too, a man of such kind feelhigs ! Why, my beautiful garden 

 would be a lonely thing without my feathered friends." 

 And Blue Apron was obliged to be content -with grumbUng. 

 No doubt he netted and trapped on the sly ; but a report 

 of a gun was never heard. Nets must be our great safe- 

 guard in such cii'cixmstances, then there will be quite 

 enough that will go to the birds' share, to repay them for 

 what good these hard-billed gentry do us at other times, 

 and we confess that to our own ears there is something 

 sadly out of place in the noise of a gun, and the smell of 

 gunpowder in a garden. It is amazing though, how the 

 hard selfishness of our nature ^vill often ride roughshod 

 oyer all our best feelings and kindest sympathies. The last 

 time v/e saw one of our fiiend bird-admirers, who looked 

 upon lis as worse than a Goth, for pej^pering some sparrows 

 among a favourite riuarter of Peas, he was making the 

 whole neighbourhood ring with the rapid discharges of a 

 huge horseman's jjistol. "What, what, are you doing now? 

 1/OTt shooting the pretty birds ! " And he replied with 

 crimsontd cheeks, " Bother them, they have cleared oif my 

 Stravjben-ies, and now they wUl not leave a pod of this new 

 delicious Pea." Aye, just so it is ; let the shoe pinch in 

 the tender selfish part, and then, notwithstanding our ad- 

 miration of our feathered fi-iends, there are times when we 

 would wish they gave us less of their attentions, or that 

 means shoiUd be used by which we might reckon on having 

 the fu'st gatherings, so as to leave them oidy bountiful 

 gleanings. Let bii-ds alone, "first served" will ever be 

 their motto. 



FEtriT GAKDEN. 



Tied-up Raspberries that had drooped and broken ties 

 with the weight of fruit. Some grumbled at t'ne frost in- 

 juring the Gooseberries just when out of bloom, and many, 

 no doubt, were cut ofl' ; but if with us 50 per cent, more had 

 gone, it had been a good thing for the bushes, as they ai-e 

 far too heavily loaded, notwithstanding the quantity taken 

 for bottling. Even now it would be a charity to thin them if 

 we could find the time. One advantage is, there will be 

 little necessity for summer pinching of the young wood, 

 though both GoosebeiTies and Currants, at all strong, are 

 much more friritful and easily regulated in consequence. 

 Some of the bushes ai'e rather thin of leaves, which we 

 attribute more to a thunderstorm than to caterpillars, as 

 after eaiiy spring we have seen little of the latter. Netted 

 almost every piece of ripening Strawberries, and find that 

 the individual fruit, thanks to the rains coming in time, are 

 coming better in size than we expected at fu-st. Some of 

 the later Keens' and the earliest Queens have been very 

 good ; stOl the bulk, owing- to the dry weather, are rather 

 smaller than usual. At one time it was aU the fashion to 

 have Strawberry-banks, the beds divided by stones, flints, 

 bricks, &c., and the Strawberries hanging temptingly over 

 them. The fu-st necessity for theu- full success we should 

 consider to be abundance of water near to them. One ei-ror, 

 however, it is as well to dissipate, and that is the idea that 

 beds so raised require such an amount of water iu addition to 

 those plr.nted on the level quaa-ter. Young plants generally 

 need moi-e at ih-st ; but when plants are established and the 

 surface is either kept stirred or mulched, the plants on such 

 banks need no more watering than those on the level. In 

 fact, they are just as independent as the depth of good 



earth beneatii them is all the more, for the roots wiU go 

 deeper and the moisture will rise by capOlai-y attraction so 

 long as there is moisture to get. We have known such 

 banks spoiled by merely keejiing the sui-faoe moist, v/hich 

 kept the roots starved from two causes — the water at the 

 surface did not get down to them, and the line of evaporation 

 being broken there was no rising of moisture fi-om beneath 

 to help the-m. 



Netted aU Cherries from which we expected to gather, 

 otherwise we should expect to reap nothing but the stones 

 and the stalks. Kept shortening the points and thinning 

 the shoots of Pears, Apples, Plums, &c. Find ovu- double 

 smoking has pretty weU done for the brown beetle among 

 the trees in orchard-house. Peach-house, &c., but it has been 

 a woiTy. Have heard wondi-ous tales about a new insect 

 powder, and a sort of piston pepper-box for ejecting it on 

 insects wherever settled or situated. The thing is, those 

 missed are just the mischief and need the looking alter. We 

 dislUce smoking for many reasons ; but still lor many pur- 

 poses it is still the most efl'ectual plan. Painted the backs 

 of frames and pits where Melons are gro-wing, to keep the 

 red spider, &c., at a distance. Watered Peach trees. Fig 

 trees, and Vine-border outside after strewing over it a little 

 soot and superphosphate of Hme. Used water about lOCK, 

 as it woiJd get cooled in toxiching the earth, and proceeded 

 ■svith thinning Grapes as fast as we could, as they now re- 

 quit-e being attended to. Young potted Pines should be 

 slightly shaded and syringed in very bright days, and if 

 shut up early in the afternoon should have a little ail- all 

 night if the heat inside will permit. Prom 60° at night, to 

 85° and 90° during the day, -svith air and atmospheric 

 moistm-e in proportion, -will suit them better than a liigh- 

 steaming temperature at night, which renders them too 

 languid to stand a great amount of sun heat -without flinch- 

 ing. Bottom heat now should be from 85° to 90°. Removed 

 Chen-y trees finished bearing and -with buds well formed to 

 an earth-pit, partly phmged the pots, and gave in addition 

 to necessary waterings, good syringings all over -with 

 clear soot water, and at times a little sirlphiu- water to 

 keep off red spider or other insects. Those who -wish fine- 

 flavoured Oranges of their own growth, should keep their 

 plants under glass and give them plenty of sun temperature. 

 Guavas, where grown should also have plenty of sun and 

 air as the fruit ripens, or it wul be insipid. Other matters 

 much in routine. 



OKIJAMENTAL DEPAETMENT. 



Mowing Machines. — Out of doors the chief work has been 

 mowing and machining the lawn and grass between flower- 

 beds. In grass of usual strength the machine ought to be 

 used every four- days or so in common weather. There is 

 little economy iu using it so as to be forced to go over the 

 grotmd t-wice. Some gentlemen have complained to us, 

 that though they can manage with Budding's, Shanks', 

 Wilkinson's, Green's, &c., when the grass is short and dry, 

 and the gound firm and hard, they can do no good -with 

 then- machines ivhen the grou'nd is at all mossy, as the 

 knives get clogged up at once and refuse to cut except in 

 seams, that not only tear the muscles of the man's arms, but 

 leave the v/ork in ridges and fuiTows and as ugly as a bad- 

 cropped head of hair. To remedy the latter e-nl the roller 

 or rollers in front snould be sunk considerably, which just 

 elevates the knives all that the more, and enables them to cut 

 the grass -without plunging- do-wn into the moss. In fact, all 

 such matters must be regulated by the roller in front. In 

 going among small beds and going round circular beds, it is 

 of importance that the roUer in front, as in Green's lU-inch 

 machines, shovild be divided into four equal parts, as then 

 you can go round a circular or a curved line as easHy as a 

 straight one. With the roller in one piece you cannot do 

 so, but must take several shorter strokes to get round the 

 ch-cle or curved Kne. As to eiitting gTass when wet, though 

 it can be done, we rai-ely attempt it, but find that the drier 

 and shorter the grass the better the work wlU be done. For 

 want of regulating- by the roller many a machine is left to 

 enjoy itself alone in the tool repository and the old scythe 

 depended on. We were lately consulted as to why a machine 

 would not work. Its roUer has been removed as an im- 

 provement, and to cut -with such a machine at all must have 

 required a very gi-eat amount of physical exertion merely to 



