230 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTITEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. [ September 22, 1863. 



and 18 inches wide by 20 inches deep, with 20 inches of 

 drainage below that. The soil is rough peat, with a liberal 

 admixture of pieces of charcoal. It receives about four 

 gallons of water daily, and is never subjected to any heat 

 beyond that given to the Heaths and Epacrises in winter, 

 or about 45" on an average. 



The Heaths and Epacrises are now outside, but the house 

 contained a good collection of Geraniums of the best sorts 

 in flower, and amongst them I noticed a seedling of Mr. 

 Baynes's much in the way of Wonderful, with large trusses 

 and bold flowers, some trusses consisting of a dozen blooms. 

 Although, perhaps, of no merit when under the eye of a 

 florist, yet it is a very useful variety for conservatory de- 

 coration. 



The greenhouse, a very old structure, is undergoing 

 repairs, and the last vestige of flues in it is being swept 

 away, buried where rubbish always was. It really is 

 astonishing to see how good the woodwork of this house is, 

 and the glass so clear, considering that it is about forty 

 years old. The house is 24 feet by 15, and a lean-to. 



Against the north waU a glass lean-to has been erected 

 recently, which is to be devoted to the growth of Peaches, 

 Nectarines, and Plums of the choicest kinds that can be had. 

 The length of this house is 300 feet. The roof has a rapid 

 fall or high pitch, short lights in front which open, and 

 about 1 foot of the top opens also the entire length, these 

 lights being shut or opened easily by levers and cranks. It 

 has two four-inch pipes along the front, and the glass is put 

 in in large squares. I understand the cost of a house of 

 this description is about .£1 per foot, exclusive of the pipes. 



In the centre of the garden stands Mr. Waterhouse's ob- 

 servatory. He was formerly very partial to astronomical 

 studies. He has kept a rain-gauge for nearly forty years, 

 and is one of those who delight in seeing and enjoying an 

 interesting garden, and whilst doing so is not backward in 

 permitting others to view his, in proof of which I may state 

 that his groimds were open to the visitors of the recent 

 flower show at Halifax. 



In conclusion, allow me to say that all I saw was very 

 praiseworthy, and highly creditable to Mr. Baynes and his 

 assistants, to whom I tender my hearty thanks for his cor- 

 diality, and not less his hospitality ; and with a shake of the 

 hand I bade farewell to him and left one of the most inter- 

 esting gardens in the county of York. — G. A. 



TEAJN'SATLANTIC EITCHEN-GARDENING. 



Not the least part of a true gardener's professional enjoy- 

 ment is the pleasure (albeit plentifully seasoned with a due 

 mixture of mental anxiety), of getting in his spring crops 

 as safely and speedily as possible ; and here where we are 

 of necessity almost entirely confined to in-door operations 

 from November till March, the change is all the more agree- 

 able and exhilarating when we can put a spade in the 

 ground, and have the earlier crops fairly under weigh. 

 Spring, strictly speaking, is of very short diu-ation here, as 

 we are launched from the rigour of winter almost right into 

 the heat of summer with very Httle intervening preparation. 

 As an instance of the rapiiity of the change, I find on re- 

 ference to notes taken at the time, that on the 10th of April 

 last year we had a heavy fall of snow with a corresponding 

 temperature, and on the 18t.h of the same month (Good 

 Friday), the thermometer indicated 88° in the shade, with a 

 cloudless azure sky. This rapid change has, of course, a 

 corresponding effect on vegetation, necessitates an energetic 

 concentration both of head and hand work, and very speedily 

 rubs off any rust that may have accumulated about the 

 mental faculties diuring the long winter months. I was 

 much strack with the truthfulness of a motto I can well 

 remember reading in the rooms of the late Albert Smith, 

 Piccadilly — viz., '■ Rubs make men and gems Ijright," from 

 whence the inference may very readily be drawn, that as gar- 

 deners in piursuit of their legitimate caUing meet occasionally 

 with some pretty hard rubs, this may account in a great 

 measure for the honourable position horticulture at present 

 occupies, and for the superior intelligence that is to be found 

 ajnongst those who devote their best energies to the eleva- 

 tion of the science of gardening ; but at the same time it 

 must be borne in mind, that there must be something of 



the gem in the man to begin with, else no amount of rubbing 

 will brighten up general opacity. 



The gardeners of America exhibit a most praiseworthy per- 

 severance and practical ingenuity in contending against and 

 overcoming difhculties incidental to climatic extremes, with 

 rapid and very often violent atmospheric changes ; but most 

 of those holding good situations here have learnt the mdi- 

 ments at least of then' profession, in some part of the British 

 Isles. The old and oft-quoted adage, " That it never rains 

 but it pours," though generally applied allegorically, is 

 literally true here, for without any preparatory Scotch mist, 

 down the water comes in torrents, often doing sad mischief, 

 and leaving the ground when diied like well-baked pie-crust. 

 In consequence of this feature, besides being the better 

 practice under any circumstances, cropping is almost in- 

 variably done in rows, so as to admit of a liberal application 

 of the Dutch hoe to break the crust. 



As the ground is often frozen to the depth of 18 and 

 20 inches, very little kitchen-garden work can be done before 

 the last week in March, and in late seasons not before the first 

 week in AprU, when the first crop of Peas is sown. Of these, 

 successions are sown up to the first week in June ; after that 

 time it is of little use to sow them, as they are almost sure 

 to be destroyed by mildew ; ft'oni the succession sown on the 

 7tli of June last yeai', from this cause I could not pick a dish 

 fit for table. Cauliflowers, with the excei^tion of an eai-ly 

 crop on a hotbed, are a very precarious vegetable, the hot 

 weather generally coming in too soon for them, and if com- 

 bined with a spell of dry weather causing a general inclination 

 to " button," a most provoking consummation to a sanguine 

 gardener's hopes. Young Beets are highly relished as a 

 dish, and by a little management may be supplied from the 

 1st of May tiU November, when they are lifted and stowed 

 away for winter use in the regular orthodox manner. The 

 Bassano, Blood Tiu-nip, and Henderson's Pine Apple Beet 

 are the most useful varieties for summer) and the Long 

 Blood Red for winter use. But the most indispensable 

 vegetable in an American kitchen gai'den is the Tomato ; 

 and whether it is owing to the climate adapting the system 

 to relish it, or the juices of the fruit being more highly per- 

 fected by a tropical temperature, I can testify from personal 

 experience, that there is no more desirable addition to a 

 rei^ast during the continuance of the hot weather than the 

 Tomato, and previous to coming to America I could not 

 endure even the smell of them. They are highly relished 

 both by rich and poor, are sent to table both raw and cooked, 

 besides making excellent preserves and ketchup. The seed 

 is soivn in heat in Februai-y, and by the middle of May 

 there are fine strong plants for planting out, which is done 

 in rows 4 feet apart each way. They require very little more 

 attention except keeping the ground clean, and a little 

 judicious thinning if the plants grow too rank. 



We have an improved substitute for the Windsor in the 

 Lima Bean (substitutes are at a premium just now), and an 

 excellent vegetable it is. Hills are prepared 4 feet apart 

 each way, with a pole fr-om 10 to 15 feet high in the centre 

 of each, five or six Beans are then planted round the bottom 

 of the pole about the middle of May, and in a shoi-t time 

 this part of the garden looks like a miniature Hop field, 

 for the Lima is a gTeat runner — indeed, a gardening friend 

 averred that were they supplied with a pole 50 feet high 

 he believed they would reach the top of it by the end 

 of the season ; but this I cannot vouch for, nor is it desir- 

 able they should reach such an altitude, else the task of 

 gathering a dish woiild be no sinecure. Should a cold rain 

 occiu" just after planting, the Bean is .almost sure to burst 

 and rot in the ground, and as only one planting can be 

 made, considerable judgment is required to get them evenly 

 above ground. 



Kidney or string Beans are also grown extensively, and 

 in September and October last yeai', I had a fine crop grown 

 from seed saved from the spring sowing — an instance of ad- 

 vantages sometimes to be derived from climate. 



Sweet Corn mxist also be supplied daily fi'om July to 

 October, and forms a most agreeable addition to the dinner- 

 table. This is an improved variety of the Indian Com, and 

 it is surprising how quickly it degenerates if a field of corn 

 be in close proximity to that pai-t of the garden where it is 

 planted. Sweet Corn is generally planted in hills 3 feet 

 apart, successional crops being put in from May to July, 



