March 29, 1877. ) 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



337 



one of those plants whicli cannot be grown too fast or too 

 strong. Some tell ns it is not from the etrongett wood we get 

 our finest fruit. Granted in some oases, there being so many 

 ways of growing and ripening the canes. While a, house 

 has every attention paid to it, properly drained, as a rule 

 looked through in the evening, and a temperature of 65', 70°, 

 or 73' rigidly adhered to, kept in a close-growing atmosphere, 

 and the Vines encouiaged to make their growth in darkness 

 instead of daylight, then come the watery shoots and an ab- 

 normal amount of pith. From such management the stamina 

 of the Vine is reduced until tendrils instead of bunches are the 

 reward. From the time the Vines commence growing a little 

 air should be considered of the greatest importance, and the 

 quantity should be increased as the foliage becomes stouter 

 and able to endure it. A given temperature sullioiently high 

 for the well-being of the Vine can easily be maintained with a 

 requisite quantity of air to prevent what we call watery shoots, 

 if encouraged and grown in sufficient light by day. I hope 

 some day to find glasses used as extensively to indicate the 

 strength of light as they now are to register so correctly the 

 temperature." — (Darlington and Stockton Times.) 



MINIATURE FBAMBS FOE SOWING SEEDS. 



AtcoBiiiNo to agreement I send yon an account of my mode 

 of raising seedlings, but I almost repent of having made that 

 rash promise towards the close of my last letter. My plan is so 

 common and so rude that I am half ashamed of writing about 

 it ; and I am only encouraged to do so by the system being 

 useful and within the means of the humblest of cultivators. 



When reading "correct guides" for raising tender plants 

 from seed and cuttings^the " gentle hotbed " and mixture of 

 "loam, peat, and leaf soil" in proper proportions — I often 

 think the instructions cause much disappointment, especially 

 to those who most need assistance and who possess no hotbed 

 and dainty soils. Artificial heat both from coals and manure 

 is of great value in gardens, especially when rightly applied as 

 It is by good gardeners ; but such heat is often misapplied, 

 and indeed wasted, by using too much of it or using it too 

 Boon. I have seen and experienced the greatest injury from 

 attempts to raise plants early, only afterwards to be checked 

 and perhaps killed by the exposure to which they have been 

 subjected. I rejoice in a frame and hotbed, and try to turn them 

 to the best advantage ; but I do not waste the heat and make 

 tender plants more tender still by raising them in that frame, 

 when I can grow them much hardier and better by simpler 

 means. 



My first hint on raising tender flowering plants of all kinds, 

 also some vegetables, such as Vegetable Mirrows, ridge Cucum- 

 ber, and Tomatoes, was afforded me by my stable boy. I 

 sowed such seeds as I required, and placed the pots in the 

 heated frame. The boy " for fun " sowed the residue in pots 

 three parts filled with soil and plunged the pots in the maunre 

 heap in the stable yard, placing a piece of glass over each pot. 

 My seeds in the heated frame germinated quickly, and the 

 plants grew rapidly and tenderly. The seeds in the manure 

 heap germinated more slowly, and the plants grew steadily but 

 were wonderfully robust — so much so that their seed leaves 

 were more than double the size of those raised in the heated 

 frame. " The boy beat the master hollow" was the general 

 verdict, and it was true. I have since adopted the boy's plan 

 for several years with the best results, sowing the seeds in 

 April ; but I now have square seed pans and boxes of various 

 sizes — wine boxes, cigar boxes, Ac, over which the squares of 

 glass fit more conveniently than over round pots. 



AU, however, may not have a manure heap in which to 

 plunge the pots and boxes, neither is the manure necessary 

 for raising the majority of the plants which are required for 

 the flower and kitchen garden. If the glass-covered " mini- 

 atures " are plunged in the soil in a sheltered place, such as 

 at the foot of a south wall, and seeils of Htocka and Asters and 

 all plants of that nature, also of some perennials, such as Poly- 

 anthuses, Aubrietias, Delphiniums, Ac, as well as of such vege- 

 tables as Celery, Cauliflowers, Lettuce, -Ic, are sown towards 

 the end of April, plants will bo produced which cannot be sur- 

 passed by the aid of the most elaborate conveniences. The 

 great point to attend to is not to sow too early, but so arrange 

 that by the time the seedlings arc an inch or so high — touching 

 the glass — they can be exposed almost entirely to the then 

 warmer weather. By adopting that mode of raising seedlings, 

 and good subsequent cultivation, I have secured many prizps 

 at local Bhows. Others may do the same. They may plunge 



their large flower pots, or such boxes as they can find or make, 

 and cover them with loose squares of glass, covering the glass 

 with boards or mats (boards are the best) during frosty nights, 

 and with good soil and good management they may raise 

 plants " fit for a prince." I mean amateurs and cottagers 

 may raise seedlings, or, in the summer, strike cuttings in this 

 way better than by any other means at their command. 



I may say a word as to soil. Like many others I live near 

 a large town and cannot obtain " turfy loam, peat, Ac," but 

 I am thankful to say that I can manage without it, perhaps as 

 well as if I had it. In most gardens however small there is 

 generally a barrowful or two of rubbish to be disposed of. 

 This rubbish on a suitable day in the spring should be burnt 

 in an open place in the garden where the soil is good. It the 

 fire is of moderate size the ground beneath it for a depth of 

 ■1 or 5 inches will be scorched. I do not pretend to know why 

 it is so, but the fact is sufTicient for me to know that scorched 

 soil is always fertile. Well dig-up the soil where the tire ha.s 

 been, mix it thoroughly with the ashes, and run the whole 

 through a sieve, and you havo a compost for raising seedlings 

 and for growing many plants that cannot be surpassed by any 

 elaborate mixture of popular ingredients. Burnt soil is always 

 free from worms and grubs. 



As to sowing. First water the soil thoroughly with nearly 

 hot water, and in an hour after sow the seed thinly. Thickly 

 sowing small seeds cannot be too strongly denounced. Cover 

 the seed very slightly, just and scarcely placing it "out of 

 sight," and shade densely until germination takes place. The 

 pots or boxes — "miniature frames" — being plunged will 

 retain sufficient moisture without further applications of water 

 until the plants appear — an important point in raising all 

 seedlings, and especially those from small seeds. 



Rude as this humble practice may be, I know it has proved 

 successful, and my experience may be useful to those who 

 covet a stock of healthy plants and who have not more regular 

 conveniences for raising them. — Ghoom and Gabdekeb. 



THE OLD MARKET GARDENS and NURSERIES 

 OP LONDON.— No. 10. 



In this series of papers it would be scarcely fitting to pass 

 by without mention the " Physic Garden " of Old Chelsea, for 

 though it stood upon a different footing from other establish- 

 ments which have been already considered, within its walls 

 was one of the earliest nurseries of importance in tho metro- 

 polis. Moreover, the Apothecaries' Garden did a good work 

 for the promotion of horticulture during the period it was at 

 its best estate, since others besides apothecaries and unfledged 

 medical men attended the demonstrations of plants given 

 through a long series of years, and there was also frequently 

 a distribution of exotics reared at Chelsea from seeds or 

 cuttings which have found their way to gardens and parks in 

 various counties of England. As yet the gardens are extant, 

 though bricks and mortar so closely environ them that we 

 cannot suppose they will long remain intact. By a negotiation 

 set a-going during 187-t it was all but settled that the Metro- 

 politan Board of Works should buy the land. Difficulties 

 arose, however, and the matter fell through. For the culture 

 of plants, evidently it is not worth while to keep the ground 

 as it is, and ultimately the site will be built upon, unless some 

 speculative person should see his way to the formation there 

 of an aquarium oi winter garden. 



Before the Apothecaries' Company entered on the posses- 

 sion of the land which they have occupied for upwards of two 

 hundred years, there was a garden of some kind belonging 

 to them at Westminster. I'nder date of June 10th, 10,58, 

 Evelyn records a visit of his to the Medical Garden at West- 

 minster, "under Morgan, a skilful botanist." But for his 

 entry we should havo known nothing about it, and there has 

 been some debate as to whether this was simply an establish- 

 ment for tho cultivation of nativo medical plants required for 

 the laboratory, or whether exotics had already been introduced. 

 About this garden we read no more particulars ; it was very 

 likely situated on or near Millbank. The history of the 

 Chelsea garden we can carry back a little beyond the date 

 when the Company acquired it, for by an old map it may be 

 exactly identified with a piece of arable land which Sir 

 Arthur Gorges conveyed in the year 1C17 to one Edward 

 Cheyne. (This name seems to have been also written 

 " Cheyney ;" but it has nothing at all to do with ('helsea 

 china.) I dare eay Mr, Cheyne did not derive much profit from 



