384 



JOUP.NAL OF EOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEE. 



t November }S, 1888. 



and commence Ihe early portion of such a night's rest as the 

 ever-restlesB sea aud tho hubbub on board Fill permit. N.B. — 

 lu tolerably calm weather a eofa is most pleasant, because 

 most airy, but wbeu the sea i3 very rough a berth presents 

 least chance of being tossed out upon the tloor, aud those at 

 the top are the most airy, only a little difficult to climb into, 

 ■which is generally obivatcd by the offered help of a small set of 

 steps. 



Just as the quiet voyagers compose themselves to sleep the 

 mail train passengers come rushing on board ^^ith clang and 

 clamour, etampiog of boots, knocking about of luggage, and 

 much bustle and noise, and then about 12 p.m. the steamer 

 starts. 



The voyage is only broken by reaching Guernsey, generally 

 about nine in the morning, when the boat stops a short time 

 to put out and take in passengers and packages, and (hen on- 

 ward again. The view of St. Teter's Port, rising on a steep 

 hillside, the quiet ripple of the sea within the harbour, and the 

 quaint antique-looking Castle Cornet close by, all seen in the 

 Ught of the bright morning sun, are very attractive, and if the 

 sea is calm, or the traveller a good sailor, it is pleasant to re- 

 main on deck from thence to Jersey. 



On approaching the island, the iirst object which becomes 

 distinct in the lessening distance is a prominent rock at the 

 south-west corner, showing in its outline an unmistakeable like- 

 ness to Louis Philippe, but it is less distinct now than it was 

 twenty year's ago, and perhaps the work of many years may do 

 away with it, as with French ways and manners of hia bygone 

 time. If the day be bright, wiih the sun shining, the various 

 tints of the vast masses of rock forming Jersey strike the 

 visitor as very be-intiful. The grey and red granite, the warm 

 colour of the common rock, the patches of white sand in bays 

 and inlets the mixture of faded pink and bright brown of the 

 heather upon the heights and slopes, and the luxuriant vegeta- 

 tion down to the very water's edge, make a variety in tho 

 landscape most pleasing to the eye as the boat steams round, 

 until it crosses St. Aubin's Bay, a really splendid half-circle of 

 silvery sand, surrounded by luxuriant heights, with handsome 

 villa residences, prettily wooded slopes, and in the distance 

 verdant hills. There are few days in this pleasant climate 

 during a portion of which the landscape does not show a bright 

 and smiling face. 



At ihe extremity of this fine bay lies St. Heliers, a large, 

 crowded town, smoky, straggling, and surrounded by high 

 ground. Here we enter the harbour, which is large, handsome, 

 and convenient at high water, but much less useful when the 

 tide is out, for then passengers have to land in boats. The 

 landing places are about as damp and slippery, crowded and 

 bustling, well-managed in some respects and badly in others, as 

 most places of the kiud. The passengers have, however, 

 scarcely landed when they begin to realise the pleasantness of 

 a dehghtful climate ; half an hour after the rain has ceased 

 the streets and roads in all but the deep valleys are dry 

 enough to make walking agreeable, and it is unusual if the 

 sun do not peep out to welcome the new comers, lighting up 

 the rugged heights, picking out the tints of the rock in bright 

 distinctness, and shedding a genial warmth, which fully com- 

 pensates the generally shght discomforts of the journey. 



The civility, too, of the cabmen, and all people of that kind 

 strikes the visitor, especially the nervous invalid, as very re- 

 assuring ; overcharging and impertinence are quite unusual. 

 The hotels are good upon the whole and moderate in their 

 charges ; those about the pier and the Boyal Square are much 

 frequented by commercial visitors. The British Bree's board- 

 ing house, aud a great novelty, the Imperial Hotel, are much 

 used by families. At the I'omme d'Or the appointments 

 follow the French fashion, and it is said the terms are very 

 moderate. 



The luxuriance of the vegetation, the productiveness of the 

 gardens, the verdure of the little fields, and the manner in which 

 every scrap of laud is economised, are no less wonderful than 

 interesting to those who have been accustomed to England's 

 broad acres, her highly cultivated but often disappointing 

 gardens, and lavish expenditure of land and capital. In a 

 chmate and on a soil where all choice things might be grown 

 in luxuriant profusion Pears receive, to my idea, too exclusive 

 attention. Jersey Pears, as all know, are good, and the cul- 

 ture of them is very profitable, but it seems to me quite a 

 mistake to grow them to the exqlusion of most other choice 

 garden crops. They are, however, the product of the place, 

 and as such deserve and must have a special notice. 



Vegetables in Jersey are not so cheap and abundant as they 



ought to be where so favoured with a light productive soil, the 

 absence of injurious frosts in winter, the genial mcist air, and 

 general slope of the island towards the south. In spring the 

 markets are badly supplied with choice vegetables. Asparagus 

 is fine and large, but very dear, and r.f that handsome large 

 white sort which so splendidly fills a dish, but aSoiis Uttle of 

 the delicious succulent portion which most amateurs who grow 

 their own Asparagus so much deUgbt in. The fat seaweed ever 

 within reach, the grey sand, rich with mud, to be had for little 

 beyond the carting (ivhich, by-the-by, is lalher dear in Jersey 

 compared with other remote places), and the rich friable earth 

 which forms most gardens here, offer great f icilities for making 

 good, productive Asparagus beds, only needing the addition 

 of stable manure ; yet in the gardens of all the three houses 

 which we hf.ve occupied, we have had to make Asparagus beds, 

 never having fjucd a vestige of one in at;y of them. In seek- 

 ing for a home for tho last tin or twenty years, or so, on and 

 oil', we have locked at so many houses that it has become a. 

 byword in the family to indicate iudeSnile locality by " the 

 house we looked at," and v.o have r.lwr.ys made a large garden 

 a desideratum, yet I can scarcely recollect finding good Aspa- 

 ragus beds in any. Cauliflowers and Broccoli, on the other 

 hand, &ie escelleut aud abundant, cheaper and much better 

 than in London. In the height of the season I have known 

 nice head,"!, from 4 to G inches across, sold seven or even nine 

 for Gd. This was au extreme chance, such are often sold 

 three or four for Gd., aud fine large ones about Gd. each; 

 they are grown in both fields and gardens, manured abun- 

 dantly with seaweed, also with farm and stable manure. Great 

 quantities are shipped for England. 



Tho celebrated Jersey Kale, sometimes called the Jersey 

 Cabbage, makes itself conspicuous in all country rides. It is 

 not grown as some one facetiously stated to pack the butter ; for 

 that purpose leaves of Cabbages of more delicate growth are 

 used, but to feed the cattle. Its tall, slcut stems and rampant 

 growth of large luxuriant leaves make it a ruinously exhaustive 

 crop for gardens ; it is often grown in orchards, and there I 

 suppose the earth is abundantly manured for it, or I should 

 much doubt the economy of giving it room. Upwards of thirty 

 years ago .something curious of the Cabbage tribe was intro- 

 duced, I think by old William Co'obett, by means of some 

 London seedsmen. It was called the Caisarean Cow Cab- 

 bage, aud seed packets containing about twenty seeds v^ere 

 sold at 1?. each, its merits being vaunted ai something 

 wonderful for cattle-feeding. These packets contained seed of 

 the Jersey Eale, Cajiarea being the" island's aiicieiit nauis. 

 Many jokes were made on the possibility of growing it in city 

 gardens, aud letting the cow upon the housetop browse upon it; 

 and I believe a good many packets of the seed were sold at the 

 price set on them, but the Kale never made its way in England. 

 The leaves are stnpped off for fodder, I believe they come in 

 usefully as green food, but I doubt if thsy compensate for what 

 they abstract from the land. Excellent Cabbages are. however, 

 grown in Jersey ; the favourite kinds are Nantais, Imperials, 

 and Nonpareils ; they command good prices in tho market, 

 varying in common seasons from Id. to ud. each. Brussels 

 Sprouts do not receive fair play in Jersey. I suppose from the 

 time they occupy the ground, space is grudged them, for they 

 are never brought to market and sold by measure as in 

 England, but a stem is dragged up, with all its little Sprouts 

 about it, aud sold at a high price. 



Sea-kale, again, is little grown, although the fat sand and 

 the seaweed manure, and the lig'nt earth to grow it in, offer 

 the very best facilities for bringing it to full perfection. I have 

 never had any iu England so fine as I have cut here, one hea 

 weighed three-quarters of a pound — not lanky and over-grown, 

 but short, thick, young, succulent and tender. Yet this de- 

 licious vegetable is brought from the West of England to the 

 Jersey market, and sold at London pri.'es. 



Boot crops are abundant, good, and moderate in price. 

 Lettuces of all the Cabbage kinds are fine and tolerably mode- 

 rate in price, but good Cos Lettuce are seldom seen. Badishes, 

 Cress, and similar crops occupying the ground for but a short 

 time, are cheap. — E. W., Jcney. 



VIOLA CORNUTA AS A BEDDER. 



Tuis has been a trying year for the Violas, and some people 

 appear inclined to give them up, while others write favourably 

 of their continuance. 



For my part I have found them succeed remarkably well, not 



