July 17, 1878. ] JOUBKAL OP HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



TO OUR READERS. 



Wb publish the following without either commeut or correction v — 



" Me. Editors, — 

 " I 've long wanted to tell a bit of my mind, but days was so short and candles doesn't give the 

 light they used to ; but now's different, and I sits down to say how things is changed. Even gardeners 

 is. They used, when Ben was a-courting me, to be loving chaps — quite friendly like ; but now even 

 their big club at Kensingtun is all tumbling apieces— and why ? I'll just tell 'e, and do you tell 'em 

 — it's cause they doesn't mind your motto, 'For Gardening and Gardeners.' Why, the club was 

 made for them only. But now one of the big-club men says, ' I'm for Cole ;' and another says, ' I'm 

 for Kensintuu, my girls croquet there ;' but no one says nothing for old Chiswick, the club's old best 

 home. Bah ! Them lords and them as has nusmaids at Kensingtun do as good as blue-aprons to pay 

 club-money, but blue-aprons should have the management more. You told us all as was said when 

 they was a-quarrelling — and how they did talk, surely ! — but they was talkers and not doers. Jist 

 as my Ben used to say when he was alive — 



" ' Men o£ words and not of deeds 

 la like gardens full of weeds.' 



And weeds we all knows smothers the crops. Jist do you and a good blue-apron or two put your hoes 

 among 'em. Blue-aprons can do without them big-club men, but the big-club men can't do without 

 the blue-aprons. 



" And you your own born selves, Mr. Editors, you doesn't behave as when my Ben wasn't dead. 

 Cottage Gardeners you was then, and he showed you how to grow big Cabbages; but now you've 

 a finer name, and put in a precious lot of what we doesn't want. I could cop the thing into the fire 

 sometimes, I'se so riled, specially that about cooking Ginny pigs. Then what's become of 'old Bob,' 

 as you called him ? but I know who you meut, and my Ben said he was ' the best of Fish.' It wo'n't 

 do for you Editors to show the cold shoulder to old friends. AVhy, fashions changes in gardens as 

 they docs in bonnets ; and if you hasn't an old gardner to ask to help ye, how will the old flowers 

 fare as is a-coming up agen ? Why, one of them chaps as wins prizes with crackjaw-named plants 

 didn't know t' other day a Turkey Nuuculus that 's in m,y garden. He com'd a-courting to my Mary 

 Anne, and she has ou Sundays what she calls a Dolly Varden hat — why, it's the old gipsy hat of my 

 courting days ! And that minds me that he what wrote about that Dolly Varden spluttered as if there 

 was no one of my name living, and Ben was very riled about it ; but I said he 's only one of them 

 writing chaps as lives by telling lies. If you, Mr. Editors, will come to Tiptree on our race-day — the 

 very next 25th of July as is — I'll show you gentlemen that there is 



" Betsy Haeris." 



[We have no need to accept the iuvitatiou, and have told our friendly plain-spoken corre- 

 spondent that we agree with her in most that she has written — have assured her that we do not 

 cast off our old friends — that Mr, Fish is unwell, but is still one of our helpmates — that we 

 tell all that is new about Cabbages as well as about Orchids and other things of the homestead ; 

 and we will add for the information of our readers, that " cop " in Essex is synonymous with 

 throw, and that there "riled" means angry.] 



