96 



JOUENAL OF HOBTICVLTURE AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



r Angast 1, 1865. 



all Buch allowances, there can be no question that the seeds of 

 such plants as Groundsel dug down into the ground, retain 

 their vitality for a long period, and will vegetate whenever they 

 are placed in suitable conditions, especially as to air, as most 

 other conditions the earth freely supplies to them. 



In connectiou witli this subject, we lately met with a striking 

 example of the tardiness with which in general we prosecute 

 any pursuit closely allied to that which engrosses our attention 

 as a matter of business. In walking through the fields of a 

 young scientific farmer, and admiring his fine crops of Barley 

 a little laid by the rains, Oats, and Wheat witli splendid heads, 

 and Swedish Turnips pretty well covering the ground, Mangold 

 with the leaves meeting, and all so nicely hoed and cleaned 

 that we failed to find a single weed even an inch in height ; — 

 we observed a wonderful contrast when we entered the garden 

 and found Cabbages, Strawberries, &c., almost concealed by 

 masses of seeding Groundsel and Sow Thistle. Our young friend 

 agreed with us that the vegetable garden was too near aldn to 

 field culture to exercise much of a fascinating interest over 

 him, and hence the neglect. It brought to our mind a rule in 

 some country societies as to cotta/jtrs' prize/:, by which those 

 who work as labomers in a garden are excluded from competing 

 with those engaged in other handicraft operations. We have 

 always looked on the propriety of such a rule as doubtful. 

 True, tlie garden labourer has some advantages ; but then 

 there is tlie great counterbalancing disadvantage, that working 

 for himself of an evening in his garden presents nothing to 

 him of the charms of change and variety. It is the same 

 thing from morning to night, and he can feel little of that 

 buoyancy that the tailor, the shoemaker, the carpenter, and 

 bricklayer experience in their gardens of an evening merely 

 from the change of occupation. If we are physically tired we 

 feel a sort of pleasure in writing these notes" of an evening, 

 when a couple of hours at the hoe or the spade would be irk- 

 some and wearing-out. Hence the proverbs about the slovenli- 

 ness of the good farmer's garden, the bad state of the shoes of 

 the shoemaker's wife and of the blacksmith's nag. There are 

 reason and nature for the foimdation of the proverbs, from the 

 simple fact that we work most heartily for ourselves when 

 the work is most dilferent from that by which we gain a liveli- 

 hood. Hence our best florists have generally been men engaged 

 during the day in sedentary pm-suits. Hence in villages the 

 best gardens more frequently belong to shoemakers, black- 

 smiths, and other tradesmen and mechanics than to garden 

 and farm labourers. Hence, too, in farmers' gardens you will 

 generally find, that if enthusiastic in p irdening at all, "it is the 

 flowers and fruit, and not the vegetabl. , with which the farmer 

 troubles himself. Of course there are ceptions. Many farm 

 and garden labourers have gardens ol ^iieir own worthy of all 

 commendation, and farmers' gardens i..e frequently to be met 

 mth models of neatness and of good culture. In the latter 

 case, however, the result is often less owing to the zeal of the 

 farmer than to the energy and determination of his partner in 

 life, who, if a prudent woman, will generally gain her purpose, 

 though there may be a Uttle grumbling about labourers going 

 too often to the garden, and too frequently to the dungheap ; 

 but the good man of the house never turus'his head away from 

 a dish of gi-een Peas or a plate of Strawberries. 



■We allude to the matter thus prominentlv because, though 

 behevmg that gardens have a good influence on garden and 

 farm labourers, we also believe that they have still a greater 

 and more elevating effect on mechanics,' artizans, and other 

 labourers, on the simple principle that every human being 

 has a longing for variety, and that, as a general rule, that 

 change is most pleasing that is farthest removed from our 

 usual daily avocations. 



Kept remo^•ing first Peas, staking late ones, planting out 

 more Celery, also Coleworts, Cauliflowers, Lettuces, and Endive, 

 and planted about eight days ago a lot of Potatoes in our 

 beddmg earth-pits, to come in late for very earlv Potatoes for 

 those who may like them. All these things fresh planted wanted 

 a good watering in this warm weather, in additiou to the warm 

 showers. 



Here we may note a particular fact with respect to the wire- 

 warm. In an earth-pit or bed that had gi-o^vn well temporarily 

 lots of Calceolarias, Geraniums, &c., we planted a lot of Let- 

 tuces, &c. In the neighbouring bed notliing could have 

 answered better, but in this bed more than half the plants were 

 eaten up with wireworm. In tlie roots and underground stems 

 of some Lettuces we found fully half a dozen of these hard- 

 skmned insects. How came they there? might be a moot 

 question, as we noticed not a single specimen in lifting the Cal- 



ceolarias. We have found baits of Potatoes, Turnips, or even 

 leaves of vegetables of no use in the present case, as the Let- 

 tuce stems and roots proved the most enticing. They, how- 

 ever, formed good baits, and evei-y unhealthy or dying one being 

 examined, the place could soon be cleared of them. " Catch 

 and kill," is the best remedy. Tar water, and tar itself sprinkled 

 on the soil may make it impleasant for them, but it will not 

 kiU them. We recollect reading in some old book that the wire- 

 worm was the larvaa state of Elater obscurus, and that it gene- 

 rally remained in the larva state for five years. Would that 

 some one learned in these matters would give us the whole 

 history of the wireworm. In some popular works it is not 

 even mentioned. We once kept wireworms in a box of earth 

 for three years and a half, giWng them roots of vegetables to 

 feed on, and there was no change in them in that time. By an 

 accident the experiment was ended, the box being cleared out 

 when we were absent. 



Sent some boys with a branch in their hands in pursuit of 

 white butterflies, that have come in a cloud since the warm 

 rains. If not struck down, every time they alight and rest on 

 Cabbages and Cauliflower they wiU deposit eggs that will soon 

 be hatched into hungry caterpillars. Dusting vegetables with 

 soot and lime will keep them from inserting their eggs in them, 

 but the dusting will be almost as disagreeable as the cater- 

 pillar. A clever boy that takes the matter easily — that is, 

 does not become flurried, will soon knock down a hundred of 

 such gay visitants. But for the shoals of caterpillars that 

 succeed them, the butterflies would be ornamental in the 

 garden rather than otherwise. 



Deodorisinrj sen-age. — More than a twelvemonth ago a little 

 box of whitish brown powder was sent to us from the office of 

 The Journal of Horticulture, with a request to try it. 

 Iguorantly we supposed it was a kind of manure, and tried it 

 on Strawberries, Vines, and various vegetables, but foimd the 

 effect was nil, the application producing no result beyond that 

 of common water. Some time ago we saw the same powder, we 

 suspect, alluded to by our valuable coadjutor, " Upwaeds and 

 Onwards," and the benefit he derived from it in deodorising 

 sewage water. We tried what little we had left in the same way, 

 and found it very effectual, even in small quantities, in re- 

 moving unpleasant smells. Even now we do not know what 

 the powder is named, or who is the manufacturer, or who sent 

 it to the office. We have no doubt that many would be glad 

 to put a little in their cesspools, house sewage, &c., before 

 using the hquids on their gardens. We fully believe that porous 

 earth wUI soon deodorise all liquids committed to its care ; but 

 all of us have not noses so suited to ammonia, ifec, as those 

 who are nearly constantly employed in throwing up and work- 

 ing dunghills, and to some of us the application even of sewage 

 water is distressing before the smeU goes off. On this account 

 nothing hut the gi'eat drought of last season would have re- 

 conciled us to using such sewage to flower-beds near a mansion, 

 or to plants, or fruit-pots imder glass. In many cases we would 

 decidedly prefer the sewage to pond or river water, if the scent 

 were removed before using. The smell is apt to make some 

 men iU, and it would be advantageous every way if the odour 

 were removed by throwing a little of the powder into the re- 

 servoir. Something of this land would be simpler and safer 

 than trusting to acids, gypsum, &c. If some such powder 

 easily applied, and cheap withal, cannot be applied, most of us, 

 notwithstanding our knowledge, will go on applying sewage and 

 dunghill drainings in their unpleasant natural condition. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



Went on with Strawberrj- plants as detailed last week. 

 Cxathered most of the small fruit needed for preserving, the 

 birds after aU having left us a pretty good share, for which we 

 should thank them, if we thought our thanks would reach them 

 and make them better-behaved in future. We fear their moral 

 sense of meum and tuum, would scarcely be so fine as that of 

 a man, who was the terror of all the gardens in the neighbour- 

 hood. One morning a quaint old gentleman met him, thanked 

 him for taking only a portion of his .^ppl'es and Plums, and 

 sftid very good-naturedly, that whenever he wanted any more, 

 he would have no more to do than ask for them as long as they 

 lasted. This quite took the man by storm, he could have 

 stood any amount of scolding and browbeating, for he was used 

 to it, but the words of kindness went home, and from that day 

 he turned his naturally good abilities into the laudable pursuits 

 of honest industry. We fear our feathered friends would not 

 be quite so amenable to kindness, and their troubling us less 

 may be owing to the warm showers bringing snails and worms 

 to the surface. Ini the dry weather it was pitiable to see tha 



