264 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ October 2, 1860. 



casting arrangement on the part of the manager. Not many 

 years ago we noticed a number of men in a sharp frost and a 

 drifting snow shivering, and attempting to nail trees against a 

 wall, when their ringers would scarcely hold the shreds and 

 nails ; and not long afterwards, in the same place, the same 

 men were cleaning and washing Vines in a vinery in a bright 

 warm day, and with the sun powerful enough under glass to 

 dry up what brains there might be in the head. Again, we 

 have a vivid recollection in another place of two days' mow- 

 ing in drenching weather, and then a day's washing pots, and 

 pointing and making sticks in delightful, sunshiny, dry weather. 

 Let us hope that those who can arrange work no better than 

 this will soon cease to have workmen under their control. 



Secondly. We may be presented with such instances until 

 managers and paymaster employers become thoroughly con- 

 vinced of what is a simple yet stern truth — that all such un- 

 seasonable labour will be found to be the reverse of economical 

 or remunerating. Every kind of machinery to work well must 

 have its needs attended to, and in proportion to the intricacy 

 and fineness of its movements must be protected from risks 

 and dangers. The human body, even as a working machine, to 

 do its work well, must have its wondrous combination of joints, 

 cranks, and levers kept clean, bright, well oiled, and cared for, 

 and not alternately baked by heat and drenched with floods 

 of water. What machinery could stand that without becom- 

 ing worn and rusted in its joints, and cracked or weakened 

 in its levers ? and the human machine, as a machine, will 

 form no exception. Nothing could be more effectual than a 

 frequent repetition of wet clothes for insensibly turning the 

 active, willing, somewhat enthusiastic workman into the man j 

 who draws his feet along as if he had a clog of metal attached 

 to them. We have no clearer recollection of anything than 

 this — that after some such days' drenching it required several 

 days of bright weather to bring back again that buoyant spirit 

 that acted more than lubricating oil to the joints of a machine, 

 and the usual activity in working; for let it never be for- ! 

 gotten that in the human machine mind and sensibility are 

 the great motive springs of action. Allow these springs to 

 become lax, soft, weak, and exhausted, and you may wind and 

 wind, but the attempt will be vain to make the works go as j 

 before until the central spring of all movement is again made 

 right. Men, when they say nothing, are quick enough to know 

 when their employers mean to use them well. Those who will 

 have the stated hours of work out of doors wet or dry will have 

 the certain reward of seeing that the same men who, with the 

 full conviction that they were cared for, would think nothing 

 of doing on an emergency one and a half or two days of ordinary 

 work in one, and feel honoured and proud to do it, will neither 

 be spurred nor coaxed into such extra exertion ; and even 

 though their right principles would repudiate all idea of eye- 

 service, yet even insensibly to themselves, and without idleness, 

 the want of interest, the want of earnestness, the want of that 

 enthusiasm without which nothing great can be done will gra- 

 dually lessen by a fourth, a third, and a half the mere quantity 

 and quality of the work which formerly they usually performed. 

 It is sad when the springs of action lose their force and power. 

 It is often sad to hear complaints of carelessness, indifference, 

 and even laziness among workmen, w-hen a very little kindness 

 and a felt attention to their interests, would so wind up the 

 springs of sensibility that work would be entered upon as a 

 pleasure and a delight, and not as a mere matter of routine 

 and necessary duty. Attention to duty is a grand thing, and it 

 becomes truly noble when it nerves the workman to continued 

 right conscientious action, even amid neglect and discourage- 

 ments ; but after all, the claims of duty as a motive power for 

 faithful continued industry, will ever be weak when compared 

 with that strong flexille mainspring of action which is formed 

 from the more than respect felt by a workman towards his 

 employer, when he cannot help seeing that that employer does 

 respect, think of, and care for him. 



Thatching Corn Stacks. — An allusion to Dutch barns, and 

 the injury done by rain to stacks unthatched, has brought 

 several notes of inquiry, and several sad details, as to how- 

 stacks got up in good order on a Saturday, were, by the soak- 

 ings of several days before they could be thatched, wet and 

 much spoiled for fully half their depth. We think that Mr. 

 Barnes, of Bicton, could tell the farmers hereabouts and farther 

 north, how much of such an evil could be avoided by the mode 

 of nutting the sheaves in the stacks. We recollect when 

 noticing the smallness of the stacks in Devonshire, and there 

 being no out-jutting eaves to throw off the wet, being told that 

 both small size and the want of eaves were necessary to protect 



from the terrible winds, and that the introduction of rain into 

 the stack was impossible from the way in which tho sheaves 

 were placed, the corn end being always kept much higher than 

 the root end. In noticing the placing of sheaves in this neigh- 

 bourhood, the corn end is seldom higher, and often much 

 lower than the root or straw end, consequently, when heavy 

 rains fall on the straw end, it runs along the straw to the ears 

 in the middle of the stack, whilst if the ear end of the sheaves 

 were elevated about 15° above the root end, the rain that fell on 

 the outside, without thatching even, would have dropped out- 

 side instead of finding its way to the centre. We recollect that 

 one of our " first doings " of work pretty far north, was assist- 

 ing the builder of the stacks in harvest, placing the sheaves 

 ready to his hand, and keeping the centre of the stack well 

 elevated, so that the sheaves should all incline outwards. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



The weather being still too wet to clear Strawberries or gather 

 fruit, the chief work was removing all flowering plants from 

 the vinery, to prevent the watering these required injuring the 

 Grapes by damping. Cut the runners of Strawberries in pots, 

 and potted some more, but as we are becoming scarce of pots, 

 will turn out some hundreds of plants in CO-sized pots, in nice 

 soil, so that they may be lifted into pots or into beds under 

 glass next spring. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT. 



Went over the plant-houses, removing what was past its 

 best, and introducing fresh from pits, &c, so as to make more 

 room in them for winter storage. Went on making cuttings 

 and potting and securing Chrysanthemums, &c. Mowed and 

 cleaned as the weather was suitable. Would do a deal of 

 turfing if we could, and would like to transplant some rather 

 large trees and shrubs in the beginning of October. A little 

 syringing overhead in that month after such transplanting, 

 will save much, if not all of the watering that would be re- 

 quired by these trees next spring and summer. Evergreens 

 may now be removed with safety, and the great advantage of 

 planting in October is, that then the earth is warm enough to 

 set the roots in operation at once, to be ready to suck up nutri- 

 ment for the swelling buds and expanding leaves next spring. 

 —It. F. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— September 29. 



There is very little doing here in auy department, foreign and home- 

 grown produce being ample for all requirements. Pears consist of Marie 

 Louise, Louise Bonne, Gansel's Borgamot, Gratioli, and Duchesso d'An- 

 gouleme. Dessert Apples comprise Ribston Pippin, Cox's Orange Pippin, 

 and others of less note. The Potato trade is heavy, except for good 

 sound parcels, which have advanced 10*. per ton. The accounts from 

 most parts of England represent them as being Quite one-third blighted. 



Apples ij sieve 



Apricots doz. 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnuts bush. 



Currants ^.sieve 



Black do. 



Figa doz. 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lOOlbs. 



Gooseberries . . quart 

 Grapes, Hothouse, .lb. 

 Lemons 100 



Artichokes each 



Asparagus bundle 



Beans, Broad. . bushel 



Kidney . . Js sieve 



Beet, Red doz. 



Broccoli bundle 



Brus. Sprouts ?- sieve 



Cabbage doz. 



Capsicums 100 



Carrots bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 



Celery bundle 



Cucumbers each 



pickling doz. 



Endive doz. 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish . . bundle 



s. d. 



2 Ot 

 

 

 





 2 



s. d. s. d 



Melons each 2 6to5 



Nectarines doz. 



Oranges 100 12 20 



Peaches doz. 2 CO 



Pears (dessert) .. doz. 10 8 



kitchen doz. 10 2 



Pine Apples lb. S 5 



Plums H sieve 7 (1 



Quinces .... Ja sieve 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries lb. 



Walnuts bush. 10 11 



VEGETABLES. 



d. s. 



2 too 



































4 











4 











S 







3 



6 



.1 



4 









 3 

 3 



1 6 





 

 4 



Leeks bunch 



Lettuce per score 



Mushrooms .... pottle 

 Mustd.& Cress, punnet 

 Onions. . doz. bunches 



Parsley ?j sieve 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas per quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



Radishes do*, bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Sea-kale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes per doz. 



Turnips bunch 



Vegetable Marrows dz. 



s. d. 9. 



8 toO 



1 1 



1 



2 



4 



2 



9 



9 



2 



3 

 6 

 

 



.1 

 



a 



6 

 

 6 

 6 



6 



o o 



TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 

 William Rollisson & Sons, Tooting, London, S. — Catalogue 

 of Hyacinths, Dutch and English Flower Roots, Roses, etc. 



