JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDESEB. 



I Janniuy 3, WBC. 



instead of replying my stock nnme. Ah ! the eveniug'a re- 

 lercnce to a botauical work came like a " JVithcriiij " blast ou 

 iny botanicn! knowledge : it proved that even my stock plnut 

 was unknown to mo ! Excuse me, then, if I forbear to hazard 

 any Fere name, it was present, and I knew it ; for was I not 

 '■ FiLix-F<K5iiSA?" I stniRRled on to grasp my trophy, but 

 just a:i snccefs a!>pcared certain, tho scene shifted, the rocks 

 Eccmod diviikd into comiiiirtmints, most of them tenanted 

 by some living; specimen. I was in a poultry show alone, " tho 

 monarch of all I surveyed ;" in fact, I was Judge — a book of 

 olasbcs and numbers in my hand, instead of the much-coveted 

 Fcm, whidi was "gone from my gaze." I paced up and down, 

 settled the merits of tho various rivals, gave in my decisions, 

 and the public were admitted. Soon I found myrelf surrounded 

 on all sides by malcontents, vainly endeavouring to answer a 

 dozen at once. I begged to be allowtd reference to my num- 

 bers, tho list appeared diilerent. I became confused, and was 

 only recovered by a voice exclaiming, " That is not the Judge, 

 but the pudeman who judges the Judge, and criticises birds 

 and committee, that's ' Wii.TsniiiK Bectoii.' " I felt ho was 

 quite correct, I smiled, and passed through the crowd; and 

 my hst of numbers was the printed catalogue, with my remarks 

 in pencil, for " cur Journal." Eeferringagain to my catalogue, 

 a metamorphosis had occurred ; it looked more like a petition, 

 very numerously and, as the county paper would say, influen- 

 tially signed : my identity with " our Chaplain " became very 

 doubtful. Manifestly 1 was now a railway diiector, and the 

 petition was that of poultrj- exhibitors, praying to be relieved 

 in some degree from tho expenses attendant on their joumies. 

 Cogitating what reply to make, I was on tho point of speaking, 

 when, glancing at the petition, I found it to be the last Number 

 of the 1865 series of " our Journal, ' and I seemed to be the pro- 

 prietor ! Ah ! this was vastly too good to be true ! I wonder it 

 had not roused me. I feel certain that if Mrs. " Y. B. A. Z.'s " 

 theory of sleep was correct, it must have done so ! I turned over 

 tho pages, glanced at the long rows of advertisements, which 

 seemed bent on crowding out the other portions of the work, 

 and, hesitatingly, I asked myself, " Must we increase its size ? " 

 This is a step rtciuiring great consideration. To alter the form 

 of an old friend is sometimes to lose him altogether. The diffi- 

 culty was great, but I felt that something must be done if they 

 maintained the same rate of increase. In the height of my 

 dilemma as to the settlement of this knotty point the strangest 

 sensation overpowered me. Every one has heard of the Siamese 

 twins, well, I fi-lt in a measure like them ; I was imited to 

 somebody, but. imlike the twins, we were intent on different 

 portions of the same subject. Gradually I became sensible 

 that my twin brother and I were " om- Editors." Other editor i 

 nsurp the editoriiU plural ; we, from our duality, were entitled 

 to it. Seated on our high official thrones in the dark, dingy, 

 smoky 171, Fleet Street, we mused over the new-year Niunber, 

 determined that out of our metropolit.an darkness we would 

 throw light and sunshine over the world. We reflected grate- 

 fully on the new friends of the pnft year, and then on our 

 success. Suddenly we became aware of the presence of a large 

 nxmiber of contributors outside our editorial sanctum, anxious 

 to testify to us their kindly feeling and their unabated interest 

 in our^jeriodical. To me individually it seemed very pleasant 

 to be introduced to the various ch.aracters. I noticed plainly 

 "D., Deal," with new Kose catalogues of 1865 in his hand. 

 Strangely enough, as his eye fell on some of the names, his 

 hand moved, as if writing, and the names of various Koses were 

 blotted out, and the stock seemed withered already. " Kush- 

 TON Badclytfk," again, with a present of Peaches and Straw- 

 berries ; how produced now was the mystery, but then he 

 makes adverse circimistnnces bend to his will ; the last bunch 

 of Roses, too, was in his hand. Tho thought presented itself, 

 How will they flourish under this new rigimi- .' " Filix- 

 FCEuiNA," too, came back from Home on purpose, " Ai.iCK " 

 and " FEitN-Hir:TnE.s8 " also ; and the loaded cases showed that 

 they would have something to say in 18GG. Many others, too, 

 in the tloricultural department all seemed to say" to us, " Ur- 

 ■WABDS AND Onwards." As representatives of the other portions, 

 there was '• Ocn Chaplain," with his warm-hearted greeting, 

 and catalogues innumerable of l.'iGG under his arm, and I won- 

 dered at the imiiropriety of such ante-printing; but then he is 

 privileged ; then Mu. Hewitt with a lot of notes supplcmentaiy 

 of the " Standard of Excellence," and B. P. Bpjint with reme- 

 dies for all kinds of diseases, and "Egomf.t," "Old" and 

 "Young Cochins," "Bbahmas," and positively an " Impeisoned 

 Tdrkkv," but with plumage quite uninjured, and looking quite 

 contented and happy. On one side there was '• Dbvonsbire 



Bek-keepeb " looking as though he had never had to do battle 

 with foul brood, and the Scotch bee-keepers revelling in theix 

 heather, and then the alphabet seemed all sixes and sevens, A 

 refused any longer to concert with B, but had singled ont 

 some distant member, and they were so closely united, they 

 might always have been so. A similar tit had seized the other 

 letters. Overpowered by this tmexpected demonstration, we 

 rose simultaneously, and expressed our gratitude at meeting so 

 many of our friendly contributors, and assured them of our 

 earnest endeavour to render " our Journal ' worthy their sup- 

 port, adding that their warm-hearted kindly greeting would go 

 far towards making the new year happy and prosperous. We 

 closed with reciprocating their good wishes, we tmsted that tho 

 new year would prove to each and all a Happy New Year. 

 Scarcely had the words passed ourUps, when we were conscious 

 that some other person vrished to enter, and our eye caught 

 that of a stranger of unprepossessing appearance, who pushed 

 forward and politely presented us with a parcel. Eemoving the 

 envelope it contained an Apple, labelled "Apple of Discord." 

 We replied he must have mistaken his destination, that onr 

 endeavours were exerted to increase and extend harmony and 

 good feeling, our lives spent in sowing broadcast over the 

 world the love of all God's creatures, and that we desired, that 

 through the works of creation the love of human beings might 

 be directed up to Nature's God, who was Himself the God of 

 harmony, peace, and love ; and lastly, that our hearts were set 

 on making the new year a truly happy year to all, but especi- 

 ally to all our kind friends and contributors. We have just 

 expressed these sentiments, we intend to stand or fall by them ; 

 we, therefore, assure you that in tho pages of " our Journal," 

 no such fruit will ever be discussed. Seeing his error, he was 

 retiring, leaving, however, tho objectionable offering on onr 

 desk ; we, therefore, as gently as our excited feelings wotdd 

 permit tossed the Apple after him. As it fell to the ground, a 

 loud explosion, which dispersed all our fi-iends, proved how 

 base were the intentions. The report recalled me to my own 

 little world, and I found it was 



" Wdnifiht, 

 And tbo clocks wore striking the hour." 



The Old Year had passed away, the New Year with all its 

 hopes and anxieties was entering the threshold. My coffee- 

 cup was no longer on the table, but in fragments at tho foot of 

 the opposite wall, and the marvel was. How did it get there? 

 Moreover, on my foolscap, where I had commenced my medi- 

 tations, there was now a most curious hieroglyphic, which 

 might have passed for the signature of some Chinese or Persian 

 contributor; whilst the previous WTiting was shaky and un- 

 certain, and I, who had figured in those few moments as the 

 representative of so many distinguished persons, found that 

 although thoroughly endorsing all " our Editors' k-indly wishes 

 for the New Year, " yet I was neither our respected Editors, 

 nor the lucky proprietors, but simply that unknown quantity — 

 Y. B. A. Z. 



RE:MO\'INCr AND PLANTING FRUIT TREES. 



To describe the system which I adopt, and the cause of my 

 adopting it, it will be necessary for me to revert to the scenes of 

 my early childhood, and to touch upon the Apple-tree nurseries 

 in" the neighbourhood of Chard, in Soniersetshirc. Two miles 

 to the south-west of Ch;ird, ou the main road to Axminster 

 and Honiton, is situated the pleasant little village called South 

 Chard. In this village there lived a family named Dean, famed 

 for the cultivation of young Apple trees. Here many acres of 

 the Apples suitable for tider-making were grown, and the quan- 

 tity of trees sold by this family evci7 year to persons far and 

 near, proved how well their trees were appreciated. The clean 

 straight stem, tho well-regulated head, and the mass of beau- 

 tiful, clean, fibrous roots, added to the confidence reposed in 

 the raisers, that the kinds were what they were represented to 

 be, gained at once for them a ready sale. Samples of the trees 

 were exhibited in tiio market towns in the first week in Oc- 

 tober, and through the planting season. It is now many years 

 since I saw these neat and well-kept nurseries ; but well do I 

 remember when a boy, lingering near them to admire tho 

 luxuriant growth and symmetry of the trees, and the exact dis- 

 tance apart at which they were planted, for stand which way 

 you would the trees appeared in rows as straight as an arrow. 



In describing the mode of cultivating the Apple tree adopted 

 by Messrs. Dean, I must be guided entirely by memory, for I 

 have not seen the nurseries nor their kind-hearted proprietors 

 since I was a bov, but the lesson I then learnt by watching the 



