08 



JOVSSSL OF HOKnOULTURE AKD COTTAGE GARDENER. 



( Jannary 2S, 1836. 



to Milf.ird Haven. Wlietlicr it was becaiiBC I linj a glas.s or 

 two of whiskcT, or the salt water did not aRre* with my consti- 

 tulion, I do not know ; but I kci>t boLbing my head u]i and down 

 all the way, and ri(<ht glad wa« I when I was on drj- land again. 

 I »t oin' luudo my way by niil to Loudon ; and when I arrived 

 »t IVlaiii/toii and found I could not make it my liabitation any 

 lontter. I walked out. and then I found mvBclf in a dilemma, 

 because mv trip to London was only on chance. I hod no ap- 

 pointment nor any friend to go to, but after a little iucjuiry I 

 noon f.'uud my way to n respectable nurseryman's place, of 

 which 1 had heard before. I saw him, and he took mo on at 

 once, aiiil foau obtained forme a more suitable place in another 

 uurser; . I stayed Uicre until I procured employment from 

 anotliui nursen'umu for the purpose of awaiting my chance of 

 oLtaiuiu),' a situation as under- gardener, and I shall always feel 

 grutifiil to liim for his kindne.fs. I was not long in this niu- 

 s«ry before he found mo employment in a nobleman's place, at 

 fifteen shillings a-week. I waii there only nine months wheu 

 the foreman left, and I had the offer of his place, and I ac- 

 cepted it, as I thought it a good chance to " tiiiish off, " as 

 " W. E. J." terms it ; bnt in place of linishing off, I only began 

 to loam, as I found out very soon afterwards ; although I knew 

 the names of a good many plants both in and out of doors, 

 also how to manage them well enough, I had, nevertheless, a 

 best oi other things to contend with. About the same time 

 sone of our more favoured friends in the art began to write 

 about what a ganlener ought to know in order to be thoroughly 

 competent to manage a well-kept garden, lly heart began 

 to fail ; I thought no one with only an ordinary brain could 

 learn so much. AVhat I was to do I did not know, for little as 

 I know about gardening, I knew less about anything else, and 

 tho only course left for me was to persevere and learn as much 

 as I cotild. I have done so ; but I confess I am not finished off 

 yet ; but I am thankful for what I have learnt. 



Everv man has his trials, a gardener has many ; bnt we mnst 

 always bear in mind that we were sent into this world for the ex- 

 press pm-posc of undergoing them patiently. It would be well if 

 young men were impressed with tho desirability of acquiring as 

 much knowledge as possible while young, and thus laying the 

 foundation to buUd upon in after-years. Now they have only a 

 vague ; Jca of what they will require hereafter, and they will find 

 in coiuse of time that knowing the names of plautu and how to 

 describe them in a scientific way will not be sufficient ; they 

 must also become acquainted with kitchen-garden cropping, with 

 fruit trees and shnibberies, and know how to set men to work 

 to the best atlvantage by day-work, piece-work, or otherwise. 

 Every young man ought to know how to measure and lay ont 

 work ; to do so, it is not absolutely necessary for him to be 

 »ble to solve all the problems of geometry, though this is very 

 well for those who arc able to do so — but for young men who 

 have not the advontage of a good education, if they can per- 

 fectly 'inderstaud addition, multiplication, subtraction, and 

 division, and can read and write, their own sense, if properly 

 applied, will do tho rest. So far as practical gardening is con- 

 cerned, if they persevere and wait with patience they wiU some 

 d*y have an opportunity to use their talents. 



To succeed, it is necessaiy for young men to be humble and 

 obliging, and as they advance in knowledge to show by thcii- 

 behaviour that they do not consider themselves superior to 

 others. If they are clever let them be aware that it is of con- 

 sideration to others just as they employ their talents usefully. 

 Let them act so, likewise, wheu they become head-gardeners ; 

 by 80 doing, in place of deserving their master's contempt, 

 they will command admiration, and eventually their masters 

 will reward them according to the service they may render. — 

 Ktm.ihs'v Abbcius. 



NEW BOOK. ■ 



Let Planter a Fcuillagc Omemental, par E. Antk^:, Jarrlinh-r 

 principal *• la Ville dc Paris. Paris : J. Rothschild, Li- 

 bralre de la Soci6t6 Botauiquo de France, Bne St. AndrC- 

 des-Arts, 43. 



The name and position of the author of this volume of 2."6 

 pages (ire a guarantee of the quality of its contents. M. Andre 

 is no imtried contributor to the horticultural periodicals of his 

 own country, and even of ours, for it was only last week thot 

 he gave in these columns an interesting accoimt of the public 

 gardens of Paris. In his connection with these it will readily 

 bo conceived that he must have acquired a great amount of 

 experience, particularly with the class of plants of which this 



volume treats, and which play so important a part is the de- 

 coration of the French capital. 



M. Andro. in his first chapter, dwells on the fact that horti- 

 culture, like other things, has its fashions, and that a plant, 

 like a pearl or a ribbon, must conform to the universal law. In 

 )iro(if of this ho instances the Orange, the Camellia, tho Tulip, 

 and the Dahlia, but the Rose, the flower of every age and taste, 

 lias alone been an exception. At present plants ornamental 

 by the form and colour of their foliage are the favourites, and 

 such they are likely long to continue, especially as they are 

 capable of producing grand effects in parks and other extensive 

 areas. Of these plants M. Andrii is an enthusiastic admirer, 

 as well as a most successful cultivator, and the information 

 which he supphes respecting them in the succeeding chapters 

 possesses, therefore, a value which it would not otherwise have. 



The second chapter treats on the propagation and culture of 

 plants with ornamental foliage, and is divided into sections for 

 annuals, perennials, rock plants, aquatics, climbers, and plants 

 re(iuiring to be wintered in pits, greenhouses, and stoves. Then 

 follows a classification of plants according to their peculiar 

 features and adaptabihties ; and in the fourth chapter the 

 subject of planting so as to produce the best effect in gardens 

 and parks, in landscape scenery, and in towns, is entered into at 

 considerable length, and examples are given of different modes 

 of disposing the plants. The fifth and last chapter, of 169 

 ]mges, is devoted to a list of fine-foliaged plants, in which the 

 characters, adaptabilities, and culture of each are given more or 

 less fully, according to the importance of the genus in an orna- 

 mental point of view. Thus to Caladiums seven pages are de- 

 voted, to Cannas twenty-one or twenty-two, and to the impor- 

 tant genus Solanum about the same number. 



The work is written in o clear and pleasant stylo, is illns- 

 trated with thirty-eight engravings, and will be found useful by 

 those desirous of introducing tropical and other omamental- 

 foliaged plants into their gardens, and cultivating them suc- 

 cessfully. It must, however, be remembered, that the cultural 

 directions apply to the cUmato of Paris. Tho price, too, is very 

 moderate, being only two francs. 



WORK FOR TILE WEEK. 



KITCHEN G.ir.DES. 



The time has now arrived to commence operations in 

 earnest, and one of the first steps is to plan ont every inch of 

 ground for the whole year, if possible. Laths should be written 

 upon and placed at the heads of the quarters, descriptive of 

 the kind of crop, the manuring, and what succeeded by. It is 

 necessary also to keep a cropping-book in order to follow np a 

 systematic rotation corresponding with the labels. Most per- 

 sons will have laid in their stock of seeds for the year. Seeds 

 remaining from last year should be thoroughly examined, and 

 all that are deemed safe for the current season reserved, and 

 some mixed with the new samples. Asparainig, the sooner the 

 beds are manured and soiled the better. A plot of ground 

 should be forthwith appropriated to slopes. Market gardeners 

 avail themselves to a great extent of the immense advantages 

 afforded by sloping surfaces. The slopes shotild, of course, run 

 east and west, and aro most convenient about 3 feet G inches 

 wide. They should, if possible, be contiguous to the frame 

 groimd, as many of the crops on such banks — as Radish, Horn 

 Carrots, early Lettuces, Sic. — wiU require occasional covering 

 with litter and frequent attention. Slopes of this kind, after 

 carrying their spring and early summer crops, will be equally 

 eligible for autumn ones, more especially for Endive, autumn 

 CaiTots, or for raising the stock of winter Lettuces. Cabbage, 

 sow a little of an early dwarf kind — the Vanock or Nonpareil ; 

 also a little Round Spinach and a pinch of Early Dutch Turnip 

 on a warm slope. CauUAutrrr, a little to be sown in a box, 

 and placed in a house at work ; also Brown Cos Lettuce, and 

 some White Spanish or Portugal Onions to bo transplanted 

 to highly manured ground. Cucumbrr/i, continue to stir the 

 dung in the fruiting-bed every other day until the plants are 

 ready to be turned out. If it is a dung-bed, before the soil is 

 put in take off the frame, and level the bed if the dung has sunk 

 irregularly. After replacing the frame make a hoUow under 

 the centre of each hght, and place in it a layer of turf with the 

 gross side downwards ; after which put a barrowload of soil, 

 composed of two parts leaf mould, one part loam, and one- 

 fourth white sand, under each light : let it remain a few days, 

 and if the heat in tho centre of the drills is moderate, say 

 about 75', the plants may be turned out. 'When the frame is 



