346 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICtJLTUBE AND COTTAGB GABDENEB. 



r Mir 8> UM. 



present cold " — the serpent coming out of the fire and fasten- 

 ing on the prisoner's hand ; the barbarous people, ready then, 

 as we are now, to mete retribution and judgment to others ac- 

 cording to our own ideas of right, eagerly watching for what 

 should follow. We can note the change from suspicion to vene- 

 ration, as in Arabic the prisoner's persuasive voice addressed 

 the wonder-stricken people, for this picture has been familiar 

 to us all from childhood, St. Paul's shipwreck and his residence 

 at Melita being one of those striking recitals that lay hold on 

 the mind witli enduring tenacity; and we do not wonder as we 

 read of the attachment of the descendants of these very bar- 

 barous people to their faith, and of the sacrifices they are 

 ready to make for the maintenance of their churches, which in 

 even some of the villages surpass in splendour many a cathe- 

 dral in Italy. 



For three months St. Paul remained on the island. 'We 

 cannot help longing for a more minute record of his visit than 

 that bequeathed to us, so that we might follow his steps as he 

 went about on his errands of healing and mercy, and see as he 

 saw the face of Nature as it rose from its wintry sleep. 



By looking at Malta as it is now, noting its produce, its 

 trees, and flowers, we shall find some features that remain un- 

 changed ; we shall in some sort see as with St. Paul's vision, 

 and know a little of what those " things " were with which the 

 grateful, kindly natives loaded the apostle when he departed 

 from their island on his onward journey to Rome. 



The great difliculty that the agriculturist has to contend with 

 in Malta is its want of soil. Naturally the country is rocky 

 and sterile, excepting in the valleys, where the earth is good 

 and productive ; bat where Nature has been less bounteous, 

 there the skill and industry of man have compensated for her 

 shortcomings. Terraces are cut out in the rock, the earth 

 carefully collected and placed — sometimes in depth not exceed- 

 ing 18 inches — on layers of broken-up rock, and on these ter- 

 races plentiful crops of com and cotton are grown, the want of 

 rain in summer being supplied by hea^-y night dews. 



The gardens of the flat-roofed houses are protected by hedges 

 of Cactus or Prickly Pear, the fruit ol which is eaten profusely 

 by the natives. The chief sweetmeat of Malta, Caramilla, is 

 made, or rather flavoured, from the expressed juice of the pod 

 of the Carob or Locust tree, while the pods themselves, which 

 are produced in clusters from the knotted parts of the tree, 

 are useful as fodder for the horses and cattle. The Hedysarum 

 coronarium, with its large clusters of crimson blossoms, is 

 used largely for fodder, as alao is green Barley. Oats are not 

 grown, nor is there meadow land to any extent. There are a 

 few Olive trees, but no Vines. Pomegranates are to be met 

 with, and considerable quantities of small Figs, the latter being 

 always eaten on St. John's day, and called St. John's Figs. 



Malta has been celebrated from very early times for its manu- 

 facture of fine linen cloth, which was much prized by the 

 Romans even in their most luxurious days. An English loom 

 has lately been introduced, and shows to great advantage by 

 the side of those of native manufacture, which at best are but 

 rude performances. 



The natives of Malta — the true descendants of the barbarous 

 kindly people of St. Paul's day — are a fine, dark, athletic race. 

 The heiiddress of both men and women is peculiarly pictur- 

 esque, the former wearing a long conical-shaped cap of bright 

 blue, falling over the head and hanging down at the side, while 

 the women add to a dark dress the Spanish-looking black fal- 

 di<!tta. Their language is, as it has been since Malta had a 

 histoi-y, almost pure Arabic. 



The most common wild flower is the Borago ; but there are 

 many others that rise up by the wayside and divert the atten- 

 tion from the too great glare of the white roads and rocky ter- 

 races ; amongst these the Mathiola tricuspidata is, perhaps, the 

 ■ most lovely ; it bears flowers of a bright lilac hue amidst a 

 • cluster of silverj'-looking leaves, and even in death it has a 

 •sweet scent like a Primrose. The Gladiolus segetnm or com- 

 munis rises up as in Italy amidst the green com, while on the 

 hillside facing the glorious sea that breaks triumphantly 

 against giant reefs of rocks you may gather the little yellow 

 Adonis aestivalis, the Teucrium fruticans, Ophrys fusca, and 

 Bellevalia comosa (called by some botanists Muscari comosum). 

 Besides these there are the Nigella hispanica, Lavatera tri- 

 mestris. Psoralea bituminosa, Tetragonolohus purpureus, the 

 ■Chrysanthemum coronarium, and many others of which I have 

 QO account. 



1 have never seen any Fem from Malta, and the absence of 

 streams, springs, or indeed of any save artificial watercourses, 

 would make the coontry uncongenial to them. 



The flowers I have mentioned are the flowers of spring, such 

 as would have cheered the shipwrecked Apostle as he went about 

 following the footsteps of his beloved Master in doing good, 

 the " Shadow of the (Jreat Rock in a weary land." The fertilis- 

 ing dew, the Lilies of the field, the sea, the ships, may all have 

 furnished the illustration for that preaching which confirmed 

 the faith of Christ so powerfully in the minds and hearts o( 

 the Maltese people, that no bribes or threats have ever once 

 had the power to make them, as a people, swerve or change. — 

 Feux-f(£uina. 



CUCUMBER CULTURE AND HOUSE. 



I HAVE read with interest the articles on Cucumber and 

 Melon culture which have appeared in The Jour.nai. or Hob- 

 TicuLTUitK, and agree with Mr. J. 'Wills in every respect but 

 one. He recommends the sowing of five or six seeds in a 

 60-sized pot, and the plants to be separated as soon as they are 

 up. Now I do not like this practice ; there is far too much 

 danger attending it. The wiiy in which I manage my plant3 

 (and I never have a mishap, although I raise scores every 

 year), is as follows : — 



I take a 40-sized pot, and put about 2 inches of good fibrous 

 soil over the drainage, leaving the pot about half full ; I now 

 put in the seed, and place the pot in a good bottom heat, abont 

 80". In about two days the seedlings show through the soil, 

 and, when the seed leaves open, I put a little more soil round, 

 and continue adding more so long as the plant grows, keeping 

 only the seed leaves above the soil. This, I find, encourages 

 root-action all up the stem, and very soon you have a fine 

 strong plant and a pot full of good roots. As soon as the 

 second rough leaf is open, I plant in the bed prepared for 

 fruiting. 



I enclose the design of my Melon and Cucumber-honse. The 

 dimensions are as follows : — 'Width of house, 11 feet ; width of 

 bed, 4 feet ; depth of soil without the mound, C inches; depth 

 of brickbat drainage, 18 inches ; distance of soil from the glass 

 in front, 18 inches ; highest point in roof from ground, 10 feet 

 6 inches. 



a Hot-air chamber. 

 b Brick drainage. 

 c Soil for roots. 

 > o Ventilators. 



d d Pipes for aUowinp hot air to 



escape from the chamber. 

 X X Hot-water pipes. 

 z Sliding door to chamber. 



For ventilating the hot-oir chamber I have two pipes above 

 the pipe without the evaporatingpan, and three on the one 

 with the evaporatingpan. I have also two sliding doors in the 

 bottom of the chamber, so that I can have any heat I like under 

 the roots, and either moist or dry.— Cucumis. 



CHEILANTHES ODOEA CULTURE 

 Aeoct six weeks since I received a small box of plants of 

 this most interesting little Fem, direct from Mentone. 

 plants were; found within a walk of the town 



These 

 and were v\eU 



