37rt 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEK. 



[ May 13, 18V5. 



woods where the trees except a few Larches were as bare of 

 leaves as a barber's pole. 



No spring here, then let mo go farther south yet ; so I posted 

 to the Lizard and stopped a couple of nights at the most 

 Bouthernly inn in England. But it was colder here than at 

 Falmouth; the east wind followed one hke an evil spirit, de- 

 termined to rob you of all pleasure. But it could not do this 

 qiiite here ; the rock scenery of the Lizard coast was too 

 grand and far too interesting for any amount of east wind to 

 make that visit anything but a joy and deUght. I suppose 

 most of the readers of our Journal have seen the Lizard, but 

 if perchance any who have not seen it are in doubt where to 

 spend their holiday this autumn let me recommend them to 

 Ro to the Lizard. There is capital accommodation at Miss 

 Mundj's, the " Old Inn," at MuUion, and also at the Lizard 

 Town or at Cadgwith, and a month might well be spent ex- 

 ploring the wonders of the coast. I shall never forget Kinance 

 Cove and Asparagus Island. It is impossible to describe it, 

 but the artist, the geologist, the botanist will alike find it a 

 rich field for the pursuit of their favourite studies. The 

 varied hues of the serpentine rocks of nearly every colour from 

 white to the deepest red, dripping with water as the sea leaves 

 them, and lighted up by the suu rays, appear like bright jewels 

 that have been laved by the sea and kissed by the sun. It is 

 indeed enchanted ground, and I wished I could have remained 

 longer there ; but my time was so limited that I had to push on 

 to Penzance so as to see the Land's End, and stand ou the 

 most western point of Old England. I stayed the remainder 

 of my time at Penzance, as there is so much to see there and 

 such charming excursions can be made from it. The " Queen's 

 Hotel," too, is such a capital place to stay at that one feels dis- 

 inclined to leave it. 



I think Mount's Bay the most lovely one in England. St. 

 Michael's Mount from a distance appears to be much further 

 out in the Bay than it really is, and with a dim haze over it, or 

 a setting sun, the grand old rock which has over and over 

 again been stormed, stands out like a gigantic sentinel keeping 

 watch over the Bay that bears its name. Close to Penzance is 

 the picturesque fishing town of Newlyn St. Peters; picturesque 

 indeed it is with its narrow streets and its exterior staircases, 

 but, oh ! so dirty, and the odours ! I cannot really understand 

 how it is that a plague does not break out, for there literally is 

 no drainage, the filth of each house is thrown outside the door, 

 and yon are literally poisoned as you walk through the streets. 



There is al?o a remarkable man at Newljn in the shape of a 

 policeman. It is told of him that when the snow fell this 

 winter the men of the place, dehghted with the rare and unex- 

 pected visitor they had not seen for seven years, commenced 

 snowballing, upon which the policeman, thinking it was a 

 shame that he should be left out of the fun, set to work and 

 joined in the fray. On another occasion a man was engaged 

 m the favourite pursuit of chastising his wile. The latter natur- 

 ally bellowed, and her female neighbours in sympathy went to 

 bring the policeman. He came, he saw, but by no means did 

 he conquer the brute— tar from it : he turned round to the 

 indignant spectators saying, " He did not like to be unneigh- 

 bourly," and marched off declining to interfere. A fiieud told 

 me tliis as an illustration of his dictum, " The laws of England 

 cease to have ctl'ect when yon cross the Tamar. Wo are here 

 governed by public opinion." 



The distance from Penzance to the Land's End is about ten 

 miles, and a one-horse coach goes from the post office every 

 morning. This is driven by a most amusing man, who tells 

 you no end of anecdotes. The age that people attain to in that 

 district is something wonderful. When the gentleman who 

 built my place here asked the late Lord Bridport to sell some 

 land for a churchyard, he replied, "What do you want a 

 churchyard for ? No one ever diesat Monkton Wyld." I wonder 

 what he would have said if he had such lives on his copyholds 

 as some of those in the Land's End district. You see that 

 man mending the road ; what age do you think he is nov,' ? 

 Why he is eighty-six, and ho does a hard day's work winter 

 and summer. There are four generations of his family living 

 together; but that's nothing round about here. We have five 

 generations living together, and the best of it is tliey «re all 

 called Matthew. You'd think there would be some difficulty 

 in distinguishing them, but there's not. The great grand- 

 father, who is ninety-six years old, him they call old Matthew 

 (and well they may), the next they call grandfather Matthew, 

 his son is Matthew, the next young Matthew, and the last 

 young Matthew's son Mattie. 



Ou arriving near the Logan Eockthe driver introduced me to 



an old guide, who turned out to be a most entertaining old fellow. 

 " You see this little mead, sir, that reminds me of what occurred 

 here when I was a buoy. Oh, sir! the depravity, the terrible 

 wickedness of buoys. It's in their nature, it seems engrained 

 in them like bee's wax. Well, sir, when I was a buoy about 

 nine years old I was tending some geese, and an otter came 

 out of a hole determined to have one of them geese, but I was 

 determined, too, he should not. Now, I had no terrible amount 

 of courage — I was not over bold — but I could swear, aye, swear 

 terribly, and so I kept swearing at it and throwing stones. 

 The otter kept following me, and I kept running across the 

 meadow, swearing and picking up a stone and hitting him, and 

 then bolting, till I made such a row that a man came up to 

 see what it was about, and then shot the otter. But how I 

 did swear; oh ! the depravity of buoys." 



Tol Prid Ponwith is certainly the boldest headland I ever 

 saw; but in my humble opinion the Land's End district will 

 not compare with the Lizard. But here it was as cold as any 

 other place, so I came home, having failed to find spring ; but 

 having enjoyed my visit to Cornwall more than I could have 

 believed possible, seeing that the east wind never left me for 

 an hour. — John B. M. Cajim. 



REGENT'S PAKK. 



The beds continue to be exceedingly gay with Tulips. Bding 

 somewhat later than usual, these gay fiowers pertain more to 

 early summer than to spring, and, as Mr. Eobson remarks, are 

 apt to interfere with the summer-bedding plants ; still there is 

 no gainsaying their enlivening effect. Most of the beds are 

 well filled. Several varieties are planted, but those which are 

 the most effective may be limited to four distinct kinds — viz.. 

 Double Tournesol, very gay; Vermillion Brilliant, dazzling 

 scarlet; Cottage Maid, lively rose; and Y'ellow Prince, bright 

 and sweet. These varieties are clear, distinct, and free for 

 bedding purposes, and, moreover, are inexpensive. Bedding- 

 ont is being carried out in full forca — in fact, hundreds of 

 Pelargoniums have been planted more than a week ago. The 

 Chestnut Avenue will in a few days be very beautiful. The 

 trees are richly laden with flowers just expanding, and the 

 brightness and freshness of the foliage has not suffered from 

 spring frosts. 



EARLY WRITERS ON ENGLISH GARDENING. 



No. 4. 

 GERVASE MAIiKHAlI. 



The Markham family trace their pedigree to a period before 

 the Norman Conquest." Their Gotham estate, which is near 

 Newark in Nottinghamshire, they acquired by marriage, and 

 there Gervase Markham was born the third son of Eobert, 

 about the year 1SC8. 



His ancestors had been too recklessly extravagant for his 

 father to provide him an income, but he gave that best substi- 

 tute — a good education, but he does not appear to have been to 

 either University. Gervase was an excellent classical scholar, 

 and well conversant with the French, Italian, and Spanish 

 languages ; moreover, he was wise as well as knowing, so hav- 

 ing the best aids to success, " parts and poverty," he prospered 

 in the world, and is one of the chief worthies of a family rich 

 in clever men. 



He was able to write marketably well in verse as well as 

 prose, and I will first and at once notice his rhymed produc- 

 tions. In 1595 he published "The most honorable Tragedio 

 of Sir Eichard Grenville," an heroic poom. It is now so rare 

 that, though of only ninety pages, Mr. Grenville a few years 

 since gave nearly £41 for a copy. It has been reprinted 

 recently. In the same year Markham published " The Poem 

 of Poems," which is the Song of Solomon versified. In 1597 

 " Devereux," a lament translated from the French, tho person- 

 ages mourned for being Henry III. of France and Walter 

 Devereux who fell at the siege of Eoan. One of the rarest of 

 books is " Ehodomanths Infernall, or the Divell conquered; 

 Ariosto's Conclusions, &c." Its author was Philip Des Portes, 

 and this translation, published in 1598, is dedicated by G. M. 

 to Lord Mountcagle. 



He says tho translation was " first intended for one privat 



* Mr. CIcmentB B. Markham, so favourably known as the Secretary of tho 

 GeoRi-aphical Society, and as the author of ficveral very useful literary works, 

 had privately printed in 1854 "A History of tho Markham Family." This 

 had been written by his father, tho Rev. B. F. Markham. To it and tj the 

 courtesy of Mr. C. K. Markham I am much irdebted. 



