Hay 18, 1870. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTIOULTOBE AND COTTAGE QABDENEB. 



385 



that I have gathered many bnnchea of these sweet flowerB 

 from plants on a north border in October, November, and even 

 December. A north border enables me to plant my email pita 

 with plants iu early autumn entirely free from red spider, 

 which was not the case when they were grown in the open, 

 and to put plants in frames with their leaves smothered with 

 red spider is simply to protect the spider and kill the plants. 

 I feel extremely obliged to Mr. Lee for particulars of his mode 

 of culture, but which I am sorry to say from altered conditions 

 of climate does not answer in my case. In the open they take 

 red spider. I want the plants free, and grow where the heat is 

 less, hence I plant in a north border. 



I will endeavour to make Mr. Lee understand why I do not 

 practise layering runners. The fact is, I did not know of such 

 a practice until Mr. Lee wrote me telling how to raise a stock 

 of Victoria Regina. I had been in the habit of planting rooted 

 runners for some years, but had no idea of pegging them to 

 facilitate their rooting. Now I have tried Mr. Lee's plan, and 

 have found it succeed excellently ; but when I penned the few 

 lines on Violets (page 292) I did not consider that I had any 

 right to "plough with another's heifer," considering Mr. Lee 

 entitled to keep if he saw fit a practice of so much advantage 

 to him as a raiser of new varieties of Violet. I thank him for 

 the advice given me, and also for making his practice public. 



Propagating from "runners" as practised by Mr. Lee is a 

 system for the million. For outdoor culture I make no objec- 

 tion to its giving the best plants. I know the Parisians pot 

 the runners in autumn several in a .5 or Ginck pot in little else 

 than "muck" and leaf soil, and with such material produce 

 forced plants which astonish the natives. " They do these 

 things better in France ! " Perhaps ; but I do not like runners 

 nor plants had from them. They have single stems and well- 

 developed crowns. I have the Neapolitan Violet with at least 

 fifty such crowns in a 6-inch pot. What I want are plants at 

 the close of April, or at latest early in May, that have never 

 produced a flower and have at that time a diatinot crown and 

 fair portion of roots. From the side of the plants beneath 

 ■the soil arise very sparingly plants of this description, which 

 I term suckers, and they are very short in root-stem, whereas 

 innners have the joints distantly placed, and do not produce 

 Buckers nearly so freely as those raised from suckers — {or like, 

 in this as in other things, sncoeeda like, and from the lessened 

 length of their root-stem have much more compact roots, 

 lifting with the perfection of balls, and unless the plants have 

 these they might as well go to the dunghill as be planted in 

 frames. — G. Abbey. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET. 



In our twenty-third volume we published a very full history 

 of Covent Garden Market, with aground plan of it as at present 

 existing and a view of it as it was in 1745, and iu vol. xxix. 

 •we submitted an illnstration of the new covered side market. 



We have just returned from a stroll through the Market. 

 Oar visit was in early morning — " market morning " — for to 

 see the most striking characters of this great mart we must 

 be " up with the lark and the sun." 



Covent Garden just before sunrise is one of the "sights" 

 of London. The amount of the commodities there being 

 offered for sale and distributed, and the bustling activity of 

 the distributors, from the well-to-do tradesman with his van 

 to the humbler coster, conveys an excellent idea of the magni- 

 tude of metropolitan requirements and the habits of life of a 

 considerable section of its people. 



Covent Garden is not only crowded before sunrise, but all 

 the converging and contiguous streets for a long distance from 

 its centre aSord supplementary space, for the market, large as 

 it is, is quite inadequate for its purpose and business. Besides 

 the market proper, it is not too much to say that miles of 

 streets surrounding it are crowded with garden products. Bow 

 •Street, Long Acre, and other main thoroughfares are mainly 

 occupied by vans belonging to the greengrocers in different 

 parts of the city. Between these vans and the market an 

 army of porters are engaged conveying iu immense loads the 

 vegetable produce which is to "feed the multitude" for the 

 next day or two. The .loads which these men carry iu the 

 huge baskets would fill an ordinary-sized donkey cart, and 

 their weight must be great— sufficient, indeed, to crush down 

 stronger men not accustomed to be thus laden. The baskets 

 rest on pads, and the pads on the heads and shoulders of the 

 men, the thin end of the pad (2 or 3 inches) being placed on 

 he head, the thick end (nearly a foot) resting on the shoulders, 



thus bringing the basket nearly level. Probably by no other 

 means could the human frame support a load so heavy. 



In the market square and outside the building, as well as in 

 the streets immediately adjacent, are the vendors' vans loaded 

 high with their merchandise. Cabbages, Broccolis, Turnips, 

 Carrots, Khubarb, &c., are piled as true as if guided by the 

 rule and plnmb-liue. These commence arriving soon after 

 midnight, and at early dawn the work of selling and buying 

 begins. From that time until eight or nine o'clock, or about 

 four hours, the amount of business done is enormous ; yet, 

 considering the numbers of people engaged — the bustling, 

 cramping, and crowding — it is done in a remarkably quiet 

 manner. There is little or no wrangling and attempts to drive 

 hard bargains, time is too precious for that. Buyers and 

 sellers know at a glance the current value of the goods, and 

 this knowledge expedites business. Chaff and banter prevail, 

 but it is a sort of running fire. Every pause is a loss cf time 

 and money. Occasionally, or perhaps frequently, trade is con- 

 ducted in slang phraseology. A purchaser takes stock of a 

 load of Cabbages. "Price, gnv'nor?" he asks. " Three bob 

 and a tanner. Quick's the word," is the prompt reply. That 

 is, 3s. Gd. per dozen for new Cabbages. A man mounts a stack 

 of Rhubarb, and answers inquiries. " Yes, sir ; 'ere you ar' ; half 

 a dollar. Go ahead." That is, 2s. Gd. per dozen huge bunches. 

 A masculine-looking dame with the " cratur" stamped on her 

 visage informs her customers that she has " fine ' Musharoons' 

 ' niners ' this mornin'." That is. Mushrooms Od. per baeket. 

 And so trade is done. Bees in a Clover field are not more 

 busy than are the hahilues ol Covent Garden in early morning. 



In the flower market the same activity prevails. Plants are 

 offered in thousands, and are greedily bought and transferred 

 by carta and barrows to brighten and to cheer the balconies 

 and windows of the " great city." " A bit of country " is dear 

 to the Londoner, and if he cannot go to the country the coun- 

 try is brought to him in the fresh sweet flowers. The plants 

 are admirably grown — each is at the zenith of its beauty, sturdy, 

 clean, and vigorous. Nowhere can better examples of culture 

 be found than in Covent Garden of such plants (which are 

 now in season) as Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, Sweet Briars, 

 Cinerarias, Calceolarias, Bouvardias, Ehodanthes, Spirseas, 

 Callas, Stocks, Musk, Heliotropes, Ferns, and especially Hy- 

 drangeas. Plants of the latter in 5-inch pots have heads from 

 12 to 18 Inches in diameter, and exuberant foliage down to the 

 pots. The flowers are mostly pink, a few of them having a 

 tinge of blue. The plants are sold at 12s. to 15s. per dozen : 

 the other plants enumerated being sold at from 5s. to 10s. 

 per dozen. 



Boxea of small plants are also offered by hundreds, contain- 

 ing Golden Feather, Lobelias, Paneies, Perillas, Mimuluses, 

 Verbenas, Daisies ; also climbing plants in pots of Tropaeolums, 

 Passifloras, Convolvuluses, &o. There ia an enormous trade 

 in cut flowers. Hardy garden flowers of every conceivable 

 kind are offered in large bunches or bundlea. Wallflowers, 

 Lilacs, Forget-me-nots, Primroses, Cowslips, and wild Hya- 

 cinths are sold at Od. to 1.5. per dozen bunches ; Poets' Nar- 

 cissus, very beautiful, at 2s. Gd. to 4s. per dozen bunches ; and 

 Lily of the Valley at Is. per bunch. Most of these are also 

 made up iu mixture by women in sizes and at prices to suit 

 each customer ; they can work, aa they say, " to any sort 

 o' money." 



The central avenue is about 50 yards in length and perhaps 

 4 yards in width — much too short and too narrow. It con- 

 tains seven shops on each side, and in them are to be seen 

 probably the finest vegetables, fruit, and cut flowers which thia 

 and other countries can produce. The fruit is the most attrac- 

 tive. Messrs. Webber have a fine display, consisting of splendid 

 Pines from St. Michael's ; Peaches, Apricots, and Cherries 

 from France; and excellent Grapes, Melons, and Strawberries 

 from England. The latter were exceedingly fine and were 

 selling freely, the best selected at 24s. per basket. Wo also 

 noticed iu other shops splendid French Asparagus at 7s. Gd. 

 per hundred heads; Cucumbers Is. each, and the best samples 

 of all other vegetables in season. Nuts are also offered in 

 all sorts, including Chinese Litchees, &c. Bouquets are always 

 attractive, but early morning is not the best time to see them 

 simply because the best are not then to be seen. Purchasers 

 are too aristocratic for early rising. Favourite flowers for 

 bouquets are white Camellias, Gardenias, Roses, Stephanotis, 

 and Bouvardias. These are grouped thinly so that each showa 

 its individual beauty. Occasionally a alight — very slight — 

 touch of scarlet and pink is introduced, but high colours are 

 used sparingly, and the flatness is broken by delicate sprays 



