14 



JOURNAL OF HOBTIOULTURB AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



( January 1, 1874. 



houses about 13 feet high at back, and 20 or 21 feet wide, each 

 19 yards long. It is worthy of note that the glazing-bars are 

 of copper, which, though very enduring, must have entailed a 

 heavy expense at first. There is a broad flagged pathway at 

 back, andiu each house there is a deep tank in which the rain 

 water is collected. These spacious structures are used as 

 vineries ; and a corresponding pair of timilar dimensions are 

 used as Peach houses. In one the Peaches are trained in the 

 ordinary way on a trellis near the glass, but in the other they 

 are planted-out in the border orchard-house fashion, and 

 trained with umbrella heads; on the back wall in the one 

 case are Figs, in the other Peaches and Nectarines. There 

 are, in addition, two fine span-roofed houses running north 

 and south, 21 feet wide and about 70 feet long. One of these 

 is a vinery, planted with Black and white Muscat of Alex- 

 andria, White Nice, Lady Dowue's, Black Damascus, and 

 some other varieties, but the greater part of the crop had been 

 out ; the other is a Peach house planted with umbrella-trained 

 trees, with, in addition, some Plums and Cherries. 



I will pass over the remainder of the glass, which comprises 

 a number of heated pits in which bedding plants, and Dracfenas 

 and other fine-foliaged plants are grown for house decoration ; 

 for Arundel is a fruit-growing, not a plant-growing place, and 

 in the days of McEwan its victories were numerous in the 

 " tented field " of Chiswick, as well as at the Regent's Park. 



I have to apologise for the imperfect notes which I place at 

 your disposal, for my run through the place was rapid, and 

 the time of year one of the least favourable that could have 

 been chosen for such a purpose ; at the same time, in con- 

 cluding, allow me to place on record the order and cleanli- 

 ness in which the grounds are kept. — Visitor. 



GARLANDS. 



The use of garlands both at weddings and funerals is of 

 great antiquity. According to Pliny, however, flowers were 

 not used in garlands till about the year 380 B.C. Before this 

 date they were composed exclusively of branches of trees or 

 green herbs. He relates that the painter Pausias being in love 

 with the garland-maker Glycera, first caused flowers to be 

 combined with the green. These two, the one working in the 

 materials nature gave to her hand, the other imitating them 

 on his canvas, vied with each other in the novelty and taste of 

 their designs, and thus introduced the fashion. Among the 

 Greeks, Boses, Violets, and Myrtle appear to have been the 

 favourite flowers for garlands. The first, sacred to the Graces, 

 as well as to the god of silence, the second believed to have 

 health-restoring powers, and the third dedicated to Venus, 

 whose altar was decorated with wreaths of Myrtle. By the laws 

 of the twelve tables, those were crowned with garlands when 

 dead, who in life had merited the honour. The public games 

 had each a distinctive crown, and not only had the victors their 

 temples wreathed with Parsley, Fennel, or other herbs, but, 

 according to Pliny, a like token of respect was granted to their 

 parents. Amongst the Romans the same custom prevaOed ; 

 and a civic crown of Oak leaves was the reward of him who had 

 saved the life of a Roman citizen. A Roman bride wore a 

 chaplet of flowers and herbs upon her head, and a girdle of wool 

 about her waist, and at funeral feasts the mourners wore garlands 

 while celebrating the virtues and achievements of the dead. 



When paganism retired before the advance of Christianity, 

 all ancient customs were not abolished ; and the beautiful and 

 significant use of herbs and flowers at weddings and funerals 

 was still retained. In Cole's "Art of Simpling" he thus speaks 

 of garlands formed of the Cypress, Kosemai-y, and Bay. " They 

 are all plants wliich fade not a good while after they are 

 gathered and used — as I conceive — to intimate unto us, that 

 the remembrance of the present solemnity might not die pre- 

 sently, but be kept in mind for many years." Flowers, on the 

 contrary, were used as emblematic of the shortness of life. 

 Amongst the Anglo-Saxons, flowers appeared both at their 

 bridal and burial feasts. After the " benediction ceremony," 

 as Strutt calls it, the bride and bridegroom were crowned. But 

 as these garlands were kept in the church on purpose, tliey must 

 of course have been composed of artificial flowers. That bridal 

 chaplets continued to be worn, contemporary writers bear 

 witness. Chaucer takes care not to omit the garland in de- 

 scribing Griselde adorned for her marriage. In the fifteenth 

 century brides wore garlands either of flowers or corn ears. 

 * The poets and authors of the sixteenth and seventeeth cen- 

 turies abound with references to plants and flowers as used 

 both in bridal and funeral ceremonies. At this period, trees, 



herbs, and flowers had a clearly defined significance. Cypress 

 and Yew were emblematic of death and immortality ; Rue was 

 the "herb o' grace;" Rosemary was for remembrance, and is 

 mentioned by several old herbalists as good for strengthening 

 thememorc. Violets symbolised fidelity, the Columbine deser- 

 tion, and the WiUow has been from time immemorial the tree 

 of mourning, especially devoted to forsaken lovers. These 

 sweet old superstitions have disappeared before the light of 

 reason. We no longer believe in the signatures of plants, and 

 their consequent efficacy, but the familiar flowers of our poets 

 stiU speak to us in a language we feel, while the grander exotics 

 are dumb. Strutt gives a detailed description of a wedding 

 procession in the time of Queen Elizabeth. The author is 

 speaking of the marriage of his hero. " The bride being attired 

 in a gown of sheep's russet, and a kirtle of fine worsted, her 

 head attired with a billimeut of gold, and her hair as yellow as 

 gold hanging down behind her, which was curiously combed 

 and pleated, according to the manner of these days ; she was 

 led to church between two sweet boys, with bride laces, and 

 Rosemary tied about their silken sleeves. Then was there a 

 fair bride cup, of silver gilt, carried before her, wherein was a 

 goodly branch of Rosemary gilded very fau-, and hung about 

 with silken ribbons of all colours ; next there was a noise of 

 musicians, that played all the way before her. After her came 

 the chiefest maidens of the country, some bearing bride cakes, 

 and some garlands made of wheat finely gilded, and so passed 

 to the church ; and the bridegroom finely apparelled, with the 

 young men followed close behind." By this it would seem 

 that the emblematic garlands were carried by the bridesmaids, 

 and that the bride wore instead an ornament of gold. 



At the end of the seventeenth or beginning of the eighteenth 

 century, garlands were still borue at funerals, though they were 

 then mostly composed of artificial flowers, with a mixture of 

 gold and silver tinsel, silk, dyed horn, and other tawdry ad- 

 ditions. In the centre of these crowns or garlands hung a 

 piece of white paper shaped in the form of a glove, on which 

 the name and age of the deceased were inscribed. In Yorkshire 

 and other parts of England the custom of hanging up garlands 

 of cut white paper over the seat that a "virgin dead" had 

 once occupied in church, prevailed to a late date. At the 

 present time in various parts of Germany and northern Europe, 

 a maiden when laid in her colBn is crowned with a Myrtle 

 wreath. In the south also the bodies of young girls and 

 children are crowned, but generally with artificial flowers, too 

 often of a tawdry kind. The wreaths of Immortelles on the 

 tombs abroad, particularly in France, are familiar to everyone. 

 It is a touching spectacle to see whole families loaded with 

 flowers and garlands, trooping to the cemeteries on All Souls' 

 Day, to deposit their tribute of love at the graves of the de- 

 parted. In Pcre-la-Chase, the tomb of Abelard and Heloise used 

 to be pointed out, the effigies almost concealed by wreaths of 

 Immortelles placed there by h'.< amoureux hifortaui'S, it was said. 



To revert to the brighter side of the subject, garlands have 

 continued to constitute an essential part of bridal array in all 

 countries, though the flowers selected for this purpose vary. 

 In Normandy Roses find favour. When a man has little or no 

 dowry to give his daughter, it is a saying there, that he will 

 give her a chaplet of Roses. In Italy the .Jasmine is the flower 

 selected. In Germany the Myrtle wreath prevails, as in the 

 classic days of Greece and Rome. It is a frequent practice for 

 a young gii-1 to plant a Myrtle, and to watch and tend it till 

 the time arrives when she requires the delicate blossoms for a 

 bridal wreath. Should she die unmarried, the same Myrtle 

 furnishes her Todtiiikraiiz. It is considered extremely unlucky 

 to present another with Myrtle from a plaut dedicated to one 

 alone, either for life or death. The Myrtle crown of the bride 

 is fre(iuently alluded to by German poets. In the northern 

 provinces of Germany, and in Scandinavia, the bridal crowns 

 are composed of artificial Myrtle, ornamented in a manner 

 more showy than tasteful, with additional flowers in gold and 

 silver. These crowns are often a foot or more in height. In 

 the evening the garlands are ahgctaint, danced off; a lively 

 tune strikes up, and the bridesmaids and other girls dance 

 round the bride, who is blindfolded. Suddenly the music stops, 

 when the bride places the crown on the head of the girl who 

 happens to stand before her at the moment. Of course the 

 maiden thus crowned will be the next to be married. — {Argosy.) 



NOTES ON VILLA and SUBURBAN GARDENING. 



Look over window plants iu pots carefully, and with a soft 



sponge or piece of cloth and some cleau, soft, mUk-warm water 



