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JOUBNAL OF HORTICDIiTUSE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



I May 14, 1874. 



goodness are seldom separate' or separable — ought to and 

 does share in the pleaaures of the "garden pirty." No 

 doubt these gatherings are to him a source of extra study, 

 anxiety, and labour, but these ho gives cheerfully if he ia 

 situated as he ought to be in the couiidiince of his employer, 

 having his appreciation and consiJeratiou, which have a value 

 v/hieh cannot be fully expressed by the letters £ s. d. It is un- 

 questionably the case that indispensable as the money part of 

 the question may be, it is not with hundreds of men the sole 

 attachment pertaining to their charge. The very love of their 

 duties, the confidence they feel in the stability of a home 

 however humble, the satisfaction they feel they give, are items 

 of value which go to the credit side of the ledger. It must bo 

 80, or from whence the quiet content of men who by dint of 

 hard study range infinitely above the artisans in educational 

 6tandard, yet clearly below them in financial emoluments? 

 Well, let us be thankful for the fact, aud for every item of 

 whatsoever kind that contributes to the comfort and content- 

 ment of a home. Persevering honest labour is sure to win a 

 reward sooner or later in one way or another, and that reward 

 is the great lever to further effort to meet the requirements 

 of ordinary or extraordinary demands. 



To the last category belong garden parties. They are extra- 

 ordinary by the unusual interest which the many visitors 

 show in the surroundings of the point of inspection. The 

 tone of such gatherings is in its nature critical, and pro- 

 perly BO, so long as it is that generous kindly criticism which 

 gives pleasure all round — a criticism which is considerate and 

 just, which embraces not merely the effect produced, but the 

 means which produce it. It is in the generality of places 

 hardly possible that everything can be at the finest — that every 

 department is at the zenith of its prosperity on a given day : 

 this is rather too much to expect in the majority of places, yet 

 cleanliness and neatness will in most cases be secured, and it 

 is wonderful what a power this has in enhancing the effect of 

 fair average productions. This wanting, let the occupants of 

 a garden be never so superior, they cannot but show to great 

 disadvantage. 



Cleanliness is the first thing to aim at and accomplish in 

 making a garden yield a maximum of enj oyment. This should , 

 if possible, pervade every part ; but it can scarcely be attained 

 except by extra effort, and when notice of a week or more has 

 been given. This notice of any coming event which has more 

 than usual demands on the gardener, ought not, in the inter- 

 ests of master as well as man, to be withheld when it can be 

 conceded. It is a concession which most men value, but which 

 by no means all are in ihe habit of experiencing. Being one 

 of the favoured few in this matter, I can testify to the advan- 

 tage a gardener feels it to be, to be made acquainted before- 

 hand with any special circumstance afl'eeting his duties. Such 

 little notification is of value to the owner equally with the 

 gardener, as those who have not yet tried will find out by ex- 

 perience if the feeling between master aud man is what it 

 should be. Thoughtfalness and consideration extended by 

 one cannot fail to beget a corresponding feeling ou the part of 

 the other ; and a man, if his heart and head are right, will 

 never know when he has done enough for a good master ; while 

 the master will recognise the necessity occasionally of permit- 

 ting special aid when needed for any extraordinary occasion 

 when he sees a good aud willing man unduly pressed, but this 

 necessity is not so likely to arise when timely notice has been 

 conceded. 



Discursive as are these remarks, they are perhaps neither 

 mistimed or irrelevant, and will not clash discordantly with 

 the heading of this letter. Garden parties are commonly 

 associated with late summer rather than early spring, and it 

 is perhaps only in an old-fashioned garden filled with old- 

 fashioued flowers that a gathering in April can be a success, 

 except it be a new-fashioned spring garden, which when well 

 managed has charms which nothing in summer can hardly 

 surpass. That garden parties in April can give pleasure I have 

 had proof, aud this with nothing great or grand sot out to 

 tempt, but only the simplest array of the simplest flowers, 

 which all may have who care to do so. In fact, the charm lies 

 in the very simplicity of the feast. Well, but is a garden 

 worthy of the name if it is uninviting in April ? Ought not at 

 this period everything to conspire to please ? The brightness 

 of the sun at this season cheers and gives life to the spirits, 

 bat later the heat is oppressive and enervating. The air is 

 filled with the melodies of the songsters, which by-and-by will 

 lapse into haif-mournful cadences. The newly expjiuded foliage, 

 so fresh and clean, robed in its virgin green, will auou look 



heavy in comparison with its airy lightness now. The blossom 

 of the fruit trees, exquisite in its delicacy, extorts admiration. 



This is what nature contributes to a garden in April. Let 

 man give his mite as well. Let him use Wallflowers freely — ■ 

 not sown at any time aud grown anyhow, but treated as plants 

 worthy of care ; the bright golden yellow interspersed with the 

 rich and varied browns aud " bloods" — dwarf plants with huge 

 trusses, the foliage close to the ground, and all the flowers single. 

 Surround these with the lovely blue Nemophila, never half so 

 good as now, mixed with snowy Iberis. Edge with the purple 

 Aubrietia, Golden Feather, and Arabis, out of which let the 

 Pansy peep and the Daisy lift its modest head. Throw in 

 a clump here and there of the spring Snowdrop, and that fine 

 and sweet spring flower Daphue Cueorum. Lot the Polyanthus 

 have a place, tbe lovely Myosotis dissitiflora and Anemones 

 have room. Forget not either the pretty lowly and dense 

 Phlox frondosa, the pink Sileue, and golden Alyssum saxatile; 

 aud amongst them all be sure and remember the Lothian and 

 the cottager's Eromptou Stocks. The latter are not nearly so 

 common as they were years ago, neither are the strains offered so 

 uniformly good. It is one of the finest of all spring and early 

 summer-blooming plants in-doors aud out when it is fairly 

 grown and the type good. The Lothian is more certain by the 

 special care it has received in recent years. It is, perhaps, the 

 most valuable stock grown, so certain, massive, and telling 

 when seen at this season in conservatory or garden. A com- 

 biuation something, yea, very, like this has more than once in 

 the April just passed away been a source of attraction and a 

 fund of pleasure to the mauy citizens who did not deem a 

 plain old-fashioned garden filled with these old-fashioned things 

 beneath a visit ; and a venture may be hazarded that not one 

 in fifty failed to appreciate such as they found, and it is quite 

 certain that if any solitary individual of preternaturally ad- 

 vanced ideas had so much as whispered " A lot of rubbish ! " 

 he would have been metaphorically voted out of the garden. 

 That was once considered the correct term to use in reference 

 to this simple class of spring flowers, but the phrase is fast 

 becoming obsolete — just, in fact, as these old things are be- 

 coming new again. 



Yes, garden parties in April or early summer ought to be 

 more common, the elements ensuring their success being by 

 nature half provided, the other half involving only a minimum 

 amount of money, time, and skill, small in proportion to the 

 vast amount of pleasure they create and produce. At this 

 time are not the houses also gay with the gayest of plants. 

 Azaleas, Pelargoniums, Roses, etc. ? Are not the stove occu- 

 pants particularly inviting ? the fresh upspringing Ferns and 

 tbe unrolling of foliage plants centres of interest? Are not 

 lawns clothed in spring verdure cool, and smooth, and cheer- 

 ful ? Add thereto simple spring flowers, and then with a 

 fine day, the walks clean aud nowhere a weed to be seen, a 

 garden party in April is equally enjoyable with a similar gather- 

 ing at any other period. Nay, will it not give more real plea- 

 sure to those in " city pent," being the first smiles of another 

 summer coming — the first sweet breath of another year, tilling 

 the earth with gladness — the first taste of the relishing dish 

 set out when the appetite is longing, from the famine of a 

 flowerless winter? It is even so, as those will find who try to 

 do their best to assist Nature in the proper setting of her 

 resources at a time she displays her charms and puts forth her 

 power. With more attention to spring, its beauties and sim- 

 plicities, we add a touch to a beautiful world ; the summer is 

 lengthened and our capacities for enjoyment strengthened, and 

 we go on our course in happiness and hope : at any rate, the 

 latter is the patrimony of all. — J. Weight. 



RAISING AURICULAS FROM SEED. 

 The inquiry of "J. A." on this point is but one evidence 

 out of many that our old-fashioned florists' flowers and herb- 

 aceous plants are coming to the front once more, and I only 

 wish I could give a more satisfactory reply to his question how 

 he is to procure good Auriculas than I fear he will be likely to 

 consider this to be. He complains that he cannot afford to 

 try established varieties, and that he has failed to obtain good 

 ones from seed ; but there are many really good and prize- 

 winning Auriculas that can be had cheaply— quite as cheaply as 

 a bedding Geranium of any novelty or merit. Such sorts as 

 l'(ippleweir3 Conqueror, Waterhouse's Conqueror of Europe, 

 Howard's Lord Nelson, Oliver's Lady Ann Wilbraham, TraiU's 

 General Neill, Fletcher's Mary Auue, Oliver's Lovely Anne, 

 Netherwood's Othello, Parker's Metropolitan, and others can be 



