322 



JOUENAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ October 7, 1875. 



' What have we next ? " is the cry of the auctioneer, 



These pass rapidly to the costermongers, and at an incredibly 

 low figure. 



Next come Strawberries. 



" I haven't heard you bid," says the auctioneer, accosting a 

 costermonger in a solicitous tone. 



"Can't take jam," remarks the peripatetic dealer, making 

 all but the auctioneer laugh. 



The lots go at an average of 2s. the dozen baskets (such as 

 in their prime were being sold at the time for (jii. each). 



"Let's have the Peaches," says the auctioneer to his men, 

 who, in handing the boxes, rip off the covers. " You can't go 

 wrong. Come, hurry up." 



The price reserved is half a crown for three boxes, and some 

 few lota bought at this figure ; the rest go cheaper. 



"You must give me credit for I'ld." says a coster, aged and 

 decrepid, as he empties the contents of his purse. 



" All right," says the auctioneer. 



" Ah," responds the coster, with a twinkle in his eyes, " you 

 know me ; you'd give me credit for £5." 



"Apricots," exclaims the auctioneer. " Bid away, you can't 

 go wrong, surely." 



The sale is over ; the shades of evening gathering, and 

 Covent Garden, after its fitful day-life, becomes gradually 

 deserted. 



It may be well, in conclusion, to trace in a few lines the 

 history of Covent Garden Market. Six hundred and fifty- 

 three years ago (1222) the site constituted part of a garden 

 belonging to the Convent of Westminster, whence the con- 

 traction Covent. It devolved to the Crown on the dissolution 

 of the religious houses by Henry VIII., was granted to the 

 Duke of Somerset by Edward VI., and on the attainder of 

 that nobleman again came into possession of the Crown. 

 Edward VI. conveyed it as a mark of royal favour to .John 

 Earl of Bedford in 1552, together with a field to the north, 

 termed Seven Acres — whence Long Acre. The property has 

 remained in the possession of the Bedford family ever since. 

 John Earl of Bedford built a mansion in Seven Acres, the 

 square on which the market now stands being the rear garden, 

 and walled. The locality was fashionable, and persons of 

 distinction resided in houses contiguous to the wall. At this 

 time a market was held on the sites now occupied by South- 

 ampton and Tavistock Streets, but owing to building improve- 

 ments the market was transferred to the centre of the garden, 

 which was the signal for the aristocratic inhabitants in the 

 vicinity to seek abodes elsewhere. Vintners, coffee-house 

 keepers, and others, took possession of the wooden houses 

 ranged round, and which at one time had been thought 

 magnificent. The historian Maitland, writing of Covent Garden 

 in 1756, soon after the change, says : — " Things remarkable 

 at present are a magnificent square, wherein (to its great 

 disgrace) is kept a herb and fruit market, two charity schools, 

 one meeting house, a parish workhouse, a cold bath. Hogarth 

 sketches it on an early winter's morning as a medley of tented 

 sheds and hoards, with fires kindled here and there to warm 

 shivering creatures, vegetables collected in heaps lying on the 

 stones or piled in baskets ; quarrelsome rakes are issuing 

 from Tom King's coffee-house, a woman is bawling ditties, a 

 quack doctor dispensing his nostrum, and market folks are 

 being served at a stall with rice and milk. To these must 

 be added growers of vegetables and retailers, the whole scene 

 — not forgetting the swords and staves and bob-wig high 

 in the air — making a scene of amusing confusion." The tem- 

 porary standings were in time made permanent, but years 

 elapsed before these were removed to give place to superior 

 erections. 



The market was rebuilt in its present form m 1829-30. It 

 is quadrangular, consisting of a colonnade — north, east, and 

 south — with ranges of shops ; a central arcade from east to 

 west, three passages running from north to south, and ex- 

 tensive storage cellars. At the eastern entrance there are 

 capacious conservatories. It is somewhat singular that only 

 in the present year a portion of the wide unsheltered space 

 between the arcade and the southern range of shops has been 

 covered in, an improvement shortly to be extended to the 

 corresponding flagged area to the north. So far from detract- 

 ing from the architectural appearance, the glass-and-iron roof 

 gives to the market a Ughtsome appearance previously wanting, 

 and is the more to be admired from its obvious utihty. An 

 essential requirement of a good market is abundance of water. 

 This is supplied from an artesian well, which yields IGOO gallons 



per hour. The market days are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and 

 Saturdays.— (WdtionaJ Food and Fuel Reformer.) 



STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 



I THINK " An Old Subscribee" has not read my letter on 

 page 242 with sufficient care and attention, or he would not 

 have found out so many objections to my way of growing 

 Strawberries. Such a formidable host of objections I was not 

 prepared to expect, and as my time is limited I must be ex- 

 cused if I do not notice them all. The first objection, then, 

 that I shall answer is " planting without manure." Well, the 

 fact is my half acre of land where I grow my Strawberry plants 

 is as rich as a compost heap, as least for 12 or 15 inches deep. 

 I have used on this piece of land for the last five or six years 

 from twenty-five to thirty cartloads of manure, and it is conse- 

 quently in such a high state of cultivation that if I were to 

 omit to use any manure for a twelvemonth my crops would 

 never feel the want of it ; and as a proof that my plants have 

 not suffered from " planting without manure," my runners 

 now measure above a foot across them, their fruit buds are 

 formed for next year's crop, and they are so large and forward 

 that some of them are throwing up their flower stalks and 

 bursting into flower. " Planting after Potatoes " is another 

 objection. I again repeat my land is deeply cultivated and 

 manured for Potatoes at the time of planting. They are 

 planted the first week in May, and are ready for sale by the 

 first week in July. 



" Taking the runners from each alternate row" is objection 

 No. 5. I do not see what matter it would make if I did, but I 

 do nothing of the sort. I " strike " or root my runners in 

 each alternate row, but I take runners from every plant. My 

 reason for raising my runners in this way is that I find in 

 practice that gathering fruit and striking runners are antago- 

 nistic, the runners being trampled to death by the fruit-gather- 

 ing ; and Ijy setting apart every other row for the runners, 

 allowing no person to set foot on this row, I obtain runners at 

 least a month earlier. This I think a very important point, 

 and I am sure my friend makes a great mistake when he 

 objects to so simple and easy a way of securing early runners. 

 Objection No. 6 I pass over, as time wUl prove what sort of a 

 crop I shall have, but judging by past experience I am led to 

 hope that I shall have a very good one. 



I5ut after all the great difficulty with " An Old Subsceibek " 

 is to " comprehend " how it is possible to grow 1 lb. of fruit 

 per plant the first season after planting. This is no joke. He 

 is content to wait two years and sometimes three years before 

 tasting any fruit. In reply, I answer it can be done by having 

 the runners rooted early and grown to as large a size as possible 

 during July, August, and September ; to plant as soon as the 

 land is ready and the season favourable on land in " good 

 heart," that has been deeply cultivated and well manured. 

 A few of my largest Strawberries this year weighed 2 ozs. each, 

 and I had scores that weighed 1 oz. each. From British 

 Queen, Dr. Hogg, President, and others I could pull thirty 

 Strawberries to weigh 1 lb. I remember reading a short timo 

 since of a Strawberry called " Brown's Wonder," that would 

 produce one peck of fruit per plant, Dr. Roden writes to say 

 that " his plants of British Queen this year have produced an 

 average of 8 lbs. per plant, several of the fruit weighing 2 ozs. 

 each." Can "An Old Subscribee" comprehend this? 



In conclusion I would offer this advice to all Strawberry 

 growers : Do not rest satisfied until you can produce a good 

 crop of fruit the first season after planting.^W. Lovel, 

 Weavertliorpe, York. 



HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF A FLOWER-POT. 



It has often occurred to me when potting, and seeing the 

 roots of plants winding round the pot in search of food, if their 

 wants might not be specially considered at the time of potting, 

 especially in the ease of those plants which of necessity have 

 to be kept in small pots for the decoration of the dinner table, 

 and for fitting into vases, epergnes, &c. To attain the desired 

 result I have for the last two seasons acted as follows : — ■ 



After placing the requisite drainage in the pots I procured 

 some fresh cow dung (that from fattening oxen is preferable to 

 that found on pasture fields), and with a broad label besmeared 

 the inside of each pot to the depth of one-third to half an inch, 

 according to the size of the pot. The pots are then put to dry 

 in an airy shed for a few hours, otherwise the wet lining would 

 interfere with the work of potting. 



