THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDBN GUIDE. 355 



house may be, there is always a gradual dissolution going on from the 

 time the ice is put in, till it is entirely wasted; and therefore, when 

 ice is wanted the door should be closed again as quickly as possible. 

 Ice is used in domestic economy for several other purposes besides 

 those above stated, for preserving rich soups, fish, and game ; an ice- 

 bin in a cellar is also a most useful appendage. 





THE PERPETUAL FLOWER GARDEN. 



IHERE has been enough said about the shortcomings 

 of the prevailing system of embellishing gardens, and 

 we may turn from the negative to the positive, in hope 

 of some advantage to our readers. We propose, then, 

 to unfold to tbem a plan for the perfect abolition of 

 tameness and sameness, for making an end of monotony and weari- 

 someness, for the termination of the floral see-saw, the feast and 

 fast system, by which we make sure of flowers during June, July, 

 and August, and of a beggarly account of empty beds during the 

 remaining months of the year. We are to propound the arcanum 

 — the secret, the mystery — which is to be no mystery by the time 

 we have done with it ; and it is all to be made so plain and pleasant, 

 that from this time forth garden grumblers are to cease from off the 

 earth, disappointments are to be known no more, and the reign of 

 concord and flowery bliss is to set in with such severity as to over- 

 come all obstacles. You are now expecting something new, yet 

 Solomon has averred that there is nothing new under the sun. So 

 beware ! 



The arcanum to be expounded is the plunging system. It 

 cannot be our invention, because plunging in some sort of way was 

 done before we were born. But we claim to have discovered and 

 developed the full possibilities of the system, and profess to know 

 more about it than any practitioners of gardening in all the world. 

 The object of the plunging system is to keep up a rich display of 

 flowers or leaves on the same spot the whole year round, and this is 

 accomplished by growing suitable plants iu pots, and plunging them 

 where required when they are at their very best. 



The plunging system is nothing unless there are at least four 

 changes in the year — say in April to put out hyacinths and tulips, 

 and in May or June to put out geraniums, calceolarias, and mix- 

 tures ; in October for chrysanthemums, and in December for ever- 

 greens. But there may be twelve, twenty-four, or even fifty-two 

 changes, if it is the taste of the proprietor to encourage change, and he 

 has the means of keeping the wheel turning at that rate. What one 

 may do on a small scale another may do on a large scale; and 

 wherever the plunging system is fairly tried, it will be found to Bur- 

 pass in splendour, certainty, and variety, every other system that 

 can be thought of to compete with it. 



Let us endeavour to give an idea of the system ns actually prac- 

 tised. There is a centre circular bed enclosed iu a beautiful jardi- 



December. 



