144 IN A GLOUCESTERSHIRE GARDEN 



a very pleasant part of gardening, though it sometimes 

 requires much study to determine accurately the right 

 name.i The study of plant names is by itself most 

 interesting, and leads to much unexpected information. 

 But for the good naming, some sort of label is neces- 

 sary, and what is the best form of label is still an 

 open question. I dislike wooden labels of all sorts — 

 they are all too conspicuous, and for private gardens 

 the label should be as little conspicuous as possible ; 

 in a public botanic garden they should be large, easily 

 seen, and easily read. Here I have for many years 

 used a cast-iron tally with a T-shaped head. This 

 head is painted white, and when required for use has 

 a thin coating of black quick-drying paint (Aspinall's 

 paints do very well for the purpose), through vfhich 

 the name is written with any sharp-pointed instrument. 

 The tally is almost invisible a few yards off, but the name 

 can be read easily without taking it out of the ground. 



I have now gone round the calendar, and my garden 

 record is at an end. I have not attempted to give a 

 complete list of all the flowers that can be gathered in 

 each month ; my object has rather been to show that 

 there is no month in the year in which some, or indeed 



1 This study has now (1896) been made much easier by the com- 

 pletion of the Index Keioensis. 



