i8 Leaves from my Garden yournal. 



large, inclining to oval in form ; skin of medium thickness, black, cov- 

 ered vv^ith a blue bloom ; flesh tender, with a sweet, rich flavor ; ripe 

 this season by the middle of September in the latitude of Boston. 



LEAVES FROM MY GARDEN JOURNAL. 



By Priscilla Primrose. 



I. don't think that the writers on floriculture can insist too stron_G;ly 

 upon the necessity of a frequent stirring of the soil about plants. Not 

 long since I listened to the lamentations of a lady friend over her fail- 

 ures in the flower garden. 



I accompanied her to the scene of her discomfiture, and found the 

 ground about her poor sickly flowers baked so hard that actually I 

 could make no impression upon it whatever with a tolerably sharp stick 

 that I picked up instinctively, and witli which I began poking about 

 the poor things. And yet she was so unreasonable as to expect tender 

 seedlings to penetrate that stifl' crust, and blamed the seedsman because 

 not one quarter of her seeds had come up. 



I must say that I have much sympathy with seedsmen ; people are 

 so ready to blame them for failures that are the result of their own 

 ignorance or carelessness. 



A knowledge of flower culture doesn't come by inspiration, as so 

 many sanguine souls seem to think. 



Last spring was a very trving one to the gardener, and demor strated 

 the wisdom of seed beds and cold frames. 1 have condoled with a 

 great many who spent dollars for seeds and have notiiing to show for 

 it ; and 1 have always made it a point to inquire, " Did you have seed- 

 beds or cold frames.'*" and the answer has invariably been, "Why, no ; 

 the seeds were all hardy, and I didn't think it necessary." 



This is a great mistake ; all seedlings are tender when they first 

 come up, and should be protected until they get their third or fourth 

 leaves, when they are ready to transplant. And most annuals are the 

 better for being transplanted. I even transplanted my candytuft last 

 spring, and found that it bore moving as well as itiost things, and in- 

 deed better than the stocks. I have come to think that any thing maj' 

 be transplanted with care — even mignonette, if taken in time. 



I move tilings about in my garden all summer. I transported an 

 entire bed of portulaca from one end of the lawn to the other with 

 perfect success ; but I would not do it again, for I don't think it is 

 worth the trouble. 



