JANUARY 165 



I shall certainly soak the seeds of the little Zucche, a kind 

 of Vegetable Marrow that I brought from Florence last 

 year, as it is a plant that in England has to do much 

 growth in a short time, and it is desirable to get it well 

 grown on in good time to plant out at the end of May. 

 The exact time of putting out must depend on the 

 season, and must be decidedly after that late May 

 frost which comes every year without fail, and which 

 in some years does gardens so much harm, though 

 we all know how this may be guarded against by a 

 little protection. 



I think the multiplicity of nurserymen, small and 

 great, and the gardeners' sympathy with the trade, have 

 had much to do with the fact that the sowing of seeds, 

 except in the case of annuals, has gone so out of fashion. 

 No matter where I go, it is not one garden in a hundred 

 that has these permanent small nurseries for seeds or 

 even for cuttings, or a reserve garden as described before. 

 And yet I am sure many of the best perennials cannot 

 be grown at all in a light sandy soil unless they are 

 grown from seed on the spot, and a great many more are 

 only to be seen in real perfection if they are treated as 

 annuals or biennials. The growing of seeds is a work 

 which an amateur gardener can see to himself or, indeed, 

 herself and I am sure gardening is the healthiest occupa- 

 tion in the world, as it keeps one much out of doors. 

 Instead of lolling indoors in comfortable chairs, one moves 

 about, and with the mind fully occupied all the time. 



They sell at the Army and Navy Stores an admirable 

 little lamp-stove (Kippingille's patent) for heating small 

 greenhouses. This will keep the frost out of a small 

 house, and is far easier to manage, for an amateur with a 

 gardener who goes home at night, than the usual more 

 expensive arrangement. 



There are also small forcing-boxes to put inside a 



