Garden Libraries. 309 



very gay, and yield a grateful perfume the whole year thi'ough. They would 

 certainly be less expense to the owners, and, with barely weeding now and 

 then, would look lively and gay ten months in the year. — Rusticus in Urbe. 

 January. 



Adaptation of Fruit Trees to particular Soils. — It would be a very useful 

 thing, if you were to direct the observation of your readers to the different 

 soils which may be planted with advantage with some particular kinds of 

 fruit, some of which, perhaps, are hardly supposed to be capable of pro- 

 ducing any, as stiff clay, chalk, pure sand, wet bog, and morass. On the 

 last, I beg to say, medlars, quinces, mulberries, raspberries, black currants, 

 and strawberries, will thrive to admiration. — Id. 



New and improved Fruits. — By cultivating the crab, wonderful improve- 

 ments have been made ; why might not something be done with the bramble- 

 berry ? The double-bearing raspberry produces flowers at the same time 

 with the other ; might we not obtain an agreeable fruit between the two ? 

 — Id. 



Improvements from Russia. — While we are at peace with Russia, it 

 would be worth some trouble, to gain all the information in our power re- 

 specting their mode of managing their salads during their long winters, and 

 the means they make use of to keep cabbages, cauliflowers, and broccoli. 

 We have many of our countrymen settled there ; and, if your publication 

 be known amongst them, nothing would be more easy than to obtain some 

 very useful information. — Id. 



Art. IX. Garden Libraries, 



Dear Sir, Admiring your extraordinary zeal and generosity in promot- 

 ing garden libraries, I am sorry to say that I differ entirely from your plan 

 or system, and shall endeavour, as candidly as possible, to give you ray 

 reasons for so doing ; and to show that I am not prejudiced, I acknowledge 

 that I am not only fond of reading myself, but particularly fond of such as 

 are great readers ; but the establishment of a garden library would be, a 

 great sum of money sunk to little purpose. I have often promoted book 

 societies and circulating libraries, but never got either thanks or remunera- 

 tion for my pains. A friend of mine kept a circulating library in a very 

 populous town, and assured me that it had never paid him 5 per cent for 

 the money sunk ; and, positively, gardeners are too insignificant a part of 

 the community to support a library of any importance. I grant that the 

 generality of gardeners are greater readers than the generality of mechanics; 

 but, then, I am acquainted with several excellent gardeners, who may be said 

 to be no readers at all. For instance, a neighbour of mine, gardener to a 

 very worthy baronet, and he himself a no less worthy man, and an excellent 

 gardener, to whom I was recommending your Encyclopcedia, made me the 



following reply : " Loudon's, is it ? Sir T wanted me to read that book ; 



he offered me the loan of it, I told him I wanted no books to instruct me 

 in my business ; if a man cannot learn his business without books, he had 

 better give it up at once. I am sure Loudon knows nothing of gardening ! 

 I never knew a good gardener who either wrote books or read books !" 

 The above was spoken in company of two more friends. You may judge how 

 I felt and how I looked, when, at the same time, I was acknowledging that 

 almost every thing under his care looked really better than_ those under 

 mine. Another friend and neighbour threw up his situation in a passion, 

 because his lady brought Mawe's Calendar into the kitchen-garden for him 

 to read. And, again, my foreman in the kitchen-garden department, a 

 most worthy creature, has been in the service of my employer for more 



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