310 Garden Libraries. 



than twenty years, and as I should be sorry to hurt his feelings, by dictating 

 to him as 1 would to a lad, I therefore conduct most of my reformations in 

 such a manner as not to offend, such as lending books, or recommending 

 certain passages in such books, &c. Not observing that these books had the 

 desired effect, I one day took a peep into his garden library, which consisted 

 of a bible and prayer-book of course, Bmiyan's Pilgrim^ s Progress, Prayers 

 and Preparations for umrlhily receiving the Sacrament, FJizabetk Howe's 

 Devout Exercises, and Drelincourt on Death, all very much the worse for the 

 wear ; but Forsyth on Fruit Trees, Speechley on the Pine and Vine, M'Phail 

 on the Cucumber, &c., 1 could not see had been read at all, from the time I 

 lent them. I asked if he had ever read the books on gardening ; he said, 

 " O, yes ; but I never see any of them come up to Abercrombie's Remem- 

 brancer ; " who, he seriously assured me, was the very man who wrote 

 Mawe's Calendar. This I found to be a catch-penny edition, or rather an 

 eighteen-penny edition, which he continually carried in his pocket, answer- 

 ing the double purpose of oracle and pocketbook. 



Now, what; would garden libraries do for such characters ? But, on the 

 other hand, I have an aspiring young man, whom I have taken considerable 

 pains with, who no sooner knew that I was in possession of your Encyclo- 

 ■p(£dia, than he wished to borrow it. " No," said I ; " you want to look at 

 the pictures, I suppose. You must give me a better account of the books I 

 have lent you, before you have any more ; and I must give you the advice 

 which I give to all young men, 'Learn one thing first, and learn it thoroughly; 

 for, if you attempt learning too much at once, you will only turn out a chat- 

 tering coxcomb.' " And what wise schoolmaster will attempt to teach his 

 pupils algebra before teaching them the alphabet ? All, therefore, that I 

 should propose would be, that if any family have a gardener who seems de- 

 ficient in certain points which they would wish him to excel in, they will 

 help him to such books as particularly treat on such subjects. This might 

 easily be done without giving offence, as in the case of Mawe's Calendar 

 alluded to ; and head-gardeners should give theii" men no more books or 

 information than they can take in and digest. 



I am very sorry that Mr. M'Murtrie should have so far forgot himself, 

 as to condemn iron-roofed hot-houses with such decided antipathy. Far 

 be it from me to say that I am as good a practical gardener as Mr. M'Mur- 

 trie, he having grown several pines larger or heavier than ever I did, by 

 several pounds ! But t am sure that experience has taught me, that I 

 could always grow the best fruit in the houses which had the most crown- 

 glass and least timber. The climate of England, Sir, is sufficiently cloudy 

 for tropical plants, without shading them with rafters 7 or or 8 by 10 or 

 12 in. ; and I never could get timber fine enough, and at the same time strong 

 enough : I can now also say the same thing of iron ; and, if no difference 

 were in the price, or I had my choice, like Mr. M'Murtrie, and the price 

 no object, I should say, instead of cast-iron, let it be cast-steel, if you please. 

 At the same time, 1 acknowledge that iron decays very fast, if not well 

 painted from the first ; for, if rust ever gets in, all paintings are of little use; 

 but the dry rot in timber is worse. I shall not now take up the case of 

 wood versus iron ; but being in full practice of making observations on a 

 large and complicated scale, the results may be more correct and satisfac- 

 tory some future day. I have heard it said that a post or stake of yew tree 

 will last longer in the ground than iron of the same dimensions ; and, if I 

 could believe every word that William Cobbett says, I should think that a 

 hot-house built of his locust tree would be a very good one. Speaking of 

 locust trees, I was reading a work on fruit trees by Mr. Henry Phillips, 

 Pomdrium, &c., wherein he says the locust tree is a native of Jamaica, and 

 is what John the Baptist lived on, instead of beetles, or grubs, as is vulgarly 

 supposed ; but how John the Baptist could find Jamaica fruits in the wilder- 



