288 Various Matters by Agronome. 



latitude sometimes, still such rambles are the rambles of a gar- 

 dener, and your Magazine will show to future generations 

 what sort of gardeners existed in the beginning of the nine- 

 teenth century. And no doubt you have a Balaam-box, like 

 the famous Christopher North, which you will occasionally 

 have to empty, for fear of bursting the hinges ; and then what 

 a great sacrifice you will make to the god Stupidity: the 

 smoke of your burnt-offering may be a good antidote for the 

 blight on your fruit trees. Yes, Sir, I dare say this very sheet 

 will help to make a blaze in your bonfire. I, however, ob- 

 serve that you have a great personal advantage over all of us, 

 your correspondents. You are like a father confessor amongst 

 lis ; we tell you all our little secrets, which may never be worth 

 telling to the public. Sometimes I think it would be just as 

 well if we were to confess once a month, instead of once in 

 two months ; and, also, that you should only charge 2s. 6d. 

 instead of 3s. 6d. for the Magazine ; as then,. I think, every 

 gardener in the kingdom, including journeymen and appren- 

 tices, would take it in ; or, if any refused to take it in, they 

 should be kept in the back ground for ever : it would only 

 amount to about a penny per day, and the new articles would 

 be a good month's amusement, and the work would be va- 

 luable for ever. Besides, a monthly magazine would coincide 

 with gardening particularly : you could give the state of 

 Covent Garden market every month, and we could give you 

 the state of the country crops. The work would be a com- 

 plete kalendar; and if you fear the want of correspondents 

 or contributors, I can help you to two or three, under differ- 

 ent signatures, till better cast up. I suppose several of my 

 letters to you have been sent by the blind carrier, as the say- 

 ing is. Not wishing to give my real name at present, even to 

 you, I sent my letters to different postoffices, and some by 

 the guards of certain coaches, who, being handsomely paid, 

 promised to take them within a kw yards of the publishers' 

 door; but having heard nothing of them, I conclude they are 

 lost. I make no duplicates ; but one, I remember, was on 

 free-trade, and another on garden libraries and iron hot-houses. 

 If you have not seen them, I shall again write on these sub- 

 jects ; but I intend to change my name, as several of my 

 friends say they have found me out in Agronome ; even my 

 employers have told me that they think they see my hand- 

 writing in the Magazine ! I assured them, with all the sa?ig 

 froid I was master of, that I was not the author (of Waverley). 

 I signed one letter Robin Roughhead. Well, Sir, as I said 

 before, every gardener would take in the monthly magazine 



