MiTci :i, 1S55. ] 



JOUEN'AL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDEKER. 



223 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day D«y 



of 01 



M "nth 'Week. 



w 

 Ta 

 F 

 S 

 Srx 

 51 



MARCH 21-27, 1865. 



San's declinatioQ C-"" 22' S. 

 S<rce: Briar toliates. 

 Scarce Lanrel flowers. 

 H. Bei.ton died. 1S18. 

 L\DY Day. 



4th oa Midi E3T Sp>1)\t. 

 Gulden Saxifrage Uoo-erj. 



.\Terage Ternperatnre 



Rain in 



la«c 

 3S years. 



Son 



San 



Moon 



Aloon 



Moon's 



Cloci 

 before 

 Son. 



Day of 



near London. 



Rises. 



Seta. 



Rises. 



Sets. 



Age. 



Tear. 



Dav. 



Nicht. 



Mean. 



Day-. 



m. h 



m. b. 



m. h. 



m. h. 





m. 9, 





31.1 



32.7 



41.9 



17 



2if6 



12af6 



19 2 



18 11 



24 



7 16 



80 



50.7 



34.6 



42.6 



16 



6 



14 6 



2 3 



after. 



25 



6 57 



81 



30 8 



33.7 



42.3 



IG 



58 5 



16 6 



40 3 



40 1 



26 



6 39 



82 



4S.3 



33 2 



40.3 



It 



55 5 



17 6 



12 4 



3 



27 



6 21 



S3 



51.1 



32.9 



42.0 



13 



53 5 



19 6 



44 4 



22 4 



2S 



6 2 



84 



52.1 



3'.4 



42.2 



It 



51 5 



21 6 



13 5 



44 5 



29 



S 44 



85 



M.l 



3J.7 



44.4 



13 



49 5 



23 6 



43 5 





• 



5 26 



86 



From observatione taken near London dnring^ the last thirtv-elght years, the average day temperature of the west 10 51.2°, and ia night 

 tempera'are 33.3'. The greatesE; heat was 75^ on the 2Tth, 1830; and the lowest cold, li*^, on the 25:h, 1S5L The greaieit fall or rain was 

 0.60 inch. 



GATtDEX lilPLEME^'TS. 



T is often reeoTmn ended 

 to take advantage 

 of the long even- 

 ings and gene- 

 raUj less busy 

 days of the win- 

 ter, in taiing 

 SToek of the gar- 

 _ den, and looking 



up snch things 

 as are necessary and convenient for 

 eairving on the business of the garden 

 dnring the ensuing season : and such 

 advice, however often repeated, can 

 scarcely be over-estimated. 



In the first place, it is advisable to decide at once what 

 iterations, improvements, and transplanting are to be 

 carried out ; then to ascertain as nearly as possible what 

 seeds, plants, &c., will be required : then, again, to look 

 orer the stock of tools and implements, to see that they 

 are in good repair, and to ascertain what additions should 

 be made to them. It is of the utmost importance where 

 neatness and expedition ia performing the work of the 

 garden is desired, that the workman should be supplied 

 with proper tools, and these in good condition, for, how- 

 ever true it is that a good workman never finds fault 

 with his tools, it is equally true that any workman, 

 whether good, bad, or indifferent, will perform his work 

 better with a good tool than with a bad one. 



Now, we often meet in gardening books with reminders 

 in reference to planting, altering, sowing, &c., but as far 

 as my own experience goes, I have met with very few 

 instructive articles relative to garden tools. TVhy they 

 are so seldom mentioned, is certainly not because the 

 subject is of less iuiportance than those above named, for 

 I have known instances where various tools and imple- 

 ments of somewhat costly make were lying idle, or hang- 

 ing up in the tool-house with rust eating into the metal, 

 «nd damp mouldering in the woodwork, because no use 

 eould be found for them, while really useful implements 

 were sadly deficient. Curious as it may appear, I have 

 seen various implements, including a costly garden engine, 

 rotting away in a tool-house, while men were digging 

 with stumps of spades, either broken or worn away until 

 scarcely enough was left to turn up 3 inches of soiL 



This would show that there must have been great 

 neglect or want of judgment in selecting tools in the first 

 place, and though such may be extreme cases, it is not 

 improbable that there are many to whom a few useful 

 Iiints would be acceptable, especially young gardeners, 

 who are sometimes apt to be taken by the appearance of 

 some ■■• new-iaagled " machine, which, after all. is found 

 to be simply a trap to catch the unwary. There are 

 various " patent "' implements put before the public, some 

 of which only increase the labour, while others are merely 

 simple and etfective implements, complicated and spoilt. 

 I could name several such that I have tried, but it wiU 

 Xo. 208.— Vol. VITI , Xek- Series. 



be less invidious to do my best to show what implements 

 would be most useful in the garden, pointing out the 

 uses of them, and giving such reasons for selecting them 

 as I hope will be deemed satisfactory. 



The only book in which tools are properly arranged 

 and classified, so far as I am aware, is " Loudon's Ency- 

 clopsedia of Gardening." There we find them classed as 

 tools, implements, and instruments ; the latter being 

 chiefly for operation — as the knife, the shears, the scythe, 

 &c. ; implements for application — as the watering-pot, 

 garden-engine, lime-dredger, &c. ; for adaptation — as the 

 flower-pot, the rustic vase, the stake, <tc. ; while tools 

 are chiefly for breaking into and ttiming up the soil. 

 This arrangement of tools, the only one with which I am 

 acquainted, is very good, but is not what I propose enter- 

 ing into at present, my object being to give a list of tools 

 suitable forviUa gardens, to point out their uses as far as 

 practicable, and afford a few hints for selecting the most 

 serviceable kinds. This I would wish to do in a manner 

 that may be useful to gardeners and their employers — to 

 the latter, by showing what tools are really necessary in 

 the garden, and to young gardeners by advising them to 

 prefer such tools as are really serviceable, and not be led 

 into purchasing tools and implements that present great 

 attractions to the eye, but are found to be an incum- 

 brance as far as their use is concerned. 



I am far from recommending any gardener to limit his 

 stock of tools to such as are in general use. On the con- 

 trary, I would advise him to obtain all he is likely to have 

 need of, provided they are of serviceable kinds. Xet it 

 is well not to carry the number too far, for the reason 

 that in many gardens a very limited number will be stufi- 

 cient for aU purposes, and beyond these it is not worth 

 while to encumber the plaee. This, however, is a question 

 apart from my present purpose, which is to give the names 

 and uses of variotis tools in a way that I hope will be 

 useful. 



The following are such as are required in most gardens 

 of any pretensions : — 



For removing soUj &c. 



Far operating on 



Crowbar. 



Wheelbarrow. 

 Handbarrow. 



For carrying and apply- 



trees, ^c. 

 Saw. 

 Axe. 

 Bill or hatchet. 



MiscsUaneous. 

 BoUer. 

 Ladders. 

 Tarf-beater 



ing water, SfC, 





Turfing-iron. 



Waterbarrow. 





Line. 



Garden engine. 



For turning and hreak. 



Measuring-rod. _ 



Syringe. 



ing tnto saU, ^. 



Dibber. 



Watering-pot. 



spade. 



Sieves. 





Fork. 



Hammer. 



For operating on 



Shovel. 



Pincers. 



Grass, 4c. 



Pick. 



Brooms. 



Mowing mnrtline. 



Mattock. 



Baskets. 



Scythe. 



Hoe. 



Brnsh. 



Shears. 



Rake. 



Dredgers. 



Edging-iron or razor. 



Trowel. 



Famigators. 



The following I < 



"onsider materials g 



enerally tised in 



gardens of ordinary 



extent : — 





Nails. 



Pots. 



SoU. 



Shieds. 



Xets. 



Lime. 



Matting, 



Slats. 



Sulphur. 



Sticks. 



Labels. 



Tobacco, &c. 



The above axe, as far as I can call to mind, nearly all 

 No. SSO.— Vol. XXXHT., Old Seeies. 



