JOTJENAIi OF HORTICULTURE Ami COTTAGE GAKDENEK. 



[ March 21, 18G&. 



nature and beauty, of tlie pure air of the country, of all 

 sweet and harmonious sounds, feai-ed a lifetime of incarce- 

 ration amongst blackened houses, the noise and din of ma- 

 chinery, and the anxious and careworn faces of the operatives. 

 There was no music for mo in the incessant hum, and clash, 

 clash of the mechanical motions of the factory. Tlie me- 

 lancholy poetry which one may weep out of the thinly clad, 

 consumptive, and stiu-ving workers had no charm for me. 

 Upon theii- brows I had seen written, as with a finger of 

 blood, "Slaves to the Mammon of Unrighteousness," and I 

 had wept silent teai-s as I saw them sinking, slowly but 

 surely, into an early grave. 



It has always been my delight, and almost a necessary 

 part of my existence, to wander free and unrestrained, seek- 

 ing the health and purity which God so fi-eely scatters over 

 hill and dale, and in the secluded spots where dwell some of 

 our sweetest and tiniest favourites. But I will teU you how 

 this gloomy foreboding, like many a dai-k cloud o'er life's 

 pathway, passed away. On and on sped our train — an 

 express, by-the-by, which is never favourable for giving 

 travellers a very close insight into the botany of the country 

 through which they pass. How delightful, how reviving, 

 then, was it to that despau'ing lady in the first-class car- 

 liage to find, after leaving Derby and approaching the ter- 

 mination of her jom-ney, that the sceneiy became most wild 

 and romantic, the country apparently favourable for Ferns, 

 and everything indicating a luxuriant vegetation ! The 

 mgged and picturesque hills and vales of Oakamoor charmed 

 me, and I gave utterance to my inward joy in exclamations 

 which no doubt made my fellow passengers believe that I 

 was somewhat beside myself. My husband, who has a pet 

 theory of his own that " every one is mad upon some point," 

 of course immediately brought the subject upon the tapis, 

 and concluded his oration by bringing forward at the same 

 time his wife as an apt illustration — mine was a Fern mania. 

 Denial was impossible. I felt it myself, and the learned 

 doctor was left in the full enjoyment of his thesis ; for we 

 all know that 



" None but a clever dialectician 

 Can hope to bcconie a great phyeician; 

 That has been settled lonpr ago. 

 Logic nmkes an important part 

 Of the u'yptery of the healing art ; 

 For without it how could you hope to show 

 That nobody knows so much as you know 1 " 



Woman like, however, I must have an argument, parti- 

 cularly as we had a few minutes still to spare ere we arrived 

 at the station. 



T proposed as a query 



In place of his theory, 



Whether my monomania had not commenced when I married 

 Mm? We had not satisfactorily settled that knotty point 

 when the diminishing speed of our train, and soon after the 

 words "Froghall," "Froghall," uttered in the Staffordshu-e 

 dialect, put an end to our repartees, and reminded us that 

 we had several miles of our journey to accomplish by road, 

 and that it was necessary to stow away the bairns and 

 luggage. 



I will pass over the usual bustle of settling down in a 

 new house, the necessary amount of breakages and dis- 

 comforts ere everything gets "fettled" up, which more or 

 less falls to the lot of all under like circumstances ; the 

 curious eyes which scrutinise, and the more curious romarl:s 

 which are made upon new. comers into a small and self- 

 satisfied village in an inland county — all this wo passed 

 through with the usual and provoking nonchalance of old 

 travellers. 



It was about three weeks after our arrival in T that 



a patient came in. It came out in the course of conversa- 

 tion that ho was the village gai-dener, and I immediately 

 questioned him as to the nature of the surrounding country 

 and its facility for Fern-ijoll(K;ting. To my surprise he 

 began smiling, but ho apparently apologised for the same 

 by explaining that ho had just come from that omnium 

 gatherum tho villago Bhop, whore he was fairly pounced 

 upon by several of the customers with queries as to " what 

 the new doctor's wife was alius a getting and carrying home 

 them green things for. She seems wholly taken with 

 things we wouldn't stoop to pick, much more plant 'em in 

 our gardens. A handsome Gillyflower now would bo some- 

 thing like, but not such rubbish as 'Forns,' which grow 



everywhere." One woman more sapient than the rest said, 

 " I know what she does with 'em though, her husband's a 

 doctor, and she gets 'em to make ' yarbo ' tea oiT, to be sure. 

 "Aye, sure enough," they all said; "missus you're gottin 

 uu now." So it was agreed in the self-instituted committee 

 that the weak-minded writer of this was a collector of herbs. 

 The gardener finished his recital by smilingly telling me 

 that I was the talk of the place. " You see, mam, we' re so 

 accustomed to see these sort o' things that we doant notice 

 them. Maybe they doant grow whore you comes from; 

 they seys you 'r a iine London lady, and mayhap they doant 

 grow thereabouts ?" However, in spite of culumniators and 

 many side looks as I passed through tho streets, I still 

 indulged in my "yarbe "-gathering propensities. JPerhaps 

 with Dr. Seraphino they mentally ejaculated — "May the 

 Lord have mercy on your position, you wretched, wrangling, 

 culler of herbs ! " 



A year passed away, and as spring came round again I 

 eagerly sought my old favourites and their haunts, fx-om 

 which through unforeseen circumstances I was removed 

 soon after. I propose, fu' the amusement of those who are 

 like myself " Fern-mad," to givo a sketch of pleasurable 

 excursions amongst woods and rocks, of prying into wells 

 and under overhanging grasses under a broiling sun or in 

 a pouring rain, in search of these children of the earth ; for 

 it wUl serve to show how much real enjoyment there is in a 

 country walk in ail seasons and aU weathers. — Alice. 



THE EOYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY'S EIEST 

 SPEING SHOW. 



This was held on Saturday the ISth, and notwithstanding 

 a due east, and exceedingly keen wind, was honoured by the 

 presence of H.K.H. the Princess of Wales ; and well worthy 

 was the exhibition of such distinguished patronage, for 

 never do we remember having seen Hyacinths in such per- 

 fection — the spikes so fine, the colours so rich and varied — 

 as they were on this occasion. They constituted the chief 

 attraction of the show, but not the only one, for there 

 were the gay early Tulips, Koses, some almost as good as 

 may be seen in summer. Cyclamens, Primulas, Cinerarias, 

 and Camellias, the whole making a display of colour such 

 as one could hardly expect at a season when Nature is only 

 beginning to throw aside her winter dress. 



Year after year Mr. Wm. Paul and Messrs. Cutbush have 

 contended with varying success for the chief honours with 

 this flower, and after many a hard-fought battle it was no 

 surprise to find them again in "the tented field." Mr. W. 

 Paul was first both for twelve and for a collection with 

 magnificent spikes having a luxuriance, combined with a 

 compactness of growth and richness of colour, that at 

 once struck the observer. The twelve consisted of Solfa- 

 terre. Von Schiller, and Macaulay, remarkable for their bril- 

 liant colouring; King of the Blues, splendid; Garrick, Grand 

 Lilas, Prince Albert, large for that kind; Grandeur il Mer- 

 voille, and Van Speyk very fine ; Alba Maxima, Tubiflora ; 

 and Ida, yellow. Messrs. Cutbush's twelve were also very 

 fine. They consisted of La Prophi'te, Von Sohilloi-, splen- 

 did ; Macaulay, Florence Nightingale, Emmcline, Snowball, 

 remarkable for its largo bells of great substance; Mont 

 Blanc, Marie, a splendid spike; Baron Von Tuyll, Gar- 

 rick, Grand Lilas, and Mimosa. The collections from Mr. 

 W. Paul, comprising 125 pots, and froni Messrs. Cutbush 

 100, included nearly all the best kinds of the various colours, 

 and it would be tedious to enumerate them. Lord Palmer- 

 ston and King of tho Blues, which, relatively sxJeakiug, may 

 still be considered new, fully maintained theii- high cha- 

 racter, the white eye and clear blue of the former and the 

 fine deep blue of tho latter rendered them conspicuous. 

 \Vc did not, however, observe either tho rich crimson red 

 Josephine or Eobert Fortune. Among Reds, Queen of 

 Hyacinths, Von Schiller, Pi'lissier, Howard, and Solfaterre 

 were conspicuous by then' high colour; of Whites tho best 

 were Queen of the Netherlands, Mont Blanc, iind Alba 

 Maxima ; Grandeiu- :i Merveillo, blusli ; Fair Maid of Den- 

 mark was also very pretty. Of Blues, in addition to those 

 already named, were excellent spikes of Van Spoykstoron 

 Bloksberg, Admiral Coliguy with very large bells, and Cou- 

 ronne de CcUe ; whilst in those shades approaching black 



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