JOtTRXAL OF HOBTICULTtlEE AND COTTAGE GAE.DENEE. 



[ AptU 4, 1863, 



Then, T would say, be ready. There is One ever near to 

 yon, through VThom alone you can be ready, for He paid 

 your debt — One who will meet you, especially at yoiur bedside, 

 night and morning. He is waiting for you. Meet Him, 

 then, on your knees, and when death comes He will lead 

 you to a garden (for in heaven there must be flowers) more 

 beautiful than any on earth, more beautiful than even was 

 Paradise. 



So may poor Chitty's death draw out our active sympathy 

 and cause us to do good to the bereaved, "the widow and 

 fatherless in their affliction," and may it also be a means of 

 good to ourselves. — Wiltshike Eectob. 



GAEDEN IMPLEJIENTS. 



(Concluded from page 224.) 



IMPLKMEXTS FOR CARRYING AND APPLYING ■«'ATER, &c. 



Tke TVATEKBAKKOvr. — A most useful implement where 

 much watering is to be done and the water has to be carried 

 any distance. It may simply be described as a tub on 

 wheels, but a great deal depends on the form and construc- 

 tion. The best that I know is a tub holding about fifty 

 gallons, swung on a fi-ame, and to this frame are fitted two 

 wooden wheels about 3.V feet high. The height of the 

 wheels causes the whole to run easily. Wooden wheels 

 make less noise than ii-on. The tub being swung prevents 

 to a great extent the water slopping over. The water may be 

 drawn from the tub by means of a syphon, or a tap fitted in 

 the tub itself, from which, also, a hose may conduct the water 

 to the plants to be watered, without the use of a watering- 

 pot. There are waterbarrows made entirely of metal, and 

 though inferior to those properly constructed of wood, their 

 cheapness and durability are considerations which make up 

 in a great measure for the loss of other qualities. It is also 

 possible to construct one that will answer all the purposes 

 of the best. 



Gaeden ENGI^•ES. — There are several patents for so-caUed 

 Buperior kinds of garden engines, but, so far as I am able 

 to judge, I have used none I like so well as Read's and 

 Warner's, and these I have generally known to work well 

 and satisfactorily. Beyond this it is scarcely necessary to 

 say anything, but that the tubs should be often cleaned 

 out, and none but clean water used ; if dirt and grit get in 

 the leather is apt to be permanently injured. The proper 

 spreader should be used with every kind of engine ; it wiU 

 be found better in effect and more pleasant to use than any 

 other. There ought to be sufficient force in the jet to throw 

 the water over the highest fruit trees, the object being to 

 wash dust, dirt, and insects fi-om trees, plants, &c., and at 

 the same time to afford an imitation of a shower of rain, so 

 as to refresh and invigorate plante after hot days. The 

 watering-pot can be more effectually used in applying water 

 to the roots of plants, but the engine is best for cleaning 

 and refreshing the leaves and shoots. 



In connection with the garden engine there are other im- 

 plements that claim a little notice. The Hydropult, for 

 instance, is supposed to throw water as far as the garden 

 engine, at all events it is very useful, particularly for in- 

 doors and small gardens. I would recommend it particularly 

 in town gardens, where it should be used morning and even- 

 ing in dry weather for washing the dust from the leaves of 

 shrubs and trees. During the spring and summer the 

 health of the trees and appearance of the garden will be 

 vastly improved by such daily ablutions, and no one would 

 b^Tudgethe price after having seen the effects for a season. 



There is something better still than a garden engine and 

 syringe — ^that ia a cistern, of sufficient dimensions to con- 

 tain a large quantity of water, fiied on the roof of the house : 

 from this a pipe is carried to such places as the water is to 

 be applied, and stopcocks are there fitted, to each of which 

 a flexible hose can be screwed, this hose being furnished 

 with spout and spreader. If the cistern is mounted on a 

 three-storey dwelling there will be foroo enougli for all pur- 

 poses. This will be found tlie best of all methods of apply- 

 ing water, and though rather expensive in the first instance, 

 the money thus employed would be well spent. Whore 

 possible rain water should be conducted into the cistern, 

 but failing that, river water will be the next best, and will 

 answer very well. 



Syringes. — These have passed through various phases, 

 from the short cross-handled concern of days gone by 

 to the really handsome and convenient implement of the 

 present day. No question can be entertained as to the be6t 

 kind, which is of a very simple nature. The sliding valve 

 should be made of leather in preference to its being packed 

 with tow, and no one ought to purchase a syringe that is 

 not fitted with a ball top ; this admits the water freely, yet 

 acts as as plug on the water being driven out, but allows 

 this to pass in the form of a shower. No matter who may 

 be the maker or patentee, by taking the above as a guide, 

 no mistake can be made. Avoid all jointed and otherwise 

 deformed editions of this useful implement. Also, avoid all 

 such as are furnished with suction hose, &c. ; have nothing 

 to do with them, and you will escape much disappointment. 

 The uses of the syringe are so well known, that they need 

 not be entered into here. No gi'eenhouse, vinery, stove, or 

 other plant-house ought to be without one. 



Wateeing-pots are certainly indispensable in the garden 

 as well as in the plant-house. They are made of tin or zinc, 

 the former being painted, but not the latter. Their size is 

 a matter of choice, but I should say those holding about 

 four or five gallons would be the most useful and convenient 

 for carrying water, and smaller ones of one and a half or 

 two gaUons for applying it. For in-door work amongst 

 potted plants, watering-pots should have rather long spouts, 

 particularly for plants on narroiv stages, but they axe 

 better and handier if the vent is not too small. A three- 

 quarter-inch vent is small enough for any watering-pot, 

 unless very small indeed. A small watering-pot holding 

 about two quarts, fitted with a fine rose, is very handy for 

 watering cuttings, seeds, &c. Amongst Pines, a pot with a 

 short spout is very useful for watering the plants through a 

 funnel and tube. Other watering-pots may occasionally be 

 found -useful, some fitted with a rose, others not. For 

 watering seeds, &c., in the open ground, the large pots above 

 named wUl generally be the best, the water being applied 

 through the rose. The smaller pots are best with a rose 

 attached, which may often be brought into requisition for 

 small seeds. Generally there are few gardens in which 

 the three sizes I have named will not be sufficient for 

 aU purposes, although from fancy or other reasons a mam 

 may ivish for something different; but mere whims in such 

 matters ought not to be indulged. Many a man has been 

 led away by the notion that he could improve on a simple 

 and effective implement, or that something of his own in- 

 vention would improve matters wonderfuDy, and has only 

 found out his mistake after much money has been wasted, 

 and much material spoiled. The more common and simple 

 fonn of watering-pot wUl be found the best, and it will be 

 needless to look further and fare worse. 



Mowing Machines. — These are now indispensable in any 

 garden where there is a lawn. The smallest grass plat, 

 grass edges, or grass walks between flower-beds, may be 

 fitted with a machine, small ones about a foot or 14 inches 

 wide being suitable for the purpose ; while for large ajid 

 broad lawns 22 or 24-inch machines which require two men 

 to work them are better, or even still larger, drawn by a 

 pony or horse. These machines are manufactured by dif- 

 ferent firms, and it is not for me to recommend those of one 

 maker in preference to those of anothsi-. I have no doubt 

 that all machines, if properly made, no matter who may be 

 the maker, both work well, and are durable with care. There 

 are, however, technicalities, which experienced men only can 

 fully appreciate. A machine that the least jolt puts out of 

 order on account of one or more screws not fitting properly, 

 is, to say the least of it, vexatious ; but this I have found to 

 be the case in machines that were otherwise perfect. Makers' 

 ought to pay attention to this, as well as to make improve- 

 ments year after yeai-. 



A great deal depends on the care and management of the 

 machine itself. Many an ono has been laid aside simply 

 because a little common sense was wanting in order to see 

 the cause of its being out of repair. Want of cleanliness is 

 most injurious to these machines. They should always be 

 cleaned and oiled before putting away, pegs kept in the oil- 

 holes, the chain or cogs kept clean, and, in fact, treated as 

 if they were, what they really are, a rather complicated piece 

 of machinery, requiring somewhat more care both in the 

 using and putting away than a common roller. Many 



