432 



JOURNAL OF HORTICFIiTURE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE, 



[ June G, 1865. 



beating hearts wliich once dwelt there, and made the walls 

 echo with their prayers and masses — those hearts which 

 now lie buried and still beneath its cloisters. Was it not a 

 small world within itself ? "Were there not as many passions 

 throbbing in those breasts as in those of the heretics with- 

 out the walls ? Doubtless many an earnest Christian there 

 lies awaiting the last awakening by the Judge of All. Of 

 whatever creed, one there standing patiently might say — 



•' Ashes are on my head, and on my lips 

 Sackcloth, and in my breast :i heaviness 

 And weariness of life, that makes me ready 

 To say to the dead abbots under UB, 

 • Make room for me : '" 



Then we thought of "Friar Claus," who had charge of 

 the convent cellar, and who so gloriously revelled in its 

 •wines; of " Friars Paul " and " Cuthbert," and of the re vels 

 in the refectory ; and we came to the sapient conclusion 

 that there was as much true religion in this outer world as 

 was fostered within those ancient walls. 



The shower ceased, andthe charm of our drive was increased 

 by the coolness of the atmosphere, and the sombre tone 

 ■which cm- thoughts had taken from our stroll about the old 

 abbey and its tombs. The Ferns and Grasses, dried and 

 parched when we before passed them, now gratefully bowed 

 beneath the heavy load of wet ; the birds were singing in 



an under tone their evening song ; and the lark, vociferating 



its gratitude, sank down to its bed in the heather. 



•' The partricks down the rushy holm 

 Set up their e'ening ca'. 



• • • » * 



The Roses fauld their sUken leaves; 



The Foxglove shuts Its bell ; 

 The Honeysuckle and the Blrk 



Spread fragrance through the dell." 



The Digitalis or Foxglove, which is so plentiful in this 

 county, and which with the green fronds of the Ferns form 

 such beautiful groups upon our banks, must not be forgotten ; 

 nor yet the Oxahs acetosella, the charming Wood Sorrel, 

 with its bright green leaflets and delicately veined flowers 

 adorning each hedgerow. The simplicity and elegance of 

 this lovely gem, sitting in modest beauty upon its couch of 

 moss, always reminds me of the unobtrusive yet quiet self- 

 repose of the well-bred lady. A month or six weeks later 

 in its birth, and almost equally graceful, the Wood Straw- 

 berry covei-s the same localities. Its white blossom and 

 pendant red fruit are well known to the lovers of the beau- 

 tiful as well as to the botanist. I once found a large kind 

 of Strawberry near Leigh, with leaves as fine as the culti- 

 vated plant, and fruit equally luxuriant. I supposed it 

 might be the Fragaria elatior, as it was too robust in its 

 habit for the F. vesca. — Alice. 



EITCHEN GAEDENING. 



X 



r 



In vrriting on the above subject I feel that the first thing 

 to be taken into consideration is the aspect of the garden 

 and the nature of the soil; but generally speaking, when an 

 amateur or gardener takes a place, there is the kitchen 

 gai'den, and there it must remain. In nine cases out of ten 

 the garden will be found to be very small in comparison with 

 the wants of the establishment; but there is one advantage 

 in a limited extent of ground, and that is, you may change 

 the character of it by experiments that would be hopeless 

 on a larger scale. 



The generality of kitchen gardens in the suburbs of towns 

 are mostly sufficiently sheltered by buildings or trees, but if 

 it can be managed it is best to have the kitchen garden open 

 to the south and south-west, as the extreme in this case, as 

 in all others, is to 

 be avoided. It is j . 



very seldom that 



a man enjoys the 

 rare privilege of 

 making his kit- 

 chen garden how 

 and where he 

 pleases, but as it 

 is sometimes the 

 case, perhaps it 

 will be best to e 

 give a rough 

 sketch of that at 

 present underjmy 

 charge, as I con- 

 sider it to be as 

 good as any I 

 have seen — that 

 is, for a garden of 

 not more than half 

 an acre in extent. 

 It is in the foi-m 

 of a parallelo- "• ^ 



gram, the letters 



N., E., S., W. representing the points of the compass. 

 a I is a I'each-wall some 12 feet in height, and running 

 parallel from east to west; 6 c, a low fence from north to 

 south ; c <Z, an evergreen hedge about 6 feet high ; a <i is a 

 Yew hedge 8 feet liigh ; / /, entrances from the forcing- 

 ground ; ij g, the walks. The interior arrangements, ol course, 

 must bo according to the taste or requirements of the pro- 

 prietor. 



Now, as to the nature of the soil. Very few are so fortu- 

 nate as to possess the sort of ground most to be preferred 

 for kitchen-garden purposes ; but, on the other hand, gar- 

 dening is more independent of external circumstances than 



farming ; or, in other words, few gardens are in such a 

 hopeless state or on such ungi'ateful soU but that something 

 may be done to fertilise and improve them. For instance : 

 light warm soUs are naturally early, and in hot dry seasons 

 like the last too much so, yet this evil may be guarded 

 against by the admixture of good heavy dressings of well- 

 rotted manure every time the ground is dug, such as the 

 bottom of the manure-heap in the fai-myard, and the more 

 moisture that can be carried on and dug in with it the 

 better. I am well aware, and I daresay there are too many 

 who could bear testimony, that in many instances every 

 barrowful of manure is begrudged to the garden, and looked 

 upon almost as a robbery of the farm or paddock ; but this 

 ought not to be the case where the gardener is expected to 



have his crops as 

 early and produc- 

 tive as the mar- 

 ket gardeners, 

 who load their 

 land with such a 

 variety and at the 

 same time such 

 enormous dress- 

 ings of manure, 

 that if the wea- 

 ther is at aU pro- 

 pitious their 

 crops must suc- 

 ceed. In fact, it 

 is of the utmost 

 importance to 

 them that they 

 should do so, and 

 they are well 

 aware that if they 

 do not apply such 

 fertilising ele- 

 '■ ments as their 

 experience and 

 judgment combined prompt them to do, they would not be 

 so successful as many of them are. It is a well-known fact 

 that many of them, by untiring industi-j' and foresight, sup- 

 port a large family on a )ilot of ground that in its original 

 state would scarcely produce enough to support a cow. I 

 tliink that if this manure question were more considered 

 the gardener would not so often be found fault with for 

 being behind his neighbours, or he would have such ma- 

 terials placed at his command that he would be enabled to 

 give satisfaction to his employer and do credit to himself.— 



UUBNTWOOD, P. D. 



(To b< continued.) 



