April 7, 1863. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICTJLTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



that the Wardens, fresh from the remembrances of classic Ox- 

 ford, had tried their best to reproduce in their own way the 

 scenes of cloistered ease which make the daughter of the Isis 

 so perfectly unique and charming. Mor, again, is Mr. Weaver 

 one of the new race of what some one- has called " kid-glove 

 gardeners." He has not the ologies all at his fingers' ends, 

 although cases of British and foreign insects and books, pre- 

 sented to him by the students of the Training College in grati- 

 tude for his instruction, attest that he is a lover of nature and 

 able to use his mother tongue. No : Mr. Weaver is one of 

 those shrewd, honest, hardheaded men, who are accustomed to 

 listen to what everybody has to say, but to have a judgment of 

 their own and act upon it — no blind adherent of old customs, 

 but no extravagant praiser of new-fangled notions, and therefore 

 one finds in his garden a good combination of both old and new 

 ( methods and plans. 



I saw him first in his fruit-room. Bless me ! what a quantity 

 we hear about fruit-rooms, and trays, and shelves, and all sorts 

 of things as necessary to keep Apples and Pears, until one 

 begins to be thankful that we do not grow enough of them to 

 need such an elaborate structure. But what was Mr. Weaver's 

 fruit-room ? Simply a shed — such as we ordinarily term a 

 potting-shed, with the simple addition of a door to be locked 

 and kept all secure. " But, then, of course, it was all arranged 

 with shelves and straw, &c." Nothing of the sort — a few common 

 boxes, in which the Apples lay some foot in depth, touching 

 one another (an awful notion, I believe, in the fruit-room) ; and 

 yet out of these he took Ribston Pippins, Sykehouse ftusBet, 

 Court of Wick, and Scarlet Nonpareil as fresh, bright-coloured, 

 and crisp as the day they were gathered off the trees ; and he 

 told me that he has more than once had his Apples frozen hard 

 without any apparent detriment ; though when the winter is 

 very severe he removes his boxes into an inner room, the roof 

 of which is thatched very thickly and quite frostproof. 



As I am speaking of fruit, I should mention that in a little 

 garden attached to his own house he has an orchard-house, in 

 which he grows some fine Grapes and has planted a few Peach 

 trees ; but, like, most practical men, he has a contempt for fruit 

 trees in pots. He says that where one has a clever man, whom 

 it pays to give a large income to, and where expense is of no 

 consequence, there it may be done ; but that even then the fruit 

 is poor in comparison with that grown on trees planted out. 

 I have never myself seen an orchard- house but what the owner 

 had to make many apologies for failures (always excepting Mr, 

 Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth). 



In another small house heated by a Hue he had also some 

 Vines, from which, he said, he had always fine crops. Formerly 

 the walk of this garden were completely covered with Black 

 Hamburgh Vines, which were, when in fruit, quite a picture. 

 About four years ago mildew attacked them, and he has been 

 obliged since then to give them up. 



But to return to the Warden's garden. There is there just 

 that combination of the old and new styles of gardening which 

 one longs to see. There is a noble herbaceous border which 

 runs round the lawn, and in it a fine collection of the best and 

 most showy plants of that class so planted as to allow space for 

 large plants of Pelargoniums, &c, to be placed out amongst 

 them in summer ; while in another part there is a small parterre 

 laid out for bedding things. Thus flowers are secured at ail 

 seasons, and that "ploughed-field character" which one's own 

 garden assumes at this season is obviated. 



In the vegetable and hardy fruit garden everything betokened 

 the superintendence of an active and sensible man. I learned 

 there a few things hitherto unknown to me. Mr. Weaver, for 

 instance, never ridges up his Asparagus-beds, as he says digging 

 between the beds is sure to cut up some of the roots, which 

 in old beds (and some of his are said to be 100 years old), are 

 sure to make their way across. He manures well, and gently 

 forks the beds over. Neither will he tolerate an Asparagus- knife, 

 nor allow the shoots to be cut deep Tjeneath the soil, as he says 

 injury is sure to be done to the stools by it, and that he does 

 not see the advantage of having a long white stalk with a little 

 edible piece at the top. It appears that the late Warden was 

 a great lover of the Asparagus, and that hence it has been cul- 

 tivated with zeal, and I may say with great success. Mr. 

 Weaver has before this given his experience on its growth in 

 the pages of The Cotta&e Gabdeneb, and I can well believe 

 that the beds are very fine. 



Then as to Strawberries. What think our fragarian friends 

 of growing only yearling plants, and planting them close to- 



gether — say about 9 inches from plant to plant, and in quineocz 

 style ? Yet this was Mr. Weaver's plan ; and on my expressing 

 a doubt as to the quantity produced he assured me that the 

 crop was very large. His plan is to keep the hoe gently at work 

 amongst them ; and at this period to give them a good top- 

 dressing, which helps them on wonderfully, and he says yoa 

 can have no idea of the crops that he grows. 



Raspberries, too, were never allowed to be dug between. 

 There were beds there twenty years old that never have had 

 a spade amongst them. The hoe is liberally used and manure 

 freely given. Of these, again, the crops are said to be very Sue, 

 and from the appearance of the canes I can well believe it. 



I do not at all dislike either to see new plans or to try them; 

 but when there is such a rage for " novelty," it is really re- 

 freshing to find one who dares to keep to old plans; and with- 

 out being laudator temporis acti, or believing " no times like 

 the old times" — not moved from what he knows to be good 

 plans by all the alleged charmB of new beauties — it Beemed of -a 

 piece with the old grey ways of the College, for one felt that to 

 have found everything " spic span and new " would have been 

 incongruous. I quite enjoyed my little chat; and in many 

 pleasing recollections of ttie old cathedral city, do not esteem 

 that to be the least when I had an opportunity, even in March, 

 of visiting the Warden's garden and making the acquaintance of 

 Mr. Weaver.— D., Deal. 



THE PROFIT FROM FARMING TWO ACRES. 



I made the acquisition the other day at your office in Fleet 

 Street, of a small work, " How to Farm Two Acres Profitably," 

 by Mr. Robson. The book is an excellent one, so far as it goes ; 

 but, notwithstanding its great merit, I was disappointed, at not 

 finding one word regarding either expense or profit, the alpha 

 and omega of any enterprise whatever. 



Nov/, I look upon you as a sort of godfather to the little book 

 in question. Allow me to inquire, What sum may be necessary 

 to bring the two imaginary acres into the state supposed by Mr. 

 Robson ? and what profit may be reasonably expected {com. the 

 same at the year's end ? 



My intention is to farm ten acres profitably, both for pleasure 

 and emolument ; and having the outlay and income for two acres, 

 it requires no great stretch of arithmetic to multiply these by five 

 to obtain the result for ten ; though not quite, as ten may be 

 more economically worked than only two. 



For Mr. Robson's guidance, 1 ought to state that I may eome 

 into possession of the ten acres unprovided with even a spade, 

 and as practically ignorant of agriculture as a Hottentot, though 

 as learned theoretically as an Alderman Meehi : consequently, 

 I must have an intelligent and practical man to assist, and often 

 to advise, in carrying on the various operations of the SeEd, 

 which is to be reckoned on the side of expenditure. I mean to 

 have everything done on the most recent scientific principles, 

 but without launching out into experimental speculations. The 

 desired site to be within a marketable distance of London, if 

 possible, or that of Torquay, or other eligible place on the soafcfe 

 coast. 



To resume : What is the outlay and income of the two acres ? 

 supposing I come into them as unprovided as father Adam into 

 his farm. The same as regards the ten acres ? the land being 

 purchased in both suppositions. — W. B. 



[CTpon handing the above to Mr. Robson, he writes us as 

 follows : — 



" I confess it is far from being an easy matter to give such a 

 reply to the letter of ' W. B.,' as he would like to have. True, 

 it is easy enough to put forth a set of figures that might appear 

 feasible, and could even be supported by the absolute practical 

 working of such things ; but I have deemed it better not to do 

 so, as local circumstances have so much influence on the pra 

 and con. of such undertakings, that statements such as might be 

 given in a tabular form in one case, would only mislead im 

 another. 



" The original intention of the little work referred to was to 

 give advice to any one not acquainted with rural affairs, whs 

 might be disposed to retire to such a place in a suburbaa or 

 country district, much, if not all of the produce being supposed 

 to be wanted for the consumption of the family of the oecupie& 

 This, however, would not be the case in the fen-acre holding; sa 

 that the ordinary rule of multiplication cannot be applied there. 



" Ten acres may be managed very prudently, and I may say 



