July 6, 1871. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 









WEEKLY 



CALENDAR, 















''nV 



Week. 



JULY G-12, 1871. 



Average Tempera- Rain in | Sun 



Sun 



Moon ' Moon 



Moon's 



Clock Day ■ 

 before of 

 Sun. Year. 



Month 



tore near London. 43 years. Rises. 



Sets. 



Rises. 



Sets. 



Age. 











Day. 



Night. 





Days. 



m. h. 1 m. h. 



m. h. 



m. h. 



Days. 



m. B. 1 1 



6 



Th 



Birmingham Rose Show opens. 





76,0 



50.S 



63.4 



19 



63af3 1 I5af8 



lOafll 



22af 8 



19 



4 21 1 187 1 



7 



F 



Birmingham Rose Show closes. 





73.7 



60.8 



62.2 





64 3 1 15 8 



29 11 



40 9 



20 



4 31 



168 



8 



S 



Crewe Horticultural Show. 





74.0 



50.0 



62.0 



20 



66 3 14 8 



46 11 



65 10 



21 



4 40 



189 



9 



Sdn 



5 SUKDAY AFTER TRINITY. 





74.1 



49.4 



61.8 



18 



56 3 1 14 8 



morn. 



after. 



c 



4 60 



190 



10 



M 



Wolverhampton Horticultural Show. 





747 



50.3 



62.5 



16 



57 B 



IS 8 



2 



16 1 



23 



4 69 



191 



U 



To 







75.4 



50.7 



63.9 



11 



68 8 



13 8 



19 



23 2 



24 



5 7 



192 



12 



W 



Royal Botanic Society's Show opens. 





75.9 



50.5 



63.2 



14 



59 3 



12 8 



38 



S2 3 



25 



5 16 



193 



From obaervationa taken near London during 



forty-three years, the average day temperature of the week is 74 8 



\ and its night tem- 



perature 50.3'. The greatest heat was 93 , on 



;h6 7tb, 1852 ; and the lowest cold 83', on the 9th, 1863. The greatest fall 



of rain was 



1.10 inch. 









COVENT GARDEN MONOPOLISTS. 



AN nothing be done to break tbrougli the 

 hateful monopoly of Covent Garden? No 

 one can doubt it is a monopoly as close and 

 as injurious to both consumers and pro- 

 ducers as any that existed in the time of the 

 Tudors. 



Let anyone set up a business in Edin- 

 burgh, or Glasgow even, and try to procure 

 his fruit anywhere else than in Covent Gar- 

 den, and see if he will not be undersold till 

 he is driven out of the trade or broken. 



Let anyone ask the price of any article in Covent Gar- 

 den, and then try to sell the same, and I think he will not 

 only be astonished at the difference between the prices 

 asked and offered, but will be equally astonished to find 

 how little it matters who is the particular tradesman he 

 inquires of. 



If you have anything so very superior to sell that no 

 one has anything like it to offer, Covent Garden is, per- 

 haps, the best market in the world if you take it and 

 sell it yourself. But for ordinaiy producers, Covent Gar- 

 den is, I think, a worse market than that of any large town 

 in England. 



If anyone wants a new sensation let liim consign a good 

 lot of fruit to the most respectable person in Covent Gar- 

 den, say twice a-week for a month, and then ask for the 

 '■account sale." I think he will hardly repeat the opera- 

 tion I once heard of a Liverpool merchant, who was in the 

 habit of accounting for the loss each person who consigned 

 goods through him to his market (Brazil) generally sus- 

 tained, writing by mistake on a consignment of cast-iron, 

 "injured by rats ;" but he was a solitary individual, and 

 his conduct was talked about even in Liverpool. 



My own experience of Covent Garden is very limited. 

 I once had some Cucumbers so very fine a little after 

 Christmas that I wrote to a friend, and asked him to 

 inquire the price in Covent Garden of good Cucumbers, 

 thinking mine worth sending. His reply was, "I am 

 asked for good ones 3s. ed to 5s." I thought half that 

 price will do for me, so sent a box to the man I understood 

 was Al in the market. I kept his letter as a curiosity. 

 It stated that the writer would be glad of another box at 

 once; that the Cucumbers were the best ever seen in the 

 market at that time of the year, and even volunteered the 

 statement that they were much finer than some just 

 received from a celebrated grower near Liverpool, who had 

 hitherto sent the best. On receiving a request for a third 

 box, which I at once forwarded, I gently insinuated that 

 an account of the price I was to receive would be satis- 

 factory. The cash was promptly forwarded, and amounted 

 to 9s. a dozen, from which packing had to be deducted. My 

 London friend wrote rather strongly, and, from curiosity, 

 advised me to try another shop. I did so, and received 

 S.s a dozen. This was the last time anything went from 

 my place to London to be sold. 



This subject has been brought to my recollection bv 

 seeing an account sent to a nobleman lately by a dealer 



No. 536.— Vol. XXL, New Seeies. 



in Covent Garden for fruit, &c., supplied this season, from 

 which I made the following extract : — 



" May 1st. 1871. £ s. d. 



24 lbs. Strawberries 28 16 



20 lbs. Grapes 2-1 



" Mat/ 10th. 



30 lbs. Strawberries 36 " 



There is no doubt that those who deal in perishable goods 

 ought to have large profits to cover risks, but it would be 

 very interesting to know if any of your readers have sold 

 Strawberries at these dates, and the prices they obtained. 

 May 10th is not so very early that one would expect to be 

 charged iis. a-pound for Strawberries. Those who can 

 buy fruit at these prices may be trusted to take care of 

 themselves, but the supply of ordinary wholesome fruit 

 to the lower orders of a crowded city like London ought 

 to be provided on free-trade principles. No licensed sales- 

 man ought to be required to sell any man's produce, but 

 the producer and consumer ought to come together as in 

 other towns. Why are not other free markets opened for 

 the sale of fruit and vegetables in London ? — J. R. Pear- 

 son, Chihcell, Notts 



[We rejoice that this subject has been brought promi- 

 nently to "notice by Mr. Pearson. The monopoly is now 

 a more oppressive evil even than formerly, and there are 

 now supplies to.be obtained which will facilitate the removal 

 of the evil. There are thousands of amateur gardeners 

 who would gladly dispose of their surplus fruits and vege- 

 tables could they readily obtain access to purchasers, and 

 receive fair pajnnents. We hope to have suggestions from 

 many correspondents on this subject, not only for the sake 

 of producers, but for the sake of consumers. — Eds.] 



FORMING A KITCHEN GARDEN. 



A wELL-iiANAGED kitchen garden is always an interesting 

 and instructive sight, and from it some useful lessons may 

 be gained at all seasons. Its position, aspect, shelter, the 

 nature and peculiarities of its soil and subsoU, the kinds 

 of fruit cultivated, the form, health, and productiveness of 

 the trees, the modes of pruning, training, and general 

 culture followed, form ample matter for inquiry and dis- 

 cussion at all times, but more especially during winter, 

 while at other times a host of subjects, by far too numerous 

 to mention separately, claim our attention. 



In selecting a site for a kitchen garden the chief things 

 to be sought for are a deep fertile soil, sloping gently to 

 the soiith or south-west, well sheltered on the north and 

 east sides by high banks, or hiUs, or lofty umbrageous 

 trees, and with an abundance of pure water close by and 

 yet springing from a considerable elevation above the 

 highest garden levels, so that it may be brought to the 

 garden through pipes, and distributed among the crops by 

 means of a hose and jet. While alluding to this most 

 efficient method of watering, it may be well to advert to 

 the kind of water that may safely be used — rain water, or 

 that which is exposed constantly to the softening and 

 warming influence of sun and air, is undoubtedly the best 

 for all kinds of plants ; but while granting this, I cannot 

 but think that undue stress has been laid upon the evil 

 No. 1188,— Vol. XL VI., Old Series. 



