Jannsry 12, 1871. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



21 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day 



Day 



of 



of 



Month 



Week. 



12 



Th 



IS 



F 



14 



S 



15 



Son 



It) 



M 



17 



Tn 



18 



W 



JANUARY 12—18, 1871. 



Cambridge Lent Term begins. 

 Oxford Lent Term begins. 

 2 Sunday aftee Epiphany. 



Royal Horticultaral Society, Fruit, Floral, 

 [and General Meeting. 



Average Tempera- 

 ture near London. 



Rain in 

 43 years. 



Day. 



Niftht. 



42.1 



29.5 



4s.n 



29.3 



42.1 



29.9 



41.7 



28.9 



43.0 



81.0 



42.6 



28.7 



4!i.li 



81.8 



Mean. 

 35.8 

 86.2 

 86.0 

 85.3 

 36.5 

 35.6 

 S6.9 



Days. 

 18 

 19 

 19 

 13 

 20 

 15 

 18 



Sun 

 Risea. 



Sun 

 Sets. 



m. h. I m. h. 

 4a£8 I 14a£4 



15 

 17 

 19 

 20 

 21 

 23 



Moon 

 Rises. 



m. h. 



49afl0 



morn. 



5 



Moon 

 Sets. 



m. h. 



laf U 

 21 11 

 41 11 



after. 

 30 



3 1 

 45 1 



Moon's 

 Age. 



Days. 

 21 



22 



c 



24 

 25 

 26 



27 



Clock Day 

 before o! 

 Sun. Year. 



B SO 



8 53 



9 15 

 9 37 

 9 68 



10 18 



10 38 



12 

 13 

 14 

 15 

 16 

 17 

 18 



From observations taken near London during forty-three years, the average day temperature of the week is 42.3^, and its night tempera- 

 ture 29.S''. The greatest heat was 54^, on the 12th, 1852 j and the lowest cold S=, on tho 13th, 1867. The greatest fall of rain was 0.86 inch. 



GARDENERS AND GARDENING. | 



HOUGH this is a subject to whicli I have 

 given much thought, it is one which I ap- 

 proach with diffidence, for I by no means 

 pretend to the possession in person of all 

 the qualifications to which I shall allude, 

 but it is from a desire to draw attention to , 

 the subject, more especially the attention of 

 youthful aspirants, that these notes are 

 written. [ 



It is an acknowledged fact that second 

 and third-rate gardeners, or, to speak more correctly, men 

 who will give their services at a comparatively low rate of 

 remuneration, are much more in request than first-class 

 men. This may easily be accounted for from the fact that ' 

 small gardens are more numerous than large gardens ; j 

 and although, as a rule, the pay is low in small places, 

 there are always plenty of men of moderate capacity on 

 the out-look for such vacancies, many of which are not 

 vmfrequently filled by persons professing to be able to do 

 things quite beyond their abilities. 



Another reason worthy of serious consideration is, that 

 the majority of men trained in large, or even in moderate- 

 sized establishments look down with contempt on small 

 gardens and those who have charge of them, and yet I 

 liave known many a small garden so skilfully managed, 

 and everytliing in it so thoroughly well done, that it quite 

 surpassed its larger neighbours. To have the charge of a 

 large garden is a laudable ambition, but when the object 

 of this desire is attained it does not always bring with it 

 the expected gratification, for many large places have 

 serious drawbacks, such as deficiency of labour power, 

 little manure to renovate the soil, a poor supply of water, 

 and other hindrances to success ; so that a man, however 

 zealous he may be, may spend his strength in vain efibrts 

 to overcome such formidable obstacles. 



" Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well," 

 is a maxim which gardeners above all other men should 

 apply to their work, and, therefore, before taking charge 

 of a garden, it is very important to ascertain if the assist- 

 ance and working materials are in proportion to the size 

 of the place, and if not, it is much wiser not to run the 

 risk of failure by entering upon an engagement which is 

 likely to prove unsatisfactory. "When a man deliberately 

 takes charge of a garden it should be with the firm resolve 

 to strive for success to the utmost of his abilities. Garden- 

 ing is an arduous pursuit, fraught with many difficulties 

 which only the really earnest man can hope to surmount ; 

 it has no royal road to success, but demands unceasing 

 diligence, foresight, and care. To the man who likes it 

 for itself, and is thoroughly devoted to it, success is the 

 best reward, and whether the garden under his hands be 

 large or small wUl be not so important a consideration 

 as that every plant and crop may be brought as near to 

 perfection as possible. 



Let us now consider what are the requisite qualifications 

 of a good gardener. As I have before said, he should be 

 thoroughly devoted to his calling, earnest, diligent, euer- 

 No. 511.— Vol. XX., New Seeies. 



getic, and thoughtful ; he should not be content to take 

 things for granted, but should strive to search into cause 

 and eflect for himself ; not given overmuch to experiments, 

 and yet ever seeking for reasonable improvements with a 

 view to the advantage of himself and his fellow-men ; for 

 he should be altogether free from that narrowmindedness 

 which seeks to withhold knowledge, but should be ever 

 ready to impart or receive instruction. In controlling liis 

 assistants and labourers he should, by a judicious exercise 

 of firmness and kindness, see that his rules are strictly 

 acted up to and his orders obeyed to the letter. Harsh 

 language should never be resorted to ; it is degrading both 

 to master and man. Amongst a number of men there are 

 certain to be a variety of dispositions and character — some 

 wUl be cringing or officious, others dilatory and careless, 

 while a third party will quietly obey orders without any 

 display of overmuch zeal, and it is this latter class who 

 generally prove to be the best men. But, whatever may 

 be the dispositions of the men, a quiet, firm rule, tempered 

 with kindness, is by far the best method of controlling 

 them. 



In his intercourse with his employers and all others of 

 a higher station than himself there can be no necessity 

 for cringing or an excessive display of humility ; all due 

 respect should, of course, be paid, and every wish and 

 order carefully attended to. A man can be respectful with- 

 out cringing, and quietly study the wishes of his employers 

 without officiousness. 



In the management of a garden, close attention should 

 be given to the smallest details — nothing should be over- 

 looked or done in a slovenly manner ; there should be no 

 neglected corners, weedy paths, nor dirty houses ; but 

 cleanliness, order, and exquisite neatness should every- 

 where prevail; even the very heaps of soil and rubbish 

 should possess a trim appearance. Great care, too, should 

 be taken to name each plant correctly with neat labels and 

 plain writing, without any display of flourishes or fanciful 

 colouring. A gardener ought, certainly, to be acquainted 

 with the nomenclature of every plant under his care, but 

 too little attention is given to this in private gardens ; even 

 when plants appear to be carefully labelled, the spelling 

 of the names is often very faulty, and that, too, in many 

 of our leading gardens. Wliile devoting proper attention 

 to this important point all pedantic display should be 

 avoided. The mouthing of scientific names, if profuse, 

 becomes ridiculous. 



The difficulties which beset the gardener in the pursuit 

 of his calling are undoubtedly very numerous ; but then, 

 if he be a man of energy and resource, every trial acts as 

 an incentive to increased exertion. The experience gained 

 in all such struggles is of the highest value, and when 

 once the habit of boldly facing a difficulty is formed, it 

 becomes part of one's nature. 



In thinking over a gardener's difficulties, his position as 

 a servant naturally comes to mind. It is to be feared 

 that there is a lamentable spiiit of mistrust and antagonism 

 existing between many gardeners and their employers. 

 This is very much to be deplored, for its existence must 

 seriously aflect the enjoyment of the one in his garden. 



No. 1163.— Vol. XLV., OiD Series. 



