164 



JOUF.NAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 1, 1870. 



yon with a list which I could recommend, but it would take me 

 some little time to make the selection, which I will, therefoie, 

 defer until we have a longer time to discuss the subject as I 

 suggested, and you will not want to send in your older before 

 October at least.— Hoktatoe. 



BOXES FOR HOLDING USUAL MEASURES. 



The following table will be found valuable to many of our 

 readers: — A box 24 inches by 16 inches square, and 28 inches 

 deep, will contain a barrel. A bos 26 inches by 15J inches 

 square, and 8 inches deep, will contain a bushel. A box 12 

 inches by 1U inches Equare, and 9 inches deep, will contain 

 half a bushel. A box 8 inches by 8 inches square, and 8 inches 

 deep will contain a peck. A box 8 inches by 8 inches square, 

 and 4^ inches deep, will contain one gallon. A box 7 inches 

 by 8 inches square, and 4| inches deep will contain half a gal- 

 lon. A box 4 inches by 4 inches square, and 4J inches deep, 

 will contain a pint. — (English Mechanic.) 



ABOUT THE LAND'S END. 



" Penzance, eight or fifteen days for 24s." " Yes, that will 

 do." Away, then, last Saturday morniEg at six o'clock in my 

 good friend's trap to Paddington. London is scarcely up, inns 

 and cab horses have a dissipated appearance, and stale odours 

 taint even the early summer morniDg. Now we skirt the park, 

 and a fringe of jewel-like beds, all set in emerald velvet, glow 

 fresh and beautiful in the morning sun. But the pleasant 

 picture disappears, and nothing reminds us of country life but 

 milk cans and market carts, the latter laden heavily with all 

 good things. 



Paddington is reached ; there is an awful crush for tickets, and 

 at eight we are off on what turns out to be a long and for the 

 most part tedious ride of fifteen hours. To the traveller for the 

 first time, however, the rail from Dawlish to Penzance is in- 

 teresting on account of the. enormous engineering difficulties 

 overcome by the genius of Brunei, and the very beautiful scenery 

 along the line. At last we reach Penzance, and grope our way in 

 search cf an inn, whence we shortly remove into lodgings on 



the Parade — cheap, clean, and comfortable at . No, I do 



not write to advertise, but to tell something of the Fern?, 

 flowers, and fancies of this delightful county. 



We consulted a borrowed copy of Murray as the best guide, 

 in some respects, as to what to avoid. For instance, in the 

 cave where the Maiden- hair Fern grows so luxuriantly, who 

 would expect to find a frond ? Have not the Vandals spoiled 

 it so that only a few tiny plants hide timidly, high out of reach, 

 under the friendly shade of grasses and Briars ? Let would- 

 be botanists who begrudge the time and toil for honest search 

 go away disappointed. We started westward early on Monday, 

 soon reached the pictuie=que but unsi.voury Newlyn, and under 

 the grey rocks in the crevices of Tol, found our first frond of 

 Asplenium lanceolatum, small and crisp, but distinct enough 

 from its habit, divided pinna;, and spore cases, from Asplenium- 

 Adiantum nigrum. We have found it since in great abundance 

 all along the walls from the Logan Bock Inn to Gurnard's 

 Head, but there is scarcely a hundred yards of wall (all the 

 fields are walled), around Penzance, where A. lanceolatum does 

 not grow. Devonshire lanes have been much praised by 

 tourists, but I do not admire them sufficiently not to wish 

 they would let me see a little of the country they run through. 

 Almost every yard of Cornish fence contains a painter's or a 

 botanist's study. Lichen-stained stones of all rich hues, the 

 lines between them filled with Asplenium" lanceolatum, A.-Adi- 

 antum nigrum, Polypody, Lady Fern, and Bracken at their 

 base, and bunches of purple Heath on their summits, with a 

 careless Bramble throwing a shadow across them ; while bits of 

 blue Thrift, and, perhaps, a Foxglove, give their aid in light- 

 ing-up the pictuie. Over the wall, perhaps, is the glorious sea, 

 flecked with many a sail, stretching away to the dim purple 

 line where it meets the sky. 



There are various odours, mostly fishy, and notwithstanding 

 the picturesqueness of sailors, and fishwives, and boats, and 

 hanging nets, we walk on along the cliff. Here 13 a cottage 

 perched on the rock, its Fuchsias reach the roof, with stems the 

 girth of one's thigh, and Pear trees laden with Chaumontels. 

 What a feast in prospect ! The road winds along the cliff ; there 

 is a strong scent of Almonds in the air, the Tamarisk flourishes, 

 and a succulent that grows luxuriantly on St. Michael's Mount, 

 hangs in masses from the wall on the right. It is a kind of 



Mesembryanthemum, admirably adapted for rockwork. We 

 peer over the cliff draped in wild flowers and Ferns, and just 

 below us is a splendid tuft of Osmunda regalis. It grows 

 plentifully all along, though not large ; by the Gurnard's Head, 

 however, in a watercourse, it is grand. There are fairy bowers 

 of it over crystal pools of water that make us envious — one such 

 to grace our fernery and we should be happy. But let us get 

 down on the beach, it is hard climbing yet worth the trouble. 

 Hundreds of plants of Asplenium marinum grow in the shady 

 places under the cliff. It is an elegant Fern here, particularly 

 when drooping, which seems its most natural habit of growth. 

 The younger plants are be3i for potting ; a light sandy and 

 peaty soil suits it, and a little salt should be put in the water 

 occasionally. For a greenhouse fernery it is most effective, 

 but it will not grow out of doors unless wiihin reach of the sea 

 spray. 



Past Newlyn is Mousehole, a fishing village, and reputed to be 

 the hottest place in England. The cave, which is much visited, 

 lies under the cliff beyond the village. It is difficult of access, 

 but well worth seeing ; the roof and side3 are completely covered 

 with Asplenium maiinum and Athyrium Fiiix-fcemina. The 

 latter does not grow large, but has an elegant drooping habit, 

 and contrasts well with the glossy dark green Asplenium 

 marinum. 



Bat here are Potatoes. This i3 where they come from long 

 before they even make their appearance in the most sheltered 

 spots round London. Potatoes and Cauliflowers are a specialty 

 of the neighbourhood, and we certainly never tasted Potatoes 

 eo good and yet so handsome, and Penzance itself consumes an 

 enormous quantity of them. Here is an old native at work in 

 hia plot. He is respectful but shy at first ; then, as he becomes 

 interested in our interest, he takes eff his old straw hat, rubs 

 his venerable pate, puts down the spade about 6 feet long, and 

 tells us all about it. (By the way, the Cornish spade is surely 

 a more scientific implement than ours, which requires so much 

 stoopiDg, and loses the valuable assistance of the knee as a 

 fulcrum). His Potato garden is only about 30 yards by 10, and 

 the crop, owing to the diy weather, is not large but excellent 

 in quality. He points out that the manure, chiefly ashes, has 

 not had the chance to decay ; but the soil is good enough for 

 potting, and two crops a-year are the rule, the second crop 

 being Cauliflowers or Mangolds, which are transplanted of course 

 to the Potato ground. Just along here for half a mile is the 

 most favoured spot in Cornwall for early Potatoes and Cauli- 

 flowers. The plots are for the most part very small, many 

 not 10 yards square, but sheltered by high hedgerows, chiefly 

 Alder, or stone walls about 5 feet high. The sort almost exclu- 

 sively grown for early market is Myatt's Proline, which is much 

 preferred to the Asbleaf, and sets are sprung early, planted in 

 November, and frequently hoed before Christmas. The aspect, 

 as my informant said, lay just in the eye of the sun, and was 

 singularly exempt from frost. Last year Potatoes were dug in 

 April, and brought 2s. Gd. per lb. in the London and Birming- 

 ham markets. The grower, we were told, sold £40 worth from 

 a tithe of the land which he bought for £70. The late sort, or 

 "keepers" as they are called, are Paterson's Victoria and 

 Flukes. Paterson's, he assured me, were ousting the Flukes ; 

 they were " mar mealy and better crappers." 



We bid our old friend good day, and strolled on to the Logan 

 Bock, an immense boulder of granite poised on the summit of 

 grand sea cliffs. After gazing awhile on the tremendous pre- 

 cipices, and the beautiful and never-resting sea at their base, 

 round which the sea birds floated and screamed, we turned our 

 eyes landward and found some beautiful specimens of Asple- 

 nium marinum. A frond or two which wo broke off 4 or 

 5 inches from the stool measured 2 feet 8 inches. There were 

 probably finer specimens to be had for searching. From the 

 coast for a few miles inland, the country is here singularly de- 

 stitute of trees. The extreme violence of the south-west gales, 

 I imagine, so strips and bruises the young leaves, that the 

 trees do not recover from the attack. 



I had forgotten to say that we passed in our journey the new 

 telegraph station, and the beautiful cove of Lamorna. In the 

 valley leading to the latter we found Lastrea recurva, with 

 several other Ferns of less note. It is finer in Devonshire, 

 however. In the neighbourhood of Clovelly there are miles 

 of it, and certainly it is there the most elegant in form and 

 colour of all the British Ferns. When grown in favourable 

 situations it has a peculiar softness and bloom that I cannot 

 describe, the result, perhaps, of the crisping of the edges of 

 the pinnules. We found it all along under Cairn Galva, by the 

 road side, and finest in the pits and sides of the old workings 



