September 15, 1870. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



purer air of our " Northern Heights," through dreary Islington, 

 amid street-vendors of sherbet, " water from the cooler" at a 

 halfpenny a-glass, rows of poor little birds in cages, and stalls 

 of wind-fallen fruit and drooping plants, about which ragged 

 children played ; on through the busy regions where looms the 

 dome of St. Paul's, and the massive Bank of EngUnd rears its 

 heavy walls ; brought us at length to Leadenhall Street, and 

 the doors of the old church of St. Katharine Cree. 



Beneath the Gothic arched portal of this old church we passed, 

 out of the din of the bustling street, and with difficulty squeez- 

 ing our way in, truly we were astonished at the sight that met 

 our eyes. An overflowing congregation filling all the square 

 old high-backed pews, lining the nave and aisles, seated on ex- 

 tempore benches, or standing as thickly as elbows would allow, 

 the crowd extended to the porch and even beyond it. For our- 

 selves, having arrived a little late, we were fain to be content — 

 and grateful for it too — with space for our two feet within the 

 sheltering walls of a certain pew where several other ladies also 

 stood during the whole service. 



A goodly congregation of men, women, and children it was, 

 although the service is supposed to be chiefly for the latter. 

 Almost everyone carried a bouquet of bright sweet- smelling 

 flowers, Pinks, Geraniums, or Roses, from sober middle-aged 

 spinsters down to the little children in pinafores ; indeed, as 

 Dr. Whitternore said, anyone who felt too proud or too old to 

 carry one must feel out of place at this service. 



The text chosen was from Canticles — " The flowers appear 

 on the earth ;" and Dr. "Whitternore called his hearers' atten- 

 tion to five principal lessons from it. Fir^t, God's love in 

 giving us bright and beautiful flowers, not as a necessity to our 

 existence, but as a source of deep and pure enjoyment. This 

 he illustrated by a little anecdote of a Strawberry plant given 

 to the inmate of a hospital ward, where, when the possibility 

 was realised of positively a ripe live Strawberry some day ap- 

 pearing on it, the intensest keenest interest grew up amongst 

 the sufferers there, as hour by hour pale wistful faces watched 

 first for a tender bud, then for the little starry blossom, and 

 then for the formation of the tiny fruit, till the universal joy 

 and expectation were crowned by the ripening of the luscious 

 crimson berry. Secondly, the flowers were to teach us faith in 

 God ; for if He care6 for them, He will for us. And again, 

 eager listening ears drank in the story of the African traveller, 

 lost in a barren expanse of desert waste, who, casting himself 

 down in despair, perhaps, as he thought, to die, presently per- 

 ceived at his side a tiny blue blossom. " That," he reflected, 

 " has been set here and tended by our Father in heaven. He 

 will not suffer me to perish." And so with renewed hope and 

 courage he rose, and persevered till the route was found. 

 Thirdly, we were to note God's wisdom shown in the subtle 

 and mysterious mechanism to these delicate structures, in their 

 wondrous formation suited to various soils and many climes, in 

 their gradual transformations from seedlings to fruit-bearing 

 growth, causing them to become sweet food for man or beast, 

 and to renew and multiply themselves. Fourthly, God's 

 benevolence, affording to the poorest and youngest, as well as 

 those better off, a means of bestowing innocent pleasure upon 

 others. And lastly, we were reminded of the lesson that all 

 must learn sooner or later, that as the grass withereth and the 

 flower fadeth, so all our earthly pleasures, even the brightest 

 and the best, must vanish. 



This " Flower Sermon," so far as we have since been able to 

 learn, is not in itself an ancient institution, although perhaps 

 an imitation of the older one. 



The special service was originated by Dr. Whitternore him- 

 self some sixteen or seventeen years ago, in order to interest 

 young people in nature and its teachings. 



We wish it all success, and can but hope that it may live to 

 grow into an old custom, and that it may in its turn find other 

 imitators, for we understand that hundreds of persons who 

 would have listened to the Flower Sermon had to turn from 

 the low porch of St. Katharine Cree on Whit-Tuesday night, for 

 want of space within.— (The Monthly Packet.) 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



The beds of young Cabbages should be looked all over, and 

 the most forward plants transplanted or pricked out at once. 

 Continue to earth-up Celery. Earthing-np a little at a time 

 and often is the maxim of many ; with them it is a rule to 

 sow fresh-slacked quicklime among their Celery immediately 

 previous to the first earthing-np. It is found by experience that 



the Celery bed is the best slug-trap in the garden. A double 

 operation, as it were, is performed — the Celery iB unblemished, 

 and a vast number of slugs are destroyed. The lime, however, 

 must not be applied hot, and it must be shaken carefully into 

 the hearts of the plants, and not in coarse lumps. Let a con- 

 tinual succession of the forward Endive be tied for the salad- 

 bowl. Continue tying-up autumn Lettuce. Pay general at- 

 tention to thinning Spinach ; that to stand the winter may be 

 thinned to 6 inches apart from plant to plant. Sow Radishes 

 in a raised bed in a warm situation ; these will come in 

 through November, and even up to Christmas with a slight 

 covering occasionally. Remove decaying leaves from amongst 

 crops of Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, and similar vegetables, and 

 trench them into the soil in some spare part of the garden that 

 is set apart for early-spring crops. No summer that has oc- 

 curred within my memory has made the advantages resulting 

 from a system of high cultivation so strikingly apparent as the 

 present. That part of the ground which was trenched two 

 spits deep last autumn bore luxuriant and ample crops of 

 Strawberries, while the part of the same garden which was 

 simply dug one spit deep, with a hard and comparatively im- 

 pervious bottom at the depth of about 9 inches, produced only 

 a few scorched leaves and a very few wretched fruit. In this 

 case manure and other circumstances were the same, except 

 the depth to which the soil was trenched. What is true of 

 Strawberries is also true of every other crop whether in the 

 garden or the field. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



Of all the operations necessary to promote bearing, the general 

 stopping of fruit trees is, perhaps, the most necessary, yet the 

 most neglected, when the trees are stripped of their leaves ; 

 whilst even by some they are neglected at the very period when 

 the rivalry of contending shoots and the darkness occasioned by 

 watery breastwood are bo prejudicial to the welfare of the true 

 bearing shoots or spurs. Hence, in the spiing, we hear so 

 many complaints of the trees blooming irregularly, " breaking 

 blind," blossoms produced without pistils, &c. I would advise 

 that at this period the trained trees be gone over once more, 

 entirely removing all late growths except from the lower and 

 inferior shoots on Peach and Nectarine trees. These may be 

 kept growing as late as possible in order to encourage strength 

 in those parts, and to equalise the sap in the ensuing year, by 

 the enlargement of their capacities for its reception. Pears 

 1 will be found to benefit much by this mode of procedure ; 

 indeed, the whole of the snags should be left by shortening- 

 back the young spray in June, which is totally removed in the 

 first week in September. Much earlier than this would not 

 answer, for although it might not cause the true blossom-buds 

 of next year to " push," it would cause them to elongate, 

 thereby producing abortive blossoms, and malformations in 

 the fruit. Late-growing Vines should always undergo the same 

 process, at the same time removing every lateral that is shading 

 the principal leaves. This treatment should be applied to 

 Vines in-doors as well as on the open walls. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



Every attention should be paid at this period to collecting 

 seeds of popular flowers for mixed beds or masses next year. 

 The Petunias, Salvia patens, Pentstemons, Calceolarias, the 

 Antirrhinums, with a host of annuals and other plants may at 

 this period be collected. Gardeners in general can scarcely be 

 expected to Bave many seeds ; those who have small gardens 

 may, however, do much in this way. Some of the climbers 

 also produce seeds, such as the Tropa3olums, Maurandyas, the 

 Lophospermums, &c. Let the planting of bulbs for very early 

 work proceed directly. Borders or beds deficient in the number 

 of Snowdrops, Crocuses, and Narcissuses should have some 

 introduced. The main planting, however, may be reserved for 

 the early part of November. A few of the earlier sorts of 

 Hyacinths may also be planted, covering them 4 or 5 inches 

 in depth, and surrounding the bulbs with sand. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



Many of our summer favourites will now be going out of 

 flower, if they are not already so, and their place must be stu- 

 diously supplied with plants peculiar to the autumn months. 

 Brugmansias and Clerodendrons make an admirable display at 

 this period ; some large specimens should be grown later every 

 season for this purpose. They Bucceed admirably throughout 

 the summer in any common vinery or Peach house, if duly 

 supplied with water and kept perfectly free from insects. Let 

 all large Orange trees, Camellias, and other large specimens 

 belonging to such structures be brought under cover in good 



