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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 



[ November 2S, 1872. 



" Trivia," it ■will be seen that the oentre of Coyent Garden 

 Market was an open space : the poet says — 



"Here oft my course I bend, when lo! from far 

 I spy the furies of the foot-ball war. 

 The 'prentice quits his shop to join the crew, 

 Encreasing crouds the flying game pursue." 



That pastime, however, could not be pursued during the market 

 hours, for then, as represented in the engraving, stalls and 

 heaps of vegetables were spread about within the enclosure. The 

 woman seated by the side of her shed, a, is Moll King. Mr. 

 Staice, who knew Covent Garden in the middle of the last 

 century, remembered Moll King and her mere shed of a tavern. 

 ,: Noblemen and others, after leaving Court, would go thither 

 in full dress, with swords and bags, and in rich brocaded silk 



coats, and walked and conversed with persons of every de- 

 scription. Moll would serve chimney-sweepers, gardeners, and 

 the market people in common with her lords." 



Another character, notorious at the time, is also represented 

 in the engraving. There were at that period more than two 

 hundred advertising quack doctors, and this was one of them 

 — Dr. Rock, b. He is standing up in his one-horse chaise, ad- 

 dressing the surrounders upon the efficacy of his " drops." 

 He lived on Ludgate Hill, and charged 6s. for each bottle of 

 that medicine, 3s. Gd. for each bottle of his " Elixir " and 

 "Tincture," remedies for disorders too well known in the 

 vicinity. 



Miserable as were the arrangements of the market, yet even 

 then from its stalls came the best of our garden productions, 



c, Moll King 



Covext Garden Market r>- 1745. 



i. Dr. Kock. 



for it is told in Gay's poem, when detailing the specialities of 

 each market, 



(: Would'st thou with mighty beef augment thy meal ? 

 Seek Leadenhall; St. James's sends the veal; 

 Thames Street gives cheeses ; Covent Garden fruits ; 

 Moorfields old books, and Monmouth Street old suits." 



Northhouck, writing in 1773, says " it is the greatest market 

 for greens, fruits, and flowers in the metropolis," yet the 

 arrangements both for vendors and purchasers were still most 

 defective. Malcolm, in 1807, observed that " the market is a 



filthy scene, soiled by putrid refuse, leaves of Cabbages, shells 

 of peas, and roots, the air of which is impregnated with a 

 stench that is wafted in every direction by the wind ; and yet 

 the centre walk has many attractions for the botanist and 

 epicure, who may there feast their eyes and their appetites 

 with rare and beautiful flowers and rich fruits — but not at the 

 cheapest rates. In 1758 the Bedford family leased this 

 market for £1400 per annum, which is now (1807) let for a 

 still greater sum;" yet the wretched arrangements remained 

 for more than twenty years longer. — G. 



BELGIAN HORTICULTURE.— VAN GEERT'S, ANTWERP.— No. 1. 



A lingeeing illness of some months' duration rendered 

 a change of air, of scene, of everything, absolutely neces- 

 sary. That the change might be as complete as possible, 

 and that it might embrace a sea passage of twenty to thirty 

 hours, a considerate employer suggested a trip to the celebrated 

 Ghent nurseries, and placed at my disposal the time necessary, 

 and important " help by the way," enabling me to carry the 

 proposal into effect. Another good friend— a friend to all 



gardeners who make themselves worthy of his friendship Dr. 



Hogg, gave me valuable aid to the presence of the world- 

 renowned horticulturists of this part of the Continent, and 

 ready access to their interesting establishments. In considera- 

 tion of the pleasure I experienced, and as a thank-offering for 



the benefits received, I attempt a notice, necessarily feeble, of 

 a few things which arrested my attention, and which may not 

 be unacceptable to at least a portion of the readers of the 

 Journal. 



Failing a steamer direct to Ghent, and the Antwerp route 

 offering advantages, I decided to land at that prosperous, 

 quaint, and celebrated old city — a city of immense commerce, 

 magnificent churches, curious architectural ornamentation, 

 twisting streets, with odious pavement, and, what is at once 

 striking, no smoke ! But horticulture is the theme, and I 

 find myself at the nursery of Mi'. Charles Van Geert. This 

 establishment shall have the first notice, because it was the 

 first visited, and because the proprietor belongs to one of the 



