240 A HISTORY OF GARDENING IN ENGLAND 



early vegetables which he saw. He describes some gardens 

 where the beds were raised, sloping a little towards the sun, 

 and " most of them were at this time (February) covered with 

 glass frames, which could be taken off at will. . . . Russian 

 matting over these, and straw over that four inches thick. 

 These contained cauliflowers some four inches high. In the 

 rest of the field were ' bell-glasses,' under which also cauliflower- 

 plants were set 3 or 4 under each bell-glass. Besides the 

 afore-named beds, there were here long asparagus-beds. Their 

 height above the ground was two feet ; on the top they were 

 similarly covered with glass, matting, and straw, which had 

 just been all taken off at midday. The Asparagus under them 

 was one inch high and considerably thick." 1 Radishes were 

 also grown in the same garden, and the beds covered with 

 mats. In the month of May, he says, the vegetables which 

 were most numerous round London were beans, peas, cab- 

 bages of different sorts, leeks, chives, radishes, lettuce (salad), 

 asparagus, and spinach. He writes of Chelsea : " There is 

 scarcely anything else than either orchards or vegetable market 

 gardens, and large fields all planted full of all kinds of small 

 trees for sale." 



Thus it will be seen that great strides had been made in 

 vegetable culture. In some things, however, gardeners still 

 had very primitive ideas. When, in 1729, an aloe (Agave) 

 flowered in " Mr. Cowell's garden at Hoxton," there was great 

 excitement as to how it should be kept through the winter. 2 

 The plant was then 20 feet high, and an erection of wood 

 and glass was built over it, and stoves placed outside with 

 pipes to " convey a due proportion of heat," and it was so 

 arranged that the structure could be heightened, if necessary, 

 to suit the " unexpected growth of this famous plant." They 

 must have been much distressed to find all this care and 

 expense of little use, as not only the flower, but most of the 

 plant itself, was bound to perish after flowering. 



A great many of the vegetables grown in these market 



1 Kalm's Visit to England, translated by Joseph Lucas, 1892. 



2 A True Account of the Aloe Americana or Africana now in Flower in 

 Mr. Cowell's Garden at Hoxton. . . . The like wherof has never been seen 

 in England before. 1729. 



