Book II. 



CULTURE OF THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 



823 



state they have usually a peculiar sweetness, probably perhaps owing to some saccliarine juices whicli are 

 preparing for the nutriment of the bulb or bud which is forming in their bosoms, for the nascent veget- 

 able derives its sustenance from the recrements of the one from which it takes its birth." {FIoj: Man. 25. 

 et seq.) The cultivated bee is an insect which the gardener will of course take care not to destroy on ac- 

 count of its use; and it may be a question whether some species of the butterfly, moth, dragon-fly, &c. 

 should be destroyed on account of their beauty. Some species of these genera are highly bcautilul, as 

 the four-blotched dragon-fly {Lihellula qiiadrimaculafa, L.), and the swallovz-tailed butterfly {Papilio 

 Machaon, L.) {fig. 584.), which is reckoned the most superb of the British species. It is very local, but 

 occurs near Bristol, Beverly, and in the New Forest. The larva feed on umbelliferous plants ; the 

 caterpillar is green, banded with black, marked by a row of red spots. It changes into the chrysalis 

 state in July ; and the perfect insect is found in August. There are two broods, the first appears in May, 

 having been in the pupa state all the winter, and the other in August from the pupa of July. (Samouelle.) 



6195. The cutting off Jlower-stalks, decaying flowers, leaves, &c. is to be done in most 

 cases immediately after the flowers are faded ; but there are exceptions where the leaves 

 on the lower part of flower-stems may be requisite to strengthen the root, and where, as 

 in the case of stipa, some convallarias, eringoes, &c. the parts of the flower are persisting, 

 or the fruit or seed-pods are objects of beauty. The leaves of bulbous-rooted plants, 

 and such others as are not prolific in foliage, should be carefully preserved till they have 

 begun to decay ; and, indeed, the base or root-leaves of no plant whatever should be cut 

 off till this is the case, unless for some particular object. Every single flower, as soon 

 as the petals begin to droop, should be pinched off, and especially every flower of the 

 double kind. Every rose, when it begins to droop, should be dipt off near to the foot-( 

 stalk of the one which is about to succeed it ; and when the last of the corymb has done 

 flowering, then the common foot-stalk should be cut off back to the first strong leaf-bud : 

 nothing is more unsightly in a flower-garden than rose-bushes where this' has not been 

 attended to. By employing, women or apprentices to go over the whole pleasure-ground 

 every morning during the four summer months, to attend to this business, it may be com- 

 pletely accomplished at very little expense. These and other points of management, we 

 know, are considered needless niceties by many gardeners : but what is a flower-garden 

 unless it is kept with the utmost nicety ? Others will tell you, they have not time foi" 

 such things ; but where there is a real taste for neatness, time will be found. " No 

 gentleman," Sir G. Mackenzie observes (Caled. Hort. Mem. iv. 194.), " ought to keep 

 a gardener who does not understand that there is time enough for every thing, provided 

 that time is not wasted, but properly regulated, and nothing too long delayed." 



6196. Gathenng Jlowers. Gather, if possible, only from the reserve-garden ; for if the 

 main borders and compartments are managed as they ought to be, much gathering will 

 disfigure the plants. Always use the knife, and prefer such as are com.ing into flower, 

 rather than such as are fully expanded. If possible, gather from crowded plants, or 

 parts of plants, so that every gathering may operate at the same time, as a judicious 

 pruning and thinning. 



6197. The French rose-gatherer presents a refinement in floricultural instruments highly characteristic of 

 its origin. The general form of this little engine is that of a pistol : it has a handle and trigger like it, and 

 a cutter in the manner of the wire pliers, or flower-gatherer {fig. 152.), disguised as a barrel. A rod, an- 

 swering to the ramrod, connects the pincers with the trigger, which last, being pressed, opens the pincers, 

 that is, charges the pistol ; the operator then presents the pistol to the rose to be gathered, and so that when 

 the cutter operates, it may separate it at the precise point of the stalk deemed proper : things being thus 

 adjusted, the trigger is drawn, and the deed is done. — Of course this instrument, hke a number of other 

 horticultural toys manufactured by the Parisians, is chiefly pour Ics dames. 



6198. Flowers inay he preserved, when gathered, by inserting their ends in water, moist earth, or moss ; 

 and may be freshened, when withered, by sprinkling with water, and putting them in a close vessel, as 

 under a bell-glass, hand-glass, flower-pot, or in a botanic box ; if this will not do, sprinkle them with 

 warm water, or with spirits of wine, or ether, and if this fails, insert their ends in water heated to^"' or 

 90°, and cover them with a glass. 



6199. Grafting, budding, laying, &c. Operations of this sort require to be performed 

 in the flower-garden and shrubbery, for enlarging, renovating, and otherwise improving 

 shrubs and plants, or introducing new sorts ; they are also, required for the common pur- 

 poses of propagation. 



6200. Ordering seeds, bulbs, and plants. This business is much simpler in the flower 

 than in the kitchen garden. For flower-seeds of most sorts, an order is simply given for 

 aj)aper of a sort ; mignonette, lupins, sweet peas, and a few others, may be ordered by 

 the ounce ; bulbous roots are generally ordered by number, either of mixtures or single 

 sorts ; and herbaceous plants, shrubs, &c. by name and number, or by the hundred or 

 dozen in mixture. See the priced catalogue of any nurseryman. 



6201. Neatness has been already a good deal insisted on in different parts of this work. We repeat, it 

 is the dress and visage of gardening, and if necessary any- where, is more especially so in the flower-garden. 

 A gardener who pretends to manage a flower-garden without the most vigilant attention to this point, at 

 all times, is unworthy the charge. The first thing is to have a quick intelligent eye, so as instantly to 

 perceive what is wanting, and the second is to be possessed of that principle of activity which immediately 

 sets about supplying the want. Many gardeners have certain times for cleaning up, &c. and will go fifty 

 times past a weed, stone, dead leaf, or some such article, which disfigures or injures a scene, without re- - 

 moving it, merely because the time for cleaning, &c. has not come. This is most abominably formal con- 

 duct, deserving the severest reprobation. A gardener ought to have his eye, his head, his heart, his hand, 

 his knife, and apron, ready for action at all times, places, and seasons, when within the precincts of his 

 charge. Let him drown this incessant care in his own way when he is without his scene of business, or in 

 the hours of rest and refreshment: and let him not undertake it without adequate terms of remuneration. 

 (See 2355. 2373.) 



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