GA RbENERS MA GA ZINE 



NK 



387 



LEAVES 



from a Ram 



NOTE 



ALONG KENTISH HIGHWAYS. 



. An* ever considers that his education is complete. He 

 ^ gardener e\er be improv ements 



- always fSg.^ugbt self-satisfied individual who flatters 



\'0 



0 



his own 



» -1 ~ >V the vain supposition that he knows all that is worth learning 



toBldf 11 ^h, firsuo succumb when put to a practical test But how 

 generally the jhrs J to d fn)m the hands of th ho are sup- 



*> »? leam after * e f Wnmp t^rhers ourselves? By many 



posed 

 trays 



men 



Z mav not altogether agree, but after adding and drawing 

 ^ ?tSes between two Extremes a middle course, and that 



x~i.irtinns there lies wiwvw* _ avn iu r 0 f'o r v rp. 



course 



**°$-J thSe wh7read the ~ Mag AZ 1 N E get the benefit of their 

 jEX. Thus, then, is reading a means of education tojho^who 



know the rudi 

 vances his opinions 



sagree 



ents off by heart. One practical man steps forth and ad- 

 ~~ his opmiuua , another comes along and differs from him, and 

 Sue two dogs are, so to speak, fighting-over their bone, another comes 

 £ »d mns away with it. That third is the diligent reader who sifts 

 Se Jmments on both sides, takes the best out of them, and puts it into 



He is generally the one most benefited. 



Observation is another means of education open to all, but not 

 alwavs taken advantage of. " Keep your eyes open, lad, and miss 

 tithing worth looking at," was the advice given to the writer by a good 

 eld gardener who had proved the wisdom of it. One man sees effects 

 isd is satisfied, but he has learnt nothing. Another looks on effects, and 

 straightway hunts for the cause. He may not find it till after a diligent 

 search, but having obtained it he has got the whole thing, for one is of 

 jttle use without the other. And where can we learn from observation ? 

 Everywhere, for things appertaining to gardening meet us no matter 

 where we go, the only thing necessary being a gardener's eye to look at 

 ttem. The occupation is moreover interesting, and what is more enjoy- 

 ti'.c than a walk round a garden under the care of a brother craftsman ? 

 Though interesting and instructive, such walks are, as a rule, like many 

 trellent articles which appear in these columns — purely practical. 



n nature, however, demands variety and diversion, which helps us 

 la tackle with new spirit more serious matters. In reading, this diver- 

 Mi is obtained in the perusal of that which breaks away a little from the 

 $:ern unbending practical side of gardening, and in the case of the 

 writer, diversion was sought and found in a long ramble along Kentish 

 highways, 



A man need not necessarily be romantic to be carried away by the 

 h beauty of a spring morning, for indeed he would be soulless if he 



It not 'I here is no spasmodic bursting of a tree here, or the 



•homing of a solitary flower there, but all Nature has received her call 

 wd is responding to it with one accord. 



•d even that we hardly notice it. Copse that yesterday was bare 



hes, has to-day a tinge of green, and to-morrow will be'a mantle of 

 TZaZ U ? ,S the tra ? sfo . rmation s ^ne, and who is he that can see 

 IT ET u ? Ut T° Ug F Wlthc L Ut feelin * the effects of Nature's awaken- 

 • \r£7\Vi ? cr £ aIon » ******** to interest a gardener ? you ask. 

 KSonf y ^ S httle , dse but a garden, with its orchards 



V K S:l Ze° l i T market ^ ardens - Home life itself 

 wis horticulture, for there is scarcely a homestead without its 



tto ^t^SS S ^ 23 evet the farmed 

 Jlortcuhure th - 1 „ SP P UP ' n , m f ters comi n& ™der the category 



JSSd A if ¥hus t S hen eS tf 11 th6y iequire m ° re than ordl ™y 

 prfening S1C '"- 1 hus > then > ^ county Is a land of gardens and 



ff 



The movement is so general 



£E?m!? 52? T-ders what fruit will be 



from presen j£L ^ ° Ut \. and whether P rices will be good. 

 -•S^S^SiXSr^ V hC OUtl °° k could notwel1 be better, 

 " \ jjj C in Na?u e 'fcS „ ^^ms is one such as can 



•^•11 aglowWhh h£iS? ■^TV"* I**", then the apples and 



finances dependint l"^' aft £ r - res ^s and the state of the 

 A swegoaSnSX&S?* 11 these L few ^eks of blossoming 

 *■£■•,*>£ fruT^ln're ^ ■ ^ ' 5 the number of ^ 



5** d P«haps ten acresfr, I ™ a * ed ^ on th e increase. Here is an 



**t*m « »k;^-^T a ™ 1 01 the same character and 



1 obnoZ; 5 ^ s P«ad of the branches, to 

 *heTe f gr0 T th ' ? 0Und each tree grkss 

 * «-Ss» ° f ^ — e or artmcial 



fias been 



^ trees 



inches shows them f« Tk Vu- i I- rruit Production. A peep 



llt *«» pay the rfnt and fcfjf fc™ ? f orchard that, barring 

 5 *!5 a sheet oTbloon, ^iiSf"^ t *S»- ^ grower" 



We kno 



e Wiow nothintr nf 'lu* ! ° 1C ours «ng» Out all healthy 



as ne that continues planting. 



SSfi^^'^am^o iS thG Kentish fruit ^er. He M 



10 Jwcar bv - As wi 2f J ame ' and If he Proves it to be sound 



is 



J}' is sVn'ewhT ;'L PaS i an °, ther recentl y formed 



Profitabl 



unprotected side. 



fruit 



«> e one— to thp fin,^ T ey are to a ct 

 5 been weU tholf'h I ^ tCnder nature 



Prol >ably theZi. - S a ^ present &e pi 



/ we grower fancies he can see mn» 



nature inside. The 



antation is a 

 see more in fruit, for 



the young trees are dispersed between the rows of hops. The latter will 

 remain till the fruit trees are established. Then thev will he remnveri 



down 



, .- , - J 0 grass, a permanent orchard is the result, and 



during the process the land has been returning something. The field is 

 a gentle slope, and on the lower side we notice the trees have been 

 planted on the surface and the soil spread over the roots in the form of a 

 mound. Further examination proves the soil to be of a wet and clayey 



The grower evidently knows the resulting evils of planting i 

 such a medium and averts it in the above manner. The trees 

 gardeners' trees— clean, sturdy, and healthy. They must have ^1 

 considerable, and the grower might have got others at half the price, but 

 his work throughout proves him to be a practical man who knows that a 

 cheap fruit tree is often the dearest in the end. 



nature. 



in 

 are 

 cost 



Hops may not be generally interesting to gardeners, but in Kent they 



are of extreme importance, they are a precarious crop, paying much or 

 little as the case may be, and farmers look back with envy on the golden 



days of hop-growing, before 1 1 ' * * 



ingredients 



, beer was brewed by the aid of other 



besides malt and hops. No garden crop demands better 

 culture or more constant attention. 



The hop grower must wage a 



continual warfare against insect and fungoid foes ; he must not stint 

 manure or labour, or think too much of the outlay he has to make before 

 he may hope for any return. If he did probably he would not do it, and 

 the result would be failure. The good season of last year has buoyed up 

 many with hopes, and as we look over the hedges on either side we see 

 that digging for the most part is completed, and the big stacks of poles 

 are gradually disappearing to take their places one after the other along 

 the rows. On many farms permanent poles and wire are used, and 

 though the outlay is heavy the job is more permanent. Hop gardens 

 always demand attention. There is the digging, poling, tying, manuring, 

 washing, picking, and drying, all following each other in succession. Of 

 all persons taking part in these operations the dryer is the most impor- 

 tant. The work requires experience and skill, and though the man who 

 performs it may take part in all previous operations, he is only a common- 

 place individual like those around him. When, however, the hop-oast is 

 again brought into use he develops into an important person, and, soaring 

 above ordinary occupations, becomes a dryer on whom much depends. 

 He enjoys this significance so long as hopping lasts, working hard and 

 feeling the importance of his office. Hopping over, he is no longer a 

 dryer, for his occupation has gone, and for another year he takes his 

 rank as a labourer. Hops are always requiring attention, and now signs 

 everywhere tell us that the demand is poles and strings for the quickly 

 growing bine. 



From hop districts we again come to fruit, this time gooseberries, 

 currants, and so forth. The bare skeletons of the closely pruned red 

 currants (for Kentish growers always prune closely) are rapidly assuming 

 a green mantle as I write, and early signs of fruit are abundant The 

 good farmer has all his plantations dug and manured during the winter 

 and early spring, but ever and again we come across the plantation of 

 the inevitable careless man, where the signs are— no digging, no pruning, 

 overgrown crowded bushes, profusion of weeds, and a general air of 

 untidiness. Result— little fruit, poor quality, and a constant grumble 

 about bad times. Gooseberries are no longer bushes of bare branches, 

 but masses of fresh-looking verdant foliage, and early signs of good crops. 

 But there are many things to contend with yet. Frost may come, and 

 the time has not yet arrived for the appearance of the hungry caterpillar 

 and the still more deadly gooseberry mite. Black currants are a favoured 

 Kentish crop, though somewhat uncertain. Last year in many districts 

 they were a failure, but where such was not the case prices ruled high. 

 Bushes generally are starting well, but occasionally we come across 

 plantations where the dreaded mite is in possession. Desolation reigns 

 here, as the farmer has no efficient means of fighting the microscopic 

 foe. From the serious aspects of commercial gardening, we note garden- 

 ing for pleasure in the numerous charming homesteads that skirt the 

 highway as we pass along. Through the breaks in the trees we see that 

 which assists greatly in making English home-life enviable— the garden. 

 Inclination tempts us to enter and explore the interior of the domains, 

 but our business lies along the road, at every bend of which we enter on 

 a fresh landscape, full of features of renewed interest, but everywhere and 

 on everything there is the sign of resurrection to new life, as a 1 Nature 

 answers to the call of spring. Who will say that such a ramble is not 

 only interesting but instructive ? H - 



Early-flowering Violas.— Although there have been introduced into com- 

 merce so many varieties of violas that they may be counted by hundreds, yet there 

 are lacking some distinctly early-blooming varieties. I do not mean those which 

 flower early in frames-I rather refer to plants that planted out in the autumn^ in 

 beds to form carpets for tulips, hyacinths, or daffodils yet do not showa bloom 

 until the bulbs are over, and just become gay when the usual summer bedding is 

 arranged. There are so many that do well as summer bedders, or satisfy the 

 requirements of exhibitors, that raisers may well turn their attention to the pro- 

 duction of very early varieties, such as will bloom in March cr April, with the 

 primroses, polyanthuses, arabis, aubrietias, double daisies, and similar hardy 

 olants To test earliness thoroughly, planting should be done in October, and the 

 clumps should be fairly strong ones. Looking over the very extensive collection 

 of violas planted at Chiswick very recently, I found very few showing flowers. 

 Probably a general bloom will not be found until the end of May. The plants 

 have all been put out this spring, so they should do well and stand as they are 

 through next winter; then they would have excellent opportunity to show their 

 naturll early, or otherwise, flowering qualities. In spring > bedding, two pansies 

 stand out markedly as early, and they are both old-Blue King the vcj tet yrt 

 seen of its colour for earliness, and Cliveden Purple. We want violas that bloom 

 with these; indeed, even earlier if possible. Perhaps in very warm positions 

 some may bloom early, but generally such is not the case. The plants are so 

 hardy, and so beautifiil when in full bloom, that they ment all attention to 

 tender them more useful in early spring gardening.— A. D. 



