October i5i l8 9*' 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



667 



LEAVES FROM A RAMBLER'S NOTE-BOOK. 



CONTRASTS. 



I remarkable thing is custom, and one of the hardest to change, 

 vhether it be a concern of nations or only a small matter, having bearing 



on 



ways 



till they become to us like second nature, and we count anything 

 different as strange and novel, though with those to whom such are a 

 custom they are old and time-honoured. Before the days of railways 

 and newspapers every district was a little world in itself, knowing and 

 caring but little how matters moved outside its sphere, and following a 

 routine of life that in time became general, and though the common free 

 intercourse of modern times has done away with all that, yet the habits 

 and customs then formed in different localities still remain, particularly 

 with people who till the ground as a means of livelihood. Striking 

 indeed are the contrasts that exist in the methods of cultivation and 

 customs of the workers in the few hundred miles stretching from John 

 o' Groat's to Land's End. In the case of professional gardeners it is 

 not so much noticed, as they are a migratory class of men, drifting from 

 one locality to another in probationary days, and if they are not 

 fortunate enough to get a " life place," following up their nomadic 

 existence to the end of the chapter. In this way gardeners become 

 acquainted with many customs, and can have a knowledge of them all 

 without becoming the slave of any one. Conditions of the soil, climate, 

 and general adaptability to various crops have bearing on the customs of any 

 locality in a marked degree. For instance, a district naturally suitable 

 for fruit produces a race of fruit growers ; in an arable neighbourhood 

 everyone is more or less interested in corn growing, and in dairying 

 localities the most important considerations are cows, butter, cheese, 

 and so on. The condition of crops vary as much as the methods of 

 growing them, according to soil and situation, which makes the contrasts 

 of a half-day's railway journey all the more striking. 



The country south of the Thames did not present a refreshing 

 appearance during the early weeks of September. It was hot, 

 unbearably hot, and people got tired of hoping for the rain that refused 

 to come. For weeks there had been a continual slush, slush of water in 

 gardens where there was a supply of that indispensable commodity, but, 

 alas ! in many cases there was a famine, and after waiting and hoping 

 day after day for the shower that was to give the winter greens a start, 

 and help the celery along, the former had to be put in without it. Some 

 got as much water as could be spared, and after a struggle lived ; others 

 went without the liquid, and after a gallant attempt to keep pace with 

 their more fortunate brethren, sickened and died. The lucky ones that 

 pulled safely through the precarious time had other ills awaiting them, 

 for which the drought must be partly attributable. When once they got 

 a start, winter greens grew apace, and growers felt hopefnl, but the enemy 

 was lurking near. It was in the form of a plague of caterpillars that 

 have played almost as much havoc with the greens as the British 

 artillery did with Dervishes at Omdurman. Thousands were picked off 

 and destroyed, but others filled the breaches, devouring as they went, 

 and though now that we are in October, with the air cooler and nights 

 frosty, we may expect to see the last of them, the winter greens are in a 

 sarj way. Whole plantations of Brussels sprouts, cauliflowers, and 

 l !l T pre J-^ a ? itiable appearance, there being little left but 

 ™« , >t m u dnh l • ° f the leaves " Ce,er y has suff ered from the 

 SS k ^ rU ^', a , nd 1S - an y th,n S b «t robust. Rain a few weeks ago 

 jouM have made all the difference. Those who had water gave it, aid 



LEI? 11 ! and healthy looking, but we cannot expect much 



ind hoSl ? SUfi - ered from drou £ ht at the root > a topical sun o'erhead, 

 ana hordes of rapacious maggo ts mining under the tissues of the leaves. 



proS c e t e h r i an H e r n„ i ^l he S mu th WaS early on account of the sunshine and 

 n^rtriJ" 8111 ;!, Whe " sportsmen turned out on September i 

 could walk h^\S tY T rC ham P er ed but little with standing com, and 

 ovevs I Wn ^ ™ T re ^ reedom than the y could get near to the 

 theSden crnn! vF e T d qU,ckly ' and earI y in the month most of 

 was* one t i 2 Jf- 2 nd l t0red - The cro P s were not so large as 



seemed earlv^o K ST"?' bUt the tuberS Came out clean and dry li 

 leave them in ^h. ,,ftm »J ate P otatos > but they had done growing, and to 



' >nion hlrvJ* T n Au™ S f nl / givin * Citations to the disease, 

 crop No beafin? i at ?t end ° f AugUSt ' and were generally a good 

 was necessa^rv as g t0 ?, S ' " on insid e vine borders 



the bulbs were in t£ I dl , d " $K Th ? t0 P s withered ™ d died while 

 had there been '"Vi^round, and though they would have been bigger 



■"ore to the poin? Z™^ £? the / f re , CVen and sou nd, and, whit is 

 Pastures n frS knr,^ Sl2 ke , ep - A look round in September showed 

 to a dull b o Wn T d . WItl l ered ' an ? th , e 8 T Q of the h °P g^dens changed 

 ^ they werTanim!^^ CrS T" ked and Sweated und er a tropical sun, 

 Picking in a we S ° Se wh ° a PP re c'ated the fine weather, as hop- 

 was activVamn aU t£ " Joke ' • In the fruit plantations there 

 crops were feir^lL; h f e , qu1 ? 1 y "pening plums and damsons. Both 

 a local m S ly Pl^W and . growers of only odd trees felt the want of 



necessarily 



on c, and unW v ™ mis * truit industry is 



u* chances of sajL\^? ^? K™ - - — away, 



"■'bution now emends rnTlf 1 ' Lond °" \ the * reat ce ntre, though dis- 



e "ends to all par ts, where the population is thick. 



And now for tf» " ~~" 



? diou s. The irions^r C 2 ntraStS ' CV ? n th ? ug }* com Parisons are sometimes 

 ^.inus, and tore ts en g ln \ slow1 / stea ™d out of the London 



S^'ng land, at filL y ^° U r gh i_ shl f e after shlre > h V arable land and 

 atmosphere of coal " L m - ihe J r *f h c , lear air and th <* in the smoky 

 *!*Kle for existence thS" ^ ^ 1*8**™ seems to have a 

 chimneys an d 5E? .Vi. n 0] ? a P m through a miniature forest of factory 



slowed up and stopped, having left the metropolis one hundred and fifty 

 miles behind. The first spontaneous expression was : " There has been 

 more rain here ! n and therein lay the first contrast. There were no hop 

 fif ? s ' ^ fruit Potations, and not many sun-dried pastures ; but t on 

 the other hand, mile after mile of green verdure, which was refreshing 

 and pleasant after the burnt-up appearance of land in the South. Welcome 

 rains after the hay season had set the grass growing again, with the 

 result that meadowsiby their emerald appearance were easily distinguished, 

 and the cows were browsing contentedly on the sweet herbage. We were 

 in a dairy farming country, and there was activity at every station on the 

 line. It was not with the loading of fruit, as had been the case at Kentish 

 stations a few hours before, but another commodity going to supply the 

 demand of London's millions, namely, milk. London is a mighty con- 

 suming medium, into which all parts of England pour their products, be 

 they natural, animal, mineral, or manufactured, and the supply is never 

 ceasing. The heavier rainfall in the midland and northern counties has 

 had its effect in gardens as well as on farms. Greens for the winter 

 supply looked healthy and robust, and what is more, were leaf-whole— a 

 contrast favourable to the North. Caterpillars had done some damage, 

 they generally do, but we noticed none of that mutilated, woebegone 

 appearance which characterized the breadths of greens in the garden we 

 had left behind. Celery, on the other hand, had suffered to about the 

 same extent through the attack of the celery fly. 



The enquiry about potatos did not bring a conclusive'reply, and the 

 reason was obvious on ascertaining the fact that most of the late sorts 

 were in the ground and still growing, showing the crop to be several 

 weeks later than in the South. There is a natural feeling of Satisfaction 

 in knowing that the crop of the indispensable tubers is safely lifted and 

 stored, and when we thought of our clean, even samples, free from any 

 speck of disease, and safely housed, and then turned our eyes to the 

 breadths*of half green and half black stems and leaves noticable in many 

 gardens, well, we [felt relieved that our potatos were as they were. The 

 green was natural enough, and was waiting only for the ripening process 

 to be completed ; but the black told another story, and it needed not the 

 eye of an expert to see that it was the result of the dreaded blight. " Oh, 

 they're allnght," said one grower ; " the tubers are sound enough." My 

 hopes were that they would turn out so, [but I had my fears. Another 

 contrast was noticed in the onions. In one garden a large bed of spring- 

 sown bulbs had a green, healthy, upright appearance, but somehow I 

 fancy that the inside vine border process of ripening will have to be 

 called into use there. A man was busy bending over their stiff necks, 

 and stared in profound astonishment when we casually remarked (with 

 as little pride as we could show) that ours were harvested, roped, and 

 were suspended at that precise moment from the beams in the store, 

 except the two-pounders (the result of sowing a packet of Ailsa Craig 

 under glass) which, for fear their necks might not be strong enough to 

 support their weight, were accorded a position on the shelf. " I should 

 think your's ain't a bad country for gardening," remarked the man as he 

 applied the back of his rake to the onion tops more vigorously than before. 

 I said nothing about the greens, as the quarters of healthy-looking Brussels 

 sprouts and cauliflowers disconcerted me. 



One could hardly draw comparisons as regards fruit, as the conditions 

 are so much at variance. Fruit-growing is not a staple industry there, 

 and the methods of cultivation contrast very unfavourably with the ways 

 and customs of the South. Apparently, every farmhouse has its orchard 

 of apples, plums, and damsons, but fruit generally was scarce. To all 

 intents and purposes it did not seem to matter very much whether the 

 apples cropped or not. It would have been interesting to know who 

 planted many of the trees, and to have learnt something of their life 

 history, as, judging by their patriarchal appearance, they have weathered 

 many a storm. They seem to be there simply as an extra, as though, by 

 some chance or other, thev were planted in the first place, and since then 

 have 

 good 



myself in a damson district, where this crop is of considerable import- 

 ance, though this season there has been very little fruit. For an area of 

 several miles damsonslgrow every where — in gardens, orchards, meadows, 

 and even along the hedgerows. The methods of distribution contrast 

 very forcibly with those in the South, as, instead of sending away to large 

 markets, the growers prefer to sell at home. Trade is therefore done 

 with dealers who visit the locality, or the damsons are carted to the 

 nearest town on market day. A farmer's trap, possessing a good deal 

 more timber than spring, conveyed us to one of these interesting gather- 

 ings, where every agriculturist in the district seems to attend, either on 

 business or as a matter of custom. The wide, open market-place and 

 the straggling main street presented an animated appearance. From 

 behind a row of canvas- covered stalls tradesmen shouted out the merits 

 of their various wares, and along the curbstone were baskets of butter 

 and eggs, poultry (live and dead), as well as apples, plums, damsons, 

 mushrooms, and so forth, offered for sale from various receptacles. 

 Buxom farmers' wives haggled with dealers over the price of the different 

 produce until, by some unexplainable means, the market prices settled 

 themselves, and were accepted on all hands as the standard charges. I 

 cannot say much for the apples. They were a mixed medley lot, and 

 not largely represented. There had evidently been no steps taken to 

 grade them into sizes, or to keep the varieties distinct ; and if they had 

 to be taken as a sample of home-grown fruit I, for one, should be inclined 

 to sink patriotic sentiments, and go for the Americans. Damsons were 

 much better, the fruit being large and fleshy, and the price, owing, 

 doubtless, to the scarcity, would have satisfied the most avaricious of 

 Kentish growers. Still, the method of sale is precarious. Dairy pro- 

 duce, eggs, and fruit all go together, and it must be sold, as it does not 

 pay to carry it back h 



grown of their own free will. If they carry "a crop, all well and 

 ; and if they don't, it isn't a great loss. On one occasion I found 



