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GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



December io, 1898. 



Leaves From a Rambler 's Note-book. 



IMPRESSIONS OF THE AUTUMN. 



Last night there was a sharp pinch of frost, and to-day the sun shines 

 brightly, as though it would put matters to rights again. But it is too 

 late. There is a constant rustle of falling leaves, a never-ceasing drop, 

 drop at every movement of the breeze,'which leaves bare branches behind 

 and the earth receives her own again. She has a just claim to it, and in 

 the giving and the taking lies the chief power which moves the machinery 

 of this great natural world It seems but a few days since the spring, 

 when every growing plant was drawing on the great storehouse for the 

 strength to push forth leaf, shoot, and- flower, and now the machine is 

 reversed. Animate nature gives back that which she borrowed, repaying 

 with interest, as the dying leaves and decayed vegetation returning to 

 the earth carry with them valuable properties to form food for the living 

 when the next resurrection comes. It is no miserable shuffling off as 

 though life had proved a failure, but a grand finale set in brilliant colours ; 

 the freshness of bursting spring changed to the full ripeness of a glorious 

 autumn, a picture of life well spent and work well done, and then a 

 passing out with a roll of drums before the curtain falls. The tints are 

 the same as they were last year, the year before, and for hundreds of 

 years, and yet they seem new and marvellous in their contrasts and 

 combinations. Woodlands present a rich panorama of wonderful 

 colouration, too delicate, too diverse, and too pleasingly blended to be the 

 work of anything but nature. As I write the leaves of Ampelopsis 

 Veitchi follow one another in their downward course from the wall to the 

 ground, and are seen through the window. First a pale yellow, then a 

 rich orange-scarlet, and again a bright crimson, and so on ; now flickering 

 down one by one, and then in little showers, till soon their beauty will be 

 seen no more, and nothing will be left but the bare wall and leafless 

 stems. But there is a practical as well as a sentimental side to autumn's 

 impressions. 



" It's been a funny season," remarked a gardening friend the other day 

 as he tilted his hat over his eyes and scratched his back hair as though 

 that would aid him in explaining himself further, u about as funny a 

 season as ever I remember ; but, when one comes to reckon up every- 

 thing, Fve known many worse. It's been one of those years when one 

 has to grow everything, watch everything, and all the time be fighting 

 something. Take that celery, for instance," pointing to an excellent row 

 that had just received its final earthing ; " now that isn't bad for the 

 season, and I've no doubt you've seen a good deal worse. Well, there 

 you are, it's watching, feeding, and fighting that have done it. For days 

 that trench was ready, and the plants fit to put out, but the soil was hard- 

 baked, lumpy, and unkind. Then one night we had a gentle rain, and 

 before breakfast the next morning the celery was in the trenches. So 

 much for watching. Now some people have had to grow celery without 

 water this season, simply because they hadn't got it, but it hasn't been a 

 success I was better off than that, but things had to be carefully 

 managed, or there would have been none for the celery. The sewage 

 tank, too, was emptied as fast as it filled, and it was wearying work at 

 the time, but the result is there. And the fighting ? Yes, there has been 

 a good deal of that. Not much maggot ; no, that's where the fighting 

 comes in. Visions rose before me of rows of celery with the foliage 

 brown and seared, and I contrasted them with the green, healthy plants 

 before me. Perhaps the main secret was the watering," added my 

 u a* , S° rous g^wth keeps insects at bay ; but that wasn't all. We 

 watched for signs of maggots, which I felt sure would come in such a season, 

 and kept a little coarse bag of soot handv. Then just a light dusting in 



* v~r«* w iorgei tnese nttie preventive measures tin tne 



eggs are laid and the mischief is done, then they apply the remedies, but 

 it s no good. It s a case of locking the stable door after the horse is stolen, 



and it doesnt do with celery, because the maggot is not on the surface 

 but inside." 



Autumn impressions in respect of the crops of winter greens are not 

 altogether favourable. Forecasts have already appeared to the effect 



fighting man He allowed the no qu ^ u ? 



away as fast as the caterpillars appeared, and his labours P were 



rewarded m the breadths of greens which are healthy and leaf 



and in the knowledge that the soil is free from dormant pests. af " Wh ° le ' 



It is the commendable aim of every good gardener to pick his first 

 dish of green peas as early as possible, and then to keep up the suddTv 

 without a break till the end of the season. A very worthTE 

 this when Dame Nature sees fit to fall in with it, but this season she • 

 has shown her perversity in various ways, and refused to lend her 

 aid towards a continual pea supply. The start was capital ; early oeas 

 grew apace, well-filled pods formed, and we gloated over the flavour and 

 good all-round qualities of our Chelsea Gems, American Wonders 

 Graduses, and so on, and trusted in the healthy-looking succession rows 

 to carry on the supply. But our district shows a remarkably small rain- 

 fall record, and the peas were amongst the first to feel it. The ground 

 had been trenched and well manured, but the drought was extraordinary 

 and the water supply ran out. Day after day they became more sickly 

 and vigorous growth changed to a dwindling existence. An occasional 

 watering, followed by mulchings, and the assistance rendered by early 

 applications of superphosphate, saved some of the rows, but man" of 

 them fell a prey to the effects of the drought and the attacks of every ill 

 and pest that pea life is heir to. We have missed our late dishes of 

 delicious marrowfats, and our Ne Plus Ultras, Duke of Albany, Autocrat, 

 and other late sorts have been wanting in most of their best qualities! 

 Fortunately matters have not been so bad everywhere, as some districts 

 have been more liberally dealt with in regard to rain. Still we cannot 

 look back on a satisfactory pea season, even where the best of gardening 

 efforts have been put forth. 



A recent walk in a fruit plantation did not create a very favourable 

 impression. The grower eyed his dwarf apple trees critically, and 

 followed the operation by a doubtful shake of his head. " Two dry 

 seasons in succession have been too much for this shallow soil, and the 

 trees haven't made a deal of growth." He was right. Vigorous-growing 

 kinds looked fairly well, but others had an unhealthy appearance. 

 Growth was stunted, foliage had fallen early, and here and there branches 

 with dead tips were noticeable— all signs that there was something 

 wrong. " Had any fruit ? " continued the grower. " No, not much ; 

 though I never saw a better show of bloom— too much, in fact, according 

 to my opinion— but most of it fell ; and though, of course, I may be 

 wrong, I attribute it largely to the drought of last season. There was no 

 rain in the autumn to ripen and feed the buds, and when they opened 

 there was no stamina in the flowers." " Then, according to that theory, 

 it does not promise well for next season ? " I argued. " Afraid not ; but 

 we are hoping for more rain yet, and we've done our best to help them 

 by watering this autumn. I never thought much about the moisture re- 

 quired by trees after the fruit is off till lately ; but these dry autumns 

 have convinced me that it is necessary." No doubt many others have 

 learnt a similar lesson from Nature's teaching. As with fruit trees under 

 glass, so with trees out of doors. Withhold water from the former 

 during the ripening period, and unsatisfactory results are inevitable. 

 When a light autumn rainfall follows a dry summer the same state of 

 affairs exists in plantation and orchard, and growers cannot do better 

 than give the fruit trees the benefit of superfluous sewage matter and 

 water. The grower's reflections were not all of a disappointing 

 character. Apples certainly had failed him, and his pears he could not 

 call a success ; but other fruits had given returns sufficient to put the 

 margin on the right side of the balance-sheet— the result, as he put it, of 

 not having all your eggs in one basket. Good advice certainly, that 

 might be taken with advantage among other impressions gathered at the 

 close of such a season of uncertainty. H - 



T 



ch 



BOTAN 



GARD 



The Apothecaries' Society hasTcTecided, owing to considerations of expense, to 

 abandon the management nf th* nh™r onxrlpn that was founded by Sir Hans 



founded by Sir Hans 

 as subsequently trans- 



that greens will be TrT ,X w Z V -V ■ I ? lo ^ e in early part of the eighteenth century, and was subsequently trans- 



tha founds ominourtn^L^ t I befor \ the wl . nt " 1S . 0ve . r > f K re P° rt ferr< : d *> co <«pany in trust. A scheme has accordingly been drawn up for 



Z !L r th ,° Se W , h0 have to bu y' and cheenn g m the ears vestw> g the control in the Trustees of the London Parochial Charities. The actual 



nh«.« wtl ° Srow for sale and are blessed with plenty. I know from management is to devolve upon a commictee of fifteen members, eight to be 



observation that some growers are fortunate in this respect, but those who nominated by the Trustees, and one each by the Treasury, the Lord President of 



have the best crnn «f — , -c •»-- *— the Council, the Technical Education Board, the Royal Society, the Society o 



AnntViprari^c on^i iu„ tj . ^ r t»i i • :_ • t u„ Pharmaceutical 



celery — watchers, 



m "5" l cis>. uet your greens out early" is the advice ot an 



oia gardener, and this season has proved the value of it. There were 

 gentle rains in the early summer, which some took advantage of to plant 

 cau mower, brocco h, Brussels sprouts, and so forth, and others had to 

 wait because the plants were too small for removal. In the weeks that 

 Wii^K i those L Panted early got a good start, and since have not 



mnli^ r mUC \ But - what of those t^t were not ready at the favoured 

 ar™ ' Dr0ll f» ht set J n > Parching weeks of burning sunshine, and the 

 STh S c PO,hl l g - , Com P ulsi °n gave no choice. They had to be 

 ft was orflv a T C J the aid 0f water s«PPl»ed struggled through. But 

 erow \? In a !S Ug8le ' a u mere exis tence for weeks before they began to 

 arTstumed £ in° W ' 1 ^ can h ardlv hope for more growth, they 

 LucS Ten Y d > ° Ut littIe hopes of ever beinf profitable, 



partkularlv' on drv ^ planters - F <*ding has also assisted matters, 



early in the ImnmS t k 8 ? f mtrate of s °da could be given. It was 

 2^32^^^^^ numbers of dainty cabbage butter dies 

 fight. No ra m t« 8 ? en ' and observant men prepared for the 



assisted to es£S3 srSisr^rw* which *£ wa ^ sunshine 



forward in swarms, de ourinTafl W W t S pr °v^ C ■ ?25 



challenged, and now thJI "h ? before them where their r 'S ht was not 



*, , ana now they have entered mother earth to winter in the 



Apothecaries and the Royal College of Physicians in turn, the 

 Society of Great Britain, and the Senate of the University of Lond 

 of the garden is to be somewhat extended. The existing garden is to be luiiy 

 maintained, a suite of rooms is to be provided for lectures ar d experimental teacn- 



<^ t^^J fli^ HT a. _ - - »^_* . i • 1_ Ha. ^w^r>t ami till IV 



me l rustees, and m addition the committee will be furnished with sucn a 

 sum as may be necessary to enable them to enforce the scheme to its full extent. 

 The committee are to appoint a curator for the scientific supervision of the garden, 

 and power is given to them to choose the other members of the staff. Jf urther, 

 ihe committee are authored by the scheme to provide instruction by means or 

 lectures or otherwise in botanv. with special reference to the requirements ot 



arrange lor tne maintcn»ui.c ui bota 



r : T»>, 1 *"* icatning purposes, ana, so iar «*» —,— y •- ,.: 



botanical specimens for the purpose of external instruction. Students of insu- 

 tutions receiving aid from the funds of the City Parochial Foundation are to t* 

 eligible for admission without payment of fees, and it is provided that, so long as 



a yearly payment of iw l«e. .u-J r,,~ ^Ap. tn the Trustees out of the none) > 



Charity 



missioners. It will tha be ^^tllie^hemeT/'rf a far'- reaching character, 

 and is calculated to materially increase the present usefulness of the garden. 



