280 
THE TLORICULTURAL ENTHUSIAST. 
several times to see his tutor, and that in 
three weeks from the time he had visited the 
Britannia, he could talk as glibly about bibloe- 
mens, roses, and bizarres, as half the old 
florists. I made up my mind that flowers 
were a very innocent fancy, and far from dis- 
couraging it, I gave him five shillings per 
week to spend in them, apart from his regular 
allowance of pocket-money, with the injunc- 
tion I have spoken of, that he should save it 
up till it was enough to buy anything he 
wanted. The tulip -blooming season arrived, 
and the instant business was over, the evening 
was spent at some place or other where there 
were flowers, and I occasionally went with the 
young aspirant to floral honours. To my 
astonishment he pointed out, in different per- 
sons' beds, many tulips of which I knew but 
little ; and he gave early promise of advance- 
ment. After the tulip bloom was over, Friend 
Gabel used to be calling oftener than I liked, 
and I found the youth suddenly thoughtful 
and dull ; whenever flowers were mentioned 
he endeavoured to turn the conversation. 
This I wished to fathom, and resolved to see 
Mr. Gabel upon the subject of his visits, 
when I found he had inveigled the boy into 
the purchase of a bed at the price of twenty 
pounds, and was looking for his money. Of 
course I told him my mind upon the subject, 
and insisted upon knowing how much he had 
paid towards it. This brought out the fact 
that he had received a pound when he bought 
them, and fifteen shillings, at three payments, 
since : he had delivered the tulips at taking- 
up time. I observed, that except not attend- 
ing to my advice as to abstaining from any 
purchases except for money, there had been 
nothing wrong ; and I told my young gentle- 
man that I had found out the cause of his 
apparent annoyance, and wished to know how 
he had been so unmindful of my advice. The 
truth then came out ; Gabel had made the 
most of his enthusiasm, and inveigled him 
into the purchase, upon the condition of 
receiving the money at five shillings per week, 
and was there from time to time threatening 
the boy to tell me, unless he could get five 
pounds for him : this was wronging the youth 
and breaking his spirits. I need hardly say 
the tulips were not worth the money. I sent 
them back, and insisted on a return of the 
cash he had advanced, or its amount in such 
flowers as I should select. This was reluc- 
tantly agreed to ; and rather than disappoint 
the lad I advertised for a bed, which I got for 
half the money, and which was worth three 
of the one he had first bought ; and having 
severely lectured him upon departing from the 
course I had laid aWn, I provided him with 
a suitable stage, that he might not grow his 
flowers under a disadvantage ; it would do 
also for carnations, (for picotees were not 
thought of at that time as show flowers,) and 
seeing that he was bent upon the cultivation 
of flowers, I was advised to lead rather than 
check him. The tulip bloom came round, and 
he had a pretty good one ; but as to a night's 
rest, there was hardly such a thing for himself 
or anybody else. He was out at twelve or one 
o'clock to see that all was right ; and if there 
were the least indication of wind or frost, for 
weeks before they opened, he would get up 
and [cover them in the night with a second 
layer of mats. He often walked to Mr. 
Austin's, at Clapham, to see his flowers, and 
back to breakfast, though it was five miles 
from his own flowers, and a bad time of the 
day; and he was the first I ever saw who 
never allowed the frost to touch even the bed 
from the moment the bulbs were in ; nor do I 
recollect having seen his flowers so notched 
and blighted as I have those of other persons. 
One severe week, just before they had begun 
to show their shapes, he had actually taken 
both blankets off the bed, and laid with- 
out any. Auriculas were favourites with 
him, and he was successful with them ; and he 
has walked to the Greyhound, at Dulwich, with 
two boxes formed to hold one pot each, and 
shut up in front, and carried them the whole 
distance with a yoke, like a milkman carries 
his pails — we never dreamed of Dulwich omni- 
buses at the time — twice he did this before he 
was successful ; but, nothing daunted, he suc- 
ceeded. No one could approach him at last; 
and in Mr. Barr's estimation there was no one 
could beat him in the culture of anything he 
undertook. 
He died young, and among his papers was 
found a manuscript book full of memorandums ; 
among them, many hints about the culture of 
particular flowers ; many scraps after the 
fashion of a journal ; some receipts ; and a 
hundred other things which apply to garden- 
ing ; but how to collate and arrange them, 
how to know whether they are bits copied from 
works, or purely his own, in short, how to 
publish them, I know not, and, therefore, give 
them as I found them, — as 
EXTRACTS FROM: THE NOTE-BOOK OF A 
FLORICULTURAL ENTHUSIAST. 
Vegetable Mould — That is, grass and 
leaves, and even wood, rotted into mould — is 
good for all flowers, and no dung need be used 
if you can get plenty of this. It helps their 
colour and strengthens their growth up to a 
safe point, and clean friable hazel loam is the 
best material to mix with it. The best stuff 
I ever used in my life was from some turfs 
cut in Copenhagen fields; they were only two 
inches thick, and they lay for nearly four years ; 
accident threw them in my way, and I used 
