A STROLL THROUGH THE GARDEN. 
15 
spread so much as to protrude through the 
sides of the heap of earth, when some more 
soil will be put round it, and by degrees the 
earth will be added, and the whole levelled, 
so as to be six inches thick all over the frame. 
But you naturally enough ask how he got the 
plants. Half a dozen barrow-loads of dung 
were put in a heap, flattened at top, and two 
or three inches of soil laid on, three cucumber 
seeds were placed in each of half a dozen pots, 
and these pots set upon the dung, with a hand- 
glass over them ; they are very soon up ; and 
some air was given by an opening in the top 
of the hand-glass. As soon as there are four 
rough leaves, the points or growing parts were 
nipped off, and they progressed in their tem- 
porary abode until brought as you saw them 
to-day. But we shall see more of them by- 
and-by. At present there is nothing more 
to observe on this side the garden. The frost 
has not hurt the brocoli, though it has 
touched it a little. The savoys, cabbage 
plants, Brussels sprouts, and Scotch kale, ap- 
pear none the worse. The short sticks that 
have been stuck to the few rows of peas under 
the south wall seem to have protected them 
well ; and now that the litter is removed, you 
see the only ill effi-ct of covering the ra- 
dishes and lettuces is, that they look a little 
paler green. This will be removed, in a very 
short time, in the full light, for it is the opera- 
tion of light and air on vegetation that causes 
the natural colour of the plant ; as I have 
already explained to you, with regard to 
celery, which is white as high up as you bury 
it in the soil, and this holds good with all 
plants ; according as they are more or less 
covered up, they are paler or almost white. 
Cabbages and lettuces show it in the closeness 
of their hearts, for, if you notice, although not 
buried in the ground, still they are hidden 
from the light and air by the outer leaves, and 
the nearer the leaves are to the outside, the more 
green they are, while those that are quite ex- 
posed are perfectly green. This will explain 
to you why gardeners tie up cabbages and 
lettuces ; for although good ones will always 
grow into good solid hearts, the gardener is 
anxious to produce pale hearts earlier than 
they would naturally grow, and therefore ties 
them tight round with a piece of matting, to 
exclude the light and air from the inner leaves 
of early growth. To-morrow, if the weather 
holds fine, we shall see them busy in the gar- 
den, for this dry day will make the ground 
work pleasantly, and it will be in excellent 
order for planting or sowing. I see you have 
been making notes, let me read them. They 
are short, but to the point : you cannot do 
better than continue them ; you can enlarge 
upon them at your leisui-e. 
" Gardening is the art of cultivating in one 
place and in great perfection, many different 
kinds of vegetables that grow naturally at 
distant places, but of inferior quality. 
" Improved varieties are produced by sow- 
ing seeds, and always saving seeds from the 
best, by which, in the course of time, we get 
new and better varieties. 
" The earth is dug to let the air and rain 
in and to loosen it, so that roots may easily 
penetrate it. 
" The ground is left rough and sometimes 
in ridges, that the winter frost may break the 
lumps and pulverize it. 
" Tender plants that would be damaged by 
frost, are covered in winter with frames and 
glasses or litter which protects them, and this 
is done every night, because a frost may come 
before morning ; but they are uncovered on 
mild days. 
" Frost destroys many insects; therefore, as 
walls may be covered with ice by sprinkling 
them with water forced through small holes by a 
garden engine, many insects that conceal them- 
selves in the crevices can be destroyed when- 
ever the weather is cold enough to freeze the 
water, because it embodies them in solid ice. 
" Plants in the dark grow pale ; by exclud- 
ing light and air they become white. This 
is the cause of the hard hearts of cabbages 
and lettuces and the stems of celery being 
pale or white." 
All these notes are very good, and you will 
have an opportunity of making others as we 
proceed. In the mean time you are to re- 
collect we are in the month of January, which 
is sometimes frosty all the way through ; and 
therefore, except as far as protecting crops 
that are tender, and the hot-beds, are con- 
cerned, it is an idle month ; but when mild 
or changeable, as this is, there is abundant 
woi'k. We shall perhaps have an opportunity 
of seeing to-morrow all the different operations 
that are proper for this month, as the gar- 
dener will naturally be anxious to make the 
most of the fine weather, and have all hands 
that he can spare at those jobs which cannot 
be done in frosty nor in very wet weather, 
for nothing does the ground so much harm as 
to tread upon it while it is wet and clammy, 
because it closes it up and squeezes out the 
air, and forms it into lumps. We will after- 
wards go to the flower and fruit gardens. 
The drying wind of yesterday evening, 
and to all appearance of all last night, has 
done much towards getting the ground in 
good order for working ; and as soon as we 
have done our in-door studies we will go into 
the garden, for it is sure to be a busy 
day there. The uncertainty of all the months 
after September and before May, but par- 
ticularly of January, February, and March, 
