THE MUCK MANUAL. 
47 
The Gardener's Monthly Volume. — 
The Dahlia. — This is one of those laboured 
productions which are made out of older and 
better works. "Whatever quackery assumes a 
new form goes down for its time; and it is not 
to be denied that the number of short-sighted, 
weak-minded people, who, like children, are 
" pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw," so 
far outnumber those of common sense, that the 
folly and worthlessness of a thing are no bar 
to success. There is not one useful hint in 
this long rigmarole that has not been pub- 
lished before in a much better and more un- 
derstandable form. This is a good deal to 
say, but we do not venture facts without 
proofs being at hand. Years ago, all that was 
useful in the culture of the Dahlia was pub- 
lished in one moderate Treatise, without a 
waste sentence or a useless engraving. The 
twisting about of words and paragraphs, and 
going into elaborate details about trifles, are 
worthy of bookmakers by profession ; but we 
should like to know whether, when men ad- 
dicted to this kind of business reflect a little, 
they think it a creditable employment ? 
Among the books which we propose describ- 
ing and noticing, we find a series of the works 
before us, and most of them have the name of 
some grower, who thus consents to publish his 
own inability by putting on the leading-strings 
of Mr. Johnson, who is supposed to put the 
words into English for him ; or, which is 
worse, makes known his willingness to sell the 
use of his name to a mere compilation from 
other men's works. The Dahlia affair is 
ushered into the world by the aid of Mr. Tur- 
ner, a very successful grower, by whom the 
Editor professes to be assisted ; and we are 
sorry to see so good a florist deceived as he 
must have been, to be drawn into the discre- 
ditable employment of a compiler's drudge. 
We, however, acquit Mr. Turner of any wilful 
plagiarism. We believe he has been applied 
to for his name, and that he may have read 
the work, to see if there were any thing im- 
proper in the directions ; and that, seeing 
there was nothing to condemn in the practice, 
he considered his duty done. We will never 
believe, until we are compelled, that he would 
compile, and garble, and change the language 
of known sound writers, to pass off the same 
ideas, information, and instructions as his 
own. We consider such compilations so many 
public nuisances, mere licensed petty larcenies, 
and are sorry when we see a respectable name 
put down as the Editor's tool for such very 
discreditable work. 
Roberts's Culture of the Vine under 
Glass. — The principal u^e of this treatise, was 
to give us the general notion of what others 
recommended, and then Mr. Roberts's expe- 
rience and practice ; and in this he has done 
some service. The greater part of his matter 
was given in an early volume of the Gar- 
dener's Gazette, and it is more than probable 
that to the reception it met with there, may 
be attributed the publication of this little 
volume. The principal fault we find with it 
is, the great unnecessary trouble imposed on 
the cultivator, from the formation of the 
border up to the thinning of the grapes. 
There is too much fussy detail to be useful, 
and it is a question whether the supposition 
that all Mr. Roberts recommends is necessary, 
would not debar many from attempting the 
culture, or induce a carelessness that would 
be nearly as fatal. Many who would gladly 
undertake the culture of grapes, if no more 
than the necessary trouble were recommended, 
would give it up in hopeless despair, if they 
could once be seriously impressed with the 
notion that Mr. Roberts's tedious and laborious 
tasks had really to be performed. Neverthe- 
less, we cannot blind ourselves to the fact that 
there is a good deal of theory mixed up with 
the practice — abundance of speculation going 
down the stream with the sound part of the 
advice. We are always against increasing 
the apparent difficulties of science ; men do 
the most service who simplify all operations. 
By the plain teacher who goes about anything 
the easiest way, a novice is induced to begin 
that, which would be a frightful task if laid 
down after Mr. Roberts's fashion. The author 
says too much, he passes a sentence of con- 
demnation on his own work ; he says, " in it 
will be found plain language and plain prac- 
tice, (pirated from no one,) in which I have 
had great success." Now, considering that 
many of the best growers that have attempted 
vine culture, had practised and written before 
him, he was merely recommending his plan 
against the many who had been known to 
excel, or he was improperly claiming origi- 
nality. There is, however, something to be 
gleaned from the book, which we are bound to 
say is not so original in the ideas as in the 
language. 
The Muck Manual. — This exceedingly 
useful volume has furnished the contributors 
to farming newspapers with ample food for their 
hungry pens and ambitious notions. Those 
who will take the pains to read the work care- 
fully, will find an immense store of really use- 
ful information to the farmer, and he will re- 
cognise the original facts and lessons upon 
which the Farmer's Gazettes, Journals, and 
Magazines, all over the country, have founded 
most of those papers that have sustained their 
otherwise empty title to support. There is 
scarcely a new fact to be sifted from works pub- 
lished since the Muck Manual appeared, at 
least upon those subjects which the volume 
professes to contain ; and probably upon the 
