4S0 
CONTEMPORARY WRITINGS . 
vantage over those planted -when very young, 
as is customary, in growing stronger as well 
as being sooner fit for use. 
CONTEMPORARY WRITINGS, 
AXI> OEIGIX1L KOTXS CO>~STCTED WITH HORTICCLTOIE 
AXD 'XATrKAL HISTOP.Y. 
Staxdard clembixg roses. — One of the 
prettiest forms in which many of the climb- 
ing roses may be introduced to the garden, is 
that of a standard. Those varieties which 
make shoots of moderate length, produce, when 
worked on a straight stem of five or six feet 
high, and allowed first of all to form a broad 
expansive head, and then to assume a natu- 
rally drooping habit, a surpassingly beautiful 
effect, the long carelessly pendent branches 
forming so many festoons of roses. On lawns 
the effect of tree-roses thus flounced and 
wreathed, is excellent. Such plants must 
have but little pruning ; and that little con- 
fined to the shortening of any casual over- 
luxuriant shoots, and the cutting clean away 
any such as become old and worn out. In other 
respects, the plants must be left to nature. 
Many of the varieties of Boursault roses are 
well suited for this purpose ; as also are some 
of the Sempervirens, or evergreen group. 
Preserving gaedex seeds. — This is a 
question upon which gardeners and their 
employers often differ in opinion, the latter 
often thinking that, in an economical point 
of view, the matter is one of importance. 
With respect to ordinary garden seeds, 
that is to say, the bulk of the seeds re- 
quired in a garden to produce the necessary 
crops, whether culinary or floral, there cannot 
be a greater mistake than to suppose that any 
advantage can be derived from the practice of 
saving them in private gardens. Seed-grow- 
ing is a distinct branch of trade ; and owing 
to competition, seeds are brought to market 
at the lowest remunerative prices. Those who 
grow seeds to supply the market, moreover, 
are enabled to bestow that attention which is 
necessary to secure a genuine article. All 
our kitchen garden crops, and the more popu- 
lar flowers, are in a highly artificial state, 
induced by high culture. Speaking in a 
general sense, it would be next to impossible 
to grow these crops over and over again from 
the same stock, and on the same soil, without 
deterioration ; they would, in fact, return 
gradually, and more or less rapidly, to their 
original wild condition — unless, that is, ex- 
traordinary means were adopted to prevent 
this, and this would far out-balance the eco- 
nomy. But leaving this out of the question, 
there is no economy in saving ordinary gar- 
den seeds as they would be produced in ordi- 
nary course : seeds must be watched, and 
gathered, and dried, and cleaned, and stored 
. by. All this takes time ; and the time thus 
occupied is, in almost every case, more valua- 
ble than the seed which is obtained, even 
supposing it to be genuine, which, in nine 
cases out of ten, it would not be : so that, in 
fact, a high price would be paid for a very 
inferior article. Now, seed of an inferior 
quality and character could not produce good 
j crops, and thus the loss would not rest with 
the seed itself, but would be prospective, 
affecting the value of the future crops raised 
from it. This is on the presumption that 
there is no spare time in which the seeds 
j might be attended to ; and in ninety-nine of 
every hundred gardens there is no such spare 
j time. The labour allowed is generally under 
rather than over the necessary amount; and if 
any part of this is thus occupied, it is evident 
that something must be neglected. "Within 
the limits of a single garden, too, many kinds 
would become intermixed or hybridised, and 
rendered altogether spurious. As a general 
rule, therefore, it is not an economical plan 
for a gardener to save for himself the seeds 
he requires. There are, however, two or 
three exceptions. Sometimes gardeners suc- 
ceed in obtaining a " good strain," as florists 
would say, of some precarious kind of crop — 
brocoli, for example : in such a case, it is 
commendable to endeavour to perpetuate it if 
possible. Sometimes, either designedly or 
accidentally, they may produce an altogether 
new kind ; and in this case, too, it is, un- 
doubtedly, proper to secure seeds for its perpe- 
tuation and distribution. Some flower seeds, 
too, might be saved in most gardens, confining 
the selection to such as are rare, and are in 
their wild unchanged form. Such plants as 
stocks, for example, which are in a highly 
artificial state, could not, generally, be saved 
with advantage. In fact, these flowers, the 
best of which are imported from Germany, 
are there grown in pots, and seeded with 
great care , and outdoor seeds, even in that 
climate, are not at all prized. The principal 
general objection, therefore, to the growing 
and saving of garden seeds in private gardens 
is, that the article thus obtained is of very 
inferior quality. Again, it should never be 
attempted to save any two nearly allied crops 
at the same time, and this is especially the 
case with the whole cabbage tribe : not only 
should not two varieties of cabbage be pre- 
served at the same time for seed-bearing, in 
the same garden, or even in neighbouring gar- 
dens, but only one of the whole family, includ- 
ing cabbages, brocoli, cauliflower, turnips, &c. 
Thesamemaybe said of varieties of lettuce, and 
other similar crops, of which there are nume- 
rous varieties. Something may be done to 
prevent their mixing, by having them so as 
to come into flower at different periods. 
