JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. t January id, m2 
One word more. In the small lawn near Mr. Carter’s residence not 
a Daisy nor weed of any kind was to be seen—nothing but fine fresh 
green grass that no one could fail to admire. This was the result, so 
the owner stated, of using Watson’s lawn sand, but when and in what 
quantity it was applied I neglected to ascertain ; perhaps Mr. Carter 
will supply the information, as this sand has not answered so well 
everywhere, and his experience might be useful to some readers who 
have weedy lawns.—A Traveller. 
VINE CULTURE. 
As there seems to be a desire that I should give more details 
of my mode of Vine management, and as the discussion lately 
carried on in your pages has degenerated somewhat into side 
issues, I purpose for the time giving up the argumentative style, 
because there is much I should like to say which would make my 
articles too long for this style of writing, and which I hope, from 
what I have heard during the time the subject has been debated, 
will not be uninteresting to some of your readers. I believe 
much of the treatment and many of the ideas I shall attempt to 
describe are original and of course not always faultless, for when 
one dares to be original he has very little to guide him but his 
own common sense, and as that cannot always be depended on 
to take him in the right direction, many unlooked-for things are 
sure to happen. None of these, however, is lost to the observant 
mind, be they failures or successes, and in the end success is 
certain to come to him who deserves it. 
If, during the progress of the late discussion, I have misunder¬ 
stood or misrepresented your able correspondent who has taken 
the opposite side to me, it was not because I had any intention of 
doing so—as he very charitably observes in his last communication 
—and I have to thank him for preserving good temper under diffi¬ 
culties, and to say that what will appear in future issues is not in¬ 
tended for men of his stamp—they do not need it; but at the same 
time I shall welcome friendly criticism from him or any other of 
your more advanced professional writers, for our object is precisely 
the same, though we are sure to differ a little about the best way 
of attaining it. 
I shall begin at the beginning as if nothing had been said, and 
attempt to give a history of some Vines at Longleat, with sugges¬ 
tions as to Vine-growing in general.— Wm. Taylor. 
extent that Oaks did. Rhododendrons, hardy and most beautiful 
of evergreens, are plentiful in some gardens, but not sufficiently 
represented in the majority ; and as to the “endless repetition of 
Monkey Puzzlers and Laurels,” they are not a tenth, not a 
twentieth part, so numerous as English trees and shrubs are, 
neither in large nor small gardens, nor in the parks. 
By far the most attractive enclosures are those that have a 
good assortment of evergreens and Conifers associated with native 
deciduous trees and shrubs ; but there are thousands of small 
frontages, neat, enjoyable, and evidently cherished, wffiich it 
would be impossible to furnish attractively with English trees 
only. Take from those miniature plots the bright and refreshing 
Aucubas that endure smoke so well, the green and variegated 
Euonymuses, the rich in winter and gorgeous in summer Rhodo¬ 
dendrons ; remove from the small lawns, narrow borders, and 
window sills the feathery Retinosporas, and the enclosures will 
cease to be gardens, and more will be done to discourage a taste 
for gardening among the masses than any other step that could 
be taken. Substituting “ wild Broom ” may look well “ on 
paper; ” but let “Wiltshire Rector” go to the waysides where 
it grows and produces so freely its charming golden sprays, dig 
up and take home a hundred plants and insert them in his garden, 
then tell us next year how many of them are thriving. If 90, 
80, or even 50 per cent, of them are established and flourishing 
the details of his experience will be of great practical value. 
The truth is, and many failures emphasise its force, that if trees 
are to be established in towns those kinds that have proved their 
adaptability for the purpose must be employed, let them come 
from where they may. Those which grow freely and healthfully, 
endure smoke, give shade, and are not dangerous by falling 
branches must be selected. In London this is the Plane, and he 
who would plant avenues of the common Elm in the streets of 
London because it is a British tree, and exclude the Plane because 
it is an exotic, would be far too dangerous an individual to be 
entrusted with public improvements. Your worthy correspondent 
will be glad to know that the Thorn is an excellent town and 
suburban tree ; so is the Laburnum, which brightens as no other 
tree can brighten suburban homes. Would anyone exclude this 
tree (which Cowper so expressively referred to as being “rich in 
streaming gold ”) from British gardens because it is a native of 
Switzerland ?— South Kensington. 
TREES AND SHRUBS FOR TOWNS. 
Nothing but praise, I think, can be ascribed to “ Wiltshire 
Rector” for the tone of his address on the first page of the pre¬ 
sent volume of the Journal. His desire for the welfare of all is 
admittedly sincere, and his hope that gardening will spread 
through towns, and will be represented not only in its useful 
but ornamental phases in the suburban plots of artisans, will 
be shared by all. But as a suburbanist 1 must take exception 
to the stale sentiment of excluding foreign trees and shrubs from 
British gardens. “ Have done with Cedars and Conifers and 
Laurels only,” exclaims the “Rector” in a brief yet redundant 
sentence, the meaning, however, of which is well understood. Is 
such advice necessary? Are exotics “only” planted in British 
gardens ? Let us take as typical gardens those belonging to 
the clergy, situated near to large cities and towns as well as 
in lonely country districts. These gardens represent the mean 
between the two extremes of grand aristocratic gardens on the 
one hand and cottagers’ plots on the other—therefore, I submit, 
are fair examples. There are, perhaps, twenty thousand of them, 
and it is a reasonable question to ask the good “ Rector ” how 
many of those contain “ Cedars and Conifers and Laurels only?” 
Can he name a thousand ? No. A hundred ? No. As it is 
certain he cannot even name so many, I will ask if he can name 
a dozen typical gardens (belonging to the clergy) that are planted 
with exotic trees and shrubs ONLY ? if he cannot do this, then 
the “ idea” that he “met” was, very unlike his own ideas, empty. 
Since reading the article in question I have traversed the 
principal suburbs of London and visited the metropolitan parks. 
At a safe estimate I have glanced over two thousand gardens, 
and I have been astonished to find the vast number of native 
trees and shrubs that are established. In not a few gardens they 
are far too numerous, because unsuitable to the positions—Limes, 
cramped and mop-headed, Sycamores rendering the soil for yards 
around them barren, Elms made gaunt and unsightly, first by the 
wind, then the “ pruner,” who, in the interests of safety, has con¬ 
verted them into ugly stumps. Thorns, most beautiful, are quite 
numerous, so are Laburnums and Lilacs. Crabs are few, but 
single and double-flowering Cherries are plentiful; so are Almonds, 
but they suffered during the past few winters to about the same 
kitchen garden. 
As ground becomes vacant that has been occupied with Coleworts, 
early Savoys, Brussels Sprouts, or Celery, it should be dug or trenched 
as_ is necessary not less than two spits deep if the depth of soil will 
admit of its being done, also applying manure. The best means of 
producing vegetables of the finest quality and in quantity is deep 
cultivation in combination with good surface dressings of manure. 
When advantage has been taken in favourable weather to prepare 
ground for spring planting or sowing, time may be profitably em¬ 
ployed in collecting and burning any refuse prunings ; the ashes, 
which kept dry are valuable as a dusting for seedling Brassicasi 
and an important dressing for all kitchen garden crops, especially 
root crops and fruit borders, a peck per rod being a sufficient dressing. 
Potatoes in pits, or placed in quantities together, will require 
attention in spreading as thinly as space will permit. This applies 
especially to all early varieties, which, owing to the mildness of the 
season, are growing fast; and the removal of the first sprouts should, 
if possible, be avoided with all intended for planting, especially the 
early kidney varieties, for these, if once disbudded, seldom sprout 
again freely. Onions in strings or reeves, if commencing growth 
from being in a close room or cellar, may be removed and hung in an 
open and airy shed ; one open to the north is most advisable to keep 
them sound as long as possible. 
Forcing Department .—Fermenting beds where Asparagus roots have 
become exhausted will, if turned and supplied with new materia^ 
soon afford a suitable heat for fresh roots to maintain the succession. 
This, when properly managed, is the best of forced vegetables, but 
