230 
TUB FLORIST. 
plot of the British Queen and Ne Plus Ultra Peas to irrigation, allowing 
the v/ater to flow down the rows in which they were sown. The water 
was applied when the Peas came into blossom, early in July, and con¬ 
tinued through July and part of August. I was astonished to find the 
season prolonged far beyond the usual period of bearing, and the crop 
was certainly three times as great as I ever had before ; the I’eas con¬ 
tinued growing and bearing in succession, and I calculate produced me 
fully as much from this piece of ground as twice its size under my old 
system, with produce of better quality. I need not allude to Celery, 
which is more generally well watered than most garden crops; but I 
found Globe Artichokes thrive prodigiously, and quite overdid ns with 
their heads, which were much more succulent than I ever saw them 
elsewhere. My success was not so great with Onions, which grew very 
large—double their usual size—but did not ripen well, owing to the 
wet autumn, and I have doubts whether irrigation does not do them 
more harm than good in our climate. This year I have applied it to 
Strawberries and Raspberries with the best results, having had 
immense crops of these useful fruits. 
Thinking this simple piece of information may prove serviceable to 
some who, like myself, are fond of good vegetables, I enclose it for your 
periodical, if you think it worthy a place. 
J. M. S. 
[We are obliged by the results of our correspondent’s experiments 
with irrigation. Having ourselves witnessed, year by year, the value 
of irrigation to growing crops such as our correspondent describes, we 
are only surprised it is not more generally practised on light soils—and 
even occasionally on those of a heavier nature, as we frequently find 
crops suffer as much on close compact soils from drought, as on lighter 
ones. We hope, as the expense would not be great, and elastic tubing 
is now to be procured at a cheap rate, that contrivances for watering 
gardens by these means will be universally practised, and thus save the 
tedious and imperfect way of watering by means of the watering-pot. 
Its successful application to root crops, as farm produce, has been de¬ 
monstrated by that best of all experimentisers, Mr. Mechi, at Tiptree 
Hall.—E d. Florist, t&c.] 
THE CHRONICLES OF A SMALL GARDEN. 
I ONCE said to the foreman of a nurseryman whose grounds were 
situated in a part of the country well filled with gentlemen’s seats, “ I 
dare say you have a good demand here for these new and high-priced 
things?” “Oh, bless you, sir,” was the reply, “ they are not the 
customers we want. Its the gents that have small gardens that we like 
best, who like to go up to town with a new Rose or Geranium in their 
button-hole, and when they get to the Stock Exchange or the Bank 
can say to their friends, ‘ Can you beat that ? ’ They will have all 
the good things, sir ; aye, and grow them, too, sir.” May not this be my 
apology for attempting to obtrude into the aristocratic pages of the 
Florist the chronicles of a small garden ? What business have I among 
