OCTOBER, 
297 
firms also obviously'did their best to ensure the success of both meetings; 
this is as it should be. We had but one regret, and that was the want 
of genial weather, quite precluding all chance of visitors. The silver cup 
offered to private growers, as advertised in our last number, was gained 
by Mr. Henderson, gardener to C. K. Sivewright, Esq., of Cargilfield. 
Fruit was in no way up to the mark ; this we learn is to be attributed 
to a generally bad season. f 
Great interest is already astir regarding the spring exhibition of 
Hyacinths, and from what we could glean competition will be keen, as 
on all sides we discovered that extra bulbs will be potted for the occasion. 
So progressive are the Scotch florists that already a goodly subscription 
list is formed, as a Dahlia prize improvement fund for 1858. We 
would suggest to amateurs and private growlers that they collect a special 
fund for a silver cup to be competed for by the trade growers, who in 
return will, we are certain, repay the compliment to the practicals, and 
so enhance the interest of the competition in both classes. 
J. E. 
THE CHRONICLES OF A SMALL GARDEN.—No. III. 
“ Take my advice, yer rivrence; if ye want a pony to be of any good 
yees must keep him to wan thing. For ye see, if ye ride and drive 
him, when ye’r dhriving him he fancies he has got yer rivrence on his 
back to hould him up, and it’s most loikely he’ll take to saying his 
prayers, and yer honner will be rowling in the gutther; and if ye ride 
him, he’ll think he’s got the car at his heels, and you’ll have a mighty 
fine joulting.” Such was honest Paddy’s philosophic speech to me 
once; and the moral of it I want to keep before me when I write a few 
things, as I purpose now doing, on the Greenhouse and Frames of a 
Small Garden. 
I. Greenhouse. 
I have already mentioned the size of mine—16ft. by 8ft.—just about 
large enough to take two of Mr. Turner’s show plants of Geraniums. 
But never mind that; we little people are not growing for exhibition, 
so we can put two or three hundred small plants, where our greedy 
neighbours, who want so much elbow room, only put two; but 1 do 
not know of anything wherein we have more need to listen to poor Pat’s 
advice—“ Keep to one thing.” Come, suppose we put on our hats 
and have a look at one or two of our friends’ houses about the same 
size, or perhaps a little smaller. Ah ! here we are at Mr. A.’s. “ Well, 
how is the greenhouse?”—“ Oh, capital! will you have a look at it?” 
—“ Oh, by all means ; we came on purpose.” We go in ; our friend 
is ambitious, evidently, and as evidently has a sweet tooth. Along the 
roof a miserable looking Black Hamburgh is putting forth a sickly 
attempt to fruit; in the corner is a large Nerium, which quite fills up 
and shades the end of the house ; on the top shelf are a few Straw¬ 
berries in pots, with half a dozen leaves on them ; while Cinerarias, 
Geraniums, Heliotropes, crowd the shelves. And in what a plight— 
covered with fly, spindle-shanked, and wretched in bloom. “ Why 
