October 24.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
43 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
m! w ! 
Weathee neae London in 1849. 
i Sun 
Sun 
Moon 
Moon’s 
Clock 
Day of 
D 
D 
OCTOBER 24—30, 1830. 
Barometer. 
Thermo. 
Wind. Rain in In. 
1 Rises. 
Sets. 
R.&S. 
Age. 
bef. Sun. 
Year. 
24 
Th 
Crispin. 
30.124—30.095 
60—49 
S.W. — 
41 a. 6 
48 a. 4 
7 
15 
19 
15 
40 
297 1 
25 F 
Whitethorn leaves fall. 
30.033—29.873 
62—52 
S.W. 0.06 
43 
46 
8 
2 
20 
15 
47 
293 
26 S 
29.860—29.781) 
60—42 
S.W. 0.01 
45 
44 
9 
0 
21 
15 
54 
299 
27 Sun 
22 Sunday aftee TeinitY. 
30.035—29.715 
62—51 
S.W. 0.04 
47 
42 
10 
5 
22 
15 
59 
300 
28 M 
St. Simon and St. Jude. 
30.530—30.285 
65—41 
N.W.' — 
48 
40 
11 
17 
16 
4 
301 
29 To 
Wild Duck comes. 
30.636—30.535 
60—31 
s. — 
50 
38 
morn. 
24 
16 
8 
302 
30 W 
Woodcock comes. 
30.315—29-990 
61—39 
s. — 
52 
36 
0 
35 
25 
16 
12 
303 | 
On the 31st of October, 1813, died the Rev. William Lewis Rham, 
one of those worthy characters who treading in the steps of the patriarchs 
not only preside effectually over the spiritual interests of those com¬ 
mitted to their charge, but labour also to improve their temporal con- . 
dition. He was born at Utrecht, in the Netherlands, in 1778; and of 
that country his father was, we believe, a native, but his mother was of 
Swiss birth. Mr. Rham came to England in early life. He studied for 
some time at Edinburgh, with a view to the medical profession, but 
eventually the church became his destination, and he entered at Trinity 
College, Cambridge. In 1806, being then in his twenty-eighth-year, his 
name appears in the Tripos as tenth wrangler, the senior wrangler for 
that year being Sir Frederick Pollock, the present Chief Baron of the 
Exchequer. In 1808 Mr. Rham was presented by the Dean and Chapter 
of Salisbury to the living of Winkfield, Berkshire; and a few years 
afterwards the Nassau family presented him to that of Fersfield, in Nor¬ 
folk. He died unmarried at Winkfield, after a short illness. 
The life of Mr. Rham was uneventful, but it was marked by active and 
unremitting usefulness as a parochial clergyman. He was the friend of 
the poor in the best sense of the term. He looked beyond the wants of 
the moment, and sought the means to improve and elevate, as well as 
temporarily to benefit, the objects of his benevolence. At the Winkfield 
School of Industry, which, under his fostering care, became a model for 
all similar institutions in country parishes, the young were taught not 
only the elements of knowledge, but were instructed in useful arts, and 
trained to habits of industry. Such were the means by which he endea¬ 
voured to promote the best interests of his parishoners. He was much 
beloved by all classes amongst them, and they are about to erect a tablet 
to his memory in the parish church. 
The school which Mr. Rham founded at Winkfield is thus described by 
Mr. Tremenlieere, in his Report to the Council of Education, in March, 
1843 :—“This school was established in 1835 for 50 boys and 50 girls. The 
building consists of a house for the master and mistress, two school¬ 
rooms, a workshop, shed, &c. It is surrounded by two acres of garden, 
to which two more acres have been lately added, to be also cultivated, by 
the master and the boys, with the various agricultural crops, according to 
the most approved method and rotations. The industrial work originally 
projected for the boys was—gardening, the use of carpenters’ and joiners’ 
tools, basket and mat making; for the girls, the usual needle-work, 
washing, ironing, cooking, and the common household employments, 
under the direction of the mistress. The manual instruction of the boys 
in the workshop has been hitherto of a limited kind; but the garden 
presented very satisfactory evidences of their skill and industry. It is 
cultivated in common, with the exception of small plots about twelve feet 
square, which belong to the boys, and of the produce of which they keep 
a debtor and creditor account. The produce of the rest is sold to persons 
who take it off to market, and the proceeds are carried to the general 
account of the es tablishment. The crops were abundant, and more 
varied than it is usual to see in common gardens. Something was found 
to fill up every space, and to suit every spot—either one of the ordinary 
garden crops, or some of the useful herbs, or some kind of plant or 
flower ; and thus a lesson of considerable use to a cottager is early com¬ 
municated, in the habit of making the most of even the smallest portion 
of ground, however apparently unpromising. The practical instruction 
and the valuable example of which the pupils here have the benefit in 
their garden-work, will be greatly extended when the agricultural opera¬ 
tions commence in the field just added to the establishment. They will 
then enjoy the further advantage of pursuing all the details of the most 
skilful husbandry, under the same good guidance, namely, that of the 
benevolent originator of this institution, the Rev. W. L. Rham, so well 
known as an accomplished agriculturist.” 
But it is as a scientific agriculturist that Mr. Rham’s name is most 
widely known ; and, until recently, it was perhaps better known in other 
countries than in England. His early connection with the Continent, 
which was kept up in after-life, afforded scope for observation of the 
I husbandry of different countries ; and his thorough knowledge of several 
! living languages gave him access to the works of scientific writers on 
I foreign agriculture. In the next place, his chemical studies at Edinburgh, 
j while preparing for the medical profession, were of eminent service to 
| him ; and scarcely less so was the proficiency in mathematics which he 
| attained at Cambridge. It may safely be asserted that no other writer 
on agriculture ever enjoyed in so great a degree such a combination of 
I advantages ; and to his knowledge of the chemical and mechanical 
' departments of agriculture there was united a thorough acquaintance 
with its routine details. We would simply refer to the article “ Plough,” 
in his Dictionary of the Farm , as an example of this combination of 
science with practical knowledge. On his farm at Winkfield he engaged 
in his favourite pursuit, with a practical perception of its details, and a 
scientific knowledge of its processes, which has probably never before 
been possessed by one person. Thus, above all other writers of the 
resent day on the subject of agriculture, Mr. Rham was eminently fitted, 
y his excellent judgment and sound sense, to be useful to the country in 
the existing state of its husbandry and rural economy, when, probably, 
we are on the eve of great improvements in every department of these 
most important branches of industry. He was an active member of the 
council arid upon the committees of the Royal Society of Agriculture, 
from its formation in 1838, and his loss was proportionably regretted by 
that Society. His Dictionary contains his views on all the principal sub¬ 
jects of interest to the agriculturist. It is compiled, without alteration, 
from the articles which lie wrote in the “ Penny Cyclopaedia,” the first 
article [After-math] being contributed by him in 1833, and the last 
[Yorkshire Agriculture] in 1843, only a few weeks before his 
lamented death. He was also the author of “Flemish Husbandry,” a 
small work written for the “Farmers’ Series of the Library of Useful 
Knowledge.” This work was founded on a pedestrian tour in Flanders, 
fn which, for many weeks, he w r alked from farm to farm, enjoying the 
rough hospitality of an industrious population, speaking their language 
readily, and entering into their pursuits with the zeal of a skilful and 
sympathizing friend. The Essay on the Analysis of Soils, for which he 
obtained the prize offered by the Royal Society of Agriculture, is pub¬ 
lished in the Society’s “ Journal,” which also contains some other valu¬ 
able contributions from his pen. Not long before his death he had also 
commenced a series of papers on agriculture and rural economy in the 
“ Gardeners’ Chronicle,” edited by his friend Dr. Lindley. 
Mr. Rham’s correspondence on agricultural subjects, both in this 
country and on the Continent, was extensive ; and he gave his opinion 
with the utmost readiness. Nor did he stop here, or remain content with 
having acquitted himself with extreme urbanity and courtesy, but not 
unfrequently pressed his hospitality upon those who had consulted him. 
Great as was the respect paid to his opinions, he gave them without the 
least dogmatism. In one of his last communications to a valued friend 
(Joshua Rodwell, Esq., of Alderton Hall, Suffolk) there is a passage at 
once characteristic of his unassuming disposition and of his deference to 
humble practical experience, which men who have acquired a scientific 
knowledge of any art are usually too apt to despise. “ Whatever,” he 
remarks, “great chemists may say about the component parts of soils, I 
am persuaded they can never decide as to the aptitude of any soil to pro¬ 
duce a crop till experience has shown it. I believe we have all overlooked 
some clectro-magnetic qualities which we have not yet instruments to 
measure.” It was this reliance upon experience, in connection with a 
bold but searching investigation of theory, which renders Mr. Rhara’s 
writings so well adapted for the present time. In the eagerness for 
improvement, a writer is best calculated ultimately to benefit his country 
who unites scientific attainments of a high character with a rational 
degree of respect for the practice of ages. 
The above memoir is extracted from the Supplement to the Penny 
Cyclopedia; and we cannot find any passages among our notes which 
that memoir has not anticipated, 
Meteorology of the Week. —From observations made at Chiswick 
during the last twenty-three years, the average highest and lowest tem- 
eratures of these days are 54.6° and 38.7°, respectively. The greatest 
eat, 67°, occurred on the 2Qth in 1833 ; and the extreme cold was 25°, 
The days on which rain fell during the time were 76 , and the remaining 
85 days were fine. 
Insects. —One of the in¬ 
sects most friendly to our 
aphis-afflicted plants is the 
■ Hawk Fly (Scceva or Syr* 
phus pyrastri). In June 
this fly may be seen hover¬ 
ing like a Hawk over the 
rose and other flowers, but, 
as Mr. Curtis observes of a 
nearly related species, with 
no such felonious intent. Its 
favourite resting place is 
within the petals of a flower, 
of whose honey it probably 
partakes, but is seemingly 
as well pleased with inhaling 
its perfume. The trunk of this fly is bright green, and the six crescent¬ 
shaped bands on the back of its body are yellowish white. The wings 
are quite transparent. This fly deposits its eggs upon roses, cabbages, 
1 and any other plant on which iice abound. In due time those eggs give 
birth to a fleshy maggot of the form represented in our drawing, and of a 
yellowish green colour. This maggot feeds upon the aphides ; and when 
it has acquired sufficient power, lie gradually pushes forward his neck, 
says Mr. Curtis, holding by his hind-feet and heavy stern, and stretching 
out his head like a leech, seizes the first unsuspecting aphis, and lifting 
him up in the air, sucks his victim with evident satisfaction, afterwards 
casting away the skin, legs, and wings as pitilessly as a schoolboy does 
the rind of an orange. This maggot has the peculiarity of six rows of 
feet—seven feet in each row—and employs them all in moving. As a 
maggot it lives about twelve days, as a pupa about a fortnight, and as a 
fly for a similar space of time. Let our readers be careful not to disturb 
these maggots, for they destroy quite as many aphides as are slaughtered 
by the Lady-birds. 
No. CVIIL, Vox. V, 
