THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
244 
They love to dwell near man, they rest confidingly 
on his protection, though they suffer, year after year, 
destruction at his hands, and sweep with loud cries 
around the empty nests from whence their young have 
fallen. Let us as confidingly, as faithfully, cling to 
the Lord our God ! Let us love to dwell near Him ; 
He will not, as man does, cast out those that come 
to Him, but will in all our trials and afflictions 
“ make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear 
them.” -- 
MY GARDEN NOTES. 
Soot as a Manure. — In fulfilment of the pro¬ 
mise made in my last (p. 210), I will continue my 
remarks on soot, that invaluable manure which so 
many cultivators allow to be taken from their 
premises, while they go to the expense and trouble 
of procuring other stimulants, as guano, compounds, 
essences, and heaven knows what, which are sent 
forth under pompous and alluring titles—stimulants 
as destructive to vegetable life as the pleasure of 
those who confide in them. Soot-water is the only 
manure I have applied to my pot-plants, from the 
moment I attempted to grow a leaf; and the general 
observation of my friends is—“ What a splendid co¬ 
lour ! ” “ How beautiful the foliage! ” “ What an ex- 
quisitely-dark tint! ” “What do you apply to them?” 
When t say, “ Only soot; ”—“ only soot.” The thing 
seems a mystery to many; one observes, “That is 
such horrible stuff—so black and dirty, I can’t think 
of using it; there is this and that thing to be had in a 
nice little bag or bottle; and it’s only to put a pinch, 
or little drop, in the watering-pot. I should think 
that would answer equally well.” Yes, my friend, 
these are all very well; and, doubtless, in the hands 
of scientific persons, may fully answer the purposes 
for which they were manufactured; but we do not 
all possess sufficient knowledge to undertake the 
application of these chemical preparations. I, there¬ 
fore, maintain that the more simple the stimulant, 
the safer its application by those who have not 
passed the ordeal of science. “I should be very 
glad to use it,” says another, “but I can’t soak it; 
do what I will, I can’t get the water clear of the soot; 
if it soaks for a month, it will not settle, but clings 
to everything we dip it out of the tub with, conse¬ 
quently, I am obliged to give it up.” Well, stop my 
friend! and I will just explain to you a very simple 
process, by which you may have it as clear as sherry 
wine, and as strengthening to your plants as the 
latter to the heart of man. All you have to do is 
to fill a cask until water (say ten or twelve gal¬ 
lons) ; put about a gallon of soot into a fine can¬ 
vas bag, and with the soot a good-sized flint stone ; 
tie the mouth of your bag tightly, and suspend 
it inside the cask; the stone will keep the bag 
with the soot under the water, and, in the course of 
a day or so, your liquid manure is brewed without 
farther trouble. Now, apply this once a week to 
growing plants, twice a week to those in flower, 
and I will stake my credit, as an adviser, for the 
result. I always apply it very pale, which scientific 
men strongly recommend ; I by no means lay claim 
to the possession of scientific knowledge, I only know 
what has been the result of my proceedings; and if 
the distribution of these results should bring one 
ray of satisfaction or delight to any who, like myself, 
take pleasure in the beauties with which God has so 
bountifully begemmed the carpet of this globe, I 
shall be amply repaid. 
The Tulip Bed. —The cultivation of the bulbous 
tribe of plants is one of the most delightful in the 
whole range of gardening, and foremost among its | 
[January 31. 
numerous splendid families. Who does not con¬ 
template the gorgeous tulip bed with feelings of de¬ 
light? Yet that pleasure is somewhat alloyed by the 
fact of its melancholy appearance through two of 
our brightest summer months. After the rich and 
exquisite embroidery of its flowers are past, comes 
the dull and saddening prospect of fading and faded 
foliage, looking like an abandoned spot amid all the 
other beauties of Flora. This is a great drawback on 
the enjoyment this beautiful flower affords, and is 
the reason they are not more universally cultivated. 
I dislike this as much as any one, yet I cannot 
forego the pleasure of surveying my little bed of 
tulips, which I always place in the most prominent 
position. I endeavoured to improve on this one 
year, by planting geraniums between the bulbs at 
the end of May; but, from the small space between 
the bulbs, was unable to fix them firmly in the 
ground, consequently they did not thrive to my sa¬ 
tisfaction. Yet, seeing the efficacy of the plan, if 
properly carried out, I made arrangements for so 
doing the next autumn, at the time of preparing the 
bed. Having placed the bulbs; before covering 
ing them, I put a sufficient number of pots, six 
inches in diameter, over the surface between the 
roots, arranging them that the plants, when at per¬ 
fection, would be sufficiently thick. I then, with a 
round trowel, took out the earth on which each pot 
stood, filled the pot with it, and thrust the pot, full 
of mould, into the hole thus made, putting a stick in 
the middle to point out its position; I then raked 
over the bed smoothly, covering up bulbs and pots, 
the sticks remaining upright in their places; con¬ 
sequently, when the beauty of the tulip has fled, all 
I do is to take out the pot full of mould, and thrust 
another, of the same size, or a size smaller, with the 
plant in it, in its place; the plant having been trained 
high enough to overtop the foliage of the tulip, 
which is allowed to die off unmolested ; ripening the 
bulbs while the plants in the pots are progressing, 
cheering us with their blossom, on a spot which 
would otherwise appear a dreary waste. 
- W. Savage, 
CELERY CULTURE. 
I wish to correct an error, which I liavo only just 
detected towards the close of my remarks on the culti¬ 
vation and uses of celery, where, at page 121, a few 
lines from the conclusion of those remarks, instead 
of “particularly in dry weather,” it should have 
been, “ particularly in wet weather.” 
I see, in a late number of The Cottage Gardener, 
page 177, that Mr. Turner—than whom there can be 
no better authority on all points relating to the cul¬ 
tivation of celery—in noticing my communication 
on this subject, has objected to what I have said in 
favour of the liberal employment of liquid manure, 
as being, in his opinion, “calculated to mislead;” 
for, he says, “ his experience teaches him the possi¬ 
bility of giving a dose too much,” and that “ he is of 
opinion that too frequent and plentiful supplies may 
be given.” Now, without necessarily admitting that 
I have overstated the advantages of this liquid to 
celery, I can quite agree with all that Mr. Turner 
offers in support of his opinion of my having done 
so; for, as a matter of course, “ too much ” of (even) 
a good thing is self-evidently bad, and I have no¬ 
where stated or implied the impossibility of giving 
too much; but my error (not an uncommon one by 
the way), I conceive, consists in not stating dis¬ 
tinctly what, or how often, and how much, was in¬ 
tended by such expressions as “ frequent and plen¬ 
tiful ”—terms which, unless further qualified, admit 
