THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION.— May 27. 185(1. 1 5.1 
Transactions, and was followed by a description of African 
tropical plants in the sixth and following volumes of the 
same work. Among these plants were Nicotiana repanda, ob¬ 
tained by Mr. Don in the Havaunah, being the plant which 
produces the true Havannah cigar Tobacco.) 
HOW TO GET ON AS A GARDENER. 
A few days ago, I had an occasion to go to a gentleman’s 
residence a few miles off; and, after settling the business I 
had to do, I, as a matter of course, asked to see the “ Gene¬ 
rally Useful,” as I supposed him to be; but, according to his 
own account, he laid claim to the title of “ Gardener,” and I 
was of the same opinion; or, at least, he had more claim to 
that title than anything else; for in the flower-garden and 
pleasure-grounds were proofs of a longer acquaintance with 
them than I had had, so far as the arrangement of tho fixed 
flowers in the mixed borders,—consequently, on that point, 
a note or two were taken against the fall. 
Now, I have no doubt, you have many readers holding 
situations similar to my friend's and my own. And as 1 saw 
there an evil which, I believe, is in every one’s power to pre¬ 
vent, 1 will endeavour to detail it. 
There were three or four little meadows, from three to 
four acres each, with an orchard about two acres, with just 
fall enough to carry the water off, and all close to the house ; 
—just such a property as any master or man may feel proud 
of. But such was not the case; for the grass was as coarse as 
bulrushes, and in patches round the hedges, in the open 
field, and under the Apple-trees ; the nettles completely 
walked over the other coarse stuff, and I was told that docks 
and thistles were in fair proportion. Now, the question 
arises, “How did they come there?” My opinion is, they 
came in this way ;—the cows, &c., are foddered in the field, 
and are kept out all the winter; and the dung remains on the 
ground for a month at a time, and often two or three. Now, 
it is pretty well known, that a good many seeds pass through 
cows and horses without injury; indeed, it is my opinion 
that they will vegetate the sooner for so doing, if the weather 
is favourable. And let any one notice these droppings at 
the present time (April) and just see how soon a mound 
of earth is thrown up by the beetles around and under 
them ; and how soon those seeds will vegetate at this season. 
Then they will cease to wonder how docks and nettles 
come into the meadows. Another great source of trumpery, 
is the habit that some people have got into of doing the 
thing cheap. Yes ! and amongst farmers, too, that we ought 
to look up to for instruction in these matters; but here, in 
this very place, they collect the scrapings off the roads, haul 
them to some wide out of-the-way place, and then they are 
“ tipped up.” A few loads of dung are hauled out and mixed 
amongst it during the winter, or in the spring, and then the 
heap remains for one, two, and sometimes three years. 
Now, it would not require very much wisdom to tell what 
kind of crop that heap will bring during the summer ; and, 
strange to say, it is allowed to ripen its seed, and no one 
troubles about the crop,—and thus it goes on till hauled out 
on the meadows. And yet people wonder where the docks 
and nettles all come from. 
Well, I stated this to my friend, and gave him ocular 
demonstration of how the seeds were sown ; and, at the same 
time, how to prevent the growth of that coarse grass. I 
supposed he had a good stock of cow-dung put in the dry, 
for potting purposes. No; he had not; for he had no place 
in the dry to put in. I just hinted, that I knew a person 
that made use of thatched hurdles, not only for that purpose, 
but strikes his Dahlias, and hardens off' his annuals and 
cuttings in pots, during the latter part of April and May, 
under them,—but no, that would not do for him, he had 
lived in too good situations to resort to such means as those; 
in fact, he said, “ I’m a regular gardener; ” and can grow 
flowers, from hardy annuals to stove plants, and fruits, from 
grapes to gooseberries, and all beyond that was done under 
protest; and, as a natural consequence, done, badly. Now, 
I thought that man stood in a false position,—he fancied a 
certain kind of labour was degrading; because, at some 
period of his existence, he had caught the smile of an “ Er- 
rington,” or stood beneath the shadow of a “Beaton.”— 
Truly “ A little learning is a dangerous thing.” 
But, to the remedy. First tie the cows up in the winter, , 
they will do with less hay; or put them in a close barton, 1 
which is bettor. I have tried both ; and at Christmas I 
throw up the dung into a bed, put an old frame on it, sow 
my seeds for early use, and put in forcing roots for cuttings. 
I fancy cow-dung gives a sweeter and nicer heat than horse- j 
dung. And as soon as the heat is exhausted there is another : 
ready ; and on a fine day, pots and frames are shifted and no 
harm done,—and there is that much dung ready to haul out ! 
to the field. Now, I have found this spring, by working dung 
into heaps, for the general hotbed in the kitchen-garden, on : 
each side of this second made bed, I get sufficient beat for •. 
all seeds and cuttings ; and I take care to have a good, warm I 
heap on one side all the time, and keep some long litter j 
against the other. This, you will perceive, is making the i 
most of the dung. 
But when there are no means to keep the stock tied up, i 
or in a barton, the cows, &c., should be foddered in the open 
field, and not under trees or hedges; they will be sure to get 
there at night. Now, about once a week, I take a wheel¬ 
barrow and shovel, collect all the droppings and bowl them 
out into the middle of the field, and, after being frosted a 
little, they will spread nicely. If there is a pony or horse, 
as is generally the case, put some thorns in a hurdle, and 
bush the field often, and do not let any trumpery go to seed, 
and I’ll he bound the herbage will get better every year. I 
have sufficient proof of it. 
Gooseberries and Currants here are in beautiful health, 
and the crop abundant. Apples, but few,—Tears less. 
Peaches and Nectarines plenty. Apricots very few. 
By giving the names of the enclosed you will greatly 
oblige—T he Doctor's Boy. 
[“The Doctor’s Boy” sends his specimens in a very 
fitting manner; each being numbered, and accompanied by 
some guiding information. 
1. Is Corydalis solida of most authors, but some call it 
C. lube rasa. 
2. Berberis dulcis, a very ornamental shrub. 
3. Ahjssimi saxatile, the Rock Madwort. 
4. Phlox subulala, an excellent plant for bed, rock, or 
border.] 
NOTES ON SOME OLD PLANTS. 
Allow me to add to your list of “ early flowering green¬ 
house plants” the Sapunaria Calabrica. It is a very favourite 
annual with me, and when clearing them from the beds iu 
autumn, I took two small self-sown plants and transplanted 
them to the pit of my greenhouse. They grew well, with 
none of the weedy look generally charged against them. 
They were in flower by the end of January, and have con¬ 
tinued beautiful masses of colour to the present time 
(May 6th), and, apparently, may last for months longer in i 
the same place. 1 can, therefore, strongly recommend it 
either as a pot-plant, or more especially for bare places in 
conservatory beds. 
There is another favourite of mine, which, I should think, 1 
might be grown to flower early in the greenhouse,—the San- ; 
gain aria Canadensis ; though short-lived, it is very bright I 
and pretty, and curious, from its bloody juice. I wonder it i 
is not more grown. 
I am glad to see that a “Yorkshire Clergyman” has i 
drawn your attention (p. 55) to the Variegated Mint. It is i 
a capital plant. Two years ago, I recommended a friend to 
mix it in her bed of Tom Thumb Geraniums, and the effect 1 
was most striking. This year I have planted it to hide the 
soil iu a bed of dwarf standard Roses. It is a most telling i 
plant for nosegays. It spreads too rapidly and too freely to 
bo planted near other plants, unless to mix with them, and 
does not much like transplanting. 
I do not understand how your correspondent “A. D.” 
(p. 71) found any difficulty with the Linum grandiflorum. I 
had a small packet from Messrs. Rendle, of Plymouth ; 
every seed grew, and I have plants enough to supply many 
friends, after having well-stocked my own garden.—H. M. E. 
