July 20. 
THE,COTTAGE GARDENER. 
290 
j a variety of things. In a corner of one of these the 
bedding Calceolarias had been struck, as previously re¬ 
ported, receiving no protection in winter, except the 
handlights and a good covering of cut Fern. A deeper 
one of these was filled with Pelatgoniums just begin¬ 
ning to open their buds, and beautiful and compact j 
they looked. This pit was crocted behind a south wall, ! 
and what is of great importance, they had been removed ! 
to their present quarters when the first vinery became 
too hot for them in March. Geraniums were not wanted 
, early, and during the present and the next mouth these 
plauts would present a mass of bloom. These beds, or 
pits, are all covered with asphalt covers when required, 
made into largo pieces, and placed lengthwise along the 
| bed. It is considered requisite to paint them with tar , 
every other year. The pits for all these purposes are ; 
! made very simply. Square posts are put in back and 
j front, aud on these a neat rail is fixed. The wheaten 
I straw is placed upright, after being rather cleanly drawn, 
j ono end close to, it' not in, the ground, and the other 
I the height of the rail. Small Hazel rods, placed outside 
and inside, lengthwise, aud tied together, kept the straw 
secure and in its place. In some of the shallower ones, 
where plants were set, the pots would bo protected from 
the fierceness of the sun. 
Piiylological Eacts. —Mr. Eraser drew my attention 
to a limb of a Pear-tree, which then, and for years pre¬ 
viously, had borne abundantly, though all the means of 
communicating with the roots must consist in a very 
small portion of the heart-wood of the branch. At the 
top of the Lime avenue is a fine Beech (Beech flourishes 
well), from which a large limb, or rather side-piece, had 
been torn, and that exposed part was becoming perfectly 
rotten, though wo could not see how far it extended 
down the tree. On the sides of this cleft fresh wood 
and bark was not only forming, but from the upper side 
a root was descending aud feeding on the rotting part; 
and no doubt, if the rottenness reached the ground, that 
root would get to it likewise, aud thus provido suste¬ 
nance for the tree, and prove a firm cordage on that 
sido for resisting storms and tempests. 
Leaving the gardens, there are two things in the 
neighbouring village of Seal that came in for a share ! 
of our attention. Eirst, the Allotment Gardens. I 
hero met the schoolmaster of the villago, and from him 
1 learned that the gardens, or allotments, averaged lialf- 
a-rood in size, and that there had been a keen rivalry 
the previous season for the six prizes that the noble 
Marquis had given as an incentive to industry, and a 
reward for its manifestation. The size of the allotments 
is worthy of being noted, being such as a man, with a 
little assistance from his family, may cultivate in bis 
own time without breaking upon his regular employ¬ 
ment. Regular work, and as much ground as he can 
manage in over-time, are some of the best conditions 
for us labourers. As much ground as would require 
several week's or months attention is apt to induce an 
indolent squatting system ; placing a man under all the 
disadvantages, with but few or none of the advantages 
of the small farmer. 
A second subject worthy of noting, is a reading-room 
and library, established at Seal, nearly a twelvemonth 
j ago. The Marquis of Camden being President or 
i patron. 1 also understood, that to encourage it, 
| besides other assistance, his lordship paid the entrance 
money for all his workpeople who chose to enrol them¬ 
selves as members. It is a nice, comfortable room, 
which I had a peep into at seven in the morning. A 
good library is being formed, and a number of news¬ 
papers aud periodicals are regularly taken in. A 
considerable number of lectures have also been given 
J gratuitously. R. S. Smith, Esq., tutor at Wilderness 
Park, has taken a very great interest in all the arrange- 
j ments, seeing that books &c., are kept right, and has 
delivered two lectures on the Russian Empire aud 
Seat of War. Mr. Boodle gave a lecture on Pitcairn 
Island; tho Rev. Mr. Davis gave a lecture on the 
characteristics of the Duke of Wellington; tho Rev. 
Mr. Blackball, the vicar of the parish, in addition to 
six or seven lectures on English History, aud which are 
to bo continued when the long nights arrive, gave two 
lectures on Australia, which were repeated again at a 
low charge of admittance; twopence, 1 believe. Tho 
present subscription is, as far as I recollect, sixpence 
per month. It is complained that the class that the 
promoters were most anxious to reach are not tho class 
most ready to acknowledge and use its benefits. But 
this is just tho old talc about the Mechanics Institutes. 
Few fustian jackets spend their evenings there. The 
taste for reading must be formed before pcoplo can 
estimate the benefits of tho reading-room and library, lu 
a similar case, I once heard something like a joke made 
of an old man, who could scarcely spell his way, clutching 
“ Smith’s Wealth of Nations,” warranting his girl would 
read it for him. If not regularly broke in, “ Uncle 
Tom,” or tho “ Wide World,” would have been more 
luring wares. 
All things augur well for the Seal Institute. The fact 
j is ,—They pay for the room . I like a spice of iqdepend- 
! ence. I could tell of first steps to breaking up in such 
i institutions, when the members consented to have every- 
j thing done for them. The second is, that the clergymen 
of tho place and neighbourhood have given it their 
| countenance and support. I know not how it is, but 
though not expressed, it has been found, that iir many 
I places there has been no great cordial sympathy between 
the church aud tho institute. This has reference neither 
to the church establishment nor any other section of the 
Christian church in particular. There has been a cold 
shoulder felt between members of all churches and these 
institutes, for which it would be difficult to account, as 
none better than they know the importance of know¬ 
ledge for elevating aud ameliorating character, and 
none moro than they should feel the responsibility of 
guiding a stream, resistance to which is beyond human 
control, knowing full well that knowledge can only 
exert its full powers of good when based upon moral 
principle, and directed in its movements by Christian 
benevolence. R. Fish. 
WOODS AND FORESTS. 
THE OAK. 
(Continued from page 258.) 
I veiiy lately had occasion to visit that county, 
Nottingham, famous for its Oak woods; and more 
especially, that part of the county where the scat of 
the Duke of Portland is, namely, Welbeck Abbey, 
three miles from the pleasant, clean town of Worksop. 
Since I visited tins place in January last, the late 
venerable owner has passed to that “ bourne from 
whence no traveller returns,” leaving behind him his 
dearly cherished Oaks for his successors to enjoy. I 
believe, most sincerely, that no man ever planted more 
of this useful tree than the late Duke did, and very 
few, if any, paid that attention to their after manage¬ 
ment, so necessary, in order to produce good, sound, 
clean timber. Mr. Tillery, the gardener there, with his 
usual kind attention, showed mo through some of the 
principal plantations. I was particularly anxious to see 
the famous Porta Oaks (the origin of this name I could 
not learn), and wo bent our steps to them. They stand 
on each side of an entrance gate, and are really immense 
trees. I measured one of them, and at six feet from the 
ground, the stem, or trunk, was thirty feet in circum¬ 
ference, and continued very gradually to lessen in girth 
to a very great height. The highest leader, however, is 
