THE COTTAGE GAEDENER. 
l(i(i 
former years, wlien tlie various members of the nume¬ 
rous Cabbage family continued their growth with more 
steadiness, it' not with more vigour, than they sometimes 
do in tlie summer months. Now these perishiugly 
cold rains have been more hurtful to the late-planted 
Celery than most crops, some of it will not arrive at the 
size and condition fit for blanching'; while in former 
years, and under precisely the same treatment, the late- 
planted has carried on tlie supply in the spring, when 
the larger and earlier was no longer fit for use. This 
season it will only be fit for the commonest purposes to 
which green Celery is put. This state of things is 
the result of the long-continued wet weather we have 
liad, in which the herbage has rarely ever been dry, 
and the ground soddened to the utmost with rain. 
Even grass, which is supposed to resist, nay, even 
benefit by the usual autumn rain, has, this season, 
made less growth since the end of September than is 
usual with it. Under such a state of things it cannot 
excite surprise if the more delicate portion of garden 
produce should have made but a tardy autumn growth. 
Young seedlings of the Lettuce or Cauliflower tribe, even 
where protected by glass, have scarcely been able to 
resist the decaying infiueuce of such a protracted season, 
while a considerable portion have absolutely perished 
under it. The obvious tendency of so early and wet an 
autumn is to prolong the winter by lengthening its 
advent. In a usual way, we have more or less of 
moisture before severe cold sets in, and hardy plants 
are but seldom perfectly dry during November; but in 
the past season October has been substituted for that 
mouth, so that the horticultural autumn may be truly 
said to have •* set in ” a month sooner than usual. 
It will be difficult to find a remedy for such a state of 
things, but many palliatives will suggest themselves. 
It will now be discovered to what good purposes efficient 
drainage may be applied; and if such do not already 
exist in our gardens, the present time must point out 
the necessity of making it so. The utility of tanks, 
channels, and all watercourses will also have been put 
to a severe test, and their purposes proved. Coupled 
with these is the (quality of walks, roads, and paths, 
which a series of wet weather, if accompanied with 
traffic, soon finds out their defects. All these, and 
many more evils resulting from such drenching rains, 
have so far retarded the usual autumn work, that we 
must urge on our brethren to be on the alert when a 
change does take place; and all house-work being, as 
we expect, advanced as far as possible a-head of the 
season, and others, to which the inclemency of the 
weather offers but few impediments, must be pushed 
on as far as possible, in order that the general out¬ 
door work may receive the united energies of the whole 
stafl', when the period does arrive to bring it into 
action. A thoughtful business habit of contriving 
work will suggest many things which can as well be 
done in wet weather as in dry. We therefore advise 
our young friends to cultivate this useful part of their 
studies, as much may be gained by it. 
Among the plants suffering from the absence of sun¬ 
shine are the winter Cucumber jdants, which, though in 
an atmosphere purely artificial, are not yet exempt from 
the causes which prove fatal to more robust productions 
out of doors; as, apart from the want of that all-im¬ 
portant element of their existence, “ sunshine,” the 
atmosphere of hothouses is, or must be, more or less 
charged with that moisture which reigns everywhere. 
It may be true that a dry heat applied removes or 
drives off part of the water, hut then it substitutes a 
temperature in its place ungenial to vegetation. That 
this is the cause of many disasters is too well known; 
nevertheless, there is no other way. and those who have 
young Cucumber plants struggling against the elements 
must act very carefully with them. Avoid, by all 
Decembeb 2. 1 
means, “ drip,” and if the house or pit where they ! 
are growing be flat-roofed, or of low pitch, drip will | 
invariably bo the consequence. A homely, but useful ! 
protection to small plants is to suspend (from the roof) ! 
a large sized bell glass over them; observe, this must 
be some height above the plant, so as to leave it in 
possession of the whole atmosphere of the house to 
breathe in, or a few large squares of clear glass placed 
in a steep slanting direction over them, and on their 
north sides is also useful, as it catches the drip from 
the roof on its outer surface; while its inner one, we 
expect, is too steep a pitch and too smooth to allow 
what moisture collects there to drip on the plants. 
Nevertheless, with all the care that can be taken, the 
j)rogress at this untoward season is but tardy; still 
they may be carried through, and we advise our young 
friends to keep a vigilant look out for mildew in some 
of its forms. This is more especially necessary, as this 
plant cannot endure those forcible means made use of 
to eradicate it. From more robust subjects, the first 
approach of it must be instantly checked by rubbing 
over the spots with a soft brush dipped in lime-water, 
and a little quick-lime may be brought into the pit. 
Tlie gas emitted by sulphur is too much for this plant. 
We need hardly observe, that all plants likely to intro¬ 
duce insects of any kinds must be kept carefully out 
of the way, as the means necessary to destroy these 
intruders is an ordeal too severe for this delicate sub¬ 
ject, which, at this untoward season, requires more 
than the usual amount of nursing to ensure anything 
like a successful issue. Heat must be steady, and 
means taken so to balance its humidity as to be 
congenial; from 05“ to 70° is about the proper tem¬ 
perature. But I will return to this subject at the first 
early ojrportunity. J. Robson. 
GREASING THE WHEEL. 
By the Authoress of “ My Floivers,” <tc. 
It was a word of advice from the wisest of men, “ Boast 
not thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a day 
may bring forth.” Who among us lays this advice to heart? 
lYho among us has holy boldness enough to say, as St. 
.Tames directs us, “ If the Lord will, we shall live, and do 
this and that?” AVho among us but looks forwai'd, and 
expects, at least, not only length of days, but continuance of 
all the blessings we possess ? We may not boast, perhaps, 
but we presume. AVe do not consider what a day may bring 
forth ; we do not think about it; we have had good health, 
good luck, no accidents ; and we forget whose hands 
fashioned us, and from whom we receive and hold the 
breath of life. AAiiichev'er of my readers can feel a humble, 
blessed consciousness, that such is not their case, happy and 
highly favoured is their state! Many there are, many more 
may there be, of that blessed baud! They alone dwell in 
peace; they alone are watching and ready, when the hour 
of trial cemes. Those who think little or nothing of the 
uncertainties of this world are careless and daring in their 
conduct. One would think that a man who rests upon good 
luck, or upon the fact of never having met with danger and 
accident, or who never troubles his head at all about how or 
why he is alive and well, would, at any rate, take common 
coi'e of himself, and not run foolish risks to put himself in 
the way of mischief. But this is seldom the case; and such 
fool-hardiness is seen among men as malres us almost 
suppose they are without reason, as well as without God in 
the world. * 
A few weeks ago, an instance of this fool-hardiness took 
place in a neighbouring parish; and I hope it may be a 
warning to some of my careless readers to avoid such dan¬ 
gerous acts; for in one little moment an affliction may be 
brought on that will cause us distress and suffering for the 
rest of life. 
A farmer was engaged in thrashing out corn with a thrash¬ 
ing-machine. It was a singular circumstance, that one morn¬ 
ing, one of the men employed on the farm went to his master. 
