July 24. ( 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
259 
the first; the flowers should be nearly flat, neither too 
much cupped, nor in the least reflexed. Each petal 
should be nearly equal in size, rounded at the end, and 
quite smooth at the edges. The whole flower should be 
as near a perfect circle as possible. They should be of 
such a substance as to keep their form when expanded. 
If thin and flabby, they will turn backwards and for¬ 
wards as they advance in size, and the general effect 
will be marred. The size of each bloom should be at 
least one-and-a-half inch diameter. The colours should 
be clear, distinct, and bright; the edging of the upper 
petals should also be uniform; the dark blotch should 
never run into the edging. The habit should be rather 
dwarf than otherwise, and it should flower freely ; the 
truss should stand up well above the foliage, and the 
number of blooms forming the truss should never be 
less than five ; each flower-stem should be long enough 
to bear the flower as high as to form an even truss. 
Now, if any of the seedlings possess these points pretty 
near perfection, a great point lias been achieved, and 
the variety possessing them should be grown freely, 
cuttings put in, and every care taken of it; but if defi¬ 
cient iu any one essential property, either give it away, 
or plant it in the garden till the frost destroys it. Never 
keep a seedling that is deficient in the least in form, but 
constantly aim at perfection. T. Appleby. 
(To be continued.) 
THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 
Routine Work. —Sow the new seed of Angelica as 
soon as ripe, so as to have plants in readiness for next 
spring. The Globe Artichokes of this season’s planting 
should be supplied with good soakings of water if dry \ 
weather continues to prevail, or the autumn crop will j 
be small and deficient. Put out liberal plantings of J 
Coleworts; make two or three sowings of the most 
favourite varieties of Cabbage between the present time 
and the 12th of August; and a sowing of the Early 
Horn Carrot may also be made for obtaining young 
Carrots in autumn. Plant in succession Cauliflowers 
and Celery. Apply liberal soaking of water, and see that 
the Early Celery is free from suckers ; if not, clear it of 
all side and spurious shoots ; take, also, particular care 
in earthing that no earth is allowed to run into the 
hearts, and that the outside leaves are kept erect. Sow 
Chervil, American, and Normandy Cress. Continue to 
sow common Cress and Mustard in shady situations, as 
well as Radishes in variety. Sow Endive in full crop. 
Gather Chamomile-Rowers, Marigold-Rowers, Marjoram, 
and all kinds of pot and other herbs for drying. Plant 
out Leeks in succession, as well as Lettuce, and sow 
again; and get the 1 Vinter Spinach ground well worked 
and pulverized. 
The autumn sown Onions will now be ready for storing, 
and the ground should be again cropped with Cape 
Brocoli, Cauliflowers, or Coleworts. Sow Parsley again; 
and make the last sowing of some early variety of Pea 
for this season. Sow Rampnons, and continue to sow 
Turnips, maintaining a loose surface about those already 
thinned. 
Mushroom-beds, prepare for, and make in succession, 
taking care to work amongst the materials a portion of 
good holding loam to moderate its fermenting qualities. 
James Barnes. 
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 
OUR VILLAGERS. 
By the Authoress of “ My Flowersetc. 
There is an interest and charm in the “ short and simple 
annals of the poor,” that is almost unaccountable. It cannot 
be that human nature is more pleasing in one class than 
another. The mould in which all are cast is the same; 
it is only the painting and glazing (to use a homely figure) 
that makes the outward difference. And yet I know not 
how it is, but the joys and sorrows of the cottager not only 
take extraordinary hold upon our feelings, but they read 
better in print than those of the rich and educated. I have 
puzzled myself continually to understand this, and I can 
only come to the conclusion, that it has pleased Him, in 
| whose hands are the wills and affections of men, so to order 
! it, for mutual edification, that the poor may possess an 
interest in the minds of their richer brethren ; and that the 
rich may take delight in the duty assigned to them of 
“ remembering the poor.” 
There is a little cottage in our village that we always look 
at with much pleasure. It is rented by a poor labourer, who 
was born in the parish, and has lived in this little close, 
inconvenient hut, for it is little else, for more than twenty 
years. He is now an old man, but he possesses that which 
will survive when he is gathered to his fathers—an irre- 
; proacliable character. He has been, without one exception, 
the best husband in the parish ; he has steady and respect¬ 
able children, married, and, with one only exception, doing 
well; and it is fair that such a character, a cottage gardener 
too, should be sketched in the pages of a work so extensively 
read among all classes. 
The little cottage in which James L- and his wife 
lived much beyond twenty years, stands in a line of strag¬ 
gling houses, just out of the principal street, -without a 
morsel of garden, except a little place, about two yards 
square, in front of the door, where not even a weed could 
find an opportunity to grow. A poor, ragged, fruitless vine 
hangs against the wall, and just fringes the little casement 
with its leaves, beautiful even in their neglected wildness, 
but this is all; and little can be seen from the cottage, 
beyond the road that passes the wicket, and the hedge that 
bounds it on the other side. 
Yet for nearly twenty years did James L-’s wife lie a 
helpless cripple in that little kitchen. Her bed was placed 
just under the window, so that she could sometimes be 
moved to see what was passing by. She could observe the 
first silky buds of spring adorning the rugged stems of the 
vine, and watch the putting forth of the leaves when the 
summer drew near; and she could see the delicate green of 
the quickset hedge, deepening as its foliage thickened. She 
could see the clouds advancing from the hills, and the bow 
that speaks so loudly to the heart of man sometimes glit¬ 
tering among them. She could see, too, the bright and ter¬ 
rible flashes that broke through the darkness of the night- 
storm, for she had only a thin and scanty curtain to the 
casement; and the thunder-peals shook the crazy tenement, 
as she lay helplessly on the bed of suffering. 
Betty L-was a woman of strong and violent temper, 
and the long, wearisome confinement she endured, with 
incessant rheumatic pain racking her limbs, increased 
instead of subduing her natural irritability. Her violence 
and impatience were so great, that her neighbours were 
quite worn out. With the invariable kindness of the poor 
in cases of sickness, one or other would do all they could to 
assist her patient, feeling husband, by night as well as by 
day ; but month after month, and year after year, tried their 
good-nature sorely, and they dropped off one by one, until 
poor James could with difficulty find any one to help him to 
turn her aching limbs. 
The devotedness of this man to his violent wife became 
almost a proverb in the village. He was hard-working, 
patient, and faultless in kindness and good temper. His 
work lay at some distance from home, but he never missed 
