020 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 28 . 
Gardens of Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Dublin, 
Edinburgh, and, I venture to say, London, would act 
wisely, and, I think, beneficially, to follow their example. 
Mr. Catling says, that the gardens are not injured in 
the least by admitting such a large number of the lower 
classes, excepting a little trampling among the shrubs, 
which a few hours labour with the rake sets to right 
the morning following. 
I find my space is becoming very small, and there¬ 
fore I must bring these observations to an end. To 
give such of our readers as have not seem them an idea 
of these gardens, I may state, that the extent is twelve 
acres, laid out in winding, broad walks. There is a 
range of glass, consisting of a lofty greenhouse, conser¬ 
vatory in the centre, a house for stove plants on the east 
end, and one for greenhouse plants on the west. 
There has been lately erected a house, 00 feet by 
40 feet, for an aquarium, the grand object in it being to 
cultivate the far-famed Victoria regia. The plant in it 
is making great progress, and will shortly flower. To 
encourage its growth, Mr. Catling adds now and then a 
covering of rich soil to the hillock under the water in 
which it is planted. ITe finds these additions beneficial, 
and more serviceable than placing the whole of the soil 
in at once. 1 saw, through the clear water, young, 
strong roots protruding through the last additional 
layer, thus proving the beneficial effects of the applica¬ 
tion. Behind these houses, there is a large house de¬ 
voted to orchidaceous plants, and an arrangement of 
pits for the protection of half-hardy plants through the 
winter. There is also a Rosary, an American garden, 
and a large space of ground for the culture of herba¬ 
ceous plants. T. Appleby. 
(To be continued.) 
ALLOTM ENT FARMING.— August. 
Verily, if ever there was one season more calculated than 
others to damp the ardour of allotment-men, it is that we 
have just passed, at least in this part of the country. The 
weather broke about the middle of June, up to which period 
there had been a very considerable drought; and the advent 
of rain was hailed, on all sides, as an unusual boon. From 
that period, until the time I am recording the matter, we 
j have had almost continual rains; and, latterly, a whole fort- 
j night of the most deluging character, the consequences of 
| which are disastrous indeed. Most of the low districts in 
I Lancashire and Cheshire, to say nothing of contiguous 
I counties, have become a complete ocean—some portions, 
were it not for hedges and trees, more resembling such 
| muddy shoals as Moreeombe Bay, than high fanning dis¬ 
tricts. Hay crops if early cut, and the Clovers, are nearly 
all lost, or rendered valueless; and, in many cases, floated 
away for miles, the rivers, in parts, almost choked with this 
ill spared and valuable material. In all directions, too, the 
hay might be seen driven into the hedges as though placed 
there. Some farmers hereabouts, to my knowledge, have 
had their Clovers down a month or so, and our readers may 
j guess the loss and disappointment consequent on having 
them all but ready half a score of times, again to be doomed 
I to disappointment. 
j As for the root-crops , I never saw them so weedy in my 
days, for although most farmers had surplus labour waiting 
the hay, they could not be efficiently employed three hours 
in the day, on an average. So our allotment friends who 
| have suffered'must take heart, by remembering that it is the 
common lot. “ Never despair,” must be an Englishman’s 
j motto. 
Our first enquiries now must be, what policy to adopt, 
where crops have been thus injured, or arrested in their 
progress, and choked with weeds. I must here point to 
one great fact bearing on the future—a fact I have often 
adverted to—and that is, how important it is, with root or 
! green crops, to gain a good start in the spring. Let our 
readers never forget this : there is enough before their eyes 
to convince them ; and the allotment-holder,or cottager, who 
was thus diligent in the spring, and whose plot adjoins a 
put-off or a stand-still, will enjoy a secret satisfaction, whilst 
it may be feared the other burns with secret envy and 
chagrin. Plots which had been early attended to may be 
weedy, but the weeds will be mostly small, and scarcely 
arrived at seeding point; whilst the neglected crops will 
appear irremediable ; and when a man, in any of the walks 
of life, is thus overfaced, he but too often gives way to 
despair. 
If such crops as Swedes , Turnips, Mangold, Parsnips, Ac., i 
are foul with small weeds, and the period is still showery, | 
it is the best plan to dig them in; but at this advanced . 
period this requires some care. The weeds should be i 
weeded by hand first amongst Ike plants, then the broad hoe 
should draw the weeds from the sides towards the centre, j 
and, finally, one to two spits in width may be dug down i 
each centre, burying all the weeds. If they are foul with j 
gross seed-weeds, through neglect in spring, nearly all the | 
process must be hand-weeding, and the owner must at once 
count on double or treble labours for three succeeding 
years. According to the old saying, “one year’s seeds, 
seven years’ weeds; ” and this is, indeed, near- the truth. 
But, in all these protracted operations, even when con¬ 
ducted with much care, the mischief to the haulm or foliage 
of the plant is considerable. Every leaf or stem that is 
damaged at this period is a certain loss to the plant it 
belongs to, although that plant be but a Potato or a Carrot; 
and such, multiplied through a whole crop in a perilous 
position, will be found to produce results which are suffi¬ 
ciently alarming to caution sensible cultivators from tamper¬ 
ing with, or neglecting, their crops in a succeeding spring. 
Potatoes.— Up to this period, July 16th, there is little, if 
any appearance of the dreaded Potato disease, and it is 
much to be hoped that it is wearing away, for assuredly the 
weather has afforded every tendency to its ravages. Extra 
care of the seed, a point so much urged by sound, practical 
writers for years, has at last prevailed, and to this may be 
ascribed, in "a high degree, the partial arrest of this dread 
malady. Let me repeat the advice previously given in these 
papers, to secure good seed, and to give it separate treat¬ 
ment from the very first. There is, as our readers are 
aware, a new project started as a cure, by a Mr. Bollman, 
and which consists in subjecting the seed to a heat of from 
133° to 144° for four days. We shall watch the results, and 
try the plan also, and advise many of our readers to do like¬ 
wise, and communicate genuine facts to our Editor at the 
close of another year. In the mean time, I advise that 
the seed be kept constantly as dry as possible, henceforward, 
until the next February. Potato crops will now require 
little assistance ; where the foot can bo placed without 
damaging the haulm let every weed be pulled. 
Winter Greens. —Let every decaying and decayed sum¬ 
mer crop be immediately cleared from the garden, every 
weed rooted out, and all such places be filled immediately 
with such of this family called Cabbageworts, as may be 
most useful or profitable to the cultivator. Of course it is 
getting rather late, and the produce will not be full-sized; 
but never mind that; try to make every blank assist in 
paying the rental. 
I have, in former papers, adverted to the profit which 
might be derived from the crop called by our London 
market-gardeners, Coleworts, which simply means, peculiar j 
kinds of Cabbages, sown at peculiar seasons. Coleworts, as J 
supplied to the London markets, are generally tied in j 
bunches by the roots, about six or eight in a bunch, I 
believe, or it may be a dozen, and they are in that state j 
which practicals term—-“just forming heart.” These, as 
before stated, should be sown from the middle of June to i 
the second week in July; any early-liearting dwarf and 
compact-growing Cabbage will do. The London market- 
men are so particular, that they secure their own kind, on 
which they much pride themselves, and they are always of 
kinds possessing thick and succulent veins or ribs in the 
leaves, as such burst better, and are altogether more profit¬ 
able. Those who took my earlier advice about these things 
will do well, especially if near a thriving town, to fill every j 
waste plot with their June sowings, and throw them into 
market about Christmas. 
