April 17. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
39 
great and sudden changes either in temperature or in 
moisture. 
: Desirability of such combinations. —This will depend 
entirely upon the general knowledge, the peculiar re¬ 
sources, and the particular wishes of the owner. I have 
| known a few such small houses in towns where little 
! wonders were done, and at little cost, because the 
proprietor could get all his roots of Sea-kale, Asparagus, 
j &c., from a country garden, at but little cost. Many 
men pride themselves upon having a little of everything; 
and others delight in letting it be known that they had 
new Potatoes, Radishes, &c., for their Christmas dinner. 
They may not have had many then, or since; but they 
are not so silly as to tell that, even though the impres¬ 
sion should prevail—“ bow luxurious he must be to 
keep eating and eating every day such dainties.” Some 
years ago, I was praising the Peas in a small garden 
belonging to a gentleman fond of such jokes. On meet¬ 
ing him sometime afterwards, when my own Peas were 
yet scarce, and Pea gathering was talked about, “ O 
mine will soon be as hard as flints,” said he; leading me 
to imagine he had gathered dish upon dish. That 
same day his most worthy and really clever, industrious, 
honest factotum called. “What about such lots of hard 
early Peas, already tit for nothing but soups,” said I. 
“Well, I thought he would be swaggering,” said he; 
“but you must not let him know that I told you, we 
have only had one small table-spoonful yet, and must 
wait a day or two to get more.” Unless, therefore, for 
ministering to a peculiar fancy, seeing and proving what 
may be done in a small house, and where there is the 
possession of considerable practical as well as theoretic 
knowledge, and in unison with these, the time and the 
opportunity to attend to the wants of the various articles, 
just when they required attention, it would not lie wise 
policy to attempt so many things in one house. In fact, 
could all the amateurs in a neighbourhood meet together, 
and agree to grow only a few things each, but different 
from one another, and then visit each other when each 
thing was its best, there would be more real enjoyment 
of vegetable lovclinoss, than when, as now, one little 
house aud garden are merely a repetition of some or 
many others. The great clumsy walls that kept out the 
sight of the green grass of Hyde Park and Kensington 
Gardens have been swept away, and the humble pedes¬ 
trian, as lie passes along the highway, can delight in 
greensward and silver shining foliage; and it is high 
time that all ugly boundaries of narrow-minded prejudices 
should be levelled down and cleared away. 
Conclusion. —I have given the case of this corres- 
i pondent this full consideration, because he is just one 
of a class that the writers in this journal would be most 
anxious to serve, whether they choose to follow the 
course they have already contemplated, or are willing 
to narrow their views, and be content to adopt what 
experience would point to as a mere prudent one, until, 
at least, they had gained more experience. In such a 
small house the whole affair would be much simplified 
I by giving up the Pines, and economy in fuel would also 
be an object gained. Provided the Pines were given 
j up, much trouble with the Vinos outside would also 
then be avoided, as there would be plenty of room for 
a box, or boxes, inside. The floor of the house must 
be made waterproof, if there is any likelihood of the 
moisture escaping through and doing injury to the 
building below. A stage, or a latticed table might go 
over those boxes, or pit, aud thus no room would be lost. 
These stages might be filled with flowers, aud Vines 
allowed to break nearly naturally; or Potatoes, Radishes, 
&c., might be substituted for flowers. One flow and one 
return pipe would be sufficient for this purpose, as 
during winter a heat of 45° would be sufficient. Either 
the flow or return, for a part of its course, might pass 
| through a close wooden box; and there Sea-kale might > 
be grown, but not so quickly as in the arches referred to. 
Many other purposes and combinations will at once 
suggest themselves. Whether Vines are placed inside 
or outside, the perfect drainage must be thoroughly 
attended to, or the soil will alternately be like slush, or 
brick, in which such plants will not flourish. If the 
back wall is raised, there could be a shelf or two above 
either pit or stage. Our readers, as well as our corres¬ 
pondent, may now judge for themselves. R. Fish. 
STYLIDIUM. 
It is one of our blessings that our tastes differ. One 
man or woman delights in music, another in painting, 
another in writing or studying elegant compositions. 
Some delight in travelling, whilst others enjoy peace 
and quietness at home. One collects objects of Natural 
History, whilst others spend their whole lives in 
abstruse sciences, and are the deep thinkers of the 
human family; but all, or nearly all, delight in flowers. 
Even in this elegant and pleasing taste we differ. 
Some delight in cultivating the most singular and 
rarest of plants, the Orchidaceaa, and succeed too; but 
the greatest number of garden-loving persons like such 
flowers as are showy in colours and fragrant in scent. 
There are, however, a few that are best pleased with 
plants that are small and curious. 
As 1 stated at the head of this article, what a blessing 
it is that our tastes and pursuits differ. If we all liked 
one thing, or oue pursuit, what a monotonous life wo 
should lead. The mind would be contracted, we should 
be mere vegetating animals—-we should eat, and drink, 
and die. These ideas may be simple enough, but they 
have often struck me very forcibly, and more especially 
in writing about various plants. Orchids, stove-plants, 
greenhouse-plants, Ferns, herbaceous plants, trees, aud 
shrubs. What an endless variety ; it is quite inex¬ 
haustible. The Cottage Gardener has been in ex¬ 
istence for more than six years, yet its pages are 
constantly filled with new matter, and correspondents are 
as constantly crying out for more information, so that 
there is every jirobability that our pages will be filled 
with desired matter for many years to come. 
A question was asked mo lately, why the curious and 
interesting family, the name of which 1 have placed at 
the head of this paper, had hitherto escaped the notice 
of the writers in our weekly Cottage Gardener ? I 
replied, that we were not yet at the end of our pleasing 
labours, and they might look for an account of them 
very shortly, for I had my eye upon the tribe. This 
correspondent is evidently oue that has a taste for the 
curiously pretty in flowers, and no doubt there are some 
few, or perhaps many, with a similar liking. To gratify, 
and perhaps iustruct, such cultivators, I shall write a 
paper or two on them. 
The Stylidiums are of a family of plants chiefly 
herbaceous, though a few rise to the rank of low shrubs. 
They are all from that great storehouse of greenhouse- 
plants, New Holland, aud, consequently, require pro¬ 
tecting from frost; the temperature should never fall 
below 40° in winter. 
The name is derived from stylos, a column. The 
stamens and style are joined into a column, thus 
bringing them in affinity with many Orchids which are 
similarly formed. In fact, Linnaeus places them in the 
same class and order as the Cypripedium, or Lady’s 
Slipper, an herbaceous tribe of Orchids. 
Description. —To a slight observer, many of the species 
of these interesting plants look like, when not in flower, 
some species of heath, or tiny fir; whilst others have the 
appearance of some tufty grass, or 8tati.ee (Sea Sorrel). 
By this description, those of our readers that have not 
