May 16.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
fresh seeded, and when it may happen too late for a full 
crop to be produced. 
For large breadths of cabbage, turnips, Swedes, man * 
gold-wurtzel, clover, &c., &c., when overtaken too quickly 
with storms or heavy rains, and quickly followed by a 
drying day, so as to bind the surface, we find that by 
carrying out the foregoing rules in a regular manner we 
have no failures, but always a production of healthy, j 
strong, young plants; and we have no doubt but that j 
thousands of acres might, every season, be saved by the \ 
same simple means, and a vast expenditure in seed and 
labour also saved, as well as the crop secured at its 
proper season. If the seed is weak and bad (which easily j 
may be ascertained by sowing some to prove it on a 
little warmth, or in a sheltered corner in the garden, a j 
few days previous to sowing the main crop), the seeds¬ 
man should be made answerable for the loss. If attacked 
by the fly, by careful observation such depredations 
1 may easily be detected, and some remedy should at once i 
be put into practice. A harrow made with green elder 
boughs is an excellent remedy (well dragged over the 
young plants) to drive away the fly. Charcoal dust and 
dry wood ashes sowed over the crop at night, or whilst 
damp with dew, is a still better remedy, as this not only 
drives away the fly, but also stimulates the plants so 
beneficially that they very soon grow out of harm’s way. 
Routine Wobk. —Attend well now to all growing 
crops, with regard to regular surface-stirring; choosing 
suitable weather for its performance. No one would, 
. of course, think of disturbing the earth’s surface whilst 
wet, but as soon as the soil is settled, and become 
a little dry on its surface, the oftener the operation is 
performed the less trouble it is to do, and the greater is 
the assistance given to the growing crops, and the more 
healthy is the soil for all succeeding crops; whatever 
manure may be applied to an unkind foul piece of soil, 
if the after surface-stirring is neglected, the produce will 
not equal a similar sized piece cultivated without any 
manure, where the surface-stirring is regularly attended 
to. Take advantage of showery weather to sow salt 
frequently, but with moderation; and also to apply 
liquid-manure to the asparagus beds. The same remarks 
hold good for the application of liquid-manure to all 
growing crops. 
Garden beans, such as the Long Pod and Windsor, kc., 
should now be planted on a cold situation ; if a north 
border, and the soil a stiff loam, so much to their advan¬ 
tage. Dwarf Kidney Beans and Scarlet Runners that are 
already up must be taken care of; and those trans¬ 
planted, if the weather continues cold and unkind, must 
have dry dust shakeu about them at night to pre¬ 
vent canker. Those who may have sown in succes¬ 
sion for transplanting, are fortunate—since the wea¬ 
ther has proved so cold—that plenty of good plants 
will be found very useful for forwarding their crop. To 
keep a succession of young carrots, they should be sown 
at three or four different times in the course of the 
summer. Beet, if not a regular plant, should be made 
out by transplanting. Make a small sowing of endive, 
as well as parsley; and also make or fill up any vacancies 
that may occur. If plants are saved for seed, take care 
that every thing is culled out which is not of a first-rate 
quality. The early Dutch and Stone turnips may now 
be sown pretty liberally. A bed of Swedes for trans¬ 
planting may also be sown; and take care that the 
crowns of sea-lcale are duly thinned, as previously di¬ 
rected ; and also that the young seedlings are well cared 
for, duly thinned, and dealt with as recommended for 
other crops. A north aspect is now the best for getting 
I radishes in varieties good and mild flavoured, and also 
for producing small sallads. 
James Baknes, 
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 
OUR VILLAGE WALKS. 
By the authoress of “ My Flowers.” 
(No. 
As gardeners, we certainly ought not to say any thing 
that may bring our profession into disrepute; yet I 
cannot resist the charm of wild scenery at auy season, 
but especially in the months of April and May. It is 
more exquisite, far, than any thing a garden can pre¬ 
sent ; because it is so fresh, so unstudied, so picturesque, 
in all its details, however small or insignificant; and it 
possesses, above all, the crowning charm of being thrown 
together by the hand of God, instead of that of man ! 
On emerging from a thick larch plantation, a few 
; days ago, we opened upon a garden that bid defianee to 
our own, and every other in our neighbourhood. A 
copse had been cleared last year, which occupied a deep 
dingle, through which ran a little, rapid, narrow stream, 
in a deep channel, twisting and twining its way among 
roots of trees and broken ground, that gave great addi¬ 
tional beauty to the little valley. Every atom of the 
ground “ above, below, around,” was carpetted with 
primroses, wood anemones — deepening from delicate 
white to purple,—violets, wild strawberry blossoms, and 
1 many other bright spring flowers, that sparkled like 
j jewels beneath a cheering sun. The mossy edges of 
| the stream; the gnarled roots that fringed it here and 
there; the hollows where primroses grew thicker and 
finer still; the stumps of trees mantled with ivy; and 
the standing oaks stretching out their rough arms with 
honest British independence, formed such a congrega¬ 
tion of beauties and interests that, had I not possessed 
a companion, I must have uttered my feelings to the 
winds, for silence was quite impossible at such a time 
and place. Then there were such sounds ! The rush- 
ing water; the concert of birds among the boughs, like 
so many Jenny Linds; the distant bleatiugs, and the 
soft accompaniment of the wild musical breezes, ex¬ 
ceeded anything that could be devised by the taste and 
skill of man; and I am quite sure that if from that 
scene I had passed into the finest garden in England, it 
would have disappointed me. We are often troubled 
because we cannot make our own pleasure-grounds i 
quite what we wish; we labour and expend a great deal 
of time and money in the attempt, and, I believe, when | 
we have succeeded fully, we seldom relish our handiwork 
long; man’s nature—and woman’s too—sometimes de¬ 
lights in novelty, and when our gardens are complete 
they have lost their charm. But this is never the case 
when we go forth among the woods and fields and view 
nature in her beautiful simplicity. The finest garden 
“ effect” dies before the burst of woodland wildness that 
sometimes surprises us in a secluded walk, and leaves 
nothing for the most fastidious taste to alter or reject. 
A bold solitary tree standing in a natural “ clearing; 
a forsaken chalk-pit, with a rich grouping of beech 
and spruce-firs springing up around; a deep dell, with 
the stony channel of a brook threading its way through 
