126 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Routine Work. —Supposing ere this the earliest bank 
of cabbage to be cleared of its leaves and stumps, and 
all turned to good account, the ground should be forked 
up into ridges, if not already done, and on the summit 
of the bank a row of Scarlet runners may be planted, 
to be dwarfed by stopping to four feet sticks, or string, 
and stakes. A row or two of Dwarf kidney beans should 
be planted on the warmest side; and a row or two of 
the Dwarf Fan, or the American dwarf pea, sown on 
the coldest and most shady side; or a row or two of 
lettuce seed may be drilled in, to thin out, to stand for 
crops. See that the main crops of carrots, parsnips, 
onions, and early turnips, are thinned to a sufficient 
distance; and that every vacancy is filled up by trans 
planting, taking the best plants from where they can be 
spared, and performing the operation with care,—very 
little check will then occur. Hoe and hand-drag, or 
scarify, the soil between the rows in suitable weather as 
often as possible. 
[May 30. 
Sow the early variety of turnips in succession a little 
and often. Radishes, in variety, and small salads should 
at this season be sown also in small portions, often 
repeated, and in a kindly preparation, on a northern 
aspect, if tender fine-flavoured salad is required. 
Mushrooms. —If abundant gatherings of short-stemmed 
firm weighty mushrooms are wished, care must now be 
taken. A cold situation, shady, and free from draught, 
must be maintained; and a kindly evaporation, by often 
sprinkling the floors of the shed, or cave, or other struc¬ 
ture, with cold water; the beds of course excepted, as 
they should at all times be sprinkled very lightly with 
tepid water, about milk warm ; and a little clear liquid- 
manure intermixed with it, brewed from sheep, deer, or 
cow-dung. 
Melons and Cucumbers, in a fruit-bearing state, 
should be well encouraged also with liquid-manure. 
James Barnes. 
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 
OUR VILLAGE WALKS. 
By the authoress of “ My Flowers.” 
The first appearance Of a swallow is a harbinger, in¬ 
deed, of spring ; yet I was forcibly reminded, a few days 
ago, of the well-known proverb, that “ one swallow does 
not make a summerfor nothing could be more dreary 
and wintry than the day in which I first observed these 
favourite birds skimming, like lightning, over the 
water, as I passed along the banks of a fish-pond, quite 
unprepared for the sight of anything connected with 
summer skies. The cold, bleak east wind was blowing 
strongly, and there had been two days of heavy rain; 
the bursting trees looked chilled and comfortless, and 
the springing grass was so soaked with wet that it 
drooped heavily to the earth beneath its burden, and 
the beautiful May flowers, just opening, seemed as 
if they had mistaken the season, and were blooming in 
dark November. Yet in spite of all these discourage¬ 
ments, led by their wondrous instinct, came the swal¬ 
lows ; and cold and wet as it was, they seemed to promise 
that sunshine would soon appear. Their rapid and 
graceful movements always please; and they sometimes 
wheel and sweep so near us that it seems as if we could 
almost catch them in their sportive flight. It is remark¬ 
able, that nothing should be positively known of their 
winter residence; they go, and they come again—but 
whither they go, and whence they come, has never been 
fully ascertained. The hand of God guides them across 
the waste of waters to sunnier climes; they have no 
compass by which to steer then - course; they can take 
no “ observation,” nor trace their way by the glittering 
stars; yet they go straight and safely to their appointed 
place; and at the fitting time they return to their former 
habitations. What a reproach to the dull and senseless 
heart of man is conveyed by means of the migratory 
habits of birds ! “ The turtle, and the crane, and the swal¬ 
low observe the time oftheir coming; but my people know 
not the judgment of the Lord.” They obey the in¬ 
stinctive impulse given by the Creator, and they go and 
come at His command; but we resist the influences of 
the Spirit of God—we are not “ obedient to the hea¬ 
venly vision,” and we shut our eyes and hearts against 
the commandments of the Lord. 
It is amusing and interesting to watch the proceedings 
of the swallows when they take possession of their 
summer home. The curiously constructed nests seem 
formed by magic; and when the feeding period begins 
it is really wonderful to see the rapidity with which 
the parent deposits the supply, as he skims past tli e 
entrance of the nest; he scarcely appears to touch if 
with his beak, and the most observant eye cannot per¬ 
ceive the action. 
Their fondness for the haunts of men, and their con¬ 
fiding disposition, surpasses that of the rook. I have 
seen then- nests pulled down day after day, when forming 
them close to an entrance door, and yet the little perse¬ 
vering creatures resolutely built them up again, until 
bunches of furze or thorns were so fixed to the spot as 
effectually to baffle their attempts. What a beautiful 
picture of peace and holy security the social habits of 
the swallow offers to our restless, troubled hearts! “ And 
the swallow” hath made a “ nest for herself where she 
may lay her young, even thine altars, 0 Lord of hosts !" 
Let us remember, as we mark the clay-built nests clus¬ 
tering around our roofs, that “Blessed are they that 
dwell in thy house ; they will be still praising thee.” 
Among the varied beauties of country scenery at this 
season water meadows have their charms ; and have 
added considerably [to the interest of some of my walks 
and musings. In the spring they appear to particular 
advantage, because they are so richly green, and instead of 
being laid under water they are now flooded with sheep ; 
and the perpetual bleating that rises from the flocks is 
ever musical to the ear and heart. I could sit for hours 
looking down upon the valley, with its silvery inter¬ 
sections, its stunted pollards, the quiet stream that flows 
through it, with a railway by its side, and beyond these 
symbols of stillness and motion, upon the milk-white 
flocks that spread themselves over the deep green sub¬ 
divisions of the ground ; for there is so much scriptural 
interest and meaning, as well as beauty, in all that 
belongs to a flock of sheep, that we can never tire of 
watching and listening. 
It is quite impossible to see them clustered together, 
feeding “ in green pastures,” by the side of “ still waters,” 
“ resting at noon” beneath the shade of spreading trees, 
and in the evening quietly following the shepherd, as he 
goes before them to the fold, without such inexpressible 
emotion as neither pen nor tongue can describe. They 
picture forth so exquisitely, so fully, “ the footsteps of 
the flock” of Christ on earth ; and as such, address our 
hearts so pointedly and powerfully, that among all the 
