June 27.] 
But it is not merely on the surface of our country that we 
possess such invaluable treasures of this material; if we go 
to the coal districts of England, how vast and inestimable 
j are the supplies of fossilized wood, which we find beneath 
! the verdant turf, stamped with vegetable formations of endless 
j variety—some of which are most plainly discernible, as in 
j the more recent transitions from wood to coal, in the works 
at Bovey Tracey, in Devonshire. 
«in the progress of civilization and of population in 
different parts of England, many large tracts of forest have 
wholly disappeared, causing at the same time a complete dis¬ 
placement of some valuable manufactures. Eor instance, 
in the early history of Sussex, we find that the eastern parts 
of that county were celebrated for their extensive iron manu¬ 
factures. The iron work of the monument of Henry III., in 
Westminster Abbey, was cast in Sussex, and the first iron 
ordnance was cast there. But the Sussex forges all ceased 
with the destruction of the timber in the forests above the 
iron ore; there being no accompanying stratum of coal to 
provide the means of smelting. 
“ It is no less wonderful to observe—in connection with 
this subject—the extraordinary manner in which human 
knowledge is permitted to be available, in adapting itself to 
the changes brought about by the active interference of man 
with the gifts of nature. It is manifest that in this country, 
at least, we have greatly destroyed or diminished the growth 
S of timber; hence we have, by the application of science, 
j provided substitutes, and some of a most wonderful character. 
! Who could have conjectured, only a few years ago, that some 
! of our swiftest sailing ships would he built of non ? that the 
wooden water-pipes of London and other cities should he 
exchanged for iron ; and that for the smaller descriptions of 
tubing, gutta percha, and even Tndia rubber should he sub¬ 
stituted ; and that our doors, and roofs of wood, and even 
articles of furniture may give way to materials of glass ; 
while entire houses are built for exportation or domestic use, 
of iron alone—wood being deemed either valueless, or com¬ 
paratively useless ? 
«These changes in the material used in manufactures 
have also led to others in the arts of life, and one of them of 
high celebrity in the Middle Ages, the art of carving in wood, 
is dwindling into insignificance ; and the elegant carvings of 
Gibbons, at Chatsworth, Hampton Court, and other places,— 
and the ‘ storied urns,’ cups, and vases of Benvenuto Cellini 
throughout Europe, are now rivalled or surpassed by com¬ 
positions of plaster, rice, or papier-mache, cast in moulds, 
and produced in the sheds of a builder’s yard, or in a cellar 
in Drury Lane! 
« And thus the ‘ wood, hay, and stubble ’ of this world are 
in a state of perpetual vicissitude, under the permission of 
the Almighty, and the application of man.” 
Let us meditate on these interesting facts during our daily 
rambles. They will lead our minds to much that may in¬ 
struct and benefit us; and we shall never want an object to 
call them to our remembrance. The tall graceful tree, with 
its rich summer foliage, will utter them; the prostrate trunk, 
stripped of its spreading houghs, and lying in mighty help¬ 
lessness, will repeat them ; and even amid the cheeriessness 
of towns and cities we may be taught them by the chips that 
feed our fires. 
How mercifully does a gracious Father provide all things 
necessary for man, and adapt his wants and tastes to those 
things that nature produces ! And how sad it is to see and 
fed the readiness and dexterity with which we apply and 
benefit by His gifts and mercies, and the slow, guilty re¬ 
luctance with which we pray and praise! O let the 
teeming earth with all her beauties and her treasures “ praise 
the Lord !’’ and awaken our sluggish hearts of stone to praise 
Him too ! Let every work of man ; every new, and useful, 
and wonderful invention; every grand and vast conception 
carried out and formed for the use and good of our fellow 
men, “ praise the Lord;” for he alone teaches the cunning 
artificer, and guides his hand, although man in his self- 
sufficiency “ thinketh not so,” and gives himself the 
praise. 
Let the whole earth, and everything that hath breath, 
“ praise the Lord!” 
191 
ALLOTMENT FARMING FOR JULY. 
At this period everything will he in its highest vigour; and 
now it is that cultural matters, where necessary, should be 
carried out with the utmost assiduity. 
Having recently travelled through districts abounding in 
small gardens, and some containing allotments, we must 
confess to a great amount of astonishment, at the dirty and 
ill-cultivated state of many of these holdings, indeed, we 
may say of the majority of them. 
The allotments are, on the whole, by far the most credit¬ 
able ; and this arises probably from the fact, that such plots 
have a more direct interest taken in them by the proprietors : 
thus plainly evincing how much good might be accomplished 
if our landed proprietors generally would either themselves, 
or by means of then - agents, keep a strict eye on these 
things ; and occasionally give a helping hand, in the way of 
seeds or plants from their gardens; or advice and books, as 
the case might he. 
We are w illin g to believe that The Cottage Gardener has 
been of much service in this way; and it may be presumed, 
that the Dictionary will be of still further use, as (being 
alphabetically arranged) instant reference may at all times be 
made on any subject, about which the least doubt exists. 
Tire spirit of competition fostered by our local horticul¬ 
tural societies has been of considerable use in this affair as 
an adjunct, and it would seem to be a most desirable thing 
that such should be much extended; for many thousands are 
deterred from competing, through the distance at which they 
happen to live from such societies. For this reason we 
think that the principle of offering prizes for the best culti¬ 
vated plots, to be determined by visiting judges, ought to be 
much extended ; but care should he taken that such judges 
; should he weU qualified to decide, both in point of real ex¬ 
perience and in integrity of purpose; for we have, more than 
once, known tradesmen from our towns selected for the pur¬ 
pose who understood not the bearing of the matter, and who, 
indeed, felt no real sympathy with the allotment-holder or 
cottager. 
To return to cultural matters, we will begin with 
Ti-ie Potato. —By the time this reaches our readers, we 
trust they will he enjoying abundance of early potatoes, 
I which is, indeed, an inestimable blessing to the ordinary 
cottager; for however much the policy of encouraging the 
i cultivation of the potato may bo doubted, we feel persuaded 
that the English cottager will stick to them os long as a leaf 
remains. 
We would advise small holders to keep a strict eye on 
their Early Kidneys, or others for seed in the ensuing year - . 
Such should never he mixed with the ordinary stock. The 
best way is to take them up a little before they are “ dead 
ripe;” not, however, to prevent curl merely, hut to prevent 
then sprouting again too soon. We have known the Ash- 
leaved Kidney , when very lightly soiled, to become greened, 
and to sprout before taken up for seed, especially if an early 
and partial ripening had been induced by hot and dry wea¬ 
ther, and warm rains had supervened. The reasons, there¬ 
fore, for an early removal from the ground will be manifest. 
The later crops of potatoes must be well looked to at this 
period; every weed, must be eradicated forthwith. Care 
must be taken in hand-weeding not to tread upon, or throw 
down, the haulm, for this is productive of much injury to the 
crop. Wo advise a thorough starring of the soil between 
the chills ; the deeper this is stirred the better. Any blanks 
that may occur should he immediately filled after the clean¬ 
ing process is complete: we do not know of anything better 
for this purpose than the swede turnip. 
Carrots. —We gave pretty full advice last month about 
tliis veiy useful root. We have advised deep hoeing when 
the plant is getting a few inches high, even between the 
plants in the drills, we now add that of deep culture between 
the drills, like the potato. If the grub occurs extensively, 
it will become a consideration whether to break them up 
entirely, or to endeavour to patch them. The latter case 
has been dealt with in previous papers ; the former, if neces¬ 
sary, gives rise to a question as to what is the most eligible 
crop. Tliis the allotment holder must decide according to 
his prospective wants, choosing that crop which will not only 
prove of utility when gathered, but which also requires hut a 
short period for its culture; for it must be kept in mind 
that there remains hut ten or a dozen weeks, at the most, for 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
