IS 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Amul 
“ blackthorn winterand now a few soft April show- \ 
ers will (Range the face of things, and bring out into j 
full and fragrant beauty the yet unopened leaves and 
flowers. There is generally during the period just 
passed, a prevalence of cutting, gloomy weather, and 
as the blackthorn is in bloom about the same time, 
the name has probably arisen from this coincidence. 
It is a wholesome check to forward vegetation; and 
makes us all, as well as our trees and plants, doubly 
enjoy the mild and genial weather that succeeds it. 
The fruit blossoms are decorating the walls, with 
their delicate colours, giving the kitchen garden its 
fust summer beauty; and now all things will appear 
rapidly in succession, and the country in general will 
become bright and glowing. The hyacinth has long 
been cherished in windows, as almost the first bloom¬ 
ing flower; but now we see its green buds rising 
from the centre of the leaves, promising soon to de¬ 
light us in the open border. The hyacinth is gene¬ 
rally found much too powerful for a sitting-room; but 
in shops, or offices, or in any place where there is 
plenty of space and ventilation, they are agreeable as 
well as beautiful, and may be safely admitted. This 
flower is a native of the Levant, as well as of Syria; 
and is found in great beauty on the tracts of land 
near the River Jordan and the Dead Sea. It is strik¬ 
ing and affecting to the mind to think that the sweet 
flower blooming in our simple gardens, should be also 
blooming in that interesting land, close to the bitter 
waters that cover the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah! 
Glittering thus, so near the awful scenes of God’s 
wrath and vengeance, do they not remind us of the 
sweet and gracious promises that always follow the 
declaration of His terrible judgments upon sinners ? 
The hyacinth is also found wild in Russia, of a rich 
deep yellow, so that we may call it a native of many 
climates. It should be grown, if possible, in well- 
drained beds, as it is injured by much water; and sand 
mixed with the best soil you can procure will benefit 
them. Groups of these lovely flowers look beautiful 
in borders, and if the season is tolerably dry they will 
last some time. The starch hyacinth is a veiy favourite 
flower of mine. There is something extremely pleasant 
and refreshing in its scent; and although it is not 
very gay in colour, it is graceful in shape, and beau¬ 
tiful in the regular and quill-like formation of the 
flower. The feathered hyacinth is a pretty variety, 
which I seldom see, but it should be in every garden 
also, 
The laurels are in full flower, giving life and beauty, 
and sweetness also, to the shrubbery. Their blossoms 
are very rich, and form a beautiful contrast to the 
polished leaves. The laurustinus, our agreeable winter 
friend, still looks bright and rich, so that our gardens 
now begin to flourish, and to (Raw us out continually 
to enjoy their sights, and scents, and sounds. They 
are, indeed, vocal, with the perpetual chorus that pours 
forth from the joyous birds, and the very breeze of 
spring is musical. The soimd of the spade and rake 
are harmonious, too, in the ear of the garden-lover, 
and when she first catches the soft sweep of the 
scythe, and smells the fragrance of the first spring 
mowing, there are few garden feelings more delightful. 
( util the rains begin to fall, tins pleasure can scarcely 
be enjoyed; but they have arrived, and softening and 
reviving the thirsty earth. 
His garden must ever remind the Christian of those 
deeply precious things “ that belong unto our peace.” 
A garden has thrice been chosen by the Creator of the 
universe as the scene of mighty transactions : it has 
witnessed the fall of man, his blood-bought redemp¬ 
tion, and the agony of Him “ by whose stripes we 
are healed;” and, at this particular season, it speaks 
loudly to our hearts. Let the cottager, as he paces 
his narrow path bordered with flowers, to enjoy their 
fragrance and the promise of his future crops, re¬ 
member that Saviour whose death purchased salvation 
for His people, and by whose glorious resurrection we 
know that death and the grave have lost their sting 
and victory. There is a sacred interest, as well as a 
profit and a pleasure, in our gardens, for they remind 
us of much we are too ready to forget, that would 
sweeten our toil and increase our enjoyment. We 
have not, it is true, the noble scenery and lofty trees 
of Palestine, with all their holy recollections, but we 
have ten thousand beauties, ten thousand blessings 
round us, proclaiming that the same God is with us, 
among our simple northern flowers, our wild heathery 
mountains, and our trackless bogs; that He dwells 
in the lowly cottage and the smoke-stained cabin, as 
well as in the queenly palace; blesses the “ basket” 
of the labourer, together with the “ store” of his rich 
employer; and gives us “ rain from heaven and fruitful 
seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” 
Let no one neglect his little plot of ground, however 
small or comfortless; something may be made to grow 
in it, by care and diligence; and if it will support a row 
of cabbages, and a few double daisies only, we may 
find enough in them to raise our hearts to God. 
HINTS EROM CORRESPONDENCE. 
Ornamented Meadow. —The Rev. E. Lernans, of 
Ovington Rectory, near Walton, Norfolk, gives us 
the following interesting notice 
“ In front of my house there is a meadow (upland) 
of about three acres; into tills I have dibbled many 
bulbs, most of which thrive luxuriantly; and in the 
spring make a splendid show. Narcissus incompara- 
bilis, N. pseudo narcissus, N. biflorus, N. poeticus, 
Tulipa gesneriana, dc., succeed admirably; so does 
Fritillaria meleagris, in a part of the meadow which 
is rather damp. Colchicum variegatum also grows 
and blooms very well, but G. autumnale ,though a 
British plant, does not succeed. Narcissus pseudo 
narcissus, which is a native of this part of the country, 
seeds itself, and so I think does Tulipa gesneriana, 
though sparingly. Erythronium densleonis has lived 
many years, but does not increase so as to form 
patches.” 
Fumigation. —Reading in The Cottage Gardener 
that you know of no substitute for tobacco for the 
purpose of fumigating conservatories, it may, perhaps, 
be worth your while to try Cannabis sativa, or Hemp 
plant, which the late Mr. Anderson, of the Chelsea 
Gardens, told me was quite as effectual in destroying 
insects on plants as tobacco itself, and had the advan¬ 
tage of being both less injurious to the plants and 
less disagreeable to smell. The Hemp plant should 
be gathered and dried in the perfection of its flowering 
season, and, when required, used in the same way as 
tobacco. Neither having a garden to grow it in, nor 
any other means of obtaining it, I have had no 
opportunity of trying its effects, and cannot therefore 
speak from experience. Should it be found to answer 
generally, and especially for fumigating ferns, it will 
prove a great acquisition; for most, if not all, of the 
delicate species of the latter are destroyed, or more or 
less injured, by the poisonous fumes of tobacco.—H. D. 
[Wc think it probable that the fumes of the Hemp 
plant may destroy insects as well as those of tobacco, 
for we know that in India a most intoxicating gum, 
called there Bhang, is extracted by the natives from 
