24 
THE COTTAGE GARDE NEE. 
April 
mou practice. It consists in placing tempting food, 
of any kind, in another portion of the garden from 
which the objects stand for which the protection is 
desired. We have found this mode to answer pretty 
well; but one difficulty meets us at the outset, viz., 
what material will be at once more tempting and yet 
sufficiently economical? It frequently happens that 
a few of the last year’s seeds, sucli as radishes, cab¬ 
bages, brocolis, &c., of which the birds are known to 
be extremely fond, remain in the seed-papers, not 
having been wanted. Such are too stale to be relied 
on for a crop; and if soaked in warm water for a few 
hours, and then taken out, and set in a damp place, 
many of them will germinate: these, then, may be 
sprinkled in patches, as decoys, in a sprouting state. 
This we have frequently done, and they have, in 
general, answered the purpose intended. 
Last of all, we need scarcely remind our readers of 
the utility of a good noisy clapper. This, indeed, in 
the hands of a vigilant boy or girl, is fairly worth all 
the others together. The drawback of expense, how¬ 
ever, tells sadly against this practice ; and we fear it 
can hardly be "adopted in gardens on a very small 
scale. It" requires, moreover, to be handled very 
early in the morning. Many of these rogues per¬ 
form the greatest depredations soon alter daylight. 
The common bulfincli is the greatest enemy to fruit 
blossoms of any of our ordinary birds ; and we are 
not aware that it has any redeeming qualities worthy 
of notice. Re that as it may, the merits of the bul- 
finch, if any, are dearly paid for, by the loss,perhaps, 
of one-half our blossom-buds. Every pains, there¬ 
fore, should be taken, during the nest season, to hunt 
for and destroy their eggs ; more especially as their 
destructive properties are not confined to the fruit- 
garden . Our worthy coadjutor, Mr. Barnes, can, no 
doubt, bear testimony to their voracious powers 
amongst our garden crops, particularly the cauliflower, 
brocoli, and cabbage families. 
Routine Work. —As miscellaneous matters appro¬ 
priate to the season, we would remind both amateur 
and cottager of the necessity of seeing that all newly- 
planted trees are well staked and mulched; especially 
standard trees, as to the staking. It is astonishing 
how much damage occurs to the young fibrous roots 
through “ wind waving;” not only are they destroyed 
as soon as formed, or seriously bruised, but a hole or 
socket is formed around the stem, which, in reten¬ 
tive soils, becomes a puddled dish of water, that in a 
cold and stormy spring prevents the emission of those 
luxuriant fibres from the main stem, which soon, 
under proper encouragement, overtake the older roots: 
these, through transplantation, have become con¬ 
stricted, or, in technical phraseology, “ hide bound.” 
These evils provided against, and a good mulching 
applied, the trees will be found to make the most 
rapid progress, provided due attention has been paid 
to our former advices concerning the preparation of 
the stations. 
Watering. —Spring, with all its usual concomitants 
of fitful, wet and dry periods, so peculiar to our Bri¬ 
tish clime, having arrived, it becomes the ardent 
cultivator to be prepared to meet the emergencies of 
a period of drought. The extreme one of wet we 
have already endeavoured to provide for. Be it 
known, therefore, that under the dwarfing or plat¬ 
form system, trees become by far more sensitive to 
atmospheric changes of this description. The op¬ 
ponents of these plans, for promoting a much earlier 
fruitfulness, will, no doubt, urge that such artistic 
modes only entail additional labour. Be it so. We 
do not see why advances in this matter should not be 
exposed to prejudice, as well as in all other courses 
which shake the foundations of that venerable old 
lady, “prescription.” Whilst the pillars that support 
the throne of mighty mou arch s shake to their very 
foundation in these investigating days, why should 
lier’s remain “ firm as Ailsa rock?” Watering, then, 
if productive of benefit under the old system, is still 
more so with regard to the one we propound in these 
pages. The amateur will, of course, secure this 
point: once recognizing a sound principle, let us 
steadily and unflinchingly carry it out. The word 
“ trouble ” must be expunged from the dictionary of 
those who are determined to excel. As to the cot¬ 
tager, we hope that while he is digging for his swede 
turnips in his over-hours, that his children will be 
taught betimes to carry the water-pot and to pull out 
the weeds. Such a course will not only be an im¬ 
mediate benefit to the family, but it will tend to pro¬ 
duce an industrious race, and to impress upon them 
the lesson that the future must not bo forgotten 
whilst the present is being cared for. 
R. Errington, 
THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 
Laying out a Garden for Florist Flowers.— 
This is the concluding paper on laying out gardens. 
Now, in order fully to express what we conceive a 
florist, whether amateur or cottager, ought to have and 
to do, if he enters with all his heart into the culture of 
those eminently beautiful flowers, we shall suppose 
the garden destined for their culture to be a plot of 
ground without anything on it. A. tolerably good 
fence should surround it,—a wall five or six feet high 
would be the best. Should the ground be turf, let it 
be pared oft’, and laid up neatly in a long heap to 
decay and mellow; this will be invaluable as a prin¬ 
cipal ingredient in composts for future use. 
Aspect .—If you have your choice of aspect, let the 
ground be rather sloping, facing the south-east, and 
the situation should not be low; for in such low- 
lying placed the late frosts of spring, and the early 
ones of autumn, would be most injurious, and often 
destructive to such plants as are then in bloom. For 
instance, we have often seen dahlias completely cut 
by autumnal frost, even so early as September, in 
low situations, whilst on a moderate elevation they 
were fresh and blooming. The reason of this is 
easily explicable, for it is well known that cold air is 
heavier than warm air; during the day the sun 
warms the air in the valley, and, as soon as his power 
is departed in the afternoon, the colder, and, there¬ 
fore, heavier, air on the hills slides or settles down 
into the valley, displacing the warm air, which, on 
account of its lightness, rises into the higher regions 
of the atmosphere. Now, if the heat of this colder 
and heavier air be below 32°, the plants exposed to 
it, that are too tender to bear a single degree of frost, 
consequently suffer sooner than those on the higher 
and warmer grounds. If, therefore, you can choose 
the situation, let it be of a moderate elevation. On 
the other hand, we would not advise you to choose a 
plot of ground for the culture of florists’ flowers on 
the top of a high hill; this would be nearly as bad as 
the low one. Extremes either way ought to be as 
much as possible avoided. Should you be so unfor¬ 
tunately situated that you have no choice, you must 
exercise your skill and forethought to preserve your 
flowers from the injury they are liable to in conse¬ 
quence of being in either extreme of situation. 
Furniture of the Garden .—Having considered the 
