THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, January 15, 1861. 
229 
a size as possible, will do very well. The stones being all placed 
in position, and any unevenness caused by the treading made 
smooth again, the whole space is covered over with a colouring 
matter. Local circumstances will generally determine this, but 
here we have red, white, and black only—and I do not know 
that any addition is wanted to these colours. For red we have 
brickdust, which is easily obtained by procuring a barrowload 
or two of the softest or waste half-burnt red bricks from a brick 
kiln—these crush pretty easily with a wooden rammer. Coal 
ashes, when not mixed with sand or other light-coloured matter, 
make an excellent black : and we have the white shells used for 
walls to indicate that colour. I am not certain but chalk or 
lime would not do as well; but I am certain it would not do 
better, as these things become dirty-looking when wet, which 
they more often are than dry in the dull winter months : while 
coal ashes look best when damp, and consequently form the 
best colour, and, being the most plentiful, we usually have our 
ground colour of that material. These three substances laid on 
about an inch thick will generally suffice for the winter; and 
the outlines, being clearly defined by the edgings of stones 
above described, and which are by this means about half covered, 
give the whole a carpet-like character. For be it remembered 
that almost any reasonable amount of figuring may be given to 
the winter decoration, while, as before stated, the summer 
planting must be limited that way. Nevertheless, it is always 
advisable to have one or two bold lines, like arteries or braces, 
on which the eye when surveying the minor points may fall 
back upon—as, for instance, the limbs of the scrollwork in the 
annexed design, which it is proper to observe are about a foot 
broad, and none of the parts are less than that size. The 
colours generally remain bright and clear until March, when 
they are taken off and the bed dug and prepared for its summer 
crop. If required it might remain longer, but I always wish 
the bed to have at least six inches tillage before planting, and 
this ought never to be denied. I may also add that we have 
sometimes done the side beds to this central one in the same 
way, as they also are large ones, being 24 feet wide by 100 feet 
long; and some other adjoining ones are also large. But 
generally the central one decorated in the manner described is 
sufficient, and it is much admired ; and the features being 
available in other places as well as here, I shall be glad to hear 
I of its being adopted and the opinion formed of it. 
Description of the Plan .—All the portions marked A are red 
I (brickdust), being the outer rim next grass verge, twelve small 
i circles inside the fleur-de-lis edging, and the centre piece, except 
where cut into by the two central rings B B. All the figures 
marked B are white (shell), being the outer edging of fleur-de- 
lis, the scroll and foliage-work and the six figures cutting into 
the centre. The two inner rings, one a scollop one, are also of 
this colour. The remainder C is all black (coal ashes), in which 
the scroll-work is inserted. A band of black also surrounds the 
six white figures in central compartment—in fact, black forms 
the groundwork to the whole.—J. Robson. 
THE FLORAL MAGAZINE* 
This excellent and useful magazine has now reached its ninth 
number, and has been sustained throughout so as to justify the 
great praise and high expectations we formed on seeing the first 
issue. The part before us contains a fine picture of—First, the 
new Double Zinnias exhibited before the Royal Horticultural 
Society’s Floral Committee; Second, a magnificent blue Larkspur 
of the Bee species, raised by Messrs. Fraser, of Lee Bridge Road. 
Third, a beautiful variety of Nemophila atomaria called oculata; 
and, Fourth, a group of the lovely Gladioluses raised by Mr. 
Standish, of Bagsliot. If our readers want a real first-rate 
illustrated book of flowers they should subscribe to the “Floral 
Magazine.” 
EFFECTS OF 1860 IN THE GARDEN. 
The year 1860 has been brought to a close, and as it has 
been a year somewhat extraordinary, and particularly so to the 
gardener, be he in ever so limited a station, so the termination, 
too, has been none the less extraordinary, and the injurious 
effects of it will be none the less for the mildness of the autumn 
1 generally, and of the early part of December. 
* The Floral Magazine, comprising Figures and Descriptions of Popular 
Garden Flowers. By Thomas Moore, F.L.S., F.R.H.S. London : Lovell 
Reeve. 
In the first ten days of December the average highest tem¬ 
perature was above 40° with rain, and brought forward a piece 
of late Walcheren Broccoli which ought to have been in a month 
earlier ; but still they were exceedingly useful, and I managed 
by protecting them to hold them on till Christmas-day, when I 
cut a good dish, but it was the last, for there was a universal 
cutter abroad on that day. The thermometer stood at 7° in the 
morning, with a cutting wind, and it did not rise above 15° at 
any time during the day. I fear the greater part of the Savoys 
and Broccoli are clean gone. Our soil being rather stiff, and 
work deep last spring, and the season being wet, may have a 
good deal to do with it. 
But, to begin at the beginning of the season, and take a review 
of the bygone year fairly and justly as it has appeared to us, 
cannot be altogether uninteresting or unprofitable. The time 
allotted to each of us has two uses—preparation to be made for 
the future, and wisdom to be learnt from the past, and fortunate 
indeed must he be that has not collected material sufficient from 
the past year for many a lesson for the future. Adversity is a 
stern teacher, and we are apt to learn more from our failures 
than our successes. Individually, the former occupies the largest 
space in my “ chapter of events.” 
It would be too tedious to enumerate all the failures, besides 
there are local causes for some of them, and yet the same causes 
may contribute to some of my successes—viz., as I before stated, 
the kitchen garden being used only for Potatoes and other 
summer crops, and let only for the crop for several years past, 
and, as a matter of course, was in a most piteous condition, and, 
worst of all, Bindweed deep down in the subsoil, and before 
attempting to crop it it was necessary to dig up from four to 
six inches of soil that had not been disturbed for years to get out 
as much as possible of the Bindweed, and the season being wet 
during the greater part of the process, and the summer after¬ 
wards, I think sufficiently for many of my failures, or to a 
greater extent than otherwise would have been. Of Peas I never 
saw anything equal to ours, and they continued bearing till the 
frost cut them off, and then with an abundance of bloom (British 
Queens). Radishes, Lettuces, Spinach, and Broad Beans were 
excellent. Onions, Carrots, and Parsnips very good. Every¬ 
thing else was below middling. All the crops mentioned had a 
good dressing of burnt ashes. 
In the flower garden all newly-made and the flower-beds the 
top spit, after taking the turf off of old pasture high and dry 
and full of wireworm, how much of my loss may be charged to 
their account I know not, and amongst them yellow Calceolarias. 
In lightening up the bed of the above I destroyed scores each 
time, and the plants still kept dwindling away. Thinking the 
soil was too poor for the yellow Calceolaria I gave the bed liquid 
manure about twice a-week, and I soon saw an improvement, so 
I filled up the bed with plants from the mixed borders, and had 
a good bloom till the last, and although I have since dug up the 
bed I did not meet with half a dozen wireworms since I put the 
liquid manure on. I should like to be satisfied on two points. 
First, Do the wireworm injure Calceolarias, and does liquid 
manure disagree with the wireworm ? 
Unfortunately last winter not having any place to winter any 
stock in, I entrusted a neighbour with several boxes of cuttings, 
with a lot of seedling Geraniums not bloomed, with a good batch 
of a seedling Geranium that Mr. Beaton had spoken favourably 
of, and not a single one was saved. I had one plant of the above 
I kept in my bedroom and has produced me another batch, 
which I hope to be more fortunate with this winter, so that from 
the above misfortune we had to go to market for everything, and 
on the heels of expensive alterations. Our beds were furnished 
very sparingly with not over strong plants, and the season being 
cold most of the beds had a very ragged appearance till after 
the summer was gone by. I had two large beds of seedling 
Petunias, white and purple, and a long row of Sweet Peas that 
never showed a blossom, but the growth was beyond all bounds. 
The variegated Alyssum and Lobelia speciosa as edgings done 
well, also the Mint, though with the defects mentioned by Mr. 
Beaton, but I have tried the experiment with it. My best 
display has been from plants in pots. I have been able to keep 
up a few select beds in that way, and by keeping a change for 
one bed in reserve, several beds can be changed a dozen times 
or more, if thought desirable, in the same season. Young be¬ 
ginners will find this a very good plan in showing them in a 
short time how to arrange the different colours, to say nothing 
about the charm of being able to change the character and colour 
of several beds in a morning before the bedroom blinds are up. 
