THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, February 16, 1858. 
Talking of mixed composts, liow often have we seen 
| these rich olios turned in our younger days, in order 
to prevent them becoming too close, and sad—“to 
sweeten,” our venerable predecessors said. Now, if 
I these old composts become thus closed in the compost 
yard, in raised heaps, what may we expect from the 
! same, buried a yard, or nearly so, beneath the surface 
of the ordinary soil ? 
I may now be permitted to inquire into the action of 
! what is commonly termed “ muck;” and by it I mean, 
j whatever is commonly called “rotten dung,” from 
any kind of animals ; such, of course, containing, in 
general, littery matter in various stages of decompo¬ 
sition. And here we must remember that there are 
two distinct modes of applying organic manures to 
Vine borders : one, the mixing it in the body of the 
border; the other, as mere surface-dressing. Now, 
of course, it may be used both ways ; but it is obvious 
that when a great amount of manure is mixed with 
the soil itself, there will be less occasion to make a 
fuss about surface-dressing; otherwise there will be 
a most profligate waste of manures. And what is the 
result of a too free use of dung in the compost ? Why, 
that for two or three years, or, indeed, whilst the 
turfy, or soily matter, by its preservation of texture, 
permits water freely to pass, and air as freely to enter, 
all things appear to go on well; the Vines are impelled 
to the production of what is called splendid wood; and 
in due time their “keeper,” who supplied the source 
of their pride, wins the prize at the exhibition, 
perhaps. 
But wait a few years more, and, in -the majority of 
cases, the Vines fall away, and people begin to talk of 
raising their roots, of trying to introduce more drain¬ 
age ; and then, in many cases I have known since the 
days of my boyhood, there arises a demand for turfy 
loams, and such like applications. It may be easily 
understood how rotten manures become, in due time, 
closed to the free passage of water, and by consequence 
to the admission of air Let any one fill a pot with finely- 
chopped turf, and another with old manure and vegeta¬ 
ble mould, mixed; put a plant in each, or not, and water 
regularly for a few weeks, to imitate the action of rains, 
&c., a§ far as possible ; and observe at the end of two 
or three months which receives and parts with moisture 
most freely. Manurial matters, in course of time, and 
buried below the surface, become inert in a much 
greater degree than fibrous soils: and surely this 
furnishes a reason for relying much on surface manur¬ 
ing, applied annually, be it ever so little; especially 
if it be admitted that it is our duty to encourage by 
all possible means surface fibres. 
I need say little more about manures and their 
bearing on the constitution of Vine borders. I may, 
in conclusion, advert to some other matters which 
are not unfrequently mixed with the soils of Vine 
borders. The two most material things are lime 
or mortar rubbish, and bone manure. All good gar¬ 
deners are agreed as to the Vino liking the debris 
of old buildings, lime rubbish, plaster, &c. The fact 
is well established—it is at once a nourisher and a 
preserver for many years, of the porosity of the soil. 
As to bone manure, few good gardeners would despise 
it. Whether it be the amount of phosphate it con¬ 
tains, or other high principles, or even its texture, it 
is well known that Vines delight in a proportion in 
the soil. Now, we can obtain both boiled and raw 
bones ; the latter, of course, endure much longer ; 
the former give out their qualities with more facility. 
I am an advocate for boiled bones in this case ; being 
of opinion that it is in the phosphates chiefly, that 
bones so well suit the Vine. R. Errington. 
MEMORANDA FOR FEBRUARY". 
Window Gardening. —The sun now gains so much 
more power every day, that extra attention will be j 
required, in order that the plants standing in the 
windows may be in a position to receive the full ad- j 
vantage of it. One of the most important of these 
attentions is thorough cleanliness, not only in the sur¬ 
roundings, but on the plant itself; seeing that no 
incrustation of dust on stem or leaves prevents the 
beneficial action of the sunbeams. For this purpose, 
gently washing the whole with a soft sx>onge will be 
of great importance to their future well-being. Old 
readers of this work will well know how important to 
growing plants is every ray of sunshine at this period. 
The mass of the lovers of flowers have as yet, how¬ 
ever, no idea of this simple fact, though otherwise 
possessing great general intelligence. Perhaxis this is 
not greatly to be wondered at; for, very likely, gar¬ 
deners would just be as ignorant of many things con¬ 
nected with the businesses and professions of these 
good people, that with them have come to be reckoned 
among the very simplicities of knowledge. Hence 
a tyro, just feeling his way, and getting over little 
difficulties by degrees, is frequently a better teacher i 
to those just a little behind himself, than a person who 
has got nearly to the summit of the knowledge that can 
be realised on a certain point; because he is very apt to i 
overlook the first steps in his x>rogress—the steps that 
are everything to beginners. There might oftener be 
more sympathy between the teacher and the learner, 
were it thoroughly kex>t in mind by the former that 
nothing is simple until it is thoroughly known. The 
treatment x>roper to a window plant is a far more 
abstruse subject to some, than the solving of a difficult 
mathematical problem would be to others. 
Very advanced readers of our x>eriodical literature 
should keep this in mind. YVhen glancing, with more 
than railroad pace, over its columns, they throw it 
aside with the impatient exclamation, “Nothing in 
it. YVhy do I x>ay for this, if I get nothing new or 
striking ?” There was a time in their history when 
such matters would have been of importance; and 
their importance is felt by the great proportion of 
readers now. True benevolence would say, “ Well, 
I cannot pick up much fresh here; but the day was 
when I could have done so. I am sure it must do 
good to many. There may be a little dearth of more 
advanced ideas ; but if I can do anything in this 
direction, why should not such old stagers as myself, 
and others I could name, contribute our share of in¬ 
formation in this direction, and thus provide food for 
all. I am sure if there is anything in gratitude for 
favours received, this is what I and others ought to 
do, instead of grumbling at Mr. E. for taking up room 
in telling these favourite window gardeners of his to 
give all the light possible to their plants; which one 
would suxipose any one would do who looked on vege¬ 
tation out of doors rejoicing in the sunshine.” 
YYs! but to admire the beauties of nature is one 
thing : to glean the lessons of wisdom and instruction 
they convey is quite another thing. We see and ad¬ 
mire, and then act differently. It is only when we 
fully comprehend the matter that we come to wonder 
that ever we could have been so inconsistent. We 
find out what simpletons we were ; and hardly can j 
find the sternness to say a word against simplicities 
afterwards. 
In the neighbourhood of a town that shall be name¬ 
less—a town that has had many opportunities of be¬ 
coming acquainted with the principles of vegetation, 
and had, I understand, a first-class lecture on the 
subject from a young, talent.ed medical student only j 
a few weeks ago —in the neighbourhood of that town j 
