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THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, May 10, 1850. 
Much of the beauty inspired by garden scenery is owing to the 
many varied and beautiful forms which the plants and flowers 
present to our ravished vision, and their silent associations, 
emblematic of our frail and fleeting existence; beautiful in their 
bud of youth, in the full cup of maturity, and exciting our sym¬ 
pathy when stricken by death, we love them and we mourn for 
them; we consign them to the tomb of winter, hoping to meet 
them again in other years under brighter suns and cloudless skies. 
“ Resurgam ” is their motto. Rut I fear that soaring on the 
wings ot' fancy, and infatuated by the interest I feel in my theme, 
I am losing sight of the intention of this paper. 
Do our good friends, who indulge themselves in gardening, 
remember that when they speak of their “taste” they are 
amenable to the ordeal of criticism ; and unless it is consistent 
with the immutable laws which form its basis, it is but a nickname 
for their whims or caprice (they may call it which they please). 
It is not to be expected that all who have gardens should bo 
au fait at their arrangement. It is an art which has been thought 
not to be beneath the attention of the greatest kings, philosophers, 
and statesmen; oven “ Solomon in all his glory ” was touched 
with the unpretending beauty of the “ Lilies of the field.” 
Let us, then, counsel our metropolitan friends, who are intent 
upon leading a quiet suburban existence, having finished the 
toils of commercial life and amassed plenty of money, that, 
should they purchase a place to exercise their skill upon, they 
should have the opinion of a clever man as a landscape gardener, 
and have a general plan designed and prepared, after thorough 
consideration, to be commenced upon, and carried out pro¬ 
gressively ; thus avoiding the many rocks a-head upon which 
such people split. Let them, also, get to understand the rules 
.and principles of the art in a general manner. So will their 
places yield them more satisfaction ; and the public in visiting 
them will be spared the excruciating pain of seeing, as they might 
have done at the Lawrencian Villa, Grecian vases of the first 
class set down upon pillars of flints; or, in other places, standing 
upon bare earth without any pedestals at all. 
In no sphere of his observation has man so many, so beautiful, 
and so varied a collection of graceful curves presented to his view 
as he has in the varied forms and inflections of the 6tems of 
gigantic grasses with their nodding plumes of silvery feathers ; in 
the tendrils of the Vine, the Hop, and the Ivy ; in the stem of 
the Rose, bent with its fulness of the dew of Heaven into a 
graceful curve; in the varied and infinite conformation of leaves, 
flowers, and fruits. It would bo sad indeed, if, while having 
such lessons from the book of the Divine Artist Himself, man 
should not avail himself of the exquisite delineations of beautiful 
forms which the book of Nature presents, and appropriate to 
himself in his gardens those lines of beauty which are so adapted 
for his purpose. 
The exact expression of beautiful lines is an important point 
in the keeping of a garden. Every curve and sinuosity should be 
most regular and true ; cut with the utmost exactness, if in 
grass; and trimmed with mathematical precision, if in Box or 
such-like materials. For, however good the design may be, if it 
is not artistically carried out it will prove a failure. 
A small garden well kept is always much more satisfactory 
than a large ill-kept one. Let no one, therefore, attempt to do 
too much; but lot every person who intends designing a place 
consider and proportion his means to the end. Thus will the 
beaut}' of propriety be given to the creation of artistic skill; and 
whilst the art of design is prominent in the whole, the beauty of 
utility and propriety will always conduce to the superior enjoy¬ 
ment of the owner and his friends. 
We greatly advocate that, whatever the style of the house, 
whether Italian, Grecian, or Gothic, all its subordinate offices, 
whether attached or detached, should be in the same style. We 
have marked many deviations from this rule with regret. We 
have seen old mauor houses with flimsy Gothic dairies. And wc 
have seen places where this principle is carried out, as at Arundel 
Castle, which we have thought both unexceptionable and incom¬ 
parable. 
“Taste,” says Mr. Allison, “is, in general, considered as that 
quality of the human mind by which we perceive and enjoy 
whatever is beautiful or sublime in the works of nature or art.” 
But in the investigation of the beauty and sublimity of material 
forms, there are certain rules and axioms to which we must refer 
as established principles; and it is only by a knowledge of these 
principles, by study and reflection, that we can lay the foundation 
of correct “taste.” 
The community has now the most ample opportunities of 
becoming familiar with works of art; and the great facilities 
afforded by our various exhibitions are doing much to diffuse 
among us an improved “ taste,” which, when fully developed, 
will be a source of real enjoyment and a blessing to our country. 
The delightful art of gardening wants not for patronage ; and 
we do trust, that as au art of design, it may continue to receive 
its share of attention, and become established on fixed principles 
of really good “taste.”— Heney Baxley, Nuneham. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
NIGHT-SCENTED HEATH—CULTURE OF 
DESFONTAINESIA SPINOSA. 
“ Will you tell me what the real namo of the Niglit-sceuted 
Heath is, and whether it really is a Heath P for 1 doubt it. 
Also, the best way of cultivating Desfontainesia spinosa '! and 
whether cuttings are made of the young unripened wood ? and 
what soil suits it ? ”— Rose. 
[The Heaths that are scented are Uric a muscari, E.fragrans, 
and A. odorata rosea. It is, indeed, a matter of doubt whether 
any of these give out their perfume in the night so sufficiently as 
to deserve the character of “ Night-scented.” It is very probable 
that your plant is the Drinus Lychnidea, a low-growing species 
with long, narrow leaves, and white flowers, which expand to¬ 
wards the evening, and emit then a pleasant perfume. Wc could 
be certain if you sent a specimen. The other night-smelling 
flowers arc the Matliiola trisiis, (Enotherafructicosa, (A. pumila, 
and the well-known Reseda odorata (Mignonette). 
Your second question is more easy to answer. Desfontainesia 
spinosa is a spiny, Holly-like shrub, and in favourable localities 
is hardy ; but on account of its rarity it is as yet treated as a 
greenhouse plant. It requires a compost of turfy loam, sandy 
peat, and leaf mould, in equal parts. The pots should be well 
drained, and the plant should not be over-potted. It propagates 
easily by young shoots taken off just where the last year’s wood 
terminates, planted in sand under a bell-glass, and just kept moist. 
The cutting-pot and its contents should be placed in a gentle 
heat. This is the present practice ; but there is no doubt ripened 
cuttings would root readily under a hand-glass in a shady place 
in the open air.] 
FERNS FOR A WARDIAN CASE. 
“I am about fitting up a glass out-door Wardian Case for 
Ferns. It is seven feet long, two feet three inches wide, three 
feet six inches high; the roof, also, is glass. It is almost shaded 
on the south and east sides, partially on the west and the roof. 
The front faces the north. I have given the floor a coating of 
pitch, and think of making a drainage of small pumice stones, 
and placing large pieces of the same material amongst the plants. 
My chief difficulty is with the soil. What do you recommend? 
A list of suitable Ferns will greatly oblige. I have a line plant ot 
Dicisonia hispidula , of Fteris longifolia, the common Adiantum ; 
Diplazium pubescens, and Cyrtomium falcalum. Also, a lot of 
choice seedlings, the names of which I do not know, but can 
easily ascertain.”—M. L. 
[Your Wardian Case is, wc suppose, a fixture ; and from its 
position is, perhaps, near a building. It is to bo feared it has too 
little light. Though many kinds of Ferns love shade from hot 
sun, yet there are still more that will bear and thrive better for 
any amount of light. Your preparation for drainage is right; 
and for soil, procure some fibrous peat from a common, where 
the wild Heath thrives, next some turfy loam, and leaf mould; 
mix equal parts, but do not sift it, only break or chop the larger 
lumps. Add a free mixture of sand through the whole. Previous 
to using the soil, cover the drainage either with a thin layer of 
moss, or thin turf, cut from an old pasture ; only be careful that 
such turf contains no bad weeds—such as Docks, Thistles, Butter 
Cups, or Couch Grass. 
If your Case is a fixture, you must be careful not to plant any 
Ferns hi it that are tender; but if you can place it under shelter 
from frost, then you may plant any that will bear greenhouse 
treatment. Amur Dicksonia, Diplazium, and Dteris are not 
hardy enough to bear frost. 
Then, again, have you an arrangement by which you can give 
