THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, July 6, 1858. 
practice was very curious, and most interesting, and, 
also, that we should all have a chance of improved 
new blue bedders from these experiments. Therefore, 
I studied the family in my dissecting-room, on purpose 
for this article on crossing Larkspurs ; and I can 
vouch for every item in it to be as true to nature as I 
have endeavoured to make it simple in practice. 
D. Beaton. 
SOME SMALL MATTERS IN GARDEN 
ECONOMICS. 
EUCHSIA STEMS AS STAKES. 
In such tropical weather, with thunder-showers 
falling to the right and left, and leaving one com¬ 
paratively untouched, gardeners in general will have 
enough to do, to keep things alive, without having 
much time to think, and less to write, about matters ol 
great moment. What are mere trifles, however, to 
many of the readers of this work, are matters of great 
! moment and importance to many others. To a few of 
j these trifles, but which many of those for whom we 
! write find all important, I would devote this gossiping 
chapter. Among these, small sticks for neat little 
j plants is found to be a great want in small suburban 
gardens. It is true that sticks neatly made may be 
bought in plenty ; but then our friends dislike those 
that are painted bright green, as taking the eye to 
the stake from the plant. They dislike those also 
that are left white from the plane and the whittle, as 
j also being too glaring. A dark, sombre brown would 
suit them better. But the chief objection is, that all 
these sticks are too massive to suit their purpose. 
They prefer, in fact, something more like a twig than 
a stake, and as inconspicuous as possible,—such as 
i they might support an Achimenes with, for instance, 
without obtruding greatly upon the eye, or looking 
clumsy and out of place when seen. The great de¬ 
sideratum is to be able to have these sticks within 
themselves, and that from something that, whilst it is 
growing, will yield its complement of pleasure and 
enjoyment. For mere utility, a small willow-stool 
ground would be serviceable. For combining the 
useful and the beautiful, I know of nothing that for 
this purpose would beat rows or hedges of Fuchsias, 
especially if they had an evergreen background to 
show them off to advantage. To get these to bloom 
beautifully, and to produce the greatest quantity of 
suitable material for stakes, they should be treated 
much in the way of willow-stools,—be cut down close 
to the ground after the first sharp frost, and a little 
longish dung put over the stools. These stools, if 
i strongish shoots are desired, should be pretty well 
thinned in May. If many small shoots, about half- 
I an-inch in girth, are wanted, less thinning should 
! be given. For sheaves of these neat little shoots, the 
old coccinea, virgata, and Thomjpsoniana are best. For 
strong long shoots, from a quarter to three-quarters 
of an inch in diameter, gracilis and Riccartonia are 
best. The globosa and Buisiii, though they bloom 
very freely, do not in general produce these shoots 
long enough for the purpose. I prefer cutting them 
down after the first sharp frost, as, if the frost is 
continuous and severe, the shoots will be rendered 
! more brittle, and the bark will be apt to peel off, 
which is so far objectionable, as it renders the stick 
more perceptible. If the frost has not been strong 
enough to destroy all vital action, the shoots should 
be prepared and dried some time before using ; or, 
when placed in pots, you may get vour pots filled 
with Fuchsia roots. Keeping this in view, I know of 
no more suitable little sticks, for neat small plants, 
than are thus to be obtained from Fuchsia stools. A 
203 | 
small row border, or hedge, would render many a I 
pretty suburban garden independent in this respect; 
and the trimming them up would furnish nice work in¬ 
doors in bad weather. 
PEGGING DOW r N PLANTS IN THE PLOW'EE-BEDS. 
Some ladies, about a fortnight ago, told me, as a 
great discovery, that nothing equalled disused hair¬ 
pins. They kept all theirs carefully for that purpose, 
and they were sure nothing could answer better,—• 
and they could put them in the ground so easily. 
Certainly, if anyone would kindly give a hundred¬ 
weight or two I should have no objection to use them. 
The first expense, and the chance of losing a great 
many every season, would be the great drawback. 
Another party, on witnessing our home-spun, patent 
mode, had nothing to say in its favour, though I 
understand they have since imitated w r hat they did 
not admire; but were loud in praising pegs cut from 
broken old birch brooms and the tops of pea-stakes. 
I have nothing to say against either of them ; but I 
should like to see the beds all done before any whittler 
could make the hooked pegs. All is not gold that 
glitters. Every improvement, in an enthusiast’s eye, 
may be something absolutely in the way of a sober, 
practical one. A gentleman sent for me one day, to 
tell me of a great improvement he had thought of for 
my water-barrels, namely, the inserting of a tajj at 
the base, through which the w r ater was to come at 
pleasure. I should have expected the barrel to be 
half emptied, whilst a man was looking at the water 
running into the first pailful. Last season I observed, 
in a shed, a manufacturing of pegs from old brooms, 
for layering strawberries in pots, and no doubt they 
answered well. But, supposing that any fastening at 
all was necessary, the garden must have been pecu¬ 
liarly destitute of little stones, pieces of crock, &c, if 
a thousand of them could not be collected whilst fifty 
pegs were making, and which could be applied to the 
runner afterwards, with much less trouble and time 
than any peg, however nicely made. Mr. Beaton’s 
patent mode of pegging, by placing a piece of matting 
round the shoot,—about six or eight inches long,— 
and then inserting the two ends firmly in the earth, 
w T as a great stride in the right direction, and must 
long remain one of the very best modes for all su¬ 
burban gardens, where any other mode of pegging 
could with more difficulty be resorted to. A single mat 
cut up into strings, of so many inches in length, would 
furnish an immense number of holdfasts or pegs, 
when the ends were thus inserted in the ground. Our 
friend, I know, will pardon me, if I just doubt if his 
patent mode, though generally useful, be the very 
best in every case and circumstance. I have tried it 
pretty extensively here, and—perhaps on the principle 
that we like our own schemes and plans best—I have 
fallen back on an old plan, which. 1 have adopted for 
many years, but which can only be followed by those 
who can as easily get old or young wood for the 
purpose. My only objection to the loop of mat 
fastened in the soil, was the difficulty of getting the 
fixing done expeditiously and well; and then, as we | 
are much exposed to wind, it often happened that, 
when wet and wind came together, the ties were 
loosened from their moorings, and the tops of the 
plants were swept into bundles of confusion. It is but 
right to state, however, that our friend’s mode stood 
much better in sheltered places. I found, also, that 
the men could do the work as quickly by our old mode 
as by the mat ties, and that it was more durable for 
the season. Our old patent mode simply consists in 1 
turning the summer shoots of trees, and last year’s 
shoots, if not too old to break through, into hairpins 
as it were. For instance, in the month of June, we thin 
