Oct. 11th, 1884. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
89 
predilections are of the catholic order—anything that 
will grow at all is the plant for him. 
The best decorated Shelter that we have seen, is 
the one of which we to-day give an illustration, faith¬ 
fully prepared from a photograph, and which many 
will doubtless recognize as the handsome little struc¬ 
ture designed by Mr. Maximilian Clarke, presented by 
Miss Holland and Miss G. Holland to “ The Cabmen’s 
Shelter Fund,” and opened in July last in the Bays- 
water Boad, near the Marble Arch. From the date of 
opening until we last saw it a few weeks ago, this Shelter 
has been a most attractive feature at that very busy 
spot—and the pride of every cabman using the rank. 
The plants, which included most of the commoner 
sorts of summer-flowering things, have all been pro¬ 
vided by the cook in charge, and by him most care¬ 
fully tended. We should like to see more of these 
Shelters rendered pretty and attractive by means of 
GARDEN ALLOTMENTS. 
I was very glad to see your remarks about garden 
allotments and small holdings, as I know from long 
experience what a boon they are to the working 
classes, to o many of whom have no interest whateve 
in the soil beyond the feeling that in some way it 
produces their bread. The land in this country has, 
unfortunately, got into large holdings through owners 
letting buildings go into decay and adding all small 
farms to the large ones, which may, perhaps, have 
suited agents, who have less trouble about repairs, 
keeping accounts, and taking rents, but doing away 
with little holdings has most certainly not been 
for the good of the landlords, who are feeling 
the pinch, for now that corn is coming in vast 
quantities, as it will continue to do, from abroad 
and the price is so low, there is a great cry 
bone, the industrious, staid, hardworking middle-class 
man, who could take his plough, harrow, drill, or 
rother implement, and use any of them, and train his 
sons to do the same, while the daughters were being 
made useful in the house and fitted to become wives 
and mothers later on; but such girls or men are 
nowhere now to be found. Even labourers are being 
driven into the towns, where they are far too thick 
already and only become a burden on the ratepayers, 
whose cry,like the farmers,is, “How bad the times are!” 
To remedy this most unsatisfactory state of things 
the land must be split up into smaller holdings, and 
the sooner proprietors are brought to learn this the 
better will it be for them and their fellows. The Act 
which Mr. Jesse Collings got passed will do much good 
as soon as it becomes known that charity lands are 
to be let for allotments if asked for and the same rents 
offered, but as yet those concerned and for whose 
THE CABMEN’S SHELTER, NEAR THE MARBLE ARCH. 
flowers, but perhaps that is too much to expect while 
the men have to buy the plants themselves. There 
can be no reason, however, why they should not 
receive some assistance by the presentation of plants 
in the spring on the part of those who can afford to 
give them. May we hope that the hint will be taken, 
and that next season, by means of a distribution 
of strong well-rooted young plants of scarlet and 
other Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, Musk, Creeping 
Jenny, Balsams, and such like free-flowering plants, 
a healthy rivalry may be encouraged between the 
men in charge of the different Shelters, to the common 
good of the men themselves, and the edification of 
the public at large. Should any of our readers care 
to assist “ The Cabmen’s Shelter Fund” by means of 
a donation or subscription, the Honorary Secretary, 
Mr. Walter Macnamara, 15, Soho Square, will doubt¬ 
less be very glad to hear from them. 
that farmers cannot meet their expenses and live. 
The why and the wherefore of this is that they have 
done away with the keeping of cows, fowls, and other 
stock, which were too much trouble, and taken to 
growing wheat, which, with present rents, does not 
pay unless the yield happens to be unusually good 
and the season for harvesting fine. 
When we had more small farms, butter, meat, 
cheese, milk, and eggs were all plentiful, but 
. now, speaking quite within the mark, they are 
double the price. Consumption cannot have in¬ 
creased to such an extent as to make the difference, 
which comes almost entirely through the falling 
off in production, for where one cow or hen is 
kept now, ten might be seen before, and no wonder 
then that eggs are not to be had, and beef and mutton 
is over a shilling per pound. The evil, bad as it is, 
does not end here, as the country is losing its back- 
benefit the Act was passed, seem to know nothing 
about it. Cannot those who have the management 
of village clubs, spread the news and let poor 
struggling labourers with families know what has 
been done for them, and that they can hire a bit of 
land without going hat in hand or fearing any refusal ? 
What a glorious thing for artisans in towns if they 
could only have then - plots, but there it is too valuable 
to cultivate and soon gets built over.— Omega. 
Count Festetic. —We learn that Mr. H. E. Milner 
has been entrusted with the laying out of Count 
Festetic’s grounds in Hungary. The works consist 
of an English park on one side of the palace, and on 
the other side the ground is to be treated in the formal 
French manner (as at Versailles) with a complete 
system of waterworks, &c.— Gardeners' Chronicle. 
