448 
THE QARDENIHU WORLD. 
May 23, 1903. 
the person of Sterculus Picumnus, her worthy gardener, who 
had been in her employ for some years. This gardener, how¬ 
ever, had been tempted by large wages to leave for another 
place in the north of England, but his wife was not very sure 
of the permanency of this arrangement, judging by the affec¬ 
tionate farewell she took of her former employer. It. is here 
stated that it is extremely difficult to get a good gardener for 
a small garden, but that for a large estate that difficulty dis¬ 
appears. During the course of a. twelvemonth the author had 
five gardeners, all of whom had serious; faults, but one of them 
had an execrable temper. He could never live on speaking 
terms with more than one person at a time. He was requested 
to leave after the family had got thoroughly tired of him, but 
the situation was saved owing to their own original Sterculus; 
discovering that his. old situation was vacant, and he might 
come back again. Even he was not faultless, but his peculiari¬ 
ties took a particular form. He was thoroughly against the 
employment, of extra labour, and took a sour delight in pointing 
out the vast amount of labour that could be performed by one 
“ pair o’ ’ands.” His expression in one particular case was: 
“ I’ve seen a pig in a. garden afore now,” and the artist has 
represented this; individual dressed up. in a coat and hat. Even 
this Sterculus was obliging enough to his employer to allow 
his brother to be employed in the garden. 
We now mention another difference in taste from that usually 
accepted by writers on gardening. In this particular instance 
it was the month of March, and the author was contemplating 
planting certain flowers, to come into effect, in July and August, 
when the sun. would beat its hottest period of the year. In 
this instance the author complains of the pinks and yellows 
of . the gardener’s selection a.s. being irritating and tiring to 
the eyes in the bright sunshine. We must, confess, that the 
gardener in this case must have been more given to. selection 
of certain things than his confreres usually get credit for. 
Taking the general run of garden flowers, they are very liable 
to run into yellow alone after August, unless careful selection 
has been made with the object of preventing this occurrence. 
Instead of those colours, the; author would select, mauve, blue, 
white and purple, and says how soothing those colours would 
be if freely planted in masses. We have in mind another 
writer who seems never tired of speaking of the rank colour of 
purple. Here, again, the author would seem to. run contrary 
to popular taste, as it has been finding expression in gardening 
literature lately. Amongst other flowers which the author 
mentions, is the blue Commelina coelestis, and if she plants 
such we feel quite sure; she will not have her eyes picked out 
with the same flowers two. days in succession, as they are as 
ephemeral as they are beautiful. The propagation of it from 
seeds is carefully described, showing a practical acquaintance 
with the plant. Petunias are also' raised from seeds, and the] 
author urges the question of the best dealers as cheap Petunia 
seed is one of the many snares of the penny packet, salesman. 
Preference, in this instance, is given to. the old pink variety, on 
account of its free flowering character, but which is very much 
despised by Sterculus, who thus shows the time instinct of the 
modern gardener. , _ . „ i ■, 
The middle of July finds them amongst the Crimson Rambler 
Garland, and Ayrshire Roses. Ye-llow Alstroemerias. and Even- 
ing Primroses, several of which are here named, are in tu 
o-lory. Like many other villa gardeners, they are here troubled 
with the seeding propensities; of Oenothera biennis. St. 
Swithin’s Day comes; round, and the; author and her family are. 
influenced bv the surroundings, being very much in the country 
where old customs are observed. Every Giles lias his Jane, and 
St. Swithin’s Day must be celebrated by fast and furious fun, 
which recalls the ’Appy ’Ampstead of the London, coster on a. 
Bank Holiday. These rollicking amusements, being familiar 
features, are.'represented by some illustrations. History gives 
similar instances in the neighbourhood of London when the 
public holidays were enjoyed by mostly everybody from 
Royalty down to the costermonger. . 
The author is also much concerned with the loss of the 
common lands, which at one time practically belonged to the 
people, and were enjoyed by them as if such tracts of land ha, 
been their own property. These facts are brought into the 
story on the advent of Lammas Day (August 1st). The author 
states that in their parish large portions of waste and marshy 
lands at one time were practically common property, and the 
survey of the parish dated 1550 gives an account of extensive 
heaths, and commons practically belonging to, the people in 
those days. Gradually the rights were withdrawn, and various 
portions enclosed and appropriated by the lord of the manor. 
We cannot help thinking, however, that the eagerness with 
which people from the town wish to get country homes in 
secluded parts of the country encourages many landlords to 
enclose what at one time was unfenced land, and more or less 
easily open to the general public. For the first few years those 
who first settle down in these secluded localities enjoy all the 
benefits of such retirement and seclusion ; but if the landlord 
has staked out the land for building purposes, a village or even 
a. little town practically springs up in a few years if not too 
remote from London, and it is no. longer the country, with its 
rural surroundings. 
The remainder of the book is taken up with the year’s work 
in the garden, with its pleasures and difficulties, including that- 
occasioned by the gardener, who seems no small part of the 
family, together with what occurs amongst the country people 
round about. On February 3rd Sterculus did not come home 
at. night, and all the village was lost in anxiety about him. 
About mid-day he stumbled into the kitchen, and after having 
been, stayed by stimulants and comforted with strong broth 
he tells his ta.le of a, ghost, that he; had seen,. We leave it to 
our readers; to read for themselves the tato of the ghost as 
related by Sterculus, the family gardener. For those who wish 
to while away an idle hour much of the book may prove in¬ 
teresting, even if net always instructive to the professional. 
A Collection of Alocasias. 
{See Supplement.) 
In the days when big specimen plants were fashionable and 
abundant an flower shows the Alocasias enjoyed great popu¬ 
larity. Since the big specimens have disappeared tne Alocasias 
have only been required for ordinary decorative purposes in the 
stove, and a few of them continue to be grown, while others 
have got very scarce in cultivation. It is interesting and satis T 
factory to note, however, that some cultivators take sufficient 
interest in these noble fine foliage plants to preserve them to 
the country till such times as the change of fashion brings them 
into more prominence again. 
About twenty species and varieties are grown in one house 
by Mr. John Russell, Richmond, Surrey, and our Supplement 
oaves a general view of the whole collection, which is certainly 
a valuable one, owing to the scarcity of many of the specimens. 
The finest of all in cultivation is A. watsoniana, with silvery 
veins and a, silvery suffusion all over the surface of the huge 
shield-shaped leaf, the blade of which often measures 27 in. by 
16 in. A very rare one which has all but been lost is A. 
Veitchi, having silvery ribs and edges on a lustrous green 
ground, with secondary veins creeping over it in silvery fashion 
when fully developed. A. argentea is silvery gray, with 
secondary slender gray veins creeping over it on a deep green 
ground, which is never entirely covered. A. argyrea has broad 
silvery bands, along the ribs, and on fully-developed leaves a 
silvery shade creeps all over the leaf and in this particular it- 
differs from "A. argentea.. A. metallica has a. coppery shade 
between the principal ribs, and is violet underneath the leaf. 
Another magnificent form is A. thibautiana, with huge shield¬ 
shaped leaves and silvery veins. A. Lowii has deep green, but- 
not lustrous, wrinkled leaves and silvery ribs. A. Lown grandis 
differs by having secondary cross lines of a silvery hue. The 
above are certainly the principal gems in the collection, though 
several others are scarcely inferior from a decorative point ot 
view. _ . . 
Better known than some of them is A. San den, with i s 
silvery ribs and scolloped edges. A. S. nobilis differs by its 
having more deeply scolloped edges. Another beautiful form 
which we must place here is A. gandavensis, which resem i es 
