ROBIN. 
Robin, robin redbreast 
Hopping close to me, 
With thy merry little song, 
Fearless as can be, 
Head awry 
Sparkling eye 
Watching as the spade I ply. 
Robin, robin redbreast, 
In the winter chill, 
Waiting for the breadcrumbs 
At my windowsill, 
Breast aglow 
’Midst the snow, 
Flitting gaily to and fro. 
Robin, robin redbreast, 
Lying stiff and stark, 
Frozen ’neath the hedgerow 
In the bitter dark, 
Closed that eye 
Once so spry, 
Hushed the song of days gone by. 
Sadly do I miss thee 
Little bird so gay, 
Friend of autumn’s dreary hours 
And sad winter’s day. 
When life’s winter comes for me 
May I find a friend like thee. 
J. G. B. 
Am Old-fashioned Border. 
backward portion at the centre of the 
curve a bold group of Hollyhocks would 
gain in effect by reason of the particular 
position they occupied. It is well to 
make a point of including some of the 
typically old-fashioned and old-world 
flowers, and I give a short list of flowering 
plants that have been in our English gar¬ 
dens for centuries, in many cases: — 
Asphodel, Monkshood, Snapdragon (once 
with Coronilla glauca as a hardy subject 
out-of-doors. It survived last winter, and 
it stands now a handsome shrub three 
feet or more in height and of large cir¬ 
cumference and crowded with flowering 
buds—such a plant that would require 
far too much room as a pot subject in the 
conservatory. Now here, then, is a grand 
plant to run the hazard with, and experi¬ 
ment with as a hardy subject. This year 
The Gardening World, January ii, 1908. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
“In all places and in all seasons flowers expand their light and soul like wings.” — Longfellow. 
An Amateur s Letter to Amateurs. 
CONTENTS. 
Amateur’s Letter to Amateurs, An 
(illus.) ..-. 15 
Carnation Britannia (illus.) . 19 
Carnation Mrs. H. Burnett (illus.). 20 
Competition Awards . 16 
Competition, Prize Letter . 18 
Enquire Within . 24 
Flower Garden, The (illus.) .—... 21 
Fruit Border, How to Make a (illus.)... 17 
Fruit Garden, The (illus.) . 21 
Geraniums, etc. : Wintering in Frames 17 
Greenhouse, The Amateur’s . 21 
Heath, A Pretty . 17 
Kitchen Garden, The (illus.) . 21 
Lawns and Seashore Sand . 16 
Mutisia decurrens . 18 
Orchids for Amateurs . 22 
Roses in January . 23 
Sweet Peas and Superfluous Super ... 19 
Wahlenbergia Saxicola . 19 
Work of the Week (illus.) . 21 
cxxv. 
Old Fashioned Borders. 
Now is the time when naturally we turn 
our thoughts to any alterations we may 
think desirable. Last summer I was in a 
garden that seemed to me to possess a 
typical and truly delightful old-fashioned 
border, as I think my illustration testifies. 
Such a border is not difficult to maka 
and plant, but its old-fashioned character 
should be kept in mind throughout the 
operations. I call attention to the curve 
the border has been made to take, for it 
seems to me it might become a good ob¬ 
ject lesson, if such lines were in keeping 
with their surroundings. In planting 
such a border various points of vantage — 
the middle of the curve, the corners — 
should have reserved for them plants that 
have distinct and bold effect. Thus in the 
known as Calves’ Snout), Fraxinella (Dic- 
tamus), Lavender, Chamomile (Anthemis), 
Day Lilies, Tansy, Commelma, Lark¬ 
spurs (Delphinium), Hibiscus, Scarlet 
Bergamot,' Campanulas, Honesty, Vale¬ 
rian, Paeonies, Leopard’s Bane, Solomon’s 
Seal, Angelica, Lungwort, with spotted 
leaf, to mention but a few. 
That Lungwort with the spotted leaf is 
a very delightful low-growing plant for a 
border, because after the flowering is over, 
the foliage becomes, and remains all win¬ 
ter, a handsome and striking clump, while 
the Ox-eye Chamomile (Anthemis tine- 
toria) is a capital long-enduring summer 
flowering Compositae that should cer¬ 
tainly be numbered in the category of 
indispensable hardy flowers. 
The Hardihood of Plants. 
I have spoken before of my experiments 
