JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  15,  1900. 
Supplement  to 
228 
designs  of  mazes,  one  circular  and  the  other  rectangular,'"  which 
seem  to  have  been  favourite  structures  in  his  day.  He  describes  the 
best  position  for  a  garden  as  facing  E  or  S.,  and  away  from  barns 
and  stables,  in  order  to  avoid  chaff.  The  nature  of  the  soil  should 
be  well  studied,  so  that  “  naughty  and  filthy  sand  and  gravel  ” 
may  be  avoided.  “A  quicke  sette  hedge”  should  enclose  it,  and  he 
recommends  sowing  the  .seeds  of  Brambles  and  Briars,  as  the  “  wilde 
E4lantine.”t  The  seeds  should  be  mixed  with  meal  of  tares  and 
pasted  or  smeared  over  a  tarred  rope  laid  in  a  trench  and  then 
covered  over  with  earth. 
Each  border,  called  an  area  by  the  ancients,  was  devoted  generally 
to  a  single  kind  of  plant.  There  were  culinary  vegetables  and  drug 
plants,  though  the  former  were  supposed  to  have  their  virtues  as  well ; 
So  Hill  gives  the  “  physicke  helpes ’’  of  each  one.  Few  flowers  were 
grown  for  their  own  sake,  though  many  had  their  own  virtues,  such  as 
Roses,  Violets,  Marigolds,  and  others. 
A  contemporary  French  writer  under  the  name  Carolus  StephanusJ 
(who  also  compiles  and  follows  the  Romm  writers),  gives  an  area 
devoted  to  flowers  used  as  chaplets  and  garlands,  of  which  the  ancients 
mide  much  use.  Indeed  others  than  young  women  bore  chaplets; 
thus  Chaucer  describes  the  sompnour  §  among  the  Canterbury 
pilgrims  as  having  “a  garland  set  upon  his  head.” 
Sowing  Lore. 
In  sowing  seed  the  age  of  the  seeds  should  be  carefully  noted,  as 
some  grew  better  when  young,  others  when  old  ;  and  he  suggests  a 
plan  of  sowing  several  kinds  in  one  hole,  so  that  a  single  plant  would 
bear  many  sorts  of  flowers  ! 
Astrology  comes  in  occasionally  as  the  phases  of  the  moon 
indicate  the  proper  periods  for  sowing;  since  “seeds  might  not  grow 
through  some  malice  of  the  celestial  bodies.’’  Hence  a  paragraph  is 
devoted  to  the  proper  time  of  sowing,  according  to  the  position  of  the 
moon. II  It  runs  as  follows  : — “Themoone  beyngbetwene  the  28  degree 
of  Taurus  and  the  eleventh  of  Gemini,  sowe.  And  the  moone  beinge 
between  the  28  of  Gemini  and  the  6  of  Cancer,  sowe  not,”  &c.,  &c. 
As  no  one  is  likely  to  pay  any  attention  to  these  directions  now,  I 
will  spare  the  reader  the  remainder  ! 
Watering  should  be  done  in  the  morning  and  evening  with  luke¬ 
warm  water ;  and  if  the  well  be  deep  the  water  should  be  exposed  to 
the  sun  for  a  few  days  before  being  used.  Manure  may  be  mixed  with 
the  water. 
With  regard  to  making  of  arbours  Hill  writes: — “After  the  newe 
digging  and  turning  up  againe,  the  garden  must  then  be  garnished 
with  herbers  before  the  quarters  and  beddes  be  cast  out  and  devised. 
And  you  maye  make  these  herbers,  either  straight  running  U[>,  or 
els  vaulted  or  close  over  the  head  like  to  the  vyne  herbers  nowe  a 
dayes  made.” 
A  wholesome  warning  against  trusting  newly  procured  seeds  is 
given  : — “  You  may  not  put  your  whole  hope,  that  vndoubtedly  they 
wyll  prospere,  in  that  it  is  doubtful!  whether  they  wylle  prosper, 
or  no.” 
Combating  Garden  Pests. 
The  animal  world  seems  to  have  been  very  annoying,  if  the 
numerous  remedies  against  injury  by  them  be  any  indication.  The 
following  are  a  few  examples: — Steeping  seeds  in  the  juice  of  Ilouse- 
leek  is  recommended,  as  it  makes  birds  intoxicated  !  Worms  should  be 
smoked  out  of  their  holes  to  prevent  them  gnawing  the  roots  of  herbs. 
If  Rokat  (Rocket  ?)  be  sown  among  plants  flies  will  not  come  near 
them.  Sharp  vinegar  with  henbane  juice  sprinkled  upon  the  herbs  is 
a  good  deterrent  to  insects,  or  the  water  of  Fleabaneaud  Nigella.  As 
for  caterpillars,  the  trees  should  be  sprinkled  with  bloudy  twigs,  or 
hung  with  river  creauisses  (cray-fish).  The  smoke  of  brimstone  and 
Garlic  leaves,  or  Squill  bulbs  hung  about,  also  keep  them  off. 
To  keep  moles  away,  Palma  Christi,  or  Tickweed  (Castor-oil 
plant)  and  Walnuts  full  of  brimstone  chaff e  and  rosin  put  into  their 
hole,  stopping  up  all  other  holes,  they  get  choked  by, the  fumes.  An 
“ easy  manner  ”  is  as  follows  : — “Get  a  quicke  (live)  mole,  putting 
the  same  into  a  deepe  earthen  potte,  set  onto  the  edge  into  the  earthe, 
which  mole.  ,  .  wil  crie  out,  and  after  the  other  moles  in  that  grounde 
do  thus  heare  him  crie,  they  will  hastely  drawe  neare  vnto  him,  and 
miuding  to  help  him  furth,  wil  so  fall  into  the  pot.”  To  keep  ants 
away,  smere  the  stems  with  oil  of  Lupines,  or  put  the  heart  of  an 
owl  into  the  ants’  nest,  when  they  will  be  driven  away.  Remedies 
against  mice,  adders,  gnats,  breeses  (whiche  bee  flyes  that  eate  the 
*  This  is  reproduced  by  Hon.  Miss  Amherst.  Op.  Cit.,  p.  110. 
t  Eglantine  in  the  fourteenth  century  was  the  Dog  Rose,  but  the  name 
was  transferred  to  the  Sweet  Briar  in  the  sixteenth. 
X  His  real  name  was  Charles  Estienne  (see  “The  Praise  of  Gardens,”  by 
Sieveking,  p.  43). 
§  I.e.,  a  summoner  or  apparitor. 
11  So  V'irgil  says  ;  “  Even  the  moon  has  made  different  days  lucky  for  work 
in  various  ways.”  (Geor.  I.). 
come  as  it  groweth),  and  others  aie  given,  more  ridiculous  than 
sensible. 
To  destroy  “  rust  when  it  is  falling  on  the  herbes  ”  pungent  smoke 
from  burning  horn  and  dung,  blown  by  the  wind  upon  the  plants,  is 
recommended  ;  or  water  in  which  the  wild  Cucumber  or  Colocynth 
has  been  bruised,  should  be  sprinkled  over  the  plants.  This  last  is 
interesting  as  foreshadowing  the  modern  method  of  spraying  with 
various  fungicides. 
Garden  Stock  of  Sixteenth  Century. 
“  The  Seconde  Booko  instructeth  the  diverse  maner  of  sowynge, 
setting,  and  ordering  of  the  moste  poteherbes,  flowers,  &c.,  with  the 
care  and  secretes  taught.”  To  each  follows  “  the  physicke  helpes.” 
The  following  are  nearly  all  the  plants  mentioned  as  being  the 
most  important  to  be  cultivated  in  a  garden  ol  the  sixteenth  century. 
Potherbs. — Lettuce,  Endive,  Succory,  Spinach,  Orache  or  Arage,  Beet, 
Colesvorts,  Asparagus,  and  Mallows.  Kitchen  Herbs. — Cress,  Savory, 
Lovage,  Aui.se,  Cummin,  Coriander,  Dill,  Mustard,  Fennel,  Penny¬ 
royal,  Rosemary,  Chervil,  Lavender,  Rue,  Hyssop,  Mint,  Thyme, 
Marjoram,  and  llasil.  Flowers. — Rose.s,  Violet,  Marigolde,  White 
Lily,  Wood  Lily,  Iris,  Peony,  White  Poppy,  Gillyflower,  Carnation, 
Bor.age,  Bugloss,  Germander,  the  Blessed  Thistle,  and  Purslane. 
Kitchen  Vegetables. — Artichoke,  Leek,  Onion,  Garlic,  Great  Garlic, 
Radish,  Navew,  Par.snip,  and  Oarot.  Fruits. — Melon,  Cucumber, 
Gourd,  Strawberry,  Bean  of  Egypt* * * §.  A  lew  others  not  readily  identi¬ 
fiable  complete  the  list. — George  Henslow. 
Charaaerops  Fortunei. 
Although  this  handsome  Palm  will  endure  a  great  amount  of 
cold  it  does  not  flourish  out  of  doors  everywhere,  and  where  it  will 
not  its  appearance  is  anything  but  what  it  ought  to  be.  My 
experience  with  it  dates  to  many  years  back,  when  I  became  the 
possessor  of  half  a  dozen  medium-sized  plants.  A  portion  of  them  I 
brought  forward  in  pots,  the  remainder  were  planted  out  in  a  cold  pit. 
They  remained  in  that  pit  about  two  years,  when  thr^’e  or  four  of 
them  were  planted  out,  two  in  small  circular  beds  on  the  turf  in  a 
tolerably  good  position,  but  not  sheltered  from  winds,  and  I  soon 
lound  the  tips  of  the  foliage  bec.ame  browned  and  useless.  Though 
this  was  by  degrees  replaced  by  other  foliage  the  plants  still  pre¬ 
sented  a  crippled  appearance,  only  a  portion  of  the  base  of  the  leaf 
remaining,  and  the  points  being  all  destroyed. 
Of  course  the  progress  of  the  plant  is  slow  ;  but  one  which  had 
a  more  sheltered  position,  being  planted  on  a  south  border  amongst 
Yuccas  and  Irises,  where  the  wind  had  little  chance  of  injuring  it, 
flourished.  Although  we  subsequently  had  some  rather  severe 
winters  after  it  was  placed  in  this  position  it  never  showed  the 
least  injury  either  from  wind  or  frost,  and  looked  as  well  as  other 
plants  of  a  like  kind  in  pots  in  the  greenhouse.  It  is  a  slow  growing 
plant,  and  consKpiently  may  not  be  a  general  favourite,  but  it  must 
be  remembered  that  its  appearance  is  good  at  all  time.*,  and  if  grown 
at  all  it  ought  to  occupy  the  favoured  position  undisturbed  for  at  least 
half  a  dozen  years. 
As  a  sort  of  Oriental  poetry  attaches  to  the  name  of  Palm,  a 
species  that  survives  an  English  winter  must  at  all  times  be 
interesting.  Patience  is  the  only  requisite  in  its  culture  to 
insure  success,  for  this  plant  cannot  be  multiplied  like  the 
ordinary  occupants  of  the  flower  garden ;  indeed,  I  have  never  been 
able  to  increase  my  stock  by  any  other  means  than  from  seeds.  The 
quality  of  these  must  not  be  too  hastily  condemned,  for  they  are 
very  irregular  in  germinating.  On  one  occasion,  when  I  procured 
seeds,  I  placed  each  one  in  a  separate  pot  at  the  beginning  of 
February,  and  put  these  receptacles  in  a  very  warm  pit.  If  my 
memory  serves  me  truly,  none  of  the  seedlings  came  through  the 
soil  until  May.  Some  came  up  at  various  times  during  the  summer, 
the  last  one  appearing  as  late  as  November,  or  at  least  nine  months 
after  sowing. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  unwise  to  hurry  the  plant,  which 
when  well  grown  is  such  an  attractive  addition  to  the  garden.  Of 
course  it  is  very  largely  used  in  subtropical  gardening,  for  which 
purpose  it  is  admirably  adapted  ;  but  in  this  case,  as  with  many  other 
occupants  of  this  department,  it  spends  the  winter  under  glass,  and 
only,  comes  out  of  doors  during  the  genial  days  of  the  summer.  On 
this  phase  of  its  culture  I  need  say  nothing,  as  it  is  thoroughly  under¬ 
stood,  and  my  object  in  writing  this  note  is  simply  to  encourage  its 
trial  (where  such  has  net  already  been  done)  as  a  permanent 
occupant  of  suitable  positiors  in  the  flower  garden  or  other  desirable 
places. — R.  J.,  Devon. 
*  Faba  egiptiaca  was  Colocijia  aiitiquorum  {Schott),  but  was  also  a  name 
for  the  Lupin,  which  is  probablj  meant  here. 
