348 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  2ff,  1900. 
Deductions  from  Personal  Observations. 
These,  then,  are  the  conclusions  I  have  come  to — that  the  wide¬ 
spread  disease  of  Narcissus  bulbs  which  has  come  to  receive  the  name 
of ‘‘ basal  rot  ”  is  caused  by  an  active  injurious  fungus — viz.,  “  Peni- 
cilium  ” — specific  in  the  sense  that  it  has  a  special  affinity  for  bulbous 
structures  ;  that  it  occurs  always,  if  not  altogether,  in  cultivated  soils 
infested  with  the  fungus,  ana  where  there  are  present  free  ammoniacal 
or  nitrogenous  compounds  ;  that  all  injurious  agencies  affecting  bulbs, 
such  as  frost,  late  planting,  half-ripened  roots,  cause  the  bulbs  to  fall 
an  easier  prey  to  the  disease  ;  that  healthy  culture  consists  in  choosing 
a  mellow  soil,  free  from  nitrogenous  compounds,  or  in  rendering  the 
soil  mellow  by  first  growing  on  it  a  crop  which  will  free  it  of  nitrogen 
(and  perhaps  the  best  crop  for  this  is  grass) ;  that  the  disease  may  be 
warded  off  by  allowing  the  roots  to  lie  only  sufficiently  long  to  cover 
the  growing  or  active  stage  ;  that  they  require  deep  planting  if  there  is 
fear  of  disease  ;  that  they  require  plant  food  in  the  way  of  phosphates 
at  planting  and  potash  later  on  ;  and  with  all  these,  as  a  further  pre¬ 
caution  they  may  be  surrounded  in  the  ground  by  some  agent  that  is 
known  to  be  free  from  Penicilium. 
■ - - - - 
“Home  anfl  Garden.”' 
This  is  a  book  over  which  the  appreciative  reader  will  gladly  linger, 
forgetting  the  toil  and  turmoil  of  everyday  life,  and  even  the  reviewer 
may  abate  somewhat  of  his  customary  speed.  It  is  one  of  the 
advantages  of  our  numerous  free  libraries  that  books  like  the  present, 
which  otherwise  could  only  be  found  in  the  homes  of  the  wealthy,  are 
brought  w  ithin  the  reach  of  any  rate[  ayer.  Many  a  reader  has  little 
chance  of  imitating  what  is  so  happily  described  in  these  pages,  still, 
even  to  him  or  her,  its  contents  may  bring  pleasure,  showing  how 
delightful  a  home  and  its  surroundings  can  be  made.  In  an  age 
distinguished  by  its  tendenc}'^  to  seek  enjoyment  everywhere  but  in 
the  home,  we  welcome  every  book  which  endeavours  to  give  it  new 
iascinations,  and  point  out  its  neglected  privileges.  Someone  has  said 
that  the  word  “  home  ”  is  peculiarly  English.  Other  languages  have 
been  explored  in  vain  for  its  counterpart,  still  the  foreign  equivalent 
of  “  asylum  ”  comes  near  to  its  meaning — a  place  that  should  afford 
a  secure  retreat,  if  possible.  Eut  it  is  rather  pathetic  that  Miss  Jekyll 
had  to  conclude  her  preface  with  ,a  request  that  her  friends,  known 
and  unknown,  would  allow  her  somewhat  more  of  “  peace  and 
privacy.”  Popularity  may  have  its  advantages,  yet  it  also  brings 
Irequent  sundry  annoyances  to  the  possessor. 
Both  Nature  and  Art  are  made  contributors  to  the  contents  of  this 
agreeably  diversified  volume,  which  proves  the  authoress  to  be  a  keen 
observer,  and  perceptive  of  the  poetry  which  often  irradiates  what  to 
the  ordinary  person  is  a  commonplace  object.  Then  the  book  is  so 
full  of  kindliness  and  healthy  optimism  that  we  feel  there  is  some 
excuse  for  those  who,  knowing  Miss  Jekyll  only  by  her  pen,  have 
wished  to  be  acquainted  with  the  scenes  she  has  depicted,  and  the 
authoress  too.  The  villagers  casually  mentioned,  and  the  very 
w'onderful  pussies,  seem  almost  to  be  friends  of  our  own.  Wisely,  the 
locality  is  not  indicated,  but  a  passing  remark  leads  us  to  surmise  it  is 
in  Hampshire  or  in  Sussex.  To  us,  the  interest  of  the  book  is  largely 
in  the  chapters  that  discourse  on  wild  or  garden  flowers,  vegetables,  and 
trees;  still,  those  upon  the  house  itself  and  the  workshop  appeal  to  all 
in  some  degree.  Curious  and  beautiful  again  were  some  of  the  articles 
stored  or  on  view  in  this  home.  One  would  fain  admire  the  ancient 
tear  bott  es,  the  bronze  or  green  coins,  the  Vrnetian  glass,  the 
Florentine  stuffs,  the  embroideries  of  gold  and  colours,  the  rare  English 
patchwork. 
Many  people,  having  verified  the  jocose  saying  that  a  house  is  an 
instrument  of  torture  constructed  by  builders,  have  resolved  to  build 
one  embodying  their  ideal.  Two  or  three  personal  friends  have  done 
so  ;  unfortunately,  the  result  was  le.«s  satisfactory  than  was  expecti  d, 
probably  illustrating  the  risk  of  speculating  where  one  has  had  no 
experitnce.  Very  likely  Miss  Jekyll’s  success  is  to  be  attributed 
to  the  fact  that  architect,  builder,  and  owner  worked  together 
harmoniously,  and  she  had  first-class  materials,  which  some  amateur 
builders  will  not  affird.  Wood,  chiefly  Oak,  grown  close  by;  sand¬ 
stone  of  the  adjacent  hills  ;  bricks,  probably  such  as  no  London 
builder  could  get ;  no  wonder  a  good  and  secure  house  was  erected, 
that  might  brave  the  centuries.  Miss  Jekyll  allows,  however,  some 
excellencies  to  the  London  builder ;  he  has  method  and  precision,  but 
his  bricks  are  apt  to  be  bad,  his  wood  unseasoned,  and  he  does  not 
build  substantially  for  the  most  part.  “  What’s  the  good  ?  ”  he  would 
“you  never  know  how  soon  you  may  have  to  pull  it  down.”  One 
point  to  which  Miss  Jekyll  gave  special  heed  is  constantly  neglected, 
f^he  had  all  fittings — for  instance,  the  hinges,  bolts,  locks — proportioned 
♦  Home  and  Garden:  Notes  and  Thoughts,  Practical  and  Critical,  of  a 
n  orker  in  Both.  By  Gertrude  Jekyll.  London ;  Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 
in  size  and  strength  to  the  material  on  which  they  were  put.  There 
may  be  pleasure  found  in  both  the  sights  and  sounds  of  building 
I  operations,  as  Miss  Jekyll  suggests,  but  it  must  be  under  certain 
circumstances — not  amid  the  clatter  of  suburban  bricklayers  and 
carpenters. 
But  we  pass  from  the  house  to  the  woodland,  since  her  chapter  on  a 
visit  in  April  is  appropriate  to  the  season,  though  I  doubt  whether  this 
cold  spring,  even  in  that  locality,  the  wild  flowers  can  be  numerous. 
We  may  quote  a  part  of  the  authoress’s  description  of  the  Woodsorrel, 
a  plant  much  in  evidence  recently,  showing  how  minutely  she  observes. 
“  The  tender  little  blossom  is  about  as  white  as  the  lightest  part  of  a 
pearl.  Its  downy  stalk  is  flesh-coloured  and  half-transparent,  and  the 
delicately  formed  calyx  is  painted  with  faint  tints  of  dull  green  edged 
with  transparent  greenish  buff,  and  is  based  and  tipped  with  a  reddish 
purple  that  recalls  the  veining  of  the  petals.  The  brilliant  yellow- 
green  leaf  is  a  trefoil  of  three  broad  little  hearts,  each  joined  at  its 
point  to  the  upright  stalk  by  a  tiny  stalklet  just  long  enough  to  keep 
the  leaf  divisions  well  apart.”  Miss  Jekyll  names,  among  the  flowers 
of  April,  the  Violet,  Primrose,  Dog’s  Mercury,  Cinquefoil,  Stitchwort, 
Arum,  and  the  Burdock,  a  plant  she  much  admires,  considering  it 
worthy  of  a  place  in  gardens.  It  has,  she  says,  “  a  grand  wave  of 
edge  and  strength  of  line,”  the  grandeur  of  the  Gourd  tribe  without 
their  weakness.  We  have  also  noticed  what  a  curious  tangle  of  stems 
and  branches  a  group  of  old  Laurels  will  produce,  as  she  has  remarked,, 
when  left  untouched  in  a  shrubbery.  Of  course  the  species  meant  is 
the  Cerasus  Lauro-cerasus,  not  the  Bay  or  true  Laurel,  but  what  the 
early  botanists  called  the  Bay  Cherry.  The  Portugal  Laurel  has  longer 
racemes,  and  is  more  erect  in  habit. 
“The  Garden  of  Wallflowrrs ”  is  a  chapter  appropriate  just  now, 
but  the  authoress  had  not  a  garden  all  ol  them,  only  banks  devoted 
to  the  forms  she  cultivates;  associated  with  them  are  Vincas  and 
Acanthus.  But  the  authoress’s  idea  of  a  Wallflower  garden  is  that  of 
one  where  many  of  them  are  grown  upon  walls,  variously  planned,  as 
well  as  on  banks.  For  contrast,  she  would  add  some  patches  of 
Tulips,  Aubrietias,  yellow  Alyssum,  Corydalis  capnoides,  and  sundry 
others.  It  is,  however,  in  the  chapters  on  “Boses  and  Lilies,’'  “Briar 
Eoses,”  and  “Midsummer,”  that  Miss  Jekyll  se  ms  to  be  at  her  best, 
and  these  have  illustrations  that  are  specially  attractive.  A  lover  of 
all  flowers,  she  gives  the  chief  {dace  to  the  Eose  and  the  Lily,  or  such 
species  as  are  so  styled,  if  not  in  botanical  strictness.  To  the  Briars 
Miss  Jekyll  is  partial,  as  representing  old  style  garden  plants;  the 
Scotch,  she  says,  have  beauty  nearly  all  the  year.  Of  the  many 
Briars  grown  nothing  surpasses  the  double  white  Blanche  de  Coubert. 
After  commenting  on  Lilies  and  Irises,  Mi  s  Jekyll  ren.aiks  that  some 
of  the  commoner  kinds  really  have  excellent  qualities,  L.  croceum, 
for  instance,  which  thrives  in  London ;  it  is  the  Herring  Lily  of  the 
Dutch,  as  flowering  when  the  great  hauls  of  herrings  occur.  By 
management  it  will  make  a  grand  show  in  the  borders,  like  L.  tigrinum. 
Deferring  to  midsummer,  she  states  that  in  her  county  its  arrival  is 
announced  by  the  Elder  bloom  being  fully  out. 
The  chapter  on  “  Trees  and  Lanes  ”  appeals  to  our  human 
sympathies,  since  the  life  of  cottagers  is  touched  upon,  and  we  have 
portraits  of  Mary  Huntingford  and  James  Furlonger.  That  quaint 
old  fashioned  cottages,  farmhouses,  too,  are  often  unhealthy  we  know. 
About  Kent  we  see  many  samples  of  what  Miss  Jekyll  depicts  in  her 
county.  Bricks  or  boards  in  the  lower  floors  laid  flat  on  the  earth, 
possibly  with  a  green  growth  under  them,  low  ctilinged  rooms,  above 
and  below  drafty  or  stuffy,  roofs  seldom  sound,  and  drainage  lacking  ; 
yet  somehow  people  lived,  even  thrived  in  them.  They  had  pure  air, 
and,  for  ourselves,  we  would  rather  occupy  such  a  cottage  than  an 
up-to-date  London  flat.  But  they  might  have  given  these  buildings 
some  slight  elevation  generally,  sometimes  they  are  below  the  level  ot 
the  adjacent  ground. 
To  the  botanist  a  part  of  the  above  chapter  will  be  accep'able,  as 
it  contains  observations  on  methods  of  growth  and  development,  also 
on  the  effect  produced  by  the  earth  breaking  away  from  the  roots 
of  trees.  W  e  might  commend  the  chapters  on  rock  gardens.  That 
on  “Plants  for  Poor  Soils”  and  “  Garden’og  for  Short  Tenancies” 
are  replete  with  useful  matter  for  gardeners.  Acain,  there  is  in 
“Conservatories”  many  valuable  suizgestions.  Thus  the  authoress 
plans  out  a  series  arranged  according  to  temperatures — the  outer 
houses  in  a  circle  for  show,  the  centre  lor  ser  ■  ice.  Much  more  might 
be  made,  she  thinks,  of  tbe  winter  garden  under  glass — a  place  not 
without  its  flowers,  but  displaying  chiefly  species  having  handsome 
foliage,  and  kept  at  a  temperature  that  persons  could  sit  or  walk 
about,  and  feel  no  inconvenience. 
“The  Kinship  of  Common  Tools”  is  only  a  short  chapter,  yet  it 
appeals  to  most  of  us  workers,  particularly  in  regiird  to  the  love  we 
come  to  feel  for  an  implement  which  is  our  constant  companion, 
while  it  enables  us  to  turn  out  some  of  our  valued  work.  We  must 
confess  to  a  strong  regard  for  an  old  penholder,  which  we  have  handled 
frequently  during  twenty  years.  From  the  authoress’s  name,  we  are 
tempted  to  conjecture  she  is  of  Scottish  descent — one  in  the  long 
illustrious  roll  of  North  Britain’s  devotees  of  gardening.  I 
