554 
Jotfp^^AL  OF  mnfictiLwnti  and  cottaof  gaummu 
fieoember  l6,  18  SS, 
countryman  of  Ida  own.  This  critique,  terrible  in  the  sublimity  of 
simple  language,  concludes  in  these  words  ; — “  .  .  .  gripping 
his  riches  till  the  scythe  of  Death  cut  off  his  hands  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye  ;  from  being  one  of  the  richest  men  who  ever  lived  in 
this  world  to  being  one  of  the  poorest  souls  that  ever  went  out  of 
it.”  You  will  doubtless  wonder  at  the  introduction  of  this  matter  ; 
possibly  feel  that  it  is  superfluous.  That  is  a  matter  of  'opinion, 
mine  being  that  in  this  feverish  age  of  speculation  we  cannot  be 
“  too  grateful  for  the  blessing  lent,  of  simple  tastes  and  mind 
content.” 
There  are,  too,  some  small  matters,  but  not  unworthy  of 
consideration  by  our  young  head  gardeners,  some  of  whom  may> 
perhaps,  conclude  without  thinking  that  certain  customs  are  right 
because  they  are  customary.  If  you  feel  that  there  are  any  little 
rocks  on  your  chart  I  would  say,  Do  as  some  do  ;  steer  a  clear 
independent  course  because  you  feel  it  a  duty  to  do  so.  Insert  this 
conscience  clause  in  your  articles,  and  you  will  feel  the  better  for 
it  at  the  end.  The  old  boy  has,  as  you  are  probably  aware,  by 
virtue  of  his  age  and  his  eyes,  seen  a  good  many  things  in  his  time, 
and  by  mental  comparison  with  other  branches  of  service  has 
concluded  that  as  a  rule  gardeners  as  a  class  are  conspicuous  for 
integrity  and  honourable  conduct.  One  could  not  say  more  on 
this  head  without  a  suspicion  of  self-anointment ;  nor  could  I  say 
less  to  young  men  than  this  :  Never  let  the  suspicion  lurk  in  your 
path  “  that  nothing  comes  amiss,  though  money  come  withal.” 
“  The  pleasures  of  life  ” — the  real,  solid  pleasures  in  the  posses¬ 
sion  of  which  the  man  who  travels  any  path  knows  them  to  be  no 
costly  exotics  which  money  alone  can  procure.  No  ;  the  true 
pleasures  are  hardy  things  not  nipped  by  frosts  of  fortune,  for  they 
are  not  dependent  on  it.  Bend  under  ill  winds  they  may,  but  are 
too  deeply  rooted  to  be  destroyed  ;  and  surely  there  is  no  path 
superior  to  the  gardener’s  path  which  they  may  adorn  and  in  which 
they  may  flourish.  No  need  to  ask,  Is  life  worth  living  ?  It  is  to 
that  crucial  point  the  end. 
I  may  now  be  permitted  to  pay  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  an  old 
man  who  was  ending  the  gardener’s  path  at  the  time  when  mine 
began.  The  recognition  has  been  tardy,  but  I  never  knew  till  now 
how  much  I  owed  to  him  for  implanting  sound  seeds  in  the  plastic 
soil  of  a  youth’s  mind.  Not  his  fault  that  some  “  missed  ”  or  that 
others  remained  long  dormant.  I  am  now  competent  to  judge 
from  his  life,  or  rather  the  end  of  it,  what  a  good  finish  means. 
His  pleasant,  genial  face  was  the  visible  sign  of  a  mind  attuned  to 
the  notes  of  Nature’s  harmony,  whose  apt  pupil  he  had  been,  and 
it  does  me  good  to  repicture  it  from  the  long  past.  The  end  of 
his  path  could  scarcely  be  termed  that  known  as  easy  circumstances, 
neither  had  the  earlier  stages  escaped  severe  trials.  These,  like 
the  bruising  of  a  herb,  had  possibly  much  to  do  in  revealing  a  rare 
sweetness  of  character  ;  but,  be  it  understood,  not  that  which 
savours  of  insipidity.  On  the  memory  of  his  unfaltering  footsteps 
these  papers  may  fittingly  close. 
A  more  successful  example  of  life,  as  we  generally  understand 
it,  could  have  been  selected — one  less  chastened  by  affliction, 
with  fewer  trials  than  this  man  had  borne  ;  but,  as  he  told  me, 
there  could  be  no  trials  come  to  me  on  the  journey  but  what  could 
and  would,  if  I  so  willed  it,  be  turned  into  blessings.  He  had 
found  it  so  (he  said),  and,  moreover,  hii  manner  of  saying  it  with 
the  closing  chapter  of  his  life  left  no  room  for  doubt.  There  are, 
too,  so  few  on  the  path  who  escape  those  trials  ;  so  few,  perhaps, 
who,  unlike  him,  extract  the  essence  of  good  from  them  and  fling 
away  the  dregs  of  disappointment,  and  generally  speaking  it  was  a 
closing  scene  which  appeals  more  strongly  to  a  greater  number  than 
any  other  I  could  choose. 
As  a  gardener  my  friend  of  long  ago  was  a  man  of  skill  and 
ability,  and  though  past  active  service  was  ever  ready  to  advise  or 
help  unostentatiously  in  many  ways,  which  he  was  frequently 
invited  to  do.  As  a  man  none  was  more  respected  or  more 
»5'enerally  esteemed  by  all  in  the  neighbourhood,  whether  considered 
as  being  above  or  beneath  him  in  the  social  scale,  which 
consideration  was  not  apparent.  It  surprised  me  then  that  one 
whose  worldly  goods  were  ao  little  in  evidence,  whose  mannera  were 
so  unassuming,  should  have  been  so  univerally  paid  that  deference 
he  never  sought.  True,  there  was  no  shadow  of  poverty  over  the 
pretty  cottage — his  humble  dwelling  ;  he  had  lufficient  for  his 
wants,  but  his  wants  were  few.  He  was  invariably  addressed  or 
spoken  of  as  Mr. - ,  that  plain  homely  title  by  great  and  small, 
although  some  of  the  local  dignitaries  were  not  always  similarly 
respected. 
How  poor  is  my  endeavour  to  do  justice  to  this  truly  great  man 
— this  grand  old  gardener.  It  is  not  possible  to  analyse — to  show 
the  points  which  went  to  form  the  sum  of  those  high  principles 
which  made  the  man.  I  have,  indeed,  attempted  too  much  ;  but  it 
was  at  the  end  the  deepest  impression  ensued.  I  saw  him  very 
shortly  before  he  passed  away  to  join  those  he  had  loved  long  since 
and  lost  awhile.  Never  was  his  mind  brighter  and  clearer,  though 
he  knew  the  end  was  at  hand,  and  his  parting  words  were  more 
deeply  impressed  by  the  feeble  hand  laid  on  my  shoulder — words  of 
sympathy,  and  hope,  and  thankfulness.  So  will  I  now  leave  our 
path — the  gardeners’  path — under  the. influence  of  the  hush  and 
calm  ending  his  good  life.  So  would  I  leave  it  at  the  appointed 
hour,  as  he  did.  “Soothed  and  sustained  by  an  unfaltering  trust 
.  .  .  like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch  about  him, 
and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams.”— An  Old  Boy. 
[Again  we  say,  “  Well  done.”  A  gardener  so  accomplished, 
mainly  by  his  own  efforts,  might  surely  be  able  to  be  still  further 
helpful  to  others  by  recounting  the  methods  of  his  own  self- 
education.] 
OUR  HARDY  PLANT  BORDER. 
The  value  of  hardy  plants  is  well  established  and  widely 
known,  but  the  ranks  of  their  admirers  are  being  constantly 
increased,  and  there  is  in  consequence  a  never  ceasing  demand  for 
information.  Not  only  do  borders  devoted  to  these  plants  present 
a  wealth  of  floral  beauty  over  a  large  portion  of  the  year,  but  the 
great  range  of  variation  in  form  and  habit,  together  with  the 
durability  of  many  flowers,  render  such  borders  the  most  useful 
department  in  the  garden  where  quantities  of  flowers  are  required 
for  house  decoration.  The  plants  have  many  econjmic  points  in 
their  favour  also,  for  some  of  the  best  are  extremely  cheap  to 
purchase  in  the  first  instance,  are  easily  increased  afterwards,  and 
do  not  impose  any  severe  demands  upon  the  time  and  attention  of 
the  cultivator.  Some  few  rare  plants  that  may  be  grown  for  the 
interest  attaching  to  them  will,  it  is  true,  test  the  skill  of  their 
custodian  to  the  utmost,  but  in  an  ordinary  border  few  of  these  will 
be  grown  and  they  will  add  a  little  zest  to  the  work. 
The  Situation. 
In  most  instances  it  will  be  in  the  power  of  the  amateur  or 
gardener  commencing  the  cultivation  of  hardy  plants  to  select  the 
site  for  the  border  ;  but  in  tome  it  may  happen  that  the  choice  is 
much  restricted.  This  was  my  case  ;  in  fact,  it  was  confined  to 
two  sitnitions^ — one  under  the  shade  of  trees  and  impoverished  by 
the  roots  of  a  hedge,  the  other  adjoining  a  small  stream.  The 
latter  was  unhesitatingly  chosen,  although  it  presented  some  serious 
disadvantages  in  the  damp,  cold  position,  the  danger  of  the  banks 
giving  way  at  flood  times,  and  the  abundance  of  water  rats.  Yet 
it  offered  some  advantages  also,  as  the  moisture  would  suit  many 
strong,  young  plants  and  be  especially  useful  in  the  summer 
months  ;  besides,  the  soil  was  good,  and  the  position  lent  itself  to 
an  attempt  at  picturesque  effects  in  the  disposition  of  the  plants. 
There  was,  further,  the  opportunity  of  utilising  the  banks  of  the 
stream  for  many  plants  that  would  not  succeed  in  a  drier  situation, 
and  this  was  in  itself  no  small  recommendation.  A  length  of  over 
1000  feet  was  available  for  our  purpose,  the  width  varying  from 
6  to  12  feet  owing  to  the  irregularity  of  the  bank  on  the  stream 
side,  on  the  other  side  being  a  carriage  road  straight  and  level  for 
a  distance  of  1200  feet. 
Upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream  were  a  few  moderate  sized 
trees  at  intervals,  sufficient  to  afford  a  choice  of  shady  spots  for 
some  plants  requiring  protection  from  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun. 
Such  in  brief  was  the  situation  to  be  devoted  to  our  hardy  plant 
border,  and  on  the  whole  we  were  well  satisfied  with  it,  as  it 
possessed  what  a  one  time  famous  landscape  gardener  would  have 
termed  great  “  capabilities.” 
