January  9,  1902. 
37 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
has  a  reputation  for  producing  the  earliest  Peas  and  Potatoes 
in  the  district,  and  though  no  one  remembers  the  origin  of 
the  Asparagus  bed,  it  is  second  to  none  in  the  parish.  It 
would  be  no  use  talking  to  the  old  gardener  about  the 
wearing  out  of  soil.  The  appearance  of  the  vegetables  upsets 
that  theory  ;  and  he  will  tell  you  that,  with  plenty  of  manure, 
free  use  of  the  spade  in  deeply  working,  proper  rotation  of 
crops,  and  an  occasional  dressing  of  lime,  you  may  cultivate 
a  garden  for  ever  without  wearing  it  out. 
He  is  not  so  sure  about  the  Peach  trees  on  the  wall  that 
old  J oe  has  planted  the  flower  beds  and  mown  the  lawns  for  a 
similar  period.  They  have  got  sons,  both  of  them,  who  have 
worked  with  them,  then  passed  into  the  houses,  and  now 
are  head  gardeners  in  places  of  their  own.  The  old  labourers 
are  proud  of  them  ;  but  in  the  way  of  knowledge  they  admit 
no  comparison,  and  are  still  in  positions  to  teach  the  sons, 
though  they  control  estabhshments.  They  never  interfere 
with  each  other,  and  I  think  that  each  one  would  retire 
rather  than  work  in  the  other’s  department. 
And  so  the  world  jogs  along  within  the  precincts  of  the 
'  't—  —  i=». 
SCENIC  EFFECT  IN  GARDEN  DESIGN. 
Still  Water — Architectural  Embellishment— Roses  and  Shrubs. 
show  signs  of  decay.  He  is  quite  in  accordance  with  keeping 
an  old  horse,  or  servant,  when  vigour  is  past,  but  he  has  no 
sympathy  with  a  fruit  tree  that  has  done  bearing  and  loses 
a  fresh  branch  every  year.  It  is  whispered  that  this  point 
has  been  the  cause  of  some  little  difference  between  him  and 
^e  Squire,  and  evidently  the  gardener  has  not  come  off 
second  best,  for  several  healthy  young  trees  occupy  the  sites 
of  gappy  Peach  trees  and  ^mmed  Apricots. 
As  with  master  so  with  men — everyone  tried  and  ex- 
erienced.  Old  Jim,  of  portly  frame,  is  head  man  in  the 
itchen  garden,  and  has  been  for  forty  years  or  more ;  and 
Manor  gardens.  There  are  no  specialities,  no  remarkable 
features  in  the  way  of  valuable  novelties  and  priceless 
Orchids ;  but  tiiere  is  no  suggestion  of  stint.  Old  the  place 
is,  old-fashioned  it  may  be  as  regards  men  and  methods,  but 
the  principles  are  right  and  the  practice  thorough.  Beyond 
this  there  is  a  uniting  bond  of  sympathy  between  the  Squire 
and  his  workmen.  The  former  takes  an  interest  in  the 
housing  and  welfare  of  those  about  him,  and  they — well,  they 
simply  adore  him,  and  are  proud  of  the  family  they  serve. 
There  are  many  similar  instances.  Would  that  there  were 
more.— A  British  Rustic. 
