50 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTTGULTURE  kND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
.Tanuray  16,  1902. 
vegetation,  and  also  of  dead  thorn  which,  when  properly 
mterlaced  and  with  the  usual  ditch  outside,  formed  a 
barrier  impenetrable  alike  to  man  and  to  beast. 
A  Garden  Long  Ago. 
63,rly  type  of  garden  appears  to  have  been  invari- 
ably  square,  and  it  was  spaced  out  in  narrow  oblong  beds, 
with  little  paths  between.  The  necessity  for  this  arrange¬ 
ment  will  be  obvious  when  we  remember  that  crops  were 
sown  in  lines,  but  broadcast  all  over  the  ground,  and 
that  hand  weeding  was  on  that  account  the  only  practicable 
naethod  of  cleaning  the  ground,  the  workman  standing  in 
the  alley  and  never  among  the  crops.  The  width  of  the 
bsds  was  from  4ft  to  6ft,  never  more.  The  soil,  by  means 
of  boards,  was  kept  from  falling  into  the  narrow  alleys  which 
enclosed  each  little  plot.  But  the  larger  walks  and  alleys 
awear  to  have  been  bordered  with  trelliswoik  rising  to 
a  height  of  2|ft  and  upwards,  and  flower  beds  were  protected 
in  the  same  manner  ■  but  even  in  Chaucer’s  time  these  bare 
trellises  had  begun  to  be  covered  with  vegetation. 
,,  The  paths,  Or,  as  they  are  nearly  always  called,  the 
alleys,  were  covered  with  a  coating  of  sand,  which  was 
often  renewed,  or  perhaps,  as  we  should  say  now,  freshened 
up.  Fountains  have  already  been  referred  to,  and  also 
“  benches,”  which  we  must  conclude  were  an  important 
part  of  the  garden  furniture.  They  were  necessary  to  rest 
on.  or  to  sit  and  enjoy  the  sweet  scents  which  were  a  feature 
of  all  old-time  gardens,  largely  furnished  as  they  were  with 
aromatic  herbs.  These  “  benches  ”  were  invariably  covered 
\vith  turves  of  very  short  grass,  sometimes  laid  on  a  founda¬ 
tion  of  brick,  which  were  placed  against  the  wall  of  the 
garden.  “  Benches  ”  were  also  made  in  the  “  Herbere  ”  or 
“Erbere,”  which  in  some  shape  or  form  appears  to  have 
been  indispensable.  They  were  no  doubt  provided  largely 
as  a  place  of  retirement  or  of  privacy,  where  friends  met 
and  took  counsel  together,  or  as  a  trysting  place  for  lovers. 
Later  they  were  debased  to  immoral  purposes,  particularly 
in  towns.  Not  always  composed  of  the  same  material. 
Sycamore,  used  perhaps  as  a  framing,  and  Eglantine  are 
named  in  one  instance,  and  Hawthorn  and  Juniper  were 
common.  But  all  had  th's  in  common,  that  the  living  walls 
were  so  thick,  so  closely  interlaced,  and  so  closely  trimmed, 
that  no  one  outside  could  see  what  was  transacting  within. 
They  were  also  roofed  over  with  some  suitable  fast-growing 
vegetation,  no  doubt  framed  on  strong  bent  poles,  or 
“  wandis  long  and  small,”  or  “  grene  wythes  ywrythen 
wonderlye.”  The  floor,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  was  covered 
with  vegetation,  either  of  clnse  tiuf  or  with  flowers,  “  ful 
shyre  and  schene,”  which,  with  the  long  seat  of  turf,  required 
often  renewing.  An  old  writer  talks  of  sleeping  a  summer’s 
night  on  a  “bench”  of  tin f  in  just  such  an  herber,  and 
centuries  later  Milton’s  genius  found  no  more  delightful 
couch  for  the  first  pair  than  one  of  flowers  in  a  natural 
arbour  in  Paradise. 
The  “Mount;”  The  Flowers;  The  Fruit. 
Aiiother  feature  of  the  early  garden  not,  however, 
mentioned  by  Chaucer,  was  the  Mount  raised  against  the 
garden  wall  to  enable  the  propiietor  and  his  family  or 
friends  to  see  what  was  transacting  in  the  world  outside. 
Like  the  bench  of  turf,  it  was  at  this  early  period  quite  a 
simple  affair,  though  afterwards  it  assumed  large  propor¬ 
tions,  and  sometimes  curious  forms.  If  we  accept  the  garden 
as  the.  only  place  where  the  Englishman  and  his  wife  could 
escape  publicity,  it  gives  us  a  key  to  the  quietness  and 
general  simplicity  of  its  aiTangenients.  iS'ot  till  long  after 
this  period  was  there  any  attempt  to  make  the  garden  gay. 
The  garden  flowers  we  read  of  are  all  sweet— the  Rose, 
the  White  Lily,  Iris  Florentina,  Rosemary,  Mints,  Fennell, 
Hyssop,  Lavender,  Marjoram,  Apple-blossom,  Sweet  Bay, 
and  Sweet  Briar  were  favourites. 
Fruit  trees  were  not  pruned  to  dwarfs,  but  were  allowed 
to  assume  the  proportions  that  Nature  had  imposed.  Thus 
the  “  Pine  ”  in  the  garden  of  January  was  a  great  tree,  and 
the  “  homly  ”  trees  of  the  author  of  “  The  Romaunt  of  the 
Rose’’ — Quinces,  Apples,  Plums,  Medlars,  Peais,  Chestnuts, 
Cherries,  &c. — as  cultivated  in  gardens,  were  trees  indeed, 
and  were  “ranged”  towards  the  outer  poitions  as  a  rule. 
Cherries  and  Apples  appear  to  have  been  in  particular 
abundant.  Langland  mentions  as  common  food  for  the 
people  “  baken  Apples”  and  “ripe  Cherries  mange.” 
Chaucer  twice  notes  the  Apple  as  being  preserved.  “A 
rotten  ripple,”  he  says,  “  is  better  out  of  ‘  hord,’ ”  and  as 
something  deliciously  sweet  he  mentions  a  “  hoord  of  Applesr 
laid  in  hay  or  heth.”  Medlars,  again,  he  tells  us,  “are  not 
good  till  rotted  in  muck  or  straw.”  The  Pomewater  Apple 
dates  from  this  period,  and  the  Bitter-Sweet,  mentioned 
by  Gower  and  by  Chaucer,  is  supposed  to  have  been  an 
Apple,  though  the  reason  for  thinking  so  is  not  very  clear. 
Cupressus  sempervirens,  too,  was  in  cultivation  at  this 
date.  Moreover,  the  “taste”  for  sweet  flowers,  too,  was 
already  developed,  and  a  pretty  way  of  decorating  the  toffee 
of  that  day  consisted  in  laying  petals  of  Violets,  Primroses, 
or  Gilliflowers  on  the  cakes  of  that  delectable  composition 
while  yet  hot.  It  is  necessary  to  point  out  the  marked 
liking  there  was,  as  there  has  continued  to  be,  for  Peas 
before  leaving  this  part  of  the  subject,  because  a  suspicion 
has  been  hazarded  that  they  were  unknown.  But  hot 
peascods  were  sold  in  Cheapside,  and  formed  one  of  the 
dishes  at  the  marriage  feast  of  Henry  IV.,  so  very  widely' 
was  the  taste  for  this  vegetable  diffused. 
The  Old-time  Gardenei*a 
Of  fhg  person  wLo  controlled  the  larger  class  of  gardens^ 
there  is  material  enough  to  show  him  to  have  been  a  not 
unintelligent  member  of  the  communit3\  From  a  very 
early  date  it  formed  part  of  his  duty  to  extract  from  his 
garden  produce  for  sale,  in  addition  to  supplying  the  wants 
of  his  employers,  and  perhaps,  too,  he  was  the  earliest  type 
of  nurseryman.  So  zealous  was  he  in  pursuit  of  gain,  and 
so  careless  of  the  feelings  of  the  London  citizen,  that  a  Lord’ 
Mayor  endeavoured  to  suppress  him  as  a  noisy  nuisance,, 
but  not  quite  successfully.  Liquorice,  Saffron,  and  Ver¬ 
juice  were  notable  articles  of  sale.  His  more  private  duties\ 
consisted  in  raising  stocks  for  his  fruit  trees  and  grafting 
the  same.  He  had  also  to  cultivate  Madder,  and  a  great, 
variety  of  medicinal  herbs.  The  management  of  turf  wa3> 
very  essential,  and  the  formation  and  upkeep  of  trim  arbours, 
pleached  hedges,  and  clipped  shrubs  required  an  experi¬ 
enced  eye  and  well-trained  hand.  Honey  was  of  more 
importance  then  than  now,  and  the  care  of  bees  formed  a. 
very  important  part  of  his  duties.  Not  improbably,  too, 
though  this  is  doubtful,  he  was  a  floral  decorator,  and  com¬ 
posed  garlands. 
His  remuneration  varied  according  to  time  and  place. 
At  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  he  was  satisfied  with, 
fourteen  loaves  of  bread  annually  and  two  acres  of  land  to- 
crop.  A  century  later  money  was  apparently  more  abun¬ 
dant,  for  the  Earl  of  Lincoln  disbursed  on  behalf  of  his 
gardener  for  the  year,  52s.  6d.,  and  gave  him  a  robe  besides. 
In  Chaucer’s  day  the  wage  had  increased,  and  boots,  tunic, 
and  gloves  formed  part  of  his  remuneration.  Labourers,, 
who  were  hired  by  the  day  as  required,  each  received  2d. 
and  2^d.  a  day.  The  smaller  gardens  would  no  doubt  be 
managed  by  the  mistress  of  the  household,  and  much  of  the. 
labour  would  be  overtaken  by  her  maids. — B. 
Centenary  of  the  Royal  Horticnltnral  Society. 
Our  nearness  to  the  annual  general  meeting  of  the 
“  Royal  ”  recalls  again  the  propositions  that  have  been  made 
as  to  how  the  Centenary  of  the  Society  will  be  celebrated 
in  1904.  The  original  proposition  was  that  a  new  garden 
take  the  place  of  Chiswick,  which  is  now  worn  out.  The 
Fellows  empowered  the  Council  to  set  about  finding  a  suit¬ 
able  site  for  a  new  garden.  Unfortunately,  the  selection 
made  in  the  first  instance  was  such  as  caused  surprise  at  the 
wisdom  of  the  Counc'l  ;  and  when  a  second  site  had  been, 
wearily  found,  th's,  too,  did  nob  meet  with  approval. 
Between  times,  a  faction  had  grown  up  which  had  in 
view  a  Horticultural  Hall,  by  the  erection  of  which  in  a 
prominent  position  and  central  part  of  London  they  pro¬ 
posed  to  ceUbrate  the  Centenary.  At  a  special  general 
meeting  held  last  spring,  the  Hall  Party  severely  criticised 
the  new  garden  scheme,  and  formulated  an  amendment  in 
favour  of  a  Horticultural  Hall  for  the  holding  of  ordinary 
exhibitmn,  lectures,  and  meetings.  They  won  the  day.  and 
there  the  matter  to  all  outward  appearance  ended,  and  has 
not  been  broached  t'll  the  present  time.  But  during  the 
past  months  a  self-appointed  committee,  with  Baron 
Schroder  at  its  head,  and  other  influential  Fellows  with? 
