March  27,  1902. 
271 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  OOTTAQE  GARDENER, 
bourne,  and  Chipping  Cainpden,  and  can  testify  to  the  superiority 
of  the  farmers  as  a  class  over  those  in  districts  where  ordinary 
farming  is  still  followed.  There  is  a  general  air  of  prosperity 
in  districts  where  market  gardening  is  carried  out  on  an  exten¬ 
sive  scale,  the  labouring  classes  sharing  in  the  prosperity.  When 
thirty  acres  and  uii wards  of  land  are  devoted  to  tree  and  bush 
fruits,  ten  acres  to  Asparagus,  five  acres  to  Tomatoes,  thirty 
.acres  to  Cabbages,  and  equally  large  breadths  of  Peas,  Beans, 
Potatoes,  and  Brussels  Sprouts  are  grown  all  on  one  farm,  there 
is  little  need  for  enlarging  upon  the  amount  of  the  labour  bill. 
These  market  farms  are  simply  the  making  of  a  district. 
What  may  be  termed  old-fashioned  market-gardening,  or  the 
cultivation  of  a  few  acres  by  means  of  spade  labour  and 
excessively  heavy  manuring,  and  close  cropping,  principally 
with  quick-growing  vegetables,  has  of  late  years  been 
rather  hard  hit  by  the  building  craze,  noticeable  in  the 
vicinity  of  all  large,  prosperous  towns,  and  also  by  the 
competition  incidental  to  the  multiplying  of  market  farms. 
Holders  of  market  gardens  are  being  gradually  elbowed  out  by 
the  builder,  though  when  they  happen  to  be  owners  of 
the  land  they  have  not  much  cause  to  grumble.  In  bygone  days 
tills  class  of  market-gardeners  have  succeeded  by  hard  work  and 
skill  in  amassing  respectable  fortunes.  Whole  ranks  of  good- 
class  cottages  in  the  suburbs  of  Bristol,  for  instance,  are  owned  by 
men  who  commenced  market  gardening  with  very  little  money  in 
their  pocket.  According  to  my  experience,  this  class  of  market 
gardeners  are  very  temperate,  intelligent,  and  hard-working,  the 
long  days  and  toil  making  them  to  appear  prematurely  old.  I 
once  addressed  a  meeting  of  about  fifty  market  gardeners,  and 
before  leaving,  was  startled  to  find  that  I  was  nearly,  or  quite, 
the  oldest  man  in  the  room. 
Beginners  in  this  direction  need  not  be  burdened  with  much 
■capital,  as  the  returns  are  quick  ;  but  they  must  be  prepared  for 
much  hard  work,  and,  in  particular,  ought  to  be  early  risers. 
Much  can  be  done  ivith  four  acres  of  land ;  but  eight  to  ten  acres 
would  be  better  with  a  view  to  benefiting  by  other  people’s 
labour.  Nearness  to  a  large  prosperous  town  is  most  desirable, 
both  because  this  saves  considerably  on  the  haulage  of  vegetables, 
which  is  best  done  by  road,  and  also  because  this  admits  of 
loading  back  with  cheap  solid  manure,  without  abundance  of 
which  it  is  useless  to  commence  market-gardening  on  land  rented 
at  about  £10  per  acre.  Everything  should  be  made  to  grow  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  so  as  to  be  first  in  the  markets,  or  before 
the  market  farmers  appear  on  the  scene,  and  an  early  clearance 
admits  of  another  crop  being  quickly  got.  For  instance,  three 
crops  of  Lettuce  are  usually  taken  off  one  brealth  of  ground  in 
a  single  season,  and  two  crops  of  Celery  are  not  unfrequently 
grown  in  the  same  trenches  in  one  year.  The  manure  is  simply 
crammed  into  the  ground,  and  this  promotes  rapid  growth,  as 
well  as  obviates  the  necessity  for  worrying  about  a  rotation  of 
crops.  So  freely  is  solid  manure  used  in  many  market  gardens 
that  chemical  manures,  when  experimented  with,  make  no 
impression  whatever.  Naturally  this  heavy  manuring  fits  the 
land  for  root  crops  more  especially ;  but  then  there  is  not 
enough  money  in  these,  and  holders  of  market  gardens  find  it 
much  more  to  their  purpose  to  grow  Asparagus,  Cabbage,  Celery, 
Lettuce,  Rhubarb,  Vegetable  Marrows,  Ridge  Cucumbers, 
bunching  Onions,  and  Radishes;  others  adding  to  these,  early 
Kidney  Beans,  Turnips,  Tomatoes,  and  Parsley.  In  conclusion, 
let  me  once  more  express  the  opinion  that  private  gardeners  in 
receipt  of  regular  wages,  and  not  unduly  worried  by  their 
employers,  will  do  well  to  be  content  where  they  are.  If  they 
wish  to  be  independent,  they  must  pay  the  price  in  the  form  of 
harder  work  and  more  worry.  Young  gentlemen  and  unsuccessful 
tradesmen  without  any  previous  training  are  again  warned  to 
be  careful  what  they  are  at,  as  they  may  easily  lose  what 
capital  they  have  in  a  market-gardening  venture. — W.  Iggtilden. 
Melons. 
Hot-water-heated  structures  have  proved  their  advantages 
over  manure-heated  pits  and  frames  for  forcing  pur¬ 
poses,  and,  chambei’ed,  showed  their  superiority  over  rubble 
ones  during  the  recent  severe  weather.  Any  plants  shifted 
into  larger  pots  and  being  intended  for  planting  out  should 
be  given  their  rooting  quarters  before  they  become  very  much 
root-bound.  Pot  later-sown  plants  when  they  show  the  second 
leaves,  employing  warm  moi.st  soil.  Maintain  a  night  tempera¬ 
ture  of  GOdeg  to  Godeg,  5deg  less  on  cold  nights ;  70deg  to  75deg 
by  day,  admitting  a  little  air  at  75deg,  allowing  the  temperature 
to  rise  to  85deg  with  increased  ventilation,  advancing  to  90deg, 
closing  the  house  by  or  before  80deg  or  85deg  is  reached  in 
declining  order,  and  so  as  to  advance  5deg  to  lOdeg,  sprinkling 
at  the  same  time  all  parts  of  the  house  below  the  plants,  even 
lightly  sprinkling  these  on  bright  afternoons.  Keep  the  bottom 
heat  steady  at  80deg  to  85deg,  or  that  of  the  soil  70deg  to 
“^fideg. — P. 
^ntomologY. 
Eradicating  Woolly  Aphis. 
Inspector  Vaughan,  in  his  report  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  of  Western  Australia,  referring  to  the 
woolly  aphis,  says; — “Going  recentl5^  through  the  orchard  of 
Mr.  \\  .  Sounnass,  Marryup,  Mount  Barker,  I  was  very  much 
struck  by  the  succe.ssful  way  he  has  fought  and  conquered  that 
terrible  pest,  the  woolly  aphis.  In  this  orchard  there  are  three 
or  four  acres  of  old  trees  that  at  one  time  must  have  been  covered 
with  the  aphis.  Mr.  Sounness  recognised  he  must  be  up  and 
doing  if  he  intended  to  extend  his  orchard  and  go  in  for  fruit¬ 
growing  on  a  large  scale.  So  he  set  to  work,  and  sprayed  them 
hot  and  sprayed  them  cold,  and  you  might  almost  say  sprayed 
them  morning,  noon,  and  night.  The  roots  were  uncovered ; 
ash  s,  lime,  Ac.,  were  put  round  them,  and  the  aphis  slowly  dis¬ 
appeared.  Castor  oil  is  greatly  believed  in,  and  a  pot  and  brush 
is  always  kept  handy.  The  treevs  are  constantly  watched,  and 
whenever  any  aphis  appears  the  oil  is  promptly  applied  ;  but  it 
has  been  got  under  sO'  well  that  the  pest  has  almost  disappeared, 
and  never  once  has  it  been  allowed  to  get  on  to  the  young  tree*. 
Mr.  Sounness  is  to  be  congratulated  on  the  way  he  keeps  hi* 
orchard,  and  it  looks  as  if  he  will  be  again  rewarded  with  an  excep¬ 
tionally  big  crop  of  fruit,  especially  Apples.” 
The  Humming-bird  Moth. 
One  of  the  most  beautiful  of  our  English  insects,  the 
Humming-Bird  Moth  (Macroglossa  stellatarum),  is  to  be  found  in 
our  gardens  during  the  latter  part  of  April,  and  again  in  June 
and  September,  for  thei'e  are  three  broods  of  them  annually. 
It  feeds  upon  the  honey  in  the  tubes  of  flowers,  which  it  collects 
whilst  hovering  over  them,  “  inimitably  poising  itself  while  on 
rapidly  vibrating  wings,”  and  thrusting  into  their  tubes  its  long 
flexible  tongue.  “  It  is  delightful  to  contemplate  the  dexterity 
of  this  charming  insect  whilst  it  sails,  all  gaiety  and  grace, 
round  the  tall  sprig  of  a  Larkspur  or  other  flower,  probing  to 
the  very  bottom  every  tube,  neglecting  none,  and  trying  no 
one  twice.”  It  is  not  uncommon,  and  its  times  of  feeding  are 
on  sunny  days  between  the  hours  of  ten  and  twelve  in  the 
morning,  and  those  of  two  and  four  in  the  afternoon.  It 
measures  nearly  2in  across  its  expanded  fore  wings ;  they  are 
dusky  brown,  with  several  bands,  waved,  and  of  different  degrees 
of  blackness ;  there  is  also  a  blackish  dot  near  their  centre ; 
the  hind  wings  are  bright  orange,  with  a  darker  and  redder 
line  round  the  outer  edge ;  the  body  is  light  brown,  with  black 
marks  on  the  back ;  the  abdomen,  or  belly,  is  hairy,  with  a 
tuft  at  the  end,  w'hich  it  can  open  or  shut  at  pleasure.  The 
caterpillar,  of  a  dark  green  colour,  with  a  dusky  line  down  the 
back,  with  a  white  and  yellow  stripe  along  each  side,  and  yellow 
legs,  is  found  in  March,  June,  and  August.  It  feeds  chiefly  on 
different  kinds  of  Galium  (Lady’s  Bedstraw)  and  Rubia  (Dyer’s 
Weed). 
- - - - — 
Wild  Flowers  of  Old  English  Gardens. 
{(Joncluded  from  pa.ge  32.) 
When  our  worthy  predecessors  were  selecting  or  seeking  wild 
flowers  for  cultivation  they  considered  other  things  besides  form 
and  colour.  Some  plants  were  brought  into  gardens  because  they 
were  reputed  to  be  .sacred  or  lucky,  and  many  had  fragrance  or 
flavour  which  gave  them  value.  On  the  flower  beds,  therefore, 
plants  appeared  which  served  more  than  one  purpose ;  they  had 
a  useful  as  well  as  an  ornamental  value.  Then,  again,  the  bees 
were  often  considered,  and  along  the  beds  such  species  known  or 
supposed  to  be  their  favourites  claimed  a  place.  Hence  plants 
of  the  Labiate  order,  though  not  remai'kable  for  showy  flowers 
generally,  were  introduced  on  account  of  their  aromatic  or 
pungent  qualities.  Some  of  the  Mints  were  old  favourites,  yet 
few  of  them  could  be  called  showy,  even  in  clumps,  and  some  have 
an  odour  too  powerful  to  be  pleasant.  We  scarcely  expect  to  find 
any  Mints  growing  in  the  present-day  flower  garden,  excepting 
the  variegated  form  of  M.  rotundifolia,  w’hich  has  been  known  a 
good  wliile.  It  flowers  latish,  the  bloom  being  in  dense  whit© 
spikes,  and  the  leaves  green  and  yellow,  with  a  cobwebby  down 
underneath.  This  makes  a  good  edging  on  any  soil. 
The  Mint,  .so  familiar  to  us  as  used  for  flavouring,  is  a  wild 
species  of  Britain,  M.  viridis,  not  uncommon  along  the  banks  of 
the  Thames  and  Medwa,y,  also  occurring  elsewhere,  there  being 
several  varieties.  Spear,  or  Mackerel,  Slint  was  its  old  designa¬ 
tion,  and  several  varieties  were  to  be  seen  in  gardens,  some  of 
the.se  having  a  less  agreeable  scent  than  others.  Sometimes^  it 
was  allowed  to  grow  as  a  shrub,  becoming  nearly  3ft  high.  Well 
might  it  be  once  grown  as  an  ornamental  plant,  and  old  Gerarde 
declares  that  it  rejoices  by  its  odour  the  heart  of  man.  For 
centuries  this  Mint  has  been  held  sacred  to  the  Virgin  Mary ;  at 
an  -earlier  period  they  believed  the  plant  belonged  to  Pluto, 
monarch  of  the,  .nfernal  regions.  Those  who  could  get  the  rather 
