136' 
JOUllNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AHD  COTTARE  GABDENER. 
February  12,  .1903. 
with  a  fresh  Rose  or  Carnation.,in  his  buttonhole,  and  asks 
his  friends  what  they  think  of  that  for  Clapham  Common. 
They  taunt  him  with  the  remark  that  he  purchased  it  from 
the  flower  girl  at  the  corner,  but  admire  it  all  the  same, 
with  the  secret  threat  that  they  will  take  the  shine  out  of 
the  proud  individual  when  that  particular  bud  in  the  home 
garden,  on  which  they  have  kept  watch  for  the  past  week, 
develops  into  a  flower. 
But  I  must  follow  the  steps  of  my  type,  with  his  little 
bundle  of  plants  under  his  arm.  At  the  suburban  station 
the  kindred  spirits  part  on  their  several  ways,  and  our 
friend  pulls  up  short  at  a  little  semi-detached  villa  with  a 
Virginian  Creeper  on  the  wall,  the  like  of  which  you  Avill 
find  all  round  London.  He  catches  sight  of  a  face  at  the 
Avindow,  nods  a  welcome,  and  holds  up  his  parcel  of  Pan¬ 
sies  by  way  of  introduction.  A  minute  later  the  latchkey 
has  done  its  Avork,  and  he  is  in  the  hall,  enlarging  on  the 
cheapness  of  his  purchase,  Avhile  the  small  family  circle 
expresses  its  admiration  for  the  gaily-tinted  Pansies.  Tea 
is  quickly  disposed  of,  and  our  friend  disappears  for  a  few 
minutes,  but  soon  returns,  and  in  the  interval  he  has  trans¬ 
formed  himself  from  a  City  man  into  something  almost 
indescribable. 
On  his  feet  he  wears  a  pair  of  old  football  boots,  a  relic 
of  his  bachelor  days  ;  his  legs  are  encased  in  a  pair  of  super¬ 
annuated  ofiice  trousers,  his  frock  coat  has  been  changed 
for  a  faded  old  blazer  AAuth  his  old  cricket  club  colours, 
and  on  the  back  of  his  head  he  Avears  a  dilapidated  smoking 
cap.  But,  bless  you,  the  man  is  happy,  and  Avith  his  family 
round  him,  an  animated  discussion  takes  place  as  to  AAhich 
Avill  be  the  best  place  for  the  Pansies.,  This  knotty  question 
settled,  out  come  the  fork,  spade,  troAvel,  and  Avatering-can, 
for  the  suburban  gardener  is  little  without  a  variety  of  tools, 
and  absolutely  nothing  in  the  absence  of  a  AA’atering-can. 
Water  is  his  sheet  anchor,  and  he  applies  it  on  all  occasions 
unless  it  be  actually  raining.  , 
If  a  plant  looks  sickly,  he  fancies  a  drop  of  water  Avill 
revive  it ;  if  it  is  groAA'ing  well,  moisture  is  necessary  for  its 
support ;  so  he  sprinkles  a  drop  about  before  he  leaves  for 
the  City  in  the  morning,  and  flies  to  the  hose-pipe  on  his 
return,  and  Avhen  every  plant  in  the  little  garden  has  had  its 
^  portion  there  is  alAA'ays  the  small  patch  of  laAA’n  to  fall  back 
upon. 
But  to  return  to  our  friend.  When  the  Pansies  are  dis¬ 
posed  of  through  the  united  efforts  of  the  family  party  he 
makes  a  kind  of  general  survey.  The  garden  is  a  tiny  place, 
hardly  big  enough  to  swing  a  cat  round,  as  the  saying  goes, 
Avith  a  boarded  fence  round,  Avhich  is  not  cat-proof,  in  spite 
•  of  the  strand  of  barbed  Avire  placed  along  the  top  to  keep 
the  feline  creatures  out,  and  they  cause  no  end  of  trouble 
by  holding  nocturnal  meetings  amongst  the  little  flower¬ 
beds.  Slugs,  snails,  and  sparroAvs  flourish  in  the  garden, 
and  for  the  latter,  perhaps,  the  OAvner  is  partly  responsible, 
as  he  is  a  bit  of  a  birdfancier,  and  feeds  the  sparroAvs  in  the 
Avinter  time,  but  slugs  claim  none  of  his  sympathy.  On  the 
other  hand,'  there  is  a  little  jar  in  the  foolhouse  containing 
a  solution  of  brine,  and  just  before  retiring  to  rest  he  hunts 
the  marauders  by  the  light  of  a  candle,  impales  them  for  a 
moment  on  the  jDrongs  of  an  old  table  fork  kept  expressly 
for  the  purpose,  and  then  drops  them  into  the  deadly  solu¬ 
tion.  Our  friend  keeps  a  record  of  the  operations,  and 
occasionally  a  little  paragraph  appears  in  the  penny  garden¬ 
ing  paper  AALich  is  his  friend  and  companion,  telling  how 
many  slugs  he  has  captured  in  a  Aveek,  and  challenging  any 
one  to  beat  the  record. 
A  great  point  about  the  suburban  amateur  is  that  he  is 
not  conceited.  He  does  not  pretend  to  be  a  gardener, 
though  he  says  AA’hat  he  AA'ill  do  AA’hen  he  retires  from  busi¬ 
ness  and  goes  to  live  in  the  country,  and  looks  upon  his 
failures  as  the  result  of  his  ignorance.  He  is  a  great  ques¬ 
tioner,  hoAA'ever,  and  bombards  the  editor  of  his  favourite 
paper  Avith  inquiries  on  every  little  point  over  Avhich  he  is 
in  doubt,  and  as  he  has  reaped  a  good  bit  of  information  by 
this  m^ns,  he  is  preioared  to  sAvear  by  it  as  a  mode  of  educa¬ 
tion.  For  some  time  he  has  contemplated  subscribing  a 
guinea  to  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  but  he  hardly 
knoAAs  Avhat  to  do  about  Avriting  F.R.H.S.  after  his  name,  so 
the  matter  is  in  abeyance. 
.  The  grass  on  the  little  plot  in  the  centre  of  the  garden 
IS  Fi’een  and  fresh,  considering  the  situation,  but  unfortu¬ 
nately  tor  the  turf  our  friend  is  the  possessor  of  a  tiny 
mowing  machine,  likeAvise  a  small  roller,  and  when  there  is 
notaing  piessmg  in  other  directions  he  manipulates  these 
implements  by  Avay  of  exercise,  and  mows,  moAvs,  mOAvs, 
and  rolls,  rolls,  rolls,  until  it  is  a  marvel  that  the  grass  does 
not  deliberately  die  on  purpose  to  escape  the  perpetual 
torture  ;  but  then  our  friend  Avaters  freely  as  Avell,  and  this 
explains  matters. 
By  a  remarkable  piece  of  ingenuity  he  has  contrived  to 
fix  the  smallest  of  small  greenhouses  in  one  corner  of  the 
garden,  and  though  the  heating  arrangements  are  a  source 
of  continual  trouble,  the  man  manages  to  get  considerable 
enjoyment  out  of  the  structure.  In  regard  to  the  heating, 
it  is  not  a  question  of  not  getting  sufficient  warmth  so  inucb 
as  being  overdone  with  it ;  but  Avhen  excess  in  this  direc¬ 
tion  leads  to  disaster,  it  is  all  the  better  for  the  plant 
haAA'kers,  Avho  make  good  the  losses  after  a  considerable 
amount  of  bantering.  Every Avhere  in  the  garden  there  is 
evidence  of  its  OAvner’s  dealings.  Here  is  a  little  clump  of 
Carnations,  there  a  feAV  Rose  bushes,  further  on  a  patch  of 
bulbs,  then  a  collection  of  annuals,  in  the  corner  a  medley 
of  herbaceous  plants,  and  under  the  AvindoAV  a  modest, 
attempt  at  carpet  bedding,  the  result  of  an  idea  conceived 
in  Battersea  Park. 
A  dozen  flower  pots  stand  along  the  centre  path  that  con¬ 
tain  the  establishment’s  collection  of  Chrysanthemums, 
Avhich  are  destined,  when  they  come  into  flower,  to  be  dis¬ 
played  to  the  gaze  of  the  public  from  the  boAV  AAdndoAV  of  the 
draAving  room.  Our  friend  pretends  to  know  a  bit  about 
Chrysanthemums,  because  he  has  a  book  upon  the  subject, 
Avhich  he  has  studied  sufiiciently  to  master  the  mysteries  of 
“  breaks  ”  and  “  bud  taking  ”  with  the  result  that  he  has 
produced  blooms  Avhich  have  struck  envy  in  the  hearts  of 
the  other  enthusiasts  who  travel  to  toAAm  with  him  in  the 
train. 
While  daylight  lasts  on  spring  and  summer  evenings  the 
amateur  muddles  about  his  little  enclosure — a  happy  and 
contented  man.  Business  cares  are  forgotten  in  the  garden, 
and  Avith  his  pipe  in  his  mouth,  he  does  a  bit  of  planting, 
staking,  Avatering,  weeding,  or  mowing  as  the  fit  takes  him, 
or  climbs  on  to  the  top  of  the  w’ater  butt  in  order  to  discuss 
gardening  topics  Avith  his  neighbours  over  the  fence. 
On  Avinter  nights  there  is  a  light  in  the  little  greenhouse, 
Avhere  our  friend  is  ahvays  able  to  find  a  job,  and  the  after¬ 
supper  pipe  is  ahvays  more  enjoyable  after  the  congenial 
recreation  and  amusement.  If  it  Avere  only  a  question 
of  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence,  the  garden  is  not  a 
profitable  concern,  but  it  isn’t  that.  The  suburban  ama¬ 
teur  says  he  loves  it,  and  you  may  take  him  at  his  Avord. 
In  the  evening,  as  he  potters  about  the  little  enclosure  in 
his  free  and  easy  attire,  he  is  a  gardener,  so  far  as  his  means 
and  facilities  Avill  alloAA',  To-morrow  morning,  after  he  has 
spent  half  an  hour  amongst  his  plants  before  breakfast,  and 
rushes  off  Avith  none  too  much  time  to  catch  his  train,  and 
smoothing  his  tall  hat  as  he  goes  along,  he  becomes  a  unit 
amongst  the  thousands  Avho  are  "  something  in  the  City.” — 
A  British  Rustic. 
Feminine  Floral  Decorators. 
In  floral  decoration,  as  in  eA’crything  else,  the  A'ery  cleA'er 
Avoinan,  Avith  a  marked  gift  for  her  calling,  succeeds.  But,  in 
general,  it  is  not  a  particularly  promising  occupation.  It  is 
much  affected,  too,  by  seasons.  During  the  height  of  the 
London  season  there  is  a  considerable  amount  of  AAork  to  be  had 
in  decorating  dinner  tables  and  ball-rooms,  making  Avedding 
bouquets,  favours,  and  so  forth;  but  the  rest  of  the  year  is  more 
uncertainly  occupied  by  making  up  ordinary  buttonholes,  con¬ 
structing  funeral  Avreaths,  and  devising  some  arrangement  of 
growing  flowers  for  clraAving-room  decoration.  The  Avages 
earned  by  girls  at  florists’  shops  are  not  grand.  Many  do  not 
get  more  than  from  10s.  to  Ids.  per  Aveek ;  first  hands,  Avho  haA'e 
had  long  experience,  hoAvever,  receiA'e  from  £1  to  £2.  So  long 
as  the  A'cgue  for  floAA-ers  in  rooms  continues  at  its  present  height 
the  AA’ork  may  be  fairly  Avell  recommended;  but  it  .should  be 
considered  that  (piite  po.ssibly  Ave  may  reA’ert  some  day  to  the 
notion .  prcATilent  in  the  .seA'enties,  that  a  feAV  “pot  plants” 
arranged  in  epergnes  were  all  the  adonrment  a  dinner  table 
required.  Already  the  announcement  “no  floAvers”  is  freejuent 
in  connection  Avith  funerals;  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  the 
outlay  on  floAvers  may  presently  be  reduced  for  other  occasions. 
Still,  Ave  think  tliei'e  Avill  remain  enough  Avork  for  capable  girls, 
AA'ho  are  content  Avith  moderate  earnings  and  do  not  mind  Avork- 
ing  rather  long  hours.  The  premium  asked  b}^  ladies  in  the 
trade  ranges  from  tAA’ent.v-five  to  thirty  guineas.  A  florist 
hardly  becomes  expert  Avith  less  than  one  year’s  practice,  but 
sometimes  a  small  Aveekly  Avage  is  paid  after  the  first  three 
menths. — (“  Queen.”) 
