August  Id,  1900 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
147 
Tvinter  Parsley  is  by  utilising  a  large,  rough  frame  I  have  of  about 
nine  or  ten  lights  used  in  the  spring  to  advance  the  supply  of  early 
(Potatoes  by  a  week  or  two. 
As  soon  as  the  Potatoes  are  well  off,  say  in  early  June,  I 
occasionally  use  it  to  raise  some  small  seeds  of  plants  that  may  be 
wanted,  and  that  will  come  off  soon,  and  about  the  end  of  July  or 
beginning  of  August,  or  up  to  the  middle  of  the  month.  I  then  sow 
a  certain  number  of  lights  with  Parsley,  in  drills  9  inches  apart,  and 
the  other  lights  with  Tom  Thumb  Lettuce  and  broad  and  narrow 
leaved  Endive.  By  this  means  I  secure  a  good  breadth  of  Parsley 
and  strong  plants  of  Endive,  some  to  plant  out  and  the  rest  remain. 
The  frame  is  left  quite  open  until  the  frosts  come,  and  then  the  lights 
are  put  on,  but  tilted  so  as  to  give  plenty  of  air,  and  left  so  night 
and  day  till  the  frosts  get  rhore  severe,  when  they  are  put  down  but 
raised  in  the  day  in  favourable  weather.  In  the  depth  of  winter  a  few 
anats  are  thrown  over  them  at  night.  By  this  means  I  get  a  splendid 
supply  of  Parsley  which  can  be  got  at  in  all  weathers,  and,  therefore, 
I  am  not  much  afraid  of  the  order  of  “  more  Parsley  !  ”  which  with 
me  has  been  a  “  large  order  ”  in  the  winter  season  for  many  years. 
One  of  my  great  difficulties  with  Parsley  in  the  open  is  the  disease 
which  attacks  the  roots  of  Carrots  and  Parsley  in  some  gardens.  The 
Journal’s  excellent  scientific  microscopist  gardener,  Mr.  George  Abbey, 
a  short  time  ago,  most  ably  and  graphically  described  the  disease,  and 
indicated  the  remedies ;  but  though  I  have  adopted  some  of  them  I 
have  not  been  able  as  yet  to  get  as  clean  a  bill  of  health,  either  as  to 
darrots  and  Parsley,  as  I  should  like.  Hence  these  contrivances ;  I 
just  give  the  hint  now,  as  it  may  strike  some  brother  gardener  who  is 
in  like  fix,  and  enable  him  to  meet  the  order  for  “  more  Parsley  ”  with 
•cheerfulness  and  satisfaction. — N.  H.  P. 
Walk  Edgings. 
Whatever  may  be  the  merits  of  the  various  articles  used  as 
■edgings  to  walks,  it  seems  the  general  opinion  that  one  of  Box  stands 
ipre-eminent ;  and  whether  we  take  it  for  its  hardihood,  durability,  or 
•general  appearance,  as  a  live  edging  it  would  seem  the  first  in  its 
class.  Nevertheless,  there  are  places  where  it  is  inexpedient  to  have 
Box,  places  where  neither  that  nor  anything  else  will  grow,  and 
places  where  it  almost  refuses  to  grow  from  a  dislike  to  the  soil.  Now, 
though  I  advocate  the  use  of  Box  in  all  cases  where  it  will  thrive, 
unless  other  circumstances  render  another  edging  necessary,  I  will, 
nevertheless,  advert  to  other  kinds  for  the  special  purposes  for  which 
they  may  be  wanted. 
From  time  immemorial  edgings  for  paths  have  been  deemed 
requisite  for  appearance,  and  in  some  respects  for  stability.  The 
various  Eoman  causeways  which  intersected  the  cultivated  parts  of 
this  country  during  the  time  that  people  held  possession  of  it  have  all 
a  row  of  larger  stones  at  the  edge  than  in  the  centre,  showing  that 
“an  edging”  was  not  unknown  at  that  early  period;  and  from  them 
■down  to  the  present  period  some  sort  of  margin  seems  to  be  considered 
necessary  to  all  sorts  of  pathways,  be  that  a  turnpike  foot  road,  a 
street  pavement,  or  the  more  humble  crossing  that  carries  the  cottager 
from  his  backdoor  to  some  outhouse.  To  all  an  “edging”  of  some 
•sort  seems  requisite,  and  all  have  their  edgings  accordingly. 
Box  Edgings. 
Like  many  other  plants,  more  noticed  perhaps,  the  Box  has  divided 
itself  into  varieties,  differing  in  their  dwarf  or  robustness  of  habit,  the 
■extremes  being  denomi.nated  “  tree,”  and  “  edging  Box  ;  ”  but,  inde¬ 
pendent  of  these  extremes,  there  are  (as  in  most  other  things) 
intermediate  kinds,  too  coarse  for  edging  purpises  in  many  places, 
though  not  in  all ;  and  in  those  situations  where  the  very  dwarfest 
kind  refuses  to  grow,  this  stronger  growing  one  may  be  introduced  to 
advantage.  Whichever  may  be  used,  be  sure  that  all  the  edging 
planted  in  one  place  bo  all  of  a  kind ;  for  though  we  advocated  cutting 
and  trimming,  yet  the  jagged  and  very  uneven  growth  that  takes 
place  when  the  dwarf  and  robust  are  intermixed,  or  what  is  equally 
bad,  halt  one  and  half  the  other,  in  the  same  line,  renders  it  necessary 
to  be  very  exact  in  having  it  true.  I  will  not  here  go  into  the  details 
of  planting,  which  are  well  known,  but  merely  say  that  I  cut  but 
little  (seldom  any)  of  the  top  at  the  time  of  planting.  It  is  likewise 
necessary  to  be  careful  that  the  ground  on  which  it  is  planted  be  all 
alike  in  quality,  and  not  to  have  the  roots  of  one  piece  luxuriating  in 
the  rich  soil  of  the  kitchen  garden  squares,  and  another  struggling  for 
existence  amongst  the  hungry  gravel  and  other  substances  the  walk 
■may  be  made  of.  These  matters  are  often  neglected,  and  the  edging 
presents  afterwards  a  diversity  of  growth  not  to  be  wondered  at 
when  we  consider  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was  placed.  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  here  to  point  out  the  best  season  for  this  duty,  for 
it  rarely  happens  that  any  regard  can  be  had  to  that ;  I  have  planted 
.it  all  seasons,  but  prefer. the  month  of  April.  Whenever  it  is  planted 
in  dry  weather,  it  should  have  the  advantage  of  water  for  some  time 
afterwards,  and  it  will  seldom  fail  to  grow,  even  when  its  roots  have 
been  much  curtailed.  In  moist,  cool  districts,  large  quantities  are 
often  put  in  without  any  root  at  all.  The  middle  of  the  growing 
season  is  the  worst  for  planting,  but  I  have  done  that  in  a  case  of 
necessity,  and  been  tolerably  successful. 
Notwithstanding  the  reputed  hardihood  of  Box,  I  have  seen  it  show 
more  signs  of  suffering  from  spring  frosts  thajj  many  things  supposed 
to  be  more  tender.  Some  frosts  we  had  in  the  early  part  of  one  spring, 
followed  by  a  bright  sun,  “  cut  up  ”  the  tender  growth  of  Box  edging 
on  the  east  side  of  those  lines  which  run  north  and  south,  and  were 
exposed  to  the  morning  sun.  This  I  suppose  to  be  owing  to  the  cold 
air  floating  nearest  the  ground,  and  the  sudden  exposure  to  unclouded 
sunshine  after.  Nevertheless,  we  need  not  be  afraid  to  plant  it  in 
exposed  situations ;  for,  though  it  suffered  severely,  and  for  some  days 
was  quite  black,  still  it  recovered  itself  without  any  portion  falling  a 
victim  to  the  ordeal  to  which  it  had  been  subjected. 
Trimming  Box, 
I  have  heard  it  said,  “There  cannot  be  any  good  gardening  where 
Box  edging  will  not  grow.”  From  this  I  entirely  dissent,  as  I  have 
seen  an  excellent  and  well-kept  garden,  where,  after  repeated  trials,  in 
which  the  Box  perished  piecemeal,  its  use  was  given  up,  and  a  dead 
edging,  I  believe  of  timber,  substituted  in  its  pi  ice.  This  proves  that 
there  are  some  soils  which  do  not  possess  in  sufficient  quantities  the 
necessary  ingredients  on  which  Box  lives,  or  some  which  it  dislikes  ; 
consequently,  after  dragging  out  a  miserable  existence,  it  dies,  piece 
after  piece,  until  the  edging  becomes  no  edging.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  describe  the  precise  kind  of  soil  the  Box  dislikes,  but  I  may  say 
that  where  Sorrel  is  found  very  abundantly  it  is  often  a  proof  that  the 
Box  will  not  be  at  home  there ;  while  I  have  seen  it  thrive  on  a  sandy 
soil  that  would  almost  drift  before  the  wind,  and  it  thrives  equally  on 
a  retentive  loam. 
Though  it  cannot  he  planted  at  this  season,  yet  it  may  be  succsss- 
fully  trimmed  into  order,  which  is  a  point  equally  necessary  to  its 
general  appearance.  For  this  purpose  damp,  dull  weather  is  the  most 
suitable  time.  Its  mutilated  leaves  are  not  then  subjected  to  the 
scorching  influence  of  the  sun  until  a  partial  recovery  takes  place ; 
and  the  same  may  be  said  of  those  interior  leaves  which,  having  been 
long  concealed,  are  not  able  to  bear  exposure  to  hot  sunshine  with 
impunity.  By  cutting  Box  at  this  season  a  part  of  its  summer’s 
growth  also  will  be  retained,  which  will  look  well  the  remainder  of 
the  year. 
Other  Edging-s. 
As  I  have  before  said,  every  walk  ought  to  have  some  visible 
edging  or  margin  whereby  its  outline  is  distinguished  from  the  ground 
which  adjoins  it.  Even  the  back  paths  or  thoroughfares  ought  to 
have  boundary  marks  to  denote  how  far  they  ought  legitimately  to 
extend ;  these,  however,  had  better  be  either  brick  or  stone  of  some 
sort  sunk  in  the  ground.  Common  bricks  make  a  very  good  edging, 
laid  either  edge  or  endways  up,  where  traffic  is  supposed  to  pass  over 
them  ;  but  they  look  best  when  laid  angle-ways  up,  like  the  ridge  of 
a  house,  and  if  done  carefully  they  are  remarkably  neat.  Rough  stones 
or  flints  will  do  in  certain  situations  where  there  is  not  much  traffic  to 
displace  them ;  but  in  a  wilderness  or  other  romantic  situation  they 
are  the  most  proper;  while  in  the  precincts  of  ttie  mansion  or  dressed 
grounds  a  prepared  kerbstone,  or  something  that  represents  it  in  the 
terra-cotta  or  plaster  way,  will  doubtless  be  preferred.  The  increasing 
uses  to  which  the  last  of  these  has  adapted  itself  will  most  likely  lead 
to  many  pleasant  forms  of  edging  and  other  ornamental  work,  so  that 
we  have  no  doubt  but  the  others  will  eventually  be  driven  out  of  the 
market.  Slate  may  be  used  in  some  places,  and  .so  likewise  may  cast 
iron;  but  the  first  is  too  thin  to  look  well,  and  the  last  liable  to  many 
objections — not  the  least  being  its  expense  where  perhaps  a  mile  of  it 
be  Wanted.  I  am  aware  that  in  a  kitchen  garden  many  live  edgings 
are  turned  to  profit,  or  intended  to  be  so,  but  their  disorderly  appear- 
once  more  than  counterbalances  any  good  likely  to  be  derived  from 
them,  I  have  seen  Thyme,  Hyssop,  Pennyroyal,  Strawberries, 
Parsley,  and  many  other  things  all  employed  for  that  purpose  ;  but, 
excepting  the  last,  it  is  seldom  any  good  is  derived  from  them. — 
Gardener. 
- - 
Engrllsb  Cultivated  Clovers. — It  is  interesting  to  remark  what 
Darwin,  in  his  great  book,  *'  The  Origin  of  Species,”  has  to  say  about 
bees  and  Clovers.  According  to  him  the  common  hive  bee,  whose  hum 
is  such  a  pleasant  feature  of  these  summer  days,  does  not  get  any 
nectar  out  of  the  red  Clover,  but  plenty  from  the  incarnate.  He  asserts 
that  the  bee  cannot  reach  down  deep  enough  into  the  former,  which  is 
open  only  to  the  humble  bee.  It  would  appear  to  the  superficial  observer 
that  fields  of  red  Clover  are  visited  and  ransacked  of  their  sweets 
by  myriads  of  bees.  Darwin,  however,  as  an  observer  of  insect  and 
flower  life,  is  not  an  authority  to  be  flouted.  One  would  like  to  hear 
the  views  of  practical  bee-keepers  on  this  subject. 
