7/
 
 

 
 WITH INCIDENTAL 
 
 ra M A IT 
 
 THE SECOtiD EDITION, 
 
 LONDON : 
 JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND. 
 
 U.DCCO XXXVIII
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE best preface to this little work will be an account 
 of what has been attempted in it. The utility of 
 exciting in the minds of young persons a fondness for 
 gardening is universally admitted. 
 
 That there are several excellent works intended for 
 this purpose is undeniable, but the author thinks that, 
 generally speaking, they are too technical, and likely, 
 from the practical difficulty of their instructions, and 
 from the time and expense required to effect what they 
 propose, to discourage rather than to aid the attempts 
 of the young gardener. 
 
 A child who would gladly garden, and raise flowers 
 by his own skill and labour, is mortified at reading a 
 description of beautiful plants which he cannot hope to 
 succeed in rearing, for want of the hot-bed, stove, 
 forcing-house, &c., required for their culture. But, all 
 the useful part of the occupation, as a rational and inno- 
 cent recreation, tending to form habits of industry, 
 order, and observation, may be attained in a garden, 
 where nothing but the more common and hardier plants 
 are cultivated. 
 
 In the present work, two children are supposed to 
 lay out and complete a small garden, which they stock 
 with such shrubs and flowers as many can obtain, by a 
 judicious indulgence on the part of their parents and 
 
 a 
 
 2091102
 
 6 PREFACE. 
 
 friends, and by means of their own activity and intelli- 
 gence, without the necessity for more pecuniary expen- 
 diture than most children are enabled to make. 
 
 It is obvious, however, that by rather exceeding these 
 limits, opportunity might be afforded for instructions 
 that may be useful to some, while those who are not able 
 or willing to attempt so much, may select or abridge, as 
 it were, the garden and its contents so as to suit their 
 own means and inclinations. 
 
 The conversational form was adopted as being gene- 
 rally considered more captivating, and less tedious to 
 young readers ; and as giving an opportunity of intro- 
 ducing digressions on natural history, which, though 
 necessarily brief and simple, may relieve the tedium of 
 technical precepts, and foster a taste for that delightful 
 study. An attempt has been made to give the principle 
 on which the operations of horticulture are founded, as 
 deduced from botanical physiology, of the most ele- 
 mental kind; such as is. contained in the Elements of 
 Botany. 
 
 It may, perhaps, be objected that the children talk 
 rather too learnedly, but this is inevitable if instruc- 
 tion is to be conveyed. If the conversation of children 
 were made natural in books, it might entertain, but 
 could not teach much: and no more knowledge is pre- 
 supposed in the present work on the part of the eldest, 
 than may be acquired by the younger, and all readers 
 of her age.
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 American plants, 81. 
 
 Aracea?, 116. 
 
 Arrangement of flowers, 107. 
 
 Artificial ponds, 178. 
 
 Bats, 189. 
 
 Birds injurious to gardens, 
 51, 54. 
 
 Birds of passage, 171. 
 
 Borders, setting out, 103. 
 
 Botanical principles, 41, 181, 
 185. 
 
 Box, account of, 26. 
 
 Budding, 128. 
 
 Buds, 122, 
 
 Bulbs, 73, 142, 192. 
 
 Carnations, laying, 62. 
 
 Cats do little damage in gar- 
 dens, 52. 
 
 Classification, use of, 91. 
 
 Cold frame, 183. 
 
 Crassulacere, 145. 
 
 Cultivation, 11, 38, 108, 133, 
 148, 191. 
 
 Cuttings, 44, 55. 
 
 Dew, 152. 
 
 Digging and trenching, 13. 
 Dividing roots, 72. 
 Drills, seeds to be sown in,47. 
 Edgings of turf, 10, 159. 
 Edgings of box, 23. 
 Entomology, 68. 
 Euphorbiaceae, 86. 
 Florists' flowers, 95. 
 French Beds, objections to, 
 
 36. 
 Gardening operations, 18, 38, 
 
 100, 103, 110, 133, 140, 
 
 143, 148, 152, 191. 
 Gardening tools, 75. 
 Grafting, 125. 
 Gravel walks, 20, 160. 
 Hardy plants, 28. 
 Hyacinths, treatment of, 
 
 06. 
 
 Insects, 68, 154. 
 Labiacere, 83. 
 Layers, 60. 
 Laying out a garden, 10, 16, 
 
 19, 104. 
 List of plants, 195.
 
 8 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Manures, 161, 167. 
 
 Marking-sticks, 39. 
 
 Mosses and Lichens, 90. 
 
 Natural History, 53, 69, 84, 
 91,113,120,121,154,156, 
 170, 171, 182, 188. 
 
 New plants, 118. 
 
 Number of species, 115. 
 
 Orchidacere, 66 
 
 Pipings, 64. 
 
 Plans of gardens, 16, 37. 
 
 Plants, divisions of, 25. 
 
 Plants, exotic, early culti- 
 vated, 138. 
 
 Preparation of the soil, 32. 
 
 Primrose, 88. 
 
 Pruning, 43, 123. 
 
 Rock-work, 35. 
 
 Rustic trellis for climbing 
 plants, 34. 
 
 Saxifragacete, 102. 
 
 Seed, mode of trying, 50. 
 Seed, time different sorts will 
 
 keep, 50. 
 Soils, 14, 164. 
 Sowing, 46. 
 Slips, 65. 
 
 Species, balance of, 150. 
 Specific names, 94. 
 Standard shrubs, 29. 
 Stocks for grafting, 126. 
 Striking cuttings, 58. 
 Transplanting, 41, 46, 100. 
 Trenching, 13. 
 Viper, 120. 
 
 Watering plants, 147, 153. 
 Weeds, 66. 
 Wild plants, 88, 109, 11C, 
 
 169, 172, 177, 181, 187. 
 Worms, common earth, do 
 
 little damage, 54. 
 
 -, wire, 54.
 
 CONVERSATIONS 
 
 ON 
 
 GARDENING. 
 
 Mary. OH, Henry, Mamma has just told me such 
 good news ! Papa means to give us a piece of 
 ground in the newly enclosed field, to make a 
 Garden of; and we are to have it all to ourselves. 
 
 Henry. I have just been to see it with papa, and 
 he has been advising me how to lay it out ; he says 
 he will let a labourer do all the very hard work for 
 us, and he will have it enclosed with pales on the 
 two open sides ; but there will be a great deal to do 
 before we can begin to plant flowers. 
 
 AT. Oh, yes ; but what must we do about the 
 grass that grows over it ? it will not look like a 
 garden while that is there. 
 
 H. Papa and I have settled all about that; he 
 says he will have the turf pared off for us, and the 
 ground dug .over; the turf, or grass, as you call it, 
 will be very useful to us to make edgings to our beds 
 and borders. 
 
 B
 
 10 LAYING OUT THE GARDEN. 
 
 M. Edgings to our beds, what is that ? 
 
 H. Do not you know that round the flower- 
 borders in the large garden there is a row of pretty 
 little plants called box ? Now, it takes a long time, 
 and much care and trouble, to make such a border of 
 box, though it is much better than any thing else 
 for that purpose; but as there must be something 
 round the beds of flowers, or they will not look 
 neat, strips of turf are cut and set round them, and 
 that is what we must do at first, unless we plant 
 thrift or daisies. 
 
 M, Well, well, but I suppose while all that is 
 about I may sow some flowers in the middle, as soon 
 as the grass is taken away, because you know they 
 will be growing. 
 
 H. Softly, softly; the garden must be dug and 
 laid out, and the walks made; and the kinds of 
 flowers that are to be planted must be considered, 
 and the places where they are to come, or our garden 
 will not be pretty. Papa says, that to make a 
 garden worth looking at, requires much thought, 
 patience, and perseverance ; and he told me it was 
 to accustom us to be industrious, to get up early, 
 and to acquire other good habits and much know- 
 ledge to be obtained by observation, that he gave us 
 the ground. 
 
 M. I should not think that it wants much learn -
 
 KNOWLEDGE OF BOTANY'. 11 
 
 ing to make a garden; and I thought all learning 
 was got from books. 
 
 H. There is very little real learning to be got 
 from books only; it is by observing, that is, by 
 looking at real things, and then thinking about what 
 we see, that we learn. Now, for example, by 
 gardening we shall learn something of Botany and 
 Natural History. 
 
 M. That is about flowers ; Botany means about 
 flowers, does it not ? 
 
 ff. Yes ; and about trees, and every thing that 
 grows in the ground. Now there arc many books 
 about Botany, but if we were to read them all, we 
 hould not know half so much as by looking at, and 
 studying, plants, and trees. But now let us go and 
 look at the ground for our garden, and settle the 
 plan of it. 
 
 M. What do you mean by the plan of it ? 
 
 H. I mean the form of the beds and walks, sa 
 that the whole may look pretty and regular, and so 
 that we may be able to get to the various parts 
 to cultivate, dig, weed, rake, and so on. 
 
 M. Shall we have to do all that ? I thought that 
 was only necessary in growing lettuces, and cab- 
 bages, and things for eating. 
 
 H. Cultivation is just as much required for 
 flowers as for vegetables. 
 
 B 2
 
 12 EFFECTS OF CULTIVATION. 
 
 M. But nobody digs and rakes in the fields and 
 woods, and there are plenty of pretty flowers there. 
 
 H. The flowers in our gardens are much prettier 
 though, and that chiefly arises from their being 
 carefully cultivated, as it is called. All flowers 
 which are planted in gardens must have originally 
 been wild flowers in the fields, but by being taken 
 care of they are become larger and finer. You know 
 those pretty anemonies, or wind-flowers, as they are 
 called, in papa's garden ; they were originally wild 
 flowers, such as those you and I gathered last 
 April, in the wood on the other side of the hill. 
 
 M. Why then we may get some of the very same 
 again this spring, and put them in our garden, and 
 they will be like papa's. 
 
 H. You will learn, by and by, that we can get 
 fine flowers much sooner than by transplanting wild 
 ones. 
 
 M. I hope I shall be able to do a great deal in 
 the garden to help you ; I can rake and hoe a little, 
 as you know. 
 
 H. Gardening is just the proper employment for 
 little girls ; it is not too hard work for them, it is 
 clean, and requires neatness and patience. 
 
 M. You know a good deal about it, from having 
 been so long at iny Uncle's while we were living iu 
 town.
 
 CULTIVATED FLOWERS. 13 
 
 H. You may soon learn as much. But now I 
 will show you how papa advises us to plan our beds; 
 he made a sketch on the spot, and I am going to 
 draw it out quite correctly on paper for us to set it 
 out on the ground by. 
 
 M. I think I shall understand it better when you 
 have drawn it out : and I think it is time for us to 
 go to our lessons, for mamma says we are not to let 
 our garden interfere with our lessons. 
 H. Papa said so too, so let us go. 
 Mr. Bentley had the turf pared off the piece of 
 ground as he had promised his son, the two sides 
 were paled in with pales fit for enclosing a flower- 
 garden, and the whole dug over, or trenched, to pre- 
 pare the soil : he told his children to watch these 
 operations, that they might understand them. Mary 
 received her first lesson in gardening, by observing 
 the care with which the turf was taken up, in strips 
 from three to four feet long, by a paring shovel ; these 
 were then rolled up like pieces of cloth, and piled 
 away for use. She watched the digging, and ob- 
 served that, instead of beginning any where at ran- 
 dom, the man commenced by dividing the piece of 
 ground out into equal beds, by means of a line 
 stretched between two pegs ; and then dug from one 
 end of the first bed to the other, throwing the earth 
 lie took out on one side. When he got to the end,
 
 14 DIGGING AND TRENCHING. 
 
 he began on the next bed, and dug in the contrary 
 direction to that in which he had dug the first, and 
 so alternately backwards and forwards along the 
 beds, till he had dug the whole over, taking care to 
 throw the earth out of each bed into the trench he 
 had made by digging the adjoining one; and he 
 wheeled the earth he had taken from the first 
 trench across the ground, and filled in the last bed 
 with it ; by this means every portion of the ground 
 was changed in situation, and the lower part, that 
 had before been buried from the sun and air, was 
 brought to the surface, and that which had for years 
 been uppermost was buried under the rest. 
 
 Henry told his sister that this was done, because 
 earth, to render it fertile, or capable of bearing plants 
 and enabling them to grow, ought to be exposed to 
 the action of the sun, wind, dew, and rain. 
 
 M. What does the earth do for trees and plants, 
 except holding them upright ? 
 
 ff. All things that grow, or increase in size, do so 
 by food of some kind ; children grow to men and 
 women by eating bread and meat ; cattle eat grass, 
 you know. Now plants live on water and air, and 
 some mineral substances, and these they get from 
 the earth, papa tells me : the ground receives the 
 water which falls in rain, and by sucking it up as a 
 sponge does, it enables the roots of the plants, which
 
 WHAT THE SOIL DOES. 15 
 
 spread themselves in the ground, to drink it up, 
 as it were, in proper quantities for their nourish- 
 ment. 
 
 M. Then the roots of plants are like our mouths ; 
 but you talk as if plants were like men and animals; 
 plants live, and grow, and die, I know, but still 
 they are not like animals. 
 
 H. Animals are more perfect, in possessing a more 
 complicated structure, and having a species of reason 
 called instinct to influence them, and they possess 
 the power of moving about, or changing place ; but 
 plants resemble animals, in so far as they have par- 
 ticular parts, called organs, necessary for their exist- 
 ence and growth, and in requiring food to enable 
 them to live. 
 
 M. What paper is that you have in your hand, 
 and what are you going to do with that roll of 
 string and those pieces of wood ? 
 
 H. This is a plan of our garden, and I am going 
 to set it out by this string and pegs. See, I have 
 contrived it so as to keep the sloping bank under 
 the garden wall; against the south side of the 
 northern wall, we can train creeping plants which 
 require a warm and sunny aspect, while the bank 
 can be kept for flowers equally demanding a hot 
 sun : this bank, with a walk at the bottom, will 
 reduce the piece of ground to a square, and in the
 
 16 
 
 PLAN OF THE GARDEN. 
 
 E 
 
 WAt.T,. 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 Q Q Q Q Q O O O O O O O O 
 
 45 13 
 
 54 24 36 
 
 A 73 
 
 Bed for Bulbs, &c. 
 
 29 
 
 53 67 79 74 56 
 
 34 
 19 
 36 
 
 34 
 53 
 
 E 
 
 38 E 
 
 27 74 6? 60 64 
 
 31 
 
 81 30 
 
 58 A 
 
 Bed for Bulbs, &c. 
 
 77 73 65 80 
 E 75 
 
 33 
 
 27 
 25 
 
 59 
 E 9 
 
 65 
 
 28 
 
 26 
 
 31 
 
 E 23 
 
 9 66 76 77 70 
 
 30 
 
 Bed for rearing Biennials, &c. I Bed for rearing Plants. 
 
 5 W 12
 
 ARRANGEMENT OF THE BORDERS. 17 
 
 centre we will have a circular border, as is shown 
 by the circle in the plan, with a walk round it. 
 Then this is a gravel walk forming a square, leaving 
 the irregular borders, C, between it and the circular 
 path ; on the outer side of this square path there is 
 another bed, which on the north and south sides 
 will come under the wall and opposite palings ; 
 while on the east and west sides it will form a 
 double border, with a walk between it and the pa- 
 lings on one side, and between it and the slope on 
 the other. 
 
 M. That will be nice, and I suppose these, P, are 
 paths across the flower-beds to get at the inner 
 circle. 
 
 H. Exactly; I see you begin to understand it. 
 Now, to make our garden pretty, we must plant the 
 tallest growing flowers in the centre of the circle, 
 and those next them outwards must be lower and 
 lower, so that they may form a cone ; and by con- 
 triving not to have flowers of the same colour come 
 next each other, and so that some may be in blos- 
 som in every part of the garden, at each season of 
 the spring, summer, and autumn, the best possible 
 effect will be produced. 
 
 M. But to do all that will require a great deal of 
 contriving. I suppose the height to which all 
 plants and flowers commonly grow is well known,
 
 18 LAYING OUT THE GAUDEX. 
 
 so that we have only to select ours for our garden 
 accordingly. 
 
 H. Yes ; and papa will instruct us how to draw 
 out a list of plants, which we shall find to answer 
 our purpose, with the proper times for sowing them, 
 and all necessary information to guide us. But now 
 to set out our plan. Here, hold this, and these 
 pegs, till I want them. 
 
 MARY watched her brother's proceedings with great 
 attention, and helped him to the best of her power. 
 He set off from the S.W. and N.W. corners, four 
 feet by measure, along the south and north sides ; 
 and sticking down a peg at each mark, he stretched 
 a string tight between them for the border. He 
 then in a similar manner set off the walk three feet 
 wide, and taking the length of the walk, or the 
 whole width of the garden, from north to south, in 
 a string, he found it exactly sixty-four feet ; he set 
 this same length along each side from the edge of 
 the walk, and having set down a peg at each mark, 
 he stretched another string for the inner edge of the 
 walk next the bank on the east, and thus made the 
 square ; for he knew that his father had had the 
 paling set correctly parallel and perpendicular to the
 
 LAYING OUT THE GARDEN. 19 
 
 two walls, which were also truly at right angles to 
 each other. The remaining piece at the east end 
 was left for the sloping bank, and for the walks at 
 the top and bottom of it. These walks he set off of 
 the right width, the bank being left about twelve 
 feet wide. / 1 
 
 H, Now, Mary, how would you ^find the centre 
 of this square ? 
 
 M. Why, I would set off half the width of the 
 square from the middle of the four sides, and that 
 would find the middle of it. 
 
 H. Ay, but that would require four operations at 
 least, whereas by the method I shall follow I can do 
 it in two. 
 
 Henry then, fixed one string, strained tightly to 
 two pegs, in opposite corners of the square, and 
 having done the same with the two remaining op- 
 posite corners, he stuck a stout stake in the point 
 where the two strings crossed each other, knowing 
 that this was the true centre of the square. 
 
 Mary soon perceived the reason of this process, 
 and was much struck with its simplicity : when her 
 brother told her that Geometry taught him this 
 plan of proceeding, she uttered a deep sigh at the 
 quantity of things she knew nothing about, and 
 which she longed to learn. 
 
 Henry then put his string with a noose over the
 
 20 LAYING OUT THE GARDEN. 
 
 stake, and having measured eight feet along the 
 string from the stake, he carried the line round, 
 sticking in stakes at small distances apart to form a 
 circle. In a similar manner he marked out another 
 circle beyond the first, thus enclosing a circular path 
 between them of three feet and a half wide. 
 
 He next set off the outer bed, on the four sides 
 eight feet wide, and within them a walk of three 
 and a half feet, marking the angles with stakes, and 
 stretching strings for the sides; and having also 
 marked out the cross-paths, he got a labourer to dig 
 out the walks to the depth of eighteen to twenty 
 inches, making the sides and bottoms smooth and 
 even, and the former truly straight by the stretched 
 Ikies. ^ 
 
 At the bottom of the trenches thus dug, broken 
 bricks and dry rubbish were laid, to the depth of 
 six or eight inches ; on this, coarse gravel, which 
 being rammed down hard, fine gravel was at last 
 spread three inches deep, the top being made curved 
 so that the water should run off the gravel on to the 
 flower-beds, and by soaking through might be 
 drained off by the coarse rubbish below. 
 
 Henry explained to his sister, that owing to the 
 situation of the plot of ground, as being at the high- 
 est corner of the field, it did not require any arti- 
 ficial drains : but that all land which lies low, and
 
 CLEARING THE BORDERS. 21 
 
 consequently retains water, ought to be drained, by 
 having deep narrow trenches cut in it, at the bottom 
 of which fagots are placed, the trenches are then filled 
 up again with earth. These fagots keep an open 
 water-way and prevent the water from soaking too 
 long in the earth, which would be especially in- 
 jurious to most plants. 
 
 Instead of the fagots, small drains are also made 
 by tiles, moulded so that their section may be of 
 this form n ; these are set in rows on flat tiles called 
 soles, and thus form a small continued drain, which 
 carries off the water to some adjoining water-course, 
 ditch, or river. 
 
 Mary was surprised to learn the large sums of 
 money that are expended in properly draining ex- 
 tensive tracks of land to fit them for cultivation, and 
 which without this care would be comparatively 
 valueless. 
 
 Henry's next care was to prepare his beds by 
 digging and raking till they were quite smooth and 
 free from clods, large stones, and all rubbish which, 
 might disfigure them. As the soil was already 
 tolerably light, and had never been cultivated, 
 having been pasture-land from time immemorial, it 
 did not need manuring, and except that he dug in a 
 quantity of fine sand, dry leaves, and well dried and 
 crumbled cow-dung, no further preparations were
 
 22 SETTING THE BOX EDGING. 
 
 required to make it fit for a flower-garden : the 
 grass edgings had been laid down round the borders 
 before the last thickness of gravel was laid on them, 
 the turf being trimmed into perfectly straight and 
 parallel, edges. 
 
 Mr. Bentley, aware of the difficulty of laying the 
 strips of turf round the circles, allowed his children 
 to have sufficient box for the two edgings of the 
 circular walks, and the gardener proceeded to plant 
 it with great care placing the small plants in a true 
 circle, without angles or irregularities. 
 
 The box was in small plants, with many branches ; 
 these they helped the gardener to take off, so that a 
 piece of the root should remain to each slip : the 
 slips were put into a small trench, hollowed out for 
 them, at equal distances and quite upright. The 
 earth was pressed in close to the stems, and trod 
 down hard so as to lie close to the roots ; and the 
 earth on the border side again hoed and raked fine. 
 
 All this took some weeks to effect, and Henry 
 afterwards, aided by the man, rolled the gravel 
 with a garden-roller over and over again, till it was 
 hard and solid, taking the opportunity of doing it 
 always after a shower, or early in the morning when 
 the dew lay on the earth, in order that the gravel, 
 being damp, might bind better. 
 
 M. Papa says that if we take care, this box in
 
 BOX EDGINGS. 23 
 
 time will furnish us with enough for our whole 
 garden ; but how is that to be done ? 
 
 H. "When each little shrub of box is grown, and 
 has many little branches, it is taken up, these 
 shoots, as they are called, are torn off with care, as 
 you have seen done with this, and being planted, 
 become in time branched in their turn, and thus 
 furnish more. But, besides this necessity for taking 
 it up to obtain fresh shoots, box-edgings must be 
 cut with garden-shears twice a year to prevent their 
 growing too high and straggling, and to render the 
 edging smooth and even. The best times for cutting 
 box-edgings are early in May and November. New 
 edgings of box should be made late in autumn, or 
 else the dry hot weather of summer will kill the 
 tender shoots before they have made new roots to 
 supply themselves with moisture. 
 
 M. I should have thought cutting such a little 
 plant with shears would kill it. 
 
 H. Plants are very hardy in that respect, they 
 bear cutting and lopping very well ; many shrubby 
 plants thrive all the better for being cut or pruned, 
 .as it is called, very frequently, as you will learn in 
 time. Box is particularly hardy, it thrives in any 
 soil, can do with but little sun; when trimmed 
 neatly to a regular height and thickness it is as effi- 
 cient for the purpose it is meant for, of keeping the
 
 24 USE OP THE STUDY OF BOTANY. 
 
 mould from falling off the beds on the gravel-walks, 
 as a board would be, and is much prettier than any 
 thinff else. It is a tree in miniature. 
 
 O 
 
 M. Mamma advised me to ask you the botanical 
 name and history of the plants we put in our gar- 
 den ; she said it would be useful to both of us, as 
 she was anxious we should know a good deal of 
 botany especially. 
 
 H. Yes, and papa says so too ; he says that the 
 more we learn of plants, and the more we examine 
 them, the more we shall love and adore the CREA- 
 TOR who made them ; love Him for his goodness, 
 which shows itself even in furnishing such a variety 
 of beautiful forms and colours for our gratification ; 
 and adore Him for his wisdom and power, surpassing 
 all thought, which are seen in the structure of the 
 smallest plant, " even unto the hyssop that springeth 
 out of the wall." 
 
 M. But surely every thing which surrounds us 
 will teach us that ; and the wonderful structure of 
 animals is more striking than that of trees and 
 flowers. 
 
 H. It is so, but we are too young yet to under- 
 stand anatomy, and those sciences which teach about 
 animals, while the youngest child is struck with a 
 flower, if its beauty be pointed out to it. 
 
 M. I feel sorry that I ever pulled a flower to
 
 BOTANICAL ARRANGEMENTS. 25 
 
 pieces wantonly, since mamma was so good as to 
 explain to me yesterday tlie different parts, and their 
 supposed uses. 
 
 H. What flower did she show you ? for, in the 
 winter, there are not many to be found except in 
 green-houses. 
 
 M. It was an anemone and a snow-drop, out of 
 the real garden ; but I am afraid I have forgot some 
 of what she told me, there were such a number of 
 hard names. 
 
 H. You will soon learn them again ; but tell me 
 what you best remember. 
 
 M. Why, about there being two great divisions 
 of plants, very easily distinguished from each other ; 
 the one sort generally proceeding from a seed having 
 two seed-leaves, while the other sort grow from a 
 seed having only one ; but she said there were 
 many apparent exceptions to this rule, which I 
 .should learn in time. Now I forget the long, long 
 words she called these two divisions by : do you 
 know them? 
 
 H. Never mind the hard names ; but did not 
 mamma tell you that there were two, still more im- 
 portant, classes under which plants are arranged ? 
 
 M. Oh, yes! the one contained all plants that 
 have flowers and produce seeds ; and the other con- 
 tains all those which do not bear flowers and seeds. 
 
 c
 
 26 ACCOUNT OF BOX. 
 
 And do you know, Henry, that sea-weeds and 
 mushrooms, and dry rot, and mouldiness, and all 
 those sort of things, are plants, just as much as oaks, 
 and elms, and roses, and stocks ? 
 
 H. Every thing must be either mineral, or vege- 
 table, or animal, or more properly speaking, every 
 thing must be either inorganic or organic ; minerals 
 being the former, and plants and animals the latter : 
 now the things you named are not animals, nor 
 minerals, therefore they must be plants: there's 
 logic for you ! 
 
 M. Well, now, tell me about box. 
 
 H. This box is the species called semper-virens 
 (meaning evergreen), of the genus Buxus; it is a 
 native of the Levant, I believe ; and another variety, 
 called the tree-box, which you have often seen in 
 shrubberies, furnishes the wood made use of for 
 engraving cuts on, as they are called. 
 
 M. "What are cuts ? 
 
 H. You know the pictures in the Saturday Ma- 
 gazine, which we are so fond of looking at ; those 
 are called cuts, to distinguish them from engravings 
 made on copper or steel, or prints taken from stone. 
 
 M. Then box is of much greater importance to 
 us, than merely for edgings to flower-borders. 
 
 H. Yes, indeed, for though perhaps other woods 
 might answer, if the supply of box were to fail, yet
 
 CATALOGUE OF PLANTS. 27 
 
 they are far inferior ; at least those that have been, 
 as yet, tried, have been found so. 
 
 M, Where do they get the quantity that must 
 be wanted for so many books ? I never saw any 
 box-trees large enough to furnish siich pieces as 
 some cuts must require. 
 
 H. It is brought from the Levant ; but when the 
 cut is large, two or more pieces of the box- wood are 
 fastened together. 
 
 A FEW days afterwards, in the evening, Henry 
 showed his sister the catalogue of plants which he 
 had written out with his father's advice, and which 
 he thus explained, referring to the plan of his gar- 
 den (see p. 16), on which he had marked, by num- 
 bers, the spots where he proposed planting the prin- 
 cipal shrubs. 
 
 Henri/. Papa advises us not to attempt to have 
 any plants in our garden, that require either arti- 
 ficial heat, to bring them forward, or to keep them 
 in winter, or that require great care in rearing ; be- 
 cause, he says, that we should not be able to spare 
 so much time or money as such plants would cost 
 us ; so I have chosen only those for my list which 
 
 C 2
 
 28 STANDARD SHRUBS. 
 
 are either hardy, as it is called, that is, which stand 
 our climate without being put in a green or hot- 
 house, and the few which are not so, only require 
 covering over with mats, or straw, in severe frosts, 
 and being covered with hand-glasses when first 
 coming up, or which, with this care, and being 
 put in a sheltered and sunny situation, will, gene- 
 rally, get through our winters. 
 
 Mary. Then we shall not have in our garden, 
 any of those pretty flowers which we saw last sum- 
 mer at Messrs. Hoe and Rake's. 
 
 H. We cannot have those rare ones which we 
 saw in their hot-houses, certainly, but we can have 
 many quite as pretty : how many kinds of flowers 
 'would content you, Mary ? 
 
 M. Oh, I should like let me see why fifty or 
 sixty different kinds ; but I suppose I must be con- 
 tent with not so many. 
 
 H. "Well, then, I will promise you, if you will 
 work hard with me, that our garden shall have, at 
 least, twice as many. Now mind, while I explain. 
 (See list of plants at the end.) 
 
 The plants in the catalogue are arranged, first, 
 with regard to their size ; I begin with large climb- 
 ing shrubs, for covering oiir walls and pales, then 
 standard shrubs, for the backs of the two beds, 
 north and south
 
 ARRANGEMENT OP CATALOGUE. 29 
 
 M. Standard shrubs ! what are they ? 
 
 H. That is, shrubs which do not require a wall, 
 or trellis, or poles, to support them : next in the 
 list come tall herbaceous plants, for the back rows, 
 or plants that are not shrubs ; next, those which are 
 lower, for the middle rows, or second rows; and 
 lastly, the dwarf, or lowest kinds, for the front rows 
 of the borders, next the edging, so that, by plant- 
 ing them accordingly, and by taking care that the 
 plants in two rows shall not be one behind the 
 other, but alternately, if nearly of the same height, 
 every flower will be seen. 
 
 M. I understand, as you have put these num- 
 bers in your plan. 
 
 H. Yes. Then in each of these divisions I have 
 arranged the plants together, according to their 
 colours, as red, including under that head all 
 shades, as pink, crimson, scarlet, and so on, blue, 
 and yellow ; now, can you guess what that is done 
 for? 
 
 M. To be sure ; because it would be disagreeable 
 to the eye to see several red, or blue, or yellow 
 flowers coming together ; but by planting them 
 from each division in your list, you will avoid this. 
 
 H. You are a wise girl. Now there is a third 
 thing, equally important in planting a garden, and 
 that is, to take care that the plants are distributed
 
 30 ARRANGEMENT OF PLANTS 
 
 about it, so that there shall be always some in blos- 
 som, in every part of the ground, in every month of 
 the year ; for it would not be pretty to see one bor- 
 der all brilliant with flowers in July, and another 
 without any at all ; so, under each colour of each 
 division, I have arranged my plants in the order of 
 their flowering. 
 
 M. That is good : what pains you must have 
 taken. Then, I suppose, when you had finished 
 your list, you put the numbers in the plan according 
 to these rules, and you will plant the flowers ac- 
 cording to the plan. 
 
 H. "We will so : for example, you see this is the 
 north wall, which, as you know, is the back wall of 
 the stables, and is tolerably high ; against this, 
 which is admirably suited to delicate plants, that 
 require shelter and sun, I have put 1, scented All- 
 spice, which bears a whitish flower in January and 
 February ; then at 2 and 3, one on each side, there 
 are the Kerria and Pyrus japonicus, the flowers 
 of which are yellow and scarlet, and appear at the 
 same time; then at 4 and 7, we have the white 
 flowers of the Clematis florida, and the blue ones of 
 the Clematis integrifolia, at the same time ; and 
 between these will be, 10, the beautiful white 
 Magnolia and the brown Calycanthus floridus ; 
 while the brilliant scarlet of the Trumpet-flower,
 
 IN A GARDEN. 31 
 
 at 11, will divide the Magnolia from the Cle- 
 matis's. 
 
 M. And what have you put at 9 and 13 ? 
 
 H. Why, as it will be two or three years, at 
 least, before the Magnolia and the Carolina Allspice 
 will blossom at all 
 
 M. Oh, dear ! I never thought of that ; then we 
 shall not have all these this summer. 
 
 jT. Gardeners must always be thinking of what 
 is to le, and not only of what is. It must take two 
 or three years to make an entirely new garden ; but 
 we shall have the pleasure of looking forward and 
 seeing the progress of it, and there will be always 
 plenty to do and plenty to admire. So, as I was 
 going to tell you, I have put at 9, or I mean to put, 
 a Catalonian Jasmin, which grows quickly ; and at 
 13, the climbing Cobea, which, in one summer, will 
 cover a good deal of wall. 
 
 M. Let me try and make out your arrangement 
 for the south side. Here, in the centre, at 19, you 
 mean to have a Magnolia glauca : I do not know 
 that ; what is it like ? 
 
 H. It is the most beautiful and fragrant of all the 
 tribe ; and has the merit, moreover, of being more 
 hardy ; but it is, as yet, not so well known as the 
 other : I hope to be able to get a layer, and to 
 make it succeed in our place.
 
 32 ARRANGEMENT OF THE 
 
 M. Layer ! ay, true, I must ask you about that 
 some other time. Well, on one side of this white 
 Magnolia, there is, 25, the yellow Honeysuckle, 
 and, 28, the pink St. Peter's wort. 
 
 H. And between the white and yellow, there 
 will be, 59, the red-blossomed Chelone; and be- 
 tween the white and pink there will be the beau- 
 tiful yellow CEnothera grandiflora, and so on. 
 
 M. And can we do the same with the smaller 
 plants ? 
 
 H. Yes, still more easily; because there are a 
 greater variety of shades of colours : I have not, 
 therefore, marked the numbers for the front rows in 
 the plan ; but, of course, attention must first be 
 paid to placing every plant, or shrub, in the si- 
 tuation best suited to it, with regard to shelter, soil, 
 and air. 
 
 M. By the by, how can you manage that ? for 
 some plants want sandy soil, some loam, some peat, 
 and so on, as I see by your list ; now all the earth 
 of our garden is of one sort, of course. 
 
 H. The American plants, as the Magnolia, All- 
 spice, Rhododendron, and others, require peat or 
 bog earth; and when I have marked the places 
 where such plants are to be put, according to our 
 plan, I shall dig out the common earth, and fill it in 
 again with the proper kind ; and, in somewhat the
 
 BORDERS AND BEDS. 33 
 
 same manner, we can prepare the places for smaller 
 plants, as, for example, by raking in some sand, 
 where a light dry soil is required, or by mixing 
 some rotten leaves or dung where a rich one is ac- 
 cessary; but if care be taken in cultivation, most 
 things will flourish tolerably, even if not exactly in 
 the soil best suited to them. 
 
 M. "What does this half circle, in the middle of 
 what I suppose is the sloping bed, mean ? 
 
 H. I have not told you what I propose doing 
 there. I mean to have a gravel walk along that east 
 side at the top of the bank, approached by a narrow 
 one up the bank at each end, and I am going to 
 build a rustic arched trellis-work to shut in the 
 walk like a verandah ; against this I have marked 
 the following plants to be trained, 13, Cobea ; 45, 
 Periploca graeca; 12, Passion-flower; 29, China rose; 
 and 8, the Boursault rose. Now all these are 
 quick-growing plants, and will, in a great degree, 
 cover the trellis this summer, so we shall have a 
 nice raised shady walk, from whence we can over- 
 look our garden, and can also have so many more 
 pretty climbing plants, for which we should not 
 otherwise have had a place. 
 
 M. That will be delightful, but how are you to 
 build such a trellis ? 
 
 H. I shall get Mr. Croft, the Bailiff, to give me
 
 34 RUSTIC TRELLIS. 
 
 out of the forest, a dozen straightish poles, or young 
 saplings, about seven or eight feet long : these I 
 shall trim, and place in couples, about two feet 
 apart, with seven feet between the couples : then I 
 shall nail cross-pieces of sound boughs, so as to form 
 
 a trellis, and a rustic arch between each couple of 
 stakes, as you have seen garden-chairs and tables 
 made ; it will be all easy enough, if care be taken 
 at first to have the stakes set firmly in the ground, 
 upright and in one line. I shall set about it to- 
 morrow, because the sooner we get the cuttings of 
 the plants in, the better. 
 
 M. And then I see by the plan you propose hav- 
 ing a few shrubs, as the Alexandrian Laurel, Broom,
 
 ROCK-WORK. 35 
 
 Coronilla, and others, at the top of the bank, before 
 the trellis ; but what is this in the semicircle ? (see 
 plan.) 
 
 H. I shall dig out the bank in that semicircular 
 form, facing the more upright part that will be thus 
 formed with turf, to prevent the earth from falling 
 down : and in the middle I mean to make a piece 
 of rock-work. There are plenty of pieces of limestone 
 to be had from the quarry, and with a few bricks, 
 large pebbles, and so on, we can by piling all these 
 together form a good-sized piece of rock- work ; fill- 
 ing up the crevices at the same time with fine mould 
 and sand ; and those kind of plants which thrive on 
 such places, being planted, they soon cover over the 
 stones, and form a pretty addition to a garden. 
 
 M. Such plants as grow naturally on walls, and 
 roofs, and in stony places, are fit for rock-work I 
 suppose. 
 
 H. Yes, such as the common house-leek, the 
 toad -flax, and many others ; I have added a list of 
 them, (see list.) Then I propose that we keep the 
 lower part of the bank for hyacinths, tulips, or any 
 bulbous plants we may have given us, and which 
 look well in beds ; and if we do not get enough to 
 fill the spaces, we can set tender plants in pots dur- 
 ing the warm months, or plant sweet peas or any 
 annuals we like ; but we shall want some part of
 
 36 FRENCH BEDS OBJECTIONABLE. 
 
 the bank for a bed to raise flowers in from seed, 
 which are afterwards to be planted out ; and if we 
 keep the bed in good order, it will not disgrace our 
 garden, though perhaps not be very showy. 
 
 M. And I suppose by your not having marked 
 any thing on them, you intend to reserve the two 
 narrow beds under the west paling for the same 
 purpose. 
 
 H. Perhaps so : I mean to cover those pales with 
 a Virginian creeper, 14, and a Fontanesia. 
 
 M. By the by, I was explaining your plan to 
 Miss Berkeley, and drew it out as well as I could ; 
 she said she thought it was very formal, and won- 
 dered why you did not make your borders in pret- 
 tier patterns, such as crosses, lozenges, hearts, and 
 so on. French beds she called them. 
 
 H. Beds of those fanciful forms, look very well 
 on paper, and on green turf, but they are trouble- 
 some to make with gravel-walks, and require a 
 great deal of care to edge and keep in order; and 
 moreover, the form of the border is not seen, or not 
 regarded, provided the flowers are fine and well cul- 
 tivated, and the bed well weeded and raked. I 
 should never lay out a garden in such forms, except 
 perhaps, as I have mentioned, for a few flower-beds 
 on a lawn. 
 
 M. I suppose French beds came into fashion from
 
 PLAN OF A GARDEN. 
 
 37 
 
 a belief that, because a winding walk in a large 
 plantation or shubbery was beautiful, where the 
 view, enclosed by lofty trees, presents at every turn 
 some new object, the same effect would be produced 
 in a flower-garden. 
 
 H. I should hardly think people could have been 
 so absurd, as if there were any resemblance between 
 a plantation of tall trees and shrubs as you say, and 
 a few beds of flowers not more than three feet 
 high, separated by gravel walks which must bear a 
 greater proportion to the beds than those of a shrub- 
 bery do. No, I suppose it was novelty that was 
 the charm. 
 
 Look here, here is another plan for a garden I 
 drew out, with only borders enclosed by straight 
 lines; you may take care of it for some of your 
 friends.
 
 38 GARDEN LABOURS. 
 
 HENRY worked vigorously in the garden during all 
 his play-hours, getting every thing ready ; he had 
 many fine young plants given him by his father and 
 his friends, with whom he was a favourite for his 
 intelligence, industry, and good conduct. These 
 acquisitions he planted with his father's advice, and 
 a gardener's assistance, according to the arrangement 
 in his plan, and by the end of the month of No- 
 vember, most of the shrubs, trailing or standard, 
 were put in their places, as well as roots of the 
 hardy perennials; and all appeared likely to thrive. 
 He had next to get his rock-work piled up, a task 
 of some difficulty, as he had several times to begin 
 again, from not taking the weight and size of the 
 stones sufficiently into consideration, so as to secure 
 the stability of his work. 
 
 He had also commenced his trellis-work, and got 
 it so far advanced as to be able to plant two or 
 three of the hardier shrubs which he intended to 
 train up it. He took care to train the young 
 branches, in the right directions at first, by tying 
 them to the wood- work with stout bass ; but loosely, 
 go as to allow for the future growth of the stem. 
 These and frequent diggings to the beds, trimming 
 the edgings, rolling the gravel-walks, and matting 
 up the tenderer shrubs, on the first appearance of
 
 MARKING-STICKS. 39 
 
 frost, were the principal out-door employments in 
 the garden itself during the next month. 
 
 WHILE her brother was thus engaged in the harder 
 work, Mary had not been idle in her prepara- 
 tions : the more important of which was the fol- 
 lowing, which she executed with great skill and 
 neatness. Her brother cut a bundle of common 
 laths, such as plasterers use, into lengths of six 
 inches, these the little girl split down into two, 
 cutting one end tapering off to a point, and smooth- 
 ing the faces of the other slightly. 
 
 She then painted the broad end on both sides 
 with white paint, laid on very thin with a small 
 brush ; when the paint was a little dry, she wrote 
 on it with a soft black-lead pencil, the number, and 
 the name, from her brother's catalogue of all the 
 flowers and plants they had decided on having in 
 their garden; preparing eight or even more sticks 
 with the names of some, which would occur several 
 times in the borders, in different spots, and not 
 fewer than three or four of most. 
 
 When the paint was quite dry, Mary tied the 
 sticks up in separate bundles, agreeing with the
 
 40 FLOWER- STICKS. 
 
 arrangement in the catalogue, and put them away 
 till they were wanted. 
 
 She also split another bundle of laths into sticks 
 of different lengths for tying flowers, such as sweet 
 peas, pinks, &c. 
 
 In fine weather, she helped her brother out of 
 doors, in hoeing and raking the borders that had 
 been trod upon in planting the shrubs ; and as she 
 was persuaded of the necessity for the utmost neat- 
 ness and regularity in a flower-garden, and know- 
 that every hour's pains taken now, would save them 
 many hereafter, she spared no trouble in picking out 
 all stones, bits of wood, or rubbish, from the mould 
 as she raked it, so that she got the borders into the 
 best possible order.
 
 BOTANICAL PRINCIPLES. 41 
 
 BOTH brother and sister eagerly read and learnt all 
 that could be useful to them in their gardening; and 
 Henry, in order to improve himself, taught his sister 
 some of the general principles of botanical physio- 
 logy, by means of which she would be better able to 
 understand and practise the art of gardening ; for 
 this purpose he wrote out for her use, the following 
 observations, which they read together. 
 
 All the practical methods of horticulture, or gar- 
 dening, must be founded on the laws of vegetable 
 life, and can never be decidedly opposed to these 
 laws, though perhaps the connexion may not always 
 be apparent. 
 
 In transplanting a growing plant of any kind, 
 that will bear the operation, the first thing to be 
 attended to, is to injure the root as little as pos- 
 sible, because it is by means of the root that 
 the plant derives the nutriment necessary to its 
 existence. 
 
 And since botanists have discovered that it is 
 only by the extremities of the fibres of the roots, 
 that- plants draw up their food from the earth ; it is 
 essential that these delicate parts should not be torn 
 or broken off, in taking up the plant to be removed. 
 In the case of trees or shrubs, therefore, it is neces- 
 
 D
 
 42 BOTANICAL PRINCIPLES 
 
 sary to dig round at a considerable distance from the 
 stem, not to run the risk of wounding the main 
 branches of the root; and after these are laid bare, 
 the fibres should be disengaged gently from the 
 earth, so that they may not be broken by the effort 
 to raise the tree. 
 
 The plant being moved to the spot where it is to 
 be set, a hole deep enough to receive the whole root, 
 having been previously dug, sufficiently large to 
 obviate the necessity for bending or cutting any of 
 the branches, the shrub is then held upright in the 
 hole, taking care that the same sides of the trunk or 
 stem are turned to the same quarters of the compass 
 to which they formerly were presented; that the 
 soil should be the same, as nearly as possible, is 
 obviously necessary. While one or more persons 
 hold the shrub upright, others throw in the earth, 
 broken as fine as possible, in small quantities at a 
 time on the roots, till they are entirely covered, 
 treading or beating it down in order that it may 
 come into close contact with the fibres, which other- 
 wise not only could not suck up the moisture from 
 the soil, but would be rotted by the wet lying in 
 the hollow spaces which might be left if the earth 
 were not rammed down; hence the necessity of 
 having the earth fine, because not only would it 
 be impossible to make it lie close to the roots, if it
 
 OF GARDENING. 43 
 
 were thrown in, in lumps, but the new fibres which 
 the plant sends forth could not penetrate the hard 
 earthy clods. 
 
 From this latter consideration also arises the 
 necessity of making the earth very fine for sowing 
 seeds in, as will be presently mentioned. 
 
 It oftentimes is necessary to top and prune the 
 branches of a tree or shrub that is transplanted : to 
 understand the reason of this, it must be remem- 
 bered that, naturally, the branches of a plant are 
 sufficiently large and numerous to bear leaves ad- 
 equate to change and modify all the water supplied 
 by the entire root, into the food proper for the 
 plant ; and in doing this a considerable portion of 
 the sap evaporates into the air from the surface of 
 the leaves, the proper quantity only being retained 
 in them to be acted on by light and air. 
 
 Now the root, whatever pains may have been 
 taken, being unavoidably injured, by the act of 
 transplanting, is not capable of supplying the same 
 quantity of sap to the plant as before ; if therefore 
 all the leaves were produced, or left on the trans- 
 planted plant, too much would be carried off by eva- 
 poration, and enough would not be left for the nutri- 
 tion of the shrub : hence the necessity for pruning, 
 so as to reduce the digestive power of the plant, if it 
 may be called so, of the upper part, so as to suit the 
 
 D 2
 
 44 BOTANICAL PRINCIPLES 
 
 diminished quantity of moisture supplied by the 
 roots. 
 
 It is for the same reason that only a few buds are 
 left on a cutting or slip, according to the rapidity 
 with which the species of plant will form new roots 
 from such a portion of it. This will be explained 
 presently. 
 
 Mary. But why is it necessary to keep the shrub 
 turned in the same direction with respect to the 
 compass as before ? 
 
 Henry. I doubt if I could make you understand 
 that, and indeed I am not acquainted with all the 
 reasons myself, for papa when explaining it to me, 
 said that I could not understand it fully till I knew 
 more of chemistry and other sciences ; but he told 
 me that winds from different quarters brought dif- 
 ferent degrees of rain and moisture, and that a tree 
 sent out its branches accordingly, those being the 
 largest and most flourishing which were -turned 
 -towards a favourable aspect, and that it was neces- 
 sary to keep the same aspect when the plant 
 changed its place, or else its vegetation would be 
 checked by the efforts it must make to accommodate 
 itself to its new position. 
 
 M. Then I suppose, the reason why all the sides
 
 OF GARDENING. 45 ' 
 
 of the trees of a forest turned towards one quarter of 
 the heavens, are more covered with lichens and 
 moss than the others, is that these minute plants as 
 you know they are, flourish most when exposed to 
 the more watery winds. 
 
 H. I believe so and the Indians of North Ame- 
 rica trace their way through their vast forests by 
 observing these signs, which furnish them with a 
 sort of compass in place of the stars which are hid 
 from them, since the mossy sides of the trees will be 
 all turned in one direction. Did you ever hear of 
 the ingenious suggestions of some French foresters,, 
 for making oak-trees grow in a curved form, adapted 
 for ship-building, which they can only be made 
 to assume artificially after they are cut down, by 
 great labour. 
 
 M. No. 
 
 H. Knowing that all plants grow towards the 
 light, they proposed, when a fine tree was discovered' 
 in the inner part of a forest, that a line of trees to it 
 should be cut down from the outer side of the- 
 forest on that side towards which they wished the 
 trunk to bend. They expected that the effort of the 
 tree to approach the light, thus let in, would give 
 the trunk a curvature adapted to their purpose. 
 
 M. And did their plan succeed ? 
 
 H. No, I believe not, it was found that the
 
 46 BOTANICAL PRINCIPLES 
 
 quality of the wood was injured by the proceeding; 
 it certainly is not practised. 
 
 I must further mention to you, though I have not 
 written it down, that the lest time for transplanting, 
 is when the leaves are off, because then the sap is 
 not quickly evaporated, and the roots are able to 
 supply a sufficient quantity. If the plant is an ever- 
 green, it should be transplanted in damp weather, 
 because evaporation does not go on so rapidly from 
 the leaves when the air is already loaded with 
 moisture. Or if the weather be dry, water must be 
 supplied to the roots in sufficient abundance to meet 
 the waste by the leaves. But the main object is to 
 injure the fibres of the root as little as possible. In 
 transplanting small shrubby plants, as wall-flowers, 
 where the leaves are numerous, still more attention 
 to this point must be paid. 
 
 In sowing seed of all kinds, it is necessary,- for 
 the reasons already given, to make the earth as fine 
 as possible; it is better to sow the seed immediately 
 after the mould has been raked for this purpose, and 
 since any moving of earth is impracticable when the 
 soil is wet, because in that case the mould gets 
 worked into a paste which hardens when dry, and 
 is prejudicial to vegetation, it follows that all seed 
 must be sowed in dry weather. 
 
 The depth at which seed should be sowed, de-
 
 OF GARDENING. 47 
 
 pends on its size and the time it lies in the earth 
 before it shoots or germinates ; large seeds, as scarlet 
 beans, nasturtiums, &c., may be put from one and a 
 half to three inches deep below the surface, and 
 small seed, such as Virginian stock or Mignonette, 
 should be scattered on the surface, when this has 
 been raked very smooth and fine, and then covered 
 up by being sprinkled over with fine mould so as 
 just to hide it. 
 
 It is better to sow all seeds either in drills or in 
 shallow, basin-like hollows, scooped out for the pur- 
 pose, and not by means of a dibble or stick ; because 
 in this last mode of sowing seed, the earth, pressed 
 by the stick, is hardened round the hole, by which 
 means the fine fibres of the young root are impeded 
 from penetrating the earth. 
 
 When the drill or hole is filled up again, the 
 earth should be pressed down hard on the seed, so 
 that it may touch it on all sides, for if the seed lie 
 in a hollow, wet will settle in that vacancy, and will 
 chill and rot the seed. The best way is to strike 
 the spot where seed has been sowed, all over with 
 the back of a spade ; the larger and deeper the seed, 
 the harder should the earth be struck down on it. 
 The surface of the mould may then be raked over 
 very lightly, to remove the flat impressions of the
 
 48 PRECEPTS IN GARDENING. 
 
 spade, which would injure the look of the bed if 
 suffered to remain. 
 
 Whenever seed is sowed in a drill, this should be 
 made straight, by means of a line stretched between 
 pegs of wood, the drill should be made by means of 
 a rake or hoe, along the line thus marked. When 
 the seed has been scattered in the drill, it should be 
 distributed equally along it, if not so already, by 
 the rake or a bit of stick ; the earth which came out 
 of the drill must be raked in again, care being taken 
 not to disturb the seed, and then pressed down as 
 before directed. 
 
 Any seed dropped or scattered where it is not 
 wanted, is productive of two losses, the waste of the 
 seed, and the time employed in pulling up these 
 weeds when they come up, as in this case they must 
 be considered. Seeds should, therefore, be kept in 
 little paper bags so that they may not be spilt while 
 sowing is going on. 
 
 When large seeds are sowed, they should be put 
 into the drill or hole, with regularity, to avoid the 
 necessity of having to pull up the young plants if 
 they come up crowded in one place, and of putting 
 in fresh seed if they are too thin in another. A 
 marking-stick should be stuck in immediately when 
 seed is sowed, else the precise spot may be forgotten,
 
 PRECEPTS IN GARDENING. 49 
 
 and another patch of seed be placed too near the 
 former. 
 
 It is the common error of young gardeners to 
 crowd their plants too much ; a greater space should 
 be left between two small plants than either occupy 
 when in blossom. In sowing annuals^ still more 
 room should be left, because by so doing new 
 seed may be sowed in succession during the spring 
 months, for the purpose of keeping the plant in 
 blossom as long as possible. 
 
 Thus for example, if a patch of sweet peas, and a 
 patch of dwarf larkspur are sowed adjoining each 
 other in the beginning of March, more than double 
 the usual space should be left between them, to 
 allow of other sowings of either coming between, in 
 May and July. 
 
 But it is not advisable to sow the same seed in 
 the same place in the garden, too often in the same 
 spring, because the newer plants will be coming up 
 before the older are over, and the group will be too 
 large and straggling. Sow, therefore, the sweet peas 
 and larkspurs again in April and June in another 
 spot for a succession. 
 
 As soon as the young plants are well out of the 
 ground, stir the mould round them carefully with a 
 bit of stick or a small hoe as often as possible, to 
 keep the earth fresh and moist about them.
 
 50 PRECEPTS IN GARDENING. 
 
 Seed, if it be good, should sink in water; in order, 
 therefore, to save yourself the mortification of seeing 
 your trouble lost by not seeing the young plant you 
 expect, whenever the seed has been kept long, for 
 more than a year or two, put it into warm water, 
 and after suffering it to stand for a few hours, reject 
 all that swims on the surface. 
 
 Seeds will retain their power of growing for very 
 different periods of time, some will retain their 
 vitality for ten, or even twenty years, while others 
 require to be sowed as soon as they are ripe; all 
 seeds, however, are better for being sowed in the 
 spring following the autumn in which they ripened, 
 when they do not require to be sowed at once, and 
 left in the ground for the winter. 
 
 The time which seed requires to lie in the ground 
 before it comes up, varies greatly; some seeds, as 
 that of the rose, for example, lie two years in the 
 ground before they germinate ; while some, as the 
 common cress, used for small salad, comes up in two 
 or three days. 
 
 When the weather continues very dry for some 
 time after sowing, it is advisable to water the earth 
 where seed lies, for moisture is essential to germina- 
 tion ; the smaller the seed, and therefore, the nearer 
 the surface of the earth, the more this is necessary, 
 because the mould near the surface, of course, dries
 
 BIRDS IN GARDENS. 51 
 
 first. This watering should always be done with, a 
 watering-pot gently, so as not to wash away the 
 mould from the seeds. 
 
 To keep the birds away from scratching up 
 newly-sowed seed, some coarse white worsted thread 
 should be stretched from bits of wood over the spot ; 
 this is found to be as effectual a remedy as it is 
 cheap and simple. 
 
 MARY here remarked to her brother " that it was a 
 slight drawback on the pleasure of gardening ; that 
 it caused the poor little birds to be viewed with 
 jealousy, because they did so much mischief." 
 
 Henry, Some birds do much mischief in gardens, 
 by scratching up newly-sowed seed, and by eating 
 off the young plants and buds when they first ap- 
 pear; and gardeners are obliged to take great pre- 
 cautions against their depredations ; especially in 
 the beginning of spring, when their food is scarce, 
 and they eagerly hunt after all supplies ; but the 
 contrivance of the thread answers tolerably well, and 
 is easily practised. Luckily for the birds, gardeners 
 dare not shoot at them, for fear of injuring their 
 plants by the shot, as much as the birds themselves 
 would do. Guns frequently fired off, charged with
 
 52 MISCHIEF DONE BY BIRDS. 
 
 powder only, will, however, frighten them away; 
 and a cat, if allowed to run about the garden, will 
 also effect the same purpose. 
 
 Mary. But puss would do as much, and more, 
 mischief than the birds, for she would not be par- 
 ticular as to running over the beds, instead of 
 keeping on the paths. 
 
 H. Cats are so active and agile, that they do 
 little damage by that, and their instinct prevents 
 them, unless frightened, from ever treading down a 
 growing flower ; they will run in and out, among 
 the plants, at full speed, and hardly touch them or 
 leave an impression of their paws ; but still they do 
 some little harm, by scratching now and then ; and 
 if valerian, or cat-mint, be in the garden, they will 
 spoil it by rolling upon it, being very fond of the 
 smell of these plants. Kittens will also play with 
 the young plants which are waived about by the 
 wind, and by so doing break them off with their 
 paws; when young, therefore, they must be kept out 
 of a flower-garden in spring time. Cats too, eat 
 herbaceous matter occasionally, like dogs, at least I 
 know they are great enemies to young pinks ; 
 but, however, with all that, puss is a less formidable 
 foe than the sparrows. 
 
 M. Why do you say their instinct prevents cats 
 from treading on the flowers? Why should their
 
 CAUTION OF CATS. 
 
 53 
 
 instinct lead them to avoid doing what can only 
 annoy us ? 
 
 H. If you ever observed a cat walking on ground 
 strewed thickly with different things, you must 
 have noticed that she always picks out her way, so 
 as to avoid setting her foot any where, if she can 
 help it, except on the solid floor or earth : the whole 
 tribe are a suspicious race, and the same instinctive 
 lurking manner, which enables them to surprise 
 their prey, appears to teach them to anticipate 
 treachery towards themselves. 
 
 M. I remember reading, that the sense of feeling 
 in a cat's whiskers is very acute, and that, in the 
 whole race, these feelers are long enough to tell 
 them, that wherever they can put their head 
 through, without touching the sides of the hole 
 with their whiskers, their body can follow.
 
 54 BIRDS AND INSECTS. 
 
 H. I believe it, because I have often seen cats 
 put their head through an opening, and then with- 
 draw it, without attempting to proceed, as if trying, 
 by the means of these hairs, whether there was 
 space for their body ; and, I suppose, when they do 
 not make the attempt, it is in consequence of the 
 information they have gained by this means. 
 
 M. What birds do the most mischief in gardens ? 
 
 H. Sparrows, chaffinches, bullfinches, green- 
 finches, blackbirds, and perhaps some others ; but it 
 is only those that feed on grain that do any damage ; 
 for the soft-billed birds, as they are called, from 
 living on insects, not only do no harm, but do a 
 great deal of good, by destroying grubs, caterpillars, 
 worms, and other things which are very mischievous 
 in gardens of all kinds. 
 
 M. Does the common earth-worm do any mis- 
 chief, besides the injury it does to gravel-walks and 
 beds by its eartJi-casts ? 
 
 H. None whatever, that I know of; they are 
 generally most abundant in rank, cold, clayey soil, 
 and such is bad for flowers; but I believe they do 
 not add to the evil at all. 
 
 M. Then why did you sentence the worm to be 
 the prey of birds ? 
 
 H. I only meant the wire-worm, which is so de- 
 structive to plants of certain kinds, by eating their
 
 PROPAGATION OP PLANTS. 55 
 
 roots ; but I am not sure that birds can get at these. 
 It is only in kitchen-gardens and orchards that birds 
 or insects are very mischievous ; we need not appre- 
 hend much for our flowers. We will not grudge a 
 few young plants for the former, it is but sowing a 
 little more seed at first, and we will watch and 
 remove all caterpillars, slugs, and insects that arc 
 injurious or unsightly. Now read on. 
 
 ALL plants are raised either from seed, by cutting 
 by pipings, by layers, by parting the roots of plants, 
 already grown, or by offsets. 
 
 All plants may be raised from seed, and vast 
 numbers can only be so raised, but most perennial 
 plants, those which grow and live, flower, and pro- 
 duce seed frequently and for many years, are raised 
 in the other modes, which will be now described. 
 
 Cuttings are young, full-formed shoots, taken off 
 from a healthy plant by a sharp knife, just below 
 the knot * where a bud or leaf is produced ; these 
 cuttings being set in a pot, in fresh fine mould, or in 
 the open ground, will send forth roots, and grow 
 into plants the same as those from which the cuttings 
 
 * See Elements of Botany, p. 24.
 
 56 CUTTINGS. 
 
 were taken. But they should be covered over with 
 a glass or pot in either case, to prevent the too rapid 
 evaporation of moisture from them ; and they 
 should also be watered frequently, though not so 
 much as to produce mildew on them. 
 
 It is ascertained, that if any part of the stem of a 
 plant be cut off, and one end of it be planted, roots 
 will spring out from those parts, where leaves would 
 have been produced if the part had remained on the 
 parent plant, provided one or more buds are left on 
 the cutting. But some plants send out roots when 
 thus treated much more readily than others, and 
 some will not succeed at all in practice. These dif- 
 ferences depend, apparently, on the nature of the 
 wood ; those plants which have hard wood will not 
 succeed well, while the soft woods furnish roots 
 readily. If a cutting of an oak, for example, were 
 planted, the root would not be formed quickly 
 enough to furnish nourishment to it, and the young 
 shoot would die : hence oaks are only propagated 
 from seed. On the contrary, a young shoot from 
 a willow will thrive rapidly, because roots are 
 produced abundantly from the extremity when 
 planted. 
 
 For the same reason that shrubs and trees require 
 pruning and lopping when transplanted ; a cutting, 
 to thrive, should not have many joints, knots, or
 
 CUTTINGS. 57 
 
 buds on it; for if it have, the sap is exhausted in 
 supplying the buds formed at these places, faster 
 than it can be furnished by the tender fibres of the 
 newly-forming root. 
 
 Hence the less readily the roots are formed, the 
 fewer buds should be left on the cutting. Nothing 
 but experience, or verbal instruction, can teach a be- 
 ginner the right mode of proceeding, as to whether 
 the cutting should be from a young shoot, the wood 
 of which is not quite formed, or from a ripe shoot as 
 it is termed ; that is, from one more than a year old. 
 
 The cuttings when taken, should be planted in a 
 clean pot filled with fresh mould, and as many may 
 be put in, as the pot will conveniently hold round 
 its outer edge, without crowding. If the cuttings 
 succeed, they should be transplanted singly into 
 new pots, as soon as they begin to form roots ; if 
 the buds at the joints increase, and seem healthy 
 and thriving, it is a sign that roots are forming, and 
 that the cutting will live. 
 
 There is nothing prettier than a clean pot of fine 
 sand filled with the minute cuttings of heaths, and 
 covered over with a bell-glass or tumbler, each cut- 
 ting being a plant in miniature, often having a blos- 
 som on it. 
 
 It may be here mentioned, that in all cases, 
 flower-pots, when used should be clean, free inside 
 
 E
 
 58 PLANTING CUTTINGS. 
 
 from old hardened mould, and should be filled for 
 about one fourth of their depth with bits of broken 
 pots to drain off the water, which would otherwise 
 lie in the bottom of the pot, and rot the roots of the 
 plant put into it. Pots should be placed on a stand 
 to keep them dry, or if set on the ground, this, if it 
 be not gravel or paving, should have some ashes 
 spread in a thin bed for the pot to stand on ; this is 
 necessary to prevent worms from getting into the 
 pots. 
 
 Generally speaking, cuttings should be taken 
 and struck, as the planting them is termed, in the 
 spring, when the sap is in full activity ; this allows 
 of their forming roots during the summer, and then 
 lying dormant in winter, as all plants do, or ought 
 to do. If on the contrary, the cuttings were struck 
 late in autumn, the effort to make roots would keep 
 the plant in active vegetation during part of the 
 season when it ought to be at rest, and this weakens 
 and exhausts it. 
 
 It is always best, if possible, to cover cuttings 
 with a hand-glass, which should be pressed down 
 on the mould so as to exclude the air, because 
 by so doing the moisture is prevented from evapo- 
 rating, and furnishes all the nourishment possible 
 to the buds and new roots; if the cutting were ex- 
 posed, this moisture would be carried off by eva-
 
 PLANTING CUTTINGS. 59 
 
 poration faster than it could be supplied. For 
 similar reasons cuttings should not be much exposed 
 to the sun, though they should have abundance of 
 light : they should be watered well at first putting 
 in, to settle the earth closely round the newly-cut 
 end, 'unless this is the case, the roots will not form; 
 as was stated in explaining the sowing of seeds. The 
 glass must be raised occasionally to change the air, 
 for fresh air, that is, air containing oxygen gas, is 
 essential to every part of a plant, and plants con- 
 taminate the air they live in by absorbing the 
 oxygen ; though leaves, when exposed to the rays 
 of the sun, emit oxygen. 
 
 Mary. Stop, stop ! Oxygen, what is that ? 
 
 Henry. Do you not remember papa's explaining 
 to us that the air we breathe, and which surrounds 
 the earth, is a compound of two airs or gases ; one 
 termed oxygen, which is essential to the existence 
 of all organized beings, when duly mixed with the 
 other, which is called azote or nitrogen. And do 
 not you remember his burning the bit of taper 
 under the tumbler, and that it soon grew dim and 
 went out, which papa said was owing to its having 
 consumed all the oxygen, without which no com- 
 bustion can be continued ? 
 
 . Mary. I do remember all that, but I had for- 
 gotten the name, and I also recollect that papa said 
 
 B 2
 
 60 CUTTINGS, ETC. 
 
 that though the azote was fatal to all living beings, 
 and to combustion when pure, yet that it formed 
 four-fifths of the atmosphere ; which seems very 
 wonderful. Does not this oxygen also form water 
 when mixed with some other gas ? 
 
 Henry. Yes, with hydrogen^ which is the lightest 
 body known ; but let us read on now, and I will 
 tell you more about these gases some other time. 
 
 If new roots could be produced on the shoot be- 
 fore it was separated from the parent plant, it is 
 obvious that the requisite nourishment would be 
 furnished to the shoot from the latter, during the 
 
 * O 
 
 formation of the new roots, and the young plant 
 would not be left solely to these for support. This 
 is the object of the process of propagating by layers, 
 practised with all shrubs or plants, which either do 
 not succeed by cuttings, or which from their growth 
 can be readily multiplied by this second mode of 
 treatment. A layer is a shoot of a plant which is 
 bent down to the earth, and held down at a joint or 
 bud, buried a little way in the mould, so as to form 
 roots there; when these are so formed, the shoot is 
 then cut off from the parent stock near to the new 
 roots, and the shoot thus furnished with roots is 
 removed to the spot where it is to be planted. 
 
 In order, however, to form roots quickly, it is ne- 
 cessary that the inside of the stem be exposed to the
 
 LAYERS. 61 
 
 soil; this is done as regards a cutting by the act of 
 separating it from the plant, but as a layer remains 
 attached to the parent, the bark of the shoot would 
 prevent roots from forming readily, unless a wound 
 was made at the joint. This, however, is not abso- 
 lutely necessary, especially if the layer may remain 
 for a year, or more, attached to the stock. 
 
 Suppose it was a young standard tree of which a 
 layer was required, the process is as follows : having 
 dug and raked the ground well at the proper spot, 
 bend down a branch that will bear it, till its ex- 
 tremity touches the earth, laying this in a shallow 
 trench made on purpose; fasten it down by a forked 
 peg or two, so that the elasticity of the branch may 
 not cause it to fly up again; cover all the part 
 touching the earth with raked or sifted mould, to 
 the depth of eight or ten inches : then cut off, with 
 a sharp knife, all the twigs or young branches that 
 stand upright out of this newly-laid ground, leaving 
 only two or three knots or joints to each standing 
 out of the earth ; water the whole well, and lay a 
 few moderate-sized stones on the ground between 
 the shoots and the parent plant, these will not only 
 serve to keep the branch down, but will also keep 
 the earth cool and moist under them. 
 
 In a year, if the branch were laid in spring, the 
 shoots may be cut off by sawing or cutting the
 
 62 LAYING TREES AND SHRUBS. 
 
 branch between them and the parent stem, and then 
 they may be planted out as new trees; each layer 
 will be found to have a good tuft of roots at the 
 joint where it sprung from the parent branch. 
 
 It will be better to cut a notch pretty deep into 
 the branch at each joint, when it is first laid ; this 
 will accelerate the formation of new roots. 
 
 If the branch of the tree be so stiff as not to bear 
 bending down to the ground without breaking, 
 for it should never be suffered to break, then a box 
 filled with earth, may be raised on any stand to a 
 convenient height, and the branch laid in that, 
 notches being cut in the sides of the box to admit 
 it. When this is done, however, the mould must 
 be watered more frequently, because it will dry soon 
 when in so small a quantity as a box will hold. 
 
 The process for laying smaller plants, is the same 
 in principle, only it must be performed with propor- 
 tionably greater care and neatness. Florists propagate 
 carnations by layers, in July, as follows: the ground 
 round the plant selected is moved well, but care- 
 fully, with a small fork; a compost, prepared of fresh 
 mould, with equal parts of rotten cow-dung or dung 
 from an old cucumber-bed, which has been well 
 mixed together and left to mellow for eight or nine 
 months, being frequently turned over in that time, 
 is laid evenly all round on the newly-raked earth.
 
 LAYING CARNATIONS. 63 
 
 The stalks intended to be laid, are prepared by hav- 
 ing a sharp knife put through them, one inch below 
 the third or fourth joint from the blossom, and a slit 
 is made upwards to the joint, so as to cut nearly 
 half way into this ; the stalks are then bent down, 
 and fixed by a small forked peg in a drill, made 
 with the finger, sufficiently long to receive the slit 
 and a portion more at each end of it; cover the 
 whole over with the compost, and press it down 
 with the hand. A few leaves should be stripped off 
 from the bottom of the shoot, and an inch from each 
 of those at the top of it. 
 
 No shoots should be selected for laying, that have 
 begun to send out side-shoots ; the reason for this 
 caution is, that these side-shoots would draw away 
 the nourishment which ought to go to the layer, 
 and enable it to form roots. 
 
 At the end of August the layers may be cut off 
 from the parent, potted in fine mould, and set in the 
 shade till they recover ; or they may be planted in 
 open beds, taking care to cover them over from wet 
 or frosts, by matting spread on hoops ; but it is 
 better to leave some layers uncut from the parent 
 plant all the winter, and plant them out in the fol- 
 lowing spring where they are to grow ; these will 
 be stronger, and will therefore bear transplanting 
 better.
 
 64 PIPINGS. 
 
 Pipings are only cuttings, but the term is used of 
 herbaceous plants, and when the cutting is smaller 
 and more delicate than a common cutting. The fol- 
 lowing mode of propagating Carnations, by pipings, 
 will explain the mode of proceeding for all other 
 plants which are so propagated. At the beginning 
 of July cut off the two top joints of good shoots by 
 a sharp knife; pare off the thin bark from the lower 
 end, immediately below the bottom joint, for about 
 a quarter of an inch, and split it up for the same 
 distance ; cut off the bottom leaves : then put the 
 pipings for an hour or two in a basin of water. 
 Prepare a place in an open border, but better still in 
 a hot bed, by raking the surface of the compost iine 
 and smooth ; press down on it the hand-glass which 
 is to cover the pipings, so as to mark the earth ; 
 then taking the glass off again, make the requisite 
 number of small holes with a stick, sufficiently within 
 the mark of the glass to prevent this, when put over 
 them from touching the pipings which are outermost; 
 these must then be put in, and the earth pressed 
 down, watering them gently to settle the mould 
 round them ; when they are dry, put the glass over 
 them again in precisely the same place, and press it 
 down into the earth so as to exclude the air; the 
 sun may be allowed to shine on them for an hour 
 or two, but skill and care is required for two or
 
 PIPINGS. 65 
 
 three weeks in giving the young plants only the 
 proper quantity of light, air, and water ; if there be 
 too much of this last, or the glass be replaced before 
 the plants are dry again, they will become mouldy 
 from being shut up from the open air ; it is better 
 indeed to water over the glass every morning, and 
 not to move it at all for ten or twelve days, and 
 then raise it for an hour or two in the morning to 
 air the plants, if the weather be dry and fine, and 
 between the showers in wet weather; this airing, 
 frequently, and not shutting up while the stems 
 and leaves are wet, being the two principal things 
 to be attended to. In about six weeks, the plants 
 will be ready to be potted off into separate pots. 
 
 Pinks, Scarlet Lychnis, Double-Rockets, Wall- 
 Flowers, Rose-Campions, Sweet- Williams, Indian 
 Pinks, and Alyssons, are best propagated by pipings 
 or SLIPS, which are' young shoots pulled off close to 
 the stem, and then the rough end smoothed a little 
 with a sharp knife. 
 
 Mary. All this must be very entertaining; I like 
 things that are not really difficult, yet require care ; 
 it is so pleasant to watch the success of your own 
 labours ; but I suppose with all care the layers of 
 large shrubs or trees sometimes fail, because they 
 cannot form roots. 
 
 Henry. Of course not so often as cuttings, for the
 
 66 WEEDS. 
 
 reasons that induce us to prefer layers ; and I be- 
 lieve that failure in any case only arises from want 
 of care, unless some insect has attacked the cutting 
 or layer, and injured it seriously. But we shall not 
 attempt for a long time to lay shrubs and trees ; we 
 will, however, since you like it, have plenty of the 
 commoner kinds of pinks and carnations, and raise 
 new ones by layers, if we can find time ; but you 
 will not be able to do much this summer, for we 
 shall have enough to occupy all the time we can 
 spare in getting our garden into good condition, and 
 keeping it free from weeds, which will come up 
 thickly in new earth. 
 
 M. I must try to learn to know the weeds well, 
 that I may not pull up young plants instead. 
 
 H. I will show you the weeds when we meet 
 with them ; but if a garden be well planted, the 
 regularity with which the cultivated flowers come 
 up, causes them to be easily distinguished from the 
 weeds. But there are some wild plants which I 
 shall be glad to find, for I would put them in pots, 
 and try to rear them for their beauty. 
 
 M. "Which are they ? 
 
 H. There is a tribe of plants, called Orchidaceo!, 
 which are beautiful and curious ; and I suspect that 
 two or three of these are natives of this neighbour- 
 hood. After you went to bed last night, Mr. "Went-
 
 OHCHIDACE.E. 67 
 
 worth was talking to papa a great deal about 
 botany, and herbaria, which are plants dried be- 
 tween paper, so as to keep for many years. Bota- 
 nists form collections in this way; and Mr. Went- 
 worth has a fine one, which he has promised to 
 show me. "Well, he was talking about this order of 
 plants, and what beautiful ones he had seen in 
 South America ; and he says that there are several 
 English ones which are found upon chalky hills, 
 they are called the Bee, Spider, Drone, Fly Orchises, 
 because the flowers really look like these insects ; 
 and then there are Ladies' traces, Manorchis, Butter- 
 fly and- some others ; now I mean to hunt well 
 when summer comes, to try and find these. 
 
 M. Are these plants more beautiful than others, 
 or what is it that makes you wish to find them 
 particularly ? 
 
 H. They are beautiful, though not more so than 
 many other common flowers, but they are singular 
 in their mode of growth, and they are not common, 
 and that makes people seek after them. 
 
 M. Are they easily cultivated when they are 
 found ? 
 
 H. I believe not, and they are extremely difficult 
 to raise from seed, so much so, that I think it has 
 never been done ; so that they are propagated by 
 dividing the roots of such as admit of it, which
 
 68 ENTOMOLOGY. 
 
 several of our English ones do not, their root being 
 a tuber, of which a new one is formed every autumn. 
 
 M. I shall be glad to see them, and I will help 
 you to hunt ; and what I shall be still more glad of 
 is, that mamma tells me that in studying botany, 
 and examining and hunting for wild flowers, we 
 may, if we pay attention^ learn a good deal about 
 insects. 
 
 H. I know it, for I heard papa and Mr. "Went- 
 worth say that certain insects are always found 
 near, or on, certain plants only, and that a botanist 
 may be much assisted in his pursuits by a know- 
 ledge of Entomology. 
 
 M. "What does that hard word mean ? 
 
 H. It means " discourse about insects," and comes 
 from the Greek, like geography, geology, and most 
 scientific terms. But why do you call it a hard 
 word ; what do you mean by hard word ; is it hard 
 to pronounce, or what ? 
 
 M. No ; it was a foolish expression, but we often 
 call words hard, merely because we do not under- 
 stand the meaning of them. 
 
 H. I am glad you own it is foolish, for I think it 
 so ; our own language is not capable of furnishing 
 scientific terms, so expressive, so short, or so agree- 
 able, as the Greek and Latin ; and it is absurd to 
 object to, or ridicule the adoption of such words,
 
 ENTOMOLOGY. 69 
 
 when more than half of those in common use are 
 equally derived from those languages, or from others. 
 I heard a person protest against such terms as baro- 
 meter, photometer, ophiology, &c., &c., &c., as re- 
 pugnant to the genius of our idiom, and meriting ex- 
 pulsion from literary productions, unconscious that 
 all the words of more than one syllable, which she 
 so affectedly made use of, were every one derived 
 from Latin or Greek. 
 
 M. Well, but to return to insects : we will ob- 
 serve them, then, whenever we are gardening or 
 walking, for they are very curious ; I remember 
 standing for a long time, watching a spider take out 
 of her web some bits of dead leaves, which the wind 
 had blown into it, and I admired how cautiously 
 she proceeded, injuring her work as little as pos- 
 sible, and then repairing it with care and diligence. 
 
 H. True, and we shall learn far more astonishing 
 actions of insects than that ; but do you know that 
 spiders are not insects ? 
 
 M. No ! What are they then ? for to use your 
 favourite logic, they are not quadrupeds, nor birds, 
 nor fishes, nor reptiles, nor worms, nor plants ; and 
 I thought every living thing must belong to one of 
 these divisions, or to insects. 
 
 H. That depends on the mode in which you 
 classify those living things, and now that so much
 
 70 ARRANGEMENT OF ANIMALS. 
 
 more is known of natural history, the old classifica- 
 tion is not correct enough. 
 
 M. Pray tell me, then, how living things are now 
 divided into classes, and where spiders come among 
 these. 
 
 H. The very obvious and natural distinction be- 
 tween animals and plants is, of course, still pre- 
 served?; though both are organized, and therefore 
 form together a division distinct from minerals. 
 
 Animals are arranged under four great divisions: 
 First, Vertebrated animals, or those having a lack- 
 lone and complex skeleton of bones within their 
 body. Secondly, Molluscous animals, or those having 
 no internal bones, but a soft body enclosed in a hard 
 shell, as oysters, cowries, and all the beautiful shells 
 you have seen in cabinets. Thirdly, Articulated 
 animals, including those having no internal skeleton, 
 but a kind of horny case, which is in separate pieces 
 admitting of motion, as if hinged or jointed, hence 
 the name. Lastly, Radiated animals, the structure 
 of which bears some resemblance to the spokes of a 
 wheel in symmetry, and in proceeding from a cen- 
 tral axis ; the common star-fish and the echini are 
 good examples of this class. But you must not 
 suppose that these are the only characters of these 
 divisions, each kind of structure is accompanied by 
 many anatomical peculiarities respecting the lungs,
 
 ARRANGEMENT OP ANIMALS. 71 
 
 stomach, and nervous system ; but I do not under- 
 stand these myself, and therefore cannot explain 
 them to you. 
 
 M. Now in which of these divisions do spiders 
 come, and insects ? 
 
 H. Think a little, and you will soon see. 
 
 M. Neither of them are vertebrated, nor have 
 they a hard shell like a cockle, nor are they radiated 
 like a star-fish ; so of course they are included in 
 the third, or the articulated. 
 
 How are spiders distinguished from insects ? both 
 being articulated. 
 
 H. The division is subdivided into four classes. 
 The first, called Annelidas, or ringed^ as worms, 
 leeches, and such animals; secondly, crustaceous 
 animals, or shelled^ as lobsters, shrimps, and so on ; 
 thirdly, spiders ; and fourthly, true insects, as flies, 
 beetles, grasshoppers, and so on. Now these last 
 two classes are distinguished from each other, by 
 their mode of breathing, the number of their legs 
 and other anatomical peculiarities. 
 
 M. Thank you for all that you have told me, 
 which I will recollect ; and now we will go on with 
 our ''cultivation."
 
 72 DIVISION OF ROOTS. 
 
 MANY perennial plants are propagated by dividing 
 the roots, and all that have more than one stem may 
 so treated ; this is effected by taking up the plant 
 carefully after it has done flowering for the season, 
 and separating one or more stems with the portion 
 of roots belonging to it or them. In some plants the 
 separation is best done by pulling the root in two, 
 others, as anemonies, require to be cut by a sharp 
 knife ; the reason of this is, that these kind of roots 
 being much matted together, it would be impossible 
 to pull them in two without tearing the stem away, 
 or injuring the fibres more than cutting would injure 
 them. 
 
 If the plant be one, the stems of which die down 
 in the autumn, then the root must be separated be- 
 tween where the stems have been, so that each part 
 may have a crown to it, that is, the place where the 
 stem rose from. 
 
 Those plants which have tuberous roots, producing 
 offsets during the summer, must be treated in the 
 same way ; each tuber will produce a stem if taken 
 off from the parent root. 
 
 The most remarkable tuberous roots which form 
 offsets, are those commonly called bulbous, but more 
 properly lulbiferous for the bulb is not a root but a 
 bud.
 
 BULBIFEROUS ROOTS. 73 
 
 Mary. What, is not a hyacinth-root a root ? 
 
 Henry. A hyacinth root is a root unquestionably, 
 Mary ; but what you call a root is not all root, but 
 one producing a bud on its upper part. You have 
 often seen an onion cut in two, and must have 
 noticed that it was composed of rings, which sur- 
 rounded each other and came asunder easily. Now 
 these rings are the bottoms of the leaves of the 
 plant, which are enclosed in this as in any other 
 bud, and would grow into long leaves, sheathing or 
 embracing the flower-stalk which rises from the 
 centre ; for many bulbiferous plants are stemless. The 
 real root of the onion, or hyacinth, is the thin flat 
 plate at the bottom of this bud, and which is a 
 tuber, having the fibres descending from its under 
 side ; but this true root, and the bases of the leaves 
 composing the bud, are inseparably united, and can- 
 not be distinguished from each other. 
 
 M. I understand that, and it seems, now one is 
 told, very obvious that the onion and hyacinth, 
 are buds, but are the crocus, and the tulip roots, also 
 buds ? 
 
 H. No, for they are solid, and do not consist of 
 the bases of leaves, or leaves in a young state, as 
 true buds do; these solid bulbs, as we may call 
 them, are really a species of stem. 
 
 M. But, I suppose the lily, and the garlic bulbs, 
 
 F
 
 74 BUDS AND ROOTS. 
 
 are buds, and the scales which compose them are the 
 bases of leaves which do not surround the stem. 
 
 H. Exactly so, and what proves that this is the 
 case, is, that real buds are formed in the angles 
 of these scales, just as buds are formed on trees 
 and shrubs, in the angle formed by the stalk of a 
 leaf. 
 
 M. But though these bulbs are really buds by 
 their structure, they differ from all common buds in 
 being on the tops of the roots, or in having roots at 
 their under side. 
 
 H. You know the primrose and leontodon are 
 stemless plants, and have their leaves springing 
 from the top of their roots ; now buds are formed 
 every year in the angles of these leaves just as in 
 those which are borne in a stem, these buds, there- 
 fore, like the hyacinth and onion, have the root on 
 their under side. Moreover, you will be surprised 
 to learn that all luds produce roots from their under 
 side, for it is now known that the woody fibres, of 
 which the solid trunk of trees is composed, is made 
 tip of the fibrous roots of all the buds produced 
 above it : the woody stem of a perennial shrub or 
 tree is, in fact, a mass of root-fibres, but you will 
 understand this better when you have learnt more 
 botany from mamma. Hence the necessity for 
 leaving two or three buds at least on cuttings, for
 
 GARDENING-TOOLS. 75 
 
 the fibrous roots of these buds descend through the 
 bark of the shoot, and form the new roots by which 
 the young plant is to be supported. 
 
 The crocus produces offsets, which by being 
 separated every three years, and planted, produce 
 new plants; the offset of this species of stem is 
 analogous to the runner of a stcmless plant, or the 
 sucker of a shrub, and will propagate the plant for 
 the same reasons, by producing new roots if planted. 
 
 ff. Mary, Mary, come and see the capital set of 
 gardening-tools our Aunt Elizabeth has sent us, we 
 shall be quite set up; there are some intended on 
 purpose for you to use ; come along directly ; they 
 are all put into the garden tool-house, where we 
 will always keep them. 
 
 M. Oh ! I want very much to see good gardening- 
 tools, and to have their use explained to me ; I only 
 know a spade, and a rake, and a hoe, and a water- 
 ing-pot, and garden-shears. 
 
 H. Why then you know nearly all that are 
 essential, for though there have been many in- 
 genious contrivances for cutting and gathering fruit 
 and flowers, and for other purposes, yet they are
 
 76 GARDENING-TOOLS. 
 
 only used in veiy extensive and highly-cultivated 
 gardens, and not always there. 
 
 M. Well, we wanted the commonest, and most 
 useful kinds, very much ; for those used in the 
 great garden are too heavy even for you, and I 
 could not use them at all. 
 
 H. That is just what made my Aunt send us 
 these; there is one of each, made light and small for a 
 little girl, and those for me are not so heavy as papa's. 
 
 M. I will get my hat and gloves, and go with 
 you directly. 
 
 H. Now, Mary, if you had never seen any gar- 
 dening-tools at all, supposing that you knew a little 
 about botany and gardening, what sort of tools 
 would you invent to accomplish what you knew 
 must be done, for digging, and turning the earth, 
 breaking it small, and smoothing the surface ? 
 
 M. Having seen the tools used for this purpose, 
 I cannot easily imagine any other form ; are they 
 not well contrived ? though of course they must be, 
 or others would have been invented long ago. 
 
 H. You have seen the gardener and others dig, . 
 do you not think it might be better if the handle of 
 the spade were longer, so that he need not stoop so 
 much ? Stooping, you know, tires the back. 
 
 M. Yes, I think it would, and then too it would 
 require less effort to turn up the spadeful.
 
 GARDENING-TOOLS. 77 
 
 H. Spitful, if you please. 
 
 M. Well, spitful of earth why are not the 
 handles of spades made longer ? 
 
 H. Because though the digger would gain in the 
 two respects you have mentioned, he would lose in 
 another and more important one. If the spade 
 were longer, so that he must stand upright to use 
 it, he could only push it by the strength of his arms 
 into the ground, and that would be using his 
 strength disadvantagcously, whereas if the spade be 
 short and he stoop to use it, every time he puts it 
 in the ground, he can throw the weight of his body, 
 as it were, on the handle, and thus force it in 
 deeper. Now as the spade must have been the 
 first instrument ever invented, you may depend on 
 it that by long experience, without even thinking 
 about it, the best length has been attained, so as to 
 produce the greatest quantity of effect with, alto- 
 gether, the least labour. Well, here they are ; see 
 here is a middling-sized spade for me, and a small 
 or border spade, fit for a woman, for you. 
 
 M. How neat ! I look at them with more 
 interest, after what you have just told me. Then 
 if a man exerts his strength disadvantageously in 
 pushing, the English hoe must be a better tool than 
 the Dutch hoe.
 
 78 GARDENING-TOOLS. 
 
 H. So it is, where heavy work is to be done, but 
 they are intended for different purposes ; the Eng- 
 lish hoe is used for breaking clods, drawing up the 
 earth round the stems of plants, as cabbages, celery, 
 &c., and for turning up the ground and cutting up 
 weeds between plants, where a spade would dig too 
 deep, and move the earth too much. The Dutch 
 hoe is principally used in lighter work of a similar 
 description, but especially for weeding, which it 
 enables'the gardener to do without disturbing the 
 ground so much as the other would do ; it is used 
 when standing upright, too, which renders it less 
 fatiguing for women, than the common or draw 
 hoe.
 
 GARDENING-TOOLS. 79 
 
 M. It acts like the spud which papa takes out 
 with him into the fields sometimes, to root up the 
 docks and thistles with. 
 
 H. It does ; here is a very pretty little Dutch 
 hoe for you, and one of each for me. 
 
 M. And here are two rakes ; why we shall be 
 well supplied : and a fork ; what is that for ? 
 
 H. That is for stirring the earth among flowers 
 or plants that are thick together, and should be 
 always used in garden-beds to stir the earth deeply, 
 as by not cutting them, it does not injure the roots 
 so much as the hoe; the fork also serves to take 
 up roots of perennials for dividing or for trans- 
 planting, and forks are used instead of hoes, in stiff 
 soils, as being stronger. You know what this is. 
 
 M. Yes, a trowel, for planting and sowing, of 
 course, and a most essential tool it is in gardening. 
 I have used that sometimes in helping mamma to 
 garden ; I used to make the hollows for her to put 
 seeds in, which wore sowed in patches. 
 
 H. Here is also a dibble for planting, but it 
 is not so good a tool as the trowel, by forcing 
 the 
 
 M. You know you explained that to me in your 
 observations on sowing. 
 
 H. Well, then, two watering-pots with a fine 
 rose to each for watering delicate plants, and newly-
 
 80 GARDENING-TOOLS. 
 
 sown seed, and a splendid wheel-barrow for wheeling 
 dirt, and weeds, and little girls in. 
 
 M. Bravo then give me a ride in it directly. 
 
 H. Get in there now here goes. 
 
 THE brother and sister, though looking forward 
 with pleasure to the time when they might com- 
 mence sowing and planting, found too much occu- 
 pation connected with their new favourite employ- 
 ment, to think the months of December and 
 January tedious. Both studied botany diligently, 
 and learnt all they could respecting natural history 
 of every description, a pursuit in which they were 
 especially encouraged by their judicious parents 
 as one tending to form virtuous feelings, fine taste, 
 and habits of observation and reflection.
 
 BOTANICAL EXCURSION. 81 
 
 A severe frost, which had continued till the end 
 of January, had put a stop to the few occupations 
 which the garden otherwise would have furnished : 
 anticipating this weather, Henry had been instructed 
 to dig all his beds up rough, so as to expose the 
 earth as much as possible to the action of the air, 
 and he had laid straw and litter from the stables 
 round the roots of all his less-hardy shrubs, matting 
 over the stems also of those against his south wall ; 
 with these precautions, and owing to the circum- 
 stance of this being the back of the stable, he 
 rejoiced to find, on the return of milder weather, 
 that none of his American plants had suffered 
 seriously. 
 
 The fluctuating weather, which usually succeeds a 
 long frost, prevented any excursions in the fields 
 till the middle of March; but then, one morning 
 promising a fine day, a promise which their father 
 told them the barometer confirmed, Henry and Mary 
 prepared to set off for a ramble, each provided with 
 a hand-basket and a trowel, the professed object of 
 their expedition being to get some roots of wild 
 Primroses, Violets, Anemonies, and other plants, to 
 set in the borders, and under the shade of the shrubs 
 in their garden. 
 
 H. Have you got every thing you shall want, 
 Mary ?
 
 82 BOTANICAL EXCURSION. 
 
 M. Yes, there are only the basket and trowel, 
 that I know of; you have your tin botanical box, 
 have you not ? though I do not suppose you will 
 want it, there will not be many things to be got 
 yet. - 
 
 H. More than you think of, perhaps, but I have 
 also brought it to carry some provisions ; I guess 
 we shall be hungry before we return. Let me see 
 here is my knife, my pencil, my book, a magni- 
 fying glass, a bottle, my stick, my basket, and two 
 pill-boxes. 
 
 M. Why, Henry, what are you about ? what can 
 you want all these curious articles for, especially 
 the last ? you will not take any physic in them, I 
 hope. 
 
 H, And the trowel ; now come along. We will 
 go round by the lane, over the common, and to the 
 wood, and then back by the river. Are you warmly 
 wrapped up ? for it will be cold standing to gather 
 plants, and crossing the common. 
 
 M' Which do you think best, to warm oneself 
 well at the fire before one sets off, or not ? 
 
 H. If you are going to walk far and fast, it is 
 better to set out warm, for then exercise will keep 
 you warm ; but it is very bad to go out warm, only 
 to walk in the garden, or to stand still, because you 
 feel the change more, and you are more liable to
 
 LABIACEJS. 83 
 
 take cold. See here, Mary, here is a flower for you 
 already ; do you know what it is ? 
 
 M. No, it looks like the common White Dead- 
 nettle, only it is smaller and the blossoms are pink. 
 
 H. I believe it is of the same genus, and is called 
 Lamium purpureum ; it is one of the earliest of 
 spring flowers. 
 
 M. The real Nettle has a leaf something like it ; 
 does that belong to the same tribe ? 
 
 H. No. This Lamium is a genus of the extensive 
 and valuable order called Labiaceaa, which com- 
 prises, Mint, Lavender, Thyme, Sage, and Mar- 
 joram. It is an order which does not contain one 
 poisonous species, and is characterized by yielding 
 volatile aromatic oils, to which the plants belonging 
 to it owe their fragrance. 
 
 M. Is there any more distinct character by which 
 it may be known ? 
 
 H. Yes, two ; the plants of this order invariably 
 have a square stem, and the flowers are produced in 
 tufts, called whorls, in the angle of the leaves, as 
 you see in this plant before us, and still more 
 obviously in the white : by these two characters 
 combined, you may generally distinguish the tribe ; 
 for though many others have square stems, yet the 
 whorled flowers and that together, are only found in 
 this order, and then you must also recollect that the
 
 84 ENGLISH BIRDS. 
 
 corolla of the flower is in one piece, or monopetalous, 
 and irregular. 
 
 M. Then the beautiful Splendid Sage which we 
 admired last summer belongs to this order. 
 
 H. It does; there are no trees belonging to it, 
 and it does not furnish food to man, in the proper 
 sense of that word, for the herbs AVC mentioned are 
 only sauces. 
 
 M. How beautifully that robin sings. 
 
 H. I think it is a linnet, the robin's song is not 
 so varied. 
 
 M. I hope the linnet is not one of the mis- 
 chievous birds in gardens. 
 
 H. No. I believe it is innocent enough ; it is 
 said to be particularly fond of linseed, and that its 
 name is derived from that circumstance, but I do 
 not know that it does much harm to the crop. 
 
 M. "What is linseed ? 
 
 H. The seed of the plant which is manufactured 
 into flax (Linum usitatissimum). 
 
 M. Are linnets birds of passage, or do they 
 winter with us? 
 
 H. They winter here, and are seen congregated 
 in large flocks in severe weather ; it is a pretty bird 
 as to form, but not brilliant in colours. 
 
 M. It seems as if the same bird seldom possessed 
 both beauties, that of plumage and that of song.
 
 ENGLISH BIRDS. 85 
 
 H. You forget the goldfinch, whose song is not 
 to be despised ; I rather think your assertion would 
 not be found strictly correct, except so far as this, 
 that the birds of hot climates do not sing much, 
 and that they have the most splendid plumage. 
 
 M. But our English birds, which sing the sweet- 
 est, are generally the least gay in their colours. 
 Except the goldfinch, I do not remember any that 
 are so. 
 
 H. Why, we have but few birds that are brilliant 
 in colours at all ; there is the kingfisher, the wood- 
 pecker, the jay, the pheasant, the partridge, the 
 chatterer, the hoopoe, the goldfinch, chaffinch, bull- 
 finch, the wrens, and titmice, are all pretty birds. 
 The chatterer and the hoopoe are rare birds in Eng- 
 land; but there is another still rarer, or only an 
 occasional visitant, which far surpasses them in 
 beauty, the roller, called also the German parrot. 
 
 M. What plant is this growing under this shady 
 hedge? I have been looking at it, and I find the 
 flowers have no pistil. 
 
 H. It is the Dog's-mercury \Mercurialis peren- 
 nis], and is what is called Dioecious, that is, the 
 male flowers are on one plant, and the female on 
 another. 
 
 M. Show me a female plant. 
 
 H. Possibly we may not find one near here;
 
 86 
 
 they do not often grow in the same place. When 
 we get into the wood we may, perhaps, for it 
 abounds there. 
 
 M. Is it used for any purpose ? 
 
 H. Not now, I believe; there are much better 
 medicines. It belongs to an order which is remark- 
 able for including plants containing the most violent 
 poisons, the most useful medicines, that invaluable 
 substance Indian-rubber or Caoutchouc, and Box. 
 You know the Common Spurge, that is such a 
 troublesome weed in gardens ? 
 
 M. Yes ; you mean the plant out of which a 
 white milky juice flows when the stalk is broken: 
 the old women in the village say it cures warts. 
 
 H, I do; all the plants of the order have that 
 milky juice, which is acrid, or burning to the taste, 
 and even corrodes the skin sometimes. That Com- 
 mon Spurge is called Euphorlia, from the name of 
 the physician to an African king, in the time of the 
 Romans; and the order of plants is called Euphor- 
 l/iacece. 
 
 M. Besides this Mercury, the 'common Box, and 
 the Spurges, what other plants belong to it; and 
 which plant is it that produces the Indian-rubber, 
 and what part of the plant furnishes such a strange 
 substance ? 
 
 H. Many plants both of this and other orders
 
 CAOUTCHOUC. 87 
 
 furnish it : it is the juice which flows from the stem 
 when it is cut, thickened by exposure to the air. 
 It is white when it flows, and is blackened by being 
 smoked in order to dry it while it is being made 
 into bottles on moulds of clay. The mould is co- 
 vered over with a succession of layers of the fluid 
 juice, each dried over a fire: when a sufficient 
 thickness is obtained in this manner, the mould is 
 broken; and the pieces pulled out through the hole 
 left for the neck. You have seen thick pieces of 
 Indian-rubber, which were white in the middle; 
 well, that arises from the juice being dried in a dif- 
 ferent manner, and not smoked, and obtained from 
 an Asiatic genus of the order, the common thin 
 black being manufactured in South America. The 
 best East Indian Caoutchouc is that which conies 
 from Sylhet, and is the produce of a species of Fig, 
 called Ficus elastica, belonging, therefore, to the 
 same natural order as the Nettle, Urticacece. 
 
 M. They make shoes of it now, and tubes, and 
 when spread in a fluid state on silk or cloth it 
 makes it water-proof. 
 
 H. Papa says that it is not yet applied to half 
 the purposes it might, it being only a recent dis- 
 covery, not more than a century having passed since 
 it was well ascertained what it was. But never- 
 theless, besides the uses you mention, ropes, bands,
 
 88 PRIMROSE, &C. 
 
 ribbons, cords, and many other woven articles, are 
 made up with Caoutchouc in the warp to give them 
 elasticity. 
 
 M. Stop now, for here we are in the wood, and I 
 think I see a Primrose. 
 
 H. Then, if you will carry the basket I will dig 
 them up, because I can do it better than you. 
 
 M, Oh ! look, here are plenty, what beauties ! I 
 suppose I may gather a few for a nosegay besides. 
 
 HENRY proceeded to his work, and got up a dozen 
 or more of fine roots, while his sister wandered 
 away in search of flowers: she presently returned 
 with a flower imperfectly blown, in her hand, ex- 
 claiming, 
 
 See, Henry, here is a Hare-Bell ; this is the only 
 one I can find nearly blown, but there are plenty in 
 bud; do let us take some home for our garden, be- 
 sides the Primroses. 
 
 H. We will so; I came for them as much as for 
 these Primroses; but where is the basket to put my 
 roots in? You must take your flowers out or they 
 will be crushed; I will put them into my botanical 
 box for you, they will keep better there.
 
 NUMBER OP SPECIES. 89 
 
 M. But what are we to do with the provisions ? 
 you have forgotten them. 
 
 H. So I did; why, I will tell you, we had better 
 sit down and rest, and eat them up, and then they 
 will be out of the way. 
 
 M. And here is a nice mossy seat at the foot of 
 this tree, so let us see your stores. What a variety 
 of plants are to be seen even in such a small spot as 
 this ; there must be more than a hundred species in 
 sight now. 
 
 H. You would not find so many distinct species 
 as you suppose ; nothing like a hundred, even if 
 you were to count all the Mosses, and Lichens, and 
 Fungi. The mind is deceived by the eye; the real 
 variety of form and colour of the separate trees and 
 plants dazzles us, as it were, and makes us think 
 there is a greater number of species than there 
 really is. 
 
 M. Ay, you philosophers are always counting, 
 and measuring, and weighing, and bringing every 
 thing to the rule of reason. 
 
 H, So much the better, if by so doing we keep 
 the fancy of folks from running away with them, 
 and exaggerating what they see and hear. 
 
 M. By the by, I remember now, in explanation 
 of what you were saying of the variety of forms 
 deceiving us as to the number of objects, that once 
 
 o
 
 90 MOSSES AND LICHENS. 
 
 on my saying to papa, one fine night, what thou- 
 sands of stars were in the sky, he told me that in 
 the clearest nights not more than one thousand 
 were ever visible to the naked eye at once. 
 
 H. True, and that is well remembered by you ; 
 when we go home I will make out how many spe- 
 cies of plants there are really growing in this wood. 
 
 M. What pretty stuff this moss is, if it be moss ; 
 but now I look at it I do not think it is what you 
 botanists call a Moss. 
 
 H. It is not ; real Mosses are much smaller, and 
 do not grow in this tangled manner. I know two 
 or three Mosses, having often looked at them to 
 admire their curious little cups and stalks : a tuft of 
 them in blossom is beautiful. 
 
 M. You see them in plenty on the garden- walls ; 
 their leaves are velvety, and of a bright green ; how 
 many different species of Mosses are there ? 
 
 H. About eight hundred, I believe. 
 
 M. What, eight hundred distinct species of such 
 little things ! Why, how many species of plants aro 
 there all together ? 
 
 H. Why, I believe there are nearly eighty thou- 
 sand known and described, and probably there are 
 ten or twenty thousand more not described. 
 
 M. No man's life would be long enough to learn 
 to know them all.
 
 USE OF CLASSIFICATION. 91 
 
 H. Nor is it necessary or advisable that any body 
 should try to do so ; by means of classifications that 
 useless labour is saved. 
 
 M. Tell me how classification is applied. 
 
 H. I will as well as I can, by means of a play. 
 Think of something, but do not tell me what it is. 
 
 M. Well, I have. 
 
 H. Now I will find out what you have thought 
 of, by questioning you without asking its direct 
 name. Is it organic or inorganic ? 
 
 M. It is organic. 
 
 H, Is it animal or vegetable ? 
 
 M. It is animal. 
 
 H. Is it vertebrated or invertebrated ? 
 
 M. Vertebrated ; that is, it has a back-bone and 
 internal skeleton. 
 
 H. To which of the following classes does it 
 belong: Mammalia, or animals that suckle their 
 young, birds, reptiles, or fishes ? 
 
 M. To the first I think; let me consider ; it is not 
 a fish, nor a bird : how are reptiles distinguished 
 from quadrupeds? 
 
 H. Reptiles are also quadrupeds, or four-footed, 
 generally ; but Mammalia are all viviparous, or 
 bring forth their young alive, while reptiles lay eggs 
 like birds, and have cold blood. 
 
 G 2
 
 92 USE OF CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 M. Oh, then, the thing I thought of is warm 
 
 enough, and , in short it belongs to the first 
 
 class. 
 
 H. "Well then, now for it. Is it JBimanous, or 
 having two hands : is it a man ? 
 
 M. No. 
 
 H. Is it Quadrumanoiis, or can it use its hind-feet 
 as hands as well as its fore-feet, as monkeys, apes, 
 lemurs, can? 
 
 M. No ; it is none of these. 
 
 H. Is it carnivorous, that is, does it belong to 
 that order which includes animals of prey, as lions, 
 tigers, dogs, wolves, and so on ? 
 
 M. It does. 
 
 H. "We, neither of us, have sufficient knowledge, 
 I am afraid, for me to go on, because we do not 
 know all the genera of that order; but I'll try. 
 Does it belong to the cat tribe ? 
 
 M. Exactly. 
 
 H. Oh ! I know, it is your cat ; but you can un- 
 derstand from this, that if you had thought of some 
 foreign animal, however rare or singular, and if we 
 had sufficient knowledge, I could go on questioning 
 you till I had brought you to the genus, species, 
 and variety. In the present case, you had thought 
 of the VARIETY, domestic cat; of the SPECIES, cattus;
 
 USE OF CLASSIFICATION. 93 
 
 of the GENUS, Fells; of the ORDER, Carnivora ; of 
 the CLASS, Mammalia ; of the DIVISION, vertelrata ; 
 of the animal kingdom. 
 
 M. Now let us try again, and I will think of a 
 plant. 
 
 H. We should find greater difficulty still, for cer- 
 tain divisions of the vegetable kingdom contain so 
 many genera that I could not discover even the 
 genus, still less the species you had guessed; for 
 instance, suppose you had guessed a Sweet-Pea, I 
 could discover by asking you, that it was a flowering 
 plant, Dicotyledonous, polypetalous, with hypo- 
 gynous stamens, distinct carpella, superior ova- 
 rium. But there I must stop, for there are many 
 orders of plants to which these characters would 
 apply; and suppose I went on, and found out, by 
 questioning you, that it was of the order Legumi- 
 nacese, that order contains, I think, more than three 
 thousand species, so that it would be impossible to 
 arrive at the species you guessed, without more 
 knowledge than I am ever likely to have. 
 
 M. True, but these examples have shown me the 
 importance of classification ; and now let us go on 
 with our work. 
 
 H. I will put the Primrose-roots at the bottom of 
 the basket first, and then we will go and get up 
 some Hare-Bells.
 
 94 HYACINTH. 
 
 M. "What genus and species is the Hare-Bell ? 
 
 H. First tell me what class it is, I mean whether 
 it is Monocotyledonous or Dicotyledonous. 
 
 M. How can I do that without looking at a 
 seed ? and the plant is not yet in blossom. 
 
 H. Do you forget what papa told us, about the 
 leaves of Endogenous plants not having their veins 
 reticulated, or in net-work, like the leaves of Ex- 
 ogenous plants ? 
 
 M. Oh yes ! true ; well then the Hare-Bell is 
 Endogenous, obviously ; the flower resembles a 
 Hyacinth. 
 
 H. It is a Hyacinth, Hyacinthus non-scriptus, 
 which means not written, because another species 
 that is cultivated, was fabled by the ancient poets 
 to have the name of Hyacinthus, the friend of 
 Apollo, written on the blossoms ; for after his death 
 he was changed into the flower, so botanists to dis- 
 tinguish this species, called it Non-scriptus. 
 
 M. That seems to me to be but a bad reason for 
 giving it a foolish specific name ; I think the spe- 
 cific name ought to express some character of the 
 plant, as round-leaved, square-stemmed; or of its 
 place of growth, as alpine, marsh, and so on. 
 
 H. Undoubtedly those are the best ; but you 
 must recollect how difficult it is to find sufficient 
 variety of names, especially for extensive genera ; so
 
 HYACINTH. 95 
 
 you should not be too severe on the botanists who 
 gave this plant a name not so rational as you could 
 \vish. 
 
 M. By the by, I do not recollect seeing the Hya- 
 cinth mentioned in your list of plants ; cannot we 
 have some in our garden ? 
 
 H. The bulbs are too dear for us to buy, and they 
 require too long a time to raise from seed ; but if 
 we can get a few given us that have been exhausted 
 from blowing in glasses, they will do very well 
 afterwards in the open ground, if taken care of ; but 
 they require a particular compost, as it is called, of 
 garden-mould, decayed leaves, and rotten cow-dung, 
 and protection from the sun and rain, so that we 
 could not spare time enough to grow fine flowers. 
 You know papa almost made it a condition with 
 us, that we should not attempt to grow what are 
 called florists' flowers, except of the commonest 
 kinds. 
 
 M. I suppose they are called florists flowers from 
 the emulation among the gardeners to produce the 
 finest kinds ; what are they ? 
 
 H. Skill and care in cultivation is proved, or is 
 supposed to be shown, by obtaining full, double 
 flowers, of a symmetrical form, large in size, and 
 rich and varied in colour; consequently the flowers 
 which are made the objects of especial care, are
 
 96 HYACINTH. 
 
 usually those which admit of these improvements 
 being most displayed on them. Double flowers are 
 only produced from plants with many stamens, be- 
 cause you know that it is by the conversion of the 
 pistils and stamens into petals that flowers become 
 double. The Anemone and Ranunculus, as poly- 
 androus, have long been favourites for cultivation for 
 doubling; and the Auricula, Primrose, Polyanthus, 
 and Cowslip, are favourites for form and colour, 
 because, having only five stamens, they do not be- 
 come completely double, or so full, as the former; 
 Mignonette, Balsam, Hydrangeas, Campanulas, Lo- 
 belias, Rockets, Lily, Fritillary, Iris, Crocus, Ixia, 
 Gladiolus, Tuber-rose, and Amaryllis, are also con- 
 sidered florists' flowers; and the Carnation, the 
 Pink, the Tulip, Hyacinth, Narcissus, the Chry- 
 santhemum, Paeony, Geranium, and the Dahlia, are 
 much attended to. 
 
 M. Are Hyacinths troublesome to manage ? 
 
 H. In October the bulbs are put into drills, made 
 in a rich soil, composed of light mould, clean sand, 
 and rotten leaves, well mixed together and made 
 fine. The drills should be five inches deep, 
 the bulbs not closer than six inches to each other 
 every way; and some sand should be first strewed 
 at the bottom of the drill under each root, and over 
 the bulb, when put in ; the earth is then to be filled
 
 HYACINTH. 97 
 
 in, so as to bury the bulb three to four inches below 
 the surface; in doing this, care must be taken not 
 to throw the bulbs on their sides, for they should 
 stand precisely upright. This is a better mode than 
 making holes with a blunt dibble, for reasons I have 
 mentioned to you before. 
 
 During open weather do nothing but keep the 
 bed free from weeds, and clean; but when any frost 
 comes, dry straw, or litter, or mats, must'be spread 
 over the bed, sufficiently thick to guard the bulbs 
 effectually from freezing: but remove this shelter as 
 soon as the frost is gone. When the flowers begin 
 to appear in March or April, shelter against the sun 
 must be provided, or the flowers will quickly fade; 
 and wind and rain also injures them. This shelter 
 is best afforded by canvass laid upon a light frame 
 of hoops, stretched over short stakes, stuck round 
 the bed five or six feet apart : these stakes may have 
 an iron peg stuck in their tops, which will pass 
 through a hole in the hoop made to admit it, as you 
 have noticed on the heads of tent-bedsteads. "With 
 these precautions, and the additional one of tying 
 the spikes of blossoms to neat sticks, to prevent their 
 weight from bending them down, the bed will long 
 continue in beauty. 
 
 I need hardly remind you that care must be 
 taken, in planting the bulbs, not to put two of a colour
 
 98 HYACINTH. 
 
 together, or at least to keep some uniformity in this 
 respect, whether there are only a dozen or a hun- 
 dred. 
 
 M. There is no chance of our getting enough 
 to make a bed, so we may put what we do get in 
 our borders. 
 
 H. Yes, we have only to prepare the spot in the 
 same way; and the roots are better put three or four 
 together, at about as many inches apart. 
 
 M. After the flowers are over, will you leave the 
 roots in the ground? 
 
 H. Yes, especially the common kinds; if the 
 garden is not in a cold damp place. But every two 
 years the roots should be taken up after they have 
 done flowering, and the offsets separated and planted 
 in another place. I believe that leaving bulbs out 
 of the ground, provided they will bear being planted 
 out at all, is injurious to them. 
 
 M. Why are Hyacinths and other bulbs ex- 
 hausted by blowing in glasses ? 
 
 H. By being exposed to the light and heat in a 
 room, during the time they would be exposed to 
 neither in a natural situation: added to which, the 
 roots of all plants thrive only when growing in the 
 dark, which those of Hyacinths, &c., cannot do, if 
 put in glasses, especially of white glass ; besides the 
 plant cannot obtain, from water only, all the various
 
 WILD ANEMONIES. 99 
 
 substances it requires for nutriment. You had 
 better let me get up the bulbs of these Hare-Bells, 
 for they lie deep in the earth, and require care and 
 patience to get at. 
 
 M. There, now I think we have got enough; a 
 few Wood-Anemonies, and we will be content. 
 
 H. You must be still more careful in taking up 
 the latter, for though their roots do not lie deep, like 
 the bulbs of the Hyacinth, they are very delicate, 
 and the stem is brittle. 
 
 M. The flower looks like a Rose in form. 
 
 H. It may do so to common observers, but such a 
 botanist as you should not have said so. Do you 
 not see that the stamens are inserted under the pis- 
 tils; and that these are superior , or not connected 
 with the calyx ? 
 
 M. I do not see any calyx, unless these outer 
 petals are considered as such; or does the calyx fall 
 off early, as in the Poppy ? 
 
 H. No; those outer coloured leaves are the calyx: 
 it is a character of the genus to have the two series 
 of floral envelopes undistinguishable. 
 
 M. Then, on consideration, these three leaves 
 Tinder the flower are not properly leaves, for they 
 are in a verticil, and do not grow like regular 
 leaves. 
 
 H. They are the bracteae, or floral-leaves.
 
 ]00 TRANSPLANTING. 
 
 M. Oh, look ! what a curious beetle I have found 
 on the ground; what is it ? 
 
 ff. I do not know, let us take it home; it seems 
 to me as if it either was ill, or not perfectly formed: 
 here, put it in this pill-box. 
 
 M. Now I see why you brought those pill boxes 
 with you; to put insects in. 
 
 ff. Yes; I expected we might find some: now I 
 think it is time for us to go home; next month we 
 will come such another ramble. 
 
 THE roots they had collected were planted as soon 
 as possible : a hole being made for each with the 
 trowel, the root was put in, and the earth broken 
 fine, was scattered gently over the fibres till the 
 hole was filled up again, care being taken that the 
 line of separation between the real root and the stem
 
 TRANSPLANTING. 101 
 
 should be on a level with the surface of the ground, 
 and that no earth or dirt should get in among the 
 leaves. Then the leaves being gathered up in one 
 hand, the mould must be pressed down hard all 
 round the stem, and the surface raked smooth 
 again. 
 
 It is advisable to put an empty flower-pot, or 
 small basket, over all newly transplanted plants, 
 that will admit of it, for a few days, removing such 
 covering only when the sun is warm, but not shining 
 on the plant. Water should be given abundantly to 
 herbaceous plants when transplanted, especially if 
 leafy; this should be poured all round the stem, 
 and the covering put on again. 
 
 Sometimes a quantity of water is poured into the 
 hole dug for a new plant, and the earth stirred up 
 with it, so as to form a pudding, into which the 
 root of the plant is set, gently raising this up and 
 down several times, to allow of the fluid mud 
 penetrating among the fibres. This causes the 
 earth to settle close round the root ; but it should 
 not be done if the soil is stiff or clayey; and many 
 gardeners think it always objectionable, from render- 
 ing the earth round the roots too compact, like 
 mortar, when it dries again.
 
 102 LAYING OUT 
 
 THE time had arrived for planting and sowing the 
 perennial and annual border-flowers. The first fine 
 day towards the end of March, that they could get 
 a whole afternoon for the purpose, Henry and Mary 
 went to their garden, with their tools in the wheel- 
 barrow, a large basket containing a variety of seeds 
 of annuals, &c., their marking sticks, and the plan 
 and list of flowers. 
 
 Mary. Our wild roots, generally speaking, have 
 succeeded very well, the Primroses especially. 
 
 Henry. They are very hardy, and increase 
 rapidly : there are many other wild-flowers which 
 we shall have to get, for we must procure variety, 
 in our garden, by our own trouble, and not by 
 money. 
 
 M. Violets, Stone-crop for our rock-work, and 
 Toad-flax, I recollect. 
 
 H. Yes, and the pretty Saxifrage, that grows in 
 moist meadows, with a beautiful white flower. 
 
 M. I know which you mean ; it has a curious 
 root, with knobs on it. Are there many of that 
 genus wild in England, for they are favourite 
 flowers of mine ? 
 
 H. There are fourteen of the genus Saxifraga, 
 but the order Saxifragacege also includes several 
 others; the Marsh Parnassia, with its single leaf
 
 THE BORDERS. 103 
 
 and curious fringed processes within the petals, 
 found in boggy places and marshes, and the Adoxa 
 Moschatellina, which I hope to get for our garden, 
 from the woods, which smells of musk, both belong 
 to the order. The pretty purple-flowered Saxifrage, 
 which you so often see in pots, looking something 
 like a Sedum in its general appearance, is a native of 
 the mountains and rocky places, in the north : but 
 now to work. 
 
 THEY stretched three lines along the beds, parallel 
 to the grass edging, at the distances of eight inches, 
 two and a half, and four feet, from its inner edge; 
 along these they stuck in their marking-sticks, to 
 space out the borders ; they did not, however, place 
 the sticks at exactly equal distances, but, paying 
 attention to the size the plant or plants would attain, 
 they left larger, or smaller, intervals between them
 
 104 LAYING OUT 
 
 accordingly, taking care only that the average 
 distances between those of the front row were four- 
 teen or fifteen inches, between those of the second 
 row about two feet, and between the third, or 
 middle row of the east and west beds, about three 
 and a half feet. 
 
 Henry having only marked on his plan the places 
 of the taller shrubs, they had to consider the 
 arrangement of the plants which were to come 
 before them, to avoid two of the same hue coming 
 together, and to disperse them with reference to 
 their season of flowering. They effected this in the 
 following manner : before every front shrub in the 
 north and south borders, they put in a marker with 
 the name of a plant from the list of tall standard 
 herbaceous plants, the colour of the blossom of which 
 should contrast with that of the shrub behind it, 
 if they flowered at the same period ; but if not, the 
 colour of the standard herbaceous plant was decided 
 on from its neighbours in the same row, so that they 
 might come as nearly as possible in such order as 
 this: 1. Red flower, in July or August : 2. Blue 
 flower, in May or June : 3. Yellow or white flower, 
 in July or August : 4. Red flower, in July or 
 August : 5. Yellow flower, in July or August : 6. 
 Blue flower, in July or August: 7- Red flower, in 
 May or June : 8. White or variegated flower, iu
 
 THE BORDERS. 105 
 
 September and October : 9. Blue flower, in June or 
 July: 10. Yellow flower, in April or May: 11. Red 
 flower, in August or September: 12. Blue flower, 
 in August or September : 13. White flower, in 
 August or September. 
 
 Then, in the row before this, they alternated the 
 order, putting the flowers between two behind it as 
 much as possible, consistently with spacing them 
 tolerably equally, taking the plants from the list of 
 those from one to two feet high, and so that their 
 colours should contrast with those behind, or else 
 differing in their time of flowering, that two flowers 
 of the same colour might not come together. And 
 by carrying on the same principle for the front 
 row of the borders, with plants selected from 
 the appropriate division of the catalogue, they 
 effectually guarded against any unpleasant mono- 
 tony or irregularity of arrangement. It was, of 
 course, impossible to prevent these front flowers 
 from coming immediately before many of those 
 behind them, on account of their being so much 
 
 * C5 
 
 closer together : but this was of no consequence, 
 since their dwarf stature precluded them from con- 
 cealing their loftier brethren. 
 
 The following figure will show how plants may 
 be selected from the catalogue, to effect this arrange- 
 ment nearly. It was drawn out by Henry for his 
 
 H
 
 106 LAYING OUT 
 
 sister to give to her friends; and through the 
 kindness of one of these, we are able to present it to 
 our readers, who can alter the order, either to suit 
 beds of different forms, or to admit of greater variety, 
 if they possess the means. 
 
 This was a long, and rather troublesome, opera- 
 tion, requiring care, and especially thought ; for 
 they had to pay attention to colour, time of flowering, 
 suitableness of situation, distances apart, and the 
 height of the plants ; consequently they had to go 
 over and over the same bed, several times, changing 
 the markers : but they knew well that this trouble 
 taken now, would make their garden pretty from its 
 arrangement for ever after, and save all future labour 
 in this respect. 
 
 Mary, however, found amusement in this trouble ; 
 she was now sufficiently convinced of the necessity 
 for scrupulous nicety and care in all the operations 
 of gardening; and her brother's remarks and re- 
 flections, during the process, were instructive and 
 useful.
 
 THE BORDERS. 
 
 ]07 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 !* "** 
 O nJ 
 
 
 o i 
 
 aT 
 
 "^ o 
 
 fH ? P5 ^ 
 
 
 r3 
 
 2 ^ 
 
 
 ^ -T 
 
 O 
 
 5 *> 
 
 %-. 
 
 
 
 S 2 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 -id OS <N 
 
 
 fl^ 
 
 *"O "73 
 
 p< * ^2 
 
 B S 
 
 o 
 
 o 13 
 2 
 
 ^ s 
 
 > S. 
 
 "a 
 
 
 
 r! 
 
 01 
 
 S 1 
 
 B 3 p; S 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 .a -S 
 
 o 
 
 o S- 
 
 C4 
 
 ^ 
 
 C5 ^ " 
 
 <. *~ 
 
 a 
 
 o S 
 
 
 
 o ~; 
 
 -s S 
 
 >< 2 
 
 . 
 
 "o 
 
 a ? 
 
 1 '5 
 
 ^ 
 
 n 
 
 rf s 
 
 3 2 
 
 
 
 -* 1 
 
 ri s 
 
 cs 
 
 2 "^ 
 
 q} O 
 
 
 
 s s 
 
 "5 PM 
 
 > 1 
 
 . O 
 
 i 1 
 
 '3 'o 
 
 W o 
 
 ^ !^ 
 
 2 
 
 r, > 
 
 3 
 
 ^H j; 
 
 s3 *a 
 
 J 
 
 w H ^ 
 o -S 1 
 
 * 8 5^ 
 
 
 
 B S 
 
 S g 
 
 g ^ 
 
 ^ 'O 
 
 * 3 
 
 
 3 <g 
 
 O jg 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 JJJ * S 
 
 (N 
 
 O rj 
 
 2 3 
 S 1 
 
 B3;l 
 
 .s 1 
 
 5^2 
 
 >' ^ i 
 
 o Sr 
 
 B S 
 
 P OQ 
 
 * s= 
 
 ,2 
 
 O ^2 
 
 f S 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 t^ 
 
 "*"* 
 
 ' 
 
 r p S 
 
 ft< 
 
 <rs 
 
 <u 
 
 ^ > 
 
 . ^ 
 
 . o 
 K S 
 
 t 
 
 9 k J 
 
 ^ H 
 
 hi -=! 
 
 B 2 fS g 
 
 
 o 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 B I 
 
 
 
 p3 .5 Q) 
 
 w I 1 
 
 M 1 W 
 
 K S 
 * : J*1 
 
 l 
 
 a | 
 
 | 
 
 02 
 
 H
 
 108 LAYING OUT 
 
 Henry. Now, Mary, you see, by putting these 
 markers, with the writing inwards, we shall know 
 where we have sown seed and where not ; for 
 wherever we do sow, we will turn the stick round, 
 so as to bring the writing in front, and that will tell 
 us that there is something sown. 
 
 Mary. I begin to fear that the sticks must serve 
 instead of the flowers in a great many places, 
 especially for the first season, for we can never get 
 so many plants as we shall want. 
 
 H. Certainly not for a long time ; but we will 
 plant common annuals in those spots where there is 
 no chance of our getting the plant we want at 
 present, or where, it being a biennial, the spot will 
 be unoccupied during the time we are rearing the 
 seedlings. Besides, we have several other resources 
 against the nakedness of our garden ; those vacancies, 
 which. are left in the warmest and most sheltered 
 spots, will be usefully employed in rearing the 
 tenderer perennials. 
 
 M. Yes, and besides, at the worst, we can plant 
 more wild flowers, for there are plenty that are well 
 deserving a place in a garden ; and we can learn a 
 good deal of botany, by selecting those which are of 
 the same order as the cultivated plant we want. 
 
 H. True ; for example, if we should not be able
 
 THE BORDERS. 109 
 
 to procure roots of the Dragon's-head (168), we 
 may substitute the great Hen-bit, or common Scull- 
 cap of our fields. 
 
 M. What are the proper names of those two 
 plants ? for I do not know them by those common 
 ones. 
 
 H. I only used them in compliance with common 
 custom. I mean the Lamium amplexicaule, and 
 the Scutellaria, 
 
 M. Well, then, again, we may plant Snap- 
 dragons instead of the yellow Mimulus 
 
 H. Pray, miss, what is the proper name of that 
 plant ? for I do not know it by that exceedingly 
 vulgar appellation. 
 
 M. Indeed, sir ! but seriously, I could recollect 
 twenty wild plants, which we should really be glad 
 to have, not only as substitutes for others we may 
 not get, but for their own sakes : why are they not 
 more cultivated? 
 
 H. They are so, in large gardens ; and when a 
 wild plant has been cultivated for forty or fifty 
 years, it improves in size and colour, and becomes a 
 proper garden flower. The French willow (Epilo- 
 bium angustifolium), for instance, is a wild shrub of 
 this country ; and I need not instance Monk's-hood, 
 Columbine, Fox-glove, Ranunculus, Anemone, and 
 plenty more.
 
 110 LAYING OUT 
 
 M. I think the common Arum is well worth 
 introducing into a garden ; it will grow in any 
 shady corners, under other plants, and its rich red 
 fruit is highly ornamental in Autumn. And we 
 can get some of your favourite Orchises. 
 
 H. Yes; at least we may have the Orchis morio 
 and mascula, the Anacamptis pyramidalis, the 
 Ophrys muscifera and apifera, when we can find 
 them. 
 
 M. We shall want some tall branching poles, for 
 the centre of our circular border, for the climbing 
 annuals. 
 
 H. The gardener has promised to bring me some 
 osiers, and willow rods, and other straight boughs, 
 on purpose. I dare say they are come; if they 
 are, we will begin sowing that central spot, and 
 we can then put in the perennials which come in 
 front. 
 
 THE props were found to be ready, and Henry 
 stuck them in, in a small circle of three feet in 
 diameter, securing them firmly by nailing cross- 
 pieces, as he did with his rustic verandah ; only, in 
 the present case, he left all the branching twigs and 
 boughs on, to afford as many supports as possible to
 
 THE BORDERS. Ill 
 
 the climbers : he then raked and smoothed the 
 ground again, and, forming a drill round the props, 
 he sowed in it, according to his plan, Indian Cress or 
 tall Nasturtium (Tropasoliim majus), and Convolvu- 
 lus major, in equidistant patches round it, putting 
 in about six or seven good sound seeds of each. 
 The intervals between, he meant to fill up, in the 
 proper season, with cuttings, or young plants, of 
 the Periploca Grseca, the Maurandia barclaiana, 
 Ipomoea coccinea, &c., if he should be able to 
 procure them. 
 
 On the same, and following days, when the 
 weather permitted, the brother and sister sowed 
 seeds of the hardiest annuals and biennials, at the 
 respective places they had marked for them ; such 
 as Sweet Peas (131), Virginian Stock (136), Venus' 
 Looking-glass (166), Lupins (94), A-donis (86), 
 Snap-dragon, Convolvulus (177), Hawk- weed, Dwarf 
 Larkspurs (128), Lavatera (62), Nasturtiums (39), 
 Mignonette (180), Venus' Navelwort (179), Indian 
 Pink (142). 
 
 They also planted such bulbs, roots, cuttings, and 
 young plants, as they could procure through the 
 kindness of their parents or friends : their aunt, who 
 had given them the tools, of whom they were great 
 favourites, and who had both the means and incli- 
 nation of being rationally indulgent, sent them, in
 
 112 ANOTHER EXCURSION. 
 
 aid of their garden, some roots of the superb 
 Martagon (46), in pots, which, as the bulbs do not 
 bear transplanting well while growing, the young 
 folks sunk into the ground, in their proper places. 
 Some clumps of common Crocuses (146) they ven- 
 tured to take up, with permission, from different 
 gardens ; and by removing them with a large ball 
 of earth, and with care, they succeeded in trans- 
 planting them into their borders without injury, but 
 all other bulbiferous roots they were obliged to 
 forego till the proper season should come for planting 
 them, at which time their aunt promised to send a 
 good supply. 
 
 THE brother and sister, pleased with the success of 
 their former excursion, undertook another in April, 
 to search for wild plants for their garden, and for 
 botanical study. Equipped as before, they sallied 
 forth one fine morning, determined to brave an 
 occasional shower, and guarded against cold by extra 
 clothing. 
 
 Henry. Do not let us forget to hunt for another 
 beetle : papa wishes to ascertain certainly whether 
 that we brought home last time was the common 
 cockchafer (Melolontha vulgaris). He says the 
 grubs, or larvae, are buried in the ground, and lie for
 
 ANOTHER EXCURSION. 113 
 
 four years ; and will, when numerous, commit such 
 havoc with the roots of grass, that the turf will 
 sometimes peel up as if cut with a paring-shovel. 
 They become perfect beetles in February, but of a 
 white colour, and soft like that we found, and he 
 believes that to have been one. They come forth 
 in May. 
 
 Mary. Then, I suppose, we can find plenty by 
 turning up the turf anywhere. 
 
 H. Why no ; for, strange to say, they bury 
 themselves six or seven feet below the surface before 
 they undergo their final change ; but if they 
 generally come out of the ground in May, probably 
 we shall find some. 
 
 M. It is the cockchafer that is so common in 
 May and June, and flies against your face in the 
 warm evenings? 
 
 H. Yes; it is called the blind beetle from that 
 circumstance. 
 
 M. The larva is the name given to the insect 
 when it first comes out of the egg ? Nympha, pupa, 
 and chrysalis are the names after it has undergone 
 its first transformation ? 
 
 H. Yes, with this distinction generally, that the 
 first term is used when the insect in its second state 
 has legs, walks about, and feeds; the second, when 
 it appears motionless, without limbs, and does not
 
 114 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 
 
 move. The pupse of butterflies and moths are called 
 chrysalises, from a Greek word for golden, because 
 some are of that colour. 
 
 M. We are familiar with the chrysalis of the 
 silk-worm. What is the distinction between moths 
 and butterflies ? 
 
 H. They differ, I believe, in several respects; but 
 the most obvious characters are, that the wings of 
 the butterflies are erect during repose, and they fly 
 by day ; the moths carry their wings, when at rest, 
 either spread out flat, or wrapped round their bo- 
 dies, and they fly only in the twilight, or at night. 
 Did you ever see the death's-head moth, as it is 
 called, which is the handsomest and largest of our 
 English species ? 
 
 M. No; why is it so called ? 
 
 H. Because there is a figure on its back or thorax, 
 which may be fancied to resemble a scull. It ap- 
 pears in May, and its wings often measure four 
 inches across. 
 
 M. Whenever one lies down in the grass and 
 looks among the leaves, the variety of insects that 
 may be observed, even in that small space, would 
 lead us to suppose that the number of insects was 
 endless ; do you know how many there are ? 
 
 H. I met lately with a table, which seemed to 
 me so curious, that I copied it into my pocket-book,
 
 " NUMBER OF SPECIES. 115 
 
 and I have it now with me, and can answer your 
 question. 
 
 There are at present known and described, 
 1,200 species of Mammalia, 
 
 5,000 Birds, 
 
 COO Reptiles, 
 
 6,000 Fishes, 
 
 8,000 Mollusca, 
 
 100,000 Insects, 
 
 4,000 Radiated, and other animals, 
 
 100,000 Plants. 
 
 M. That is curious. Do you suppose the great 
 difference in these numbers is occasioned solely by 
 the real difference in the numbers of the respective 
 genera and orders; or does it arise from the different 
 habits of the animals not having afforded so many 
 opportunities for examining them ? 
 
 H. That is a question I cannot answer, but I 
 should think by both causes combined ; for ex- 
 ample, quadrupeds are comparatively large, and 
 easily seen, therefore the greater number of them 
 must be known; though the ferocity, rarity, or 
 localities of some may prevent their having been 
 accurately examined or described. But of the mol- 
 lusca, radiata, and fish, it cannot be probable that 
 we know one- third of the number of species that 
 really exist.
 
 116 ARUM. 
 
 M. What an overwhelming idea it gives of the 
 extent of life, when we reflect that there are most 
 likely more than twelve or thirteen hundred thou- 
 sand species alone of organized beings ! 
 
 H. If you will remind me when we get home, I 
 will read to you a passage from a book which your 
 remarking the quantity of insects we see in the 
 grass brought to my recollection. 
 
 M. What numbers more of flowers there are 
 now, to what there were when we w y ere here last'; 
 and how different the trees and hedges look, so 
 green and gay. 
 
 H. Here are some Arums, let us try and take up 
 a few for our garden; but the stems are so large and 
 thick, I fear we shall not be able to dig them up 
 without serious injury to the roots. There, put 
 that in your basket: it is a handsome leaf, is it 
 not? 
 
 M. Yes ; is this blotch on the leaf accidental ? 
 
 H. No, it is the specific character, this being 
 thence called Arum maculatum. You know, the 
 common wild Persicaria has its leaves similarly 
 marked. 
 
 M. And so has the wild Lucerne. 
 
 H. Which is also called maculata for that reason 
 (Medlcago maculata). But to return to the Arum; 
 except some Palm-trees, the order Aroideae is the
 
 ARUM. 117 
 
 only one having that singular form of bractea called 
 a spathe, highly coloured. 
 
 M. What other orders have spathes? 
 
 H. There is the Bull-rush tribe, the Screwpine, 
 or Pandanaceae; and perhaps others I forget. But 
 you know of course the membranous spathe of the 
 Narcissus, Daffodil, &c. 
 
 M. Ay, and the Evening Primrose has a calyx 
 resembling a spathe. 
 
 H. I have heard Mr. Wentworth say that there 
 is a plant of the Arum tribe, called Caladium segui- 
 num, in South America, which, if bit incautiously, 
 causes the tongue to swell so as to destroy the 
 speech, and produces dreadful pain; it is hence 
 named the Dumb Rush. 
 
 M. Is this common Arum at all poisonous ? 
 
 H. It is acrid like all the tribe, but the stem is 
 soaked in water in the Isle of Portland, and a pow- 
 der obtained from it, called Portland sago. There, 
 those four will be quite enough if they do but 
 grow. 
 
 M. Let us now go into the wood: I like 
 woods, there are always so many things to be seen in 
 them. 
 
 H. With all my heart; I agree in your taste, but 
 there are not so many plants to be found in woods 
 as out of them.
 
 118 A NEW PLANT. 
 
 M. Well then, we will keep on the margin, and 
 so reconcile both objects. 
 
 H. Be sure you do not gather any new plant 
 before I have seen it first. It is always best to see 
 plants growing, that you may be acquainted with 
 their characters. 
 
 M. HERE, then, is quite a new plant to me; and 
 'very handsome it is; what is it ? 
 
 H. I do not know; it is beautiful; let me look at 
 it nearer; it must belong to the Ranunculus tribe. 
 
 M. Why so ? how do you know ? Pray show 
 me. 
 
 H. Because it is Polypetalous, and the stamens 
 are inserted under the ovaria; these are numerous, 
 the leaves are divided, and altogether its looks are 
 those of one of that tribe. But I am not sure, 
 mind. 
 
 M. Will you dig it up ? 
 
 H. No, I will only gather it; you and I have 
 never seen it before, it cannot therefore be common, 
 and it is a shame to destroy rare species by digging 
 them up, merely for curiosity or wantonness. 
 
 M. I was thinking of our garden. 
 
 H. We shall have enough without it; and as we
 
 NEW PLANTS. 119 
 
 know nothing about its habits, we might not suc- 
 ceed in transplanting it. 
 
 M. But can you find out what it is without 
 having the root ? 
 
 H. I can find out its order and genus without, for 
 roots do not form generic characters, except in some 
 cases, they are so liable to variation from soil. 
 
 M. I am glad I found it. Suppose it should be 
 quite a new plant, unknown to all the great bota- 
 nists ! how fine that would be. 
 
 H. You must not expect to become famous by 
 the discovery of a new species of plant in a country 
 so well explored as England; it is not once in 
 twenty years that a new species of flowering plant 
 is found, though there may be hundreds of unknown 
 Cryptogamic. 
 
 M. Shall we find the Lamium I forget the 
 
 name, I mean the one we want, in the wood, or in 
 the fields ? 
 
 H. It grows in corn fields; we will come round 
 by the village, and so pass through some to look for 
 it. What a pretty bank this is, the wood crowning 
 it, and its side covered with plants, and so pleasingly 
 broken up in picturesque forms. You sit down for 
 a minute here, and I will climb up it; I have a fancy 
 I may find something curious in that hollow-chalk 
 place.
 
 120 VIPER. 
 
 MARY sat patiently while her brother went ex- 
 ploring ; he stayed some time in the hole, and then 
 mounting to the top of the bank, entered the wood 
 and disappeared. She amused herself by listening 
 to the various birds, and trying to distinguish one 
 from another; she hunted for insects, examined the 
 grasses and small plants around her, in doing which 
 she was startled by the appearance of a short black 
 snake, gliding among the turf and weeds at the foot 
 of the bank. She was too well instructed to be 
 frightened at any living creature, but she was pru- 
 dent enough not to meddle with it, suspecting it to 
 be, what indeed it was, a viper. She watched it 
 into a hole, and then put a large stone over it, in 
 the hope of shutting it in till her brother returned. 
 
 Henry rejoined her not long after; and when he 
 heard her account of the viper, he expressed his 
 regret at not having seen it, as it would have been 
 as new to him as to Mary. 
 
 M. They are not common, are they ? 
 
 H. Not so common, fortunately, as the harmless 
 snakes you admire so much, but they are frequently 
 met with; their bite causes great pain and swelling 
 in the part injured, but is never fatal unless the 
 person is of a bad state of health, or the wound is 
 very improperly treated.
 
 REPTILES. 121 
 
 M. Snakes are of the class Reptiles, of course ? 
 
 H. Yes; they constitute the fourth order. 
 
 M. I hardly know what are considered reptiles; 
 we commonly think of them as something creeping; 
 the word means that, does it not ? 
 
 H. It does. The first order comprises turtles and 
 tortoises; animals having a hard horny case in two 
 pieces, one covering the back, the other the breast 
 and stomach. This order is named Chelonia, from 
 the Greek word for a tortoise. The second order, 
 named Sauria, contains crocodiles, alligators, lizards, 
 and all those animals having four legs, a tail, and a 
 scaly coat. The third order, the Batrachia, em- 
 braces frogs, toads, and so on; distinguished from all 
 preceding classes by passing through an intermediate 
 state before assuming their perfect form; as you 
 well know, for you have seen tadpoles, which are 
 the Iarv83 of frogs. 
 
 M. Yes, and have seen them in all their stages, 
 
 * O 7 
 
 from the first most simple with head and tail, to 
 when they have four legs and the tail still left. 
 
 H. The last order of reptiles are your snakes. 
 But see here what I have got by my excursion; here 
 is an Orchis for you, which it is I do not know: but 
 I believe the only early Orchis is the Orchis mas- 
 cula, and so I suppose it to be that. I broke it off 
 trying to get up the root, which seemed deep in the 
 
 I
 
 122 VARIETY IN BUDS. 
 
 ground. It is a singular plant, is it not ? Look 
 what a curious spur the flowers have. I looked 
 about a long while, but could only find this 
 one. 
 
 M. It is very beautiful and curious; I hope it 
 will live for some time in water. Did you find any 
 thing else ? 
 
 H. A great many plants, which I mean to take 
 home to try to find out what they are ; but some are 
 not in blossom yet, and I have brought eight or 
 nine twigs from different trees, that we may study 
 the buds : for while in the wood I was much struck 
 with the very different character of the buds, and of 
 their manner of opening. You have heard papa 
 tell us that every order of plants has the leaves ar- 
 ranged in a similar manner in the bud, and that this 
 is a character employed by botanists] to distinguish 
 plants by. 
 
 3/. He called it the estivation, I think. 
 
 H. No; the estivation is the arrangement of the 
 petals and sepals in the flower-bud, which, though 
 the flower consists of leaves changed in texture and 
 form, differs, I believe, commonly from the arrange- 
 ment of the real leaves in the leaf-bud : this latter is 
 called the vernation. 
 
 M. I have often admired how wonderfully the 
 petals of the common Poppy are crumpled up in the
 
 PRUNING. 123 
 
 bud : and yet when the flower expands they are as 
 smooth and perfect as possible. 
 
 H. Ay, and it would be impossible for us to fold 
 them up again so as to lie so compactly. The esti- 
 vation of the Poppy is a striking example; the two 
 sepals of the calyx merely meet at their edges, while 
 the corolla is crumpled up as you remarked. I 
 suppose also you have noticed the spiral estivation 
 of the common Convolvulus. 
 
 M. I should think gardeners ought to be well 
 acquainted with buds, for they must often observe 
 them anxiously. 
 
 H. And it is important to them to be so; for in 
 pruning, grafting, budding, and all the nicer opera- 
 tions of horticulture, that acquaintance is essential. 
 
 M. I wish you would explain to me a little about 
 those operations. 
 
 H. I will tell you all I know, but that is but 
 little. 
 
 THE object of pruning, is to strengthen the plant by 
 removing straggling and long shoots, for the sap 
 which would nourish these if left on, goes, when 
 they are removed, to invigorate the rest of the shrub 
 or tree; pruning is principally practised on trees and 
 
 I 2
 
 124 PRUNING. 
 
 shrubs cultivated for their fruit; and the purpose is 
 to strengthen the productive parts, by removing the 
 branches and shoots which would not bear at all, or, 
 by sacrificing some of the produce, to improve the 
 remainder in size and quality, which the increased 
 vigour of the plant, occasioned by the removal of the 
 superfluous branches, will effect. Gardeners there - 
 fore> must be well acquainted with the mode of 
 growth of every tree or shrub they cultivate, and 
 especially with the way in which the genus bears 
 its flowers, or its inflorescence, as you know it is 
 called. 
 
 Some plants continue to produce fruit on new 
 shoots from the same branches for many years, as 
 the apple and pear; here pruning is performed only 
 to prevent the tree from being weakened by too 
 many new shoots, to keep it of a good form for 
 bearing its fruit well, and for letting light and air 
 get to it: but otherwise it is important to leave as 
 much wood, as it is called, or bearing branches, as 
 the tree is capable of furnishing with sufficient sap 
 to produce good fruit on. In the peach and apricot 
 the blossoms are only borne on the shoot of the pre- 
 ceding year. In this case, therefore, pruning is only 
 practised to train the newly forming shoots, and to 
 remove the supernumerary ones. 
 
 In all pruning the laws of vegetation must be
 
 GRAFTING, 125 
 
 first considered. If many blossom-buds are re- 
 moved, those that are left will be stronger, from the 
 increase of nourishment they get; if a leaf-bud be 
 removed, it is to prevent a shoot forming which, 
 would injure or disfigure the tree, for all leaf-buds 
 form branches in time. 
 
 You remember, in my notes on transplanting, I 
 told you that pruning, or lopping, is performed in 
 order to adjust the quantity of leaves to the quan- 
 tity of sap the root is capable of furnishing. Some- 
 times, if a plant be very sickly, it is saved by cut- 
 ting it down almost to the ground; but it is obvious 
 that if by so doing all the knots or nodi were re- 
 moved, no bud could be produced, and the tree 
 could never recover; but as buds will be formed, if 
 the roots are healthy and uninjured, as long as any 
 part of the stem is left, there is hardly any limit to 
 the degree in which a tree may be pruned. You 
 have seen large vigorous shoots, or suckers, springing 
 from the stumps of timber trees of certain species 
 that have been felled. 
 
 GRAFTING is intended to promote the increase or im- 
 provement of valuable trees, or to producing a har- 
 vest of fruit sooner than it could be obtained from a
 
 126 GRAFTING. 
 
 tree raised from seed. A time, proportionate to the 
 average duration or life of tlie plant, passes, before a 
 tree begins to bear flowers; five or six years, for 
 instance, in most fruit-trees raised from cuttings, and 
 more if raised from seed. The reason of this is, that 
 the plant must first attain that size and strength 
 which can alone enable it to bear the exhaustion 
 consequent on ripening its fruits. Now, if small 
 cuttings, with one or more buds, from fruit-trees, in 
 full bearing, could be made to grow on the stem of 
 another tree, of a sufficient age, a year or two only 
 would pass, instead of eight or ten, before the cut- 
 ting would send out branches bearing flowers and 
 fruit, for the tree would be able to furnish sufficient 
 sap to admit of this. 
 
 But, by a general natural law, no cutting of such 
 a kind would grow on a ready-formed tree, of a 
 genus differing from that to which the cutting be- 
 longed, and still less on a tree of a different order. 
 Hence the Stock, as it is called, or the ready-formed 
 tree, must be of the same genus, and would be still 
 better if of the same species. 
 
 The next essential law of grafting is, that the 
 liber, or inner bark of the Scion, as the cutting is 
 called, must be brought into close and accurate 
 junction with that of the stock; for unless this be 
 the case, the sap, which is prepared in the leaves of
 
 GRAFTING. 127 
 
 the scion, could not pass down into the stem of the 
 stock, in order to form new wood, and to keep it in 
 health and alive; and if this were not done, neither, 
 on the other hand, could the stock furnish sap to 
 the new shoots of the scion. This is the practical 
 difficulty of grafting; and I will briefly explain to 
 you the general process, as practised in England, for 
 there are many modes of performing the operation. 
 
 The top of the stock is cut off obliquely, and the 
 base of the scion is sloped off at an equal angle to fit 
 on it; this, as well as all similar operations should be 
 performed with a clean and sharp knife, in order to 
 injure the bark as little as possible : a slit or notch 
 is cut downwards, across the sloped top of the 
 stock, and a corresponding slit in the scion up- 
 wards, so that one tongue, thus formed, may be put 
 into the notch in the stock, the two barks being 
 brought to join as far and as closely as possible. It 
 is, therefore, desirable that the stock and scion 
 should be nearly of equal thickness, that the barks 
 of the two may coincide far round the circumference. 
 A bandage of bass, soaked in water to make it 
 supple, is next tied neatly round the joining, and a 
 mass of tempered clay, or of a composition of resin 
 and wax, or pitch and tallow, is plastered over the 
 bass, in order effectually to exclude air and sun. 
 This is called whip-grafting.
 
 128 
 
 BUDDING. 
 
 The top of the stock, in another mode, called 
 saddle-grafting, is cut off in two sloping faces, form- 
 ing a sharp wedge, and the scion is notched in a 
 wedge shape to fit on it; the rest of the process 
 being the same. Sometimes, if the stock be thick, 
 two, or even more, scions are put on it. 
 
 \ 
 
 c 
 
 BUDDING is an analogous operation, consisting in 
 the insertion of a single bud only under the bark of 
 a stock, instead of a scion with three or four.
 
 BUDDING. 129 
 
 Some plants succeed better when budded than when 
 grafted: another advantage is, that if a graft on a 
 stock has not taken or succeeded, a bud may be in- 
 serted on it afterwards, the same summer, as the 
 former is best done in the spring, and the latter in 
 June. But a third and chief merit in budding is, 
 that if a tree has proved very fine, every bud can be 
 made available to propagate it, instead of, compa- 
 ratively, only a few scions. 
 
 The practice, in England, called shield or T bud- 
 ding, is thus performed: Two cuts, at right angles, 
 so as to form a letter T, are made on the smoothest 
 part of the bark of the stock; a bud is then cut off 
 the plant to be propagated, with a sharp knife 
 passed deep enough into the stem to bring away a 
 piece of bark entirely surrounding the bud, and a 
 portion of the wood. This woody bit must be dex- 
 terously slipped out with the point of the knife, so 
 as not to injure the root of the bud, or the eye of the 
 gem as it is called, for otherwise the bud would be 
 rendered useless, and another must be cut. The 
 bark, on each side of the upright slit of the T, must 
 be separated from the wood of the stock, by means 
 of the ivory handle of the budding-knife, which is 
 made thin and sharp at the end for this purpose. 
 The shield of bark of the bud is then inserted under 
 that of the stock; the tip of the former being cut off
 
 130 BUDDING. 
 
 horizontally, so that the upper edge of it may be 
 brought exactly to join the upper lip of the hori- 
 zontal cut of the T; by so doing, the bark of the 
 gem will also lie close upon the alburnum of the 
 stock. These two conditions being essential to suc- 
 cess, the part is then bandaged with bass, taking 
 care to leave the bud only exposed, and to exclude 
 wet, air, and sun. 
 
 You will easily perceive, in both these operations? 
 that the flow of the sap of the stock is kept up, un- 
 interrupted, into the scion or bud, and that this sap 
 is prepared in the leaves of these last, and passes 
 down into the bark of the stock again to preserve 
 the life of the compound plant: to ensure this, the 
 two barks must fit so accurately, that they may join 
 immediately, and grow together by means of the 
 descending juices in the bark of the stock. For 
 whenever a wound is made in the bark and wood of 
 a plant, matter exudes, which granulates or hardens, 
 and, by its vital power, forms new bark to cover 
 over and repair the injury, as the flesh does in ani- 
 mals. I told you before, that when an injured part 
 of a stem is buried in the earth, roots are formed 
 from this exuding matter. 
 
 Mary. How long does it take to unite the two 
 barks of the stock and scion or bud perfectly ? 
 
 Henry. I believe, three weeks or a month; but
 
 FOSSIL SHELL. 131 
 
 in a fortnight the bud or scion will show, by its 
 healthy appearance, whether the operation has been 
 successful, and if the union is going on. 
 
 M. Do you. not think that you and I might try 
 to graft and to bud for experiment sake ? 
 
 H. I know that we will try with plants which 
 we cannot hurt, or are of no value, for we can but 
 fail, and the stock will not be injured: for ex- 
 ample 
 
 M. By the by, I was going to ask you how 
 stocks are procured, for, in grafting at least, the 
 head of the tree must be cut off, and that would be 
 waste if it were a fruit-bearing one. 
 
 O 
 
 H. I told you that it was sufficient if the scion 
 and stock were of the same species. Now the finest 
 Downton or Kibstone pippin is only a variety, pro- 
 duced by long culture, on the common wild Crab, 
 the Pyrus malus. 
 
 For fruit-trees, either suckers are transplanted 
 and cultivated into stocks, or seedlings are raised, 
 from the wild crab, or any cultivated apple, which 
 may be chosen for propagating choice varieties on. 
 Stocks for Rose-trees, are commonly shoots taken 
 from the wild Dog-rose. 
 
 Mary, Then we can do least mischief by grafting 
 and budding Wild Roses. 
 
 Henry. And that is just what we will do ; but
 
 132 FOSSIL SHELL. 
 
 you must not be very sanguine, for great dexterity, 
 which practice will alone give, is necessary for so 
 delicate an operation. Now let us get up and return 
 home, for we have been out a long while. 
 
 M. This will be a favourite bank of mine, it is so 
 pretty ; and that cavern in the chalk is curious ; by 
 the by, why did you remain so long there when 
 you first climbed up ? 
 
 H. Oh, I forgot to tell you ; I first tried to dig a 
 shell out of the chalk, and afterwards I was watch- 
 ing some wild bees ; I suppose they were making 
 a nest. 
 
 M. What shell; how did it come there ? 
 
 H. It was a fossil shell; chalk is often full of 
 them : this seemed a tolerably perfect one, and papa 
 would be glad of it for his collection. 
 
 M. Did you get it ? 
 
 H. No; I unfortunately broke my old knife in 
 trying, but I will come again with another, stronger, 
 for there it will stay safe enough; no one ever goes 
 into that cavern, as you grandly name it. 
 
 M. How do you know that ? 
 
 H. In many ways ; first, there was no mark of 
 footsteps, and no sign of the bushes being torn by 
 people scrambling up; and next, I think the bees 
 would not choose a place for their nest where they 
 were likely to be interrupted; and lastly, any one
 
 SOWING IN APRIL. 133 
 
 would have been struck with the appearance of the 
 shell, and would have tried to have got it out. 
 M. Now to go round by the fields, to look for 
 
 c9 * * 
 
 our Lamium and cockchafer, and so home. 
 H. Come, then. 
 
 IN the course of the month of April, seed of the 
 following annuals was sown; Clarkea pulchella, 
 Escholtzia Californica, white Petunia, CEnothera, 
 Rosea alba, and Lindleyana, Mignonette, Nigella, 
 Marvel of Peru, Argemone grandiflora, Adonis, 
 Zinnia, Scabious, Larkspurs, and new patches of the 
 other hardier annuals, sowed in last month, for a 
 succession of blossoms. 
 
 In their nursery-beds, as they called them, they 
 sowed, in regular drills, seed of those biennials and 
 perennials of which they could not procure roots, or 
 which they preferred raising themselves in this 
 manner for next year. Such as the Althea frutex 
 and rosea, Vernonia, Digitalis, Campanula, Echium, 
 Lychnis, Chelone, and many others, selecting the 
 warmest spots and the best soil for the more delicate. 
 They also obtained from different sources cuttings of 
 many plants, which they put, with the gardener's 
 instructions, in pots, and covered them with such 
 hand-glasses as could be spared; watching them,
 
 134 CULTIVATION 
 
 and giving plenty of air in the milder and drier 
 weather. 
 
 The month of May brought its labours along 
 with its pleasures in the garden. The young 
 gardeners continued sowing annuals, either the 
 same as already sown, in order to secure a constant 
 succession during summer, or seed of new species, 
 when they could procure it. "Weeds now sprung 
 up, and required constant care and labour to exter- 
 minate; their nursery-plants were to be hoed and 
 watched ; and their annuals required thinning out 
 as they came up, to prevent their being crowded. 
 
 They sought information, on practical gardening, 
 from the gardener, or from any one who could 
 impart it: the principles they could learn from 
 books, and did so learn ; but nothing but verbal 
 instruction, example, and experiment, can teach a 
 beginner, even how to rake a flower-border properly, 
 much less how to take and strike a slip or a cutting. 
 
 The considerate attention with which such well- 
 educated children requested instruction as a favour, 
 instead of demanding it, would alone have procured 
 them ample information : but their intelligent ques- 
 tions, their attention, their activity and quickness 
 engaged the affection and respect of all gardeners, 
 the best informed and most moral of all labouring 
 men; men, too, always pleased with sympathy
 
 OF THE GARDEN. 135 
 
 shown in their pursuits by persons of a higher rank 
 than their own. 
 
 The harvest of amusement in reward of their 
 toils was also approaching. The American creep- 
 ing shrubs were spreading luxuriantly over the 
 walls, giving promise of becoming healthy and fine 
 plants by another year : this year they were obliged 
 to be contented with the verdure ; for^ excepting 
 the Laurustinus, now nearly over, the Sweet Bay, 
 Brooms, and Lilacs, they had at present no shrubs 
 in flower. 
 
 In the back rows the Columbines, Monk's-hood, 
 Wall-flowers, and Stocks, were coming into blossom, 
 and the latter were in full bloom ; and in front they 
 had the Petunia, which was in full bud, owing to 
 the care they had taken with the tender plants, 
 anxious as they were to ensure the success of so 
 lovely a flower; while their Saxifrages, Auriculas, 
 Daisies, Virginian Stock, Pulmonaria, Thrift, and 
 several other plants, were in perfection ; the favour- 
 able situation of their garden, with respect to sun 
 and shelter, and its virgin soil, causing everything 
 to be forwarder than in more exposed situations.
 
 136 CULTIVATION 
 
 HENRY and Mary were both busy in their garden 
 one fine afternoon, when the following conversation 
 took place, after a silence of half an hour, broken by 
 the former, who repeated the lines of Logan on the 
 Cuckoo, on their hearing his cheering and delightful 
 note breaking the silence of evening : 
 
 Sweet bird ! thy bower is ever green, 
 
 Thy sky is ever clear; 
 There is no sorrow in thy song, 
 
 No winter in thy year. 
 
 M, That is beautiful ; do you know more of it ? 
 
 H. Not much ; but, Mary, do you feel as I do, a 
 sensation of pleasure, exciting on such an evening 
 feelings of gratitude and delight, which, after 
 venting themselves in inward thanksgivings to the 
 Author of all good, prompt one to recite aloud 
 pieces of poetry suggested by the scene ? 
 
 M. To be sure ; I feel as if I loved all the world, 
 all our fellow-creatures, down to the little flies and 
 gnats dancing in the air. I suppose that poets 
 write under such inspirations what we can only 
 repeat. Do not you suppose that all poets have 
 been gardeners, or fond of gardens ? 
 
 H. No, I know they have not; a real poet 
 cannot find food for his mind in the limited and 
 formal bounds of a garden, he admires the flowers,
 
 OF THE GARDEN. 137 
 
 but lie fancies them in their native places, on the 
 mountain side or in the sheltered valley, on the 
 borders of a wood, or on the edge of a cliff over- 
 hanging the ocean: but I can tell you that if great 
 poets have slighted gardens for wild and solitary 
 nature, great philosophers and divines have always 
 loved gardening. Did you never read Lord Bacon's 
 Essay on Gardening? You sit down here under 
 our trellis, and I will go and fetch it. 
 
 M. Pray do ; and bring also the passage you 
 promised to read to me about the insects in the grass. 
 
 Henry soon returned with the books, and read 
 aloud first the following passage: 
 
 " When the pleasant vales reek around me, and 
 the meridian sun rests his beams on the surface of 
 the impenetrable obscurity of my forest, a few 
 straggling rays only stealing here and there into its 
 sacred recesses, I lay myself in the rank grass, on 
 the borders of the falling brook, and thus, approached 
 nearer to the earth, I observe thousands of different 
 little grasses ; when I hear the murmuring of the 
 little worlds between the stalks, and observe the 
 numberless, inscrutable forms of worms and midges, 
 I feel them as if nearer to my heart; I feel the 
 presence of the Almighty, who created us after his 
 image ; the breath of the Universal Parent, who 
 bears and upholds us in eternal wonder and delight."
 
 138 CONVERSATION ON GARDENS. 
 
 MARY then read Lord Bacon's Essay on Gardens^ 
 Loth the children remarking on the passages that 
 particularly interested them. 
 
 M. What is Germander ? 
 
 H. It is a species of Teucrium, which is ever- 
 green, that he means. There are two or three that 
 are now cultivated. 
 
 M. What a few flowers were cultivated in those 
 days ; for Lord Bacon, in describing, what he 
 means to be, a princely garden, does not mention a 
 plant, except the Orange and Lemon, and perhaps a 
 few more, that are not to be found in every cottage - 
 garden at present ; and he was, I suppose, too well 
 acquainted with what he was writing about, to omit 
 any. that were known, through ignorance. 
 
 H. I can tell you, from Don's Hortus Cantabrigi- 
 ensis, the date of the introduction, into this country, 
 of a few of the more remarkable exotic or foreign 
 
 D 
 
 plants. 
 
 The Canna Indica, or Indian j Clary, 
 
 Shot, Two species of Speedwell, 
 
 The Phillyrea, Garden Valerian, two species, 
 
 Common Jasmin and Lilac, Several Irises, 
 
 Gratiola, Starry Scabious, 
 
 Rosemary, Cornelian Cherry, or Dog- 
 Yellow-flowered Sage, wood,
 
 EXOTIC PLANTS EARLY CULTIVATED. 
 
 139 
 
 Hypocoum, 
 
 Stock-leavedHounds' -tongue, 
 Two species of Cerinthe, or 
 
 Honeywort, 
 Androsace, 
 The Auricula, 
 Broad-leaved Bears' -ear, 
 Ivy-leaved Cyclamen, 
 Plumbago, 
 
 Convolvulus scammonia, 
 Peach-leaved Campanula, 
 Canterbury Bell, 
 White Henbane, 
 Mandrake, (Atropa mandra- 
 
 gora), 
 
 Winter Ciierry, 
 Capsicum aniumm, 
 Asclepias nigra, 
 Yellow Gentian, 
 Great Masterwort, 
 Shrubby Hares'-ear, 
 Syrian Hart wort, 
 Broad-leaved Athaiuauta, or 
 
 Spignel, 
 Laurustinus, 
 Cluster-flowered Elder, 
 Spring Snow-flake, 
 One species of Narcissus, 
 Yellow Amaryllis, 
 Common Tulip, 
 Grass-leaved Anthcricum, 
 
 Two species of Hyacinth, 
 
 Broad-leaved Yucca, 
 
 Three species of Aloe, 
 
 Yellow Day Lily, 
 
 The Indian Cress, 
 
 Fraxinella, 
 
 Rue, 
 
 Round-leaved Saxifrage, 
 
 Evergreen Orpine, 
 
 Scarlet Lychnis, 
 
 Caper Bush, 
 
 Indian Fig, 
 
 Syriuga, 
 
 Seven species of Rose, 
 
 Two species of Cistus, 
 
 Pajony, 
 
 Rocket and Stavesacre Lark- 
 spur, 
 
 Yellow Aconite and Monks'- 
 hood, 
 
 Garden Anemone and Hepa- 
 tica, 
 
 Five species of Clematis, 
 
 Winter Aconite, 
 
 Lavender, 
 
 Phlomis fruticosa, 
 
 Moldavia Dragons' -head, 
 
 One species of Alyssum, ' 
 
 Honesty, 
 
 Hollyhock, 
 
 Downy-leaved Lavatera, 
 K 2
 
 140 EXOTIC PLANTS EARLY CULTIVATED. 
 
 Bladder Ketmia, 
 An Hibiscus, 
 White Fumitory, 
 Spanish Broom, 
 Lupine, 
 Laburnum, 
 
 Bladder Senna, 
 Scorpion Senna, 
 French Honeysuckle, 
 Sunflower, 
 Centaury, 
 Marygold, 
 
 were all introduced and cultivated in Britain, 
 between the middle and end of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, during Lord Bacon's lifetime. 
 
 M. I was quite wrong then, and his lordship did 
 not mention them from other reasons, for there were 
 plenty enough of pretty flowers to stock any garden. 
 How agreeable is his description of his heath, as he 
 calls it, at the end of the garden, and what good 
 taste he generally displays in the arrangement of 
 the whole. 
 
 EARLY in the month Henry obtained some Dahlia 
 roots, to plant in the front rows of their shrubbery, 
 as they called the north and south beds; but 
 finding they had not enough to fill up some places 
 that were unprovided, Henry resolved to beg a few 
 cuttings, which he planted in pots, taking care that 
 each cutting had a piece of root. The pots he 
 placed in a hot-bed, in his father's garden, to strike, 
 intending to remove them from thence into the
 
 DAHLIAS. 141 
 
 green-house, before planting them out in their 
 destined places, in order gradually to accustom them 
 to the open air. If carefully managed, Dahlias will 
 blow the first year. 
 
 The garden wore a gay appearance, early in June; 
 the care of the young people was rewarded by 
 abundance of lovely flowers, and Mary repeatedly 
 expressed her contentment with the reward of her 
 toils. She had become as methodical as she was 
 industrious, going round her borders, cutting off the 
 dead flowers, tying up those that drooped to sticks, 
 picking off caterpillars and slugs, stirring the earth 
 with a fork round the roots of all the plants, and 
 finally gathering up dead leaves, weeding and 
 sweeping her gravel walks for her brother to roll. 
 
 Mary had also been careful to tie up the leaves of 
 the Crocuses, Daffodils, Tulips, &c., neatly, as soon 
 as the flowers were over; and when the leaves were 
 quite decayed, the children pulled them off gently, 
 taking care to leave the marking-stick in its place, 
 that they might know the exact place where the 
 bulbs were situated. As they had not as yet any 
 very delicate bulbs, there were none to take up. 
 
 Henry told his sister that bulbous plants which 
 flowered in autumn, such as the ColcKicum, Ama- 
 ryllis, and some others, are not taken up till early 
 in the following summer ; the offsets are taken off
 
 142 MANAGEMENT OF BULBS. 
 
 and planted in nursery-beds or pots. The parent 
 bulbs are re-planted again immediately. 
 
 M. What is the reason for taking up the bulbs of 
 certain species, if planted with sand at the bottom 
 to prevent their rotting from too much wet ? why 
 should they not always remain in the earth after 
 they have flowered ? 
 
 H. It is only done with those which come from 
 countries where the summers are perfectly dry, so 
 that the buds (for you must always remember that 
 they are buds) lie dormant during that season, as 
 those of our trees do during winter, and begin to 
 grow again only at the return of mild weather in 
 spring, when showers give new impulse to their 
 vitality. Now in our moist climate, if the bud 
 were left all the summer in the earth, the wet and 
 wannth would cause the flower intended for next 
 season, which is ready formed in the bud, to continue 
 growing, instead of being in a quiescent state : the 
 consequence would be, that it would be killed 
 during our winter, being too tender to bear cold 
 when so far advanced. But by taking them up, the 
 growth of the bud is stopped, as it would be in a 
 state of nature in their own country, and they are 
 thus, with proper care, enabled to brave our winter, 
 and to revive again on the return of spring. 
 
 M. It was fortunate that you told me not to cut
 
 MANAGEMKNT OF BULB*. 143 
 
 off the leaves of the bulbs in time, for as soon as 
 the flowers were off I should have done it, con- 
 sidering the leaves as blemishes in the border. 
 
 H. It should never be done, though some ignorant 
 gardeners do it: the leaves are required to con- 
 vert the sap into nutriment for the embryo leaves 
 and blossoms for next vear. 
 
 DURING the month they sowed Brompton and Giant 
 Stocks in their nursery -beds, to flower next year: 
 they also experimented on laying some Roses, 
 which had been neglected in their father's garden, 
 and some Pinks and Carnations; following with 
 care the instructions which Henry had written out 
 for this purpose. 
 
 The rock-work had succeeded as well as they 
 could expect; the common Toad-Flax was rapidly 
 spreading over the shady side ; the pretty little 
 flowers, with their comical spurs, affording diversion
 
 144 HOTJSELEEK. 
 
 and pleasure whenever examined; the common He- 
 liaiitliemum, which abounded in the neighbouring 
 county on chalk, had borne transplanting, and pro- 
 mised a golden harvest of flowers in a few weeks. 
 The common Houseleek was the only plant which 
 disappointed them; they had put several offsets 
 on different parts of the work, but they gave no 
 hope of thriving with all their care; while the roof 
 of a blacksmith's shop, in an adjoining village, was 
 covered with the plant in the highest perfection 
 without attention, and regarded as an intruder. To 
 make amends, however, Stone-Crop, Money- "Wort, 
 Nolana, and the pretty, though common, London 
 Pride, were doing well. 
 
 Mary. I am sorry about the Houseleek, the tuft 
 of flowers is so handsome. Do you think if we 
 were to sow the seed when it ripens, gathered from 
 the shop-roof, it would grow ? 
 
 Henry. Perhaps we put it in too much garden 
 mould; you know where we see it growing it never 
 has anything but mortar, or but little soil to grow 
 in. But if we do not succeed in propagating it by 
 suckers, we must give it up, for it is one of those 
 plants which do not ripen seed, the stamens bearing 
 commonly abortive seeds instead of anthers. 
 
 M. "What is its botanical name, and the natural 
 order to which it belongs ?
 
 SUCCULENT LEAVES. 145 
 
 H. It is the Sempervimim tectorum, the generic 
 name alluding to its hardy nature, admitting of its 
 growing in the most barren places, and the specific 
 name means, " of roofers," or tilers, because it com- 
 monly grows on roofs. It belongs to the order 
 Crassulacete, to which the Sedum, comprising the 
 Orpine and Stone-Crops, the Navel- Wort, and a 
 genus called Tilltea, belong, which are found in Bri- 
 tain. You have often admired the handsome pink 
 
 Crassula which Miss has. They are all fine 
 
 flowers, and abound at the Cape of Good Hope, 
 growing always in the most barren places, exposed 
 alternately to a scorching sun and cold dews at 
 night. 
 
 M. From their thick fleshy leaves, they ought to 
 belong to some general order, along with Aloes, 
 Cactus, and such plants. 
 
 H. This succulent form of leaf is a wise provision 
 of nature against the aridity of the places the plants 
 grow in, without which they could not thrive in 
 such localities ; but it is not a constant or important 
 character; observation shows that many plants, if 
 they could be habituated for a season or two to such 
 situations, w r ould assume the same form of leaf; 
 and, on the contrary, that these succulent-leaved 
 plants would lose, in some measure, this peculiarity, 
 if they were, or could, be raised for several gene-
 
 146 WATERING PLANTS. 
 
 rations in inoister soil. Now let us fork a little 
 round our border perennials and shrubs. 
 
 M. Afterwards we must give them some water; 
 the earth is quite dry. 
 
 H. Gardeners differ much about watering plants ; 
 some think it necessary to water much, others say it 
 is useless, and often worse. 
 
 M. "What do they mean? No plant can live 
 without water ! 
 
 H. Of course not ; but they mean that the earth 
 seldom gets so dry in this country as to render it 
 necessary to water plants so much as most persons 
 do ; and it is certain that when the surface of the 
 soil appears quite dry, if you hoe deep you will find 
 it moist underneath. 
 
 M. And which system, water or no water, shall 
 we follow ? 
 
 H. Neither strictly; but I believe the non-wa- 
 tcrers are more nearly right than the others. The 
 fact is, that it is less laborious to water than to 
 hoe; and the idle gardeners prefer watering, which 
 revives the drooping plant quickly and easily, when 
 it would really thrive better for a good deep hoeing 
 round it. But flowering plants must be watered 
 more than vegetables, and in our case we want 
 pretty flowers, and not hardy plants. To flower 
 finely, plants should not be too strong.
 
 WATERING PLANT?. 147 
 
 M. Can any plant flower the better for being 
 weak 1 I should have thought that as flowering and 
 ripening the seeds must weaken the plant, the 
 strongest only could endure it. 
 
 H. Such is not the fact however. The great 
 object in nature is to ensure i\~.e continuance of 
 the species; those plants which do not live long 
 flower soon, in order that the end of their existence 
 may be fulfilled, while the hardy ones, growing 
 in a favourable soil and situation, spend their vital 
 force in augmenting their bulk, producing new 
 branches and roots, and attaining the full growth 
 of their species before they begin to flower. But 
 remember, by weak plants I do not mean sickly 
 plants. The plant must be perfect, to flower at all ; 
 but if it have all its essential constitutional qua- 
 lities,"it then produces flowers early in proportion to 
 its debility. 
 
 M. Then, according to the non-waterers as you call 
 them, it must be wrong to mix up the earth into a 
 pudding with water, to put the roots of a newly 
 transplanted plant in. 
 
 H. They make allowance for the circumstances of 
 the case, for, of course, after all, no theory can stand 
 against experience. If the root has been injured, or 
 the plant be an Evergreen, or have leaves on it, 
 water may be necessary to it when transplanted,
 
 148 CULTIVATION 
 
 to compensate the great evaporation; and delicate 
 plants, which are easily scorched by the sun in dry 
 weather, must be watered or shaded to protect them. 
 But, I repeat it, a plant well cultivated,, that is, well 
 hoed and dug round frequently, will survive almost 
 any drought, while abundant watering without 
 such digging will frequently injure it. 
 
 The month of July was a busy one in the garden. 
 Henry still continued to sow annuals, to preserve a 
 show as late as possible; but their principal occupa- 
 tion was taking and striking cuttings of shrubs, and 
 dividing the roots of herbaceous perennials that had 
 done bio wing, in order to multiply their stock. When- 
 ever they planted any of the divided portions they 
 took care to cover them over with a garden pot to 
 screen the plant from the sun's rays; and they also 
 watered it well for several days till it began to 
 recover from the operation, and got strong enough 
 to send out new roots. 
 
 Mary had still to regret the vacant spaces for 
 which they had not been able to obtain plants ; 
 though, from their diligence in sowing annuals and 
 transplanting wild-flowers, the garden wore a gayer 
 and less barren appearance than even she had 
 expected. One advantage was derived from this 
 very deficiency, which was, that it induced her to
 
 OF THE GARDEN. 149 
 
 bestow great pains in hoeing, raking, and weeding, 
 in order to keep her borders as neat as possible; and 
 this frequent stirring of the earth was exceedingly 
 beneficial to every thing growing in them. The 
 consequence was, that when her brother divided the 
 roots, instead of having only one or two new offsets 
 from one root, there were generally two or three 
 of a respectable size. 
 
 Mary took care in forking, hoeing, and raking the 
 beds, not to injure the Box-edging by working too 
 close to it ; for if by any accident one Box-plant 
 dies, it makes an unsightly gap in the edging, and 
 it is difficult to remedy the evil by inserting another 
 without injuring those on each side. 
 
 They had also to watch the ripening of the seed- 
 vessels of some plants which they had suffered to 
 run to seed, for the purpose of propagating them in 
 that mode; and as soon as they judged that the 
 fruit of the plant was arrived at maturity, they 
 gathered it and put it away in brown paper-bags, 
 writing on each, the name of the plant, time of 
 gathering, &c. The bags were kept in a cold dry 
 closet, to be ready for next spring. 
 
 When it was resolved to save seed, Henry always 
 preserved the first flowers which appeared for this 
 purpose, because, as he told his sister, the first 
 flowers on a plant are generally the finest and
 
 150 CULTIVATION 
 
 strongest. It would be better if all the other 
 
 O 
 
 flowers on such plants, were cut oft' immediately 
 they opened, which would prevent the nutriment 
 being diverted from the ripening fruit, and .thus 
 cause the few flowers left for the purpose to bear 
 finer seed. 
 
 They also laid a few Pinks and Carnations (see 
 p. 63), rather for experiment than as a mode of pro- 
 pagating them, for they had no ambition to grow 
 fine flowers, in the florists' sense of the word; and 
 the easier and safer mode of propagating, when this 
 is not the object, is by cuttings, or pipings, &c. 
 
 Their nurseries, as they called the sloping bank, 
 and the western borders under the palings, were 
 especial favourites ; these presented, at all times a 
 singular and pleasing variety. Henry had taken 
 the trouble to divide them out in small compart- 
 ments; and had diversified the soil by digging in sand 
 in one, lime in another, manure in another, peat 
 and bog-earth, &c., so that they had compartments 
 ready for different plants, according to the soil, 
 shade, aspect, &c., they required, in order to thrive. 
 And as the room was limited, and they were de- 
 sirous of raising as many plants as possible them- 
 selves, to spare their money to purchase those they 
 could not otherwise procure, they husbanded their 
 space with economy, by excessive neatness and order,
 
 OF Tlin GARDEN. ]51 
 
 planting their slips, cuttings, offsets, &c., in per- 
 fectly straight lines, with great regularity, and re- 
 moving those that failed, and filling the space up 
 with others, putting the pots, filled with cuttings, 
 which would not bear the open ground, in one part 
 by themselves. 
 
 They paid great attention to covering up all 
 newly-planted slips, divided roots, &c., to protect 
 them from too rapid evaporation and cold till they 
 struck root; and, as they had not the command of 
 many hand-frames, possessing only three large-sized 
 and two small ones, they had recourse to all other 
 possible contrivances for this purpose, such as cracked 
 or broken tumblers and wine-glasses ; for very small 
 slips or pipings, clean garden-pots and baskets; and 
 over some beds in their nurseries they spread mats, 
 raised on short stakes, stuck neatly and regularly in 
 the earth for this purpose.
 
 152 DEW 
 
 Henry also made some small light wire frames, of 
 strong iron wire, these he covered over with oiled 
 paper; and by care, they answered very well for 
 the purpose; sufficient light being afforded to 
 cause the pipings, &c., to thrive, while they effec- 
 tually shaded the sun's rays. 
 
 Mary. I observe that you are always more par- 
 ticular in covering over our nursery plants on fine 
 evenings; I should have thought that they would 
 require it most on dark cloudy nights. 
 
 Henry. If you will lay a thermometer out on the 
 ground at night, and watch it, you will find that it 
 always stands lower, or indicates greater cold, when 
 the sky is clear, than when it is cloudy. For the 
 clouds are masses of water condensing from a state 
 of vapour, and, therefore, giving out a good deal of 
 heat to the earth, to compensate for that which is 
 always radiating from the surface. This is the 
 reason why there is more dew on clear than on 
 cloudy nights; for dew is deposited most on objects 
 when they are coldest, as you well know from 
 having observed the dew form on a bottle of fresh 
 spring- water, when the air is moist. 
 
 Now on clear nights, the earth and plants, have 
 given out, or radiated, a great part of the heat they 
 received during the day from the sun, without re- 
 ceiving any in return from the clouds ; the plants
 
 ON FINE EVENINGS. 153 
 
 become, therefore, colder on such nights, and require 
 artificial covering. 
 
 M. But does not the dew on the leaves of plants 
 refresh them ? I am sure grass and all plants in the 
 fields look more vigorous in the morning when the 
 dew-drops are glittering on them. 
 
 H. They look better in the morning, because 
 vegetation is vigorous during the night, after the 
 action of the sun during the day, and the green 
 parts are not withered by the too rapid evaporation 
 which the heat of the sun causes in the day-time. 
 But dew, or any moisture applied externally to 
 the leaves* of plants, does them little or no good I 
 believe. The only advantage in watering the 
 herbaceous parts of plants, is, that it removes the 
 dust which, by settling on them, clogs the pores, or 
 impedes the healthy evaporation from the leaves, 
 as dirt on our skin is injurious to our health by 
 checking perspiration. 
 
 M. Then the plant if kept free from dust would 
 thrive just as well, if all the water given it were 
 poured on the ground round the stem, so as to soak 
 down to the roots. 
 
 H. Precisely, in some respects; but I should have 
 mentioned also, that watering the whole plant is 
 also beneficial to it by destroying or driving away 
 insects.
 
 154 INSECTS. 
 
 M. That is very essential, for insects do much 
 harm to all plants. 
 
 H. There is hardly any plant which has not 
 some insect which lives on it; besides destroying 
 the leaves by feeding on them, the insects pierce the 
 bark, the buds and other parts, in order to deposit 
 their eggs, and the young larvas when hatched, feed 
 on these tender parts, and thus eventually kill the 
 whole plant. 
 
 M. HOAV do gardeners prevent this, especially in 
 large gardens? 
 
 H. It is one of the most troublesome and irksome 
 parts of their business ; there are numberless ways 
 which have been proposed for destroying the dif- 
 ferent species of insects, or for preventing their 
 attack. Some water the plants with lime-water, 
 others with tar-water, others dust dry lime over 
 them, or lay a circle of quicklime on the earth round 
 the stem. But I believe the best and surest way is, 
 to make yourself acquainted with the natural his- 
 tory of the various insects, as for example, their 
 food, time and manner of laying their eggs, the 
 form, appearance, and habits of the larvae, and so 
 on, and then to attack them at the proper seasons, 
 by searching the plants individually, and destroying 
 them when about to lay their eggs, or before they 
 are hatched.
 
 INSECTS. 1 55 
 
 M. Which are the most injurious insects, or those 
 whose depredations arc most to be feared? 
 
 H. That depends on the part of the plant which 
 is most valuable. Wasps and earwigs are de- 
 structive to the fruit; slugs and caterpillars to the 
 leaves; aphides, red-spiders} and so on, to the plant 
 generally, by depositing secretions on it which 
 hinder the healthy action of the leaves. The wire- 
 worm attacks the root, and quickly kills certain 
 species, by penetrating to, and feeding on the pith, 
 or on the medullary sheath. 
 
 M. This last must be a fatal enemy, since it can- 
 not be seen. 
 
 H. The injuries caused by it are observed, per- 
 haps, sooner than those of any other vermin; the 
 plant droops without any apparent cause, and active 
 gardeners when they notice this, take it up and 
 exterminate the enemy. I believe Lettuces when 
 transplanted are especially subject to its attacks. 
 M. I hope it will not come into our garden. 
 H. I do not think it infests flower-gardens much, 
 or else ours would be exposed to it, for the wire- 
 worm abounds in grass-lands. I have heard that a 
 good way to rid land of them is to scatter pieces of 
 raw potato about ; the wire- worm, attracted by this 
 food, comes to the surface and enters the potato, in 
 which it may be taken as in a trap. 
 
 L 2
 
 156 BALANCE OF SPECIES. 
 
 M. Are there any insects which are injurious to 
 large timber trees ? 
 
 H. Several; of late years especially, elm-trees have 
 suffered from the ravages of a small beetle called 
 Scolytus destructor, which deposits its eggs under 
 the outer bark; the larva preys on the inner bark, 
 in which it perforates curious regular passages in 
 all directions, and the tree droops, languishes, and 
 dies in time from the extensive injury done to this 
 organ. 
 
 M. When we consider the number and variety of 
 insects and animals which prey on plants, it seems 
 wonderful that there should be any vegetation at all 
 on the earth. 
 
 H. You will easily perceive by reflection, that at 
 any one period of the history of the earth, the exist- 
 ing species of organized beings must be exactly 
 balanced, that is, that none can increase in an undue 
 proportion, unless the food of that particular species 
 could be increased at the same time in a corre- 
 sponding proportion; if the number of feeders, by any 
 accidental circumstance, were temporarily increased, 
 the overplus must soon die of famine, as happens 
 with locusts in those seasons when they have multi- 
 plied so as to desolate whole regions of the earth; 
 after consuming all the plants, they die by millions 
 of hunger. Again you will see, that if any one
 
 BALANCE OF SPECIES. 157 
 
 species did increase at any time beyond its average 
 number, some other species, which feeds on the 
 former, will increase, from this abundance of its 
 food, and will therefore speedily reduce the excess of 
 the first; if on the contrary, cold and wet seasons 
 or other natural causes, produced a diminution ia 
 the average number of any species, this deficiency 
 must soon reduce by famine the numbers of the 
 particular species which preyed on the former; a 
 balance between the two being again restored; if the 
 natural causes I have just mentioned are removed,, 
 the first species in time will multiply again, and 
 will thus enable the second to increase its numbers, 
 and keep pace with it. 
 
 If the natural causes which influence the existence 
 of a species permanently change, that species must 
 in time become extinct, and, as I have shown to you, 
 the extinction of any one species must bring about 
 that of another which feeds on it, while, on the con- 
 trary, those species which were the prey of the first 
 will increase for a season. Permanent changes in 
 the temperature of different portions of the earth's 
 surface, brought about by those slow but constant 
 agencies, which are always acting on it, are per- 
 petually causing the extinction of species, and it 
 seems by the sudden appearance of new species, that
 
 158 BALANCE OF SPECIES. 
 
 new creations are made from time to time, to fill up 
 the blanks. 
 
 Man alone, from his reason, forms an apparent 
 exception to this general rule, he, for some thou- 
 sands of years has been progressively multiplying 
 over the whole earth, and has exterminated, and is 
 constantly exterminating, other species of organized 
 beings, either by consuming them for food, or de- 
 stroying such as are hurtful to him : but even man 
 must eventually obey the same general law, and 
 should he multiply beyond the capability of the 
 earth to supply him with food, further increase in 
 his numbers would be impossible. 
 
 M. Do philosophers account for the disappearance 
 from the earth, as living species, of those which are 
 found fossil, on these principles ? 
 
 H. Certainly; there are causes always iu action, 
 though the effects are too small and too distant in 
 their recurrence for us to notice, which are con- 
 stantly changing the relative temperature of different 
 portions of the earth. These changes effect cor- 
 responding alterations in the whole vegetation of 
 these portions, and animals which depend on vege- 
 tation for food, must either migrate from the coun- 
 tries in question to others where their appropriate 
 food is to be foimd, or if their habits and structure
 
 GRASS EDGINGS. 159 
 
 render such, migrations impracticable, they must 
 perish and their races become extinct. 
 
 M. Is there any known instance of a species of 
 animal having become extinct, since attention has 
 been paid to the subject of natural history. 
 
 H. Only one I believe, and that is but imperfectly 
 recorded ; I allude to the Dodo, a bird which existed 
 in the Isle of France in the seventeenth century, and 
 which is now found no more. But come, we must 
 now go to work again. 
 
 M. Our grass-edgings are getting out of order; 
 the grass is too long, and wants mowing. 
 
 H. We must get the gardener to cut them with, 
 shears, the edgings are too narrow to be mowed ; 
 but we had better first cut out the roots of all the 
 Leontodons, Daisies, and especially the Plantains, 
 which disfigure the turf, and sow fresh Dutch. 
 Clover seed in the vacancies ; by so doing, in time 
 we shall have the edgings quite uniform ; we must 
 also cut the two edges to a straight line by the 
 sharp edge of a spade, to prevent the grass from 
 extending over the border and over the gravel walk : 
 when this is done, by putting a little fresh clean 
 gravel, close up to the turf all along, the edgings 
 may be kept neat ; but the trouble, grass is con- 
 stantly giving, will make me anxious to get box 
 round the borders as soon as possible.
 
 160 EDGINGS AND 
 
 M. It will be several years, though, before we 
 can hope to do that. 
 
 H. I fear so, yet we can get one border done at a 
 time, as soon as we have sufficient box. 
 
 M. Do not the gravel walks reqxiire repairing 
 occasionally ? 
 
 H. It is better to break them up once a year, in 
 May, with a pickaxe, and then roll them smooth 
 again, doing it early in the morning, or when the 
 sun is not shining on them ; but I trust as our walks 
 were well laid at first, they will not require much 
 till next May. Indeed, till the garden is in perfect 
 order, with all shrubs and perennials put in and 
 thriving, it is useless to bestow much trouble on the 
 gravel walks in keeping them quite smooth, since 
 the heavier operations of gardening must injure them 
 a little. 
 
 M. How fortunate it was for us that papa gave 
 us this garden at the time he did, for if he had not 
 given it to us till now, for instance, we could not 
 have done much with it till the following spring, 
 could we ? 
 
 H. A garden may be laid out at any time of the 
 year, and the seeds of many biennials and perennials 
 sown, which by being covered up with glasses 
 during the winter, will be ready to be planted out 
 in the borders in the ensuing spring ; for annuals, of
 
 GRAVEL WALKS. 161 
 
 course, spring must be waited for. I believe there 
 is no month, of the year in which a great deal may 
 not be found to be done in any garden; even during 
 severe frost, if there be any plants in the ground, 
 watching them, covering them up, and giving them 
 air occasionally in the middle of the day when the 
 sun shines, will occupy a good deal of leisure time, 
 if a person be fond of his garden. And whenever 
 the weather is open, there is always digging, ma- 
 nuring, weeding, and so on, to be done. 
 
 M. I suppose our garden will not want any ma- 
 nuring for a long time, which I am glad of, for it 
 must be a nasty operation. 
 
 H. Flower "gardens do not require strong ma- 
 nure, or any which is very offensive; dry withered 
 leaves, old tanner's bark, clean sand, a little lime, 
 and dry cow-dung even, are not very formidable 
 things. 
 
 M. I wish you would explain to me a little about 
 manures, and what they do for the earth; but first 
 tell me what are the different soils fit for supporting 
 vegetation ? 
 
 H. I will tell you all I know, but it is a difficult 
 subject, and one on which comparatively but little 
 is known at all. 
 
 You know that the upper stratum of the earth, 
 in which plants grow, is a mixture of decayed
 
 162 MANURES. 
 
 vegetable and animal matter with mineral substances 
 of different, kinds. The minerals are principally the 
 three earths, as they are chemically called: Flint or 
 Silex, in the form of gravel and sand ; Lime, which 
 is always combined with an acid, forming carbonate 
 of lime; and Clay, which also is never found pure, 
 but combined with a little iron and other matter. 
 Besides these three earths, there is in all soils a 
 small proportion of different salts, but forming a 
 most important ingredient in them. The mould, to 
 which fertile soils owe their dark colour, is vegetable 
 and animal matter in different stages of decay. 
 
 Plants will grow in nearly pure flint, or carbonate 
 of lime, provided they can get air and water, but 
 clay when pure is absolutely barren; hence soils in 
 which this is the principal ingredient, are the worst 
 for vegetation. Stiff clay soils are improved by 
 mixing sand or lime with them. If the soil is too 
 light, or too sandy, a portion of clay being added, 
 remedies the defect. Lime is an essential ingredient 
 of all good soils; it is one of the most powerful and 
 valuable of manures. 
 
 Mould is found to be a compound of the four 
 simple elements of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and 
 nitrogen; the first three being the principal consti- 
 tuents of all vegetable matter, and the last abounding 
 in animal. Now you know, from what you have
 
 MANURES. 163 
 
 learnt of vegetable physiology, that oxygen and 
 carbon are indispensable to vegetation, and hence the 
 fertility of mould. 
 
 Mould is not soluble in water, it remains un- 
 changed when kept from the air for any length of 
 time, but when exposed to the atmosphere it de- 
 composes; some of the carbon unites with the 
 oxygen of the air, and forms carbonic acid gas; this 
 is eagerly absorbed by the herbaceous parts of 
 plants for food; while the hydrogen of the mould 
 possibly combines, by the agency of electricity, with 
 another portion of the oxygen of the atmosphere, 
 and forms water. This is the reason why the soil 
 is moist a little beneath the surface, even in dry 
 weather: and in hot climates, where there is little 
 rain or dew, plants derive their principal supply of 
 moisture from this process. 
 
 Does not this beautiful economy of nature deserve 
 our wonder and gratitude ? Animals and vegetables 
 die, decompose, and restore to the earth those prin- 
 ciples which are essential to the developement and 
 growth of new races of vegetables, and through 
 them of animals; a few and simple changes thus 
 going on in an eternal circle : our corrupt and 
 mortal part serving in turn to restore the fertility we 
 have exhausted, in deriving food for our support 
 during our sojourn on the earth.
 
 104 SOILS. 
 
 When the mould has thus been deprived by the 
 action of the air, of a portion of carbon and hy- 
 drogen, the remainder becomes soluble in water, and 
 is thus taken up by the vessels of plants, and fur- 
 nishes their sap with the substances necessary for 
 the formation of the proper juices, as gums, oils, &c., 
 &c. By exposure to the air for a long time the 
 mould again absorbs oxygen and hydrogen, and be- 
 comes again insoluble; hence the necessity and im- 
 portance of frequently turning up the ground, in order 
 to bring fresh portions to the surface to undergo 
 these chemical changes. This is the reason why 
 frequent hoeing and digging accelerates the growth 
 and vigour of plants. 
 
 If the soil were all mould, it would be too rich, 
 plants growing in it would be overfed, and grow 
 rank, besides, mould would become acid or sour by 
 the mixture of water if suffered to remain in it, and 
 would injure and destroy vegetation. These, and 
 probably other reasons we are ignorant of, render it 
 necessary to dilute this over-rich soil, if I may use 
 the expression, with sand, lime, and mineral matters, 
 which keep the soil light and pervious to water, 
 especially the first; and also furnish other parts of 
 the nutriment essential to vegetables. 
 
 Good loam, is a soil composed of the three earths 
 alone in different proportions, and is capable of
 
 SOILS. 165 
 
 maintaining any vegetation, if the climate be suit- 
 able for temperature and moisture. 
 
 The best soils for wheat consist of from forty to 
 seventy parts of clay, from twenty to ten parts of 
 sand, from thirty-six to ten parts of carbonate of 
 lime, and from four to ten parts of mould, in every 
 hundred. 
 
 A good garden soil should contain only fourteen 
 parts of clay, forty-five of sand, ten of carbonate of 
 lime, and thirty-one parts of mould, in the hundred. 
 
 It is usually the first operation in laying out a 
 garden, to manure, and bring the soil as nearly as 
 possible to these proportions. For this purpose it is 
 often necessary to analyze the soil chemically, to 
 ascertain the ingredients which compose it, and 
 whether there is any mineral substance in it which 
 is injurious to vegetation, as the earth magnesia is. 
 This analysis is easily and simply performed, but 
 experienced gardeners can always tell by simple 
 inspection what a soil wants to render it more fer- 
 tile, and they judge especially by what zV, or is not, 
 already growing on it.
 
 166 ACTION OP MANURE 
 
 VEGETATION in time exhausts the soil, by taking 
 away the carbon and organic matter from the mould, 
 the mineral, inert matter being, alone left ; but as 
 the various genera of plants require different sub- 
 stances in different proportions for their support, 
 after one species has exhausted the soil by absorbing 
 all the matter which it required from it, another 
 species, if planted, may still find in the ground the 
 peculiar substances necessary to its growth which 
 the former crops had rejected. And, again, as the 
 roots of different plants penetrate to different depths, 
 one species may find a fresh supply of the same sub- 
 stance at a lower depth, to which the roots of the 
 previous crop had not reached. 
 
 This principle explains the necessity and value of 
 the rotation of crops, as it is termed. Formerly the 
 soil was left to lie fallow, or entirely unoccupied, for 
 a year, in order to recruit it, but it has been found 
 that by a succession of crops, the loss occasioned by 
 letting any part lie fallow is saved, without injuring 
 the fertility. I will explain this by an example or 
 two. That rotation of crops called the Norfolk, 
 consists in, 1st, planting Turnips, which are well 
 manured; 2. a crop of Barley; 3. Clover; and lastly 
 "Wheat; the first and third crops affording food for 
 the live stock, which in return furnish manure for
 
 ON SOILS. 167 
 
 the land. Some rotations occupy six or even more 
 years before the first crop returns again ; one, for 
 instance, begins with, 1. Beans or potatoes, well 
 manured; 2. Wheat or oats; 3. Barley or oats, if 
 not sown the year previous; 4. Peas or tares, ma- 
 nured; 5. Wheat; 6. Clover or grass sown among 
 the wheat, and kept as pasture-land for two or 
 three years, when beans come again. But, of course, 
 much depends on the nature of the soil. 
 
 Now the object of manuring is to restore those 
 chemical principles to the soil which vegetation has 
 exhausted ; and as these are contained in all veore- 
 
 O 
 
 table and animal matter, when decomposing, the 
 stibstances which can serve as manures are endless. 
 
 Weeds and any growing vegetable matter ploughed 
 into the land, form one of the best manures, but this 
 is obviously too circuitous and expensive a mode of 
 proceeding. Sea-weeds are excellent, as they fur- 
 nish the soda which plants require. 
 
 Many vegetable manures, as rape and linseed 
 cakes, the refuse left after the oil has been expressed 
 from the seed, soot, &c., are often applied by beino- 
 mixed up with the seed when sown. 
 
 All refuse animal matter, as skin, bones, horn, 
 hair, woollen rags, bad fish, blubber, blood, dung, 
 and so on, are used as manures. In all manures, 
 the object is, that the substance should decompose
 
 168 ACTION OP MANURE ON SOILS. 
 
 on, or in, the earth ; therefore, it is desirable to 
 prevent a stack of manure, as a dunghill, from 
 fermenting: this is done by keeping it cool and 
 dry. 
 
 When a crop ripens its seed, it exhausts the soil 
 proportionably more than one grown for its leaves 
 and roots only; hence grain of all kinds, peas, 
 beans, and so on, require the soil to be manured 
 after them much more than grass, turnips, potatoes, 
 carrots, &c., &c. This is one reason why a flower- 
 garden does not want much manure, for the flowers 
 are usually gathered early. So that you need not 
 be apprehensive of our requiring to contaminate 
 ourselves with the " nasty" substances you ex- 
 pressed such horror of. 
 
 Mary. These Nasturtiums, Convolvuluses, and the 
 Everlasting Peas which we sowed in the centres of 
 the bed (see Plan, p. 16), will soon be too tall for 
 our stakes. 
 
 Henry. In planting the garden, I had it in view, to 
 cause the four irregular beds to unite with the centre 
 circular one, in forming an agreeable outline as seen 
 against the sky or distant trees. The plants de- 
 creasing in height gradually to the front will give
 
 WILD PLANTS. 169 
 
 the whole bed the pyramidal form which is always 
 picturesque, and the central cone will rise in the 
 middle of these four corner groups. But it will be 
 still better next year, when, instead of these climbing 
 annuals only, we shall have Hollyhocks, Superb 
 Martagons, Mulleins, Foxglove, and Viper's Bugloss ; 
 all of them splendid plants. 
 
 M. Do you remember, the beautiful plants of the 
 
 last three we saw in the edge of the wood at 
 
 last year ? I did not then know much about flowers, 
 but even I was struck with their height and rich 
 colours. 
 
 H. While we have such plants wild in our coun- 
 try we may be content, though we have no Bigno- 
 nias, Epidendra, and other splendid creepers of tro- 
 pical countries. The Viper's Bugloss, which is not 
 common on the Continent of Europe, strikes foreign 
 botanists with surprise, from its beauty : one said, 
 it was a flower fit for the gardens of the gods. 
 
 M. And the Foxglove is but little behind it, 
 both contrasting agreeably with the delicate blos- 
 soms of the Mulleins. Chalk countries for me, for 
 it is on chalk soils that these favourites grow ! 
 and you will agree with me for the sake of your 
 Orchises. 
 
 H. I do, and there is also the Helianthemum, 
 and many other pretty smaller plants which are 
 
 M
 
 1/0 NIGHTINGALE. 
 
 only found in countries where chalk or limestone is 
 the substratum. 
 
 M. Is not that a nightingale singing ? 1 
 
 thought that bird only sang in the evening. 
 
 H. By no means, they sing also all day long, like 
 other birds ; only, in consequence of the multi- 
 plicity of sounds, they are not so much attended to. 
 You know our poet says 
 
 The crow doth sing as sweetly as the lark, 
 When neither is attended ; and, I think, 
 The nightingale, if she should sing by day, 
 When every goose is cackling, would be thought 
 No better a musician than the wren. 
 
 M. Well, you see Shakspeare thought, like me, 
 tliat she sang only in the evening. 
 
 H. He only spoke as a poet, and in truth the 
 nightingale does sing principally at night ; but, as 
 you hear, she also sings by day, for that is a night- 
 ingale as I think. 
 
 M. There is no other bird's song which could be 
 mistaken for it. 
 
 H. Yes, the blackcap's song is but little inferior, 
 and as this bird arrives here about the same time as 
 the nightingale, his notes are sometimes taken for 
 those of the latter bird. 
 
 M. Is the nightingale a bird of passage ? 
 
 H. Yes, she winters, it is supposed, in Persia and
 
 BIRDS OF PASSAGE. 171 
 
 the East, returns here about the beginning of April, 
 and quits us again in August ; I can give you a list 
 of the birds of passage of Britain, arranged in the 
 order of their annual returns ; I took it from White's 
 Natural History of Selborne. Gardeners ought to 
 become acquainted with birds as well as insects. 
 
 Summer Visitors. 
 
 Wryneck Middle of March. 
 
 Small Willow Wren . . End of ditto. 
 
 Great Plover .... 
 
 Nightingale Beginning of April. 
 
 House Swallow . . . Middle of ditto. 
 
 Martin 
 
 Sand Martin .... 
 
 Blackcap 
 
 Cuckoo 
 
 Middle Willow Wren . 
 
 White-throat .... 
 
 Redstart 
 
 Swift End of April. 
 
 Lesser Reed Sparrow . 
 
 Corn Crake 
 
 Largest Willow Wren . 
 
 D 
 
 Fly Catcher Middle of May. 
 
 Fern Owl, or Goat Sucker End of ditto. 
 
 M 2
 
 172 BIRDS OF PASSAGE. 
 
 Winter Visitors. 
 
 Redwing ] Michaelmas, 
 
 Fieldfare > and depart in 
 
 Woodcock J February. 
 
 )In October, and 
 retires northward 
 in April. 
 
 M. I forgot to ask you if you made out what 
 that flower of the Ranunculus tribe was, which I 
 found when we went our excursion together? (see 
 p. 118.) 
 
 H. Yes; with a little help from mamma, I dis- 
 covered it to be the Helleborus viridis. It is rather 
 a rare plant, and papa was glad to have it to dry for 
 his collection. 
 
 M. . I wonder I never thought about it again ; but 
 I remember now, we found on our return home, my 
 aunt's present of plants waiting for us, and that put 
 it out of my head. 
 
 H. True ; and you had to find boxes for the bee- 
 tles, and flies, and bees, you collected. 
 
 M. I think I must content myself for this year 
 with botany, and leave insects till next. 
 
 H. Yes ; give the principal part of your time to 
 botany certainly, but do not neglect to observe 
 insects whenever you can ; it will prepare you for
 
 PERIAVINKLE. 173 
 
 studying them better if you should hereafter choose 
 to do so. 
 
 M. What a pretty flower this common Peri- 
 winkle is, and how singularly the anthers terminate 
 in downy caps which cover over the stigma ! 
 
 H. Yes; and what a droll little thing the stigma 
 is ! The order to which it belongs is characterised 
 by that ring at the base of the stigma. 
 
 M. But how is it that the pistil comes away with 
 the corolla ; as if it were not united to the stalk at 
 all, how can the fruit ripen if it falls off with a 
 deciduous corolla ? 
 
 H. It is only the style which drops off, there 
 is the double ovarium remaining in the calyx ; the 
 style is jointed, or articulated, with the stigma in 
 many plants. 
 
 M. How many flowers are wasted on most per- 
 sons ; they smell them, look at them slightly, or 
 only admire them for their size and colour. Yet, 
 if examined minutely as we have done this Vinca, 
 how interesting and instructive the examination, 
 even if one is not a botanist ! 
 
 H. And every time the attempt is made, the 
 power of observing and seeing is improved ; for 
 looking is one thing, and seeing is another. Now 
 you, from having noticed the detached style of that
 
 174 BEAUTY OP FLOWERS. 
 
 flower, will have a clearer idea of the pistil and its 
 divisions into ovarium and style. 
 
 M. Which are the most instructive flowers to 
 dissect, for the purpose of studying the various 
 organs ? 
 
 H, I think most is learnt from irregular flowers, 
 though all that deviate from the commonest form 
 are instructive for that purpose. There is a flower, 
 the Loasa, recently cultivated in gardens, which is 
 regular but complicated : it is polypetalous, the 
 petals in more than one verticil, and the outer row 
 are hooded, or cucullate, like the Monk's -hood, and 
 inclose the inner row of the stamens ; altogether the 
 flower is puzzling to a learner. If you meet with it 
 in a garden, take care how you touch it, for the 
 leaves are stinging like those of the nettle, and the 
 poison is much more acrid, and causes more severe 
 pain. 
 
 M. Then the common Iris is also instructive; 
 the petaloid stigma covering over the anthers, con- 
 fuses a beginner, who often takes these for petals. 
 I made a drawing of the pretty Persian Iris mamma 
 had in the spring, and I mean to draw the Es- 
 choltzia beside it, as a specimen of a dicotyledonous 
 plant. 
 
 H. Show it me when it is done.
 
 BEAUTY OF FLOWERS. 
 
 175 
 
 ISCIIOLTZIA CALIFORN'ICA. 
 
 PERSIAN IKIS. 
 
 M. Well, now mention some more curious flowers, 
 for I am going soon to a celebrated nurseryman's, 
 and I will look out for the rarer exotics that are 
 interesting. 
 
 H. Observe especially any Orchidaceee there 
 may be ; then all the plants of Apocynae and 
 Asclepiadeae, such as the Gonolobum, Apocynum, 
 Asclepias, and Stapelia; in the flowers of the last 
 order, the stamens adhere to the stigma, which is 
 much expanded, and there is no filament nor style. 
 
 M. I think I have seen the Stapclia ; is it not a
 
 170 APETALOTJS PLANTS. 
 
 speckled lurid-looking 'flower, with fringed pointed 
 petals, which smells most abominably ? 
 
 H. There are many species, all with flowers as 
 you describe, and the leaves are thick and succu- 
 lent like the stem of the Cacti. That delicate, 
 cream-coloured, waxy -looking flower, the Iloya, also 
 .belongs to the order. The important point for 
 examination, by a beginner, is whether a plant is 
 apetalous, or has a calyx only, or whether there is 
 both a calyx and corolla. You know many flowers 
 of rich colours have no corolla; the Proteas, for 
 example ; the Begonia, again, with its delicate pink 
 sepals, is apetalous : the Marvel of Peru, also, has 
 no corolla. 
 
 M. Is there any rule for distinguishing whether 
 there is a calyx and corolla in those plants which 
 have more than one verticil of floral envelopes ? 
 For, when there is only one, I know it is always 
 considered as a calyx. 
 
 H. No, there is not; it is only decided from ana- 
 logies with other orders, which have the character 
 too distinct to be doubtful. 
 
 Henry. There are four or five Geraniums indi- 
 genous in England, that are well worth having in a 
 garden, of which we may procure wild roots; and if 
 you feel disposed for a ramble this evening we will
 
 WATER LILY. 177 
 
 go and try to get two or three, which I know we 
 can find in the neighbourhood. 
 
 M. I will go gladly; and while I get ready, you 
 collect the baskets and trowel. 
 
 H. There is first, the Geranium lucidum, found 
 on walls, roofs, and rocky banks, which will grow 
 well on our rock- work; the leaves are handsome, 
 and the flower, though small, is pretty: then there 
 is the Geranium pratense, which grows in - moist 
 meadows, the flower of which is of a bright azure 
 blue, and large a beautiful plant. We shall find 
 that, I know, in the fields by the river-side. Then 
 there is the Geranium columbinum, which we can 
 find, and which I think worthy a place when we 
 have nothing better to fill it, though it is not usually 
 cultivated. The Geranium phseum is a wild plant, 
 but is rarely met with wild : that we will buy, for 
 the sake of its dark flowers. Now let us sally forth, 
 we have four good hours of day-light, and a moon 
 to light us in the evening: we may, perhaps, pick 
 up some pretty moths. 
 
 M. Remember to show me the Water- Lilies you 
 saw the other day when you went out alone. I 
 wish we had a pond in our garden, that we might 
 have some of the Lilies in it, they are so pretty. 
 
 H. Ponds are troublesome to manage; they get 
 dirty, and cause frogs and gnats and beetles to
 
 178 PONDS IN GARDENS. ' 
 
 abound in the garden ; and besides, it is no easy 
 matter to introduce the Nymphaea alba into one. 
 
 M. How is it done, when attempted ? 
 
 H. The plant grows in water, with long foot- 
 stalks to the flowers and leaves, at least three or four 
 feet deep ; to get up the roots from the mud at the 
 bottom, you must wade into the pond or river, and 
 feeling your way with your hand down the stalks to 
 the root, you must dig at random, at the risk of 
 cutting the root in two, and so losing your labour, 
 and perhaps with a chance of tumbling into a deep 
 hole in the bottom, and being soused over head and 
 ears, if not drowned. 
 
 M. Very pleasant; but suppose you succeed, and 
 get up a root or two uninjured ? 
 
 H. Why, then you had better fill an old basket 
 with mud and soil from the bottom of the same 
 pond, and, planting your roots in it, sink it in your 
 garden-pond : if the root grows, it will penetrate the 
 wicker-work and enter the soil, the basket will 
 decay in time, and the plant will be naturalized ; 
 but I tell you again the experiment does not succeed 
 once in three times. 
 
 M. I saw an artificial pond in a pleasure-ground 
 at the great nursery I went to with mamma, which 
 which was beautifully managed; it was circular, 
 about twelve or fifteen feet in diameter, with the
 
 PONDS IN GARDENS. 
 
 179 
 
 sides cut into steps, on which were placed tubs with 
 aquatic plants of different kinds ; there was a small 
 jet d'eau, or fountain, in the middle, and gold and 
 silver fish swimming about among the floating leaves 
 of the Lilies, and Sagittaria, and other flowrrs. 
 Then all round the margin there was rock-work, 
 tastefully arranged, and covered with a variety of 
 plants ; it was altogether beautiful. 
 
 H. I do not doubt it ; where there are plenty of 
 hands to keep such a pond in order, it is a pretty 
 addition to a garden; but if not so kept, and we 
 could not hope to do it, even if we had space and 
 time for it, it is more of a nuisance than an orna- 
 ment. 
 
 M. Then there were pretty rustic flower -stands, 
 made in various shapes, filled with beautiful and 
 rare plants ; and such large long hot-houses, green-
 
 180 AQUATIC WILD PLANTS. 
 
 houses, stoves, conservatories, forcing-houses, and 
 other houses with all kinds of names, all filled with 
 lovely plants ; I wish you had been with us to see 
 them and tell me their names, for mamma was too 
 much occupied with the lady who went with us to 
 allow of my troubling her. 
 
 H, "Well, Mary, you did not lose by your dis- 
 cretion, it seems, for the lady gave you, in recom- 
 pense and approbation of your conduct, those plants 
 which constitute just now the pride of our garden. 
 I wish, however, that her present had been less 
 magnificent, for I fear much we shall not succeed in 
 keeping the plants through the winter, for want of 
 a proper green-house; or if we do preserve them by 
 means of housing them in our drawing-room or 
 study, they will deteriorate for want of proper air 
 and treatment. 
 
 M. Yes; I longed to tell her that I should have 
 preferred the same, or even half the same, money 
 laid out on hardier and commoner plants, such as 
 Chrysanthemums, Dahlias, China-Asters, Campa- 
 nulas, and so on. 
 
 H. Let us be thankful for what we have, and 
 make the best of it. The Agapanthus will be beau- 
 tiful when it blows; and perhaps we can preserve 
 the bulbs of it, and of the Tigridias, and Ferrarias, 
 for next season.
 
 AQUATIC WILD PLANTS. 181 
 
 M. Oh, see, there are the Lilies, but they are 
 yellow ! how is that ? 
 
 H. That is another genus and species, called Nu- 
 phar lutea, and is but little inferior to the white 
 Nympheea ; but there are the latter beyond, at the 
 turn of the stream, so fyou may compare them to- 
 gether. This is a beautiful spot for botanists, and, 
 indeed, for all who admire flowers : here, within a 
 few hundred yards, we have both genera of Water 
 Lilies, the Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus), 
 the Sagittaria, Water Ranunculus, Water Plantain, 
 and the Polygonum amphibium, all beautiful plants. 
 It is a great temptation to try to obtain them in an 
 artificial pond, but we will resist it for the reasons I 
 have given you ; I can reach some, however, for 
 you to examine, and for papa to dry, if he likes 
 it. 
 
 M. Has he not got them already ? His collection 
 is large. 
 
 H. I know he has them all, but the specimens of 
 a herbarium require renewing; they become too 
 brittle, and break, and are often attacked by moths 
 and insects ; so that collectors never neglect to dry 
 a new specimen, if it be a fine one. 
 
 M. Water plants fade so soon, it is difficult to get 
 them home alive, the leaves especially ; and these 
 hardly ever recover in water.
 
 12 AQUATIC PLANTS, ETC. 
 
 H. It is too true, but we can dissect and examine 
 the two Lilies even if they die. 
 
 M. What a variety of curious plants, insects, and 
 shells are to be found in such a spot ! 
 
 H. Yes; I think you would be much more likely 
 to find a hundred species of either of the two former 
 classes here, than in a wood; think of the Con- 
 ferva?, and other cryptogamic plants, either floating 
 on, or growing in, the water, or on its banks ; and 
 then, as for insects, there are not only those which 
 live entirely in water, but those which, in their larva 
 or pupa state, are temporary inhabitants of that 
 element. 
 
 M. I know that the insects that swim are called 
 water-beetles ; but are they really of the same order 
 or family as beetles that fly or walk ? 
 
 H. Yes; the character of the order, I believe con- 
 sists in two wings formed for flight, covered with 
 two others hard and horny in texture. 
 
 M. But do the water beetles ever fly ? 
 
 H. Yes; in the night I believe, and even walk on 
 the dry land ; but they are seldom seen, of course, out 
 of the water. But we must be gone, or we shall be 
 too late home, and we shall come here a^ain fre- 
 
 ' O 
 
 quently : we have to get the roots of the Soap- wort 
 and other plants, which, not flowering till August, 
 we should not now be able to distinguish.
 
 GERANIUMS. 183 
 
 M. I suppose that was the reason you deferred 
 coming for the Geraniums till now. 
 
 H. Partly it was ; but the Geraniums are readily 
 known by their leaves at all times. 
 
 M. Cultivated Geraniums rank as florists' flowers, 
 and, on that account, were excluded from your list. 
 
 H. What are commonly called Geraniums, are 
 really Pelargoniums, a distinct genus of the same 
 order, differing from the real Geranium in having a 
 spur, which is, however attached to the flower-stalk, 
 then the flower is irregular, whereas that of the 
 Geranium is regular, and the former has seven sta- 
 
 C5 * 
 
 mens or more. These Pelargoniums then cannot 
 live in the open ground; and, during winter, they 
 must be put in pots, in a green-house ; but we will 
 rear some of the hardier kinds when we can get any 
 cuttings of them : and since we have done so much 
 with our garden v by our own labour, I think we 
 may indulge ourselves with buying a frame, and 
 lights to make a cold frame for preserving many 
 plants during the winter, that require at least a 
 glass covering in severe weather. 
 
 M. How do you prepare a cold frame ? 
 
 H. Simply by beating the surface of the ground 
 hard, and strewing ashes, two or three inches thick, 
 for the pots to stand on, in order to keep out the 
 worms ; then, if the earth be raised round the frame,
 
 184 EFFECTS OF LIGHT. 
 
 so as to exclude the cold, you may preserve cuttings 
 of Pelargoniums, Coronillas, Lobelias, Flaxes, Stocks, 
 Calceolarias, and many other plants, if they are 
 potted out for the purpose. 
 
 M. Our frame must be tolerably large, or we 
 shall not have room for many plants in it. 
 
 H. Some persons, when they have not sufficient 
 room in their frame, take up full-grown Pelargo- 
 niums, and, stripping off the leaves, roll the stems 
 up in matting, and place them in a dry cellar till 
 spring, when, if planted, and cut down to a few 
 shoots, they will grow again. Many, if not most, 
 shrubby plants will live, if buried entirely in the 
 earth during the winter; cuttings of Roses, Lilacs, 
 Periwinkles, and other woody shrubs, may be saved 
 this way. 
 
 M. I have often observed, in digging up a twig 
 or branch that has been buried deep in the ground, 
 that it was quite fresh, and even putting out shoots. 
 
 H. If air can but get to plants, the constant 
 warmth and moisture at some distance below the 
 surface of the earth is favourable to vegetation, and 
 the privation of light only causes the shoots to be 
 blanched and look sickly or drawn, but, as you 
 know, they recover the green hue after exposure to 
 the sun. 
 
 M. If exposure to light restores the green colour,
 
 EFFECTS OF LIGHT. 185 
 
 or causes it in vegetation, why do not the fibrous 
 roots of Hyacinths, which are blown in white 
 glasses, become green ? and yet they never do. 
 
 H. The reason is a mystery to us at present, but 
 from certain observations it appears that the green 
 colour is not the immediate effect of the action of 
 light, but, that those parts of plants which have the 
 capacity of becoming green, seek the light ; while 
 those parts, as the root, which have not that latent 
 property, avoid the sun. The green colour in the 
 herbaceous parts of plants is caused by the absence 
 of oxygen, and the superabundance of carbon, the 
 oxygen being abstracted by the influence of light : 
 hence the reason why, when oxygen accumulates in 
 consequence of privation of light, the parts become- 
 white. 
 
 M. But what is the cause of the endless variety 
 of colours in flowers, for the tissue of the petals does 
 not differ from that of the other herbaceous parts? 
 
 H. Oxygen combined in various proportions with- 
 other principles, and azote especially, is supposed to 
 be the cause ; but as yet nothing certain is known 
 on the subject, except that the colour of flowers is 
 weakened by the absence of light and air, and that 
 free exposure to them causes the colour to be richer, 
 proving that these elements stand in the relation of 
 immediate cause to the effect.
 
 186 EFFECTS OF LIGHT. 
 
 M. I have remarked of several blue flowers, but 
 especially of the Virginian Stock, that when the 
 buds first open, the colour of the petals is much 
 redder than it afterwards is, or rather that the petals 
 become more blue. 
 
 H. That is the effect of the abstraction of oxygen; 
 you have seen paper stained blue with Litmus or 
 Turnsole, become red by immersion in an acid; in 
 this case, oxygen is imparted from the acid which 
 abounds with it. Now the reverse of this action 
 causes the change from red to blue in the petals of 
 the plants in question. You know that the accu- 
 mulation of oxygen during the night, is the cause of 
 the greater degree of tartness of fruit, if gathered in 
 :the morning before the sun has long shone on it. 
 
 M. Then, in fact, the tartness of fruit is abso- 
 lutely derived from an acid. 
 
 H. Most certainly; there are many vegetable 
 acids, and the flavour of different fruits depends pro- 
 bably on this variety, and on the difference of the 
 proper juices of the plants on which they grow; 
 the siceetness of fruit, arises from sugar, and sugar is 
 a compound of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, in 
 proportions differing from those in which the same 
 three simple elements are previously combined in 
 the plant, the alteration taking place by the abstrac- 
 tion of oxygen, as I explained to you once before.
 
 WILD PLANTS. 187 
 
 But now stop, for here are some plants of the 
 Geraniums we want. While I arn getting them up, 
 you go and gather a nosegay ; by what you bring I 
 shall be able to judge whether there are any other 
 plants in the neighbourhood we want. 
 
 M. Well, I shall go down into that bog, because 
 I see a great many flowers in it. 
 
 H. So you are returned; what have you found ? 
 
 M. Many plants new to me, but I did not dare to 
 go far, the ground moved so under me. 
 
 H. Yes; I knew it was a quaking bog, but it is 
 of small extent and quite safe, or I would not have 
 let you gone. 
 
 M. It was a singular sensation, and would be 
 pleasant if I had not been frightened; when I first 
 felt the earth yielding, I foolishly stood still, but 
 finding that water was beginning to ooze through 
 the turf, I got off on hard ground in a hurry. 
 
 H. That flower is the Common Bog Bean, Meny- 
 anihes tri/oliata, you see it has three leaves ; how 
 pretty the fringed petals are, are they not ? 
 
 M. But what is this singular looking plant with 
 little round reddish leaves on long stalks, with long 
 hairs on. them ? 
 
 N2
 
 100 BATS. 
 
 H, That is the Common Sun-Dew, the Drosera 
 rotundifolia ; it affords an example of vegetable 
 irritability, the leaves closing on any small body, as 
 an insect, which touches them ; it does not flower 
 till later in the summer. 
 
 M. Why that is like what happens with the 
 Venus' fly-trap which papa showed us the drawing of! 
 
 H. It is; and there is another very different plant 
 called the Pitcher plant, from a singular expansion 
 of the leave-stalk into a pitcher-shaped vessel closed 
 by a small lid, which is considered to be the lamina 
 of the leaf; the pitcher is filled with a limpid sap 
 secreted by the plant, and when flies enter the 
 pitcher, attracted by the fluid, the lid closes on them 
 and drowns them. But what other plants did you 
 find? 
 
 M. Then here is some Ragged Robin, Enchanters* 
 Nightshade, and other plants, but it is too dark to 
 see them. 
 
 H. Well then now to return home.
 
 BATS. 189 
 
 M. Hark, what noise is that ? there ! a sharp 
 sound like a tap with a knife against glass, but very 
 faint. 
 
 H. It is a bat, see, there he flies over your 
 head. I heard that a celebrated philosopher * once 
 said, the note, or voice, of a bat was the highest or 
 sharpest sound the ear could distinguish ; and he 
 imitated it by turning a ground glass stopper sud- 
 denly in the neck of a phial. 
 
 M. How do you mean the ear can distinguish; 
 cannot the ear hear any soimd ? 
 
 H. Producing a sound implies the hearing of it ; 
 but bodies may be set vibrating, which perform the 
 vibrations so slowly or so quickly, that the mind is 
 not impressed with an idea of a sound. I believe, 
 that fewer than thirty-two or more than 8,200 
 vibrations in a second, are equally inaudible, and the 
 bat's note may be nearly as sharp, or acute, as one 
 produced by the latter number ; but I give you 
 these numbers from recollection only. 
 
 M. If a person had never seen a bat near, or did 
 not know that it was a quadruped, he might per- 
 ceive by the manner of its flight, that it was not a 
 bird. 
 
 H. Decidedly; no bird turns so sharply or makes 
 such angles in its path as the bat does. I believe 
 
 " The late Dr. Wollaston.
 
 190 
 
 BATS. 
 
 the bat can move one iciiig at a time, which birds 
 never do. The contrast between the flight of a bat 
 and that of an owl is striking, both animals prey at 
 night, but the owl sees its prey and pounces on it, 
 while the bat feels with its wings, a fine net- work of 
 appropriate nerves being spread over their surface 
 for this purpose. It is nearly dark now : 
 
 The owl is abroad, the bat and the toad, 
 
 And so is the cat-a-mountain ; 
 The ant and the mole, sit both in a hole, 
 
 And the frog peeps out of the fountain. 
 
 M. Then it is time for us to be housed. 
 
 WHEN the month of October returned, though the 
 splendour of the garden had passed away, yet to the 
 eye of a gardener it had the favourable appearance 
 of good culture, promising well for renewed and in-
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR WINTER. 191 
 
 creased beauties next year. The brother and sister 
 had been indefatigable during the summer months 
 in propagating by cuttings, slips, and layers, all 
 their best perennial plants, as they went out of 
 flower; and by repeated hoeings and diggings round 
 them, their herbaceous perennials had thriven so 
 well, that most of them bore taking up and dividing, 
 so that from this source and their nursery beds, they 
 had a stock of plants nearly sufficient to fill up their 
 borders, if not with all the variety they wished and 
 looked forward to, at least sufficient to remove the 
 reproach of having marking-sticks stand for flowers, 
 which Mary formerly deplored. 
 
 The business that gave them most pleasure this 
 month, was putting in a quantity of bulbs, sent 
 them by their aunt, as she had promised. They 
 consisted of Crocuses, Snow-Drops, Daffodils, Crown 
 Imperials, Narcissuses, Irises, Hyacinths, Lilies, 
 and Tulips of the commoner kinds, with a few of 
 the choicer species for pots or glasses. They planted 
 the former, taking care to put fresh sand at the 
 bottom of the holes for the bulbs to lie on, setting 
 them upright at regular distances, whether in clumps 
 or in lines; they then filled up the holes or drills 
 with rich earth, composed of light mould, sand, and 
 rotten leaves, with a little cow-dung, the whole 
 well mixed and made quite fine, and pressed down
 
 192 PLANTING BULBS. 
 
 on the bulbs. They then put a conspicuous 
 marking-stick to each group, to guard against their 
 being disturbed when the borders were dug up 
 rough for the winter. 
 
 The larger bulbs were put as much as four or five 
 inches below the surface; the smaller, as the Cro- 
 cuses, at about two inches. 
 
 The Paper Narcissus requires to be planted under 
 a south wall, and is better for being put as close as 
 possible to the wall, so as to be protected by it from 
 wet. 
 
 Bulbs intended to flower in pots, are best ma- 
 naged by being planted in the pot in the usual 
 mixture, and at the common depth, the pots should 
 then be buried a foot deep in the earth, either in a 
 cold frame, or under some shelter. By thus burying 
 the bulb, it forms healthy roots before the leaves 
 are put forth, and in consequence becomes stronger, 
 and blows finer. When the leaves are grown two 
 or three inches above the mould of the pot, the pots 
 may be dug up, and by being put into the window 
 of a warm room, or into a green-house, the plants 
 will flower early and vigorously. The leaves when 
 first taken out of the ground will be of a yellow 
 colour from want of light, but exposure to this will 
 soon restore them to their natural colour. Little 
 water hould be given to bulbs while thus buried,
 
 CULTURE OF BULDS. 193 
 
 but when taken up and beginning to flower, they 
 may be watered plentifully. 
 
 It must be also mentioned, that the hard skins of 
 Tulip roots should be carefully taken off, before 
 they are planted, for if this skin were left on, it 
 would crack from the effect of frost and would form 
 a loose cup in which water would lodge, and chill, 
 and rot the root. 
 
 Employment for every leisure hour was furnished 
 for the remainder of the autumn, in removing 
 annuals as they died, cutting off decayed branches 
 and twigs of shrubs, and so on; in gathering, sorting, 
 and storing seeds, taking up useless markers, and, 
 in short, preparing every thing for winter. All dead 
 leaves had been stored up in an obscure corner, to 
 rot into manure for differing into the borders in 
 
 CO O 
 
 particular spots, and Mary had contributed to increase 
 the heap by throwing on it all her dead nosegays. 
 
 When every preparation had been made, when 
 all the roots and seeds intended to stand the winter 
 had been put in, and when every precaution had 
 been taken for protecting tender shrubs and plants 
 of all kinds from severe cold; Henry and his sister 
 with their forks dug up all their borders rough 
 between all the plants and markers, digging in 
 dead leaves, and leaving the surface as broken and 
 cracked as possible, to admit the air and frost.
 
 194 CONCLUSION. 
 
 One fine afternoon in the middle of the month of 
 November, they had completed these labours, and 
 looked round with complacency on the scene. On the 
 spot where but thirteen months before nothing but 
 grass had grown, a flourishing and neat garden was 
 now to be seen, stocked with nearly a hundred 
 different species of plants in good health and care- 
 fully cultivated. The occupation had proved the 
 source of health to their bodies as well as to their 
 minds, no duty had been neglected, no extravagance 
 committed; and in recalling the events of the year, 
 they reminded one other, that in no former equal 
 period had they been so happy; in none had learnt 
 so many new ideas, in none had required less 
 amusements of other kinds. But above all, in that 
 period each had become trebly dear to the other, 
 through community of pains, hopes, and toils, each 
 had learnt and taught something to the other, and 
 both had had their kindlier feeling to their fellow- 
 creatures, and their gratitude and love to their 
 Creator, strengthened by the daily intercourse with, 
 and examination of the works of his hands.
 
 195 
 LIST OF SHRUBS AND PLANTS 
 
 FOR A PLEASURE GARDEN, 
 
 NOT REQUIRING HOT-HOUSES TO REAR OR PRESERVE THEM; 
 
 With the mode of propagating and rearing them. 
 
 * Hardy, t Half-hardy. $ Tender. |t Bulbous. A. Annual. 
 B. Biennial. P. Perennial. E. Evergreen. 
 
 Climbing Shrubs, to train against Walls, Pales, Trellis, fyc. 
 
 Colour and time 
 of blowing. 
 
 1 jScented Allspice, Calycanthus precox. Requires") 
 
 a southern wall and peat earth. From layers I Brown, 
 or cuttings : must be covered in severe wea- | January, 
 ther. Very fragrant. 
 
 2 *Kerria, Kerria japonica. From cuttings, slips,) Yellow. 
 
 or suckers. / March. 
 
 3 *Pvras japonica. Ditto. Ditto. 1 Scarlet. 
 
 J February. 
 
 4 ^Virgin's Bower, Clemdtis florida. From cuttings, \ White. 
 
 to be planted in April, j April to Sept. 
 
 5 *Fontanesia phillyreoides. From suckers or cut-) White. 
 
 tings : any soil, not too wet, will suit it. ) May. 
 
 6 fCarolina Allspice. Calycanthus fiorldut. To be"! 
 
 raised by layers, which must not be removed I Brown. 
 till the third year ; requires peat earth. Fra- j May to August, 
 grant. 
 
 *Honeysuckle, Lonicera caprifolia. From cuttings 1 Pink, 
 
 from wild plants : to be set in spring or autumn. J May to August. 
 
 7 *Hungarian Climber. Clemdtis integri folia. From! Blue. 
 
 cuttings or layers. J June to August. 
 
 8 *Boursault Rose. From suckers : grows fast and 1 
 
 flowers early. Useful for hiding walls, &c. j 
 
 9 fCatalonian Jasmin, Jasminum grandiflorum. Re- 1 White and Pink. 
 
 quires a warm, sunny situation. J June to October.
 
 196 LIST OF SHRUBS AND PLANTS 
 
 Colour and time 
 of blowing. 
 
 10 ^Magnolia grandiflora, E. Requires a sheltered"! 
 
 situation and a south aspect. May be raised I -\vhite 
 
 from layers or cuttings, but best from seed im-->j . and A ' ^j 
 ported from America; the young plants must I 
 be carefully covered up in winter. 
 
 11 ^Trumpet-flower, Bignonia radicans. From layers^ 
 
 or suckers ; the root must be covered during I Scarlet, 
 frost ; ought to be placed against a south wall J July to August, 
 and in bog earth, but it will grow in common. J 
 
 12 fPassion-flower, Passijtora ttrrulea. Strike cut-^ 
 
 tings in autumn under a glass. It thrives best ! Green & Purple, 
 in a mixture of peat and garden earth ; it must j July to October. 
 be covered over in winter or it will die down. J 
 
 13 ICobea. Cobea scamlens. Easily raised from seeds! Violet. 
 
 or cuttings. It dies down in winter, if not pro- r^ ugU:i t an( j Sept. 
 tected from frost. Requires a south wall. J 
 
 14 * Virginian Creeper, Vitit hederacea, E. From! 
 
 cuttings. It grows very rapidly, and its leaves > 
 when dying are richly coloured. 
 
 15 *Greater Periwinkle, Vinca major, P. Propagated ) Violet. 
 
 by suckers, which form quickly. Does in any ^ j.^ ^ o j u j v- 
 soil and situation, but prefers shade. 
 
 Standard Shrubs, for small Plantations, or the backs of very 
 wide Borders, Sfc. 
 
 1C *Laurustinus, Viburnum Units. 1 J t M 
 
 17 *Brooms, Spartiitm tcoparlum. Two varieties.) May 
 
 The former white, the second yellow. J 
 
 18 *Sweet Bay, Latirnt nobilis. Leaves fragrant. 
 
 White. 
 
 May. 
 
 grant. From cuttings. j June and July. 
 
 20 *Magnolia glauca. Generally raised from layers, \ 
 
 but would be much finer if raised from imported I White, 
 
 seed. Grows in any soil, ten or twelve feet j June to August, 
 high, flowers abundantly, and very fragrant. J 
 
 21 Lilac, Syringa vulgarii. Propagated by shoots, ) White or Purple. 
 
 suckers, or layers; requires rich earth. j May.
 
 FOR A PLEASURE GARDEN. 
 
 197 
 
 Colour and time 
 of blowing. 
 
 22 *Gum Cistus, Ciftut ladanifcrus. Propagated by 
 
 cuttings of ripe young wood, put under a glass. I White <fc Purple 
 Grows six or eight feet high. J June and July. 
 
 23 *Scorpion Senna, Coronilla emerut. May be raised j Yellow 
 
 from seed, suckers, or cuttings, planted in au- V April and j v 
 tumn. Papilionaceous. 
 
 24 f Alexandrian Laurel, Ruscus raeemosus. E. May"i 
 
 be raised from seed, but better by parting the I 
 roots of a stout plant in February or March ; / 
 requires shelter and sandy earth. The fruit is 
 a rich red berry. Grows about two feet high. ) 
 
 25 *Y 
 
 Yellow. 
 June and July 
 
 Yellow. 
 June. 
 
 26 f Bastard shrubby Indigo, Amorphafrulicosa. Pro-"j 
 
 pagated from seed and cuttings ; better put in a I Violet, 
 
 light gravelly soil and warm situation, andmust j June and July, 
 be sheltered in winter. Grows ten feet high. J 
 
 27 *Althea frutex, Hibiscus tyriaeut. Finest wheu^ f wo Varieties 
 
 raised from seed, which may be sown in the I Purple or Red.' 
 open ground, and in any tolerable soil. Grows j August and Sent, 
 eight or nine feet high. J 
 
 28 *St. Peter's Wort, Symphoria raccmosa. Best"j 
 
 raised from seed imported from America, but I Pink, 
 
 may be obtained from cuttings, suckers, or by j August, 
 parting the roots. The fruit is a white berry, J 
 
 29 *China Rose, Rota sinensis. May be raised from 
 
 cuttings. 
 
 30 * Damask Rose, Rosa damasena. Raised from 
 
 layers or suckers. 
 
 31 * Provence Rose, Rosa provincialis. Raised from 
 
 layers or suckers. 
 
 32 * Rose de Meaux. 
 
 Tree Roses are obtained by budding (see p. 131), 
 two or more varieties of cultivated roses on a 
 stock of the Dog Rose. 
 
 33 * Golden Currant, Ribes aim-urn. By layers or 
 
 cuttings. Dwarf shrub. 
 
 34 * Rhododendron, E. Propagated by layers or seed ; 
 
 require bog earth. There are several varieties. 
 
 Pink, or Red, or 
 
 White. 
 June to Sept. 
 
 Rich Red. 
 
 April. 
 
 Crimson. 
 June.
 
 198 LIST OF SHRUBS AND PLANTS 
 
 Colour and time 
 
 of blowing. 
 05 Buddlca, B.globosa. Strike cuttings under glass. \ 
 
 Kequires a warm sheltered situation and pro- 1 Orange, 
 tection in winter. Will grow ten or twelve J May and June, 
 feet high. J 
 
 36 fSplendid Sage, Salvia tplendens. This used to be , 
 
 considered a green-house plant, but it has be- I Scarlet, 
 
 come hardened to our climate if treated with July to Novem- 
 care, and put in a sheltered situation, and! ber. 
 
 covered during winter. J 
 
 37 Swallow Wort, AtcJepias incarnate. Divide the) Pink. 
 
 roots in autumn. Grows from three to four feet, j July and August. 
 
 38 Peonies and Dahlias may be employed to fill up the) 
 
 fronts of plantations, or the backs of borders. J 
 
 Tall Herbaceous Plants, for training up Trellis, Poles, c. 
 
 39 * Nasturtium, Troptcolum majus, A. Sow the seed^ j^^ Scarlet or 
 
 from early in March to June. Thrives in any I Orange, 
 soil. Must be tied up, and will grow six feet j ^ to g e pt_ 
 high. J 
 
 40 * Everlasting Peas, Lathyms latl/olius, P. and La-\ 
 
 thyrus grandiflorut, A. Sow in pots early, to I Pink, 
 
 transplant, or may be sown where they are to (July and August. 
 remain. The seed of the last is not common. J 
 
 41 Dolichos, D. purpureui. From cuttings placed) Lilac. 
 
 under a hand-glass, or from seed. j June and July. 
 
 42 * Convolvulus major, Convol. purpureui, A. Sow \ . 
 
 at any time in the spring months. Twines L T . **??' 
 round its support like the wild bind-weed. j Jmy M 
 
 43 tWaurandia barclaiana, P. From shoots; requires) Purple. 
 
 shelter and good soil. J June and July. 
 
 44 t Ipomoea coccinea, P. From seed, sown in pots ) Scarlet. 
 
 and planted out. /July and August. 
 
 45 jPeriploca Graeca, P. Shrubby. From slips or) 'Green. 
 
 cuttings. Grows in any soil. J July and August.
 
 FOR A PLEASURE GARDEN. 199 
 
 Tall Standard Herbaceous Plants, for the back Rows of 
 Borders, <|-e. 
 
 Colour and time 
 of blowing. 
 
 46 fSuperb Martagon Lily, Lilhim superbum, P. 4t-V 
 
 Requires bog earth. It must be taken up every I 
 
 three or four years in September, and the off- ' Bright Orange. 
 
 sets taken off and re-set in October, by which f July and August. 
 
 means it is propagated. Grows eight to ten I 
 
 feet high. J 
 
 47 *Gaura, Gaura biennis, B. Sow the seed as soon'j 
 
 as it is ripe, it will come up in the following I Pale Red. 
 spring, and blow the next year. Five or six j August to Sept. 
 feet high. 
 
 48 fLychnidea, Phlox pyramidalit, P. Requires moist) Pink. 
 
 rich soil, and some care in winter. J June to August. 
 
 49 * Hollyhock, Altlttra rosca, B. Sow seed in open ~\ 
 
 ground, and transplant the young plants when I 
 
 a month old. Requires good earth and sheltered I . . 
 
 situation. Though a biennial, it will last seve- \ " 
 
 ral years, but deteriorates. It will grow to eight 
 
 or ten feet, but must be tied to a stake to pre- 1 
 
 vent its being blown down. J 
 
 fYellow Asphodel, Atphodelut luteut, P. tf. Seed j Brfu ^ t yellow 
 must be sown on a hot-bed. Propagate by sepa- > ,, 
 
 rating the offsets. It requires a moist soil. J 
 
 51 *Verbascum, Verb.lychnitit, P. Sow the seed as > Yellow or White. 
 
 soon as ripe in a light, sandy soil. Grows natu- L June, July, and 
 rally on chalky soils. A native plant, J August. 
 
 52 * Tall Vernonia, Vern. praalta, P. Propagated by _ . 
 
 parting the roots, or by seed sown in the open > _ 
 earth in a rich loamy soil. J 
 
 53 Italian Bugloss, AncJiusa Italica, P. Divide the! Blue. 
 
 roots. Requires light soil. J June to August. 
 
 54 * Pyramidal Aconite, Aconitum pyramidale. Raisel j,. 
 
 from seeds, and part the roots. Grows five or I T . 
 
 six feet high. [July and August. 
 
 55 * Viper's Bugloss, Echium violaceum, P. Sow seedl Brilliant Blue 
 
 early in spring. Requires light soil. A beautiful / and Red mixed. 
 species. E. vulgare is a native plant. J June to August
 
 200 
 
 LIST OF SHRUBS AND PLANTS 
 
 Plants, from Two to Three Feet high, for the Third Rows of 
 Borders. 
 
 Colour and time 
 of blowing. 
 
 56 *Scarlet Martagon Lily, Lilium chalcedonicum ,~\ 
 
 P. 4t- Propagate from offsets taken soon after! 
 flowering, and re-planted directly. Good soil> 
 and situation. Must be taken up every three or I 
 four years, and re-planted. J 
 
 57 * Fox-glove, Digilalit purpitrea, B. Sow the seed j 
 
 in spring, on a hot-bed if possible, prick out the I 
 plants when they come into rough leaf ; in > 
 autumn transplant it into the borders where it I 
 is to remain. J 
 
 58 *Monarda, M. didyma, P. Propagated from suck-^ 
 
 ers, or by sowing the seed in a hot-bed in I Crimson. 
 spring, and planting out when five or six inches j June to August. 
 high. J 
 
 Scarlet. 
 June and July. 
 
 Purplish Red. 
 June to Sept. 
 
 59 | Chelone, C, bArbata, P. Raised from seed, and i 
 propagated by parting the roots in the autumn. 
 
 . R . 
 
 propagated by parting th . ,, . ,. 
 
 Require moist earth and shade. 
 
 61 * Poppy, Papavcr rhtfat, A. Sow the seed ob-] 
 
 tained from the wild plants in a light soil. 
 
 62 *Lavatcra, L. trimettris, A. Sow the seed early in] 
 
 spring. The richer the soil the better. J 
 
 63 ( Lychnidea, Phlox paniculata, P. Raise from i 
 
 seed, or divide roots. Require rich moist soil, > 
 and some care. J 
 
 64 * Leopard's Bane, Doroiiicum planlagiitcuin, P. 
 
 Raised from cuttings and suckers, planted 
 autumn. 
 
 P 'l 
 m| 
 
 Crimson. 
 June to Sept. 
 
 Pink. 
 
 July to Sept. 
 
 Pink. 
 August to Oct. 
 
 Yellow. 
 April. 
 
 05 * CEnothera grandiflora, B. Seed 
 bed. Plant in a moist soil and si 
 
 How. 
 Sept. 
 
 66 'Coreopsis, C. auriculata, P. Propagated by di- 
 viding roots. Plant in an open spot. 
 
 to be sown in a 1 Rich Yell 
 sunny situation. J July to S 
 
 {Yellow. 
 August and Sept.
 
 FOR A PLEASURE GARDEN. 201 
 
 Colour and time 
 of blowing. 
 
 67 f Marvel of PeTU,Mirabilisjalapa, A. Sow the seed ^ 
 
 in April in the open ground, and leave plenty I 
 of room. Dig and manure the earth well during I Yellow- 
 its growth ; and if the root be taken up in au- / j j . o ' 
 turan and kept in sand during winter, it may I 
 be made perennial. It will grow four feet I 
 high. 
 
 68 * Yellow Michaelmas Daisy, Alter yrandiflomt, P. ) Yellow. 
 
 Sow seed , or more easily, part the roots in spring. ) October and Nov. 
 6y * Monk's Hood, AconiUun apellu*. Sow the seed} 
 
 in spring to transplant, or part the roots in au- 1 Blue, 
 
 tumn. Requires good soil of any kind. A native J May and June, 
 plant. 
 
 70 * Columbine, Aquilegia vulgaris, P. Propagated \ B]uc 
 
 by dividing the roots in autumn. Prefers a > Mav to Julv 
 clayey soil and shade. A native plant. 
 
 71 * Fleur-de-lis, Irit sitriana, P. Should be planted j Blue 
 
 in good soil, and should be removed every three V 
 years. 
 
 72 * Lupin, Lupinus polypkyllut, P. Sow in seed bed.! jj ]ue 
 
 Plant out in autumn, to blow next summer. > Alay to June 
 Requires moist, good earth. 
 
 73 * Canterbury Bells, Campanula media, B. Sow in | jjj ue 
 
 nursery bed, and plant out late in autumn to f ji me to S> t 
 blossom the following year. 
 
 74 Larkspur, Delphinium datum, P. Sow the seeds) Blue. 
 
 in spring or autumn. ) August. 
 
 75 Purple Candy-tuft, Merit umbellata. Sow the seed \ Purple 
 
 in the beds in clumps. It will succeed in any > j unean a j u j y 
 soil. ' 
 
 76 Centaury, Centaurca moichata. Sow the seed in \ Purple. 
 
 pots, and plant out when large enough. /July and August. 
 
 77 * White Lily, Liliinn eandidum, P. 4f. Part the"| 
 
 roots in October every two or three years, and I AVhitc. 
 plant again directly. Grows in any soil andj July, 
 
 situation. J 
 
 78 * Virginian Speedwell, Veronica Yirginica. Part) White. 
 
 the roots. j June to Sept. 
 
 70 * Chrysanthemum, C. indicttm, P. Propagated by "\ AWte 
 
 cuttings in summer, or by dividing the roots in I variegated 
 
 spring. Requires good soil, and moving every j October to Dec 
 two years.
 
 202 LIST OF SHRUBS AND PLANTS 
 
 Colour and time 
 of blowing. 
 
 80 *Argemone grandiflora, A. Sow the seed in) White. 
 
 spring. /July and August. 
 
 Plants, from One to Two Feet high, for the Second Rows of 
 Borders. 
 
 81 * Double Wall-flower, Cheiranthus cheiri, B. Pro-'j Rich striped 
 
 pagated by cuttings. Planted in good soil, and I Crimson 
 sheltered. Severe frosts injure it, it should j jy pril to j une 
 therefore be covered up during such. Fragrant. J 
 
 82 *Brompton Stock, Cheiranthus coccineits, B. Sow"! s -a 1 t 
 
 in June, and plant out the young plants in au- > jr av nn jnne 
 tunin ; they must be covered in severe frosts. J 
 
 83 fBouvardia, B. triphylla, P. Strike cuttings underl 
 
 glass. Should be well protected during tha win- \ Scarlet, 
 ter, if planted in a very sheltered situation, or I June to October, 
 else taken up and potted. 
 
 84 f Lychnis coronaria. Strike cuttings in spring.! Scarlet 
 
 The roots should be taken up in autumn and > j une md J 1 
 potted, to preserve them during winter. 
 
 85 * Soap-wort, Saponaria officinalis, P. Propagated) Red or White. 
 
 by runners. Will do in any soil or situation, j July to Sept. 
 
 86 *Flos Adonis, A. anntia, A. Sow the seed inl Crimson 
 
 April. Requires great care in transplanting, to > j^ t ^ ' 
 preserve the roots uninjured. 
 
 87 *Penstemon, P. angustifolia. Divide the roots in 1 Pink. 
 
 autumn. J Sept. and Oct. 
 
 88 * Bitter Spring Vetch, Orobut vermtt, P. Thej 
 
 seeds must be sown in the open ground as soon I Pink. 
 
 as they are ripe. Plant out the young plants in [March and April. 
 
 the following spring. Any soil suits it. 
 
 89 * Barren Wort, Epimediitm alpimtm, P. Propa-l j^ C( j an( j y j, 
 
 gated by parting the roots. Requires rich earth > __, * -. r 
 and shady situation. A rare native plant. J 
 
 90 *Lobel's Catch-fly, Silene armcria, P. Easily pro- 1 p. . 
 
 pagated, by parting the roots in spring or au- S M ' 
 tumn. Should have good soil. j mv ^ : 
 
 91 *Centranthus, Centranthits ruber, P. Propagated 1 jj g( j 
 
 by parting the roots. A native plant found in > -^ , j . 
 chalk-pits. J * y '
 
 FOR A PLEASURE GARDEN. 203 
 
 Colour and time 
 of blowing. 
 
 92 *Clarkea, C. pulcMla, A. The seed should be) Pink. 
 
 sown in patches in April. ) June and July. 
 
 93 *Red Dead Nettle, Galeopsis ladanum, A. Seed) Pink. 
 
 may be sown in any soil. J July to October. 
 
 94 *Lupine, Lupinu$ variut, A. Sow the seed in) Red or Blue. 
 
 spring. J July and August. 
 
 93 * Great Daffodil, Karcissits major, P. |f. Propa-1 YeUow. 
 gated by offsets. j April. 
 
 96 * Globe-flower, Trolli us Europceus, P. Divide the) Yellow. 
 
 roots in autumn. Requires moist earth, and f Slav 
 
 rather shady place. A native plant. J 
 
 97 * Tulip, Tttlipa sylvestris, P. ^f- Part the offsets, ) Yellow. 
 
 and plant in a light soil. A native plant. J 3Iay. 
 
 98 * Onosma, 0. echioides, P. Seed to be sown in dry) Yellow. 
 
 soil. Should be covered in severe weather. J 3Iay. 
 
 99 *Starof Bethlehem, Ornithogahunpyrenaicum, P. i Yellow 
 
 Separate the offsets in autumn, and plant them I -^ an( j j }me 
 again directly. 
 
 100 *Ring-flower, Anacyclvs valentinus, A. Sow the! ' Yellow. 
 
 seed in good light soil. J June and July. 
 
 101 * Lupine, Lupinus luteut, A. (See the other! Yellow. 
 
 species. ) J June to August. 
 
 102 :t Calceolaria, P. All the species of this genus may ~j 
 
 be propagated by cuttings; and several will! Yellow 
 bear the open ground, if not put out till May, > June to o^^er. 
 but they must be re-potted, and kept in a house, I 
 or cold frame, during the winter. J 
 
 103 *CEnothcra, (E.liennit, B. Sow the seed in the') Y 11 
 
 sj>ring, in the spot where it is to blow. Requires f T i * 
 good earth. Protect during the winter. 
 
 104 * (Enothera odorata, P. Fragrant. I Yellow. 
 
 J July and August. 
 
 105 * Yellow Sweet Sultan, Centattrea suavcolens, A. 1 y ,, 
 
 Seed must be sown in a bed, and the young L , ^'' L 
 plants transplanted when old enough. J J 
 
 10G * Coreopsis, C. ddpMnifolia, P. Propagated by] 
 
 dividing the roots. Any soil will do, but not f T , * 
 
 too much shaded. J *** to Oc tober. 
 
 02
 
 204 
 
 LIST OF SHRUBS AND PLANTS 
 
 10/ * Henbane, Hyoteyamiu aureits. Plant cuttings'! 
 in pots, which must be put in the ground in / 
 summer, and must be sheltered in winter. J 
 
 108 * Italian Squill, Scilla Italica, P. 4t- Propagated) 
 
 Colour and time 
 of blowing. 
 
 Yellow. 
 July to Sept. 
 
 B]ue 
 
 from offsets. Likes sandy eartli ; better if sea- f jj arc jj an( j A 
 sand be mixed with the soil. 
 
 ICO Campanula az urea, P. From seeds, or by dividing"^ 
 the roots. I 
 
 110 * Dame's Violet, Ileiperts matronal!*, B. Propa- 
 
 gated by cuttings, set under a hand-glass, and 
 exposed to a morning sun. 
 
 111 * Siberian Iris, I. Sibirica. Thrives best in mo 
 
 soil. 
 
 112 *Devil-in-a-bush, Kigclla damascena, A. Seed to) 
 
 ist) 
 j 
 
 Blue. 
 June. 
 
 Purple, 
 y to Augi 
 
 Purple. 
 June. 
 
 Blue. 
 
 be sown in patches, in a warm situation. j June to Sept. 
 
 113 f Winter-cherry, Pliysalis alkekengi, A. Sow seed 
 in pots, and plant out the young plants whe 
 four or five inches high. 
 
 ed \ 
 en > 
 
 i,i"ht Plue 
 iy'to October. 
 
 Bine 
 
 to October 
 
 114 * Spider-wort, Tradcscaniia i-irginlana, P. Part] 
 
 the roots in March and October; leave room > j 
 enough. 
 
 115 fCommelina, C. cxleitit, P. Sow the seed in pots \ 
 
 in May ; in October take up the young tubers I 
 
 and keep them in sand during the winter ; plan t ( Blue. 
 
 them out in tufts of two or three in April. If / June to October. 
 
 the garden is not wet, and sheltered, they may 
 
 be left in the ground afterwards. 
 
 110 *Lobelia, I. went. Sow seed in a good soil, not) Blue. 
 
 too light, and water often. A rare native plant, f July and August. 
 
 117 ^Immortal Flower, Xcranthemum 
 Seed to be sown in pots, keep unde 
 do not plant out till June. 
 
 animum, A. 1 
 er glass, and > J 
 
 p ur p!e 
 Ju , an ^ Au t 
 
 110 *Lindley's CF-nothera, (E. Lindl-yana, A. Seed to) Striped Purple. 
 be sown in spring. /July and August. 
 
 1 10 * Gillia capitata, A. 
 
 J Ju 
 
 Blue - 
 ly and August. 
 
 120 * Zinnia, Z. nuiWJIora, A. Sow the seed m\ 
 April ; or in February in a hot-bed, to plant / 
 out in April. Does well in moist soils. 
 
 Brown 
 j u] ^ g^ ^
 
 FOR A PLEASURE GARDEN. 205 
 
 Colour and time 
 of blowing. 
 
 121 *Scabiosa atropurpurea, A. Sow the seed in) Brown Purple. 
 
 spring in light soil. j July. 
 
 122 Saxifrage, Haxifrag* palmate. Part roots, &c. 
 
 123 f Petunia, P. nyetayinijtora. Propagate by cuttings'! White 
 
 under a hand-glass, or sow the seeds, as for an :- ^ to October. 
 annual, in the spring. 
 
 124 *Solomon's Seal, Convallarla polygonatum. Di-1 Wlrito. 
 
 vide the roots in autumn. Prefers shade. J May and June. 
 
 125 *Ejrg-plant, Solatium mclongena, A. Sow the seed V White or Violet. 
 
 in a light rich soil. Fruit white and singular, j June and July. 
 
 120 * Soap-wort, Saponaria offielnallt, P. Propagated! White species. 
 by runners. A native plant. j July. 
 
 127 Schizanthus, S. pinnatut, A. Must be sown ini 
 
 pots, and kept under glass till the middle 
 June, when it will bear turning out. 
 
 128 *Dw.irf Larkspur, Delphinium, A. To be sewn,-. White, Pink, or 
 
 from March to June, every fortnight, where it \ Blue. 
 
 is to blow, in rows, or in clumps. J ^ June to Sept. 
 
 129 *Sweet William, DiantJnit barbatiu, B. Sow the "| 
 
 seed in a bed. Hoe and weed well during the I Various colours. 
 summer. Plant out in clumps in autumn ; the j June to August. 
 plants to be put about six inches apart. 
 
 130 *Common Pink, Dianthus horlcntit. Propagated i Various. 
 
 by layers, pipings, or seed. It will succeed in I June ^ AugU3t . 
 any soil with can*, and must not be disturbed. J 
 
 131 Sweet Pea, lathyrut odoraiut. Sow the seed in-\ 
 
 patches, any time from beginning of March to j y " 
 July. Care must be token to put sticks in time >ii ty. mmT 
 for the plants to climb up, and to tie the plants j 
 to them as they grow. 
 
 ini -^-i,^ ^ 
 of > j u j y ^ 
 J 
 
 o 3
 
 206 LIST OF SHRUBS AND PLANTS 
 
 Plants, from Two to Twelve Inches high, for the front Rows 
 of Borders. 
 
 Colour and time 
 of blowing. 
 
 132 * Anemone, A. coronaria, P. Sow the seed inx 
 
 fine earth, and lightly covered, under a glass in I 
 
 January. Water them frequently, and guard I 
 
 from frost and sun. When the young plants 
 
 die down, in March or April, take up the \ Scarlet, and all 
 
 tubers, and plant them in the borders in rows, r colours. 
 
 to blow the following spring. After the second I February to May. 
 
 year, the roots may be divided when they have 1 
 
 done blowing, in order to increase the stock. I 
 
 They require rich earth and manure to becomej 
 
 fine. 
 
 133 *Corydalis bulbosa, P. Requires light and rich \ Red. 
 
 soil. Raised from seed, or by dividing roots. / Feb. and March. 
 
 134 * Auricula, Primula auricula, P. Sow the seed 
 
 in December under glass, or in March in fine 
 earth, in boxes or pans, lightly covered ; when 
 the young plants have five or six leaves, trans- 
 
 Various hues. 
 April and May. 
 
 plant them into other pans, watering them 
 gently now and then. Plant out when they are 
 strong enough. Cut off offsets, or pull off slips 
 for multiplying in July or August. The soil 
 required is a compost of half garden mould and 
 half well-rotted cow-dung. Part the roots of tlie.J. 
 border plants every three years. 
 
 135 * Double Daisy, Bell it perennis, P. Divide the) Red and White, 
 
 roots at any time. j April to July. 
 
 * Phlox subulata and setacea, P. P. Propagate by) Red. 
 
 cuttings or dividing roots. Require rich loam, j April. 
 
 13C 'Virginian Stock, Cheiranthut maritimtu, A. 1 Pink. 
 
 Sow the seed at any time in spring. j May to July. 
 
 137 * Thrift, Statice armeria, P. Propagated by part- 1 Pink. 
 
 ing the roots every year. A native plant J May and June. 
 
 138 * Pulmonaria officinalis, P. Propagated by part- ) Pink. 
 
 ing the roots. A native plant. j May. 
 
 139 * Potentilla, P. napaUnsit, P. A trailing plant. ) Pink. 
 
 Part the roots in spring and autumn. J June to August. 
 
 140 ffEnothera rosea-alba, A. Seed to be sown in) Pink. 
 
 spring, in the open border. /June and August.
 
 FOR A PLEASURE GARDEN. 207 
 
 Colour and time 
 of blowing. 
 
 141 fScarlet Verbena, V. cJianuedri/olia, P. Easily j 
 
 propagated by cuttings or layers. The roots [Brilliant Scarlet, 
 should be covered over in winter when it dies (June to October, 
 down, and then it will spring up again. 
 
 142 * Rose Campion, Agrottemma calirosa, 1 ?. Bestj p. . 
 
 raised from seed, and the plants should be re- I j , , , ' . 
 newed every third year. 
 
 143 * Antirrhinum orontium, A. Seed to be sown in 1 Red. 
 
 spring. /July and August. 
 
 144 * Erythraa Centauria, P. Wild roots to be trans- 1 Pink. 
 
 planted. Requires a chalky soil. j July to Sept 
 
 145 'Indian Pink, Dianthtu chinentit, B. This, as it\ 
 
 blows the first year, is usually cultivated as an I _ , 
 
 annual, by sowing the seed in spring. It may > j . , 
 
 be propagated as other pinks, by dividing the I 
 roots, and by cuttings, pipings, Inc. J 
 
 146 *Crocus, C. vernus, P. |f- Plant the bulbs in small 
 
 clumps of eight to twelve bulbs, at three inches I Yellow, Blue, or 
 apart. Every three years take them up, sepa- \ Striped, 
 rate the offsets, and re-plant in new spots. The I Feb. and March, 
 soil should be light, and not wet. A native. J 
 
 147 * Winter Aconite, Eranthis Ityemalis. Best pro-"j 
 
 pagated by parting the roots in summer, from I Yellow. 
 June to October. Should be planted in clumps j Feb. to April, 
 or rows. 
 
 148 * Star of Bethlehem, Ornithogcdum luteum, P. Jf.1 ., .. 
 
 Separate the offsets hi autumn. Requires moist > 
 soil and shade. A native plant. 
 
 149 * Least Daffodil, Narcissus m inor, P. i,\. Separate) Yellow. 
 
 the offsets, and plant them in clumps. /March and April. 
 
 150 *Great Ox-eye, Adonis vernalis, P. Sowthe seed,) Yellow. 
 
 or part roots. . J April and May. 
 
 151 *Alyssum, A. saxatile, P. Set slips or cuttings) Yellow. 
 
 in autumn and winter. J April and May. 
 
 152 * Cowslip, Primula veris, P. May be raised from 
 
 seed, sown hi light earth hi shallow pots, and 
 
 covered with sandy mould. The plants should Yellow 
 
 remain a year in the pots before they are planted Amil and May 
 
 out. The wild roots taken up and set in the 
 
 borders is, however, a shorter way, though the I 
 
 flowers are not so large as the cultivated ones. J
 
 opa- \ 
 
 on a I 
 
 j 
 
 208 LIST OP SHRUBS AND PLANTS 
 
 Colour and time 
 of blowing. 
 
 153 fMimulus Luteus. Cuttings must be put under a'j 
 
 hand-glass, and planted out in moist situations. I Yellow. 
 The Musk Mimulus is a variety, and may be | June to October. 
 propagated in the same manner. 
 
 154 fEscholtzia, E. ealiforniea, P. Sow the seed ml Splendid Yellow. 
 
 spring. It sows itself when the seed is ripe. j June to August. 
 
 155 *<Enothera, (E. macrocarpa, P. A trailing plant. ) Yellow. 
 
 Propagated by parting the roots. Flower large. J July and August. 
 
 150 *Diotis Candidissima, P. A dwarf shrub. Propa- \ .. ,. 
 gated by layers and cuttings. Does best o 
 
 stony soil. 
 
 157 * Hound's Tongue, Cynoglosfum omphaloides, P.'j 
 
 Propagated by parting the roots after flowering. I Blue. 
 
 Requires moving every two years, and wants j March. 
 
 watering in dry weather. 
 
 150 *Pulmonariavirginiea, P. Propagated by parting! Blue. 
 
 the roots in autumn. J April. 
 
 159 * Violet, Viola odorala, P. Sow the seed in a^i 
 
 shady spot as soon as it is ripe, in August ; the I 
 
 plants will come up in spring, and must be I pi 
 
 transplanted into a shady bed, to remain till'.,-, . . ',, 
 
 autumn, when they may be again moved to j 
 
 where they are to remain. The roots may be I 
 
 parted every three years. 
 
 160 * Dog's-tooth Violet, Erythonium (lens-cants, ?.... . _ . 
 
 Transplant the parted roots in summer, and L Ult . ur] 
 
 plant in patches. The leaves are spotted. 
 1G1 * Hearts'-ease, Viola tricolor. The numerous va-^ 
 
 rieties are obtained by cultivation in different I . i v 11 
 
 soils, propagated by parting the roots, and new L Ulu ? an ' 1 \ ^ 
 
 species obtained from the seed. Planted in good I 
 
 soil, and in shade. 
 1C2 fSoldanella, 8- Alpina, P. Separate the roots. -i _ . 
 
 Requires heath-mould, and must be sheltered L,, '. 
 
 from hard frosts. |March and Apnl. 
 
 103 * Virginian Cowslip, Dodecatheon media. P. Pro-} 
 
 pagated by separating the roots every three or I Purple. 
 four years. Requires good earth, mixed with j April and May. 
 cow-dung. 
 
 164 f Gentianella, Genliana acaulif, P. Best raised . . 
 
 from seed. It requires a loamy soil, and open, I M. ' 
 
 exposed place.
 
 FOR A PLEASURE GARDEN. 209 
 
 Colour and tune 
 of blowing. 
 
 165 *Nolana, 2T. proftrata, A. Sow the seed in) Blue. 
 
 spring. , j July to Sept. 
 
 166 * Venus' Looking-glass, Campanula tpeculitm, A.) Purple & White. 
 
 Seed to be sown early in spring. j May to July. 
 
 167 *Ziziphora, Z. capilata. Sow the seed in spring) Purple. 
 
 or autumn. J June and July. 
 
 168 f Dragon's Head, Dracocephalum auftriacwn, P. > Blue or Red 
 
 Increased by parting the roots every three years. I j . , . ' . 
 Requires a rich earth. j 
 
 169 * Meadow Saffron, Colchicutn aittumnale, P- It-) p 1 
 
 Separate the offsets when the leaves die down, V ,, . . 1 , 
 and plant them in July. A native plant. J 
 
 170 * Christmas Rose, ttelli'borus nicer. Part the I,,,.., ,_, 
 
 \\Jutcanadreen. 
 
 roots in autumn. Requires open situation >>-,. tn -\.i i 
 moist, and not rich soil. J 
 
 171 t^now-drop, Gali'.nl!n(s ith-aHs, P. If. Set the-v 
 
 bulbs in autumn or winter, in small clusters ; I .... . 
 
 as they are small, the spot should be marked \. . . ^.' , 
 with a stick all the year, to prevent their being j 
 disturbed. A native plant, but rare. 
 
 172 Adoxa-Moscliatellina, P. Transplant the wild) Green. 
 
 roots. A native plant. j Feb. to April. 
 
 173 Asperula odorata, P. Requires shade and loamy) White. 
 
 soil. Very fragrant. Transplant wild plants, j May and June. 
 
 174 t Sand-wort, Arfnaria balfarica. Sow the seed, \ 'White 
 afterwards part the root" Ti ~ 
 soil and southern aspect. 
 
 afterwards part the roots. It requires a warm I jj an(1 j une 
 
 175 *LeiogjTie granulata, P. Wild roots to be care--j White 
 
 fully taken up. It is found on the banks of I ^ and jyjjp 
 rivers. j 
 
 176 *Star of Bethlehem, Omithogalumumbettatum,\ \\~h't 
 
 P. 4.f. Separate the offsets in autumn, and plant > , , 
 ,,,... f Mav and June, 
 
 them directly. A native plant. J 
 
 177 Convolvulus minor, A. Sow the seed in spring. 1 BI " C an f I V ' 1 " to- 
 
 J June to Sept. 
 
 178 *Hepatica, Anemone hfpatica. Sow seed, ordi-j . . 
 
 .f v anous colours, 
 
 vide the roots. Requires rich dry earth ; ought \ ^ . ^ March 
 not to be disturbed. J
 
 210 LIST OP SHRUBS AND PLANTS. 
 
 Colour and time 
 of blowing. 
 
 179 * Venus' Navel-wort, Omphalodcs lini/ulia, A.) White. 
 
 Sow seed in March. J July to Sept. 
 
 180 * Mignonette, Reseda odorata, A. Sow the seed in } Green. 
 
 clumps, but not too thickly, and in dry sandy > All the summer, 
 earth. In favourable situations it will sow itself. ) and autumn. 
 
 Plants for Rock Work. 
 
 Yellow Alyssum, Cistus, Houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum) / 
 propagated by suckers. Lychnidea (Phlox divaricata); propagated 
 by cuttings or layers. London-pride (Saxifraga umbrosa) ; part 
 the roots in spring or autumn. Snap-dragon (Antirrhinum ina- 
 jus) , propagated by seed. Soap-wort (Saponaria ochymoides) ; 
 propagated by slips or cuttings. Toad-flax (Linaria cymbatariii) ; 
 creeping plant ; propagated by parting the roots ; it spreads fast. 
 Zinnia multiflora, A. ; sow the seeds in April. Periwinkle ( Vinca 
 minor). Stone-crop (Sedum acre); from cottage roofs and walls. 
 Saxifrages. Kolana prostrata. Money-wort (Lysimachia num- 
 mularia) ; a native plant found in moist meadows. Erinus 
 alpinus. Onosma cchioide*. 
 
 All these plants are best planted among the stones, by slips, or 
 cuttings, or roots; care must be taken that there is plenty of 
 earth filled into the crevices, and that this is not washed away 
 from the roots by watering or rain before the plants have struck. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 LONDON: JOHN W. PARKER, ST. MARTIN'S LANE.
 
 WORKS ON NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 A FAMILIAR HISTORY of BIRDS ; their Na- 
 ture, Habits, and Instincts. By EDWARD STANLEY, 
 D.D., F.L.S., Lord Bishop of Norwich. Two Volumes, 
 with Engravings. A new Edition. 7s. 
 
 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS considered with 
 reference to Civilization and the Arts. With Engravings. 
 By MARY ROBERTS. 3s. 6d. 
 
 WILD ANIMALS ; their Nature, Habits, and In- 
 stincts ; and the Regions they inhabit. With Engravings. 
 By the same. 3s. 6d. 
 
 SISTER MARY'S TALES in NATURAL HIS- 
 TORY. With Cuts. 2s. 6d. 
 
 THE HOUSE I LIVE IN; or Popular Illustrations 
 of the Structure and Functions of the Human Body. Edited 
 by T. C. GIRTIN. 2s. 6d. 
 
 " I am fearfully and wonderfully made !" 
 
 The House I Live in, is a curious building, one of the most curious in 
 the world. * * * * You cannot closely behold it without being struck 
 with the wisdom displayed in its design, nor without feeling the mind 
 elevated and improved by a contemplation of that goodness which has 
 provided every thing so admirably adapted to the 'purposes ^intended to 
 be fulfilled. 
 
 MINERALS AND METALS ; their Natural His- 
 tory and Uses in the Arts: with Accounts of Mines and 
 Mining. With Engravings, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Familiar as \ve are, from our earliest years, with the various articles 
 manufactured from the Metals, for the purposes of use and comfort, the 
 nature and properties of the Metals themselves, and the means by which 
 they are obtained, are comparatively little known. With a view of sup- 
 plying that knowledge, in a popular and attractive form, this little volume 
 has been prepxred ; and as the object has been to make it entertaining as 
 well as instructive, it is neither of a chemical, mineralogical, commercial, 
 nor historical character, but comprises something of each of these fea- 
 tures, in addition to being descriptive.
 
 WORKS ON NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The ELEMENTS of BOTANY. With many En- 
 gravings. NEW EDITION, Enlarged and Improved. 2s. 
 
 The principles of this beautiful and important science are explained in 
 a clear and simple manner, so as to render the acquisition of them com- 
 paratively easy. The hook is illustrated by numerous cuts of the different 
 parts of plants, &c., and the examples, when possible, are selected from 
 our own wild flowers, or from those cultivated in all gardens or fields, and 
 they are cited by their familiar names. A Glossary of terms usually em- 
 ployed is- subjoined, and an Alphabetical List of the most useful plants, 
 itli their botanical names , &c. 
 
 The BOOK of TREES; describing the principal 
 Timber Trees, and the larger species of Palms. With 
 numerous Engravings. 2s. 
 
 BOOK of ANIMALS. BOOK of BIRDS. BOOK 
 of FISHES. BOOK of REPTILES. BOOK of 
 SHELLS. Is. 6d. each. 
 
 In this series of popular books the nature, habits, and uses of the 
 various objects described, are presented in a correct, though simple and 
 attractive, form, but no recourse is had to the marvellous. Upon the 
 whole, it is trusted, that these little volumes will be found a useful addi- 
 tion to the stock of books for young persons, and acceptable iutroductions 
 to works of a higher class. The whole are profusely illustrated with En- 
 gravings. 
 
 BRITISH SONG BIRDS; Popular Descriptions and 
 Anecdotes of the British Choristers of the Groves. By 
 NEVILLE WOOD, ESQ. 7s. 
 
 THE ORNITHOLOGIST'S TEXT BOOK; being 
 .Reviews of Ornithological Works, published from A.D. 1678 ; 
 with other Topics of Interest connected with Ornithology. 
 By the Author of the above. 4s. 6d. 
 
 LONDON: JOHN W. PARKER, PUBLISHER, WEST STRAND.
 
 A 000048015 2