Thus, if a branch of a tree with a side branch to it will lie flat on the ground, it can be cut through and make two, thus:

YY

These, placed opposite each other one way, would form an arched opening, or entrance, to a summer-house; but they might be placed in any position opposite to each other and be uniform. We have instanced this very simple branch, because hundreds may be found. of as many different forms, that by merely sawing through the middle would form duplicates.

Here the duplicates of very simple pieces of wood are appropriated to garden chairs; the backs of course. exhibit the flat or cut portion, and have to be painted, for the double purpose of preserving the wood from the weather and improving the appearance. In the next sketches there is a little more work, but the same principle has been adopted in the construction. The pattern is perfectly uniform,, and this may be carried to any extent, because sawing the wood of any form that will lay flat makes two uniform pieces.

The tops of these are mere slabs cut out of a tree, with very rude supports, and the table must speak for itself Nobody can defend the use of such seats in front of the mansion, nor in the neighbourhood of a conservatory; it would be very bad taste to introduce them in any geometrically disposed garden, and, though it is too prevalent, the introduction of rustic baskets, vases, and other such receptacles for flowers on the smooth lawn in front of a mansion, is very bad taste. It is inconsistent with artificial and artistic gardening.

SCRIBBLING GARDENERS.

THE class of writers, as they call themselves, who almost insist upon the necessity of studying the physiology of plants, before a man may indulge in a few flowers; and would cram that into an apprentice before he may learn anything else, are looked upon in much the same light as an architect who would propose to build a house, beginning at the chimneys, and work downwards. It may be somewhat uncomplimentary to pretended physiologists, to tell them that desirable as it may be to add this to the accomplishments of a good gardener, there is not a class of so little real value in a garden as the generality of scribblers on that subject. We know some great exceptions as to the possession of this knowledge, that is to say, we know excellent gardeners who have studied the physiology of plants, but they were gardeners, and good ones, before they began that study, and we do not believe that they improved one jot in their practice. Some may fancy that the study should be the foundation. Those who have been all their lives among practical men know better. We have had in our own employ youths who could beat half the physiologists in their knowledge of plants and their proper treatment; who knew why they did everything, and were every way acquainted with cause and effect; but who were ignorant of even the classes and orders, and they have grown up to be first-rate managers of every department, and could beat their masters in any point of practice. This is the class of men who keep many head gardeners in their places; for it cannot be denied that men have been turned out of the Chiswick examinations, and with double certificates of merit, based upon their ready answers upon subjects of small use to any but landscape gardeners, when, had they been asked if they could trench an uneven piece of ground to a level, or put in a box edging properly, they could not have answered in the affirmative. These men have had sense enough to employ foremen of departments who could, and thereby these looking-on gentlemen had the credit of doing things well, when they did nothing but give orders, and would have been lost even at that,

These were

unless the men had known their business. once called gentlemen of the kid-glove school, and their first care was to exclude the GARDENERS' GAZETTE from the premises, and forbid the men taking or reading it, a proper retaliation, perhaps; for whatever lowered them in the estimation of their dependents was very likely to reach the employers, who might themselves have originated a much more searching examination than those at Chiswick. It was a very natural revenge, but this was not enough; the gentlemen of the kidglove school set up a paper of their own, upon a scheme that took in all the readers with false promises of future benefits; induced many who had money to support the fraudulent undertaking; and when they could drag no more out of their silly dupes, and had got £2,000 in debt, ended their wicked scheme in bankruptcy and disgrace. Many a man's hard savings were sacrificed to this wild project, and although they swamped the GAZETTE for a time, the gardener and practical florist was a match for them, and they sold the skeleton of their paper for a twentieth part of the sum it had cost them. The gentleman who bought it continued it under the management of the people who could not conduct it decently for themselves, and were not very likely to do better for him.

It sank "deeper and deeper still," until it was despised by everybody who could read, and at length disappeared altogether. Thus did the Journal of the kid-glove school, the scribbling men who had been pitchforked into good places, meet the fate which its promoters ought to have met; for a more deliberate, vindictive, and reckless project never was conceived; and if they really fancied themselves capable of conducting a paper, their vanity was equal to that of the frog which tried to make itself as big as an ox. Let us be perfectly understood in this matter, for our censure does not touch nor apply to the great body of gardeners; many a good and prudent man had faith in the promises of the managers of that wretched scheme, and with the view of benefitting their fellow gardeners, invested their money in it, and were victimised. We only blame the leaders, who were, for the most part, the lazy fellows who filled up their time with scribbling and reading, while their men did the work. Nor were they much sufferers; they took care of themselves. The class that read the paper furnished themselves with a worthless print, for the sake of securing, as they thought, annuities in old age, relief in sickness, and provision for their families at their death, little thinking that the whole thing was a deception. It must be obvious, therefore, that our remarks only apply to the wilful concocters of the sham, not to the persons who were dragged into the mess, for mess it was, by false pre

tences.

There are still some of the white kid-glove school in good places, kept there by the valuable, though in many cases ill-paid, men under them; but some have been found worthless, and started, and finding nobody would have them, set up for themselves, or have gone abroad, to seek their fortune amongst those who are ignorant of gardening.

GARDENERS AND GARDEN WORKS, From GLENNY'S GARDEN ALMANAC for 1862. THERE is no class of men in the United Kingdom whose and influence would be greater than that of the hortipower culturist's, if they made the best use of it. Practical gardeners, down to the most humble, are reflecting men; their business requires forethought and caution. They acquire the habit of thinking. They have leisure, as the winter evenings advance, to put their thoughts together, and they have, in this Journal, the means of communicating one with the other. From the lowest to the highest there is a succession of links prince who delights in his garden to the peasant who labours which form a chain of no ordinary strength. From the in his, there is a general good feeling, which might, with the greatest ease, be all brought to bear towards any one subject, and there requires but the esprit du corps to make the whole form one compact body. We have done our part towards creating this. It is by adopting one organ of communication that more is to be done than by any other means that could be devised.

It has been our aim to fit this to the very highest class of readers, as well as to practical men; and we would have every man who had aught to communicate to those interested in horticulture, to adopt it as his medium. The value of any organ consists in its completeness. If a man can take up a work which contains everything of importance connected than the most distinguished literary work which contains but with the science he pursues, it is infinitely more valuable a part, though it may have all that can charm the scholar and the gentleman; and hence it is that the GARDEN ALMANAC is far before the most expensive work on botany, because,

while the botanical work conveys the intelligence to its five hundred readers, we convey it to those same five hundred and to some sixty thousands who look nowhere else for such information. However, whether we have the happiness to be the universal organ or not, we recommend union of sentiment -union of principle-union of purpose; whatever tends to advance horticulture, enhances the value of every man's garden, and of all its produce. The employer thus obtains a return for his expenses, the gardener obtains credit for his exertions, and the science prospers in proportion to the satisfaction of the employer and the employed. Let each individual, then, who can render a service to his fellow-men, by telling what he knows, teli it where it must reach the greatest number.

All this is very plain and very good advice, for we believe the ALMANAC reaches everybody of the slightest horticultural pretentions; but there are monthly works, of which we may claim this to be the leader; and, while the ALMANAC is waiting another year before it can make its appearance, this work comes out fresh every month with matter equally important at the time. Strange as it may appear, there are gardeners whose interests are advocated with more than common earnestness, and who ought to feel a moral obligation to read every word that is written on their behalf, and contribute their mite towards upholding whatever supports them, but who are content to hear that it is so without being moved to subscribe while they can borrow a copy to read. This is losing sight of that great and glorious lesson-"Do unto all men as you would have them do unto you."

"A VISIT TO THE ROBBER'S DEN, AND ITS
CRYPTOGAMIC RICHES.' ""

"I had frequently, during the last two years, heard of the Robber's Den, and the number of ferns found growing in it. Spending a few days last September at the Ardrishaig Hotel, on the banks of Lochfine, I, accompanied by Mr. Brown, the gardener at Kilmorey Castle, who kindly offered to be my guide, started one afternoon with the view of exploring it. For the guidance of those who may wish to visit it, I may state that it is situated about half-way between Ardrishaig and Lochgilphead, on the western bank of the Crinian Canal. may here remark that every glen, den, or corry in the Highlands, possessing more than an ordinary character for gloom, wildness, or danger, has some legend attached to it. In the present case, about half-a-mile from the entrance of

I

the on the left hand side, are the ruinous foundations gorge, of what appears to have been a building of considerable size. Of its date, use, or time of dismantling, little appears to be known. The popular opinion (and it is dangerous to question that in the Highlands) is, that it was built and inhabited by a robber, whose name and deeds are also unknown, further than that he was a sort of Rob Roy, and, to the full, adopted that worthy's maxim of

'Let them keep who have the power, And let them take who can.'

His only companion appears to have been his sister or daughter, I forget which, who, to complete the romance, betrayed his hiding-place, which was an excavation formed under the floor, to her lover, who perfidiously wooed the simple maid to afford him an opportunity of capturing her relation.

"About two hundred yards from the entrance of the glen, which is exceedingly narrow, though deep, and scarcely a mile in length, are seen two beautiful waterfalls-the main one formed of the natural stream, which is of considerable

size; the secondary one, which is on the left bank, being occasioned by the superfluous water of a minor stream, which supplies a distillery by the canal side, and running parallel, but on the top of the western bank of the glen; both falling over rocky precipices of nearly 100 feet in height, into a capacious pool at the base. The botanist will here find abundance of Asplenium, Tricomanes, viride, and adiantum nigrum; Polypodium vulgare literally covering the greater portion of an aged ash tree, divided into three large limbs, thickly interspersed with various mosses, presenting altogether a singular appearance; and, sparingly on the shelving rocks, Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense. On proceeding up the glen, keeping near the bottom, are found in more than usual abundance, and almost of tropical fern dimensions, the following:-Aspidium dilatatum, Filix-mas, Filix-fœmina, spinulosem, foenisecii, lobatum, Oreopteris; Blechnum boreale; Polepodium Dryopteris, Phegopteris; Pteris acquilina. About half-way is found on both sides, near the summit of the banks, abundance of Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense, and unilaterale of Wildenow, Wilsoni of Hooker. The latter abounds more on the west than on the eastern side, and seems to prefer a much drier abode. Both of these rare plants are also found in several places in the wood, on the western side of the canal, about midway from sea to sea, and in the same locality abundance of Osmunda Regalis.

"The following Mosses are pretty plentiful in the Robber's Den, viz. :-Jungermannia juniperina, of extraordinary size; setusea, excisa, spinulosa, cordifolia, emarginata, curvifolia, nemorosa, umbrosa, albicans, complanata, anomala, viticulosa, bidentata, barbata, omentellà, dilatata, Tamarisci, pubescens; Marchantia polymorpha, hemisphærica, conica; Polytrichum commune, undulatum, aloides; Dicranum gla sicum, latifolium, undulatum; Zygoidon conoideum (?) Orthotrichum Hutchinsiæ; Necera crispa, Fontinalis antipyretica, abounding on the stones in the stream of water; Bartramia fontana, pomiformis, towards the top of the banks in dry places, Hypnum molle, purum, pulchellum, rufescens, splendens, proliferum, cordifolium, brevirostre (?) or if not, a diminutive form of triquetrum, cupressiforme; Bryum roseum; punctatum, rostratum, palustre; Auomadon, curtipendulum; Rcciaglatea sparingly; Usnea barbata, Ramalina fraxinia, farinacea; Alectoria jubata; Cenomyce pyxidata, of unusu ally large size; Peltidea canina; Stricta fuliginosa, sylvatica; Parmelia plumbea, omphalodes, pulverulenta. Many of the more minute plants of this class must have escaped my hasty visit, and others, which even looked like former acquaintances, rendered a closer examination necessary than could be made in a few hours, and under the agreeable influence of a regular Scotch mist, and creeping often all-fours to push my way through a neglected jungle. It may be some consolation to strangers like myself to know that there is an excellent Hotel at Ardrishaig, and that the landlord, Mr. London, is a good naturalist, and possesses a fine collection of specimens of birds' eggs, a few minerals and insects, and a fair herbarium, with the wherewithal to recruit the spirits of

the weary:

C. M."

Friend London quoted this interesting article in his circular of invitation; but the best beds and hotel accommodation, the gratuitous angling in the Loch and river Add, delighted every visitor, but there were not enough of them-at that London could not live in Argyleshire, and therefore came to time. What it may have become since we know not, but himself, that is to say, he came to town and left the Robber's

Den and all its riches behind him.

BEAUTY IN PLANTS AND FLOWERS. BEAUTY is not very easily defined, for it may be seen in every tribe of plants, and nearly every family of flowers. Whatever has too many or too few leaves cannot be beautiful as a whole, but its flowers may be all that can be desired; on the other hand, a plant may be very splendid in habit, have very little flower, and that little ugly. A plant to be beautiful must have a fine proportion of bloom, graceful

foliage, and be of graceful form; generally speaking the public is a good judge in the long run of what is beautiful; witness the plants which are favourites among the middle and even humble classes, as well as among plantsmen. The Camellia, the Geranium, Fuchsia, Calceolaria, Cineraria, Auricula, Polyanthus, Azalea, Rhododendron, Rose, Pink, Carnation, Dahlia, Hollyhock, Balsam, and a score of other popular subjects. What can supersede them? They all possess great properties, but there are ugly plants and flowers of all these, that is to say, ugly by comparison. Place a single Rose, Pink, Dahlia, Hollyhock, or Balsam by the side of double ones, and though we are told there is nothing ugly in nature, we should dispute the point. There is, we are free to admit, much to admire in the most simple weed, but by comparison with improved varieties, even of the same weed, they are ugly. In our volume of "THE PROPERTIES OF FLOWERS we have given thirty standards of perfection for as many flowers and plants; of course our own notions of beauty are given there for the objects stated, and they are all stamped with the public approval long since; but a coarse and vulgar taste has sprung up through the encouragement given by the Horticultural Society to coarse, vulgar, and unnatural growth, necessarily supported by hundreds of sticks, and by the employment of people of coarse minds, who, instead of disqualifying things unnaturally supported and trained, gave them prizes without remonstrance or objection. We cannot call a geranium with two hundred sticks to hold up the blooms beautiful, although there may be a glare of flowers. We cannot call a rose which is bent down, curled round, and turned up again, beautiful. The torturing of the branches of a Rose to make it go into the compass of a dwarf after the fashion of Paul, is absolutely discreditable to the gardener who stoops to such means, the judges who award prizes to such things, and the society that permits it. It may be said that the effect is as good at a distance as if the plants were honestly grown. If so, pay such botchers for the use of their sham dwarf Roses, (and let them be distant decorations, while creditably grown plants, which exhibit real merit, compete for the prizes. If there must be great plants sustained by so many miniature scaffold-poles, let them be hired, and let objects really natural and beautiful compete for the prizes. It is hard in the face of this perverted taste, but we have a right, nevertheless, to point out objects that we think beautiful in contradistinction to the stage monsters at horticultural shows. A Rose bush grown naturally without support, able to sustain its flowers in their places, and clean and healthy in the foliage, would be beautiful if it were not eighteen inches high. An Azalea like Lane's grown as a standard, well bloomed and of graceful form, without any sticks and ties to hold the branches in their places, is a beautiful object, while the monster bee-hive-looking plants, whose branches are curled and twisted down and up again, to bring its flowers to the surface of a cage, is comparatively ugly with all its flowers, because it is unnatural. plants usually exhibited at shows would, if grown of their natural form, be very beautiful, because the distinct habit of every plant would be seen, and the many varieties of foliage appreciated; but shown as they are, merely monstrous cones of flower, not a branch nor a twig left at liberty; broad and narrow foliage, tall pyramidal species and trailers, all tortured into one shape, are very disgusting. The only chance we have now of seeing stove and greenhouse plants in their natural form is at those private collections which are not intended for public shows, and are therefore growing undisturbed, developing their natural habits, exhibiting their different foliages, and opening their varied flowers unconstrained, and this is a beautiful sight. In a general way a plant is not considered beautiful unless it shows an abundance of flowers evenly disposed over the surface of green; graceful compact habit, whether bushy, pyramidal, or standard; colours of flowers not necessarily brilliant, but dense; blooms large in proportion to the plant, or in racemes, trusses, umbels, or bunches, to form a suf

The

These are

ficiently large feature; foliage shinning like a Camellia, dense like a Rose, or velvety like a Gesnera. qualities indispensable to make a plant beautiful. Nevertheless, there are plants with ugly foliage and beautiful flowers, like the Cactus; and there are others reverse, like the endless variegated species which fashion tolerates, and horticultural societies have rendered popular by giving prizes. The very best of these can only be called interesting. As to florists' flowers we can have no difficulty in pronouncing on their beauty. But many of these have insignificant plants; witness the Carnation and Picotee, some of whose flowers are beautiful beyond all praise, while the plant is a mere tuft of grass, and a long gawky stem unable to suppor itself. But many of the florists' plants, such as the Fuchsia, Cineraria, Calceolaria, and Geranium, are beautiful objects when properly and naturally grown. In our time there have been some thousands of new plants introduced described as beautiful. The strongest proof that they were not so is found in the decision of the public, for that many-headed gentleman is never wrong long together, and if a plant be good it is never lost sight of. A really beautiful subject never fails to become popular.

THE TOWER HAMLET CHRYSANTHEMUM
SOCIETY.

WE had the honour to preside at the Anniversary Dinner of this leading Society, when nearly sixty of the members did execution to a first rate entertainment. After the cloth was cleared, and the usual toasts were gone through, the prizes awarded at their show, (which comprised plants every way superior to those at the Crystal Palace and at Kensingtonin fact, the Pompons were the best that ever were exhibited,) were distributed to the successful exhibitors, who received among them about £40. After this was done we had to present Mr. Courcha with a gold pencil-case of considerable value. This took Mr. Courcha by surprise, for the members who had been unanimous were also discreet; not a whisper of their intention had escaped. Mr. Courcha returned thanks, feeling very naturally gratified for so kind a mark of respect, and we were as wicked as any of them in enjoying his surprise; but this was followed by another unexpected event. We had hardly sat down before the secretary presented us with a richly engraved silver snuff-box, not for what we had done for that Society, for we had been able to do but little. Although it was presented exclusively by the members of that Society, the inscription, as well as the secretary, informed us that it was for the services which they considered we had rendered to floriculture in general, and particularly for settling "The Properties of Flowers," which had been accepted as the true test. It was their turn to enjoy our surprise, for of all the Societies we had endeavoured to serve, we had served that the least, and we felt that we had not the shadow of a claim to that mark of their esteem. They have laid us under an obligation which we shall not live to repay; while the one to which we had been chairman for years, until we made way for honest John Edwards, and been judge at eleven annual shows without a judge's fee, had become so corrupt that they could only rob each other, and an honest judge would be a nuisance, and we showed our detestation of their conduct by refusing to sit down and dine with them the last two years. Imagine a poor gardener growing flowers for one of the black sheep to exhibit as his own, and publicly complaining, that although the exhibitor had won a good prize, not giving him a shilling, and even their treasurer being publicly accused of showing other people's blooms; yet these were trifles compared with numerous accusations brought forward, showing that the public were only supporting a nest of fraudulent exhibitors, and it has at length come home to them. We could not help congratulating the Tower Hamlet Society on their firmness in expelling at the onset two questionable characters, who, had they been allowed to remain, would have been a disgrace to the body.

The evening closed with a list of prizes towards the next show, subscribed by individuals who had confidence in the management. We value our prize far beyond its intrinsic worth, because it was the spontaneous gift of working men, and an honest expression of their feelings.

GOLDEN RULES FOR GARDENERS.

Be always in the garden before the men under you. Example goes further than precept or severity.

In your evenings, read well authenticated works on science; but gardening in particular. You will constantly learn something.

If you have reason to believe you have raised something new and good, get some disinterested sound opinion as soon as you can. We are all too partial to our own works to see the bad points.

Study well the Properties of Flowers and Plants, and act upon them in all your judgments, whether passed upon your own or other people's subjects.

Have no concerns with evenings at public houses. A monthly meeting of gardeners to discuss modes of practice and further mutual interests may be good.

If your employer has strange whims and fancies, humour them. If he has unreasonable expectations, let them correct themselves. Mind your business, and do your best: he will soon see his error.

Leave your newly-trenched or dug ground rough until you crop it. In winter time it is exceedingly beneficial. When a crop is done with, clear it off, lay on your dressing, and at once dig or trench the ground: put all the waste vegetable to the bottom; it is so much nourishment returned, and the ground looks neat.

Never lose an hour's favourable weather for operations dependent on it; for a hard frost may close the garden against you for weeks, and throw you altogether out of your calculation.

Never water a general crop till it actually begins to suffer; for rain may render it unnecessary, and watering once begun you must go on with it.

One

When you do water, drench the ground all over. soaking a week is better than partial watering every day; and rain may save you a turn now and then.

When you are provided with a valuable kind of seed or plant by your employer, keep it to yourself some time. It is poor encouragement for him to buy expensive things, if others are allowed to share it too soon

Never allow greenhouse, hot-house, or pits, to be so hot in the night as by day. Never light a fire for the greenhouse while you can keep out the frost by covering up.

Never leave off work or superintending, until the hour at which the men leave off, strikes; and always be on the ground again at the hour of their coming back.

A master gardener over many men can do more good with his eyes than with his hands. Strict superintendence is

more valuable than hard work.

Make every man before he goes to work perfectly understand how you wish it done. His way may not be yours, and yet both proper.

year.

If a neighbouring gardener has failed in a crop, help him all you can with yours. It may be your case the next Constantly examine your plants, to watch for the enemy's attack. The mealy bug, scale, green-fly, and red-spider must never get ahead of you.

The syringe is the gardener's friend; well applied under and over the leaves, it routs the insect tribe, and saves immense trouble of catching and killing.

Never use a clammy soil for potting plants. It is im

possible they can grow well in it.

Always trench the ground before sowing carrots, parsnips,

and beet-root.

Always keep frozen plants from the rays of the sun till they have completely thawed.

Cover seeds from birds with a mat until they are well up, and then devote a day or two to actually scaring the enemy, until the plants gain strength.

Prune all ornamental blooming trees and shrubs as soon as the flower has decayed: before they make their new growth, you can shape them as you like.

To poor sandy soil one load of marl or loam is worth two of dung; but give both if you can, and lime into the bargain.

The instant you see a moth, butterfly, or a wasp, catch it and kill it. You know not how many you prevent from annoying you afterwards.

THE VALUE OF INDEPENDENCE.

"Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur."

As our independence is all we have now preserved, we naturally turn to a consideration of its cost price, but whether, unimpaired as it is, we shall be able to turn it to profitable account is a question yet to be solved. Had we not relinquished the Editorship of the GARDENERS' GAZETTE, and £520 per annum, secured to us on that property, we should have been receiving that income the last twenty-four years, and nothing could have prevented the paper from increasing in circulation and influence up to the present time. In such case our income would not only have been ample for our purpose, but we should have received £12,480 during the twenty-four years that we have been struggling against fate, and wasting our hard earned resources in vain attempts to establish a journal upon the model of the original, which continued to increase so long as we conducted it, and our retirement ruined it, and brought out the Chronicle in imitation of it. And why did we give up the only income we possessed? Because the Proprietors allowed one of their body to meddle with our articles, which we resisted, and we refused to write another week subject to any control whatever. In vain did the one who commanded the majority appeal to our family. The GAZETTE established by us had grown into a powerful organ, and continued to the last to increase under our management, and our refusal, though it stopped a respectable income and left us without a shilling, was absolute. The result was as fatal to the Proprietors as to us, but was only what we had predicted. They found to their cost that they lost. their readers; and after Mr. Loudon, whom they hired to succeed us, had managed it a year, and the meddling Proprietor had done his best, they sold it for £350, though under our Editorship they had given £4,000 for the copyright. Vain were our efforts to start and maintain a Newspaper without money. Still, as a writer, we have preserved our independence, and the crisis will arrive when, in the midst of all the timeserving periodicals of the day, there will be a demand for a Journal subservient to no interest but that of honest dealing, honourable showing, and Horticultural progress. We revived the GAZETTE, for it had fallen a sacrifice to the gardeners' own journal, and died of gross mismanagement. The only thing that prevents it now from taking its place above all other periodicals, is, that it is not weekly. If we at any time accomplish weekly periodicals as it now does the monthlies. that change, its influence will as far surpass all other surely everybody who is interested in gardening ought to take it; and those who do, should induce others.