Her

Climbers, such as honeysuckles and jasmines, should be pruned and trained in the early days of the month. Reduce to moderate-sized patches such plants as phloxes, asters, veronicas, &c., otherwise they will occupy too much space, injure their neighbours, and harbour vermin. baceous plants should be planted out from nursery-beds into the borders without delay. Half-hardy shrubs, &c., may have their shelters partially removed, closing them up again at night, according to the mildness or inclemency of the season. D. BEATON.

ORCHARD.

APPLES (wall and espalier), finish pruning, b.; plant; sow for stocks. APRICOTS, finish pruning and protect carefully, b.; plant. BERBERRIES, plant. BLOSSOMS of early wall fruit, shelter in frosty and windy weather, and retard. CHERRIES, finish pruning and training; plant; graft, e. CHESTNUTS, plant and sow. CURRANTS, finish pruning, b.; plant. CUTTINGS, plant, of gooseberries, currants, figs, filberts, mulberries, vines, &c. DRESS and fork over the earth of the borders, &c. FILBERTS, plant, hang male catkins, &c. GOOSEBERRIES, finish pruning, b.; plant. GRAFTING, commence, if mild, e. SCIONS, collect ready for use. LAYERS, make of figs, vines, filberts, mulberries, and muscle plums, the last for stocks. MANURES, apply where required. MEDLARS, plant. Moss, on trees, destroy with brine or urine. (See January.) MULBERRIES, plant. NECTARINES, finish pruning, b. ORCHARD TREES, finish dressing. PEACHES, finish pruning, b. PEARS, sow for stocks, &c. (wall and espalier); finish pruning; graft, e. PLANTING, generally complete, e. PLUMS (wall and espalier), finish pruning; plant; graft, e. PRUNING, finish generally. QUINCES, plant. RASPBERRIES, finish pruning, b.; plant; dig between and remove suckers. SERVICES, plant. STANDARDS, finish pruning. STRAWBERRIES, clear and spring dress, and plant in moist weather, e. SUCKERS, for stocks, plant. TRENCH ground for planting. VINES may still be pruned, o.; cuttings plant. WALNUTS, plant and sow.

In collecting scions for grafting, remember that the principle is to cut them before the sap begins to circulate. They should be kept in a cellar, or a cool damp place out of doors, until the sap in the stocks, for which they are destined, is in motion. R. ERRINGTON.

FORCING STOVE.

AIR, admit freely when weather permits. BOTTOM-HEAT, attend to (See January). CHERRIES, in blossom, shade when sun is bright; a thick net answers well; disbud as required; day temperature 60° maximum; night 45°; keep a moist air. EARTH of borders, &c., stir occasionally. FIGS, when in leaf, require a day temperature about 60°. HEAT, must advance with light. KIDNEY BEANS, provide successions; use richer and stronger soil as the day lengthens (See January). LABELS, renew, where required. LEAVES, keep cleaned: decayed and weeds clear away constantly. LIQUID-MANURE, apply to the roots of fruit-trees in forcing, if dry. PEACHES, and other fruits in blossom, should not be syringed; disbud; thin when too thick, and as large as peas; day temperature 60; night 55°. PINES, remove from bark-bed to pots; and generally regulate. SECURE ATMOSPHERIC MOISTURE. STRAWBERRIES, in pots, introduce for succession; a slight bottom-heat is useful; see that those in reserve are not injured by frost. SMALL SALADING, Ssow in boxes. THERMOMETER, for most stove-plants, may be at 70°, during mid-day, if bright. TOBACCO, give fumigations weekly, or oftener, if insects appear. VINES, treat as in January; do not syringe whilst in blossom; thin berries; day temperature 70°; night 60°. WATER, give more freely than last month; keep in open pans, over pipes or flues, constantly. WATCH sedulously for the green fly and red spider; against the latter, sulphur and moisture are the best preventives, as well as cure. R. ERRINGTON.

KITCHEN-GARDEN.

ARTICHOKES, defend from frost. ASPARAGUS, plant in hotbed, and attend to that forcing. BALM, plant. BEANS, plant; earth-up, and transplant from frames, e. BEETS, sow a little for early use; plant for seed, and dig up for storing any left in the bed. BORECOLE, sow, e. BROCOLI, SOW, e. BURNET, sow or plant, e. CABBAGES, plant; sow; and plant for seed. CARROTS, Sow in a hotbed, b., to draw young; plant for seed, e. CAULIFLOWERS, attend to, airing, earth-stirring, removing all decayed leaves and slugs; plant out winter standing should the weather be open and mild, and attend to spring-sown crops (see last month); sow, m.; prick out. CELERY, attend to earthing-up, protection, &c.; leave for seed, and sow in hotbed, e. CHERVIL, SOW. CLARY, SOW, e. COMPOSTS, prepare and turn over. CORIANDER, SOW. CORN SALAD, SOW. CUCUMBERS, attend to those forcing; prick and plant out; and sow in hotbeds. DILL, Sow, m. DUNG, prepare for hotbeds. EARTHING-UP, perform when necessary. ENDIVE, still protect from wet and severe weather. FENNEL, SOW or plant. GARLIC, plant. HORSERADISH, plant. JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES, plant. KIDNEY BEANS, sow in hotbed, &c. Keep a good supply of EARTHS in the dry for immediate use. LEEKS, plant for seed; sow, e. LETTUCES, plant out from frames, &c., of the winter standing, towards the end of the month, and sow in the open border. If short of plants sow in frames on a gentle hotbed at the beginning of the month. LIQUORICE, plant and dig up. MELONS, plant out for early crops; sow and pot off; attend to this sort of work on a kind calm afternoon just before shutting-up time. till next month; clean winter crop; (Potato), plant. PARSNIPS, take MINT, force, in hotbed; plant. MUSHROOM-BEDS, attend to; make day temperature 60° to 65°. MUSTARD and CRESS, sow, e. ONIONS, sow main crop, m., if so light and situation warm, otherwise defer this

particular, in light soils. PARSLEY, SOW. PEAS, sowings may be made both of early and second on the same day, where the soil works well, as the one will be found good succession to the other at picking time; also to suit some unfavourable situations it is well to sow in frames in small pots, or in sods of turf, which is by some thought best, to plant out when a good season offers; also attend to sticking, earthing-up, and protecting other forward crops. PENNYROYAL, plant, e. POTATOES, plant in hotbed of any favourite early kinds; this may be done from the first to the end of the month; also plant out during this month all the main crops if the soil will admit of it, and plant whole sets in preference to cut ones. RADISHES, attend to (see January), and sow in succession either in border or hotbed. RAPE (for salading), sow; (Edible-rooted), sow. RHUBARB, Sow in large pans, or open warm border, and attend to that forcing, either in-doors, or cover up with pots or tubs and fermenting materials for future transplanting. SAGE and SAVORY, plant, e. SAFY, sow, e., in small quantity, for early use. SAVOYS, sow, m. and e. SCORZONERA, sow, e., in small quantity, for early use. SEA-KALE, attend to that forcing; cover up in succession. SHALOTS, plant. SKIRRETS, SOW, e. SPINACH, weed; sow, m. SORRELS, sow and plant, e. TANSY, THYME, and TARRAGON, plant, e. TURNIPS, plant for seed; sow, e. VACANT GROUND, dig; weed, &c.

SAL

In sowing Radishes this month, if a sheltered south border is selected, and the surface is covered with ferns, reeds, or straw, the crop will be almost as early as that from seed sown in frames. Garlic and Shalots, being very liable to decay if excessive wet weather occurs, should be fixed on well-drained ground, on the top of ridges, and be manured with charred vegetable refuse. Smooth the surface of the ridge, scatter over it some charred refuse and a little lime, and then merely stick in the end of the bulb. In light soils, plant in November or October, or even at this time. Spinach in drills may be advantageously sown now, and at all times between every two rows of Peas. The ground is thus economized, and the shade from the peas continues the spinach longer in a state fit for table use.

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noticed.

A NARRATIVE OF REAL LIFE,

By the Authoress of "My Flowers," "Our Village Walks," &c., in The Cottage Gardener, is also now being published in The Weekly Visitor. The Engraving for Part I. is Martyrs in Prison, and for Part II. Luther Discovering the Bible.

The Weekly Visitor is published in weekly numbers, 16 pages, 8vo., 14d.; and in monthly parts, containing the numbers for the current month, price 7d.

LONDON: WERTHEIM & MACINTOSH, PATERNOSTER ROW. WINCHESTER: H. WOOLDRIDGE.

And may be had of all booksellers.

LONDON: Printed by HARRY WOOLDRIDGE, Winchester High-street, in the Parish of Saint Mary Kalendar; and Published by WILLIAM SOMERVILLE ORR, at the Office, No. 2, Amen Corner, in the Parish of Christ Church, City of London.-January 30th, 1851.

On the 3rd of February, 1557, "Imprinted at London in Flete Strete within Temple barre, at the sygne of the hand and starre, by Richard Tottel," was published 4 hundreth good poyntes of husbandrie, "Set forth by THOMAS TUSSER, gentleman; servant to the honorable Lord Paget of Beaudesert," and having this motto:

A hundreth good pointes of good husbandry,
maintaineth good household with huswifry.
House keeping and husbandry, if it be good,
must love one another, as cousinnes in blood.
The wife to, must husband as well as the man,
or farewel thy husbandry, doe what thou can.

Of this book, consisting of one hundred quarto pages, only one copy is known to exist, and that copy is in the British Museum; but we have not to consider it as a bibliographical rarity, but as the first book in English which details to us the culture of the soil as practised in this country. Tusser has left behind him, also, his autobiography in verse; and from this and his Five Hundred points of Good Husbandry, which is only an enlarged edition of the rare work we have named, we will weave a mingled narrative.

It came to pass, that born I was
Of lineage good, of gentle blood,
In Essex layer, in village fair,

That Rivenhall hight:

Which village lied by Banktree side;
There spend did I mine infancy,

There then my name, in honest fame,
Remained in sight.

But even in tradition it remains there no longer; and we question whether the very name of Tusser is not extinct. The village hight (called) Rivenhall is passed through by the high road between Witham and Kelvedon; but all that savours of Tusser is the "good husbandry" practised in its vicinity. That he was of "gentle blood" there is no room for doubt, or he would not have ventured, in those days of strict pedigree and precedence, to have written of his parents, that their "pedigree, who list may see, in herald's book." But Tusser was their younger

son:

And now and then of gentlemen
The younger son is driven to run,
And glad to seek, from creek to creek,
To come by thrift.

And Tusser was one of the number, for his father observing his musical voice, determined that this should be his organ of success.

So out I must, to song be thrust, Say what I would, do what I could, His mind was so.

At a very early age-" I yet but young "-to be instructed in the art of choral singing he was sent to the collegiate chapel of Wallingford; and the severity of its discipline long lived on his memory, for even in advanced manhood he exclaimed over its remembrance

What touzed ears, like baited bears!
What bobbed lips, what jerks, what nips!
What bread how stale, what penny ale!

However, no sooner had he received the necessary instruction than the excellency of his singing powers pointed him out for selection; and he was pressed, as the despotic custom then prevailed, for the choir of St. Paul's, in London.

Then for my voice I must (no choice)
Away of force, like posting horse,
For sundry men had placards then,
Such child to take.

From St. Paul's he was sent to Eton, becoming there a student "to learn straightways, the Latin phrase" under Udall, whose severity he deprecates. This was about the year 1534; and as he calls himself then "a lad," it is probable that those biographers are not far from the truth who place the time of his birth near to the year 1515. How long he remained at Eton does not appear, but "to London hence, and to Cambridge thence," he records as the course of his removal; and he rejoices

With thanks to thee, O Trinity, That to thy Hall, so passing all, I got at last.

Sickness he alleges, but we fear, rather, that love of change which kept him through life from taking root anywhere, induced him to visit London, and to become a retainer of Lord Paget, but in what capacity he has failed to record: probably a mere hanger-on, whose powers of song rendered a welcome guest at table, and for which he was requited "with many a pound." He tells us that here a life of revelling and dissipation he for "ten years tried," but

When Court 'gan frown, and strife in town,
And lords and knights saw heavy sights,
Then took I wife, and led my life

No. CXXIII., VOL. V.

In Suffolk soil.

These heavy sights were probably the execution of the Earl of Surrey, the arrest of the Duke of Norfolk, and other ferocities which characterized 1547, the year of Henry the Eighth's death. If so, Tusser was about thirty-two at the time of his first marriage; and he then settled at Catiwade, not far from Ipswich, and, as he says, began to acquire a knowledge of farming :

There was I fain, myself to train,
To learn too long, the farmer's song,
For hope of pelf, like worldly elf,
To moil and toil.

On account of his wife's ill health, he removed to Ipswich-“ A town of price, like Paradise;" but it was not health restoring, and the catastrophe is told in the brief line-"There left good wife, this present life;" and he then married a lady of the name of Moon, and settled, or rather paused, at East Dereham, in Norfolk. But it was only for awhile, and then, upon the inapplicable excuse, "That Lord with Lord, could not accord," he flitted to Norwich, where under the patronage of Dr. Salisbury-the "gentle Dean "-he appears to have become once more a chorister. But this was to be for no length of time his biding-place, for disease, or fancied disease, hurried him "From Norwich air, in grea despair;" and as he says, or sings

From thence so sent, away I went, With sickness worn, as one forlorn, To house my head, at Fairsted, Where whiles I dwelt.

And a short "whiles" was it; for though close to his native place, yet because there were some disagreeables attendant upon the tithing, he adds

Once rid my hand, of parsonage land,
Thence, by and by, away went I,
To London straight, to hope and wait
For better chance.

schoolmaster, and probably, for we have no certainty as to dates, until
In London he appears to have resided for some years, probably as a
the year 1574, when the plague appeared within the city, and then-
When gains were gone, and years grew on,
And death did cry, From London fly,
In Cambridge then, I found again,
A resting plot.

That "resting plot" was his old college, Trinity Hall, but whether as tutor or in what capacity is not revealed, but as a tutor it is probable, for he seems to recapitulate his successive vocations in these lines :

Let serving pains, yield forth her gains,
Let courtly gifts, with wedding shifts,
Help now to live;

Let music win, let stock come in,
Let wisdom carve, let reason serve,
For here I crave, such end to have
As God shall give.

This prayer seems to have been granted, for although he died in London he mentions no other place of removal, though his poetical memoir continued to be printed in the editions of his work which appeared in 1577, 1580, and 1585. We may conclude that he died between the two concluding dates, for he is spoken of as deceased on the title-page of the latter. The historian Stowe tells us that he was buried in the church of St. Mildred, in the Poultry; and this epitaph may be the concluding of his autobiography, for it savours of his rhyme :

Here THOMAS TUSSER clad in earth doth lie,
That sometime made The pointes of Husbandrie:
By him, then, learn thou maist; here learn we must,
When all is done we sleep, and turn to dust:
And yet through Christ, to heaven we hope to goe,
Who reades his bookes shall find his faith was so.

Tusser's "points" are chiefly those which require to be attended to by the farmer for the good management of his crops and live stock; but there are some "points" of gardening mentioned of which we will glean a few, as examples that his horticulture as well as his husbandry was "good." Fruit was then especially prized, for we read that at some unusual season Henry VII. gave two shillings for a red apple-a price equal to ten shillings at the present time: so Tusser directs especial care

for the orchard:

At Christmas be mery, and thanke God of all:

and feast thy pore neighbours, the great with the small.
Yea, al the yeare long haue an eie to the poore:
and God shall sende luck, to kepe open thy doore.

Good fruite and good plenty, doth well in thy loft:
then lay for an orcharde, and cherishe it oft.
The profet is mickell, the pleasure is mutch:
at pleasure with profet few wise men wil grutch.

often coloured, and passes with common observers for real flowers. Their triangular seed vessel is called a nut in the language of botany, each nut having one kernel or seed. The Water-pepper of our own ditches is Polygonum Hydropiper, well known as an acrid plant, whose leaves are so much so as to raise blisters on the skin, and if used in the green state is said to be a powerful diuretic. In France and Belgium Polygonum tinctorium is cultivated for a dye, and is said to yield a blue little inferior to indigo. The Snake-weed of our meadows, Polygonum bistorta, in the form of a decoction, makes a good gargle for relaxed sore throats. In India and South America, several species are in use in various ways medicinally; but the greater portion of the numerous species are mere weeds. One of the greatest favourites of them, among cottage gardeners, being the Red Persicaria, Polygonum persicaria. They belong to the third order of the eighth class of the Linnæan system, 8-Octandria 3-Trigynia.

Polygonum cuspidatum is one of the prettiest species known; and though now announced in Belgium as one of Dr. Siebold's novelties, it has been cultivated for some years in the gardens of the London Horticultural Society, growing there in an artificial swamp; to which it was introduced from China as Houttuynia cordata. It is, in fact, a Japan plant made known by M. Thunberg in 1820. Stem, eight feet high or more, straight, branching, smooth, round, hollow, purple spotted. Leaves, broad, oval, transparently red edged, smooth. Flowers, in two's and three's, in panicles from the axils of the leaves; they are greenish yellow on red footstalks. It appears in May, but is cut down by the first frosts. Although it grew in a swamp, yet it prefers a dry light soil; and Dr. Siebold relates that he saw it employed in Japan for fixing loose sand, which it did effectually by means of its running roots, which are uninfured by the severest frost. B. J.

THE FRUIT-GARDEN.

PLATFORM PLANTING.-Although some observations were made on this most economic and safe way of planting in an early number of this work, we feel bound to go into farther detail on the subject, and this in time to be of service to spring planters. We do hope that no person will in these times be so unwise as to make what are termed "borders" for fruit-tree planting,borders at least, in the old acceptation of the wordwhich generally involved an amount of expense the trees could never repay, and which in many cases, from being made deep and rich, became a positive injury. Certainly, if any one has a vast amount of fresh or maiden soils come to hand, for which there is no other use, and has a kitchen or fruit-garden of a very inferior staple, he may do well to generally improve it in this way; but to fancy that fruits cannot be successfully grown without seriously damaging rich old pastures, by the removal of the turf in such enormous quantities, is a most preposterous idea.

Turfy material, everybody knows, is highly eligible for fruit-trees, but by no means indispensable, inasmuch as organic matter in the shape of tree leaves, straw, or litter of any kind, and even the carpenter's shavings, may be used up for this purpose. Those who live near to wastes may procure the very furze and coarse weeds, and chop them up altogether to blend with the soil. We do not affirm that these things blended with the soil will render it equal to loamy turf, but we know that they will constitute a pretty good representative, and will at least serve to eke out a plan which will save our

suburban amateurs much expense; for many of these articles are at all times within their reach.

Economy, then, is the basis of the platform mode; and in order to convey an idea of what platform planting means, we may observe, that it signifies so forming a station for any given fruit-tree as that, in the event of any improvement being needed in the soil, about four or five barrows of sound loam shall suffice for any tree; and that this shall be so husbanded in its application as to secure to the fruit-tree a space of ground which shall always belong to the tree, unmolested at all times by the spade, unless for some special purpose connected with the tree itself. Such a space may be about seven feet square: this we have proved to be amply sufficient; but as it frequently happens that on marginal borders the trees are within about three feet of the walk, the form of the excavation for the platform may be a parallelogram. Such is our practice; and the trees on the marginal borders being within three feet of the walk, we allow four feet on each side of the tree lengthwise, thus making a hole of six feet by eight.

Having been during the last week making a line of platforms along a border, in order to plant some apples on Paradise stocks, which are not only of first-rate quality in the dessert, but, what is of equal importance, than detail our mode of procedure. It so happens that known to suit the climate, we can scarcely do better we have access to abundance of loam; but, although such is the case, we still repudiate the idea of a profuse use of it, rather wishing to show forth in practice what we advocate in theory. We have, therefore, gone to work in as economical a way as though we had a town or suburban garden to plant. The soil is a poor and weak sandy loam, containing very much red coarse sand. The subsoil at thirty inches in depth is a clean red sand; and from a depth of one foot from the surface the soil merges gradually into this red sand.

Now, here is a point on which we would caution young beginners, some of whom we have known in our day to make sad mistakes. The observations about to be offered apply to other kinds of planting than fruittrees, but especially to the latter when planted according to the rather close limitations of the platform mode. These remarks may be thus embodied :-Never, if pos sible, carry prepared soil below the level of the regular surface soil-rather increase it above the ground level. We do not wish it to be understood that our platform trees must for ever be confined to the prepared soil; the time will come that their extremities will ramble into the adjoining soil in quest of food; and, such being the case, we would not have them revel in clay, or mere sand, or any other suspicious material, which they may do if the above precaution is not attended to.

To return from this digression, the holes for the platform being marked out, all the best surface soil was excavated on one side, and the remainder on the other, to the depth of about twenty-six inches. On this bottom brickbats or stones were placed, closely, side by side, and a wheelbarrowful of sifted cinders, the size of horse-beans, swept into every crevice. Next, a barrowful of tree leaves were spread on the cinders, and then two barrows of sound or adhesive loam on the leaves-the reason for which proceedings will be given in the sequel. And now two barrows of loam being used up, three more were wheeled beside the excavation, and on the other side two or three barrows of half-rotten leaves or garden rubbish, weeds, &c. This done, the holes were filled up by throwing the whole in alternately, using twice or thrice as much of the ordinary surface soil as the loam, and tossing a little of the half-decayed vegetable matter all through the mass.

In planting the trees, the roots were spread on the surface level, to which height the holes were filled, the surface first being made quite flat, in order that the