I. Touch the top of the second finger of the left hand with the

forefinger of the right.

J. Clench the hands together, as directed for the letter G.

[Illustration: K]

[Illustration: L]

[Illustration: M]

K. Form a semicircle with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand,

and join it to the forefinger of the left, which must be kept straight

out; both forefingers must meet at the second joints.

L. Place the forefinger of the right hand across the centre of the palm

of the left, so that the top of the finger may be exactly in the middle

of the palm.

M. Place three fingers of the right hand flat upon the palm of the left.

N. Place two fingers of the right hand flat upon the palm of the left.

O. Touch the top of the third finger of the left hand with the

forefinger of the right.

[Illustration: N]

[Illustration: O]

[Illustration: P]

[Illustration: Q]

P. Place the tips of the forefinger and thumb of the left hand in a

semicircular form against the first and second joints of the forefinger

of the right, which should be kept straight.

Q. Form a circle with the forefinger and thumb of the left hand, and

then curve the forefinger of the right into the shape of a hook, and

place it exactly where the other fingers join.

[Illustration: R]

[Illustration: S]

[Illustration: T]

R. Bend the forefinger of the right hand and rest it on the palm of the

left.

S. Bend the little finger of each hand and lock them together.

T. Fix the tip of the forefinger of the right hand against the middle of

the lower edge of the left.

[Illustration: U]

[Illustration: V]

[Illustration: W]

[Illustration: X]

[Illustration: Y]

[Illustration: Z]

U. Touch the top of the little finger of the left hand with the

forefinger of the right.

V. Place the first and second fingers of the right hand, apart, upon the

palm of the left.

W. Lock the fingers of one hand between those of the other.

X. Cross the forefingers at the second joints.

Y. Extend the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, and at the lower

part of the fork so made place the forefinger of the right hand.

Z. Elevate one hand towards the face, and rest the elbow upon the palm

of the other.

The end of every sentence is indicated by snapping the second finger and

thumb of the right hand. This result is requisite to avoid the confusion

which might result from running the sentences into each other.

THE NUMBERS

Are denoted by holding up one finger to signify 1, two fingers for 2,

the open hand for 5, both hands for 10, and so on.

DOMINOES.

There was a time when dominoes was a much more favourite game than at

present. In many old houses beautifully finished sets of dominoes are

yet kept, a memento of the favour in which the game was once, and still

deserves to be, held. For boys it is second to none, as it improves

their power of calculation, exercises their judgment, and leads them to

acquire a habit of estimating chances in connexion with numbers, which

is exceedingly useful in after-life.

The ordinary game of dominoes is played with twenty-eight pieces, which

include every combination of numbers, from double-blank to double-6; but

boxes of dominoes are not uncommon which have fifty-two pieces, or even

eighty-five pieces, one including double-9’s, and the latter

double-12’s. These are more used in the north than the south. The

dominoes are usually made of oblong pieces of ivory, frequently cemented

to an ebony back; whilst on the front they are divided into two parts by

a fine line across the middle, and marked with round black spots. These

are 1 and 1, 1 and 2, and so on to 6; then 2 and blank, 2 and 1, and so

on. Where a set of dominoes is not handy, a pack of what printers call

third-large cards may be made available, if they are marked with a pen,

and the backs kept perfectly clean. These may be shuffled and dealt in a

similar manner to playing cards; but the dominoes must be placed face

downwards on the table and “shuffled” by being well mixed together.

The turn to commence is called “the pose,” and is the same in all games

of dominoes. After the players have drawn from the bulk the number of

dominoes each requires, double-6 is called for, and he who has it plays

first. If it is not in hand, then the highest double plays; if no

doubles are out, then the call is from the highest domino to the lowest,

as 6--5, 6--4, and so on.

THE ORDINARY BOY’S GAME

Is played in two modes. The first is called the _French game_. After the

dominoes are well shuffled, each player (usually two) draws from the

bulk the number of dominoes agreed upon. Seven is the common number, and

this leaves fourteen dominoes on the table. The dominoes are either held

in the hand, or set on their sides on the table, so that the pips are

visible to the player only. In the north of England a small tin, angular

frame is used to hold the dominoes. The player holding the highest

double then plays first, and then each plays in turn by placing a domino

of the same number of pips to the domino played at either end when you

both have played. If your opponent cannot do this it is called “a go,”

and you can then play for him, until he can play. If you can play to

both ends, do not do so until you have exhausted your hand at one end,

and be sure to get out your doubles at the earliest opportunity, unless

by so doing you close both ends against yourself. By pursuing this plan

you can, when pressed, play at the ends closed against your adversary

the domino you have reserved for that purpose. When you have played all

your dominoes out, you win the game; or when neither can play, he that

has the lowest number of pips, not pieces, wins the game. It is best,

however, to play a definite number up, such as 30, 50, or 100. In these

cases the game is better played by the

_Second mode_, which is commenced in the same manner; but when you play

a double, and it is your turn, you can play it out and still keep your

turn. When your adversary cannot play, you play _for him_, and _for

yourself_ too, before he can play again. The game is counted thus:--When

one has played all his dominoes out, he counts the number of pips in his

adversary’s hand, and scores them in his favour; if neither can play,

the one who has the fewest left counts the other’s numbers, and

subtracts the number of his own, and scores the balance in his own

favour. Formerly the whole number was scored, but this is dispiriting to

the loser. In this game it is better to try to play so that neither can

go on again than to play out all the dominoes. By a little practice it

will be seen that heavy dominoes do not always lose, or light ones win.

In playing these and any game at dominoes it should be understood that a

domino once played should not be recalled, as it frequently destroys all

interest in the game. Sometimes it is understood that if the domino is

not placed on the table you may recall it; but it is better to play it

at once, as a skilful player can easily calculate the chances in his

favour.

There are two or three variations on the first method. In one the winner

of the game scores all the points left in his own hand (if any), as well

as those in his opponent’s. Another method is, when one player cannot

go, the other is not bound to proceed, even if able, but can at once

shut the game and count, if he likes to do so. Another variation is to

permit the second player, if he chooses, to take all the dominoes but

two left on the board. If he does not choose, the next player may draw

as many as he chooses (always excepting two); and if one cannot play, he

must draw until he can do so. The pose in this game is alternate, or is

taken by the winner.

ALL FIVES

Is a game played by four persons, two against two, each player taking

five dominoes. It may, however, be played by two persons only, when

seven dominoes are given to each, and none are afterwards added. The

score seldom exceeds 31, or any smaller number, and is marked on a

cribbage-board. The object of this game is to play so that the two ends

of the dominoes, after you have played, are a multiple of five. Thus the

first player endeavours to make a point by putting down a 5 and blank, 4

and 1, 3 and 2, each of which counts 5: if he has the double-5 it counts

2. The other players follow on in the same way, endeavouring to make 5,

10, 15, or 20, for which they score 1, 2, 3, or 4 respectively. This

game requires great caution, so as to prevent your opponent from

scoring, if you cannot do so yourself. 20 is the largest number that can

be made: thus, if there is a 4 at one end and a 6 at the other end, the

next player, having the double-6, plays it to the 6, and the following

player, having the double-4, plays it to the 4; doubles in this, as in

all other games of dominoes, being laid across, there are 12 at one end

and 8 at the other, making 20, or four fives. When one hand is played

out, or neither can go, the lowest number counts one towards game. This

is peculiarly a game of stratagems, and when one holds the double-5, he

generally tries to keep it until there is a 5 at each end, when he plays

it and scores 3, and generally, in that case, 1 for game as well.

THE MATADORE GAME

Is on an entirely different principle. You do not fit the same numbers

together, as in other games at dominoes, but you must add a number

which, when joined to one already there, makes seven. The double-blank,

the 4--3, 6--1, and 5--2, are termed matadores, and can be played at any

stage, and either end turned outward at will, for your opponent to play

to. Three dominoes only are taken at the outset, and if one of the

players cannot “go,” he must draw until he can do so, unless the number

of dominoes left on the board is reduced to two. The game is played 30,

50, or 100 up, and the winner counts to his score his opponent’s pips.

ALL THREES

Is a capital game for boys, and exercises the players in the four rules

of arithmetic. It is played similarly to the All Fives, only 3 is the

multiple instead of 5: thus, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 points count 1, 2,

3, 4, 5, and 6, respectively.

TIDLEY-WINK

Is a good round game. Any number can play, so long as there are two or

more dominoes left on the board, after three dominoes each have been

taken. The pose is settled as before; but the leader has the privilege

of playing to his double, if he can do so, and any person having a

double in his turn can play to it, if he can. The game runs round, and

the first person who plays out pronounces himself “Tidley-Wink,” and is

the winner.

THE FORTRESS.

When four persons are playing, this will be found one of the most

amusing of games. It is sometimes called “Sebastopol.” All the dominoes

are divided equally amongst the players. The double-6 is played first,

and then every person must play a 6 to the double, and thus form a

cross. The person who has not a 6 loses his turn. The play then proceeds

in the usual way, only that the player can choose which corner he likes

to play at. The result is a curious irregular figure resembling the

ground-plan of a fortress, with bastions, &c.; hence its name.

WHIST DOMINOES

Is also played by four persons, seven dominoes being given to each. The

persons in this case are partners, and sit opposite to each other. This

game is led off as all others, but requires considerable powers of

memory to play it properly, for it is necessary to remember not only the

numbers played, but who played it, and under what circumstances, so as

to help your partner’s hand and checkmate your opponent’s. Several other

games of dominoes may be played; but the foregoing, with their

numberless variations, will enable any one to master the principles of

any other introduced.

[Illustration]

DRAUGHTS.

“White to black and black to white.

Now give the challenge--wage the fight.”--CLARKSON.

[Illustration]

Draughts is a modern invention, and is a good preliminary to chess. It

is not so intricate a game, for the pieces are of equal value till they

become kings, and can only move one way; but like chess, success depends

entirely upon skill, and one false move frequently occasions the loss of

the game. Draughts seems to have come into vogue in Europe about the

middle of the fourteenth century, and for a long time there were two

methods of playing it; the one commonly used in England being the French

game, which is played upon a chess-board, and the other the Polish game,

which requires a board with ten squares or chequers in each row, and

twenty men. The men in the Polish game can only move forwards as they do

in the French game, but they have the privilege of taking backwards and

forwards, and the king, when made, if not opposed by two men close

together, can move from one corner of the board to the other The Polish

game admits of most variety, and is in our opinion infinitely the best,

but it is little played in this country, except by foreigners, many of

whom during the Great Exhibition year proved themselves adepts at the

game.

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME.

The draughtboard consists of sixty-four squares, black and white, and

there are twelve men, or pieces, of a white colour, and twelve of a

black colour to be used. The board should be placed with an upper white

corner towards the right hand. The players select each twelve men of the

colour they prefer. The pieces, or men, are to be thus placed on the

board: the black pieces on the _first_ twelve white squares, and the

white on the _last_ twelve white squares. When they are thus placed the

game begins.

THE MOVES.

The pieces move forward diagonally, and it is the object of the players

to take all each other’s men; the player who has the _black_ pieces

taking the _white_, and the player who has the white men taking the

_black_. The first player--say Black--moves his piece angularly to the

first white square, and then, if nothing intervenes between his piece

and that of his opponent, and there is a vacant square in his line left

behind him, the _white_ can pass his piece over him to the space so

unoccupied, and take his man, which is withdrawn from the board. The

same may be repeated by the adversary; and thus the players go on taking

each other’s pieces till one or the other cannot move, or all the pieces

are taken. When a piece, however, arrives at the last row of the enemy’s

ground, it becomes what is called a king, and is crowned by another

piece being placed on it. It may then be moved backwards and forwards at

pleasure, and can take both ways. When a player neglects to take a

piece, he is what is called _huffed_, that is, he loses the piece that

ought to have been moved.

LAWS OF THE GAME.

1. The moves are alternate, the first move being determined by lot.

2. The choice of men to be also decided by lot, but they should be

changed every three games.

3. Whichever piece is touched must be played.

4. No player can remain more than five minutes without playing. He may

be warned at the end of five minutes.

5. Neither player must leave the room without permission of his

adversary.

6. In case of huff, the opponent, in lieu of taking a piece for the

omission, can insist on his being taken.

7. Each party must sit free so as not to obstruct a view of the board,

and no pointing at pieces is allowed.

8. When a false move is made, the piece must be moved to whatever square

the opponent dictates.

9. All disputes between players to be referred to a third party.

10. Bystanders must make no remarks during the game.

GAMES FOR PRACTICE.

Playing draughts is a game which is best learned by experience and

repeated defeats. It requires circumspection and caution, and especially

demands calculation of the effects of the different moves upon the

fortune of the game. The moves should be calculated mentally. The men

should be kept as much in the centre of the board as possible; and the

gentlemanly player will consider all drawn games as won by his opponent,

and never triumph over the vanquished. The following games will give the

young player a good general idea of draughts, but his success as a

player will depend entirely upon his own application and habit of

thought:--

GAME I.

No. Colour. from to

1. B. 11 15

2. W. 22 18

3. B. 15 22

4. W. 25 18

5. B. 8 11

6. W. 29 25

7. B. 4 8

8. W. 25 22

9. B. 12 16

10. W. 24 20

11. B. 10 15

12. W. 27 24

13. B. 16 19

14. W. 23 16

15. B. 15 19

16. W. 24 15

17. B. 9 14

18. W. 18 9

19. B. 11 25

20. W. 32 27

21. B. 5 14

22. W. 27 23

23. B. 6 10

24. W. 16 12

25. B. 8 11

26. W. 28 24

27. B. 25 29

28. W. 30 25

29. B. 29 22

30. W. 26 17

31. B. 11 15

32. W. 20 16

33. B. 15 18

34. W. 24 20

35. B. 18 27

36. W. 31 24

37. B. 14 18

38. W. 16 11

39. B. 7 16

40. W. 20 11

41. B. 18 23

42. W. 11 8

43. B. 23 27

44. W. 8 4

45. B. 27 31

46. W. 4 8

47. B. 31 27

48. W. 24 20

49. B. 27 23

50. W. 8 11

51. B. 23 18

52. W. 11 8

53. B. 18 15

&c.

White loses.

GAME II.

No. Colour. from to

1. B. 11 15

2. W. 22 18

3. B. 15 22

4. W. 25 18

5. B. 8 11

6. W. 29 25

7. B. 4 8

8. W. 25 22

9. B. 12 16

10. W. 24 20

11. B. 10 15

12. W. 21 17

13. B. 7 10

14. W. 27 24

15. B. 8 12

16. W. 17 13

17. B. 9 14

18. W. 18 9

19. B. 5 14

20. W. 24 19

21. B. 15 24

22. W. 28 19

23. B. 14 17

24. W. 32 27

25. B. 10 14

26. W. 27 24

27. B. 3 7

28. W. 30 25

29. B. 6 9

30. W. 13 6

31. B. 1 10

32. W. 22 13

33. B. 14 18

34. W. 23 14

35. B. 16 30

36. W. 25 21

37. B. 10 17

38. W. 21 14

39. B. 30 25

40. W. 14 9

41. B. 11 15

42. W. 9 6

43. B. 2 9

44. W. 13 6

45. B. 15 18

46. W. 6 2

47. B. 7 10

48. W. 2 6

49. B. 10 14

50. W. 6 9

51. B. 25 21

52. W. 31 26

53. B. 14 17

&c.

Drawn.

FIREWORKS.

Our book is intended for the gratification of boys. We know full well

the intense delight taken by boys in risking their limbs or their lives,

especially when such risk is accompanied with noise. Boys always have

done so, and always will do so in spite of the very best of advice or

precautions. As, therefore, it is impossible to keep them from making

noises and endangering themselves, we have in the following pages

endeavoured to show them how to make as much noise as possible with as

little danger as possible.

What is there that makes the most noise and is most dangerous?

Gunpowder, of course. Therefore, we have given descriptions of the best

methods of employing this material, feeling quite sure that of accidents

with gunpowder nine out of every ten are caused by ignorance. We knew a

boy who lost the use of a thumb, and took all the skin off the palm of

his right hand, by ignorant management of powder. He had read of

blasting rocks, and nothing would satisfy him but blasting a bank. So he

bored a deep hole in it with a stick, filled the hole with gunpowder,

and then poked a lighted lucifer into the powder. The consequence was,

that his face was so scorched as not to be recognised, all his eyebrows

and eyelashes and most of his hair were burned off, while his right hand

was injured as has been already mentioned. Now that boy had been

studiously kept out of the way of powder by female relatives, and was

naturally profoundly ignorant of its effects. Had he been taught to

handle it, he would not now be forced to keep his right hand closed, or

to write by holding the pen between the fingers of his clenched hand.

GUNPOWDER.

It will not be very advisable for the firework boy to make his own

powder, but still it will not be amiss that he should know how it is

prepared. Pulverise separately 5 drams of nitrate of potass, 1 dram of

sulphur, and 1 dram of newly burnt charcoal, mix them together in a

mortar with a little water, so as to make the compound into a dough,

which roll out into round pieces of the thickness of a pin upon a slab.

This must be done by moving a board backwards and forwards until the

dough is of a proper size. When three or four of these pieces are ready

put them together thus,--

[Illustration]

and cut them off into small grains. Place these grains on a sheet of

paper in a warm place where they will soon dry, but away from a fire.

During granulation the dough must be prevented from sticking by using a

little of the dry compound powder. This mode of granulation, though

tedious, is the only one to be used for so small a quantity for the sake

of experiment. In making powder in a large way it is granulated by

passing the composition through sieves.

HOW TO MAKE TOUCH-PAPER.

Dissolve in a little spirits of wine or vinegar a little saltpetre, then

take some purple or blue paper, and wet it with the above liquor and it

will be fit for use. When pasting paper on any of the following works

take care that the paste does not touch that part which is to burn. The

method of using this paper is to cut it into slips long enough to go

once round the mouth of a serpent, cracker, &c.

CASES FOR SQUIBS, FLOWER-POTS, ROCKETS, ROMAN CANDLES, ETC.

Procure a hard wooden cylinder, or, if possible, one made of metal,

whose diameter corresponds with that of the interior of the proposed

case. Roll round it several folds of cartridge paper, and paste the

edges well, so that it may be held securely. Tie it round until dry.

[Illustration]

TO CHOKE THE CASES.

When the cases are thus made they will require to be tied at the lower

end. This is called choking them, and as much force is required it is

necessary. Fix a wire into a small solid cylinder (_d_). Take another

short piece (_b_) an inch or two long, with a hole up it to admit the

other end of the wire, fit it on and pass it up the case. Then having

fastened a piece of whipcord to a post, wind it round the part left

hollow by the wire, which should be about half an inch from the end;

pull it tight with the right hand and work the case round with the left.

Cut out a piece of touch paper two inches long and an inch and a half

broad, wind it round the choke, and tie it on with a piece of fine

string--twist it to a point. The cases are best choked while damp.

[Illustration]

COMPOSITION FOR SQUIBS, ETC.

Gunpowder half a pound, charcoal 1 ounce, brimstone 1 ounce, or in like

proportion; grind them in a muller or pound them in a mortar. Or you may

take 1 part steel filings, 1 charcoal, 1 sulphur, and 4 powder, which is

a very good mixture, and can be rubbed together in a mortar.

HOW TO FILL THE CASES.

Your cases must be very dry when ready, and should be put into an iron

or wooden mould; first put in a thimble full of your powder, and ram it

down very hard with your ruler, then put in a little more till the case

is full, ramming it down hard every time. If you have no mould, hold the

case in your left hand with the twisted touch-paper downwards, and fill

it after the same manner. When you have filled within an inch of the

top, fill up this with loose powder not rammed, for a bang, and fold in

the ends; after filling a dozen or two melt some pitch in a small ladle,

and smear the ends of the case with it by means of a small brush.

TO MAKE CRACKERS.

Cut some stout cartridge-paper into pieces three inches and a half broad

and one foot long, fold down one edge of these pieces lengthwise about

three quarters of an inch broad, then fold the double edge down a

quarter of an inch, and turn the single edge back half over the double

fold. Open it, and lay all along the channel which is formed by the

folding of the paper some meal powder, then fold it over and over till

the paper is doubled up, rubbing it down at every turn; this being done

bend it backwards and forwards two inches and a half, or thereabouts, at

a time, as often as the paper will allow. Hold all these folds flat and

close, and with a small pinching cord give one turn round the middle of

the cracker and pinch it close; bind it with packthread as tight as you

can, then in the place where it was pinched prime one end and cap it

with touch-paper.

When these crackers are fired they will give a loud report at every turn

of the paper; if you want a great number of these, you have only to cut

the paper longer, or join it on to a greater length; but if they are

made very long you must have a piece of wood with a groove in it deep

enough to let in half the cracker, which will hold it straight while you

are pinching it.

[Illustration]

ROMAN CANDLES AND STARS.

[Illustration]

These are best made with the following ingredients: 1 ounce of powder, 1

ounce of sulphur, and 2 ounces of nitre. Some persons, however, prefer 1

part sulphur, 1 charcoal, 1 iron filings, 4 of powder, and 8 of nitre.

The composition being made, in filling the cases fill the contrary way

to a squib--stop up the choke by driving down a piece of paper. Put in 1

quill of gunpowder loose and 1 star made in the following manner: 1

ounce of camphor, 1 of sulphur, 2 of meal powder, 1 ounce of the

coloured fires, moisten them with oil of turpentine, and work them into

little round balls. Having placed a star within the case, put in above

it 3 quills of the composition, ram down, then powder, star, and

composition alternately, till the case is full. Paste touch-paper round

the top and twist to a point.

ROCKETS.

[Illustration]

There are several recipes for making rockets, the best of which is 3

ounces of charcoal, 6 of sulphur, 8 of nitre, 32 of meal powder. Another

very good one is, 3 ounces of iron filings, 4 of powdered charcoal, 8 of

sulphur, 16 of nitre, and 64 of meal powder. If a smaller quantity is

wanted divide each proportion by 2, if a still smaller divide by 4. In

this cut _s_ is the loose gunpowder with eight or ten stars upon it; _c_

is that part of the rocket in which the composition is to be rammed

hard, _p_ the priming or quick match, _t_ the touch paper. The cases are

to be put into a mould and the composition must be well rammed. The

cases should be four times the thickness of those for squibs.

RAINS.

[Illustration]

Sometimes gold or silver rains are added to rockets, which give them a

very beautiful appearance. A gold rain is made of 2 parts sawdust, 4

sulphur, 4 meal powder, 6 glass dust, 16 nitre, in all 32 parts. A

silver rain may be made of 2 parts salt prunella, 8 sulphuret of

antimony, 8 sulphur, 8 meal powder, and 14 nitre, in all 32 parts.

CATHERINE WHEELS.

These are very pretty fireworks, and are made to turn on a pivot. There

are many recipes for the composition of which they are formed; 1 part

camphor, 1 sulphur, 1 nitre, 2 meal powder. Another is, 3 parts iron

filings, 4 sulphur, 12 nitre, 16 meal powder. This composition is to be

rammed into small cases, and bound round a small wheel, having a hole

for a pivot in the centre.

VARIOUS COLOURED FIRES.

The following recipes will give the young firework maker a great variety

of the most beautiful fires. They should never be fired in a room,

however, and always away from a dwelling.

CRIMSON FIRE.

The principal ingredient in this is nitrate of strontium, of which 40

parts are taken, with 13 of sulphur, 15 of chlorate of potass, 4 of

sulphuret of antimony, and 2 of lamp-black. These, as all the

ingredients for the other fires, should be rubbed in a ladle, and they

may be used in a ladle or iron dish set on the ground.

BLUE FIRE.

The ingredients of blue fire are 20 parts; 12 of nitre, 4 of sulphur, 2

of sulphuret of antimony, and 2 of lamp-black.

GREEN FIRE.

The ingredients for green fire are in 54 parts; 42 of nitrate of

barytes, 8 of sulphur, 3 of chlorate of potass, and 1 of lamp-black.

PURPLE FIRE.

The best recipe for purple fire is of 60 parts; 25 of nitre, 25 of

nitrate of strontium, 7 of sulphur, 2 of realgor, and 1 of lamp-black.

WHITE FIRE.

The best and purest white fire is made of 24 parts of nitre, 7 of

sulphur, 2 of red arsenic, and 1 of lamp-black.

SPUR FIRE.

9 parts of nitre, 4 of sulphur, and 3 of lamp-black, well rubbed

together.

BLUE LIGHTS.

These are made of 4 parts of sulphur, 2 of nitre, and 1 of powder, and

are rammed into squib-cases the contrary way.

PORT OR WILDFIRES.

Saltpetre 4 parts, meal powder 6 parts, and sulphur 3 parts. The

composition to be moistened with linseed oil.

SLOW FIRE FOR WHEELS.

Saltpetre 4 parts, sulphur 2 parts, and meal powder 2 parts.

DEAD FIRE FOR WHEELS.

Saltpetre 5 parts, sulphur 1 part, lapis calaminaris 1 part, and

antimony 1 part.

CAUTIONS.

Such are the principles and methods by which fireworks may be made; but

we would advise our young friends to be very cautious, and never to

attempt making any fireworks by candle-light; always to select some

outhouse for their operations; to see that no iron or steel implements

are about the place in which their fireworks are being manufactured, or

they may go off before they wish it; to use wooden or brass implements

in the bruising, grinding, and sifting of their mixtures; and never to

bring the fireworks, or any of their ingredients, into the

dwelling-house, or they may suddenly receive a

“Heavy blow and great discouragement.”

TO MAKE AN ILLUMINATED SPIRAL WHEEL.

[Illustration]

Procure a circular horizontal wheel two feet in diameter with a hole

quite through the nave, then take four thin pieces of deal three feet

long each, and three-quarters of an inch broad each. One end of each of

these pieces is to be nailed to the felloe of the wheel at an equal

distance from one another; and the other end nailed to a block with a

hole in its bottom, which must be perpendicular with that in the block

of the wheel, but not so large. The wheel being thus made, a hoop planed

down very thin must be nailed to the felloe of the wheel, and wound

round the four sticks in a spiral line from the wheel to the block at

the top; on the top of this block a case of Chinese fire must be fixed,

and on the wheel any number of cases, which must incline downwards and

burn two at a time. The axis of the wheel must be a little longer than

the cone, and made very smooth at the top, on which the upper block is

to turn and the whole weight of the wheel to rest. The entire framing of

the wheel, with its connecting tubes, is shown in the above cut.

THE GRAND VOLUTE.

[Illustration]

Should my young friends wish to prepare a grand volute illuminated with

a revolving wheel; the first step is to procure a large circular wheel,

and on its rim lay as many four-ounce cases as will complete the circle,

only allowing a sufficient distance between the cases that the fire may

pass free, which may be done by cutting the upper part of the end of

each a little shelving. On each spoke fix a four-ounce case about three

inches from the rim of the wheel. These cases are to burn one at a

time. On the front of the wheel form a spiral line with strong wire, on

which tie port-fires, placing them on a slant with their mouths to face

the same way as the cases on the wheel; all these port fires must be

fired with the second cases of the wheel. Let there be a series of

wooden spokes all made to screw into a block into the centre. When the

large wheel begins to discharge the fireworks, the spiral wheel will of

course revolve and produce a very beautiful illuminated cone.

A BRILLIANT YEW-TREE.

To prepare a brilliant yew-tree, a frame like the one represented in the

drawing must be firmly attached to the ground. When the branches are

fixed, place illuminating port-fires on the top of each, as many as is

convenient; behind the top of the stem fasten a gerb or white fountain,

which must be fired at the beginning of the illumination on the tree. A

series of these, varying in the angular directions taken by the boughs,

produce a very fine effect.

[Illustration]

Such are a few general directions respecting the making of fireworks;

but we have again to advise our young friends to be cautious of the

gunpowder, and to keep away from the fire, or from a light, or from

flames, steel, iron, or any other matter likely to cause a spark.

[Illustration]

GARDENING.

“’Tis a delightful task

To rear the tender flower, to see the bud

Put forth its bloom, the little seedling sprout

From its dark grove, to meet the sunbeams, and

To drink the gracious rain. Here Innocence

May well amuse herself, and blithe Industry

Make mate with ants, and bees, and busy things,

From morn to evening daily.”--MARTIN.

Gardening is one of the most delightful occupations for young persons.

It combines innocent amusement, exercise of the healthiest kind, skill,

forethought, method, taste, and is full of instruction,--leading the

mind, not only to the wonderful operations of nature, but to the great

Originator and Preserver of all things.

Gardening was the first of the arts. Before man had fallen from his

“high estate,” and lost his heirship of heaven, he was placed by his

Creator in a garden, and ordered to dress it and to keep it. The

sustenance of man in all countries is derived, directly or indirectly,

from the vegetable kingdom: it is supposed that he first made his

appearance in that fertile and fruitful land from whence we get our best

grasses. It was natural, then, that some rude kind of gardening should

first occupy the attention of primitive man. In a savage state, now,

in many countries, plants supply all the wants of man to an extent

greater even than we are apt to suppose, from the necessity and

possibility of a greater variety of animal food in our own climate.

[Illustration: MISCELLANEOUS.--GARDENING, FENCING, ETC.]

From the earliest times of profane history, gardens are alluded to. The

gardens of the Hesperides abounded with fruit of the most delicious

kind, and the hanging gardens of Babylon were among the wonders of the

world. The gardens of the Persians are called by Xenophon, “delightful

places, fertile and beautiful;” and the gardens of Alcinous abounded

with fruits, grapes, and various horticultural wonders. The philosophers

of Athens walked in ornamental gardens, among shady groves, statues, and

fountains.

There are many so-called styles of gardening, but these are readily

divisable into two varieties--the geometrical and natural style. In the

first may be comprised all gardens laid out with straight or geometrical

lines. In the second, which is often called the English style, we

include gardens and parks where the irregularity that we observe in

pretty wild places, or in Nature’s own gardens, are preserved more or

less judiciously and tastefully. On the one hand, we take Nature for a

model; on the other, we merely apply geometrical lines to the garden and

its contents. As the geometrical garden is merely a thing of straight

lines, it is very much easier to dispose than the natural, with which a

great many people make sad mistakes, and then blame the style instead of

their own taste. It is very much easier to make straight walks, and

circles, and figures of all kinds in a garden, than to imitate on a

small scale the variety, and indefinite, ever-pleasing character

exhibited by Nature where she most attracts us with floral beauty.

However, to see some specimens of the various styles of gardens will

give a better idea of their worth, and main features, than any reading.

We will indicate a few of the places where good examples are to be seen.

The Crystal Palace is perhaps the best place to observe their

differences, particularly as most boys visit that attractive place. The

great terraces and fountains are, of course, in the geometrical style;

while the more remote, or outer parts of the grounds, are a good example

of the natural or English style of laying out grounds. The irregular

“lakes,” surrounded by vegetation, the rock cropping out here and there,

the natural-looking grouping of fine trees, and the freely rolling

beautiful green grass mounds, &c. are, though perhaps not the most

frequented, certainly among the best features of the Crystal Palace. The

Royal Botanic Gardens in the Regent’s Park is also a good, a very good

example of the best method of laying out gardens in the English style.

It is disfigured, however, by a small, mean kind of geometrical garden,

which we must not be supposed to praise. On the other hand, the garden

of the Royal Horticultural Society at South Kensington is a capital

example of a completely opposite style--the Italian and geometrical;

and once having seen these, any boy can at once distinguish between the

two, and probably say which he most admires.

In France, during the reign of Louis XV., the bad and artificial method

was carried to excess;--clipped hedges, always laid out in straight

lines--flower-beds tortured into fantastic shapes--trees cut into the

form of pyramid haystacks, animals, &c. The gardens were like the

manners and dress of that period, in which scarcely anything natural was

left. The Dutch imitated the French: and this kind of gardening

continued to prevail till attacked by Addison, in the “Spectator,” and

Pope, in his Fourth Moral Epistle.

[Illustration: A GARDEN IN THE TIME OF LOUIS XV.]

However, the boy’s garden is so small as a rule, that to attempt any

kind of ambitious “laying out” would be nonsense; and having thus

explained what is meant by different “styles” in gardening, we proceed

to show how the boy’s garden should be laid out.

ON LAYING OUT A SMALL GARDEN.

[Illustration]

The size of a piece of ground which we should recommend to the young

gardener ought to be about 33 yards long, and about 25 broad. It should

be divided into four portions, as in the diagram. A B C D are four

paths, 5 feet wide, which might be gravelled, and the edges should be

planted with box, or some neat and tiny flowering plant. The borders

should be about 2 feet in width; and this, with the breadth of the path,

will take 9 feet, or 3 yards, from the 25 yards of width; which will

leave 11 yards, or 11 yards broad, for each of the four compartments.

The length of the four compartments--reduced by 9 feet, or 3 yards, as

before, for the cross-path and two borders--will allow each of the four

compartments to be 15 yards in length; so that each quarter of the

garden would contain 15 yards multiplied by 11 yards, and would equal

165 square yards, which again multiplied by 4, would give 660 square

yards of surface, which would be amply sufficient for a young person to

obtain something like an idea of gardening, and at the same time be a

profitable advantage. This will be found too large, however, except for

those who wish to work at gardening in earnest, and have, moreover,

plenty of time and thought to give to the matter. One half the size will

be found to suit a greater number. In such, the same plan and

proportioning may be carried out.

PLANTING THE GROUND WITH TREES, FLOWERS, ETC.

In the foregoing diagram, the borders are for flowers, and the other

parts of the compartments for the raising of vegetables; but here and

there a space should be left for the planting of fruit-trees,

rose-trees, currants, gooseberries, raspberries, &c. The places marked

by dots (*) are where fruit-trees may be planted, which should consist

of some of the best sorts of apple, cherry, pear, and plum-trees, which

ought to be planted from four to five yards apart. In the borders,

rose-trees, both of the standard and common kind, might be planted, as

indicated by the dots (*); and at the four corners, where the paths

intersect, climbing-roses should be placed, having strong poles upon

which their tendrils and branches may run. The spaces in the border may

be appropriated to the various kinds of flowers, at the choice of the

young gardener.

THE NOBLEST KIND OF GARDENING FOR BOYS.

There is one kind of gardening the results of which will afford a higher

satisfaction to boys, when they become men, than any other pastime or

exercise they can possibly engage in, and that is the planting of fine

hardy trees. These will not require much attention, or any beyond the

planting. They will grow freely and vigorously when you are at school or

asleep, soon find their own supply of moisture by striking their roots

deeply into the ground, and are able to withstand our cold and cloudy

climate at all seasons. Nearly all intelligent and educated men are

admirers of fine trees. Many who care nothing about our ordinary

low-lying plants, take the highest interest in fine hardy trees--the

late Prince Consort and the present Emperor of the French, for instance.

Generally we display this interest in trees by planting them extensively

when we come to be men; but how much would many lovers of trees not give

to have commenced their tree-planting at an early age, so that they

might walk under giant groves of their own planting! The Indian says,

“He has not lived in vain who has planted a tree;” and certainly it is a

noble thing to embellish the earth with its finest ornaments, and plant

tiny shoots that will in time become great trees, and shed leaves over

the graves of our children for ages. And it is well to observe in the

beginning, that a tree of thoroughly hardy and vigorous disposition is

one of the most lasting things on earth. Though a living thing,

susceptible, like ourselves, of almost every change of atmosphere, cold

or heat, it often survives great monuments of stone, and may live and

see extinguished not only many generations of men but even the lives of

nations.

The age of many trees has been computed upon fair proof to be greater

than that of the Pyramids of Egypt. There are trees in America which

were of colossal development ere that country was discovered, so that

the growth of a mighty nation may require but little time compared to

that witnessed by the giant Wellingtonia, whose bark you may have seen

at the Crystal Palace. In our own country the age of many oaks and yews

is proverbial. But apart altogether from the mighty age which our finest

trees attain, let us venerate them for their beauty, dignity, and

utility. What so full of life and change, so inexhaustive in their

well-built and subtle ramifications, as the branches and branchlets of a

fine tree! “The pillars of the valleys, the fringes of the hills,” as an

eloquent writer calls them, “so stately, so eternal” are, while the most

useful of all things to man, at the same time the most beautiful natural

objects which he can contemplate. Nothing adds so much to the beauty of

park, pleasure ground, or garden, as the planting of handsome and

suitable trees: in fact, they are the only true and pleasing ornaments

of such. What constitutes the difference between the aspect of naked,

blast-swept, and desolate-looking heaths, or lowland--monotonous ground

of any kind, in fact--and one of those grand parks of old England, say

Goodwood, or Richmond, or indeed any pleasure ground such as you may see

in almost every parish, with every shady ferny corner, or lane opening,

or tree-fringed sloping grass mound, a picture of fresh and changeful

loveliness? Why, simply the presence of trees. With them you may impart

every charm to the wildest heath or flattest prairie--with them the

highest and grandest beauty may be imparted to the charmingly undulated

surface of a great part of the British Isles.

So much for the trees and their attractions. What is next to be done? It

is to be hoped that every boy fond of gardening has already made up his

mind to plant a tree, or several. We have seen a great many little boys’

gardens, but it was the fate of most of them to become disused and

neglected, dug up or forgotten, when the little gardeners had arrived at

the “big boy,” or manhood stage. The inmates being small and fleeting,

of course every trace soon departed. But by adopting the kind of

gardening here recommended, a pleasing and stately souvenir of pleasant

early days will be the result. It must not, however, be attempted in the

ordinary little boy’s garden, which is usually a small patch under a

wall, or in some obscure spot totally unfit for trees. If you once make

up your mind to plant a tree, the first thing to do is to choose a good

position for it. It should be one in which it will grow well, and in

which the tree will not be in the way of anything else. This will save

it from being disturbed after it gets to some size, and your hopes from

being disappointed in a way you least expected. And lastly, it will be

very desirable to so place the tree that its effect when grown up may be

a good and beautiful one. It is, for instance, very bad management to

plant the noble Wellingtonia, or Cedar of Lebanon, near a house. This is

very often done in suburban and villa gardens, but if the trees attain

their natural size they spoil the house, or must be cut down. The finest

cedar of Lebanon we know of is planted within twenty feet of a house,

and completely overshadows it; yet so noble is the tree that the owner

would not touch it on any account: he would give a great deal, however,

to have it in a proper position. The planting of a large kind of tree

where it may, when grown up, stop a pleasant view, is also a great

mistake.

From these instances it will be seen that the position is a subject of

the highest importance in tree-planting. Now, as of course every boy

cannot be a judge of tree-planting, it will be found the best plan to

consult papa or the gardener about it. They will be so well pleased at

the idea of your planting a tree instead of a geranium or a wallflower,

that you are sure to be encouraged with advice and assistance. To plant

it in the ordinary boys’ garden would be a great mistake. It should be

at once put in a position in which it might flourish undisturbed for

ages. Generally, hardy trees are not fastidious as to soil. Mere

planting is all the noble hardy ash, the graceful birch--the lady of the

woods--the spreading beech, and others of our native trees require. But

when we come to plant the grandest of all trees--the Wellingtonia and

the Cedar of Lebanon, with many of the nobler pines of North America--if

the soil be not naturally very good, we must make a preparation for the

young plant. This is to be done by digging out a hole and taking the bad

soil out at the bottom, leaving the top spit at one side, and then

filling in the opening, say six feet wide or so, with good soil taken

from a pasture and chopped up with a spade. This should be raised above

the surface to allow for subsequent sinking, and also to keep the neck

of the young tree a little above the level ground. The part meant by the

neck, is the base of the stem, or, in other words, the part where root

begins and stem terminates.

As most gardens or pleasure grounds are well drained, the little planter

is not likely to have much to contend with on that score, but where the

bottom or lower soil is of a disagreeable nature, gardeners very often

place a quantity of broken bricks or rough stones in the bottom of the

hole, and over them place turf to prevent the top soil from falling

down.

The best time for planting is in the autumn--say September, October, or

November; but any time through the autumn, winter, or early spring will

do, provided the ground be not saturated with rain, and all other

circumstances be favourable. The choosing of a good young tree is an

important point. Do not have anything to do with those grown in pots;

the roots of such are usually contorted round the ball, and in a very

bad condition to make good trees. Nice symmetrical plants growing in a

nursery, say at about from two to four feet high, are the best. The

price of even the best of such will not amount to more than that of an

ordinary toy, while in the case of the common native trees, and such

things as the willows, that grow freely from a sucker, it is a mere

trifle. Indeed, in the case of boys who live where there is anything

like an extensive garden or grounds, most probably good young trees will

be at hand ready to plant. It will be well to have the assistance of the

gardener in planting a rare thing like the Wellingtonia, though after a

little practice an intelligent boy can do it easily. The main points

are, to place the roots of the tree on soil made pretty firm, to spread

the roots out carefully before covering them, and finally, if the

weather or soil should happen to be very dry, to give the ground a

_thorough_ soaking of water. This will refresh the little root fibres,

make them “take kindly to the earth,” and, in short, put the little tree

in a fair way for its long life. And as boys may frequently have

occasion to water their gardens, as well as other people, we may assure

them that one thorough good watering is better than a dozen bad ones. A

bad watering is one in which the surface of the soil is merely wetted,

and if you poke down a little way you find the soil quite dry: a good

watering is one in which the water descends deep and far into the soil,

as deep or deeper than the roots go, in fact. The dragging about of

water in pots is a very laborious and awkward affair. If the little

gardener can secure the loan of the water-barrel on wheels, and have it

filled quite full, and the contents gently supplied to the root of his

tree, he will save himself much trouble, and probably have no further

attention to pay to it in that way during the course of his life. By the

way, have you ever heard the little story about the famous Jean Jacques

Rousseau and his little tree? If not, here it is.

When he was a little pupil about ten years of age, his master planted a

walnut-tree to give a grateful shade to a place immediately outside the

house. The planting of this walnut-tree was attended with some ceremony,

little Rousseau and his friend, a fellow-boarder, acting as godfathers,

singing songs of triumph around it. The master and his assistants formed

a kind of basin around the tree, or, in other words, made a little

embankment of earth around it, so that the water could not escape. Jean

Jacques and his companion saw and were much interested in all this, made

up their minds that it was a nobler thing to plant trees than to plant

colours on a breach, and at once became very anxious to plant. This they

soon did by cutting a slip of willow, and planting it with due ceremony

on the terrace near the august walnut-tree that had been planted by the

master. They made a basin of earth round it in imitation of the bigger

one, and then came their grand difficulty--how to water it. They were

not permitted to fetch any, or they would have gladly done so, though it

was at a distance. The tree was safe for a short time from some cause or

other, and began to put forth a few leaves, which they hoped would in

due time afford them shelter and shade; but hot days came, and it was

apparent that unless the little tree had water it would surely die. What

was to be done? Well, it is pretty evident that either of them could

think a little, even at that age, for the little rogues made up their

minds to make a tiny grass-covered canal between the large basin and

their little one, so that when the master came to water his big tree,

the water might run from his basin to theirs! Their first essay failed;

the earth fell in, and they were miserable for a moment, but soon set to

work again. This time they cut an old box into narrow planks, and lined

the furrow with them, made the slope so that the water would be sure to

run as desired, and covered the trench over so that nobody could see it,

putting a grating of twigs over the upper end, so as to hide appearances

and keep out rubbish, and waited in hope and fear for the result. The

master and his men came and poured in the water, which soon ran through

the furrow to the little tree. This was too much for our otherwise

sagacious little gardeners. They roared with delight at the success of

their plan, and betrayed it to the master, who immediately sent for a

pick-axe, and cut up their little trench, shouting at the same time, “An

aqueduct! an aqueduct!” They were of course sorry, but soon took heart,

and planted another tree, which lived to be a big one. To have set this

slip in competition with a large one, Rousseau tells, gave him a degree

of glory he had not known before, and says that he had a juster idea of

it at that age than Cæsar had at thirty.

We will next turn to the selection of trees, and to the various wants of

those who are likely to plant. The most popular trees in England at

present are those noble evergreen pines. They are not all suited for

town gardening, but very much so for most parts of the country. Around

the beautiful mausoleum raised to contain the remains of the late Prince

Consort at Frogmore, there is a row of these trees, mostly tapering and

slender in habit, and very dark green. They have been planted by the

various members of the Royal family _in memoriam_. The late Prince was

very fond of these pine-trees, and many country gentlemen take the

greatest interest in their planting. We merely tell you this to point

out that the planting of trees is an object of ambition with many of the

best and the highest in the land. When Her Majesty, and many other

distinguished persons, visit a nobleman’s place or a public park, one of

the most graceful acts they can do is to plant a tree; and the custom is

very general. Let us hope, then, that many boys will imitate the example

of Rousseau, and say, why should not we too plant trees? But to return

to our pines, or conifers, as they are called. The race is a wonderfully

beautiful one--so much so, that you must take care, or you may plant

things that will do very well for a few years, perhaps, but get quite

killed by the first very severe frost. It is a sad sight to see a tree

which has perhaps grown to considerable size and beauty killed to the

very ground by a frost such as we had in January, 1866--some of our

noblest pines perished then; and therefore a list of the most thoroughly

hardy kinds must prove useful. The giant Wellingtonia of California is

fortunately hardy in all parts of these islands. So is the great

arbor-vitæ of Nootka Sound (_Thuja gigantea_), a specimen of which

obtained the first prize for trees of this kind at the great Paris

Exhibition. One of the most beautiful of all pines, one which has its

“leaves,” or little branchlets rather, as graceful as those of a fern,

is Thujiopsis borealis, and it too is perfectly hardy. We regret that

hard names must be used, but then, as thousands of our plants are not

natives of England, they have of course no recognised English name, and

to translate the scientific one would simply produce an awkward

barbarism. In addition to the above, the following trees of this fine

family may be planted with the confidence that we shall not see them

perish in the vigour and beauty of youth:--Lawson’s cypress (we give you

the English name where possible). Nearly all kinds of juniper. Picea

Pinsapo, nobilis, and Nordmanniana, all noble trees--also amabilis and

cephalonica. Abies Albertii, Morinda, Menziesii, the Cedar of Lebanon,

and the Deodar cedar--these are hurt now and then, but on the whole are

hardy enough generally. The common spruce fir; the Scotch fir, always a

picturesque tree. The deciduous cypress, a fine tree for the margins of

water, where after a time its roots send up most curious knobs, in many

cases nearly as big as a beehive, above the ground. It is quite

extraordinary to see the specimens of this noble tree in the pleasure

grounds at Syon, the Duke of Northumberland’s fine place near Brentford.

The new Japanese larch (_L. Kæmpferi_), the Austrian pine, the Swiss nut

pine (_P. Cembra_), the Corsican pine. The youthful gardener, who lives

near a large nursery, park, or place like Kew, Glasnevin Botanic

Gardens, near Dublin, the Botanic Gardens at Edinburgh, the gardens of

the Crystal Palace, at Sydenham, or many places of this kind, would do

well to examine specimens of the kinds named, or indeed any others, so

that he may take his choice; making sure to inquire, however, that the

particular kind he selects is perfectly hardy: a tree may be quite hardy

in one part of the country, and quite tender in another. The curious and

fine monkey puzzle (_Araucaria imbricata_), for instance, has been

killed in some parts by severe frosts, in others it has always escaped

with impunity. It is always easy to ascertain facts of this kind in a

neighbourhood, and of course we should make a point of cultivating the

things that are best suited to our climate and soil.

So much for coniferous trees. We will next turn to a far nobler group,

so far as regards our wants--deciduous trees, or those that lose their

leaves in winter. These are generally quite hardy, and make large and

long-lived trees. They may be grown in many places where the pines would

not live, and are therefore admirably suited for places in and near

towns. They should be preferred by all boys who live in suburban

gardens, as in such the leaves of pines and evergreens are sure to be

soiled and disfigured, if not half-killed, by smut. Many of these

deciduous trees flower beautifully, and in not a few the leaves, even in

our dull clime, assume rich and varied tints in autumn. The following

list includes the noblest, best, and hardiest known:--The great

Columbian maple, the silvery maple (_A. eriocarpum_), the red maple (_A.

colchicum rubrum_), the Norway maple, the purple-leaved sycamore, and

the variegated negundo; the double horse chesnut (the flower of this

lasts very much longer than the single kind), the red chesnut, the

Hungarian lime-tree, and the Mississippi lime, the tree of heaven

(_Ailanthus glandulosa_), the tulip-tree, the Japanese sophora (a noble

tree, fine for dry soils), the Kentucky coffee-tree (not a large tree,

but with very graceful leaves), the hawthorns in variety, both red and

white. Some of the hawthorns bear handsome fruit, and of such the most

distinct is Aronia, Layi, Celsiana and Douglasii. The flowering ash, the

showy Chinese Pyrus spectabilis, the American ash, the Canadian ash or

lancewood; the Cornish, Chichester, and Irish elms (the last being a

tree of large growth) and also most particularly the weeping variety of

the wych elm; the black walnut, and the yellow-twigged willow; the

silver-leaved poplar, the Carolina poplar, and of course the Lombardy

poplar; the splendid western plane, which does so well in towns, the

Eastern plane, and the Spanish plane. Lastly, we will name the noble

oaks, both the American and our own. The American oaks are among the

finest trees of the world. The best of them are Q. ambigua, Prinus, the

champion oak, the scarlet oak, the black oak, and the willow oak. Any of

these will form long-lived and noble trees.

The preceding remarks and instructions generally apply to the wants of

boys whose parents have gardens of some size. But a very large class are

not so fortunate--have not sufficient space to develop a good tree, and

perhaps live in or near towns, where it may be difficult to grow a good

one. For convenience sake, we will divide these into two classes--those

who have small gardens in the country, and those who have small gardens

in or near towns or cities. In the former, it will be better to pay full

attention to subjects of a comparatively dwarf though hardy and

long-lived habit, and to fine hardy shrubs like the hollies, &c. Except

on the very margins of a small country place, it is a mistake to plant

great trees, as at some time they are pretty sure to become an

overshadowing nuisance, too near the house to be seen to advantage, and

also too near to be agreeable or healthful. Of beautiful dwarf evergreen

trees suited for such, there is nothing better than the comparatively

new Retinosporas, which are at once graceful, hardy, and beautiful.

They are natives of Japan, and in any large nursery various handsome and

comparatively dwarf pines may be selected suitable for the same purpose.

For the town or suburban garden the best things are decidedly beautiful

dwarf and free-flowering deciduous trees, like the almond, the various

finely coloured double peaches, the beautiful double cherries, the

Chinese crab, the silvery eleagnus, the better kinds of hawthorn, and if

there be room for a large tree, the plane is the best. Of course there

is great difference in the climate and atmosphere of what are called

suburbs. Thus, in many of the suburbs of London it is nearly impossible

to get a pine-tree to live, while in the suburbs of many other towns and

cities the choicest trees flourish freely. But ten or twelve years’

increase of smoke and increase of houses may make a sad difference to

the pleasantest of suburbs, and things that flourished healthfully at

one time may gradually perish from increasing smut and vileness of

atmosphere. The best trees of the pine tribe for town planting are the

dwarf and beautiful Thuja aurea, well suited, from its dwarf size, for

the pleasure ground or flower garden; the Austrian pine, the common

arbor-vitæ, and perhaps a few others; but as a rule, it is better not to

plant pines where they will be exposed to the evil effects of a city

atmosphere. On the other hand, all trees that lose their leaves in

winter are likely to do well in such places, because they are leafless

and quite at rest in the winter, when every chimney is vomiting forth

poison, and the air is thick with filth. Then, when the atmosphere

begins to clear, and the spring returns, they put forth their leaves and

expose them during the best of the year, while the poor pine or

evergreen has to stand exposed at all seasons.

THE BOY’S FLOWER GARDEN.

Of course every boy who cares about gardening will have a little flower

garden. That is the first thing he is likely to attempt, and, perhaps,

on the whole, that which he may attempt with the greatest certainty of

success. A nice little varied flower garden is a source of interest and

pleasant exercise for a boy nine months out of twelve. But it is not by

imitating the common style of flower garden that a boy can make his

little piece pretty and interesting for the length of time we have

named. Nothing can be more bald and awkward-looking, more miserable in

aspect, than most flower gardens he is likely to see at the present day;

and therefore he must not attempt to imitate them, but follow the

instructions to be presently given. The reason why the greater number of

flower gardens of the present time are bad and miserably vulgar-looking,

is that those who arrange them simply use a few sorts of plants, and

many of them in great excess, so that an oppressive kind of monotony is

produced, which is anything but agreeable in the flower garden; and,

besides, nearly every flower garden you enter is very like every

other--no life or interest to be seen in them as a rule; but, on the

other hand, a great deal of mere gaudiness.

In addition to these demerits, the ordinary type of flower garden is

usually filled with tender plants--plants which must be put out in the

ground when the frosts are quite gone, in the beginning of June, and

taken up again as soon as they reappear in autumn--leaving the ground

bare for the winter and long spring. Now, even if this were the most

beautiful way of managing a flower garden, it would not suit the boy

gardener. He has, as a rule, no time to attend to tender plants, and if

he once plants his garden, keeps it clean, and adds a new member to it

now and then, it is perhaps as much as can be expected, considering how

many other things he has to do. Besides, he goes away to school now and

then, and what is to become of his tender plants then? Most boys will be

proud to take care of their own things, and will be much better

satisfied with a hardy little plant, which cannot suffer when they go

away for six weeks at a time, than with one that may go off with the

first frost. Clearly the best thing for the young gardener to do is to

cultivate the most interesting and pretty of the hardy flowers of all

seasons. Usually these are infinitely more interesting than the tender

exotics of the grand flower garden. Many of them are English plants,

notably the beautiful lily of the valley, the pink, the carnation, the

graceful Solomon’s seal, the various lovely primroses and polyanthuses,

and a host of others. Yes, you will do most wisely by adopting all those

charming old inmates of our gardens, which, independently of their

associations, are not to be surpassed for their beauty by any

tenderlings. It will be our pleasant duty to point out to you the kind

that you may grow with the greatest ease, and pick out for you the most

beautiful kinds known. It is most essential to be very careful about the

plants you put in your little flower garden, for your space is generally

small, and there is in consequence the greater necessity to take care

that every spot of it is occupied with a “good thing,” as gardeners are

wont to say. There are hundreds of plants mentioned in garden books, and

sold in nurseries, that are little better than weeds, and which would,

therefore, sadly disfigure your garden. Presently we shall write you a

list, which may be implicitly depended upon--every plant being

beautiful, hardy, and in all respects suited to your wants.

As boys are usually allotted but a small portion of border for their

flower garden, it is better to adopt the mixed border system, that is, a

mixture of different kinds, tastefully arranged, and have nothing to do

with what is called “bedding-out,” or planting great masses of one

thing. By the mixed system, you will be enabled to enjoy a little of

everything, and at all seasons, from the time that the crocus opens its

brightly-burnished golden blossoms in early spring, till the Christmas

rose ventures to show its large white flowers in the depth of winter. Do

you like exquisitely coloured little flowers in the dawn of

spring--little brightly blue things that “come before the swallow

dares?” You can grow such without expense or trouble in your little

parterre. The charming bushes of dwarf shrubs, and large border flowers,

which bloom in May, must have charms for you as for all of us, and these

too you may have in perfection; while the roses of June and July, the

lilies of August, and the grand gladiolus of the autumn, will all be

perfectly at home in your borders, as will every good and beautiful

flower garden plant. In laying out your small patch of flower garden, it

is best to confine yourself to a central bed (which may be square,

round, or oval), and borders around that, and not to attempt anything

elaborate in the way of laying. Attempts to lay out small bits of ground

in a geometrically elaborate or Lilliputian imitation of the natural

style, is almost sure to end in the production of something ridiculous

or cockneyfied. Confine your attention chiefly to the plants, laying out

the ground in a convenient manner. Let the design be subordinate

altogether to the plants. All trivial artificial ornaments, in the way

of shells, coloured gravel, statuettes, sundials, &c. should be left out

of the plan altogether. The most beautiful gardens are those in which

plant-beauty, and that alone, is conspicuous. If you can make the

visitor forget all about design--forget everything but the fact that he

is in a beautiful and varied garden, with nature’s own gems, free and

healthy, on every side, you will attain the highest success of which the

ancient art of gardening is capable.

We will suppose, then, that you have selected your little bit of ground.

The next thing to do is to prepare it thoroughly. Now, in ordinary cases

this is not half done. We are going to recommend you to plant permanent

things, plants which will not require removal for many years, and you

will not have a thorough opportunity of preparing the ground after you

once plant. Therefore, the preparation of the ground is of tenfold

greater importance in your case than in that of the ordinary gardener,

whose beds of geraniums, or suchlike, are empty in winter, so that he

has an opportunity of dressing and digging them every year.

Before marking the walks or anything of the kind, when, in fact, your

little piece of ground comes into your hands at first, remove all

matters from its surface, add manure to it in abundance, and have the

whole dug as deep as you can go, without bringing up the bad subsoil at

the bottom. If the ground be sandy, so much the better; then all you

have do is to give it plenty of cow, or any other rich manure that comes

to hand. If, on the other hand, it be of a clayey, stiff, tenacious

nature, like much of the ground to the north side of London, you must

act quite differently. Most pretty border plants like a light, warm,

free or sandy soil, and abhor a heavy, wet one. The way to cure, if we

may so speak, or, in other words, improve the very stiff soil, is to add

plenty of sand, leaf-mould, horse manure, or gritty scrapings from

roads, or any other loosening material of this kind that you can

obtain. Dig it in deep, and dig the ground over again, so that it may be

thoroughly incorporated with the soil. All this should be done in

autumn, if you have the time--in early autumn, if possible. When well

done, and the ground levelled, then you may mark your little walks--with

a line--and your central bed; and if in this operation you can get the

gardener to assist you, do so by all means. In many cases the gardener

gets ready the boys’ garden, and presents it to him ready for planting,

and that is the best way; for the planting and attention required

afterwards will be as much as you can do, if you do it well. A word or

two as to edgings for the borders and the bed. Don’t have anything to do

with those nasty stone edgings, so much advertised of late, as they look

very ugly and out of place in a garden. The neat little edging of box

is, perhaps, the prettiest as well as the oldest in existence. But we

are inclined to think that little edgings of plants that flower are the

best for your case. Try to be original with your edging as with

everything else, if possible, and whatever may be used as an edging near

your garden, avoid, and have something distinct. We know of about one

hundred pretty plants for making edgings, but can only mention such here

as you are likely to be able to obtain without difficulty. The best are

the rosy thrift (_Armeria vulgaris rubra_), a lovely spring plant; the

pretty little white and blue campanula pumila, and its white variety;

the large blue gentian of the Alps (_G. aculis_), this is plentiful in

Scotland, but not about London; the pretty little blue aubrietia, to be

obtained everywhere; the variegated cocksfoot grass (_Dactylis glomerata

variegata_;--what a pity it is that we are obliged to use such names);

and the double daisy in various colours. Should you make a box edging,

use the dwarfest and best kind; and if you happen to notice any other

dwarf hardy plants that make tasteful edgings, use any you fancy, by all

means. The more variety we have the better, and the only thing that it

is particularly desirable you should avoid is any forms of those

crockery wares, or artificial stone edgings, as they are all as bad and

ugly as need be.

We will now follow with a list of the most suitable plants for your

garden. To each plant a figure will be attached, to indicate the

position it should occupy in your beds or borders. We will, for

convenience sake, throw the various heights of the plants used into

three classes--1, for the smallest plants, or those fitted for the front

of the border; 2, for the medium-sized, or those suitable for the middle

parts; and finally, 3, for the taller kinds, which require to be placed

at the back, or near the back of the border. Doubtless you will make a

point of growing the rose; that is deservedly everybody’s favourite. You

may plant the rose either in the back part of your border, as a standard

in the middle, as a dwarf bush, or on the front edge, pegged down close

to the earth--not a bad way of growing it, by the way. But avoid the

standard rose, if you can; it is ugly, awkward, and by no means so

satisfactory as a rose “growing upon its own roots:” that means, a kind

not grafted upon another, but quite on its own resources. Roses

generally are grafted upon free growing common kinds, known as stocks.

The most pleasing in the end, and by far the most satisfactory, are the

roses upon their own roots. They make dwarf but long-lived and vigorous

bushes--the very best things you can employ in the middle parts of your

borders. If there be sufficient room, have a dozen kinds of roses, each

different. Every spring, from deaths during the winter, and changes of

one kind or another, you will have to look over your borders to fill up

vacancies. It is best done about the end of May, when you may exactly

see the state of the plants in the border, by filling up the majority of

these vacancies with the better kinds of bedding plants, &c. By doing so

you may enjoy both phases of gardening--the beautiful and interesting

hardy flowers, to be presently named, and the brilliant and common

flowers of the summer parterre, the pretty kinds of verbenas, the dwarf

and neat lobelias, the variegated and other geraniums, and in fact, any

kind of bedding plant that comes to hand.

Next, for the selection of the more valuable and more uncommon hardy

flowers, leaving out all such as are difficult to obtain. Among

all the flowers of spring, few are better known than some of the

anemones--apennina (1), fulgens (1), coronata (1), sylvestris (1), and

Honorine Iobert (2), are the very best. Among them we have the sweetest

blue, the brightest scarlet, and the purest white. Of the columbines

(_Aquilegias_), the best for your purposes are the common border

varieties. They are mostly fitted for the central line of the border. Of

the magnificent delphiniums, so richly blue, tall, and stately, there

are many beautiful new kinds--so many that I need not enumerate them,

but most nurserymen are pretty sure to have varieties of them. Being

tall, they are mostly suited for the back, or nearly the back portions

of the borders: if you have a central bed, they will also look very

well towards the middle of it. By the way, the middle of such bed might

well be devoted to a choice shrub or two, say a good rhododendron or

kalmia--that is, if the soil would suit such. The peony is almost too

big for such little gardens; but a plant or two may be ventured in some

unimportant spot. The yellow bachelor’s button (_Ranunculus acris_, fl.

pl. 2), is very pretty, and so exceedingly is Dielytra spectabilis (2).

Baptisia australis (3). Coronilla varia (2). Galega officinalis alba

(3). Lathyrus grandiflorus (3), a climbing plant, very fine for going up

a low trellis. The white and red everlasting peas (3), also climbers.

Orobus vernus (2). The perennial Lupin (3). Achillea ægyptiacum (2), A.

aurea (1), A. Eupatorium (3), and A. millefolium roseum (2)--all fine

and free. Of Michaelmas daisies (_Asters_), A. versicolor (1), elegans

(3), turbinellus (2), Amellus (2), will be found highly beautiful. The

Pyrethum in fine variety of beautiful colour and size: they have been

raised of late years in great quantity by Mr. Salter of the Hammersmith

nurseries, and are admirably suited to the middle line of borders,

therefore the figure 2 will indicate their position to a T; their colour

is rich and distinct in the extreme. The fine autumnal flowering Phlox

(3) is also sold in great and beautiful variety, and should have a

place in every good collection. Six or eight of the best kinds should

be in the boy’s garden. Nearly every nurseryman supplies them cheap.

In the harebell family (_Campanulas_) we will find some very fine,

particularly pumila (1), carpatica (1), persicifolia (3), and P. alba

(3), grandis (2), macrantha (3), rotundifolia (2). The fleur-de-lis, or

Iris, has some beautiful varieties, of which the best are germanica (2),

florentina (2), pallida (2), De Bergii (2), pumila (1). Tritoma grandis

(3), and glaucescens (3), are noble things for the back of a border.

The double wallflowers (2), the alpine wallflower (1) (_Cheiranthus

alpinus_). The Potentillas (2). Veronica amethystina (2), and corymbosa

(2). The Virginian tradescantia (2); the crimson loose-strife (3);

Lythrum roseum superbum. I give you the hard names so that you may have

the less difficulty in procuring the plants, for many may know them by

their Latin name, who would not know them by their common one, and _vice

versâ_. The American cowslip (1): this being a very chaste and pretty

plant, have as much as you can of it. Salvia argentea (2). This plant

has grand silvery leaves, and should be in every collection. Perennial

candy tuft, 1 (_Iberis_). There are three kinds of this--corræafolia,

saxatilis, and Garrexiana, all good, hardy, and beautiful. Arabis alpina

(1); Aubrietia purpurea (1); Alyssum saxatile (1): all three very easy

to grow, and very common. The beautiful little Hepaticas in various

colours, blue, white, and red. You must secure a stock of these, above

all things; they are among the prettiest of spring flowers, and will

“set off” charmingly the front parts of your borders. There is a fine

new kind of hepatica (_H. angulosa_), a noble kind, which you will also

do well to obtain: give it a rather shady position in light soil. One or

two tufts of the Christmas rose will be quite enough. When this begins

to show its flowers, a few weeks before Christmas, you will do well to

cover the plant with a hand-glass, leaving a little air at the top. This

will prevent the flowers from being injured or hurt by rain; they will

grow very much larger and whiter than if left exposed. Of Pentstemons

(2), a good variety should be grown, especially if the soil be light and

good, such as they delight in. Sedum fabaria (2), is a fine autumnal

flowering plant, which must not be forgotten. Rudbeckia Newmannii (3), a

very fine autumnal bloomer. Lithospermum fruticosum (1), a wonderfully

pretty plant for the fronts of borders. Any kind of pink (1) that you

can conveniently obtain, should be grown; they are sweet, hardy, neat,

and, in a word, perfect for your purposes. They are considerably varied

of late years, and highly useful for cutting for bouquets, &c. The front

of the border is the best place for them. Immediately behind them, and

scarcely so far back as the line of the second row, is the place for the

carnations and picotees, which of course you will be sure to cultivate.

There is nothing more beautiful in our gardens than many of these, so

beautifully and richly coloured, and so delicately and exquisitely

margined and striped. Linum narbonense (2), and Perenne album (2), noble

kinds of hardy flax, are also good. The Œnothera tribe will furnish

some beauty: notably the sweetly coloured Œ. acaulis (1), which opens

its very large flowers in the evening, and keeps them open till nearly

breakfast-time in the morning; the noble yellow macrocarpa; and the

large evening primrose (_Œ. Lamarkiana_). Some dwarf tiny shrubs, that

flower freely, will look beautiful in your border, and of such you

cannot find one more beautiful than the early spring flowering heath,

1 (_Erica carnea_); it is a mass of handsome bloom, and very hardy and

neat in habit. Other capital little shrubs are Daphne Cneorum, sweet and

pretty--various dwarf kinds of native heaths, and Genista tinctoria (1),

and sagittalis (1).

In addition to the above, it need hardly be added, that such universally

esteemed plants as the lily of the valley (1), the primrose (1), and the

polyanthus, should be well represented. Latterly there have been raised

considerably varied kinds of primrose and polyanthus, and nothing can be

more charming than mixed masses of such. From a packet of seed of each

(ask for that of the ordinary mixed kinds), you may raise a considerable

variety of beautiful kinds. Double daisies (1), too, in various colours,

will be found very pretty in the spring, as will the numerous kinds of

pansy (1), the gentian, and the forget-me-not. By the way, you must not

forget some tufts of the common forget-me-not; it does very well as a

border plant in all but the driest soils. At Trentham it is tastefully

employed to form a margin round some pretty little gardens, dedicated to

the various younger members of the family; and we have known people to

be so full of gratitude to a departed dog, as to plant a ring of it

round the little monumental slab which indicated his place of burial in

the garden border. The various pretty and very dwarf kinds of saxifrage

(1), and Sedum (1), too, you will find neat and distinct for the very

front of your border, in which you will of course arrange the dwarfest

plants.

One word more. It would be a pity to confine you to this or any other

selection. The more varied your garden is, and the more distinct from

that of your friends or neighbours, the better. The selection above

given is as good as can be made, and may save you from getting a lot of

ugly weeds in your garden, under the name of flowers; but in addition to

these, you would do well to add any other pretty plant met with in your

rambles, and which seems to you worthy of a place; while with friends

who cultivate plants, you may exchange any that you have plenty of, for

new varieties, or anything that you may fancy.

THE BOY’S FRUIT GARDEN.

There are few boys who cannot appreciate the virtues of a delicious

melting pear or good apple; and our object in writing this paper is to

tell them how to grow such in a comparatively short space of time. In

old times, and, indeed, generally at present, people plant for those who

come after them--“plant for their heirs,” in fact,--plant trees that

will come into bearing in twelve years or so; and therefore some may

say, why offer the boys such a far-off treat? But times change, and the

system which produces the finest fruits now in our markets, happens to

be exactly suited to the boy’s garden. Large and beautiful apples have

been sold in Paris during the past spring for as much as three francs

a-piece! These were in many, or in nearly all cases, grown upon little

trees not more than a foot from the ground, and several of them not more

than two or three years old! The French are the best growers of apples

and pears in existence; and in France originated this dwarf method of

growing them. The way they do it is as follows:--The best kinds of

apples are grafted on a variety known as the Paradise, which induces a

very dwarf growth and early fertility in the kinds grown upon it. We

have seen these fruiting, this year, at two years of age, bearing fine

fruit, much better than you see on trees developed to full size. They

are grown in two ways, generally as cordons, and occasionally as little

standards. The “cordon” is simply a single plant of apple, trained along

a wire, supported about a foot from the ground. The little standard, or

bush, is simply a diminutive Lilliputian kind of tree--just such as a

boy would wish for in his garden. Not taller, if as tall as himself, he

can shorten the shoots and gather the fruit with the greatest ease. The

culture of these little trees is so simple that no boy need fail with

them. A sunny spot should in the first instance be chosen, that is, if

the young gardener can get it; and it is not often that he is allowed

any but a bye nook of some kind or other; and no wonder, because

hitherto boys’ gardens have simply been short-lived little exhibitions

of untidiness, never yielding any result and very little beauty. But the

young gardener who manages well his fairy part of fruit garden, will

soon produce a little feature that any place might be proud of. Next, as

to how to do it.

Very little ground is required. A small patch will afford space for a

great number of little trees. A sunny open spot should be selected,

where the trees will have all the advantages of sun and air to perfect

their fruit, and render their shoots short, firm, and fertile, instead

of sappy, gross, and useless. The soil should be of a slightly sandy or

loamy nature, and not wet. If the ground be badly drained, and water

lies in it much, it is almost hopeless to attempt fruit-growing, and

the little gardener had in that case better turn his attention to

something with which his soil and circumstances are likely to agree. One

of the chief points in gardening is to choose the course most suited for

your own soil, climate, and position. Thus the boy who lives in a great

city, or the suburb of one, and who has to contend with the smoke and

other evils incident to such, must pursue a very different plan of

gardening to the boy who lives in the country, and has all the

advantages of pure, sweet air for his plants. The best of all soils for

our little fruit-trees, is one moderately sandy, yet not too loose and

free, with what we may term a free bottom, that is, a sandy or other

subsoil beneath, which will permit the water to pass off freely from the

fertile or upper earth. But although this is the best soil, there are

few others that we need reject--the worst, perhaps, being deep, stiff,

soap-like clay. The best time to plant is in the autumn. Be sure you ask

for the young apple-trees grafted on the “Paradise,” and the pears on

the Quince stock. Both apples and pears may be grown as little standard

trees or as cordons. In planting, do not put the roots deep, and spread

them out even, forming first a rather firm and slightly convex surface,

on which to place the little plant. This will be found to suit very much

better than making a loose sort of hole into which to put the roots.

It should be borne in mind that when fruit-trees send their roots deep

into rich or cold ground, they produce a lot of coarse, useless wood,

barren of fruit, or nearly so. To counteract this tendency, what is

called root-pruning has been resorted to. It simply consists in taking

up the trees once in two years or so, and replanting them--at least,

this is the way with our little trees. It may not be necessary on many

soils; but where it is, it may be readily done during pleasant dry

weather in autumn. The check given to the tree by the disturbance,

causes it to form fertile buds and a stubby habit. It is well that the

young amateur gardener should know this, so that he may apply a remedy

if his fruit-trees grow too strong and prove barren. But generally they

are fertile enough, and even sometimes produce a successful crop the

first year after planting; the second year they should bear well. The

accident of a severe frost while the trees are in flower, will of course

always do mischief, and may ruin a crop; but all are liable to this, as

well as our Lilliputians. It is best to plant the erect little trees in

a small square--pears and apples separate, for uniformity sake--and to

place the cordons around this, just as the French make a sort of edging

of them in their gardens. Indeed, if the boy cannot obtain a neat little

sunny square for his tiny trees, he will hardly fail to succeed in

getting permission to arrange a few in cordon fashion along the edge of

some border. It is simply done by either driving down a strong wooden

post, or an iron one, so as to support a wire at about ten inches or a

foot from the ground. Beneath that, the trees are to be planted, say at

a distance of six or eight feet, and tied along the wire. When once this

is done there is no further trouble, except to pinch back the shoots in

summer so as to keep them close and compact. This operation requires a

little attention. The main stem, which is of course tied carefully but

not too tightly to the wire sends out side shoots in the summer. When

these are about four, or say from three to five inches long, they are to

be pinched back, or in other words, nipped off, within about an inch of

the base of the young shoot, in the case of apple-trees--in the case of

pear-trees it should be left somewhat longer. This is for the summer

pruning; in winter it may be necessary to go over the trees with a

knife, and remove or shorten awkward spurs, or cut out dead bits here

and there; but the summer pinching is the chief thing to be done in the

matter. When the trees produce too plentiful a crop of fruit, these

should be thinned when very young, so that those left may assume the

splendid flavour and size which makes fruit grown in this way superior

to that grown in the old and large tree system. I will now give you a

list of the best kinds to use in this way, and which can be bought in

any respectable nursery. Of apples the very best are Colville Blanche

and Reinette de Canada, Cox’s orange pippin, Hawthornden, Herefordshire

Pearmain, Greaves’ pippin, or any other first-class kind of apple. Of

pears, Marie Louise, Winter Nelis, Beurré Diel, Jargonelle, Beurré

d’Amanlis, and Joséphine de Malines, will be found very suitable for the

dwarf bush or cordon style, as will most first-class pears.

_Cropping the Ground._

DIGGING.

When land is first brought under the spade it should be well dug, and it

ought to be trenched up; that is, a full spit or spadeful should be

taken and thrown somewhat higher than the general level of the ground,

and turned, so that the under part of the soil is brought to the

surface; in doing this effectually a sort of trench will be left at the

part where the spade goes in, and at the end of digging a piece of

ground in this manner this trench will be required to be filled up. It

is usual for gardeners to provide for this at the onset by bringing a

barrow full of the mould from the part at which the spade is first put

in, and filling up the trench so left at the end of the process. Common

digging, when the ground is not to be trenched, consists in turning it

over regularly and evenly with the spade. When manure is necessary, it

is either hoed over the ground and dug in as the digger proceeds, or in

trenching it may be laid in each successive trench as it is made, which

will of course be covered by the next line of digging. Flower-beds are

best turned up with a small three-pronged spade-fork; and it is often

necessary to use the same instrument when digging between strawberry and

other roots, which is technically called forking. The earth in this

process is not turned over, but only broken up and loosened, and the

handle of the fork not turned in the process, but drawn gently backwards

with a kind of knock, which can be easily acquired by practice.

HOEING.

[Illustration]

The hoe is of very great use in a garden. There are generally three

kinds of hoes: 1st, the narrow; 2d, the broad; and 3d, the Dutch hoe.

The small hoe is used for hoeing in flower-beds; the broad one for

earthing up peas, potatoes, &c., and the Dutch hoe is of service in dry

weather in clearing the ground quickly of weeds. The two former hoes are

used by drawing the handle to you, and hence called _draw hoes_; but the

Dutch hoe is used by thrusting forward, when the weeds cut up by it fall

through the hollow portion at (_a_) clear of the operation. In hoeing

the hoer should be particularly careful to go quite to the roots of the

weeds, and clear of the roots of the plants. In hoeing up peas he should

be careful to draw the earth nicely among the haulms; and in hoeing up

cabbages not to sprinkle the dirt among the tender leaves forming the

heart of the plant.

RAKING.

There are two kinds of rakes,--the broad and narrow. The broad rake is

for raking over seed beds, and the narrow one for raking borders among

flowers, &c. In the use of the rake the gardener should first lightly

drag off all the weeds and stones from the soil. In holding the handle

of the rake high, all the loose stones, weeds, &c., will be easily drawn

from the ground without the mould; when the handle is held low, the

teeth of the rake enter the ground and scratch it up, which is sometimes

necessary to be done; but the little gardener should be careful not to

rake away his soil; and the little hard balls of earth that come over

with the stones, &c. should be pulverised by the back of the rake.

WEEDING.

The garden should always be kept perfectly clear of weeds; a weed in a

garden is a disgrace to the gardener, and unless a young person makes

up his mind to be very particular in this he had better never think of

gardening. Chickweed, dandelion, plantain, bindweed, and every other

description of extraneous growth should be quickly removed, and that

worst of all weeds, called the gardener’s plague, “couchgrass,” should

be extirpated entirely, as should all suckers from the roots of trees.

Weeds, if not in seed, should be thrown into the manure pit, but sticks

or stones should never be mixed with them.

SOWING SEEDS.

[Illustration: DIBBER.]

The ground having been dug and raked, and otherwise prepared, is fit for

the reception of the seed. Radishes, carrots, parsnips, are sown by the

hand broadcast; the way of sowing carrot seed is to mix it with the

earth in a large flower-pot, and then to scatter it very thinly over the

bed: at least, that way is suited to the boy’s garden; in the open

garden and the field they sow carrots and parsnips in drills. Peas are

sown in drills about three inches deep and four feet apart. Broad beans

are put in with a dibber in straight lines about five inches apart, the

rows being four feet from each other. French beans are sown thinly in

drills about four feet apart. Scarlet runners are put in by the dibber

singly about three inches apart, and should have bean sticks placed near

them as soon as they appear, upon which to climb. Cabbage-plants should

be put in by the dibber about nine inches apart, in rows about four feet

distant from each other. Cauliflowers should be planted eighteen inches

apart either way, as should Scotch kale and sprouting brocoli. Spinach

may be sown thinly in drills three feet apart, or broadcast in beds.

Lettuce-seed, cabbage-seed, cauliflower-seed, and all kinds of

flower-seeds should be first sown in warm situations in good mould very

thinly, and then the plants should be transplanted as they grow of

sufficient size. Potatoes should be planted with the dibber nine inches

apart, in rows three feet apart, as should Jerusalem artichokes. Onions

should be sown broadcast, in beds about six feet wide and fifteen or

twenty long. The beds for parsnips and carrots may be six feet wide and

thirty long.

TRANSPLANTING.

[Illustration: TROWEL.]

This is a most important operation, and is indispensable in the art of

gardening. A vast number of seeds must be sown in beds, and afterwards

transplanted into their final situations; this is particularly the case

with regard to flowers. The instrument with which transplanting is

performed is called a trowel, of which there are both small and large.

In using it the principal thing to be attended to, is to take the best

and most vigorous of the plants raised in the seedbed, without injuring

their roots, and with the earth around them, and placing them, with as

little disturbance of their roots as possible, in their new situations.

In transplanting shrubs, &c. from pots, the planter should very slightly

break the earth round the roots of the plant, so that its fibres may

have free play in the new earth. In transplanting shrubs, &c. particular

care should be taken in digging them up, so that the young fibres of the

roots are not injured. When shrubs, &c. are first transplanted, they

should be moderately watered, and of course it is bad management to

plant shrubs at a time when they are likely to suffer from sun. The

right time to transplant is in the autumn and spring, when the ground is

nice and dry, and “in good working order,” as gardeners term it.

WATERING.

Nature is the best waterer of plants, and it is good policy to leave the

matter as much as possible in her hands; but we must assist her now and

then by applying it ourselves. In watering, pond water is much better

than pump water; and in warm weather, if no pond water can be procured,

it is well to pump the water into some large tank or tub, and let it

stand for some hours exposed to the sun and air before using it. Morning

and evening are the proper times for watering; the middle of the day, or

during a hot sunshine, is a very improper time for using the

watering-pot in summer-time, although it is the best time for using it

in the winter. In watering plants in flower-pots the finger should be

first passed round the pot where the mould joins the sides of the pot,

so as to close up the little crack or crevice between them, otherwise

the water will pass down this crack, and go out at the hole at the

bottom of the pot without affording it any benefit. In watering, never

let the water pass from the watering-pot close to the stem, but rather

turn up the earth in a little circular space for a few inches round the

plant, so that the water may soak down to the extremities of the roots,

where the spongelets are which draw up the nutriment from the earth to

support the plant. When you water, water well and thoroughly, and then

there will be little need to do it often. To water frequently, and give

a little at a time, is very bad gardening.

VARIOUS MODES OF PROPAGATION.

Plants are reproduced or propagated in various ways; some by seeds, some

by offsets, as tulips and hyacinths; some by dividing the root, some by

layers, some by cuttings. Currant and gooseberry-trees, as well as

rose-trees, and also the vine, are propagated by cuttings; _i. e._

pieces of the young last-year branches are cut off about six inches in

length, and, the top being taken off, are placed with the thickest end

in the ground. Strawberries are reproduced by dividing the root, or by

taking the runner which the plant has itself fixed in the ground as the

nucleus of a new plant, and putting it in a proper situation.

Raspberries give out suckers from the parent root, which may be taken

off and replanted, like the lilac, the rose, and many other plants; but

in taking them off, which is generally done by a spade, they should be

taken pretty near to the parent stem, and should have fibrous roots

attached. In taking offsets, such as those of bulbous roots, it is only

necessary to take those which nature herself separates from the parent

bulb; in tubers, such as the artichoke and potato, the tubers of middle

size are to be taken and planted; or in regard to the latter root, the

eyes or shoots only are sometimes planted, the root being cut into

various portions.

LAYERS.

If we observe the strawberry plant, we find that at a certain season of

the year it throws out offsets, and at certain distances a knob or knot

arises, from which roots shoot into the earth, while from its upper

centre a bud appears, and then a new plant is formed. The process of

layering is to artificially produce this, and similar operations of

nature. Some plants throw out roots whenever their stump or branches

come in contact with the soil, but others require the assistance of art.

The art of layering, therefore, consists in taking the shoot of a

growing plant as near the root as possible; this is first to be cut half

through, and then a slit is made in an upward direction, and, a piece of

twig being placed in the divided part, the shoot is pegged down with the

joint buried in the ground. After a time this joint begins to throw out

roots, and when these are firmly established and begin to draw nutriment

from the earth, the shoot may be detached from its parent stem, and it

then becomes a new plant. Layers may be made in the spring months, and

also in the month of July.

PIPINGS

Are cuttings of carnations, pinks, &c. They are tubular stems, having

joints at certain distances, and they are pulled asunder by the fingers

at these joints; the lower leaves are then pulled off, and the pipe is

placed in some nicely prepared soil, leaving its upper portion,

consisting of the sprouting leaf bud, to grow, while the lower pipe

shoots into a root.

GRAFTING.

Grafting, inarching, and budding, are generally performed in the month

of March. The operation of inarching is sometimes performed by nature.

When two branches of a tree lie in contact, the rough winds of winter

often cause them to rub against each other, so that a wound is produced

in one or both, and the juices that flow from the wounded parts

gradually cause an incorporation of the substances, so that the two

branches become united into one. This is not to be wondered at in

branches of the same tree, or in those of the same kind, but it is a

matter of some surprise to find that a tree bearing small and

unpalatable fruit may be cut down, and the remaining part grafted with a

scion from a species bearing large and delicious fruit, instead of the

small sour fruit of the stalk. Thus it is then that by grafting, we

preserve and multiply a favoured variety of trees which could not be

propagated from seeds with any certainty of success.

In order to the full success of this operation, grafting must be

performed according to the rules that experience has laid down. The

first is to graft or unite only such species as have a relationship

subsisting between them. The operation never succeeds unless this union

of nature is attended to, and the plants belong to the same genus. The

next rule requires that the inner bark of the scion, and the inner bark

of the stalk, be exactly united together, in order to facilitate the

free course of the sap.

The most common method of grafting is whip-grafting, or tongue-grafting.

The name of whip-grafting is given from the method of cutting the stock

and the scion sloping on one side so as to fit each other, and then

tying them together in the manner of a whip-thong to the shaft or

handle. The scion and stock are cut obliquely, and as nearly as possible

at corresponding angles. The top of the stock is then cut off nearly

horizontally, and a slit is made near the centre of it downwards, and a

similar one in the scion upwards. The tongue, or wedge-like process

forming the upper part of the sloping face of the scion, is then

inserted downwards in the cleft of the stock, the inner barks being

brought closely to unite on one side so as not to be displaced by tying,

which ought to be done immediately with a riband, or matting, or bass,

brought in a neat manner several times round the stock. The next

operation is to clay the whole over an inch thick all round, for about

half an inch or more below the bottom of the graft to an inch over the

top of the stock, finishing the coat of clay in a kind of oval form,

closing it effectually, so that no light, wet, nor wind, may penetrate.

TONGUE-GRAFTING.

Tongue-grafting is not very different to whip-grafting, and is performed

as follows. The stock being ready, cut it off at three or four inches

from the ground, and, with a very sharp, straight, and narrow-bladed

knife, cut a thin slip of wood and bark upwards from about two inches

below the top of the shortened stock. Make this cut at one pull of the

knife, inserting the edge rather horizontally, and when it has gone

through the bark and into the wood a little short of the middle, pull

straight upwards. Then at less than half-way down this cut a thin

tongue, not more than three-eighths of an inch long. Proceed in the same

way with the thick part of the scion, making a sloping cut of about the

same length as the cut of the stock, and make a tongue to correspond

with that in the stock. Bring the four edges of the bark, that is, the

two edges of the cut in the top of the stock and the two corresponding

edges of the cut in the bottom of the scion, to meet precisely, which

can never be the case unless the first cut in the stock and that in the

scion is even as a die, and performed with a knife as sharp as a razor.

The two parts thus formed, the tongues and the stock clasping one

another must be bound up as before.

BUDDING.

Budding is the art of taking a bud from one tree and making it grow on

another. A bud can only be planted upon a tree of the same kind as

itself, and the operation is generally performed in the month of August.

The bud should be taken from a shoot of the same year’s growth, and, in

taking it, should be neatly cut out by incisions made above it, below

it, and longitudinally on either side, and the piece taken should

include the bud, without injury to the bark, and a small piece of wood

of an oblong form pointed at its extremity. A place is now cut to

receive the bud in the shoot of a stock, and the best place is near the

fork of a branch; the method of cutting is similar to that adopted for

taking out the bud, and the bark is open on both sides of the slit, and

the piece of bark to which the bud is attached is then filled in, and

the bark of the stock closed over it; the two parts are then bound

together with strips of fresh matting tied in bows and ends, for the

purpose of being easily loosened as the bud increases in growth. The

operation of budding requires the aid of a budding-knife, which may be

readily purchased, and the success of the operation depends upon the

care and nicety with which it is performed.

INARCHING.

We have already mentioned how nature performs what is called inarching.

The gardener’s art consists simply in bending a branch partly cut

through, and inserting the belt thus formed into a slit made downwards

in the stock to receive it. The parts being nicely fitted are bound with

matting. In five or six months the head of the stock may be cut off, and

the plant removed.

GRAFTING-CLAY.

Most of the operations of grafting require clay to be put round the

parts. This is made of three parts of stiff yellow clay to one of

horse-dung fresh as it falls, with a little cut hay, well mixed

together; another kind of clay is made of a pound of pitch and a pound

of yellow wax, mixed with two pounds of cow-dung. The use of them in

covering the grafting posts is to keep them moist and cool till a proper

union has taken place.

PRUNING.

The proper time for pruning trees is in December or January, for then

the sap is down, and no injury can be done; and the art in pruning

consists in cutting away the “water shoots,” or non-bearing wood, “dead

wood,” and “superfluous wood.” The water shoots, as they are called,

appear to be strong growing branches, but generally produce neither

flowers nor fruit; the superfluous wood are those shoots which grow in

the way of each other, or cross each other, which should always be

removed. The great principle in pruning a fruit tree is to leave all the

tree free and open, so that the air and sunshine may pass through it,

and to preserve the buds of the bearing wood. The shoots should be cut

off as near to the stem or branch as possible, and all growths or

suckers which appear below the crown of the tree should be taken off.

The present practice of thumb-pruning is very excellent; by this means

the superfluous shoots, &c., are removed by the thumb nail as soon as

they appear, and thus the tree does not exhaust itself by the growth of

useless wood. The young pruner should be very careful in cutting away,

and recollect that what he cuts off he cannot put on again.

TRAINING.

The training of trees applies principally to those that are fastened to

wooden trellises, to poles, or to walls. The principle of the art is to

extend the bearing branches of a tree or plant, so as to improve its

growth, its beauty, and its produce. Peaches, nectarines, apricots,

vines, &c., are trained against walls by shreds of cloth being placed

round the branches, and the two ends nailed to the wall. In doing this,

care should be taken to give the branch room to play, and yet to confine

it, not to hurt the tender fruit-shoots in the operation, and to let all

the branches be free of each other. Roses and jasmines are often trained

round verandahs by their different parts being tied with ropes’ end or

tarred twine to different parts of the trelliswork. Sometimes flowers

are trained by being tied to stakes or long poles, and others are

brought to pass through the round of an ornamental ladder, or through

the meshes of wirework of different forms. But in every kind of training

the principle is the same, namely that of keeping the branches clear of

each other, and of preserving the flowering and bearing shoots. Neatness

and taste are also indispensable requisites to the training and

management of trees and flowers, whether for use or ornament.

INSECTS AND DEPREDATORS.

There are various kinds of depredators which find their way into

gardens;--worms, slugs, caterpillars, moles, ants, birds, butterflies,

snails, &c. These must be got rid of, or kept down, otherwise the

gardening labours are soon at an end. In wild nature all the above

“vermin,” as some people designate them, are of the greatest service in

some way or other; even worms and moles, which are very destructive in

gardens, are of great service on commons, and therefore in destroying

them we should always do so with as little pain as possible to the

individuals; and, as prevention is better than cure, the young gardener

should look out in winter for the eggs of various moths and butterflies,

which may be often seen encircling the twigs of trees, or under the

eaves of paling, &c., and destroy them. Caterpillars are best got rid of

by picking them from the plants; and slugs, and snails, and worms, are

often eradicated by turning a brood of young ducks into the ground for a

short time, where they can do no injury to the beds. They may also be

entrapped by laying cabbage leaves in different parts of the garden,

under which they will creep in the night time. Moles must be caught with

a mole-trap set in the line of their march. It consists simply of a bent

stick, and a wire formed into a noose, slightly attached to the neck of

a peg, into which the animal runs his head and gets strangled, by the

elasticity of the rod drawing up the noose when the peg is disturbed.

Ants are best got rid of by destroying their nest and eggs, the latter

of which are excellent food for young chickens, pheasants, &c. The most

destructive insect is the aphis, which attacks the rose, and this is

best destroyed by the fumigation of tobacco-smoke, either through a pair

of common bellows, or by means of the whirl-fumigator, which may be

purchased for a few shillings; but the most certain mode of destruction

is to obtain a few “golden beetles,” and put near the plants infected by

aphides; these are their natural enemies, and where they are placed the

aphides will soon become extinct.

[Illustration]

PROTECTION FROM FROST.

The common trees and fruits of the garden require but little care as

regards frost in our comparatively mild winters, but many plants, trees,

and shrubs, coming originally from warmer climates, require much

attention during winter to keep them alive. It is useless to attempt

preserving geraniums, myrtles, and a great many of our common summer

plants, without keeping them through the winter in a greenhouse of some

kind or other. A small greenhouse may now be cheaply erected, but for

the preservation of a small number of plants the greenhouse pit is the

cheapest and most convenient substitute. It consists only of a hole

twelve feet by four dug in the ground to the depth of six feet, having

at the top a skylight. It should if possible be dug in a sheltered

situation, open to the south and well backed behind, and the glass-top,

which should merely consist of one frame laid in a slanting position to

the south over the top of the hole, the back of which is raised to

support it, the front being slightly lowered. The entrance to the pit is

at the side, to which a stout wooden door nailed over with straw bands

should be attached, and two or three steps should lead to the interior

of the pit, where a few shelves may be arranged upon which to place the

flowers, &c. In this pit flowers, cuttings, bulbs, and a variety of

other things, may be preserved through the winter, with very little cost

or trouble, and it will be of a great deal of use in many other

respects.

[Illustration]

THE YOUNG GARDENER’S CALENDAR FOR THE WORK TO BE DONE IN ALL THE MONTHS

OF THE YEAR.

JANUARY.