New-York tribune., 1905-02-25
4 HAPPY YEAR.
II Distinguished NoOelist's Notes on
His Garden.

.,o Co.. the scribe thereof is, we may
gratefully testify, delightful one 10 Ine anna
'.e1r gardener. Those who know what interest,"
excitement and happiness lie IN saroeh eApeii
ruents and achievements viii turn again anu
.qain 70 these pages. as 10 the talk Of friend
and brother Much of what we ma 'here Is
adapted chiefly to the English climate anu
English conditions, but much also conveys emil
,ren,lx useful suggestions TO the American gar
dener Sweetening the homeliest details or the
book moreover, is winning spirit or phiioso-
ply and humor.
Mr. Haggard warns us at the outset that ne
Is not a perfect gardener. nor IS that which ne
cultivates a perfect garden; but II is lmmeoi-
iatelv evident that he has for his plants what
ihc declares they cannot thrive without. SYM
ipathy. and even love" He writes Of two gar
dens-an inland one. which claims most OF his
care, and one beside the sea, which sometimes
gets a visit and an interesting mention in the
diary He notes that the planting OF Marum
on the sand below that garden is likely 10 prove
the most useful bit of gardening that ever ne
did. Severe gales were steadily eating away
his cliffs and he cast about for something more
effective than seawaIs with which to resist
such attacks. He observed that wherever a
tuft of Marun grass grew along the coast
little heap of sand collected TO wtndward
of it after a gale. So he sloped the cliffs and
down the beach TO the level OF the ordinary
high tides
beach has risen about twelve feet in height the
that it was necessary to replant. In all the high
tides that We have had not single cump has
limit & Of the sea seems to haze aye een @ be7
the Marurn plants are oIdest-some of them are
snow. three feet through-has become almost
disturb it Ny belief. therefore is that if we
pass & a1ftheT @ ] three years without daage Py
mat, in The absence of course, Of some striking
change of existing conditions. the gales and tides
that can do US any hurt must indeed be terrific
With all other gardeners. Mr.. Haggard de-
votes much ink and humorous indignation TO
the pests which prey upon the growing things
dearest TO him If anything match in mis-
chief with slugs snails and countless in
sects, it is the bird family. which must be toll
Grated for the good it does along with much
Eharm. The sparrows begin early with the first
ibossoming crocus. picking off the charming
purple or yellow heads by dozens; and little
Halter they pull up all the springing peas
protected by lines of thread. The bullfnches
lpick off the bloom buds on his pear trees; the
tontits have the same kind Of fun with the
lpIurns. Nets are a certain discoura cement:
realistically painted tin hawk, floating high in
air on wire between two trees, had mod
crate success a scarecrow. If a gardener
wishes TO succeed in England. author says,
he must keep these three pests down by every
means, especially the sparrow, which rarely
catches an insect, except when it is rearing its
young" He gives list of the good birds,
rnournfulIy concedng. by the way, that even
they will eat fruit, which must be always pro-
'tected by nets. Compromise and reason he ad-
vises 10 solve the much vexed question to
birds and gardens. But as for outdoor fruit
raising in England. this record Of the bad season
of 1903 goes far to convince the reader that the
occupation might as well be given up altogether.
Mr.. Haggard is an enthusiastic orchid grower,
and his lively accounts Of his. experiences will
be relshed by all who share his taste. I'm your
patience possess ye your souls" is the text
which should, he thinks be a favorite with
those who grow these glorious but tantalizing
flowers. Apropos of the splendid speculation
an unfiowered Odontoglossum crispum may be,
he quotes a story told him by Mr.. Tracy, the
well known dealer. Three years ago the latter
sold such z plant TO a feminine customer for
five shilIings At the end Of that time she sent
him a bloom from this plant. magnificent
flower such as nobody had seen before. He took
train and checkbook to the home Of the happy
ipossessor. and found that skilled in or
chids had told her that the plant she had bought
for five shlngs was worth 800. Mr.. Tracy
bargained and bought it for something less
and that night he sold it again at a profit.
But this" says our author, 'is not the end Of
the story
The new owner exhibited the plant upon which
three flowers now remained. few days later at the
grill hall in London, where, l understand. he
offered and i'd refused ref LOO guneas for the same
farm for that one fril and perishabe plant! More.
snother client Of Mr. Tracy's bitterly reproached
i. which, he said he would gladly have done al
although he thought that he could yet more than
he received for the crispum, the gentleman who
II hSe once cone nm kindness and he
should have the first opportunity OF acquiring this
was good one on what he had paid and he was
therefore satisfied
In gardening Mr.. Haggard Justly believes that
the master makes the man and that the best
service is found not in "the grandest places
where most money IS spent" but in the gar
dens where there is constant consultation, sym
pathy and cooperation between the employer
and his gardener. where the two become friends
over the plants they both love. English gar
deners he believes TO be an excellent BODY Of
men, though one unhappy orchid grower tells
horrible tale of what happened to his valua BILE
collection a frosty night. He had words
with his head gardener and in the black and
awful middle of the night the fire went out
the result next morning being 900 worth
of ruined plants. When brought TO account
the gardener said he was very sorry, but he
had oversight himself. and no one could make
up furnaces in his sleep" Divers oddities in
the way of gardeners are humorously described
81 this chronicle. one of the Queerest being
an imperfous old whom nobody dared
TO pension OF, 80 another man had TO be hired
TO do his work. leaving him master Of the gar
den until he died This old fellow would never
'condescend TO go into the kitchen. It was his
habit when he wished to know what vegetables
were required 10 stand in the Toulouse and
Ernr Nutrh sfaly