72 THE TLOEAL WOELD AIs'D GARDEN GUIDE. 



half-roften dung on the surface, after the trees are planted, will 

 benefit them greatly, but to mix animal manure with the soil any- 

 where near or amongst their roots is calculated to do them great 

 injury. Those who plant town gardens, however, should know 

 exactly what thej" are about ere they plant a single coniferous tree 

 of any kind. For all such free-growing evergreens as Aucubas, 

 Portugal Laurels, and Box, etc., the soil usually found in gardens 

 will suit admirably, if liberally manured ; and it is astonishing what 

 a difierence in their growth and appearance is effected by good 

 treatment, as compared with that they usually receive in suburban 

 gardens. 



In the vicinity of London most evergreens thrive amazingly. 

 The smoky atmosphere is to a certain extent beneficial ; it is, in 

 fact, fattening ; and the soil being mostly a good wheat loam, and 

 very fertile, we see everywhere in the suburban gardens magnificent 

 breadths of evergreen shrubs, such as indeed are not surpassed by 

 the gardens of any other district in Great Britain. But the benefits 

 of smoke are most distinctly seen where it is mingled with the 

 atmosphere in but small quantities. As soon as we come to within 

 three miles of St. Paul's, we encounter a more decidedly smoky 

 atmosphere, and many of the most valued trees and shrubs show 

 the effects of it in their languishing appearance. But even in many 

 of these smoky districts the shrubs would put on a much better 

 appearance if their proprietors would enrich the soil about their 

 roots, and of course without injuring those roots, with good manure, 

 for very often the soil is exhausted by centuries of cropping and 

 bad treatment, and perhaps almost impervious to water, and more 

 in the condition of cement than pabulum for plants. It is at what 

 may Ije called the junction of town with country, ranging in a circle 

 thrte to five miles from the central parts of the City, that the selec- 

 tion of trees as to their capabilities for enduring smoke is a matter 

 of any great importance. Beyond five miles, it is a question of soil 

 and climate, not of smoke, whether any particular tree will thrive ; 

 but within that range there is more or less risk, and of course the 

 risk increases as we proceed inwards towards the centre. 



Our suburban readers w^ill ask, perhaps, what we can recommend 

 within the limits of safety, and happily we can recommend many of 

 the finest shrubs we possess as suitable to grow anywhere in a 

 moderately open position, where there is some share of sunshine, 

 and the soil is neither a dry cement, nor a muddy batter. First 

 among the best of evergreens we must place the Aucuha Japonica, 

 and all its new varieties, which will grow anywhere if properly 

 planted in the first instance. It is worthy of notice that these fine 

 shrubs require a good soil ; but when once established on a good 

 soil, grow compact, and require little or no attention at all. But 

 the soil must be good, deeply stirred, and if in any degree im- 

 poverished should be freshened up with a dressing of manure. The 

 Aucuba is peculiar in this respect, that it is most reluctant to die, 

 so that if it grows badly it gets more and more unsightly, and instead 

 of dying outright, and so compelling the proprietor to plant again, 

 it continues for years in the guise of a scarecrow, always promising 



