1879.] ECONOMICAL KITCHEN-GARDENING. 9 



operations, and overhanging crops, Box edgings to be clipped and 

 mended and kept clean, gravel -walks to be kept smooth, half the 

 labour is absorbed in unproductive work ; and, moreover, the neces- 

 sary quantities of manure are deposited on the soil, and subsoils re- 

 moved under much difficulty and really excessive labour. Another 

 good reason why field-gardening should be substituted for vegetables 

 is, that hardy fruits of all sorts would be much better grown entirely 

 separate from the vegetable crops. The digging among fruit-trees for 

 vegetable crops destroys the fibrous-feeding roots, which ought to 

 be encouraged and top-dressed ; it is a very general practice to utilise 

 the space among and under fruit-trees for vegetables, but it is certain 

 that no vegetables worth the name can be grown under the branches 

 or over the roots of standard fruit-trees. 



We have recently inspected several private gardens, where the 

 kitchen-garden was simply a field, the ground laid out in long 

 parallel spaces of about 10 yards wide, with a pathway between, 

 wide enough to admit of a cart passing, made of cinders, but 

 with no attempt at edgings of any sort — the spaces devoted to Sea- 

 kale, Asparagus, Ehubarb, Herbs, Horse-radish, and all perennial 

 things being by themselves, the rest of the ground being cultivated 

 by the plough, and none but the cheapest labour employed — that is, 

 common labourers under the head gardener. The country cottagers' 

 shows vouches for their capacity ; and we are bound to say that a 

 sturdy high quality of vegetables were produced different from the 

 produce grown among trees and drawn up by over shelter. 



On this matter of shelter we are inclined to the suspicion that, 

 after all, brick walls are not so good as hedges; that even walls 

 are not enough without, again, a certain amount of shelter from trees. 

 There is shelter behind a wall if the wind blows perpendicular to 

 it ; but if it blows at an angle, it rushes along the face of the wall 

 and the border fronting it with increased and cutting force, conse- 

 quently it is frequently found necessary to plant short cross hedges 

 to impede the force of the wind, and woe betide the vegetables which 

 happen to be in a corner when the wind blows — inside and outside 

 a corner there is always an eddy. The hedge has the effect, on the 

 contrary, of both breaking the force of the wind and of filtering 

 it, though thus obviating the parallel rush as experienced in front 

 of a wall. We happen to be acquainted with a kitchen -garden 

 of about 400 yards in length, by about 10 in width, which is 

 peculiarly situated, and at first sight might be pronounced to have 

 the most favourable advantages as to shelter. The position is no 

 other than the bottom of the ditch which surrounds a fort. The 

 ditch may be 30 feet deep, with a high wall on the one side and a 



