226 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[Au^s/, 



them from a (listai)co. It is as well thcrefdre. t<> 

 make all ready in anticipation of a rain, wlien 

 no time may be lost in havinij the work pnshed 

 through. Should a spell of dry weather ensue,— 

 which in September and October is very likely, — 

 one i^'ood waterinir should be. i;iven, sullicient to 

 soak well throujrh the soil and well about the 

 roots. A basin should be made to keep the 

 water from runnintr away from the spot, and to 

 assist its soaking in. After being well watered, 

 the loose soil, should be drawn in litihtly over 

 the watered soil, which will then aid in prevent- 

 ing the water from drying out soon again. 



As soon in the fall as bulbs can be obtained 

 they should be planted— thougli this will not 

 generally be the case till October,— but it is as 

 well to bear in mind that the earlier they are 

 planted, the finer they will flower. 



Towards the end of the month, and in Septem- 

 ber, evergreen hedges should receive their last 

 pruning till next summer. Last spring, and in 

 the summer, when a strong growth required it, 

 the hedge has been severely pruned towards the 

 apex of the cone-like form in which it has been 

 trained, and the base has been suffered to grow- 

 any way it pleases. Now that, in turn, has come 

 under the shears, so far as to get it into regular 

 shape and form. It will not be forgotten that, 

 to be very successful with evergreen hedges, 

 they ought to have a growth at the base of at 

 least four feet in diameter. 



COMMUNICA TIONS. 



BLUNDERS AND MULCHING. 



BY GENL. W. H. NOBLE. 



Mr. Beecher's article in the May Monthly, 

 hints of value in both. That of blunders 

 lies in the telling. A good hearty blunder, 

 frankly confessed, not only warns, but instructs. 

 Out of failure often leads the pathway to suc- 

 cess. Beyond a doubt, a chapter about blun- 

 ders in the garden, would make one of the most 

 valuable in its history. But the searcher for its 

 materials, would, I fear, look upon a lean 

 attendance at the confessional. The majority 

 of us are slow to tell our blunders. Besides, 

 lots of men blunder in the ruts of traditional 

 methods, without knowing that those who went 

 before, blundered all the way. 



After all, our boasted human intellect is a 

 very unsteady staff. Few men either think or 

 observe, thougli they pride themselves on doing 

 both. Half set down to the credit of our 



brains, is only a mixture of old saws and whims. 

 Opinions are all the wliili' put forward, as if the 

 outcome of thought and cxpcrieiuu',, when only 

 a ro-hivsh of the blunders of the blunderers gone 

 before. 



From one of these old time blunders in the 

 garden, Mr. Beecher strips off the cover, when 

 he tells, out of his experience, that " Summer 

 and Winter Mulching is Supreme Safety for 

 ornamental trees, and for fruit trees." That 

 sentence is brim full of the soundest kind of 

 sense. But if this is true, is not a blundering 

 folly read of between the lines ? In face of this 

 new article in the creed of the garden, what 

 becomes of the old rule of thick planting for a 

 shelter? If mulching will save trees from that 

 drying of the wind and sun, which sucks out the 

 moisture from the root, soil, and the stem, what 

 need of the thick planting clutter, which starts 

 out unsightly and ends in torment ? If " mulch- 

 ing is supreme safety," what is thick planting 

 for shelter but a perpetual blunder ? Who ever 

 knew a tree to grow better in the nursery rows, 

 than when firm planted and held in the sunlight 

 and the breeze ? The only other need besides 

 this mulch, till the root fibres stretch their tie 

 aTnd brace throughout the soil, is a firm lash of 

 the centre shaft of tree or shrub, to a stout stake 

 driven deep and close thereto. Then the sway- 

 ing of the blast wi-ll no longer snap and twist 

 off the rootlets which, beneath the shelter and 

 quiet of the mulch, lift the vital currents to the 

 parts above. Nor, when so mulched and held, 

 will wind or sun, suck up the moisture from the 

 cool footings, which so delight the plant. 



I confess, a thicket in private grounds or pub- 

 lic park is my horror. Not when a thicket of 

 Nature's make is left, or when one is gotten up 

 as a feature. But when it is the outcome of thick 

 planting for shelter and compan}^ to be thinned 

 out sometime, which sometime, if ever, always 

 comes too late. Besides, a thicket is not the 

 place for tree or shrub to gain the swing and 

 spread of freedom. They need room to de- 

 velop their best estate — room for their branches 

 in the sun and air — room for the roots to range 

 in wide feeding ground. You get neither from 

 thick planting. Day by day there rises a spin- 

 dling, spooky, impressive tangle and clutter, 

 which is soon beyond cure. Go where you will, 

 among the thick plantations bordering old 

 estates, or visit like newer follies, and the same 

 result faces you. The thinning has not come to 

 either. It never comes. But a tiresome speci- 



