Becemlrer 18, 1878. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



■181 



not enclosed within a fence, should have a hedge instead, the 

 trees to be planted thickly at first, payins due regard to the 

 placing of those trees that are likely to permanently remain. 

 These may consist of Elm, Beech, Oak, and perhaps Chestnut, 

 with a fair quantity of Spruce Fir intermixed for effect. It 

 will also be as well to plant a few fast-growing trees, such as 

 Larch, Sycamore, and Poplar. The undergrowth may be com- 

 posed of common and Portugal Laurels, Evergreen Oaks, 

 common Yews, Hollies, and Aucubas; and if required to be 

 made more ornamental, add a few flowering deciduous shrubs, 

 Laurustinus, and Rhododendrons. As time goes on some of 

 the trees mast be cut out to allow of the proper development 

 of others more valuable. At every thinning, however, take 

 care of those trees most promising for permanent shelter, and 

 let none of the others interfere with their growth. If there is 

 room none of these trees should be planted too closely to the 

 garden, on account of the roots travelling through to the garden 

 proper and robbing the soU, and especially the trees on the 

 walls, which are generally planted on both sides. A border 

 marked oS a certain width for the growth of vegetables would 

 also be much shaded and reduced in productive value if the 

 plantation came too close to it. On the north side the trees 

 may approach nearer, but on the east they ought not to come 

 so closely as to shade any part of the garden from the morning 

 sun ; on the west the plantation may come somewhat nearer and 

 the trees be allowed to grow higher, as from this quarter violent 

 winds come at times. The undergrowth spoken of will afford 

 an excellent shelter for the crops growing on the outside border. 



Before planting, the ground should be well trenched to the 

 depth of 2 feet, and 6 inches deeper if the soil will allow of it. 

 This may appear expensive at first, but it is the only way to 

 give a good start to a plantation of this kind. I may mention 

 that in some places where scope of ground is limited, yet 

 leaving room for a plantation, it is as well to plant a hedge on 

 the garden side of the plantation, and then cut-out a deep 

 ditch by the side of it, which will to a great extent prevent the 

 roots from extending further than that ; then, in this case, 

 the plantation may be somewhat nearer the garden ; again, 

 others would find a remedy by surrounding the garden by a 

 ha-ha wall, which would be more effectual than the former 

 method, and likewise prevent the possibility of stock intruding 

 npon the garden. 



Having now said sufficient to convince anyone of the neces- 

 sity of sheltering the gardens, I will proceed to the subject of 

 soil. I behove it is generally considered that a suitable soil 

 for a garden is a rather rich, friable, or mellow loam, situated 

 moderately dry, and if the loam is inclined to a sandy nature 

 BO that it can be wrought at nearly all seasons of the year, 

 and from 2 to 4 feet in depth, so much the better ; but I 

 should consider that individual a fortunate person who can 

 make such a choice ; it is both time and money saved at once, 

 and I should be inclined to treat the object of shelter as 

 subordinate to this excellent qualification. In some localities 

 where there are two or three totally different soils to be met 

 with in a space of a few acres it is not so difficult to choose a 

 good soil or improve an inferior one ; but, generally speaking, 

 the amateur has very little chance of a choice of soil, and is 

 thereby forcibly directed to the improvement of such a soil as 

 he meets with, and nearly all soils are capable of being im- 

 proved. After a selection is made, the operation which should 

 precede all others, and which is a sound and commendable 

 basis upon which to effect farther improvements, is complete 

 drainage, a subject on which I shall make some remarks in a 

 future paper. 



I have before stated that all soils are capable of being more 

 or less improved, but it would be well to consider the means 

 of effecting improvement before finally deciding upon its 

 adoption, as it is often a question of £ s. d. with the amateur, 

 and if the necessary materials for the improvement of one sort 

 of soU cannot be readily obtained, those requued for a soil of 

 different texture may, perhaps, be had more easily, and by 

 making choice of such a soil unnecessary expenditure in 

 labour may be avoided. It is not objectionable, but rather 

 an advantage, to have two or three different sorts of soil in a 

 garden. 



The depth of a soil, if good, should have an influence over 

 the selection ; but if the subsoil is bad, the surface soil shallow 

 and poor, and if there are no reasonable means of adding to 

 its fertility, it should be abandoned ; but generally there is 

 that opportunity, and in snch a case earth should be carted-in 

 to increase the depth of surface soil before any of the subsoil 

 is turned np. A heavy clay soil is, perinps, one of the most 



expensive to improve, and the process is long ; such a soil will 

 be improved by the addition of chalk, lime rubbish, ashes, 

 roadside sand, gravel, rotten leaves, and manure, and by 

 trencliing and exposure- to the atmosphere. Again, a very 

 light sandy soil is bad, because it is poor and liable to be 

 parched with heat in summer. Fmit trees, as well as vege- 

 tables, generally exhibit a stunted appearance in a hot sandy 

 soil, and the produce seldom possesses a natural flavour ; but 

 by the addition of good loam, and in some cases a little clay, 

 as well as manure, a good staple soil is made up. Next we 

 come to gravelly soils, which generally show a want of fertility. 

 They also suffer much from drought, as they are incapable of 

 retaining sufficient moisture for a crop's sustenance; they are, 

 however, capable of improvement, not so much by the use 

 of strong manure at first, but by the addition of strong turfy 

 loam or any good soil ; but, remember, in a gravelly soil, as 

 weU as that of a sandy nature, all these additions must bo 

 made in sufficient quantities to form a body capable of sustain- 

 ing any crop that is put into it, and also the better to retain 

 moisture when it is applied. Sandy as well as gravelly soils 

 are generally somewhat warmer than those which are heavy, 

 and therefore earlier, though not, perhaps, so productive: 

 nevertheless, they are not to be rejected if there is a chance of 

 improving them. Plants in sandy or dry soils aro much more 

 capable of resisting frost than those in heavy or wet soils, and 

 this is no small recommendation. Light or loose soils can be 

 materially improved by the addition of substances of an 

 opposite character ; and even soils of a good or medium 

 quality are much improved by the addition of good loam, or 

 any fresh workable soU that has not been previously exhausted 

 by cropping. 



Chalk, when it can be procured, is a good renovator of soils, 

 and should be put on in the autumn or winter, so that the 

 weather may pulverise it. From the excavations and digging 

 for foundations, and other things connected with the erection 

 of a mansion, forming a garden and other things, all the best 

 soU should be utUised for garden purposes. The top spit, 

 however, should be kept separate from the other ; it is gener- 

 ally the most productive, and suitable also for fruit-tree 

 borders. In most eases, if the natural soil is not suitable, it 

 is possible to obtain — if not all at once, by degrees — enough 

 of the surface soU of a pasture, or any other soil that has not 

 been much cropped, for the growth of wall trees and Vines. All 

 soils that have been dug from a greater depth than 1 foot, if 

 not previously moved, ought to be exposed to the atmosphere 

 for some time before use, as they are deficient of many of the 

 properties contained in a surface soil. — Thomas Eecord. 



TYING AND TRAINING PEACH TEEES. 



How frequently in walking through Peach houses in the 

 autumn, especially where galvanised wire is used for training- 

 to, will an observant eye fall on shoots nearly cut through by 

 the tie, and gum oozing from the wound. And how often do 

 we hear of the wire being blamed for the gumming, when the 

 fault could in a great many cases be traced to the shoots being 

 too tightly bound-in from the first. As the tying season has 

 again arrived, I think it might be of use to say a few words 

 on the subject to those about commencing the operation. 



First, then, for tying with. Never use anything but strips 

 of matting from a common garden mat, and if that has been 

 in use for a time and is half worn out so much the better, as 

 it will break and give way as the branch thickens, sooner than 

 cut into it. I find .Japan flax and other strong material very 

 unsuitable for the purpose, as the least pressure wUl at once 

 cut into, rather than give way to the shoot. 



Secondly, Always give the matting a twist once round the 

 wh-e before tying. This not only keeps the shoot in its proper 

 place, but also prevents its receiving any injury from pressure 

 against the wire, and, above all, be particular never to tie-in 

 too tightly, but always to leave plenty of room for the shoot 

 to thicken considerably, without a chance of being cut. 



Lastly, Keep a careful watch over the trees during their 

 growths in the summer, and adopt the same precaution with 

 the tying-in of tho young shoots, as they aro very tender at 

 that season. By strictly adhering to these simple rules I have 

 always found cutting-in, or gumming, reduced to a minimum. 

 — H. Habbis, Naseby WooUeys. 



PoLYANTnnsKS. — Mr. Horner (pago 4(i.'>), has rightly divined 

 the sort of Polyanthus, which from thrum-eyed became pin- 

 eyed. I put-out a number of seedlings, raised from purchased 



