INTRODUCTION. XXXlll 



majority of hardy perennials, and it is to those two 

 points that attention should be mainly directed when 

 preparations are being entered upon for their culture. 

 The ground should be trenched deeply if it will admit 

 of it, and if not, as much should be done as is possible 

 under the circumstances to add to the depth. If the 

 ground is thin and gravelly — and these two conditions 

 very generally accompany each other — good loam or 

 clay should be added to the fullest extent practicable, 

 incorporating carefully the new with the old soil in the 

 process of working it. In soils of this sort, herbage of 

 a luxuriant and valuable kind does not exist in nature, 

 nor can it reasonably be expected to do so in cultiva- 

 tion ; and as we should aim at the best results in this as 

 in all kinds of work, it is well to bear in mind that they 

 are only attainable by the employment of the best 

 means and judgment. It may be stated as generally 

 applicable to the mass of hardy perennials, and espe- 

 cially so to the more showy and valuable ones, that they 

 grow badly, and flower both ill and briefly, in thin dry 

 soil, and hence the necessity for improvement before 

 attempting their culture in it, if of that character. If, on 

 the other hand, the soil is deep and moist to wetness, 

 there may be excessive luxuriance produced thereby in 

 some species, but very many of th^^more valuable ones 

 will be injured rather than improved. Many of our best 

 border perennials die in such soil during winter ; they 

 do not ripen well, and their tissues being soft and usually 

 unduly charged with moisture, they suffer more severely 

 from ground frost, which penetrates to a greater depth 

 in moist than in comparatively dry earth. Thorough 

 drainage and improvement mechanically by the addi- 



