SOILS AND CULTIVATION IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 391 



Weeds and Rubbish Heaps. — Upon suggesting once in a 

 beautiful garden in Essex that an opening should be made from a 

 pleasure ground into a picturesque grove of old Oak trees, we were 

 met with the objection that the rubbish heap was there ; and, on 

 making our way in, this was found to cover half an acre almost 

 picturesque in its wild up and down heaps of rubbish, earth, leaves, 

 branches and broken crockery, &c. A fire was kept alight for six 

 months in the year to get rid of some of this rubbish, and this being 

 very near the house, was a frequent nuisance in certain states of 

 wind and air. This is a common state of things, but as wrong in 

 practice as it is unnecessary. We gain nothing by destroying organic 

 matter by fire, but lose a good deal and get only the ash. The garden 

 weeds, the good soil scraped up with them, and the many other things 

 that go to make up these rubbish heaps would be of far more use put 

 directly over young trees to protect and nourish them. Refuse of 

 hard materials, such as iron or delf, should be buried separately ; and 

 if any roots of bad weeds occur, they may be burned at once where 

 they are. Yet there is no practice more firmly established than the 

 ancient one of the garden rubbish heap, often disfiguring spots which 

 might be pretty with ferns or shrubs, encouraging vermin, filth, and 

 vile odours, all things that we do not want in or near the flower garden 

 or pleasure ground. We may see these heaps made even where labour 

 is scarce and the gardener is over-weighted with work, he adding to 

 his toil by harrowing or carting away weeds and earth. This means 

 moving the costly product two or more times: (i) to the rubbish 

 heap ; (2) turning over and burning ; and (3), finally, again removing 

 the result in ash ; whereas we may easily, as in the above and many 

 other cases in a garden or pleasure ground, get rid of it at once by 

 one move, and find it acts in a more useful way, even as a fertiliser, 

 than when we go through the ugly labours, pains, and penalties of 

 forming the regulation rubbish heap. Nor does this plan in the least 

 prevent us burning where burning is a prompt aid in getting rid of the 

 roots and bad weeds or any worn-out branches or roots that incommode 

 us ; but in such a case we burn on the spot and scatter the refuse there 

 or thereabouts. Here are a few instances of other ways of getting rid 

 of what usually is carried or carted to a rubbish heap, that were carried 

 out during one summer in my own garden. 



Protecting Hollies.— A very fine group of Hollies was planted 

 on a slope facing south. Seedling trees of the largest size 

 that could be planted with safety were brought from a distance by 

 rail. These were planted in May, and afterwards any grass mowings, 

 prunings, weeds, clearings, reeds, dead roots of shrubs, &c., that 

 happened to be near, were placed at the base of each Holly for about 

 3 feet all round ; also, where any ground near was cleared of summ.er 



