142 



on vei7 small plants, may sometimes 

 be covered with hand-glasses, or 

 slightly sheltered or shaded till they 

 have begun to grow ; and the soil 

 may be covered with litter, or rotten 

 tan, or leaves, to retain the moisture. 

 Where no pains are spared, the soil 

 may be warmed immediately after 

 grafting, by watering it with a few 

 pots of hot water. After the scion 

 has made shoots a few inches in 

 length, the clay may be removed and 

 the matting loosened ; but care 

 must be taken not to do this too 

 soon. The proper time may always 

 be knowTi by observing whether the 

 edge of the scion exhibits a granu- 

 lating process, closely uniting it with 

 the stock. In general, in the course 

 of the month of August all the 

 matting from plants grafted in the 

 open air may be removed ; and with 

 those under glass, this may be done 

 much sooner. 



Grafting-clay is made of clayey 

 loam, or brick earth, mixed with 

 about a fourth part of fresh horse- 

 dung, free from litter, and a portion 

 of hay cut into pieces about an inch 

 in length, adding a Kttle water, and 

 beating the whole together for 

 several hours. On a small scale, 

 however, this prepai-ation is not 

 necessary ; as either moist clay 

 alone, or cow-dung, may be plastered 

 over the graft, and covered with 

 moss, or even with coarse paper ; 

 the moss, or paper, being tied on 

 with matting. The use of the 

 covering is to exclude the air, and 

 consequently to retain the moisture 

 of the scion and stock, and also an 

 agieeable degree of temperature, in 

 order that the vessels of the two 

 woods may be able to unite. 



Grafting-wax is composed of 

 bee's-wax and pitch, with some 

 tallow, and a little rosin ; at first 

 melted and mixed together, and 

 afterwards heated as wanted. The 



proportions are of no great conse- 

 quence. The mixture is kept in an 

 earthen pot, in which it may be 

 heated when wanted ; and is laid on 

 with a brush till it is a quarter of 

 an inch thick ; and if covered with 

 dry sand wiiile it is still soft and 

 warm, it will not be likely to melt 

 and fall off, which otherwise would 

 probably be the case. 



Graixs of Paradise. — The 

 berries of Cocculus indicus. 



Grape Hyacinth. See Musca'ri. 



Grasses. — There are but very 

 few ornamental kinds of Grass that 

 are worth cultivating in a garden ; 

 and the most remarkable of these 

 are the Quaking Grass, £riza 

 raedia, and the Feather Grass, 

 Stlpa pennata. The Italian Reed, 

 Arundo Donax, and its variety, the 

 Ribbon Grass, A . D. versicolor, are 

 very ornamental ; but they are 

 Reeds rather than Grasses, though 

 they belong to the same natural 

 family, Graounece. For a list of 

 the Grasses proper for laying down 

 a lawn, or grass plat, and their 

 qualities, see Lawn. 



Grass Vetch.— See Nisso'lia. 



Gravel is in universal use for 

 fonning walks in Britain ; as sand 

 is, for want of gravel, on the Conti- 

 nent. The grand desiderata in 

 gravels are : the quality of binding, 

 or forming a smooth compact body, 

 not liable to be disturbed by the 

 feet in w^alking ; and a good colour 

 which shall harmonise agi-eeably 

 with the grass and trees, &c., 

 around it. It Ls a very common 

 practice in forming gravel-walks, to 

 use the gravel as it comes from the 

 pit, and after it is laid down and 

 rolled, to cover it with sand taken 

 from the same gravel by screening 

 or sifting ; but imless this sand be 

 of a binding nature, from its con- 

 taining a good deal of iron, it soon 

 separates from the rough gravel 



