FURNISHING THE GARDEN. 169 



happen to be planted about fifty yards to the north or east of it, to break the 

 force of cutting north winds. 



399. Having ah-eady discussed the question of brick walls, we may only 

 remark here, there can be no question about the advantages they offer, 

 •especially with a southern aspect. Walls with curvatures or piers to protect 

 the wall- trees from cold winds, I consider useless, having known wall- trees 

 bear yearly, for many j^ears, an excellent crop of fruit, which ripened well 

 without any such assistance on a wall facing the south, without any protec- 

 tion. But the trees were planted on a good holding loam ; they were young 

 healthy trees when planted, and they were kept in a healthy state by judi- 

 cious management, in which disbudding was used more than the knife. 



400. Respecting the paths, &c., the main object is to have them strong and 

 dm-able, for a kitchen -garden should be so in reality ; and, whatever is done 

 to make it ornamental beyond keeping it very clean and sweet, must and does 

 deti'act from its true purpose. In a kitchen -garden there is a great deal of 

 wheeling in of manure and wheeling out of rubbish to be performed. There- 

 fore, in forming paths, let strength and solidity be the chief considerations ; 

 see that the paths are high enough to allow for sinking, which is the result of 

 constant wheeling upon them ; and, as regards drainage j if paths are made 

 very solid, they will not absorb water, and, if they are made sufficiently high 

 and rounded, water will readily run off and find its way to the drains. If 

 the walks are rendered impervious to wet, a good foot of ballast or coarse 

 gravel will be sufficient ; and if on this is placed a thin layer g£ fine gravel or 

 coarse sand, it will take off the roughness. Where gravel can be procured, 

 nothing can be better ; but, if not easily procurable, well-burnt clay is equally 

 efficacious. 



401. In a large kitchen -garden, I would recommend two or three main 

 walks, both for the greater convenience of cropping and working, and for 

 more effectually carrying out a system of rotation cropping. Then, again, 

 with regard to extent, an acre of ground may be both a large or a small 

 kitchen-garden, according to what it is desired to grow in it. In places where 

 the orchard is a separate department, and the kitchen-garden is devoted 

 exclusively to vegetable culture, an acre of ground will yield vegetables for a 

 large family ; but, if it is thickly planted with fruit-trees in the form of 

 standard dwarfs and espaliers, an acre will be insufficient. And, be it 

 obsei-ved, the vegetables will not be so good ; for good healthy vegetables 

 require to be open to the sun and to the free circulation of air. Where there 

 is room, let the orchard be apart from the kitchen-garden, and the result 

 will be a thousand times more satisfactory. 



402. In conjunction with a large kitchen-garden, there will necessarily be 

 forcing-pits or houses ; and it will be the province of the garden to grow sub- 

 jects for them to a certain extent. 



403. It has already been stated that the same crops grown successively ou 

 the same ground year after year, without addition to the soil, are found to 

 impoverish it for that particular crop, still leaving properties in the soil which 



