452 



SCIENCE OF GARDENING. Part II. 



cases and situations. It belongs to order for a master to allow workmen proper periods 

 for rest and refreshment ; propriety dictates the time and duration of these periods ; 

 prudence suggests the wisdom of departing as little as possible from established 



practices. m . , 



2358. Decorum is the refinement of propriety. It is in order to procure stable-dung 

 for hot-beds, and to cart it into the framing-ground ; it is proper to do this at all times 

 when it is wanted, but it is decorous to have the work performed early in the morning, 

 that the putrescent vapors and dropping litter may not prove offensive to the master of 

 the garden, should he, or any of his family or friends, visit that scene. 



2359. Neatness, as opposed to slovenliness, is well understood ; it consists in having 

 every thing where it ought to be; and in attending to die decorum of finishing operations, 

 and to minute things in general. These abstract hints may be considered as more parti- 

 cularly directed to master-operators ; the following practical directions apply both to 

 masters and their journeymen or laborers. 



2360. Perform every operation in the proper season. The natural, and therefore the 

 best indications for the operations of sowing and reaping, transplanting, &c. are given by 

 the plants Uiemselves, or by the progress of the season as indicated by other plants. But 

 there are artificial kalendars or remembrancers, the use of which is to remind the master 

 of the leading crops and operations of culture throughout the year. But, even if such 

 books were made as perfect as their nature admits of, still they are only calculated to 

 aid the memory, not to supply the place of a watchful and vigilant eye, and habits of 

 attention, observation, reflection, and decision. Unless a gardener has these, either na- 

 turally, or partly natural and partly cultivated, in a considerable degree, he will be but 

 little better than a common laborer as to general management and culture of garden- 

 scenery. . . • J • U 



2361. Perform every operation in the best manner. This is to be acquired in part by 

 practice and partly also by reflection. For example, in digging over a piece of ground, 

 it is a common practice with slovens to throw the weeds and stones on the dug ground, 

 or on the adjoining alley or walk, with the intention of gathering them off afterwards. A 

 better way is to have a wheelbarrow, or if that cannot be had, a large basket, in which 

 to put the weeds and extraneous matters, as they are picked out of the ground. Some per- 

 sons, in planting or weeding, whether in the open air or in hot-houses, throw down all 

 weeds, stones, and extraneous matters on the paths or alleys, with a view to pick them 

 up, or sweep or rake together afterwards ; it is better to carry a basket or other utensil, 

 either common or subdivided (1400.), in which to hold in one part the plants to be planted, 

 in another the extraneous matters, &c. 



2362. Complete every part of an operation as you proceed. This is an essential point 

 in garden-operations, and though it cannot always be attended to, partly from the nature 

 of the operation, partly from weather, &c. yet the judicious gardener will keep it in view 

 as much as possible. Suppose a compartment, or breadth of rows of potatoes, containing 

 one tenth of an acre, required to have the ground stirred by the Dutch hoe, the weeds raked 

 oft; and then the potatoes earthed-up with the forked hoe ; the ordinary practice would 

 be first to hoe over the whole of the ground, then to rake it wholly over, and, lastly, to 

 commence the operation of earthing-up. If the weather were certain of holding good 

 two davs, this, on the principle of the division of labor, would certainly be somewhat 

 the most economical mode. But supposing the weather dry, the part left hoed and not 

 raked will, for a time (and one hour ought to be an object in a fine garden), appear unfi- 

 nished ; and if rain should happen to fall in the night, the operation will be defeated in 

 most soils. Better, therefore, to hoe, rake, and earth-up a small part at a time: so 

 that leave off where you will, what is done will be complete. 



2363. Finish one job before you begin another. This advice is trite, but it is of great 

 importance ; and there are few cases where it cannot be attended to. 



2364. In leaving off working at any job, leave your xvork and tools in an orderly manner. 

 Are you hoeing between rows, do not throw down your hoe blade upwards, or across 

 the rows, and run off the nearest way to the walk the moment the breakfast or dinner 

 hour strikes. Lay your implement down parallel to the rows, with its face or blade to 

 the ground ; then march regularly between one row to the alley, and along the alley to 

 the path. Never drop your tools and leave eff work before the hour has well done 

 striking ; and above all, never run on an occasion of this kind ; it argues a gross bru- 

 talised selfishness, highly offensive to well regulated minds. 



2365 In lectin* off xvork for the day, make a temporary finish, und carry your tools 

 to the tool-house. In general, do not leave off in the middle of a row ; straighten your 

 trenches in digging, because, independently of appearances, should a heavy ram ot a 

 week's duration intervene, the ground will have to be re-dug, and that will be more 

 commodiously done with a straight than with a crooked, and consequently unequal 



2366. In passing to and from your work, or, on any occasion, through any part of what 



