474 



PRACTICE OF GARDENING. 



Part III. 



429 



In the centre of the garden may be a fountain or 

 basin of water (»i), and in the gardener's house an 

 upper bedroom to overlook the whole. In smaller 

 gardens (Jig. 429.) the same general plan is adopted 

 as far as their extent admits. Where ornament is to 

 be combined with use, the standard fruit-trees and 

 shruhs may be planted in borders accompanying the walks 

 (c, c) ; but where economy of ground is the object, the 

 trees and shrubs may be collected together in compart- 

 ments (a, b), and borders altogether omitted. 



2482. In laying out the compartments of a garden, 

 Forsyth observes, " you must be guided, in a great 

 measure, by the form and size of the garden ; but do 

 not lay them out too small, as in that case a great part 

 of the ground will be taken up with walks and bor- 

 ders. The best figure is a square, or oblong, when 

 the garden is of that form ; but if not, they may be 

 laid out in any other figure that is thought to be most 

 convenient." Some of the compartments, in some 

 of our best gardens, Neill observes, are laid out in 

 beds four feet wide, with narrow alleys. So many 

 alleys, no doubt, occupy a deal of room ; but advan- 

 tages of conveniency and neatness, in enabling the 



workmen to clean and gather the crop, without trampling the ground, seem to compen- 

 sate the sacrifice of space. For currant, gooseberry, and raspberry bushes, the compart- 

 ments are, of course, reserved undivided ; and narrow beds are unnecessary in the case of 

 large perennial plants, such as artichokes or rhubarb. 



2483. Laying out the borders. Abercrombie recommends the borders next the walls to 

 be made of prepared soil, " from eight to twelve feet wide, and the same description of 

 soil extended under the walks, in order to allow a liberal width for the roots to spread 

 without impediment. Next to the borders, leave a space for a walk entirely round the 

 garden, from four to six feet wide. Some persons also choose to have a border on the 

 inward side of the walk, for the cultivation of espaliers, and esculents of dwarf growth ; 

 others divide the central parts at once into main compartments or divisions. The walks or 

 alleys must be regulated by convenience of access. Where the ground is extensive, the 

 centre should be traversed by a walk, with parallel borders, from which cross walks may 

 branch, if necessary." (Pr. Gard. p. 4.) The borders under the walls, Forsyth 

 observes, should, in the inside, be from ten to twenty feet wide, according to the size of 

 the garden, to give full liberty to the roots of the trees to spread. There should be a 

 foot-path, about two feet and a half from the wall, for the greater convenience of nailing 

 the trees, gathering the fruit, &c. This walk should be from two, to two feet and a half 

 wide, (to admit a barrow or barrow-engine for watering the trees,) and covered with 

 sand ; or, which is better, coal-ashes, about two or three inches thick, but without any 

 gravel or rubbish below. (Tr. on Fruit Trees, p. 294.) The borders for wall-trees, 

 according to Nicol, should not be less than twelve feet in breadth ; but fifteen 

 or eighteen feet is not too much. That is to say, the soil should be prepared for these 

 breadths, if it be not naturally good, and perfectly answerable for the different kinds of 

 trees to be planted. 



2484. preparation of fruit-tree borders. It is not enough, Nicol observes, that the 

 upper soil of a border only be improved. The sub-soil must also be attended to, and be 

 laid comfortably dry ; otherwise success in the rearing of fruits will be precarious and 

 doubtful. Draining is the basis of every improvement in horticulture, being the basis 

 of improvement in the soil. In this particular case, of preparing fruit-tree borders, it 

 is indispensable. It is also necessary that the roots of the trees be kept out of the sub- 

 soil, if it be of a cankering quality, as till, or corroding sand. This matter has appeared 

 evident to many, and various means have been taken to prevent them from getting down 

 to a bad substratum, at much trouble and expense. I shall here submit a method, the 

 least expensive and most effectual of any, which has been successfully practised for 

 several years. 



2485. Forming an impervious bottom to borders. If the sub-soil be wet and cankering, 

 let the border be cleared out its whole length, to the depth and breadth before- 

 mentioned. Lay the bottom in a sloping manner from the wall to the walk, giving it a 

 fall of six or eight inches. Run a drain along by the conjunction of the border and 

 walk, a few inches lower than the bottom thus formed, which shall be capable of com- 

 pletely draining off both under and surface water. It may be a rubble-drain, or a box- 

 drain, according to necessity. Now, lay over the bottom, thus formed and smooth, two 

 inches of good earth, if clayey so much the better, which pulverise and pass the roller 



