CH. II.] THE ROOT. 51 



we have in ^-iew. The soil in my own garden being 

 shallow, never produced a carrot or a parsnip of any 

 size ; but almost every root consisted of numerous 

 forks thickly coated with fibres : digging two spades 

 deep produced no material advantage, the gardener 

 applying as usual manure to the surface ; but, by 

 trenching as before, and turning in a small quantity 

 of manure at the bottom, the roots always spindled 

 well, grew clean, and had few lateral fibres. For 

 late crops of peas, which mildew chiefly from a 

 deficiency of moisture to the root, it is an object to 

 keep their radiculae near the surface, for the sake 

 of the light depositions of moisture incident to their 

 season of growth ; hence it will always be found 

 of benefit to cover the earth over the rows with 

 a little well rotted dung, and to point it in hghtly. 



If it be desirable to prevent the roots of any 

 plant travelling in a certain direction, the soil on 

 that side should be excavated and the cavity refilled 

 with sand or some other unfertile earth, whilst the 

 soil on those sides of the plant whither the roots are 

 desired to tend should be made as fertile as is per- 

 missible with its habits. 



To keep the roots of trees near the surface, 

 gardeners make an impervious substratum beneath 

 their borders, either by ramming a bed of chalk at 

 the requisite distance from the sui'face, or by placing 

 there an asphaltic mixture of hot coal tar and lime 



E 2 



llNlveRSlTY OB ■ 

 ILLINOIS LIBRARY 



