CHAP. XVIii VILLA CtAEDENIXCt 133 



land from deteriorating, or else the beds should be midched w-ith. 

 manure. But in writing about insects attacking plants severely, 

 I laid much stress u^Don the value of good cultm-e as an aid to that 

 vigour which ensm'es freedom from such attacks ; and the same 

 principle holds good in the case of plants suflfering from drought. 

 Deepen the soil by eveiy available means. This is work that can 

 be done in winter. When some people think nothing can be done 

 in the garden, the good cidtivator is thinking about collecting 

 materials for giving a greater depth of soil to the poor or shallow 

 beds, to enable the plants growing in them to withstand heat and 

 drought in the future, and scarcely anything comes amiss if it will 

 decay. The scourings of ditches mixed with lime is a good dress- 

 ing for poor shallow soils. The dressing should, as far as possible, 

 supply what is lacking in the bed or border ; thus light materials 

 may be given to heavy soil, and vice versa. A celebrated artist, 

 we are told, when asked what he mixed his coloiu-s with, replied, 

 "With brains, sir;" and the exercise of the principle which is 

 implied here is required, perhaps, in the cultivation of the soil 

 more frequently than in any other occupation of life ; and when 

 we consider that the chief necessaries of life— food and clothing 

 — are obtained by the cultivation of the earth's smface, and that 

 men of commerce, who look upon themselves as the salt of the 

 earth, are only middlemen or agents between the producer and 

 cousimier — if we have a right appreciation of these things, we 

 shall see how important it is for us to know something about the 

 structure and character of the soil, so as more effectively to supply 

 its necessities. 



Planting Flowers. — Plants feel pain when ill-used, or at least 

 they show symptoms of suffering when any of the conditions under 

 which they usually live when in health are absent or imperfectly 

 carried out. In planting out anything that has been growing in 

 a pot — and nm-serymen, for the convenience of removal, keep a 

 large number of things in pots which, under other circumstances, 

 would not be potted — if it is possible to open out the roots a bit 

 before planting, and the plant is intended to have any degree of per- 

 manency, that would be an advantage. In planting out a tree or 

 shrub, for instance : if the ball has been confined to a small pot, 

 and it is committed to the ground without opening up a little, the 

 chances are that, even if the soil and situation are in all respects 

 suitable, the tree will not have a long life, or get sutficient grasp 

 of the soil to stand much wind pressure. Young plants that have 

 been kept steadily moving on in pots start at once when tiuned 

 out. The real evils of potting are only found when the plants get 

 what is termed pot-boimd, and the roots, from long residence in a 



