SEPTEMBER 167 



dignified if that road were straightened where it is 

 possible, and ended in a large square or oblong of gravel 

 at right angles to the house, sufficiently roomy for 

 carriages to turn with ease. The sides could then be 

 planted with borders or shrubberies, or merely turfed, 

 according to the taste of the owner and the space at his 

 command. Where the soil is light, and the drive up long 

 enough, it is well to plant it with the wild growth of the 

 neighbouring common Box, Holly, Broom, Ling, Honey- 

 suckle, Blackberries. These will never grow into a wall, 

 and require very little weeding and attention. 



Now a word about the original planting. When you 

 take a new house, it generally happens that the first 

 wish is to gain privacy by planting out a neighbour or a 

 road. In light soils the common Ehododendron grows 

 nearly as quickly, if planted in peat, as the Laurel or the 

 Portugal Laurel. It is decidedly prettier, and does not 

 suffer in the same way in severe winters from frost. I 

 believe that some people prefer Laurels to other shrubs ; 

 but it must be remembered that Laurels make root- 

 growth like trees, take all moisture out of the soil, and 

 starve other shrubs near them. Ehododendrons, on the 

 other hand, grow very much on the surface, are easily 

 transplanted at any time during the summer, and can be 

 increased by layering. Where screening is necessary, 

 the first object must, of course, be quick-growing shrubs, 

 and these three the common Rhododendron, the Laurel, 

 and the Portugal Laurel are, we must admit, the most 

 satisfactory. They must be planted in bold masses, not 

 mixed, and thinned out in a few years by taking out 

 alternate plants. Where this screening is not wanted, 

 choicer shrubs should be planted, with knowledge, 

 according to their growth, their requirements of aspect, 

 their size, their colour, their time of flowering, their 

 hardiness or delicacy, and so on ; all to be learnt from 



