Choosing the Site 



must, in the present state of our laws and our methods, be 

 separated by many miles. In the district of Edinburgh, 

 which, happily for gardeners, boasts of few manufactories 

 of the dirt-depositing type, coniferous plants grow well, as a 

 stroll through the Royal Botanic Gardens will abundantly 

 testify. Not a little also of the beauty of the world-famed 

 gardens in Princes Street is due to this favourable state of 

 affairs. 



There is also to be considered the question of proximity 

 to the coast. This has both its advantages and disadvan- 

 tages, and were advice to be given explicitly, it would be, 

 to be fairly near the coast, but yet a few miles off. Ex- 

 posure to the sea often means bleakness, especially on the 

 East Coast, a wind from which quarter is not relished by 

 animal or plant ; and the soft sea spray which is brought 

 inland by a strong wind is inimical to the welfare of some 

 plants. This, however, being a question to be decided on 

 by individual tastes, will not require to be enlarged on. 



What, however, is still more important with regard to the 

 economic working of the establishment is the facilities for 

 transit of tools, stock, manure, &c. It is a fact well known 

 to small growers in the country, that it is often most diffi- 

 cult to procure good manure in sufficient quantity and at a 

 reasonable price. If the locality is known to be afflicted 

 with this distress, it had better be sedulously avoided ; for 

 British land requires ample manure and thorough tillage 

 before it will part with its fertility. The nearer, then, to 

 the station the less will be the cost of carriage of any 

 required material, and the greater the ease with which 

 surplus stock can be disposed of. 



Another point meriting much attention is the quantity 



