THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Garden cont in ued. 



for the purposes to which it is best adapted. The 

 amount of interest and pleasure, apart from profit, to 

 be derived from a Garden, depends greatly on the 

 capacity of the individual who may frequently or occa- 

 sionally visit it, to notice and appreciate the beauties 

 of nature that may be found in every conceivable 

 form around. These advantages of pleasure, combined 

 with utility in obtaining the crops annually, represent 

 the practical outcome of capital expended on Gardens, 

 and an adequate return should be obtained in an 

 indirect, if not in a pecuniary, manner. Very much 

 depends on the gardener using every available means 

 to render his charge attractive and satisfactory to all 

 concerned, as, without this attention, a Garden becomes 

 the reverse of what it really should be. Much more 

 may be accomplished in a small space, if proper and 

 continued attention is bestowed, than would, at first 

 sight, appear credible. This is frequently exemplified 

 in the case of amateurs, who only have window space 

 or that allowed with a small villa or cottage. The love 

 of a Garden and its products, in every way, is one 

 of the prevailing characteristics of English fashion, from 

 the highest to the lowest class of individuals, and it 

 . should receive encouragement on every hand. The more 

 a student of nature learns of the various forms and 

 means adopted therein for reaching certain ends, every 

 one of which has some definite purpose, the more is he 

 induced to pursue his investigations, although the gain- 

 ing of further knowledge only reveals the marvellous 

 extent of the system open for study to those who choose 

 to proceed with it. The form and extent of Gardens de- 

 pending so entirely on that of the house or mansion with 

 which they are associated, renders it impossible to give 

 more than general advice regarding their position or 

 method of laying out to the best advantage. Some of 

 the principal points to be adopted, and others which it 

 is well to avoid, will be duly noticed, both in the case 

 of Gardens of considerable extent, and also in those of 

 smaller dimensions. 



FRUIT AND KITCHEN GARDEN. In planning and 

 laying out this department, on an extensive scale, the 

 exercise of considerable judgment and forethought will 

 be required. It is work that only falls to the lot of 

 comparatively few gardeners in the first instance, yet a 

 knowledge of its performance is frequently requisite to 

 enable alterations to be made with part at a time, that 

 in due course may, in some respects, convert the whole. 

 The most important points to be observed are situa- 

 tion, soil, form, size, and shelter. 



Situation and Soil. A. situation has sometimes to be 

 accepted irrespective of the condition or quality of the 

 soil, but each requires an equal notice wherever there is 

 a choice. In selecting a site, it should be, if possible, 

 slightly undulated and face the south, or a little south- 

 east. In dry districts, or where the sub-soil is of a 

 gravelly nature, it would be better if the ground were 

 nearly flat, provided efficient drainage could be secured 

 without having to go very deep at any point. If in 

 connection with a mansion, the best position near to it 

 should be selected for the Kitchen Garden, on account of 

 transferring the produce ; yet it should be sufficiently 

 far away to allow work of any description to proceed at 

 the proper time. Many proprietors take a great interest 

 in this department, which generally includes nearly the 

 whole of the forcing operations, grape and other fruit 

 culture under glass, &c. It is advisable that the ap- 

 proach from the mansion should be towards the front or 

 ends of the houses, in preference to the back, which is 

 invariably utilised for tool and other sheds. A southern 

 aspect, or nearly so, being that usually selected for garden 

 structures, and also for the front or principal part of a 

 mansion, it follows that the best position for the Garden 

 is on some point towards the east or west, far enough 



Garden continued. 



away to admit of the boundary walls being concealed 

 from view by trees and shrubs, and to allow of the 

 approach being in the direction above indicated. The 

 condition of the soil should be considered in several 

 respects as to its depth in general, the quality of the 

 top spit, and also the sub-soil. A depth of less than 

 18in. will be unsuitable, the best being from 2ft. to 3ft. 

 A rather heavy loam in some parts, with that of a lighter 

 or more sandy nature in others, will admit of positions 

 being selected for different crops that require such soils ; 

 and, for this reason, both are preferable if to be obtained. 

 The quality of the sub-soil, especially when it is of an 

 irony or close, retentive nature, and so prevents the free 

 passage of air and water, has a great effect on all fruit- 

 trees and on garden crops generally. Fruit-trees seldom 

 succeed on such sub-soils, as, once their roots enter it, 

 canker and other diseases immediately attack the branches 

 and cause them to decay. Much may be accomplished 

 in improving and deepening shallow soils by adding more 

 on the top from an adjoining field or other place ; but 

 this causes a great deal of work, and, moreover, does 

 not remove the evils attending a bad sub-soil; conse- 

 quently, the latter should be avoided, if possible. The 

 amount of drainage to be applied artificially depends 

 a great deal on the porosity of the earth beneath the 

 surface. In many cases, it is only necessary to drain 

 the walks; and if the situation of the garden is un- 

 dulated, this may be easily effected. Land of a reten- 

 tive, clayey nature may require draining throughout 

 in districts where the rainfall is heavy, in order to re- 

 move the superabundant moisture that would otherwise 

 collect. In other soils, resting mostly on gravel, suffi- 

 cient is generally conducted naturally by the latter from 

 the majority of growing crops. In selecting a situation 

 for the Kitchen Garden, the available means for supplying 

 water must also be considered, as a large quantity is always 

 required in summer. If it can be procured from a stream 

 or large open reservoir exposed to sun and air, it will be 

 found warmer, softer, and better suited in every way 

 for plants, than if obtained direct from a well or spring. 

 A stream passes through some Gardens, and although 

 the water is very useful at times, its presence in spring 

 attracts the least frost, which often proves destructive 

 to fruit blossom and other early crops. If a natural 

 source, higher than the garden itself, is not available, 

 another method may be employed, such as a hydraulic 

 ram, for forcing water into a reservoir at a point suffi- 

 ciently high to insure its return through pipes to any 

 part of the Garden desired. The above conditions are 

 not always to be obtained, but they should be fully 

 considered wherever there is a choice of site. 



Form and Size. Where, as in this case, the cultivation 

 of fruit and vegetables is of first importance, the shape 

 of the ground does not matter materially. This and the 

 size are points depending a good deal on each other, 

 and on the requirements of each place individually. An 

 extensive Kitchen Garden, of some five or six acres of 

 land, has often to be managed for cultivating sufficient 

 fruit and vegetables to supply the demands of a large 

 household. As the expense of laying out a Garden of 

 this size, and the subsequent annual expenditure to keep 

 it stocked, and in good order, are necessarily heavy, 

 the greatest care should be taken, in the first instance, 

 to utilise every means for rendering the whole a per- 

 manent success. The size, number of walls, glass 

 structures, &c.. must, therefore, entirely depend on re- 

 quirements and the amount of expense to be incurred. 

 The Kitchen Garden, or a large portion of it, is usually 

 surrounded with walls. These are essential for the culti- 

 vation of fruit-trees that would not succeed and ripen 

 crops in the open ground,' and they are best placed 

 so as to form either a square or an oblong, with its 

 ends running towards east and west. Such shapes 



