ESPALIER-RAILS SOIL. 31 



simplest form, they are merely a row of slender stakes of 

 ash or Spanish chestnut, driven into the ground, and con- 

 nected by a slight rod or fillet at top. In some gardens 

 the perpendicular rods are fastened into two horizontal 

 rails, supported by strong posts, which are battened into 

 stones. Cast-iron rails have also been proposed. The 

 framework is sometimes inclined to the horizon, or adapted 

 to a sloping bank, as in the gardens of the Earl of Selkirk, 

 at St. Mary's Isle ; where some of the trees, although so 

 trained more than sixty years ago, are still in a healthy 

 condition, bearing abundant crops of fruit. In other cases 

 the framework is placed flat like a table, and when there is 

 plenty of room, this proves a good arrangement. Espalier- 

 rails, especially the more elaborate sorts, are expensive and 

 formal ; and, therefere, in many instances, have given place 

 to dwarf standard trees, which are equally productive, and 

 far more elegant in their appearance. 



Soil. — It is of great importance that the ground select- 

 ed for a garden should be naturally of a good quality. A 

 hazel-colored loam, of a light or sandy texture, is well 

 adapted for most crops, whether of fruits or culinary vege- 

 tables. Porosity is indispensable not only for the transmis- 

 sion of moisture, but of air, to the roots of plants. As it 

 is more easy to render a light soil sufficiently retentive 

 than to make a tenacious clay sufficiently porous, a light 

 soil is preferable to one which is excessively stiff and heavy. 

 It is advantageous to possess a variety of soils ; and if the 

 garden be on a slope, it will often be practicable to render 

 the upper part light and dry, while the lower remains of a 

 heavier and damper nature. The soil should be good to 

 the depth of two feet, and any necessary additional deep- 

 ening by manures or otherwise should not be neglected. 

 The nature of the subsoil demands particular attention. If 



