LAYERING SHRUBS. 



292 



LAYING OUT GARDENS. 



great pressure on the peg or pin, and when 

 this part of the operation has been success- 

 fully carried out the mould should he pulled 

 over the branch and pressed about it with 

 tolerable firmness. 



In the case of roses and other shrubby 

 plants,. all that is required is to run the 

 knife through a joint sufficiently so to 

 make an opening or crack near it, and 

 plant it three inches below the surface of 

 the soil, securing it there with a peg, 

 pressing the soil firmly round it, but leav- 

 ing that part of the branch above the soil 

 as erect as possible. The roots will soon 

 form, when it may be separated from the 

 parent tree and planted out. 



Layering Shrubs and Trees. 



With regard to the proper season for 

 layering plants, Loudon tells us that " in 

 general the operation of layering in trees 

 and shrubs is commenced before the ascent 

 of the sap or delayed till the sap is fully 

 up, and hence the two seasons are early in 

 spring or at midsummer." This is applic- 

 able rather to trees and hard -wooded plants 

 which are propagated by layering rather 

 than to carnations and pinks, which are 

 layered after the plants have done bloom- 

 ing that is to say, from the middle of July 

 to the middle of August. Ivy, jasmine, 

 the wistaria, and many other plants of the 

 kind, may be propagated by layers if 

 necessary, though the last-named two send 

 out suckers. Ivy will take root readily if 

 merely pegged down, but it will root even 

 more quickly if a notch or slit be made at 

 the joint in which the trailing stem is 

 brought into contact with or buried under 

 the surface of the soil. Jasmine should be 

 cut partly through a joint when laid down 

 for propagation. The wound intercepts 

 the flow of the sap backwards to the root, 

 and the accumulation of the sap at the 

 callus that is formed tends to promote the 

 formation of roots. This, as it has been 



said already, is the main principle of prui-*- 

 gation by layers. 



Laying out Gardens. 



This subject is far too extensive to be 

 fully discussed here, and it will be sufficient 

 to show how a single acre of land, which 

 is to include house and offices as well as 

 garden, may best be dealt with. Even in 

 the area of an acre much the larger portion 

 is usually devoted to lawns, flower-garden, 

 and shrubberies, say two-thirds, which 

 leaves one-third for the kitchen garden, 

 exclusive, we will suppose, of melon 

 ground, or, to speak more generally, a 

 space devoted to the accommodation of 

 frames and forcing pits. The latter ought 

 to be about 20 yards square, wallet! 

 or fenced round to the height of 6 feet, 

 with a gateway leading into it large enough 

 to admit a horse and cart. The drainage 

 of the forcing ground should be perfect, 

 the water from the pits and houses falling 

 into a tank placed sufficiently deep in the 

 ground to receive all the drainage from the 

 dung beds and compost heaps. If this 

 tank is within the kitchen garden, it will 

 be an advantage, as the liquid manure that 

 is obtained from it is invaluable in the 

 cultivation of flowers and vegetables. In 

 the space devoted to frames should be 

 placed the potting sheds, and sheds for the 

 preparation of composts, which should 

 always be prepared under cover ; and as 

 the yard is by no means ornamental, it 

 should be located as far as possible from 

 the house. 



In the plan exhibited in Fig. I, A is the 

 house ; B, the conservatory ; c, clump of 

 American plants, consisting some of rhodo- 

 dendrons, ledums, and heaths ; D, roses ; 



E, flower beds, with coniferae in the centre ; 



F, flower beds ; G, jardinette, with foun- 

 tain ; H, borders planned with Alpine 

 plants; I, vines or ornamental clivnLn-rsj 

 J, pears, cherries, &c., trained againsi t; 



