WALLS FOR GARDENS. 



554 



WALLS FOR GARDENS. 



absorbed rays impinging on the surface 

 of the wall greatly increases the tem- 

 perature of the air in immediate contact 

 with it. Besides this power of absorbing 

 heat, moisture is also absorbed, both from 

 rain and from the atmosphere, and, with 

 the heat, is given out by radiation, tem- 

 pering the atmosphere during the night. 

 A wall is thus, in every sense, a source 

 of protection, ; and it is of considerable 

 importance that its height and form, as 

 well as its workmanship and materials, 

 should be well considered. 



External Fences. The ha-ha fence (see 

 Ha-ha), invented by Kent, has been con- 

 sidered the best form of external fence, 

 because it affords protection from with- 

 out, and does not obstruct the view, but 

 carries the eye uninterruptedly into the 

 neighbouring domain. A light wire fence 

 offers the best possible protection from 

 game and other, wild animals. A holly 

 or privet hedge may with advantage 

 surmount the ha-ha on the east and 

 west, especially if it is intended to have 

 borders outside the garden wall either 

 for wall-trees or vegetables. Where cir- 

 cumstances permit, a belt of trees on 

 the north or north-east side of the ha-ha 

 will also afford a desirable shelter. 

 Within this external fence the kitchen 

 and fruit gardens usually form a separate 

 enclosure, more or less extensive, accord- 

 ing to the means of the proprietor ; and 

 the wall surrounding this enclosure we 

 have now to consider. 



Garden Walls. Garden walls have 

 long been a subject for discussion, and 

 will probably always remain so : like 

 everything else connected with garden- 

 ing, they depend on local circumstances. 

 The walls which would be suitable for a 

 moderate-sized kitchen garden, in a flat 

 or thickly-wooded country, would be very 

 unsuitable for a loftier site, on the side of 

 a hill, or in an open, undulating country ; 



while a plot of small extent, enclosed by 

 walls 14 or 16 feet high, would be inad- 

 missible both on artistic and physiological 

 principles : on the first, it would seem as 

 the walls of a prison ; on the second, it 

 would literally be so, excluding air, which 

 is essential to the growth of plants. 



Best Heights for WaHs. On these 

 grounds the best practitioners consider 

 that for small gardens 8 feet walls are 

 most suitable, provided the trees on them 

 are planted so far apart as to admit of 

 their horizontal extension. For gardens 

 of larger size, 10 feet walls, and for an 

 extensive garden 12, and even 14 feet, 

 will not be too great. Nicol thinks 10 

 or 12 feet a height convenient for pruning, 

 watering, and gathering the fruit, giving 

 also ample space for the expansion of the 

 branches of most trees ; but he adds, 

 this should be influenced by the extent, 

 or apparent extent, of the ground, the 

 latter depending upon its cast : if it is 

 a lengthened parallelogram, for instance, 

 the ground will seem larger than it really 

 is ; if an exact square, it will seem smaller. 

 So, if it is a flat, it will seem smaller than 

 if it is either undulating or sloping ; while, 

 on an elevation, loftier walls will admit 

 a larger amount of atmospheric air than 

 if placed in a hollow, or even in a flat 

 country. Where an acre of ground, in 

 the form of a parallelogram is enclosed, 

 on a gentle elevation, he recommends a 

 north wall 14 feet high, and the east, 

 west, and south walls only 10 feet : if 

 the slope of the ground is considerable, 

 the difference may be less. In gardens 

 of greater extent enclosures of four acres 

 for instance the walls may be higher, 

 but in no instances more than 1 8 feet 

 high for north wall, 15 feet for east and 

 west walls, and 12 feet for south wall. 



Waltonian Case. 



The flower case, so called, is a portable 



