WAl 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



W AL 



787 



again. In order to lay them firm, it will be necessary to 

 give them three or four rollings, after good waterings or 

 heavy rains, as this will cause the gravel to bind ; so that 

 when they become dry, they will be as hard as terrace. 

 Iron-mould gravel is said to be the best for binding, or such 

 as has a little binding loam amongst it; which latter, though 

 it be apt to stick to the heels of shoes in wet weather, binds 

 better than any thing else in dry weather; but when the 

 gravel is over-sandy or sharp, clay is frequently mixed with 

 it, which, when cast together in heaps, and well mixed, binds 

 like a rock. Walks of this sort are not only necessary near 

 the house, where they certainly should be largest, but one 

 should be carried quite round the garden, because they dry 

 soon after rain, and are always proper for walking upon. The 

 walks laid with sand or other materials, in the other parts of 

 gardens or pleasure-grounds, should be formed in the same 

 manner, taking care to adopt every precaution according to 

 the nature of the soil, so as to render them as dry as possible 

 at all seasons. The breadth of these walks should be regu- 

 lated by the nature of the ground; six feet in small, and from 

 that to twelve feet in large grounds. In modern grounds, 

 they are generally laid in winding directions, to render them 

 as private as possible, by trees and plants on each side, and 

 the turns are contrived to appear as easy and natural as pos- 

 sible. In forming Grass-iualks, different methods are pur- 

 sued; but it is always necessary first to level the ground, and 

 by treading and raking to make the surface firm as well as 

 even. In small walks, it is common to have them laid with 

 turf brought from some neighbouring waste, beating it well 

 down at the time, so as to form a close smooth even surface. 

 But where they are of considerable extent, it is mostly found 

 more convenient and proper to have the sward formed by the 

 sowing of them with proper grass-seeds at suitable seasons; in 

 doing which they should be sown in rather a thick and regular 

 manner, and the seed be raked into the earth in an even way, 

 the surfaces being afterwards, when quite dry, rolled regularly 

 with a moderately heavy roller, in order to render their upper 

 parts level, and to cover the earth or mould well over the seeds. 

 All walks in general may be said to be useful, when they ave 

 required for the separation of the ground into quarters, beds, 

 and borders, and serve to connect and lead to the different 

 parts, or from one to another cross-wise: and where kitchen- 

 gardens and pleasure-grounds are connected, the principal 

 walks should be of a more capacious nature, having hand- 

 some borders on the sides, such borders being intended for 

 small esculent plants, as well as those of the flower and orna- 

 mental kinds. Leaves and weeds should on no account be 

 suffered to remain on the walks, which they soon spoil. 

 When the surfaces of Walks become foul, mossy, or full of 

 weeds, the gravel, &c. should be turned, which is best done 

 early in the spring, by means of digging them up to a slight 

 depth, placing the upper surface downwards, and then tread- 

 ing, raking, and rolling the whole well down again. Grass- 

 walks should be constantly kept close and clean, by frequent 

 mowings, sweeping, and rolling. See Vol. I. p. 644. 



Walkeria; a genus of the class Pentanclria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth inferior, 

 of one leaf, in five ovate, acute, concave, spreading, per- 

 manent segments. Corolla : petals five, lanceolate, acute, 

 spreading, rather longer 'han the calix. Stamina : fiia- 

 menta five, capillary, ascending, half the length of the 

 petals; antheree roundish. Pistil: germen superior, globu- 

 lar, five-cleft ; style bristle-shaped, erect, as tall as the sta- 

 mina ; stigma simple. Pericarp: drupas five, obovate-kid-- 

 ney-shaped, of one cell. Seed: nut solitary, kidney-shaped, 

 rather bony. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: inferior, 

 VOL. n. 131. 



in five deep permanent segments. Corolla: of five petals. 



Dritpas: five. Nuts: solitary, kidney-shaped. The only 



known species is, 



I. Walkeria Serrata ; Serrated Walkeria. Leaves ever- 

 green, smooth, and shining, alternate, on short stalks, ellip- 

 tic-lanceolate, acute, more or less evidently and acutely ser- 

 rated, four or five inches long, furnished with a strong mid' 

 rib, and many fine transverse reticulated veins; panicles termi- 

 nal, with racemose, compound, angular, smooth flower-stalks; 

 flowers yellowish, about half an inch in diameter, without 

 scent ; fruit reddish, shining, acid, and bitter, seated on the 

 dark-red enlarged calix. The stem is shrubby, about twelve 

 feet high, with round, smooth, leafy, alternate branches, tt 

 appears to possess astringent and tonic qualities. Native of 

 various parts of the coast of Malabar. 



Wall Cress. See Arabis. 



Wall Flower. See Cheiranthus. 



Wall Pennywort. See Cotyledon. 



Wall Pepper. See Scdum. 



Wall Rue. See Asp/enium. 



Wallwort. See Sambucus Ebulus. 



Walls are used in gardening not only for fences, but for 

 the purpose of ripening all such fruit as are too delicate to 

 be perfected without such assistance in this climate. They 

 are composed of stone, brick, earth, &c. ; but for fniit-trees 

 brick is the best, as being not only the handsomest, but the 

 warmest for the ripening of fruit, besides being better adapted 

 for nailing than stone, where the joints are larger : hence 

 brick walls with copings of freestone, and stone columns at 

 proper distances to separate the trees, and break off the force 

 of the winds, make not only the most beautiful, but the most 

 profitable walls that can be erected. Those walls are the 

 best, the aspect of which have one point to the eastward of 

 south, as they enjoy the benefit of the morning sun more, and 

 are less exposed to the west and south-west winds, which are 

 very injurious to fruits, than those which are built due south; 

 the next best is due south ; a-nd after that, the south-east. 

 But wherever it is necessary to build south-west and west walls, 

 or where such have been already built, the best method is to 

 plant them with such sorts of fruit as require less heat to ripen 

 them : but north walls are only proper for baking-pears, plums, 

 and morello cherries, for preserving; or duke cherries may be 

 planted against them, to continue longer in season. The 

 proper thickness of these brick walls is thirteen inches, or 

 a brick and half: but the thickness should be proportioned 

 to its height ; for when they are built twelve or fourteen feet 

 high, the foundations of the walls should be at least two 

 bricks and a half in thickness, and brought up a foot or more 

 above the level surface of the ground of the same thickness : 

 they should there be set off two inches on each side, which 

 reduces them to two bricks; and five or six feet above the 

 surface of the ground, they may be diminished on each side, 

 to reduce them to the thickness of a brick and half, which 

 must be continued to the summit. The piers in such high 

 walls should always be proportionably stronger than is com- 

 monly allowed to lower walls ; for being more exposed to 

 strong gales of wind, if not well built, they will be very dan- 

 gerous. The piers should be projected the length of a brick 

 at the back, and the thickness of a brick in the front, and 

 must be ten or twelve feet asunder. It appears however that 

 these lofty walls are seldom wanted, except for Pears, though 

 some think that the garden walls should seldom be built 

 lower than twelve or thirteen feet, and that they never need 

 be higher than sixteen, except where they are connected 

 with hot-house buildings. The ordinary height of hot-walls 

 is ten feet, which is sufficient for any of those fruits which 

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