reeled •« iih ArricTilrure is there so Ihde acca- f 

 rite knowledse diffused amons the mass of 

 larmers. An acqnaintaiice ■wiih Doctor Har- i 

 ris's book •vriH save item much anxiety and 

 Tnar.v fraitless efibrts. besides servins to be§et 1 

 and lo sratify a tase for researches that vriil 

 impress him with the truth of the remark by 

 another modem and most able foreign ■writer , 

 on the same sabject. that. -"V^hateTer many , 

 mav sav of Xamre aru wln sr old. the natnralift j 

 finds her always jofins and beautifoL always j 

 esrniable — jast as she came from the hand of 1 



her Creator, and as she indeed every moment is- 

 saes afredi from the hand of the Almishty Beinar. 

 In his hand the youth of Xatuie is contintially 

 rene^^ved : and tinder his all-rnliDg Providence. 

 ail the mil lions of apparently distinctive beings 

 only labor in preservinff her existence and em- 

 bellishment."' This able Report appears to have 

 been published asreeably to an order of the 

 Leeislatnre of ilassachtisetts. by the Commis- 

 sioners of the Zooloeital and Botanical Survey 

 of the State, and is, we believe, • out of print.' 



FRUIT-TREE BORDERS. 



[From tbfi Londcm Gardener's Chronicle, 27tii Dec. 1*45.^ 



X0THI5G can be of greater importance to a 

 conn try gentleman than a fiooridiin? and pro- 

 daciive ?arden : and if proper means are al- 

 lowed, tfere can be no reason why this should 

 not be the ca.ee. True, there are adverse sitna- 

 tions and soils, opposed in some deeree to the 

 quality of their producdons : but sardenins is 

 an art. and he who aspires at a masterly knowr- 

 leda-e ot that art. by dexterity and perseverance 

 renders every opposing object subservient to his 

 skill. A thoioush and enthusiastic cuidvaior of 

 the soil reduces its obstinacy, corrects its bar- 

 renaess. and causes the bark-bormd, stunted 

 trees to assume a living and vigorous appear- 

 ance. It may be assumed that these are hidden 

 and abstrase matters, which belong excltisrvely 

 to science, but ■we deny it : good gardeners 

 know all this, and bad ones should set abost 

 learning ■s^ithoui delay. Let such begin by 

 casting off their prejudices : let them take their 

 stand by the side of the inquiring aad industri- 

 ous, and their course and soccese are alike 

 clear. 



AH Fruit-Trees. of w^haterer kind, should be 

 planted on shallow ground, more especially if 

 the quality of the soil is adhesive. As a first 

 principle, the border should be dry : and, if not 

 naroraliy so. drainage, complete and efficient, 

 must be introduced. The drainage must, from 

 its depth, entirely prevent the roots from get- 

 ting beyond it The soil between the drainage 

 and the atmosphere eltotild be rendered friable 

 by exposure to the elements, and ■when it par- 

 ties of considerable tenacity I ■would ureently 

 recommend an admixture of stones, flints, brick- 

 b'iis. or any similar material, say to the extent 

 :,-^ :'.^:nh. These will enable the rains to 

 :■-- freely through the body of earth in 

 ; r. 'he roots are. They "w-iU ako in dr^- 

 weaiher hold moisture, and tend greatly to main- 

 tain the border in an equable stale. The roots 

 under such circumstances ■wtII be satisfactorily 

 placed : no water can remain or be held in the 

 goU sufficiently long to prove injarion.a: the 

 stones intermixed •with the soil will allow it 

 freely to pase into the drainasc beneath, ■where 

 preparai'.on mtist have been made for its pase- 

 ins reacily off. 



No kicd of fruit-bearine tree should ever be 

 planted deep, the proper position of the roots in 

 piaoting is to stretch them carefully on the sor- 

 ■902 



' face of the border, then to cover them loosely 

 ■with sofl. to the depth of three inches ; on this 

 lay a slight covering of decayed leaves, merely 

 to protect them from dryin? ■winds until the roots 

 are perfectly established in the soU. The roots 

 are certain to find their ■way down'ward, but 

 when they are dowTi they are not so likely to 

 find their way to'ward the surface. 



Fruit-tree borders should never be dug with 

 the spade. The surface may be stirred and 

 • kept open -with the fork, and then merely for 

 ' the purpose of loosening the soil. The roots 

 i should be encouraged to the surface by the ap- 

 plication of dressings of decomf)osed leaves. 

 Wood-ashes ■will occasionally prove useful, and 

 so will sooL These encourage the kind of wood 

 likely to prove productive, and the produce is 

 entirely different, both as regards size and 

 quality, from that where hea^sy dressings of sta- 

 ble manure are applied, particularly when the 

 borders are imperfectly drained, and the soil of 

 considerable adhesiveness. Manure dug into 

 borders thus circumstanced is only increasing 

 the evil. The soil is con.standy wet and sponsy. 

 The roots are stirrounded ■with unhealthy fiuid ; 

 the air never penetrates beyond the surfiice : 

 consequently, rank and barren wood, in large 

 quantities, is annually, and to no useful purpose, 

 produced. The roots should never be allo-wed, 

 if it can possibly be avoided, to get beyond the 

 reach of atmospheric influences. It is in such 

 a i>osition alone that they can procure and as- 

 similate the kind of aliment indispensable to the 

 fruitfulness of the trees. When the borders are 

 ' imperlectly drained, the fruit produced is not 

 '. only small in quantity, but of inferior quality, 

 and not fit for dessert or kitchen use, compared 

 ■with such as is grown on dry and healthy .soil. 

 ^Vbere the situation is bad, it should not by bad 

 sardeninz be made v.orse ; everj' means should 

 ' be adopted to modify an e^■iL of itself of suffi- 

 i cient magnitude. I should hope that nobody 

 ! would ever think of planting trees in future 

 ' ■without a complete examination of the condi- 

 tion of the soil and panicularly the subsoil, in 

 I order, if necessary, to apply those remedies 

 which skillful gardening may suggest: and 

 surely there is sufficient skill and talent among 

 us to meet, if brought into the field, all the exi- 

 gencies of the case. 

 1 ' One who haj handled the 5pade. 



