GAHDEN BouDEus.] PR A CTI C E O F II ORTI C U LT Ull E. [gabden bouukbs. 



such aa rhubarb ami artichukos, narrow bcJa 

 are not requisite. 



la ret'ciouL'o to tlio luyini; out of borders, it 

 is reconuiieuiK'il by Abercrombie, that tliosu 

 next the walla should bo coini)osod of pre- 

 pared soil of from eight to twelve feet wide, 

 and the same deseriptioii of soil extended 

 under the walks, in order to allow a liberal 

 width for the roots to spread without impedi- 

 ment. Next to the borders a s[mco should 

 be left for a walk entirely round the garden, 

 of from four to six feet wide. Some persons 

 fancy a border on the inward side of the walk, 

 lor llie cultivation of espaliers and esculents 

 of small growth; whilst others divide the 

 central parts, at once, into main compart- 

 ments or divisions. In regulating the walks 

 or alleys, convenience of access is the principal 

 object to bo attended to ; and when the 

 ground is large, its centre should be traversed 

 by a walk, with parallel borders, from which 

 cross-walks may be made to I'amify, if neces- 

 sary. It must be remembered that it is not 

 enough to provide good surface soil for fruit- 

 tree borders. In addition to this, the ground 

 must be thoroughly drained, and the roots 

 must not be permitted to penetrate the sub- 

 soil, but be kept within a few inches of the 

 surface of the ground, that they may draw 

 their nourishment from the upper soil. Re- 

 specting the most congenial soil for the 

 nurture of fruit trees, we find an intelligent 

 writer in the Gardener's Chronicle, observing, 

 tliat the soil, in the most productive part of 

 Kent, is locally called hassock, or stone-shatter. 

 The surface of this is a mixture of sandy loam, 

 largely intermixed with small pieces of ligiit- 

 coloured Kentish rag-stone, and is from six 

 inches to two feet deep on solid stone rock. 

 In this soil, "fruit trees of all sorts flourish 

 and produce abundantly ; even peach and pear 

 trees, of tlie most delicate kinds, grow with the 

 greatest luxuriance, and are free from disease. 

 Tj what are we to attribute this result? 

 rruit trees growing in the kind of soil just 

 described produce short-jointed wood ; when 

 the roots are stimulated by rich manures, 

 ram[)ant luxuriant branches are produced; 

 when they descend to a distance beyond the 

 genial influences of the atmosphere, they 

 absorb a large quantity of water, which tlie 

 leaves are unable to get rid of by perspiration, | 



and the inevitable result is green canker, aud 

 a whole host of diseases. Such trees eontinuo 

 to grow to a late period of the aulunni, when 

 the lownesa of the temperature, and tho 

 absence of sunlight, render it impossible for 

 them to give oft* their superabundant water 

 by per.spiration, tho only means by which all 

 trees and plants are enabled to part with it." 

 On tho other side of the question wo find it 

 stated, that trees in tho stone-shatter soil, 

 "grow slowly; their tissues become perfectly 

 organised as they proceed, and are not liable 

 to bo acted upon by accumulated moisture. 

 As the days become short, and the power of 

 the sun declines, the motion of the fluids and 

 the action of the cells gradually cease, when 

 the whole system is in unison with the course 

 of nature; in winter the roots are almost 

 dormant, the branches are short-jointed, and 

 well-ripened, and all are prepared to with- 

 stand the severity of the weatiier, and to 

 awaken in spring, full of life and blossom." 



In laying out the area of the garden, the 

 principal points demanding attention are 

 clearly enumerated by Mr. Loudon, in the 

 following passage, with which we will conclude 

 this part of our subject. " The area, or space 

 enclosed by the garden wall?, is usually formed 

 into compartments, very commonly called 

 quarters and borders, or narrow slips, running 

 parallel to the walls and walks. The magni- 

 tude and number, both of compartments and 

 borders, as well as of the walks, depend on 

 the size of the garden, and partly, also, on the 

 taste of the designer. Rectangular figures are 

 almost universally preferred to both. Tho 

 breadth of wall-borders ought, generally, to 

 be the same as the height of the accompanying 

 wall ; the borders may be broader, but do not 

 produce a good effect when narrower. In a 

 garden of an acre within the walls, the walks 

 are never less than six feet broad, the sur- 

 rounding or wall-border from ten to fifteen 

 feet, and the marginal borders from seven to 

 eight feet wide. In the latter an espalier rail 

 is frequently 6xed about five feet from tho 

 edging of the wall ; in other cases the trees 

 are planted along the middle of the border, 

 and trained as dwarfs ; an alley, or a path, 

 commonly two feet wide, separates the borders 

 from the compartments. In the slip may be 

 formed irregular compartments, or borders, 



911 



