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FORMATION OF GARDENS. 



In nearly all gardens, trellises and wood fences are employed 

 instead of walls, as enclosures to the garden ground ; and these 

 are well adapted for the purpose, as the fruits which require 

 the protection of walls in England thrive and produce their 

 fruit in greater perfection as open standards here. The utility 

 of walls, however, around a garden, cannot be doubted, even in 

 this country, especially as regards the protection they afford to 

 trees trained on them, in early spring. Walls may be consid- 

 ered as useful to plants trained on them, or near to them, in 

 three ways: first, by the mechanical shelter they afford 

 against cold winds ; secondly, by giving out the heat they had 

 acquired during the day; and, thirdly, by preventing the loss of 

 heat which the trees would sustain by radiation. [See Experi- 

 ments by Dr. Wells, in the third part of this work, Section VI. 

 Protection of Plant-houses during Night.] 



The same arguments which have been applied in favor of 

 the best aspect for hot-houses, [see Section I.,] are equally appli- 

 cable to walls. In the middle and southern states, we should 

 think walls having a due southern aspect decidedly objectiona- 

 ble, and, for tender and delicate kinds of fruit-trees, would decid- 

 edly prefer either a south-eastern or a south-western aspect. 



The height of walls, or fences of any kind, round a garden, 

 should always correspond to the space inclosed. Twelve feet 

 may be taken as a maximum height. In England, low walls 



produce a greater effect in accelerating fruit than high ones ; 



i 



English gardens, surrounded with fine walls, with the principal range 

 of hot-houses, about 300 feet in length, on the southern aspect of the 

 wall on the north side of the garden, and a smaller range on the inside 

 of the east and west walls, all lean-to houses. There are convenient 

 back-sheds and other offices on the north side of the hot-houses. There 

 is no wall on the south side of this garden, which we think is very 

 appropriately dispensed with. "We regard this as a general rule, and 

 more especially in gardens of small size, as it gives the enclosed spaces 

 a less meagre and confined appearance. This garden, alone, of any 

 which we have seen in this country, bears an impress of the style and 

 genius cf Loudon. And though we have some faults to find with the 

 surrounding grounds, nevertheless, we believe, taking it all in all, it is 

 the most perfect specimen of modern European gardening in this coun- 

 try. 



