Of Garden*. 445 



their attacks. And, 3. The trunk has free access to the air, 

 by which it is nourished. It is not advisable, to take off the 

 bark of young trees, or of new branches of old ones, or by 

 any means to destroy, or even to injure the inner bark. When 

 the operation is judiciously performed on old trees, they throw 

 out healthy and bearing wood, more especially when the bark 

 has been cracked or diseased, or has become a shelter for insects. 

 The same plan has been tried on vines with success ; and 

 it may prove a practice highly advantageous in the extensive 

 vineyards on the Continent. It must be done, however, judi- 

 ciously, both with vines and fruit-trees, for the inner bark 

 must be carefully preserved. 



In many cases, particularly in pear trees, cutting out a nar- 

 row ring of bark, from one-half to one-third of an inch, quite 

 round the stem, has rendered the crop abundant, which other- 

 wise would have failed ( 4l3 ). If the incision be covered with 

 a rag, the hollow will be filled up with new bark in the space 

 of a few weeks. 



In many cases, fruit trees are at first planted too deep in 

 the soil. The roots are thus excluded, by a superabundant 

 load of earth, from the beneficial influence of the atmosphere. 

 By a removal of part of the useless covering, leaving only a 

 few inches of loose earth over the roots, vigour has often been 

 restored to the tree. 



It is proper to add, that taking off the earth, in a circle \ 

 of three feet in semi-diameter, round a fruit-tree, throwing 

 in two or three pailfuls of soap suds, that have been used in 

 washing, and then replacing the earth, have a most beneficial 

 effect, in rendering every species of fruit tree productive. 



The same system may be successfully applied to currant, 

 gooseberry, and raspberry bushes, and to vines. Indeed, mere- 

 ly throwing the soap-suds on the ground where vines grow, 

 has been found of use. 



2. Private Kitchen-Gardens. To those who reside in the 

 country, a well cultivated kitchen-garden, is a most essential 

 object, with a view to health, comfort, and economy. In ad- 

 dition to a due regard to aspect and shelter, it requires atten- 

 tion to the following particulars : 1. Soil; 2. Trenching; 3. 

 Manures ; 4. Vermin ; 5. Rotations ; and, 6. The articles pro- 

 per to be raised. 



1. It is found, that a sandy loam is peculiarly adapted for 

 a kitchen garden, more especially when the grains of sand 

 of which the soil is composed, are small, as by that means the 

 soil is capable of retaining a greater quantity of manure, and 

 of moisture, in dry seasons. A free marl, or a soil with a good 



