240 FLOWER GARDEN. 



away and incorporated with white sand, is to be preferred : 

 peat, cut from its natural bed and only partially decom- 

 posed, is of no value at all, or rather is positively prejudi- 

 cial to plants. In collecting soil from the surface of a muir, 

 it is proper to take no more than the upper turf or sod, 

 with the peat adhering to it, and only from the driest 

 parts of the muir, where particles of white sand abound, 

 and where, besides the common heath, fescue-grasses occur. 

 Where this kind of muir-soil cannot be procured, a good 

 substitute is fouud in vegetable mould, that is, decayed 

 leaves swept from lawns or woods, and allowed to lie in 

 heaps for a few years. For the general purpose of the flower 

 garden, a light loamy soil is advantageous ; and, where the 

 natural covering is thin, or requires making up, recourse 

 should be had to the surface-earth of old pastures, which, 

 especially when incumbent on trap-rocks, is found to be 

 excellent. It is expedient to have a large mass of this 

 material always in the compost yard. The turf and the 

 surface- soil adhering to it should be laid up in a rough 

 state, in which way it is continually ameliorating, by the 

 decomposition of the vegetable matters, and the action of 

 the air. 



Plants requiring a Peaty Soil. Rhododendron Cau- 

 casicum,ferrugineum, chamsecistus, Lapponicum, hirsutum, 

 campanulatum, maximum, dahuricum, atrovirens, and sev- 

 eral beautiful hybrids, such as the alto-clerense and Rus- 

 sellianum, raised at Highclerc. Kalmia latifolia, glauca, 

 angustifolia, nitida. Erica australis, arborea, mediterran- 

 ea, ramulosa, scoparia, vagans, ciliaris. Ledum palustre 

 and latifolium. Vaccinium myrtillus, the bilberry, and 

 V. uliginosum, the blueberry of this country, and several 

 North American species. Menziesia coerulea, Rhodora 



