154 THE VILLA GAKDENEl^. 



soil like a post driven into 

 it by art, instead of spring- 

 ing from a woody base 

 formed by the roots, like 

 trees and shrubs in an in- 

 digenous state, as shown ^ 



mfig. 71. 'In replanting, 



either with trees already in the garden, and taken up in order to have their 



roots raised higher, or with young trees, they ought always to be planted on 



little hills, more or less in the manner shown in 



fig. 72.; so as ultimately to settle down into y^, \) 



flattened protuberances, as in^^. 67. It may " ! 



be asked how the ground is to be cropped close 



to the roots of trees so treated ; to which we 



answer, that we have already shown in pp. 7G., 



77., the utter impossibility of fruit trees planted 



in dug ground bearing well, unless an undug space be kept all around them. 



There is not a single point in the whole culture of trees and shrubs that is of 



equal importance to that of keeping the collar of the trunk above the surface ; 



and there is not one which is more genei-ally either neglected, or by some 



means or other counteracted, not only in small, but in large gardens. 



233. Where it is proposed to retain the ornamental shrubs or trees already 

 existing in an old suburban garden, they will very generally require to be 

 taken up and replanted, no less than the fruit trees, unless they should be so 

 large as to be of a timber-like size ; in which case, as in a very small suburban 

 garden they will be disproportionate to every thing about them, they ought 

 to be rooted up entirely. The only remedy for trees which have been too 

 deeply planted, besides taking them up and replanting them, is removing the 

 eanh which covers their roots, as deep as the lower part of the collar; but, as 

 this would very much disfigure any garden, whether large or small, it is a 

 remedy which we cannot recommend any one to resort to. In the case of 

 the smaller shrubs, whether fruit-bearing or ornamental, such as gooseberries, 

 currants, roses, &c., there need never be the slightest hesitation in rooting up 

 such as have been too deeply planted, throwing them away, and replacing 

 them with young plants from the nurseries. 



234. It may sometimes happen, where the soil is poor and shallow, and the 

 subsoil gravel, rock, or chalk, that fruit or ornamental trees or shrubs may be 

 suffering for want of nourishment, and may, from this cause, exhibit canker 

 or mossiness on their branches. In this case, the obvious remedy is to supply 

 nourishment, which should be done, not by digging dung into the soil, but 

 by top-dressing it with thoroughly rotten horse or cow dung, or with a com- 

 position of soil and some other animal or mixed manure. Where such trees 

 stand in dug ground, the manure may be slightly forked in ; but where they 

 stand on turf, spreading it on the surface in autumn, and allowing it to 

 remain there during winter, will be sufficient. Renovating fruit trees by 

 top-dressing the surface has the double advantage of rendering them more 

 productive of fruit, and of making that fruit of higher flavour. Even when 

 trees have been too deeply planted, if their collars are laid bare, and the 

 surface soil removed for 2 or 3 feet all round, to within 2 or 3 inches of the 

 main roots, and aftcrwai ds the surface top-dressed, from the trunk as far as 



