258 THE VILLA GARDENKK. 



with the gravel, it will answer the fame pnrjjcse as the cement ; hut, if it be 

 exposed to the air for a day or two, it will be of Utile or no use. A mixture 

 of clay and sand, or of brick-dust and lime, is sometimes used instead of ferru- 

 ginous clay, but it is much leas effective. In general, ferruginous gravels 

 (such as the Kensington), when laid down fresh from the pit, and heavily 

 rolled, become almost immediately as solid as a mass of plum-pudding 

 stone ; but if exposed to the air for a few days, so as to lose their moisture 

 before they are laid down, the oxydised surfaces become so dry, that they will 

 no longer form a conglomerate union, and consequently such gravel can 

 only be held together mechanically, viz. by rolling. This, indeed, is the case 

 with most gravels as at present treated. 



351. To render a jdace comfortable, even for a temporary residence, three 

 things are essential : first, that the house, and evei"y building connected with 

 it, should be put in thorough repair ; secondly, that the drainage of the 

 grounds, including the walks, lawns, and plantations, both imder and above 

 the surface, should be effective; and, thirdly, that the trees and shrubs should 

 neither be so thick, nor in such quantities, as to prevent sufficient ventilation ; 

 nor so thin, nor so few, as not to produce sufficient shelter and shade. These 

 points kept in view will serve as a guide at once to the intending purchaser of 

 an old villa residence, and to the improver of one already in his possession. 



352. Renovating the kitcheti-garden. — Where the occupier has only a tem- 

 porary interest in a residence, say of seven or eight years, though he may not 

 think it worth his while to undertake substantial repairs, he will naturally 

 require a supply of fruits and vegetables from the kitclien garden. Where 

 the soil of the part devoted to vegetables is worn out, it will not answer his 

 purpose to renew it, by taking out the old, and carting in fresh, soil ; but he 

 may restore it, by allowing it to rest for a year, or for two years in succession, 

 without any kind of crop whatever : and, though it would be unreasonable to 

 expect that he should purchase new fruit trees, yet he may graft the newest 

 and best sorts on the branches of such as are already there. Fruit shrubs, 

 such as the gooseberry, currant, raspberry, &c., he may renew either by cut- 

 tings, or by procuring young plants from the nurseries. It may be useful 

 here to introduce, as a general remark, that the simplest, most effectual, and 

 least expensive mode of renovating worn out soil of every kind is, to allow it 

 to remain a certain period without any plants growing on it. This period 

 may vary from six months to three years, according to the state in which the 

 soil is ; that in which there is most inert vegetable matter, and most seeds of 

 weeds and eggs of insects, requiring the longest period of rest. During the 

 resting period, all weeds should he destroyed while they are in the seed-leaf; 

 and, in order to bring the greater number of the seeds of weeds into a vege- 

 tative state, as well as to admit air to the interior of the soil, it ought to be 

 dug over, or trenched, three or four times a year, each digging being of a 

 different depth from that which preceded it, in order to expose a fresh surface 

 to the influence of the atmosphere, and thus occasion the germination of the 

 seeds which the soil may contain. The manner in which worn out soil is 

 benefited by resting is, by the admission of air to the interior of the soil ; by 

 the decomposition of the roots and other organised matters which it contains, 

 from heat and the alternate action of dryness and moisture ; and by the ger- 

 mination of the seeds of weeds, and the ^destruction of the eggs and larvte 

 of insects, snails, and worms, or their complete developement, and migration 



