KITCHEN GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. 



there is more moisture on which the frost can act. If however there be no alternative 

 it will be necessary to drain more completely ground lying in a hollow. 



Construe- The site having been determined upon and the size and shape pegged out, the first 



tion. step in the formation will be the treatment, enrichment, draining and levelling of the 



ground, which should be undertaken before the area is walled in, for there will generally 

 be much carting or wheeling of materials and composts to and from and about the 

 ground, which is better and more conveniently done while it is clear on all sides. 

 Where draining is necessary this should be carried out first, and the pipes laid deep 

 enough not to interfere with subsequent operations, or become choked with roots. The 

 principles on which it should be done are the same as those for lawns as described in 

 Chapter IX., and their application is well illustrated by the plan of a kitchen garden 

 given in illustration No. 298. In this instance the ground has an approximate fall of 

 one foot in twenty-eight towards the house, the soil being deep and fairly retentive. As 





FIG. 299. DOOR IN A FRUIT WALL. 



FIG. 3OO. DOOR IN A FRUIT WALL. 



will be seen, the main drains follow the lines of the paths. They consist of glazed 

 stoneware pipes laid with open joints, and the land drains connected to these are about 

 three feet deep, and in rows eighteen feet apart. 



Where the ground is very uneven, it will be necessary to grade it to an even fall, 

 if not over the entire area at least over each section or " quarter " of the garden ; 

 economic cropping and upkeep require this. Contractors who undertake to lay out 

 gardens as well as to erect the house, too often bring the subsoil to the top, which, 

 though a commendable way of treating an old worn-out garden, is a mistaken treatment 

 for. a new one, where the most fertile soil is near the surface. The best method is 

 to overhand-trench it, i.e., to make two trenches instead of one, throwing the top spit 

 on to the second trench and the subsoil on to the near one. If, to secure a good 

 gradient, it is necessary to excavate at one part and fill at another, the portion removed 



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