18 FRUIT AND KITCHEN GARDEN. 



ferred; but a very low situation should scarcely be 

 chosen, as the subsoil is apt to be damp ; fogs often 

 brood over such spots, and frosts are more injurious 

 there than on higher ground. It is beneficial to have 

 an open exposure towards the east and west, so that 

 the garden may enjoy the full benefit of the morning 

 and evening sun. 



Shelter is absolutely necessary ; and that afforded 

 by natural objects, such as rising grounds, is the best. 

 Where this is wanting, its place should be supplied by 

 masses of forest-trees, disposed at such a distance, how- 

 ever, as not to shade the wall trees,' perhaps not nearer 

 than 150 feet. The chief purpose of such screens is to 

 break the force of the winds ; and as every situation is, 

 in this respect, liable to some peculiarities occasioned 

 by the general structure of the country, or by the rever- 

 beration of aerial currents from adjacent eminences, 

 these peculiarities should be carefully observed and ob- 

 viated. The idea that crowded plantations increase the 

 warmth of a place, is often fallacious ; and, in the opin- 

 ion of many, they do more harm than good, by en- 

 couraging blight. The trees employed may be of a 

 varied character, but lime-tree, horse-chestnut, beech, 

 sycamore, weeping birch, oak, and the smooth-leaved 

 wych elm, should prevail. There may also be a pro- 

 portion of evergreen trees, such as firs, pines, hollies', 

 and evergreen oaks. When these masses of wood are 

 planted at. the time the garden is formed, poplars, 

 larches, and other fast-growing trees, should be thickly 

 intermixed to act as temporary trees- or nurses, which 

 are afterwards to be weeded out, as the permanent trees 

 more slowly advance to maturity. W^alls immediately 

 around the garden, and low hedges intersecting the 



