way, leaving little or no further nourishment for the plant. But 

 again, if in such a soil there is at a little depth, of two feet or so, a 

 stiff clay or rock, the water then settles, and being out of the reach 

 of the sun's influence to raise it, it becomes necessary to drain it 

 off, otherwise, for want of circulation, it becomes deleterious to 

 the growth of the plant : water should never be allowed to 

 stagnate round plants, but always have a free movement or 

 circulation, otherwise the mouths of the suckers become pressed 

 upon and obstructed, and of course the nourishment is checked 

 in its progress. Water, when stagnated, soon becomes exhausted 

 of the nutritive material with which it may have at first been 

 mixed and it then becomes destructive. 



CLEARING OF FRUIT TREES, &c. This is a very necessary part 

 of the business of a gardener who wishes his trees to look well 

 and produce a good crop of fruit. In the first place, keep all the 

 space round your trees, if possible, clear of weeds, which only can 

 be done by cutting and hoeing them up, and then removing the 

 same or scatter under your trees a small quantity of hemp 

 stalks ; this not only prevents the growth of weeds, but, when 

 it decays, forms a very beneficial manure. All dead branches 

 should be cut away in a smooth manner, either with a saw, or 

 knife, and suckers never allowed to spring up from the roots, un- 

 less wanted for stocks. Another important thing to attend to, is, 

 to observe if any insects have bored holes in the woody part of 

 the trees, and which may immediately be known by seeing their 

 holes, or a quantity of dry saw-dust, in appearance, hanging by 

 light filaments of thread from the entrance, in which an insect like 

 a caterpillar has taken up its quarters, and will be found working 

 its way either into the sap of the tree or along the bark, both of 

 which are equally injurious ; it is necessary to remove them as 

 soon as possible. The method to effect this is very simple. Pro- 

 vide yourself with a strong infusion of assaf cetida, and some dough 

 made with common flour and water : pour a small quantity of the 

 infusion into the hole, enough to fill it up ; then after having re- 

 moved all the dirt round it, stick a small piece of the dough, 

 about the size of a pigeon's egg, over the hole, and let it remain. 

 In the course of an hour or two, if you take off the dongh, you 

 will find the insect to have embedded itself in it. This plan 



