270 Landscape Gardening 



tended to take away several inches of the topsoil from the 

 grass land and transfer it to the plantations. Two, three, or 

 four inches of the best earth, according to its natural depth, 

 may thus be abstracted from the parts intended for lawn, 

 and will go to raise and enrich the plantations without in- 

 juriously affecting the grass. From nine to twelve inches 

 in depth of the commonest soil will be amply sufficient for 

 growing lawn grasses to perfection. 



In shaping and forming a piece of garden ground where 

 much variation from the original surface is desired, the read- 

 iest method is to commence at the lower part of the land, 

 take out a trench across it of about four feet in breadth, and 

 either lower or fill up the ground as the trenching proceeds. 

 This will be a far more simple and economical plan than 

 stripping off all the soil and putting it aside, and then 

 working the ground into shape, and restoring the soil to the 

 surface. 



All the soil from the foundations of roads or walks should 

 further be applied to the ground intended for plantations. 

 Even where the walks have to be raised rather than lowered, 

 it will be better still to remove the soil and replace it with 

 rubbish. The earth obtained from the foundations of the 

 house or other buildings should also be carefully kept apart 

 from the subsoil and used for the plantations. And it will 

 be a prudent and safe rule to assume that no amount of good 

 earth that is at all obtainable from any of the sources pointed 

 out will be otherwise than beneficial for shrubs and trees, 

 or for fruit trees and general crops in the kitchen garden. 



If the soil of a garden be moderately light and a good mass 

 of it, by the means here suggested, be procured for the 

 shrubs and trees and for the flower beds, manures, beyond 

 such things as lime, soot, wood ashes, decayed leaves or 

 wood, chemical fertilizers or any similar matters will be quite 



