Introduction^ etc. 39 



used, it is necessary to discriminate between kinds' 

 that should be planted out in a young state every 

 year, and those which are valuable in propor- 

 tion to their age and size. Some plants are all 

 the better the higher and larger they are grown ; 

 others must be started in a dwarf fresh state every 

 year, or, if not, their foliage will not possess that 

 pristine freshness which charms us when they are 

 properly treated. A large plant of Polymnia 

 grandis, for example, would, if placed in the open 

 air in early summer, speedily become a far from 

 attractive object, while a young plant of the same 

 kind, put out on the same day, would soon produce 

 and carry to the end of the season a mass of fresh 

 and noble leaves. But of course this only applies 

 to kinds that grow rapidly during the summer 

 months in our climate. 



With respect to the preparation of the beds for 

 the finer subtropical plants, a peculiar mode is 

 practised in Battersea Park. Here many of the 

 beds are raised above the level of the ground, and 

 underneath and around the mass of light rich soil 

 is a good layer of brick-rubbish, as shown in the 

 accompanying engraving. The soil is first ex- 

 cavated and thrown round the margin of the bed ; 

 then the brick-rubbish is put in on the bottom and 



