HORTICULTURE. 



187 



uo" ai be considered u a fair example of all the others. But 

 * the garden grouml a tuated near the Thames, 



V "" lx>th above and below the city, for the convenicn 



water carriage in conveying the produce to market, and 



the not less important advantage of bringing back stable 



.-, for the construction of hot-beds and the manu- 



ground. 



The <li?trict< of Brcntfonl and Twickenham are fa- 

 mous for strawberries ; and in the last alone, there are 

 about 400 acres in fruit-trees, the produce of which is 

 chiefly sent to I-ondon. Fruit arrive* from every part 

 <>f the surrounding country at the same emporium, and 

 'elieved the demand is seldom sati-fied. It 

 may here be remarked, that the production of fruit, and 

 the supplying of the market with it, should by every 

 possible means be encouraged. It i - a just observation 

 horticultural, (Mr Knight.) that the pa- 

 which relishes fruit is seldom pleased with strong 

 fermented liquors, and that as feeble causes continually 

 acting ultimately produce extensive effects, the supply- 

 ing the public with fruits at a cheap rate would 

 tendency to o\>erate favourably both on t'. 

 and moral health of the people. I -le worth parish is re- 

 markable for producing great quantities of raspberries, 

 which are sent partly to Coven t Garden market, but 

 chiefly fold to distiller*, or maker* of sweets. 



In Fulham parish, then- an- nearly 1OOO acres under 

 crop* of esculent vegetable*, intended either for market 

 or for cow. feeder*. In Mortlake parish there are gene- 

 rally about 80 acres under asparagus ; one asparagus 

 grower here, Mr Bigg*, ha* sometimes had forty acre* 

 under thit crop at one time. Near Deptford alto 

 much asparagus is raised ; and one grower here, Mr 

 ind. has, we are informed, at this time, no 

 fewer than eighty acres covered with asparagu* bed*, 

 a thing which mut appear almost incrcd-' 

 those who have not witnessed the loads of this arti- 

 cle daily heaped on the green-stalls of the metropo- 

 lis, for the space nearly of three months. About twen- 

 ty acres in the neighbourhood of Deptford are ei 

 ed in the raining of onion-teed, this article of Deptford 

 produce having acquired reputation all over the 

 try. What are called the ptytic gnrdeni are chiefly 

 near Mitcham, nine or ten miles from Westminster 

 Bridge: in these are raised chamomile, lavend 

 quonce, rhubarb, wormwood, and above all peppermint, 

 not only for supplying the essential oil to apothecaries, 

 but for the manufacturing of a favourite cvrdul. 



have now explained, perhaps at too great length, 

 the cUaufkation of gardens above given : but without 

 going into some little detail, no idem could have been 

 conveyed of the general state of the country in regard 

 lo horticulture. We now hasten to make some remarks 

 e subject* which naturally present themselves as 

 important whra a new garden is projected. Moat of 

 them are applicable to several classes of gardens ; but 

 when not otherwise stated, a garden of the first charac- 

 ter is to be understood as in vie*. 



Sitntio*, Iff, of* Garden. 



The consideration of the position of the garden 

 with respect to the mansion- houe properly belongs to 

 the "ubjfrt of" ! ;,ng. It may only 



here be remarked, that of late it has become fashiona- 

 ble to place the fruit and kitchen garden at perhaps 

 half a mile' distance, or more, from the house. In 



cases thi* has been found inconvenient ; and it 

 ctn seldom happen that the garden walls may not be 



effectually concealed, by means of shrubs and low Situation oi 

 growing trees, so as not to be seen, at least from the *J^ > " I .^\ 

 windows of the public rooms, and the garden yet be "^ 

 situated much nearer to the house. It is scarcely ne- 

 cessary to observe, that an access for carts and wheel 

 barrows, without touching the principal approach, i* 

 indispensable.. Some of the circumstances which are 

 considered as constituting the best kind of situation 

 may here be mentioned, and these, it may be remark- 

 ed, ought never to be altogether sacrificed to effect. 



Shelter is, in our climate, a primary consideration, shelter. 

 This may in part be derived from the natural shape 

 and situation of the ground. Gentle declivities at the 

 bases of the south or south-west sides of hills, or the 

 sloping banks of winding rivers with a similar expo- 

 sure, are therefore very desirable. If plantations exist 

 in the neighbourhood of the house, or of the site in- 

 tended for the house, the planner of a garden naturally 

 looks to them for his principal shelter ; taking care, 

 however, to keep at a reasonable distance from them, 

 so as to guard against the evil of being shaded. If the 

 plantations be young, and contain beech, elm, oak, and 

 other tall-growing trees, allowance is, of course, made 

 for the future progress of the trees in height. It is a 

 rule, that then- should be no tall trees on the south 

 side of a garden, to a very considerable distance ; for 

 during winter and early spring, they fling their length- 

 ened shadow into the garden, at a time when < 

 sun-beam i* "valuable. On the east also they must be 

 sufficiently removed to admit the early rooming rays^ 

 The advantage of this is conspicuous in the spring 

 mouth', when hoar-frost often rests on the tender buds 

 and flowers: if thi< be gradually dissolved, no harm 

 ensues ; but if the blossom be all at once exposed to the 

 powerful ray* of the advancing sun when he overtops the 

 trees, the sudden transition from cold to heat often proves 

 destructive. On the west, and particularly on the north, 

 trees may approach nearer, perhaps within less than a 

 hundred feet, and be more crowded, as from these di- 

 rections the most violent and the coldest wind* assail 

 n. If forest trees do not previously exist on the tc r- 

 screen plantations must be reared as fast as DOS* 

 The sycamore (or plane-tree of Scotland), is ot the 

 most rapid growth, making about six feet in a MM 

 next to it may be ranked the larch, which gains about 

 four feet; and then follow the spruce and balm-of. 

 Gilead firs, which grow between three and four feet in 

 the year. Excellent instructions for the formation of 

 screen- plantations, as well as for the regulation of forest- 

 trees in general, may be found in " The Planter's Ca- 

 lendar," already mentioned, $ 21. Walls and quick 

 hedges are subordinate means of shelter, to be spoken 

 of by and by. The best general exposure for a gar- 

 den must evidently be towards the south ; and a gen- 

 tle d< ircction. equal perhaps to a fall of 

 one foot in thirty, is deemed very desirable; effectual 

 draining being in this case easily accomplished. 



Water is not to IK- forgotten. If a streamlet can be Water. 

 brought to flow through the garden, it may be render- 

 ed conducive both to convenience and amenity : where 

 this cannot be accomplished, the situation should be 

 such that water may be conveyed by pipes from some 

 neighbouring stream ; soft or river water l>eing greatly 

 preferable, for the purposes of the horticulturist, to 

 that of springs or wells. Where running water cannot 

 be conuiunded, recourse is had to a lake or pond, it 

 being known that water frrely exposed to the air and 

 .!< for some time, becomes comparatively soft, 

 and fit for the notiri-hment of plants. 



In selecting ground for a garden, the plants growing 



