THE MANSE GARDEN. 121 



It is a matter yet undecided, in many cases, whe- 

 ther the bad thriving of plants is the effect of those 

 devastations which are committed by the various 

 tribes of insects, or whether it is, that wherever 

 plants are sickly from any cause they are sure to 

 suffer by the more fatal and frequent assaults of such 

 foes ; and, therefore, though we may be ignorant as 

 to the natural history of such creatures, our plain and 

 practical rule is to promote a healthy vegetation, by 

 the seasonable digging of the ground, the best ma- 

 nure, and the free admission of light and air ; for if 

 the growth be vigorous, the insect tribes will either 

 desist from their attacks or they will make but little 

 impression. But when, through our neglect of 

 known duty or ignorance of what may be easily 

 known, our crops languish, and are in no condition 

 to afford sustenance to man, it seems to be the law 

 of nature, that before they altogether vanish from 

 the ground they shall at least serve for food to some 

 species of beings; and thus in nature all fragments 

 are gathered up, that nothing may be lost. 



By all means have your gooseberries in a quarter 

 by themselves, and not in single rows among flower 

 borders or scattered all over the garden. Besides 

 obtaining the advantages of the above mode of culti- 

 vation, you will thus avoid the unsightly aspect of 

 ground every where trodden in the fruit season, and 

 strewed with glaring and filthy refuse in every place. 

 Should your bushes have grown too old, raise a suffi- 

 ciency of young plants to supply a new plantation on 

 other ground, keeping the old for a few years, till 

 the young have come into plentiful bearing. It is 

 not necessary to be troubled with a tally of the slips 



