THE MANSE GARDEN. 211 



and there for the admission of annuals, deserves par- 

 ticular culture. If the soil has too much clay, coal 

 ashes will give it porosity and serve for manure: 

 They must be sifted, a labour that is not lost to the 

 economy of fuel; and nothing is more useless to the 

 ground than a cinder, or uglier on a bed of flowers. 

 Trenching is in all cases to be understood; and if 

 the soil be dry, as stones cannot be tolerated in the 

 sowing of annuals, there is no harm in sifting with 

 wires one inch apart. It must not be supposed that 

 a sieve of such width transmits stones of any thing 

 like a corresponding bulk; neither does the acquired 

 fineness cause any damage, save in clays, which with 

 raking and rains and heat take on a coat like the 

 plaster of a wall a fault which a few cart loads of 

 sand will correct. A mixture of peatmoss is of 

 service to the beautiful varieties of rhododendron, 

 the kalmias, and all manner of heaths. 



With regard to a selection of flowers for the bor- 

 ders so prepared, it were needless to give a thousand 

 names and descriptions ; the mere name serves not the 

 cause of botany : and no description on paper conveys 

 any idea of a plant as it grows. The only rule, then, 

 is to pick up at intervals, according to your fancy, 

 an<J to stop when you have no more ground. 



As the summer has plenty of riches, and as the 

 shrubbery makes the most of winter, it may be pro- 

 per to notice a few flowers which give beauty to the 

 spring. They are not numerous as to kinds, and 

 for effect, therefore, there must be many of each. 

 The crocus tiresome if only yellow cannot be too 

 abundant if its various hues are blended. It is easily 

 raised from seed ; its bulbs quickly multiply of their 



