SITUATION, SOIL, CHAP. 



flowering plant called thrift : I have seen strawberries 

 thickly planted for this purpose : I have seen daisies, and 

 various other things, made use of as edgings : but, all 

 these herbaceous things ramble very quickly over the 

 ground j extend their creepers over the walk, as well as 

 over the adjoining ground ; and, instead of being content 

 to occupy the space of three inches wide, to which it is 

 vainly hoped their moderation will confine them, they 

 encroach to the extent of a foot the first summer ; and, 

 if left alone for only a couple of years, they will cover the 

 whole of a walk six feet wide, harbouring all sorts of 

 reptiles, making the walk pretty nearly as dirty as if it 

 did not consist of gravel. I have sometimes seen narrow 

 edgings of grass, which, perhaps, are the worst of all. 

 Make such an edging, of four inches wide, in the autumn, 

 and it will be sixteen inches wide before the next autumn, 

 unless you pare down the edges of it three or four times. 

 This must be done by a line; and. even then, some dirt 

 must be cut from the edging, to come into the walk : 

 this is, in fact, a rampart of dirt itself. It must be 

 mowed not less than ten times during the summer, or it 

 is ugly beyond description ; besides bringing you an 

 abundant crop of seeds to be scattered over the walk, and 

 over the adjoining ground. Of all edgings, therefore, 

 this is the least efficient for the purpose, and by far the 

 most expensive. 



4%. The box is at once the most efficient of all possible 

 things, and the prettiest plant that can possibly be con- 

 ceived : the colour of its leaf; the form of its leaf; its 

 docility as to height, width, and shape ; the compactness 

 of its little branches ; its great durability as a plant : its 





