576 Cultivation of Plants. 



woodland to dig a hole about two feet square, and a foot or 

 eighteen inches deep, and in planting the trees the spits taken 

 out are often imperfectly broken up. On light, friable, well- 

 drained land this method may answer very well ; but on a stiff 

 clayey loam the holes should be larger, for two reasons : firstly, 

 because in very wet weather a small hole is liable to become a 

 basin of water ; and secondly, because in very dry weather there 

 is not sufficient broken soil to retain the moisture needed by the 

 tree. A little extra labour in planting is never thrown away. 



The practice of pruning and clipping shrubs into fantastic 

 shapes happily belongs to a bygone time ; the use of the knife 

 and shears ' is now usually restricted to thinning out and 

 removing odd branches of ornamental shrubs and trimming 

 hedges. Where shrubs are pruned it should always be done 

 with the knife, and in such a manner as to leave them with a 

 natural appearance. Clean cutting is more agreeable to the 

 eye, and less hurtful to the tree, as the wound readily heals 

 over. Dead branches should be cut off neither too close to the 

 main stem nor at a distance of several inches ; if cut almost 

 close to the bark of the stem or parent branch, and the tree be 

 otherwise healthy, the wound will soon be grown over ; but if at 

 a distance, the bark cannot cover, and consequently decay often 

 continues, and penetrates into the centre of the main branch 

 or stem, ultimately causing its death. x 



Where under-drainage is necessary, or where sewage conduits 

 are carried through a garden, they should be so contrived as to 

 be as far away from the roots of trees as possible, or it even- 

 tually comes to the destruction of either drains or trees. It is 

 not unusual to lay them by preference in the roads and walks, 

 but this is not always practicable. Flange or socket pipes should 

 be used to prevent as much as possible the intrusion of roots. 



The operation of laying turf, though requiring comparatively 

 little skill, is frequently badly performed owing to the preva- 

 lence of the erroneous impression that thick turves will succeed 

 better than thin ones. The ground may be properly levelled 

 with a sound, firm bottom, and a little crumb on the surface to 

 receive the turves ; but if they are cut too thick, and especially 

 if dry weather set in, the result will be very unsatisfactory. A 

 sod can scarcely be cut too thin, for the thinner it is the sooner 

 the herbage will form new rootlets in the fresh soil. Besides, 

 a thin sod is more elastic, will beat out, and cover more space 

 than a thick one. 



