414 Gejieral Results of a Gardening Tow- : — 



done without in this garden, we would surround the specimen 

 trees with turf, and dig only a circle round the stem, of from 

 1 ft. to 3 ft. in diameter, according to the nature of the tree. 

 Ultimately, almost every tree and shrub (we do not speak of 

 under-shrubs) of the arboretum will stand on turf; and the 

 sooner an approximation is made to this the better : it will add 

 greatly to the variety and intricacy of the plantations in a 

 picturesque point of view, and be much more convenient for 

 botanical examination. With respect to flower-borders and 

 rockwork, we would adopt precisely the same principle. In 

 the rockwork, we would place every genus by itself in an 

 irregular group ; and, instead of having 20 or 30 plants of 

 some showy or very suitable plant distributed all over the 

 rockwork, thus giving it a general sameness of character, 

 we would bring the whole 20 or 30 plants together in an 

 irregular group ; thus, where we had beauty in abundance, 

 presenting it in masses. But when we come to publish our 

 plan of the Birmingham garden, together with the plan of the 

 Manchester one, which Mr. Mowbray has kindly promised 

 us, we shall enter into further details. In the mean time, it 

 is but justice to Mr. Mowbray to state that the present plan, 

 which is almost entirely his own, is greatly superior to all the 

 different plans which were sent in for competition; and also 

 that he is open to reason, and, we believe, will adopt our 

 principle of planting in future. We, also, are open to reason, 

 and not wedded to any plan, but only to principles, to which 

 we shall be most happy to publish every objection that can be 

 urged. We were very much gratified by some details in the 

 plan of the hot-houses, all of which have been executed by 

 Mr. John Jones of Mount Street, Birmingham ; who, from the 

 great number of excellent structures, which we have seen 

 since we left London, executed by him, we do believe to be 

 decidedly the best hot-house builder in Britain. We were 

 particularly gratified by Mr. Mowbray's arrangements of the 

 back sheds, and the living-room and sleeping-rooms for the 

 journeymen. Mr. Mowbray, having, when a journeyman, 

 lived in the wretched stoke-holes of the Comte de Vandes's 

 garden at Bayswater, and read there in the winter evenings 

 by the light of a furnace-door, is not altogether ignorant of 

 what is wanted in such cases, and of the difference between 

 the services of a man rendered comfortable and of one treated 

 worse than a dog or a pig. We were not less gratified at the 

 manner in which Mr. Jones has heated the houses by hot 

 water; though a number of the garden committee were at 

 first very much against this mode of heating. Mr. Mowbray 

 informed us that last winter the man could make up the 



