^hich 'will thrive in Cities. gg 



and not the value, of the offering, may propitiate its acceptance. 

 The two principal causes of the want of success attendino- the 

 cultivation of plants in town gardens are, the want of a proper 

 soil and a congenial air : the former is generally composed of 

 too much lime and brick rubbish, which is any thing but 

 good for showy herbaceous plants. I would first ascertain if 

 such were the nature of the soil. Should it prove to be of 

 these materials, take it out of the clumps and borders to the 

 depth of a foot, and fill them up with fresh loam, mixed with 

 a little rotten cow manure : in this soil will grow all the plants 

 named in the accompanying list. 



I shall endeavour now to assist the suburban gardener in 

 rendering the air which surrounds his plant department 

 more healthful to them. Dr. Hunter observes, that air con- 

 tains the life of vegetables, as well as animals : " it is a com- 

 pressible elastic fluid." The smoke of populous towns and 

 cities, where coal is the fuel, greatly lessens its elasticity and its 

 fluidity, and consequently renders it uncongenial to plants. The 

 practice observed by town gardeners in general is, to give an 

 abundance of water to the roots of plants : this should be 

 discontinued, or, at least, given much more sparingly and 

 less frequently : it is by over-watering, in such gardens, that 

 plants are, as it were, surcharged with crude juices, which the 

 leaves, while they are covered with dust, cannot pass off. I 

 would, therefore, instead of watering so much to their roots, 

 give frequent syringing over leaves and stems, and keep them 

 as free from dirt as possible. They will then be able to per- 

 form their proper functions, perspire during the day, and 

 during the night fill themselves with fresh juices. Cleanliness 

 is as necessary to plants as to animals. The syringing should 

 be performed at the approach of evening in the summer 

 months, and just before sunrise in early spring and autumn. 

 Keep the mould in the clumps and border loose, by fre- 

 quent stirring with a Dutch hoe ; water with a fine rose any 

 vacant compartment. By this, and the syringing, the air will 

 be rendered more humid. The China rose may be induced 

 to grow more than 2 ft. high, by giving it, in addition to the 

 soil I have mentioned, a good supply of rich manure, and 

 keeping its leaves clean. The fuchsias, particularly Fuchs/a 

 gracilis, should be kept to one principal stem ; the side shoots 

 to be shortened to an inch of the stem : they then flower more 

 freely. A suburban gardener will do well to examine whe- 

 ther his georginas [dahlias] are not infested with earwigs : if 

 they are, hang a few lobster's claws on the sticks they are tied 

 to ; in these they may be caught : if he has a bloom he par- 

 ticularly values, tie loosely tow, dipped in sweet oil, just 

 below the flower-bud. 



