718 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, 



tree and shrub is treated so as to display its peculiar size and 

 shape), then we say, thin out the trees and shrubs annually, so 

 that the extremities of their lower branches may always be 

 within a few inches of touching one another, and yet never suf- 

 fered to touch ; and, if weeds or grass rise up in the intervening 

 spaces, mow them, or cut them down close to the ground with 

 a sickle, as soon as they appear. In autumn and winter sweep 

 up the fallen leaves, and carry them to the compost ground, or 

 merely sweep them under the branches of the evergreen shrubs 

 at the back part of the shrubbery. 



On the other hand, if the shrubbery is to be treated in the 

 picturesque manner, thin out the trees and shrubs more spar- 

 ingly than when operating for the gardenesque, allowing their 

 branches at all times to touch, and even to intermingle ; and 

 leave both trees and shrubs not isolated as in the other case, 

 so as to show their individual shapes, but connected in some 

 places in twos, threes, fives, &c, so as to form elegant groups ; 

 and close together in other places for some distance, so as to 

 form ample masses of undergrowths of varied outline. In a 

 shrubbery or plantation so treated, the ground will be almost 

 everywhere covered with the undergrowths, and scarcely any 

 grass or weeds will come up, but, wherever they do, they should 

 be cut over with a sickle or scythe. 



In both gardenesque and picturesque shrubberies and plant- 

 ations there will occur occasional glades of turf ; and on these 

 glades single shrubs, and even single flow r ering plants of vigor- 

 ous-growing kinds, or in shady moist places ferns, may be 

 allowed to appear ; but the turf must be closely mown round 

 the plants, and close up to the shrubs. 



The next error which we shall point out respects the box 

 edgings or grass verges, which are made along walks in shrub- 

 beries and plantations. In the case of all shrubberies, the 

 walks in which are destined eventually to become shaded or 

 covered by the trees or shrubs, these edgings and verges are 

 to be considered merely as temporary lines of separation be- 

 tween the walk and the dug ground, till the latter is covered 

 with the branches of the shrubs. On the other hand, in those 

 shrubberies where the walk is destined to be at all times exposed 

 to the sun and air ; such as an open walk, with a border of trees 

 and shrubs on one hand, and a lawn with scattered groups of 

 shrubs and trees on the other; then, after the period of digging 

 is over, the grass verge ought to be encouraged to extend 

 itself under the branches of the shrubs, and there to lose its 

 outline altogether. In technical phrase, all the naked ground 

 within the verge ought to be turfed up ; that is, covered with 

 turf, or, as a substitute for turf, made perfectly smooth, firm, 

 and even, and sown with grass seeds. No matter if the grass, 



