542 The Derby Arboretum. 



MANAGEMENT OF THE DERBY ARBORETUM. 



Supposing that the curator will occupy the north lodge, and that two la- 

 bourers will occupy the other two cottages, I feel confident that these three 

 persons will find no difficulty in keeping the entire garden in the very highest 

 order at every period of the year. What I consider to be the highest order 

 consists in the following particulars : — The walks should be at all times perfectly 

 dry, smooth, firm, free from weeds, worm-casts, or other extraneous matters, 

 and with the gravel of a good colour : the turf equal in thickness, free from all 

 broad-leaved plants except clover, closely mown, smooth, firm, dry, and every- 

 where without worm-casts, mole-hills, ant-hills, dead leaves of trees, bits of 

 paper, or any other extraneous matter which may be blown about, or left on 

 it by visiters : the flower-garden perfectly free from weeds, and every bed filled 

 with plants in a healthy state, and the beds well covered with flowers : the 

 vases filled with flowers, in the manner above described, from the middle of 

 May till October ; the flowers being in pots, and either of green-house or hardy 

 kinds, named on a card tied to the narrow part of the vase, and changed not 

 seldomer than once a week ; the same species not being more than twice 

 introduced during the same season. All the trees and shrubs to be kept with- 

 out dead wood, perfectly free from caterpillars, aphides, curled leaves, honey- 

 dew, leaves which have been killed, or branches which have been broken 

 accidentally, and from flowers or fruits which have decayed and not dropped. 

 The climbers or twiners to be kept tied up ; the spaces round the trees free 

 from weeds ; the seats quite clean ; the name tallies in complete repair ; the 

 boundary fence, lodges, and gates, in complete repair ; and the labourers, and 

 their wives and families vpho attend on persons who enter the garden or the 

 lodges, clean and neatly dressed. This may be considered as the criterion of 

 good regular management ; but there are certain points to which I wish to di- 

 rect the special attention of the curator and of the public, and especially of 

 the public press. 



The first point respects pruning. On no account whatever is the knife to 

 be applied to any of the trees or shrubs, except in the following cases : — 

 for the purpose of cutting out dead wood, branches broken by the wind or by 

 any accident, dead or decayed flowers or fruit, or for removing the suckers or 

 side shoots which come out below the grafts of such species or varieties as 

 have been budded or grafted. No decaying leaves whatever, and no ripe fruit, 

 are on any account to be cut off; but leaves which wither or are killed in the 

 course of the summer may be removed as soon as they are perceived. Prun- 

 ing is prohibited, in order that every plant may show its natural shape and 

 habit of growth ; whether by growing erect, spreading horizontally, or throwing 

 suckers up, or rambling shoots out, on every side. The suckers are not even to 

 be thinned out, but every plant is to be allowed as perfect a freedom of growth 

 as if it were in its native habitat. The only exception is, such climbing, 

 twining, or trailing plants as are to be trained up to the rods or props prepared 

 for them, instead of allowing them to trail on the ground ; but this is to be 

 done without cutting off or shortening any of their shoots. 



The reason for not removing decaying leaves is, that a great part of the 

 beauty of all trees and shrubs consists in the change of colour which takes 

 place in the leaves in the course of the autumn, and more especially a short tune 

 before they drop off". Hence I repeat, that the leaves on all the plants (miless 

 accidentally killed) are to be allowed to decay naturally on the shoots, and not 

 to be touched till they have fallen on the ground, when they are to be swept 

 up and laid on the circular space of earth which is to be preserved round each 

 plant. The use of laying the leaves on the space around each plant is to 

 serve as a mulching or non-conducting cover to retain moisture, and also 

 because the best manure for every description of plant is decayed foliage. 

 When at any time the leaves laid at the roots of the plants are blown off by 

 the wind, they must be swept on again ; and this practice must be continued 

 till the leaves have so far rotted as to adhere to -the surface of the soil. In 



