286 Essays. 
shrubberies thickly with native shrubs, which in two years afforded ample 
shelter for the protection of young plants. As I obtained different varieties 
of plants I cut away the insides of these plantations, and planted them in 
the place of the native shrubs, but not removing more than was sufficient to 
allow of sun and air to the young plants. Every year I cut away more as 
the plants grew, until at last, in many places, none of the original shrubs 
are left. The great point to be attended to in this mode of forming a 
garden is, that the young trees have sufficient room to grow without being 
wn up. The result of this plan has been that I have succeeded in 
growing many really tender plants, which, without such shelter, would have 
perished when young. In planting outside shelter, I would much prefer 
native shrubs to the gum, willow, or poplar, and for this reason—the former 
do not throw out straggling roots, and certainly tend to enrich the land, so 
that, in planting tender growing plants near them, they are not robbed by 
the roots of the native shrubs impoverishing the soil; the latter, which are 
rank growers, take out of the land a great amount of its strength, in 
consequence of their roots running to a great distance, much to the 
detriment of other plants near them. I am aware that it would in many 
places be very difficult, if not impossible, to procure a sufficient number of 
native shrubs to form shelters, and that recourse must be had to gums, &c.; 
in such cases, I should say,lay out a garden in such a way that the necessary 
shelters are planted by themselves, and may be entirely removed when they 
are no longer required. The planting of coniferous trees among such a 
growth as this would in most cases fail; they would struggle on for a time 
and then die, much to the disappointment of the planter. 
I propose dividing my remarks under three headings—1st, Coniferous 
plants; 2nd, trees and shrubs ; 3rd, ornamental plants. I will name those I 
have in my garden which are worthy of cultivation, the country to which 
they are indigenous, their degree of hardiness, and any information as to 
their cultivation. Before doing so I will refer to what is most necessary to 
be done in the formation of a garden to insure success to its future well- 
doing. Preparatory to planting, the piece of ground should be well drained 
to the depth, if possible, of 4 feet 6 inches,'and the drain covered in with 
timber, so as to secure its lasting for many years. This first step is a most 
important one, by which you will secure ample drainage of the overplus 
water from the roots of your trees and plants. From the want of such 
drainage, many have been disappointed in the sickly growth of their plants. 
The stagnation of water about the roots causes the bark of the roots to rot, 
hence the sickly growth. The next season, having drained the land, it will 
require, if the soil is light and friable in its character, to be well dug over a 
~ foot deep; but retentive soil should, be trenched. These two preliminary 
