57 Cultévation of Plants. 
woodland to dig a hole about two feet square, and a foot or 
eighteen inches deep, and in planting the trees the spits taken 
out are often imperfectly broken up. On light, friable, well- 
drained land this method may answer very well; but on a stiff 
clayey loam the holes should be larger, for two reasons: firstly, 
because in very wet weather a small hole is liable to become a 
basin of water; and secondly, because in very dry weather there 
isnot sufficient broken soil to retain the moisture needed by the 
tree. A little extra labour in planting is never thrown away. 
The practice of pruning and clipping shrubs into fantastic 
shapes happily belongs to a bygone time; the use of the knife 
and shears is now usually restricted to thinning out and 
removing odd branches of ornamental shrubs and trimming 
hedges. Where shrubs are pruned it should always be done 
with the knife, and in such a manner as to leave them with a 
natural appearance. Clean cutting is more agreeable to the 
eye, and less hurtful to the tree, as the wound readily heals 
over. Dead branches should be eut off neither too close to the 
main stem nor at a distance of several inches; if cut almost 
close to the bark of the stem or parent branch, and the tree be 
otherwise healthy, the wound will soon be grown over ; but if at 
a distance, the bark cannot cover, and consequently decay often 
continues, and penetrates into the centre of the main branch 
or stem, ultimately causing its death. 
Where under-drainage is necessary, or where sewage conduits 
are carried through a garden, they should be so contrived as to 
be as far away from the roots of trees as possible, or it even- 
tually comes to the destruction of either drains or trees. It is 
not unusual to lay them by preference in the roads and walks, 
but this is not always practicable. Flange or socket pipes should 
be used to prevent as much as possible the intrusion of roots. 
The operation of laying turf, though requiring comparatively 
little skill, is frequently badly performed owing to the preva- 
lence of the erroneous impression that thick turves will succeed 
better than thin ones. The ground may be properly levelled 
with a sound, firm bottom, and a little crumb on the surface to 
receive the turves; but if they are cut too thick, and especially 
if dry weather set in, the result will be very unsatisfactory. A 
sod can scarcely be cut too thin, for the thinner it is the sooner 
the herbage will form new rootlets in the fresh soil. Besides, 
a thin sod is more elastic, will beat out, and cover more space 
than a thick one. 
