240 FLOWER GARDEN. 
away and incorporated with white sand, is to be preferred: 
peat, cut from its natural bed and only partially decom- 
posed, is of no value at all, or rather is positively prejudi- 
cial to plants. In collecting soil from the surface of a muir, 
it is proper to take no more than the upper turf or sod, 
with the peat adhering to it, and only from the driest 
parts of the muir, where particles of white sand abound, 
and where, besides the common heath, fescue-grasses occur. 
Where this kind of muir-soil cannot be procured, a good 
substitute is fouud in vegetable mould, that is, decayed 
leaves swept from lawns or woods, and allowed to lie in 
ueaps for afew years. For the general purpose of the flower 
garden, a light loamy soil is advantageous ; and, where the 
natural covering is thin, or requires making up, recourse 
should be had to the surface-earth of old pastures, which, 
especially when incumbent on trap-rocks, is found to be 
excellent. It is expedient to have a large mass of this 
material always in the compost yard. The turf and the 
surface-soil adhering to it should be laid up in a rough 
state, in which way it is continually ameliorating, by the 
decomposition of the vegetable matters, and the action of 
the air. 
Plants requiring a Peaty Soil—Rhododendron Cau- 
casicum, ferrugineum, chamecistus, Lapponicum, hirsutum, 
campanulatum, maximum, dahuricum, atrovirens, and sev- 
eral beautiful hybrids, such as the alto-clerense and Rus- 
sellianum, raised at Highclere. Kalmia latifolia, glauca, 
angustifolia, nitida. Erica australis, arborea, mediterran- 
ea, ramulosa, scoparia, vagans, ciliaris.: Ledum palustre 
and latifolium. Vaccinium myrtillus, the bilberry, and 
V. uliginosum, the blueberry of this country, and several 
North American species. Menziesia coerulea, Rhodora - 
