FORMATION OF THE FRUIT AND KITCHEN GARDEN. 



27 



mixture of lime, gravel, and sand. It is much 

 used for the foundations of walls and houses, 

 and is likewise suitable for fruit-tree borders. 

 The lime should be fresh and newly slacked, 

 and the stones or gravel should pass through a 

 sieve of an inch-and-a-half mesh. Where gravel 



is scarce, small broken stones, bricks, or cinders 

 will do equally well. Four parts of clean river, 

 or washed gravel, one part of clean sharp sand, 

 and one part of fresh hot lime, well mixed, and 

 thrown smartly down on the floor of the border 

 to a depth of 4 to 6 inches, make a first-rate 

 concrete bottom for fruit-tree borders. A more 

 durable concrete is formed by adding to the 

 lime one-fourth part of Portland cement, and 

 a layer 4 inches in thickness will serve as well 

 as one of 6 inches containing no cement. 



A concrete thus formed will be durable, and 

 impervious to roots; but if gravel cannot con- 

 veniently be had, a mortar formed of one part 

 lime to three or four of sand will resist the 

 roots of trees, if laid on a bottom of a uniform 

 solidity to a depth of about 3 inches. This 

 may be found cheaper than concreting. 



In proceeding to lay down the concrete, care 

 should be taken to prepare for it an even floor 

 of uniform solidity. The breadth of the border, 

 if not more than 18 feet wide, should be marked 

 off" into two divisions. The soil of the one 

 next the wall should be cleared out to the 

 proper depth, the bottom made level and 

 rammed equally all over. The prepared con- 

 crete should then be dropped into the hole and 

 placed firmly and regularly all over the bottom 

 and gauged to the proper depth with a straight- 

 edge, making it smooth by beating it evenly 

 with the back of a spade or shovel. This 

 should be done before the concrete has had 

 time to set, for after it does so it ought not 

 to be disturbed. After it has set, which will 

 be in a few days if the weather is fine, the 



soil of the other division of the border should 

 be cleared out by turning it on to the con- 

 creted portion and proceeding as before. An 

 edging-board should be used, and care must be 

 taken that the earth is removed perfectly clean 

 at the joint, else it will cause a fissure through 

 which roots may penetrate to 

 the bad substratum. 



Instead of concreting the bor- 

 der lengthwise, it may be done 

 in cross sections, provided time 

 is allowed for each to set before 

 being covered with the soil of 

 another. If properly made, this 

 floor will be impervious to the 

 roots of trees, but it will not be 

 much warmer than the natural 

 subsoil on which it rests. If this 

 be undrained, and cold from the 

 presence of spring water, t'hat 

 cold will be communicated to the 

 concrete or other substance with which such 

 water comes in contact; but drain off the 

 latter and more warmth will be the result, 

 the temperature of the air in a drained sub- 

 stratum rising in summer nearly in a correspond- 

 ing degree with that of the atmosphere, so 

 that both the roots and the branches of the 

 trees are nearly in the same condition as re- 

 gards temperature. 



Whatever mode be adopted, in all cases where 

 the borders do not naturally possess a good 

 bottom, the expense of providing one will be 

 amply repaid by superior crops. The border 

 may be made of the best materials at great 

 expense, but this would be of little avail if the 

 soil were laid on a bad substratum. 



Soil for Fruit-tree Borders. 



The best soil for fruit-tree borders is a good 

 loam. For Pears and Apples it may be inclin- 

 ing to clayey loam; but for stone-fruits, such 

 as Plums, Cherries, Peaches, Nectarines, and 

 Apricots, a loam inclining to the sandy is 

 preferable. Under particular circumstances 

 of climate and locality, various compositions 

 have been employed with success. Where the 

 soil is naturally a good fresh loam, trenching 

 will be nearly all that the border will require. 

 If, however, first-rate borders are to be formed 

 and fresh materials introduced, the best is a 

 turfy loam from an old pasture. 



In some places banks of loam to a consider- 

 able depth occur, and this becomes friable by 

 exposure to the weather; this, when mixed with 



