1034 



PRACTICE OF GARDENING. 



Part III. 



73.38. The duielllnghouse of the master; this in a nursery for local demand, and in which public attrac- 

 tion is an object, ought to be placed near the road ; and at the same time as centrically as possible in 

 other respects. In general, the living-rooms ought to be elevated so that their windows may command, 

 as far as practicable, the whole nursery ; but, at all events, the following objects, more or less : — 



7339. A seed-shop and counting-house or office, which should be connected with the house for the 

 master's convenience ; but, at the same time, have each distinct entrances. The counting-house should 

 have a good clock, and a rope or chain communicating to a bell placed over, or in some conspicuous 

 situation for regulating the hours of labor ; also a speaking-pipe to the paclung-court and centre of the 

 hot-houses. 



7340. A journeyman'' s living-room, and a number of sleeping-rooms for the whole or a part of the jour- 

 neymen employed by the year, or otherwise, communicating with the packing-court, or in some cases, on 

 % small scale, occupying paYt of the ground-floor of the house. From this appendage should be a speak, 

 ing-pipe and bell to communicate with the counting-house and the master's sleeping-room. 



7341. A tool-house, sufficiently commodious and properly arranged, communicating with the seed-shop. 

 The tools should be at least weekly examined by the foreman before paying the men. The larger num- 

 ber-sticks or tallies, not in use, should also be kept here. 



7.'342. A museu7n and herharium-room, in which models (in plaster, Roman cement, or papier mache) of all 

 the fruits, and dried specimens of all or most of the plants grown in the nursery, should be kept, in order 

 to show to purchasers, in seasons when the plants to be purchased are not in fruit or in flower. 



7343. Pncki)ig-shcds, surrounding a part or three sides of a packing-court, one of these being open to, or 

 commanded by, the windows of the office and common living-room of the house. Over these should be a 

 range of seed and store lofts. 



7344. A stable, cart-shed, cowhouse, and pigsty, if such conveniences are desired, communicating on 

 one side with the packing-court, and on the other with the wall : a coal-shed, a horsedung-heap, and 

 other simil'ar objects in the back area of the dwellinghouse. 



734.'). A store-ground, or laying-in-ground, three or more times the size of the packing-court, in which to 

 inhume the roots of plants taken up, to be ready for sale or packing. 



7346. A plot for the hot-houses, square, octagonal, or polygonal in the circumference or boundary, and 

 the central part for the pits, and all the framing, hand-glasses, &c. with space sufficient for setting out the 

 green-house plants during summer. If the whole boundary cannot be at once, or perhaps not at all, 

 covered with glass, the naked part may be a wall for training fruit-trees, and the north border for auricula 

 frames or stages, striking cuttings, &c. But iji a general nursery, the whole of the boundary of a square 

 may be very properly covered with glass, facing the centre ; that of northern aspect being well adapted 

 for striking plants, and preserving, or retarding such as are in flower. The exterior of this boundary line 

 should be arranged for pots, potting, tan-furnace, and general working sheds ; or, if this be not wanted on 

 the south side, that part of the wall may be devoted to the training of fruit-trees. 



7347. A compost-ground for different sorts of earths, gravel, manure, and the rubbish-heap. 



7348. A rotting-ground for depositing tree-seeds, in layers of sand or ashes, in order to rot off their ex- 

 ternal coats, and promote the decay of nuts or other hard covers of seeds. (6079.) 



7349. A parterre for the culture and display of such of the border and florists' flowers as are grown in 

 the nursery, and for a specimen of rock-work, a flower-stage, aquarium, apiary, and covered seat for 

 visitors, 



7350. The main area of the mtrseri/ should be laid out, as nearly as the circumstances 

 ■will admit, in parallelograms, of any convenient dimensions, but not mder than the ordi- 

 nary length of a garden-line, say under 150 feet, which allows of a row sufficiently long 

 for any purpose. The chief reason for the parallelogram form is, that all rectangular 

 figures are most easily cultivated and measured, and the reason for their being.ajl of the 

 same size is, in order that the master may readily, after a little experience, form a toler- 

 ably accurate idea of the quantity of every kind of nursery labor requisite for a plot of 

 this shape and size. Thus, supposing each division to contain half an acre ; then one 

 man will dig it in one day, trench it in two days, hoe it, if in wide rows, in a fourtli of a 

 day, if in narrow rows, in half a day. A woman, if in beds, will weed it, if very thick 

 of weeds, in two days ; if thin of weeds, in one day, and so on. The compartments 

 should, as much as possible, be cropped with one general class or kind, and by rotation. 

 As, for example, for seven years : 1st, Break up from grass with turnips after trenching ; 

 2d, Transplanted forest trees, two years; 3d, Green crop, one year; 4th, Annual 

 flowers, for seed, one year; 5th, Seedlings, one year; 6th, Transplanted fruit-trees, 

 four years; 7th, Bedded thorns, two years ; and soon. Some compartments must be 

 set apart for common stools ; and if the circumferential borders are not sufficient or 

 proper for stools of rare or peculiar sorts, others must be contrived by means of hedges, 

 pales, or walls, to produce shelter and shade for cuttings, fit situations for bog-earth 

 borders, American stools, bog plants in general, and similar purpt)ses. If the borders 

 are all of the same width, say ten or twelve feet, it will simplify all future calculations as 

 in the compartments. 



7351. A grand central, and a circumferential ivalk, with some cross walks, should be 

 contrived to display the whole nursery to the best advantage. A narrow or common 

 sized border should accompany these walks, excepting where the broad circumferential 

 border comes in ; and in the narrow borders should be displayed single specimens of all 

 the more rare trees and shrubs grown either from seed, or by other means, for sale, and 

 of all the perennial, biennial, and annual border-flowers sold to the public in the form of 

 plants, roots, or seeds. Those may be excepted which are grown in the flower-garden, 

 rock-work, and aquarium. 



7352. A nursery-orchard should be formed of some compartments near the house ; and. 

 in these, one or better two plants of each of all the hardy standard fruit-trees should be 

 planted, in order to come into bearing, and admit of proving the kinds ; and from M hich 

 alorie the grafts and buds should be taken, (unless on the introduction of new and valuable 

 sorts, in which case such grafts as can be got must be taken till some of the progeny moved 

 to the nursery-orcliard come into a bearing state,) which are to be used in the nursery. This 



