40 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GAEDENING. 



Limitation of Choice. — The o-miers of small 

 gardens under such conditions must not, therefore, 

 compare products with their more fortunate friends 

 who reside in the country. There, many garden fa- 

 vourites can he grown with the greatest ease, which 

 in large towns cannot, with the utmost attention, 

 he induced to assume even a medium appearance. 

 Notably is this observahle with that universally 

 admired flower, the violet, which many experienced 

 cultivators fail to produce in town in a satisfactory 

 manner. Other plants also linger out a forlorn 

 existence, their very appearance making one feel 

 miserable in the extreme, since after all the care and 

 attention that has been bestowed on their cultm-e 

 the record is but one repeated failure. Not only is 

 this the case -^dth plants that are grown in the open 

 air, but the inmates of glass-houses are also suscep- 

 tible to the same "vdtiated condition of the atmosphere, 

 especially during the prevalence of fogs. 



With all these counteracting influences at work, 

 considerable discretion should be exercised in the 

 selection of occupants of the subui'ban garden ; for it 

 does not follow, by any means, even with these 

 drawbacks, that the garden cannot be made enjoy- 

 able. Many instances may be noticed by those who 

 really take an interest in successful gardening opera- 

 tions, wherein (by the emplo^Tuent of suitable sub- 

 jects) subiu'ban and town gardens maybe and have 

 been made to look well. One exception must, how- 

 ever, be taken into consideration, and that is the 

 deposit of "blacks," which in some places, in some 

 directions of the wind, it is impossible by any means 

 to avert. Suburban gardens suffer in this respect as 

 well as town plots ; and it is perfectly astonishing 

 what an amoimt of blacks, soot, and other deposits 

 .are left behind after one of the spells of dull foggy 

 weather. We imagine this to be caused by the 

 heavy, dense state of the atmosphere, which causes 

 these deposits to be precipitated on all surroundings 

 instead of being carried up higher, and thence more 

 widely disseminated, as is the case when the atmo- 

 sphere is more light and buoyant. A heavy down- 

 pour of rain is a great boon to town gardens after a 

 prevalence of such weather. 



Those who have any glass-houses will also need 

 to pay attention to the cleansing of all the glass 

 occasionally, according to the condition of the 

 weather. Even a little way out of town, we find this 

 imperative during the dull season of the year, bear- 

 ing in mind that the maxim imi of light is essential 

 at such times for the proper develoj)ment of plant- 

 life. This is best accomplished by taking a hair- 

 broom, and carefully passing it up and down each 

 pane of glass a few times ; this wiU generally have 

 the effect of loosening the deposit, which is then 

 easily washed off with a sjTringe or garden engine. 



A small- sized form of this latter most useful garden 

 implement would soon repay its cost in more ways 

 than one. The shrubs can be washed with, it as well 

 as the glass, and roses and other flowers would be 

 refreshed by its application after a hot and sultry 

 day. The windows, too (though outside of the gar- 

 dening sphere), could be cleansed with the same- 

 useful implement. 



To-^Ti and subui'ban gardens are necessarily in 

 most cases of very limited extent ; it is hardly 

 possible for them to be otherwise, ha^ong regard 

 to the greatly enhanced price of land in close 

 proximity to our large towns and cities. Where by 

 chance garden space is of more than average size, 

 the increased rental is oftentimes a hindrance, 

 causing the would-be tenants to prefer the quieter 

 repose of the coimtry now that the means of loco- 

 motion are so much more expeditious. We have ob- 

 ser^'ed of late that agents ha-^ing the disposal of 

 eligible building sites near our thickly-populated 

 centres of acti-^dty, have been impressed (not too 

 soon) with the growing necessity of allowing more 

 open space around the buildings they have in con- 

 templation. One common error is that of pushing 

 up the frontage too close to the building line of the 

 road, thus allowing of no fair amoimt of space 

 whereby to render the fi^ont or entrance side of the 

 house of a pleasing or attractive character. A well- 

 kept and tastefully laid-out design in the fi'ont of 

 the house, is the admiration not only of all visitors 

 but of all passers-by. 



At the best, however, the space is but limited, and 

 the utmost amount of ingenuity must be brought 

 into play to economise the said space to the best 

 advantage. The same remarks apply with equal 

 force to the back or garden side of the house, which 

 is invariably a long narrow strip of ground having 

 walls running j)arallel with each other. By some 

 contrivance, however, variety can be given even to 

 such strips as these, as we hope to show in the 

 accompanying two designs, which are distinct from 

 one another, although the house and the ground are 

 supposed to be alike in each instance. We shall 

 in the present article describe each of these sugges- 

 tions for the la;s"ing out of gardens in connection 

 with semi-detached houses ; in a subsequent article 

 ti^eating of gardens connected with terraces or 

 rows of houses, where many dwellings are built 

 side by side: after which we pm-pose to give a 

 plan of a detached -viQa, standing surrounded by 

 its own grounds ; beyond that scale, all that is ne- 

 cessary may be gathered from other sections of this 

 work. 



Tlie Soil on Building Ground. — With regard 

 to all land that is being devoted to building opera- 



