134 



PRACTICE OF GARDENING. 



uuconimou occurrence, not only with the plants mentioned, 

 but with many others which produce only one stem ; and 

 in other instances, the appearance of the plants is rendered 

 equally unsightly by the rough and clumsy stakes that are 

 placed for their support, and the careless manner in which 

 they are tied to them. I^ow, if the prunings from apple, 

 raspberry, and other trees and shrubs, w^ere saved for 

 this purpose, and the plants neatly and timely fastened to 

 them, the flower-bed or border would present a very dif- 

 ferent appearance to what it now too frequently does, and 

 a degree of interest would be added to it, of which few 

 individuals of the class to whom these remarks are ad- 

 dressed, have any adequate conception. 



Each stake should be as straight as possible, and only 

 suf&ciently strong to support the plant to which it is in- 

 tended to be placed, as nothing is more unsightly than a 

 large stake placed to a small plant : neither should it ever 

 be longer than so as to reach to within a few inches of the 

 top of the plant, for the greatest art in staking plants of 

 any description is, to keep the materials which support 

 them out of sight, and to make them appear as natural as 

 possible. To effect this, where the plant has many stems, 

 the stake should be inserted in the middle of them ; and, 

 where it is only furnished with one stem, the stake should 

 be placed at the back of it, so as not to be so readily per- 

 ceived from the walk. It is no less important, however, 

 that the plant should be neatly and properly tied to the 

 stake; and where the stems are not numerous, they should 

 be fastened separately to the stake, and not bundled to- 

 gether, as is usually done. Besides which, the leaves 

 should all remain perfectly free, and be kept as much as 

 possible in their natural position ; and last, though not 

 least, the matting used should be wetted previous to using, 

 and only narrow strips of it employed, which should be 

 neatly twisted, so as to appear as small as possible. These 

 remarks on this subject have been thought necessary, as 

 they will apply equally well to all descriptions of plants 

 which require staking ; and also, to urge the adoption of 

 a practice which contributes so largely to exhibit the 

 beauties of flowers to the greatest advantage. 



As soon as the flowers of any species begin to wither, if, 



