S 11 Ki: B B i: R 1 E S A N D F LO E R - G A R I ) i: N S . 



[Cli AB. 



colours the leaves of our deciduous trees become at that season, 

 and also which are the trees that retain their leaves the longest. 

 He ^vill tind that, in situations very much sheltered, some will 

 carry their leaves till very late indeed, and that others, be they 

 where they mav, will soon loose them. The poplars, the ash, and 

 the elm, will retain their leaves well throughout the autumn if the 

 situation be sheltered and the weather tolerably dry, and these die 

 a very bright yellow. The oak, the beech, and the sycamore, die 

 red, but the oak and beech retain their leaves longest, the latter 

 of these two, indeed, when young, retains them all the winter, but 

 they Ijecome brown before the spring. The lime, the birch, the 

 horse-chesnut, turn a dingy brown and fall soon, but particularly 

 the last, which becomes an unsightly tree early in September. If 

 the shrubbery be of narrow space, the best way is to have no very 

 tall shrubs at all, and to be content with an outride border of 

 lilacs or laurels* The walks, to be beautiful and convenient, 

 should be of gravel of a deep yellow, well-sifted and laid down in 

 the substantial manner directed for the walks of the kitchen- 

 garden. Such walks cannot be kept in neat order without box 

 edgings ; and every thing relating to box and to edgings has been 

 said in Chapter II., relative to the walks of the kitchen-garden. 



314. Gravel walks are not to be kept in neat order without 

 be"'ng broken up once a year ; and that once ought to be about 

 the middle of the month of May. They are broken up with a 

 pick-axe, new^ly raked over, and rolled with a stone roller imme- 

 diately after the mking, and not the whole walk at once ; but a 

 bit at a time, so that the top be not dry when the roller comes 

 upon it : for, if it be, it will not bind. So nice a matter is this, 

 that, if a part be prepared for rolhng, and if the hands be called 

 off to dinner before it be rolled, mats are laid on to shade it 

 from the sun until their return to work. This is a matter of 

 the greatest nicety : a very good eye is required in those who 

 rake previous to the rolling, and the rollers must have a very 

 steady hand, or there will be unevenness in the walk, which, 

 when properly laid, is certainly one of the most beautiful objects 

 in the world. If proper care have been taken in laying the 

 foundation of the walk, few or no w^eeds will come even* on its 

 edges ; but, if they should, they must be eradicated as soon as 

 they appear. Some leaves will fall even in summer, and the walk 

 nuist be swept with a soft broom once in the week, at least. 



