114 



REMARKS ON DRAINING. 



the elegance of the curvature of the delicate leading points, 

 which appear to chase each other in a steady progression from 

 the waving leader down to the very soil. 



As an avenue, the effect of a line of Deodars would doubtless 

 be magnificent ; a double line on each side would be excessively 

 imposing, supposing the back row trained carefully to leading 

 shoots, and the front row having their leader destroyed when 

 some 12 or 15 feet high. In such a case, I have little doubt 

 that the front rank would continue to sweep the turf for a long 

 series of years ; for, of all the fir-tribes, they seem to retain even 

 the most subordinate branches and foliage the longest unscathed. 



Indeed as part decoration in any approach they will soon be 

 considered indispensable; for advancing taste will not, I con- 

 ceive, long rest content with our old forest-trees alone in our 

 park-drives. People will begin to think that where the Holly is 

 admissible, there can exist little reason to exclude the Deodar, 

 possessing, as it does, so majestic a character. 



On the sides of precipices too, or steep hill-sides, in pic- 

 turesque scenery, such as the far-famed Hawkstone in Salop, 

 how much grandeur would Deodars here and there impart, peep- 

 ing from among the oaks, and stealing down the hill-sides, giving 

 elegance to the glade and enfringing the vista ! 



Even the small villa garden will ere long find a place for a 

 Deodar or two, which will add an amount of dignity to the 

 grounds before unknown. 



Finally, why not have the Deodar in all our cemeteries and 

 burying-grounds ? Surely its weeping character carries a fune- 

 real cast ! The ancient Pine and the Deodar would each serve 

 to heighten the other's beauty. It might indeed be considered 

 in the light of a vegetable mourner, and would seem emblem- 

 atical of gentle feelings ; whilst the Yew and the Cypress would 

 represent solemnity. 



XV. — Some Remarks on Draining, with an Account of its 

 Beneficial Effects on an Orchard in which the Trees had 

 fallen into a very unthriving condition. By Robert Thompson, 

 Superintendent of the Orchard and Kitchen Garden. 



The climate of Britain is generally considered to be too moist ; 

 but trees, grain, and other crops have not a greater supply of 

 moisture on an average than is necessary for their respective 

 wants, provided the ground is sufficiently drained and otherwise 

 put in proper condition. There are grounds naturally so situated 

 and constituted, that they are rarely too wet or too dry ; but 



