SITUATION. 



21 



tical remarks : " The greater warmth of 

 low situations" — a warmth, however, 

 which is only experienced during the 

 drought and heat of summer — " and their 

 being generally better sheltered from the 

 cold north-east winds, and the boisterous 

 south-west winds, are agreeable circum- 

 stances; as the north-east winds are the 

 freezing winds, and the south-west winds 

 being more violent, are liable to do 

 much to injure standard fruit trees in 

 summer by dashing their branches 

 against each other, and thence bruising 

 or beating off the fruit ; but, in low situ- 

 ations, the fogs in vernal evenings, by 

 moistening the young shoots of trees and 

 their early flowers, render them much 

 more liable to the injuries of the frosty 

 nights which succeed them, which they 

 escape in higher situations." On the 

 other hand, too high and exposed situa- 

 tions are also to be avoided on account 

 of the boisterous and cutting effects of 

 the winds, and also because such situa- 

 tions are colder than those less elevated. 

 Nor should gardens be placed near ponds 

 of stagnant water, for those in such situ- 

 ations can seldom be rendered sufficiently 

 dry at bottom, and the air must conse- 

 quently be damp, and the attraction of 

 frosts great. 



The slope of the ground should always 

 be towards the south, or a point or two to 

 the west of south, so as to secure the benefit 

 of the evening sun. On this point, how- 

 ever, Abercrombie observes, " When the 

 sun can reach the garden at its rising, and 

 continue a regular influence, increasing 

 as the day advances, it has a gradual and 

 most beneficial effect in dissolving the 

 hoar-frost which the past night may 

 have scattered over young buds, leaves, 

 and blossoms, or setting fruit. On the 

 contrary, when the sun is excluded from 

 the garden till about ten in the morning, 

 and then suddenly darts upon it with all 

 the force derived from considerable eleva- 

 tion, the exposure is bad, particularly for 

 fruit-bearing plants in the spring months : 

 the powerful rays of heat at once melt the 

 icy particles, and immediately acting on 

 the moisture thus created, scald the ten- 

 der blossom, which drops as if nipped by 

 a malignant blight." An entirely easterly 

 aspect is, however, not to be recom- 

 mended, as by such an arrangement the 

 sun would cease to shine on it shortly after 



mid-day, while an entirely western one 

 would only benefit by the afternoon's sun. 



" Gardens of great fertility and earliness 

 are often to be met with on the sides, or 

 near the bases, of hills, particularly if shel- 

 tered from the coldest points by lofty 

 rocks — the reflection or concentration of 

 the rays of heat from them rendering the 

 situation peculiarly adapted for bringing 

 crops of the most delicate kinds to perfec- 

 tion at an early season. Situations of 

 this kind are not only desirable on ac- 

 count of these advantages, but are gene- 

 rally very romantic and picturesque, or 

 may be rendered so by judicious decora- 

 tion." — Pract. Gard., p. 8. 



Gardens cut out of the side of a hill 

 may be very advantageously laid out in 

 terraces, the only difficulty being getting 

 the manure and fresh supplies of soil con- 

 veyed to them without the aid of mecha- 

 nical power. And situations frequently 

 present themselves on the sides of hills, 

 where irregular gardens of great beauty, 

 shelter, and warmth, may be established. 



In regard to level, Switzer, Nicol, and 

 others recommend a fall of one foot in 

 twenty or thirty towards the south. The 

 latter says that the garden, " if quite flat, 

 seldom can be laid sufficiently dry ; and 

 if very steep, it is worked under many 

 disadvantages. It may have a fall, how- 

 ever, of a foot in twenty, without being 

 very inconvenient ; but a fall of a foot in 

 thirty is most desirable, by which the 

 ground is sufficiently elevated, yet not 

 too much so." Many excellent gardens 

 have, however, a much greater declivity 

 than this, as instanced in those at Hope- 

 toun House, and the lower parts of those 

 at Dalkeith : in both cases they in some 

 parts fall as much as one foot in four, and 

 are both noted for precocity, and for the 

 preservation of the crops during winter. 



Of all situations for a garden, those 

 that are shaded by high buildings and 

 lofty trees are the worst ; because, as For- 

 syth justly observes, "a foul stagnant air 

 is very unfavourable to vegetation ; and 

 it is also observed that blights are much 

 more frequent in such situations than in 

 those that are more open and exposed." 

 They are also late, being shaded from the 

 sun in early spring, and cold and damp 

 in winter from a similar cause. An open 

 and exposed situation is preferable to one 

 so circumstanced. 



