570 



HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC. 



Fig. 323. 



satisfactory way. The Frencli mode of doing it is mucli 

 cheaper^ neater, and more eflPective ; and in passing through 

 their market gardens and forcing- grounds in winter, it is 

 one of the first things that seems to the English horti- 

 culturist as worthy of imitation. The covering used con- 

 sists of straw mats about an inch thick, the sides as neat 

 as if cut in a machine, the mat knit together by twine, 

 and its texture such that it may be rolled up closely. 

 One of these mats, which is much better as a protection 

 than a bass-mat, costs about one-third the present price 

 of that, while in point of appearance and amount of pro- 

 tection given the advantage is all in favour of the French 



paiilasson. The figure given 

 represents a simple frame for 

 making these mats in the nurse- 

 ries of M. Jamain, the celebrated 

 cultivator of Orange trees, and I 

 append his description of it. 

 There are several frames for this 

 purpose ; and there is also a ma- 

 chine for making these mats, 

 which are indispensable to the 

 French gardener; but the one 

 here described is the best and 

 simplest for private use. " Get 

 two pieces of timber (1) about 

 three inches thick, four inches 

 wide, and as long as required. 

 Pierce these timbers, as shown in Fig. 323, and in- 

 troduce A in the holes to maintain the same width 

 between the sides, and support the nails or screw, as 

 shown in the cut. These nails are to keep the string 

 tight (5). The board may be shifted from hole to hole 

 so as to make mats of any desired length. The length 

 of the string must be about three times as long as the 

 straw mat, and rolled round a little reel, shown at E. The 

 straw must be placed on the machine so as to have all its 

 cut or lower ends close against the sides, the tops meeting 

 in the middle, and so thick as not to have the mat 



Frame for making Straw Mats. 



