THE planter's GUIDE. 



cerned, cannot be trusted to inferior hands. Here an art 

 is in requisition of a far higher and more difficult class 

 than the mere planting of trees — I mean the art of design- 

 ing real landscape, or landscape composed of nature's own 

 materials; for as these open or loose dispositions of 

 wood form often the principal features of the picture or 

 its accessories, to disperse them with skill and effect 

 implies no mean acquaintance with this superior art. 



As single trees, in respect to site, are wholly unconnected 

 with one another, the pits for them are to be made sepa- 

 rately. For this purpose the ground, supposing it to be 

 tolerably rich and deep, with a porous subsoil, (that is, a 

 subsoil of sand, gravel, or rock, or combinations of them,) 

 is to be trenched to the depth of nearly two feet, which 

 depth is six inches more than common gardeners' trench- 

 ing. The latter is usually executed two spits deep, with 

 two intermediate shovellings ; but in the work in question 

 we should go down between three and four spits, without 

 any shovellings. The method last mentioned tends to 

 increase pulverisation, and especially a more general inter- 

 mixture of the different portions of the soil, without in- 

 creasing the expense of the work.*^' For a pit of this 

 description two, or at most three, cart-loads of the proper 

 compost are sufficient, (I mean single carts, or carts drawn 

 by one horse,) if mixed according to the principles above 

 laid down. If the soil be sandy or gravelly, the clay 

 compost should be used ; if clayey, the sand compost, 

 with the addition of one-third part of the peat or general 

 compost, which, as said above, is applicable to all soils. 

 Should the soil be deep and loamy, the last mentioned is 

 probably the compost best suited to divide into parts the 

 fresh mould brought up, and to excite a general chemical 

 action throughout the mass. 



* Note IV. 



