410 



OPERATIONS OF ORDER AND KEEPING. 



must extend to everything according to its importance. In a kitchen-gar- 

 den, the system of managing the wall and espalier fruit-trees, and of crop- 

 ping the compartments, demands the first attention, because the result will 

 not only influence the most conspicuous features in the garden, but also 

 increase or diminish the quantity and quality of the produce. 



873. The following rules may perhaps be of some use, if impressed on the 

 mind of the young gardener, and if insisted on being kept by workmen by 

 the master or the amateur :• — 



1. Perform every operation in the proper season and in the best manner^ on 

 the principle that " whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well." 

 Nothing can be more annoying to a person who is desirous of having his 

 garden kept in the highest order, than to see the slovenly manner in which 

 some gardeners thrust plants into the soil, tie them up when they require 

 support, and hack and cut at them when they require pruning. " Cut to 

 the bud " is a precept too often disregarded by such persons ; among whom 

 we have known excellent growers of crops, both in the open au' and under 

 glass. 



2. Complete every operation consecutively. — The neglect of this is a very 

 common fault. For example, the wall-trees are receiving their summer 

 pruning, and as this occupies a day or two, or is necessarily performed at 

 intervals, so as not to deprive the trees of two much foliage at once, the 

 shoots cut off are left on the ground till all the trees have been gone over. 

 The same mode of proceeding is followed in every other operation. We 

 allow that, on the principle of the division of labour, this is the most econo- 

 mical mode, but on the prmciple of high keeping it is objectionable ; and in 

 the event of changes of weather, such as a fall of rain, it may, in the case of 

 neglecting to rake off weeds the same day in which they are hoed up, defeat 

 the intention of the operation. 



8. Never ^ if possible^ perform one operation in such a manner as to render 

 another necessary. — It is a common practice with many gardeners, when 

 weeding borders or trimming plants, to throw the weeds or trimmings on the 

 gravel- walks, thereb}'' occasioning the labour of sweeping them up, as well 

 as soiling the gravel of the walk. There is scarcely a practice more to 

 be condemned than this, both with reference to economy of time and to high 

 keeping. The walk is disfigured by the weeds and trimmings perhaps for a 

 whole day, and when they are swept off it is found that the gravel has been 

 disturbed and is discoloured. In all cases of weeding borders and pruning 

 shrubs, or hedges, close to walks, the weeds and prunings should be put at 

 once into a wheelbarrow or basket. 



4. When called off from any operation, leave your work and your tools in 

 an orderly manner. — Do not leave a plant half planted, or a pot half watered, 

 and do not throw down your tools as if you never intended to take them up 

 again. Never leave a hoe or a rake with the blade or the teeth turned up, 

 as if you intended them as man-traps. Never stick in a spade where it will 

 cut the roots of a plant ; but if you must stick it in among plants, let its blade 

 be in the direction of the roots, not across them. 



5. In leaving off work, make a temporary finish, and clean your tools and 

 carry them to the tool-house. — Never leave off in the midst of a row. Never 

 leave the garden-line stretched. Never show an eagerness to be released 

 from work. Never prune off more shoots, pull up more weeds, or make 

 more litter of any kind than you can clear away the same day, if not the 

 same hour. 



