582 



HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC. 



with all expense for woollen and cotton thread. The Spar- 

 ganium is gathered in summer when fully grown ; the leaves, 

 which are united at the base, separated, and placed to dry- 

 in a shed or barn hung up in bundles. When required for 

 use they are cut into the necessary length, from fourteen to 

 twenty inches, steeped in water for a few hours, and then 

 slightly dried by pressure or wringing. In large field 

 nurseries, where there is no water, bundles of the Bur reed 

 are simply kept moist and flexible by being buried in the 

 earth, and they may also be kept so by placing them in a 

 cellar. It must not be used very wet, and if too dry it 

 is more liable to crack. It is found to bend best when ap- 



FiG. 336. 



Mode of Protecting Walls. A, Paillasson or neat straw mat, two feet wide, 

 held between laths, for placing under the permanent copings while there 

 is danger of frost. 



plied edgeways to the body which it is to envelope^ and 

 slightly twisted. For all kinds of budding and grafting, 

 except large cleft-grafting and the like, it is as good a ma- 

 terial as can be found. 



Protection por Wall and Espalier Trees. — Having 

 several times spoken of the deep temporary copings the care- 

 ful French cultivator uses for his fruit wall, I here give a 

 rough figure showing a section of the tile-coped wall, and 

 projecting from beneath it the supports for the temporary 

 protection. The French take a good deal of trouble with 

 temporary copings, and find them of the greatest value in 

 getting regular crops; for the frosts are severe in the 



