336 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



inhabitants of London to a strict account for their wanton 

 waste of the vast wealth of organic matter which is now sent 

 down to the river's mouth to feed or poison the fishes. 



One has only to look at the standard trees in the suburban 

 gardens to see how rapidly they are failing. The tops are dying 

 — an ominous sign. And this is true also of the forest trees in 

 Kensington Gardens and some of the public parks, especially 

 where the subsoil is gravel. 



I have touched upon this branch of the subject because one 

 of the first necessaries in fruit-growing is a copious supply of 

 water. My friends often ask why their out-of-door Peaches fall 

 off every year when they are about the size of hazel nuts, and 

 on examination at the foot of the wall the subsoil is always 

 found to be as dry and hard as bath brick. 



When the old Suburban Gardens were first laid out the soil 

 was generally fresh and in good condition, for as building extended 

 meadows and market gardens were absorbed, and fruit trees 

 throve in the freshly broken ground enclosed within the garden 

 walls ; but of late years the speculative builder has converted the 

 light soil into mortar for building purposes, and the new gardens 

 consist generally of clay and rubbish fenced in with oak palings. 

 The fine old gardens of Dulwich, Tulse Hill, Streatham, Putney, 

 and other suburbs still remain, but the surface soil is generally 

 exhausted, sour, and full of fungoid germs. To buy fresh soil in 

 quantity would now be an enormous expense, and the question is, 

 What should be done to restore fertility to the soil ? 



I am afraid that the art of trenching is in danger of being 

 lost in the suburbs of London. Nearly all young gardeners want 

 to get into the glass houses and amongst the flower pots. The 

 first tool put into the hands of a young gardener should be a 

 spade, and if he do not begin to use it in early years he will 

 never have the muscles or the inclination to use it manfully. If 

 you want trenching done properly you must look about for some 

 old labourers to do it. Of course, a good deal depends upon the 

 subsoil, and I do not advocate the bringing up to the surface a 

 quantity of gravel or stiff clay. But a portion of the latter mate- 

 rial may with advantage be turned up, and when dressed with 

 lime and exposed to the frost it will soon break down and admit 

 of being incorporated with the rest of the soil. Where it can be 

 done some clay should be burnt or charred and worked in with 



