208 PARKS AND PLEASURE-GROUNDS . 



There the late spring and early autumn frosts prevail 

 to a greater extent than on the adjacent high grounds, 

 and these may baffle the best directed efforts of the 

 gardener. The crops of early vegetables are retarded, 

 the blossom of the fruit-trees is often destroyed, or, 

 when it escapes, it is followed by deformed and ill- 

 ripened fruit. The proprietor of a garden, formed at 

 considerable expense, is left with a deficient supply, 

 and is mortified by the comparative abundance en- 

 joyed by his neighbors, who have been more fortunate 

 in the choice of a site. A good, sound, loamy soil is 

 the most useful for general purposes. But if an arti- 

 ficial soil is to be formed, it will be found useful to 

 have some variety — one compartment, for example, 

 being composed of light sandy earth, and another 

 of strong loam. Peaty and clayey soils are objection- 

 able : the former are feeble and cold ; the latter, though 

 productive, are late, with a damp, uncomfortable look, 

 and require additional labor. 



Form. — The form of the kitchen-garden, and the 

 consequent arrangement of the walls which surround 

 it, are usually determined by the nature of the ground, 

 and by the extent of space inclosed. On all surfaces 

 not deviating much from a level, the favorite configu- 

 ration is a rectangular one, either a square or a paral- 

 lelogram ; and in these forms the grounds can be laid 

 out to the greatest advantage, with fewer walks, and 

 with compartments most suitable to the culture of vege- 

 tables and the arrangement of fruit-trees. A number 

 of other forms have been occasionally adopted, but 

 without apparent benefit. For example, in order to 

 diminish the expense incurred in erecting the walls, 

 some have chosen the form of an octagon, or other 



