THE FORMATION OF THE 
begin their reign, in purple and yellow gran- 
deur ; and scarcely one solitary day in the 
year is the well-kept garden deserted. If it 
be not a grateful task to tend all these still more 
grateful subjects, we hardly know where to 
seek one. But if the garden yields all these 
sources of delight in flowers, it is but a tithe 
of its value, as compared with its fruits and 
vegetables ; and who is there to be found 
indifferent to the productions he can take from 
his own cultivated spot ? Is there a single 
vegetable to be pui'chased, that we eat with 
the relish that accompanies a dish of one's own 
growing ? What so sweet as peas of one's 
own gathering, or cabbages of one's own 
cutting ? "What fruit so palatable as that from 
our own trees ? And when all this pleasure 
can be provided for the humble cottager, how 
culpable must be the pian who neglects any of 
the means in his power to promote that object ? 
Cowper is right : his words should be printed 
in letters of gold. They should be familiar as 
nursery-rhymes ; they should be written on 
the opening page of every school-book ; they 
should be engraven on the memory. If 
anything can make a man industrious, and 
contented, and happy, it is a garden ; and it 
cannot be impressed upon his mind too early, 
that he should teach others, and, so far as he 
can, enable others, to enjoy that which is so 
conducive to their welfare, and the moral and 
social comfort of all around them. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN AND ORCHARD ; 
THEIE FOE1IATION AND MANAGEMENT . 
The principal considerations in the forma- 
tion of a Kitchen Garden, are situation, enclo- 
sure, drainage, preparation of the soil, and 
disposition of the surface ; and whether the 
area be large or small, these particulars will 
equally require attention. 
Situation. — The very best situation and 
aspect for a kitchen garden, is one moderately 
elevated, and sheltered on the north and east 
by distant, not contiguous trees. No place is 
better suited for the purpose than the slope of 
a hill facing the south-west, backed on the 
north by thick plantations at a moderate dis- 
tance, and sheltered on the east by less dense 
and more distant belts of trees. When such 
a situation cannot be obtained, the nearer it 
can be approached the better. 
The nature of the soil is a matter of less im- 
portance than situation, because, whatever its 
nature may be, if there is a sufficient bulk of 
it resting on the subsoil, it maybe altered and 
improved. What is called a deep free loam is 
the most suitable for all kinds of crops, and the 
nearer that inferior soils can be made to as- 
similate to that, the better. Generally, heavy 
soils are preferable to light ones, that is to say, 
clay soils are better than those of a sandy 
nature, as being of a more holding character, 
and thus capable of sustaining better crops ; 
but they involve a greater amount of labour in 
their complete amelioration. 
Enclosure. — All gardens should be enclosed 
by durable fences, as these not only afford 
shelter from the winds, but they are also 
valuable as a means of assisting in bringing 
to maturity the many choice fruits which a 
garden should contain. For this latter purpose, 
nothing is so good as a brick wall ; and where 
the situation and the space admit, it should 
be placed a short distance within the bound- 
ary, so that both sides may be available for 
the training of fruit trees ; the outer boundary 
may then consist of a compact hedge or 
wooden fence, or both conjointly. The slip 
of ground on the outer side of the wall may 
be thirty feet wide or more, and will be useful 
for vegetable crops, the varieties of aspect 
being turned to account in keeping up a suc- 
cession. The height of the wall will of course 
have to be regulated by circumstances, and 
should bear some proportion to the size of the 
enclosed space, as a very high wall should not 
be built around a small area: whatever height 
in connexion with the situation may be judged 
most proper, the training of the fruit trees 
must be adapted to it. From ten to twelve 
feet is a usual and convenient height if the 
area is considerable, and this is little enough 
for most kinds of fruit trees. The highest por- 
tion of the wall should be across the north side 
of the ground, first, because it forms a protec- 
tion from the north winds ; and, secondly, 
because it presents a greater surface to the 
southern aspect, which is so very desirable for 
peaches, nectarines, and other choice fruits ; 
this part is the better, if as much as fifteen 
feet in height. The thickness of the walls will 
be variable, according to their height, and the 
degree of exposure to which they are subjected. 
The walls should be built parallel with the 
surface, and not necessarily upon a true level ; 
if the surface does not incline too much, 
they are best when parallel to it. Whether 
or not the space to be enclosed is of even out- 
line, the walls should be built in straight 
portions. Various contrivances have been 
recommended with the view of affording addi- 
tional shelter to the trees, such as building the 
