A STROLL THROUGH THE GARDEN JULY. 
297 
and acetosella) ; the ground ivy (NepetaGle- 
choma), &c. As already hinted, the various 
mints (Mentha sp.), wherever they are grown, 
spread about in all directions, and cost some 
trouble to remove them entirely ; but of all 
cultivated plants, perhaps the horse-radish 
(Armoracea rusticana) is the most difficult to 
clear off, when once it has been allowed to 
establish itself. Of this plant, every scrap into 
which the roots may be broken, if left in the 
ground, is sure to produce a plant, and it is 
almost immaterial at what depth they may lie 
buried ; at any rate, if at the very lowest 
point to which the operations of culture ex- 
tend, they will certainly grow. The Jeru- 
salem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), is 
another plant which takes possession of the 
ground wherever it may be introduced ; and it 
is only to be cleared off by the most careful 
search for the small tubers, and by continually 
cutting off any that may be left to grow up. 
The same practice must be followed to clear 
off the horse-radish, or indeed any other crop 
having this habit. Even the potato often 
comes to be virtually a weed ; for it is next to 
impossible to remove every small tuber ; and 
any of these left in the soil grow with cer- 
tainty the next year. The practice of autumn- 
planting potatoes — which is rapidly gaining 
ground — no doubt owes its origin to a hint 
taken from this circumstance. 
The only implement required for weeding, 
strictly speaking, is the weeding-knife, a 
small instrument, blunt, with a moderately 
acute point, used in conjunction with the 
thumb to lay hold of and wrench up weeds 
that are too firmly fixed in the ground to 
admit of being pulled by the hand alone. It 
is more generally used for walk-weeding than 
required for weeding ground under cultiva- 
tion. As, however, in our idea of weeding 
we have included the clearing of rough ground 
intended for garden purposes, it will be proper 
to indicate the tools necessary for successfully 
and economically carrying on this work. These 
are, the garden or draw-hoe, (strong made,) 
the weeding-spud, the digging-fork, and the 
prong-hoe. The former of these is well known, 
and is used for cutting up the lighter weeds 
without perennial creeping or tap roots. The 
weedings-pud is a small, narrow fork, with two 
prongs, set something like a compressed letter 
A ; these prongs are about six inches long, 
slightly curved forwards, and are made lighter 
or heavier according to circumstances ; the 
handle, which is like that of a spade, is fixed 
into a socket, at the bottom of which there is 
a cross bar, by which the implement is forced 
into the ground by the foot ; at this point 
also, a broad, hollow bow is fixed behind, by 
which increased leverage is gained in prizing 
up the weeds; it is used for long, tap-rooted 
weeds chiefly, being set in close behind them, 
and then forced backwards. Lighter and 
shorter spuds of this character are made for 
digging up daisies from lawns. The digging- 
fork proper for forking up weeds, is made like 
a spade, but rather lighter, the blade being 
replaced by three flattish prongs : it is used 
for turning over the soil for the purpose of 
picking out the creeping roots of the various 
weeds possessing this character. The prong- 
hoe is made with a cutting-blade on one side, 
narrower and heavier in proportion than the 
draw-hoe ; at the back of this is a fork, of 
nearly the same figure, with either two or 
three flattish, blunt-ended, somewhat cutting 
prongs ; the long handle is fixed into an eye 
or socket, which connects the prong and the 
hoe: it is used forcutting and tearing up rough, 
heavy, strong-rooted weeds ; the pronged side 
is also useful in earthing up potatoes. 
A STROLL THROUGH THE GARDEN, 
Br A TUTOR AND HIS PUPIL, IN THE MONTH OF JULY. 
Here is a wonderful difference since we 
took our last ramble ; not but that in our 
separate walks and visits we have seen at 
different times all the progress, but we have 
not been together contemplating the particular 
objects which we shall now be apt to notice. 
The kitchen-garden has altogether changed 
its appearance — here are peas, beans, spinach, 
turnips, carrots, lettuce, and all the summer 
products in high perfection, besides others in 
various stages of progress, advancing to the 
same end. Cabbages no longer require tying 
up, they have hearts as hard and as white as 
they need be; celery of the present year's 
sowing is already planted out, while the 
ground in which the last year's was perfecting 
itself is already cleared, and some of it covered 
with other crops. Here are beds of winter 
greens coming forward to be planted out ; 
cauliflowers exhibiting their whitened heads 
of flower, only hidden from the view by the 
breaking down of a leaf to keep the sun off, 
for that would spoil the white colour. As 
you seemed to think it a waste to hoe out so 
many plants from the turnips, carrots, and 
onions, to give the remainder room, I have 
had a small portion of each bed left just as 
they came up, to show you the difference. 
Observe, particularly, that in the small por- 
tion, in which they are left so thick, they have 
arrived at no size ; it is true there are three 
or four, or more than that, instead of one; 
