6 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
on adjoining property which shade the garden at all. Shade 
is inimical to the growth of most garden plants; and be- 
sides, there is the additional evil of the roots from the 
trees penetrating the soil and robbing it of its nourishment 
and moisture. To ensure roses and plants doing well the 
garden should be away from tall trees and running from 
north to south, the house being at the north end. Gardens 
that slope to the north or east are bad, because of the 
exposure to cold winds, which injure vegetation in the 
spring. 
Soil. — Here, again, is a matter which every one cannot 
please himself about. The ideal soil for a garden would 
be a good deep loam overlying a gravelly subsoil. The soil 
in this case would be rich, and the drainage perfect. The 
worst of all soils for a garden is clay. This is not only 
heavy and difficult to work, but also cold and damp. To 
get such a soil into a suitable condition it must first of all 
be drained by inserting 2 \ inch pipes in oblique lines io feet 
to 15 feet apart, one on each side of a main drain of 3-inch 
pipes. The main drain must be 3 feet deep, and have a 
gentle fall to the nearest road drain, and the branch drains 
be laid 2 £ feet deep. In a small garden this is not an easy 
matter to do, and the best alternative is to trench the soil 
3 feet deep and work in plenty of fresh horse-dung, road 
grit, burnt ballast, and decayed refuse. This trenching 
will open the pores of the soil, allow the surface water to 
drain away below, and hence admit air and warmth to the 
upper stratum. Dressings of lime every three years will 
also improve the texture of such a soil. In any case, 
whether drained or not, deep trenching is advisable the first 
year. When trenching avoid bringing any of the second or 
third spit of soil to the surface ; keep them in their respec- 
tive positions, and the natural surface soil on top. Light 
sandy soils are apt to suffer from drought in summer. To 
obviate this work in some clay and plenty of cow or pig 
manure to help bind the soil together, and enable it to con- 
serve moisture. Horse manure should be avoided on light or 
sandy soils, las it has a tendency to render the soil still lighter 
and drier. Ghalky soils are difficult to deal with, more es- 
pecially when the surface soil is thin. Really there is only 
