14 
THE MANUAL OF GARDENING. 
The art of gardening, indeed, like painting, or any of the fine 
arts, requires that the imitation of nature should not be too close ; 
for a flower gardener, who should imitate nature so exactly as to 
allow the grass and weeds to spring up, in all their pristine luxu- 
riance, among his choice flowers, would not produce a beautiful 
result, but would disgust by his slovenliness, while he meant to 
charm by his inartificiality. Mr. Wyndham, when speaking of 
flower gardens, observes, very justly, that “places are not to be 
laid out with a view to their appearance in a picture, but to their 
use, and the enjoyment of them in real life; and their conformity 
to these purposes is what constitutes their true beauty. With 
this view, gravel walks, neatly-mown lawns, and, in some situa- 
tions, straight alleys, fountains, terraces, and, for aught I know, 
parterres and cut hedges, are in perfect good taste.” 
After all, the mode or manner of laying out a garden must 
always remain a matter of individual taste: which taste will 
generally be more or less modified by the prevailing fashion of 
the day, and the circumstances connected with the situation in 
w T hich the garden may be placed. 
GRAVEL WALKS, and EDGINGS, are the best, and indeed 
only, proper divisions of the flower garden. 
Box is perhaps dear at first, but it is eventually the cheapest 
as well as the best border you can have, being undoubtedly the 
prettiest thing for the purpose. It may be kept to any width or 
height; it has great durability, and thrives in all sorts of soils, 
though much the best in dry, and under all aspects. This plant 
is of very easy propagation. 
The planting Box requires some care ; the edging of Box ought 
to be put in immediately after the gravel walks are formed. 
These walks, to be kept in good order, should be broken up once 
a year, about the middle of May: they must be broken up with 
a pickaxe, raked, and carefully rolled, and then little or no grass 
will shoot; what does, must be immediately removed. The 
comfort of dry walks will greatly, and in heavy land altogether, 
depend on the foundation on which the gravel rests. Unless 
they are so graded as to discharge the water beyond the garden 
bounds, and filled in, previously to putting on the gravel, with 
twelve inches, more or less, of brick-rubbish, broken stones, or 
similar substances, it will be vain to expect dry, comfortable 
walks. If well-constructed, they may be used immediately after 
a shower, when the garden is to many persons the most attract- 
ive. Where gravel cannot readily be procured, tanners’ bark, 
laid on a substantial foundation, makes a soft and agreeable 
walk, easily kept clean, as weeds do not grow in it. It cannot 
be necessary to enter into detailed directions for the construction 
of a garden walk, as the judgment of most persons is amply suffi- 
cient, without experience, to adopt the proper course. Where 
