November 29, 1883. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
459 
the species might be as correctly referred to one genus as the other. It 
is not the case here, but it is the case with other genera. If “ H.” will 
lay down a broad and clear line between the vegetable and animal 
kingdoms he will never be forgotten, for Nature has not even done that. 
—R. I. L. 
A NEW GARDEN. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Drainage .— Roughly stated, enough rain falls annually in this 
country to cover the entire surface of the soil to a depth of 2 feet. 
What becomes of all this water ? In most cases it disappears as it 
falls, being promptly absorbed by the soil ; the plants growing in it 
take up a certain quantity, but the bulk of it sinks down in undrained 
soil to a depth determined by the nature of the subsoil, which is 
generally so compact that it retains much water near the surface, 
where it becomes stagnant and unwholesome. The baneful effects of 
such shallow water tables are clear and unmistakeable, and may thus 
be explained :— 
1, The soil becomes sour and unfit for the food of many plants. 
2, Its temperature is so low even at midsummer that growth is 
slow and crops backward. 
3, This lowness of temperature arises from the accumulation of 
so much stagnant water near the surface, its temperature at a depth 
of 2 feet being only 47° in the heat of summer. It chills the soil 
above it, as it constantly ascends by capillary attraction. It chills 
the atmosphere by evaporation so much that frosts at midsummer are 
by no means uncommon. Early frosts in autumn destroy tender 
vegetables prematurely. The frosts of winter are of exceptional 
severity, and are proportionately destructive, and with the late frosts 
of spring hopes of a fruit crop repeatedly vanish. 
Soil that is thus, in the words of quaint old Tusser, “with water 
opprest,” is certainly in an unsuitable condition for a kitchen garden, 
and must be drained before anything else is done. Considerable 
diversity of opinion exists as to the position and depth of the drains ; 
but it is not at all a matter of mere opinion, for we have the sure 
evidence of practical results for our guidance. As a general rule the 
best depth for drains is 4 feet from the surface, because by keeping 
the water table at this depth we get lid of all hurtful upward 
spreading of water by capillary attraction, and the attendant 
mischievous evaporation which 1 have already explained, and no 
water can then accumulate in the soil permeated by the roots of 
vegetables or fruit trees. “ How can I have drains 4 feet deep,” 
said a gentleman to me once, “ when I have only 3 feet of soil upon 
a bed of granite ? ” I know, too, a garden with a shallow soil of 
less than 2 feet upon chalk. But neither of these nor similar cases at 
all affect my position. Thirteen years ago the site of the new garden 
here was drained with 2-inch pipes at an uniform depth of 4 feet, and 
with the drains 30 feet apart running into a main 4-inch drain. Now, 
the soil consisted chiefly of silica in such minute particles that its 
tenacity closely approached that of pure clay, water passing through 
it so slowly that much remained upon or near the surface for a 
considerable length of time after a heavy shower of rain. But then 
the fact of its certain subsequent improvement for the growth of 
vegetables and fruit pointed so unmistakeably 1o a radical change in 
which mechanical division must be so thorough that superfluous 
water would sink to the drains quickly even at that depth, and no 
hesitation was felt in doing it. Certainly nothing could be more 
satisfactory than the result. From the first the drains have acted well 
and unce the soil has been improved it becomts dry so quickly, even, 
after heavy rain, that successional cropping can always be done in 
due season. A rich, friable, warm, fertile soil, in which many half- 
hardy plants pass unscathed through the severity of winter weather 
now exists where once its cold, sodden, inert, and almost barren 
condition gave very little promise of successful cul'ivation, the first 
and most important step towards which was undoubtedly the drainage. 
Warmth and dryness are not, however, the only benefits which the 
soil derives from thorough drainage. A certain degree of fertility also 
naturally results from it, for the vacuum made by drains beneath the 
surface gives admission to air laden with fertilising gases, such as 
carbonic acid, oxygen, and ammonia ; not, it must be owned, in 
sufficient quantity for the requirements of gross-feeding vegetables, 
but still in some degree promoting the soil’s fertility”. 
Turning now to the actual details of the work, it will be well to 
explain them so fully that a beginner may be enabled to see clearly 
what to do and how to do it. With very few exceptions, then, the 
drains are to be 4 feet deep and 30 feet apart, and each drain must 
run from the higher to the lower part of the garden into a main drain. 
Take, for example, the kitchen garden here, which slopes gently from 
north to south. The first drain was made 15 feet from the west wall 
and parallel to it, starting from the foot 
of the north wall and running down to the 
main drain 10 feet from and parallel to the 
south wall. The second drain is 30 feet 
east of and parallel to the first, and the 
other drains follow regularly at the same 
distance throughout the garden, all of them 
being of ordinary land drain pipes 2 inches 
in diameter and 1 foot long, except the 
main drain, which is of similar pipes 4 
inches in diameter, without socket or flange 
of any kind, but quite plain, as shown in 
c, fig. 90. In digging the trench for the 
drains three spades are required like A, B, c, 
fig. 89, the top spit being taken out with A, 
the next with B, and the bottom with c, thus 
avoiding all unnecessary removal of soil. 
The bottom of the trench is then cleaned 
and hollowed with the scoop, d, fig. 89, and 
the french is then carefully examined before a single pipe is put in it 
in order that any faulty work may be set right. This is impoitant 
for the drains are usually made by the perch, and unless the workmen 
are closely looked after the work will not be well done. The pipes 
are laid with E, fig. 89, and the soil jut back again, the drain then 
being complete as shown in the section A, fig. 90. When the garden 
has no slope it sometimes proves difficult to give the drains the 
necessary gradient to carry off the water quickly. A good way of 
overcoming this difficulty is to make several short diagonal branches 
emptying into a main drain, so as to secure ihe few inches of fall 
without materially lessening the depth of any of them.— Edward 
Luckhurst. 
(To be continued.) 
Fig. 90. 
CYPRIPEDIUMS. 
Among Cypripediums there are many varieties ; and while there are 
some with nothing particularly beautiful about them, there are others 
that command much admiration for their sti iking and beautiful 
appearance. The old C. insigne, though now considered common and 
therefore not so highly prized as otherwise it would be, has qualities of 
beauty, freedom of flowering and long-lasting, that entitle it to a place 
in every collection. Then there are the improved forms of C. Chantinii, 
C. Maulei, and C. punctatum violaceum, all of which are extremely fine, 
the last being a real beauty, and still high-priced. C. Dominianum and C. 
caudatum present forms both curious and beautiful, and exemplify some 
of Nature’s wonderful versatility. C. villosum, and the improved variety 
aureum, are varieties that combine beauty with a certain massive 
appearance—when large specimens are concerned—that go far to make 
them striking features in a collection. Turning from these large hand¬ 
some varieties, C. niveum presents an appearance of delicate petite 
beauty that makes it a great contrast to C. villosum. A good pan of C. 
niveum, with twelve or eighteen blooms on it, is really an attractive 
object, and seldom fails to be admired by all who see it. Then we have 
the bright-dowered Sedeni, almost always blooming, and adding much 
to the colour of a house of Orchids. C. Spicerianum, when first introduced 
