16 
GARDENING.—-NO. 10. -IMPROVEMENT OF WORN-OUT LANDS. 
GARDENING.—No. 10. 
The art of gardening, in the earlier ages of 
society, was practised without those local sub¬ 
divisions, or technical distinctions, which its pro¬ 
gressive improvement has since rendered neces¬ 
sary ; and being carried on in one enclosure, 
called a garden, the term gardening was then suffi¬ 
ciently explicit for every purpose. But, at present, 
the local subdivisions and technical distinctions of 
this art are various; We have the kitchen, fruit, 
flower, forcing, and exotic gardens, the pleasure 
ground, park, shrubbery, &c., all within the pro¬ 
vince of gardening ; and the terms culinary garden¬ 
ing, fruit gardening, or orcharding, flower garden¬ 
ing, &c., as technical distinctions for them. Such 
being the state of the art, it would be folly in us to 
endeavor to limit the term gardening to any stan¬ 
dard below that in which it now ranks, although it 
is very desirable that gardeners and authors should 
not use these terms in so vague a manner as to 
create any confusion of ideas on the subject. 
In treating upon the practice of gardening, allow 
me to define my position and state my intended 
course. We think that all varieties of gardening 
may be included under four heads, as follows:— 
Horticulture, the object of which is to cultivate 
products used in domestic economy. It includes 
culinary gardening and orcharding ; and forcing or 
exotic gardening so far as respects useful products. 
Floriculture, or ornamental gardening, the object 
of which is to cultivate plants ornamental in domes¬ 
tic economy. It includes flower, botanic, and 
shrubbery gardening; and forcing and exotic gar¬ 
dening so far as respects plants of ornament. 
Arboriculture, or the planting of trees and shrubs, 
either ornamental or useful. 
Landscape Gardening, the object of which is, so 
to arrange and harmonize the external scenes of a 
country residence, as to render them ornamental, 
both a,s domestic scenery and as a part of the gene¬ 
ral scenery of the country. 
The first variety under the head of horticulture 
is culinary gardening. Let us attend to this closely, 
as it is one of the most important branches ; for it 
has been truly said, that “ next to a badly designed, 
ill-placed house, a misplaced, ill-arranged, and un¬ 
productive kitchen garden, is the greatest evil of a 
country residence.” 
Situation .—“The situation of the kitchen gar¬ 
den, considered artificially, or relatively to the 
other parts of a residence, should be as near the 
mansion and the stable-offices, as is consistent with 
beauty, convenience, and other arrangements.” 
{Loudon.) 
“ A kitchen garden should not be situated at any 
great distance from the house, lest, being too much 
out of sight, it should be out of mind, and the neces¬ 
sary culture of it too much neglected.” {Dr. Deane.) 
“ In a great place, the kitchen garden should be 
so situated as to be convenient to, and, at the same 
time, be concealed from, the house.” {Nicol.) 
“ It should be placed adjoining to a stable, 
whence the dung may be easily conveyed into the 
enclosure.” {Fessenden.) 
“ A gentle declivity towards the south, a little 
inclining to the east, to receive the benefit of the 
morning sun. If it be situated in a bottom, the 
wind will have the less effect upon it; but then 
damps and fogs will be very prejudicial to the fruit 
and other crops ; and if situated too high, although 
it will in a great measure be free from damps and 
fogs, it will be exposed to the fury of the winds, to 
the great hurt of the trees.” {Fors'yth.) 
“ The situation should not be so elevated as to be 
exposed to boisterous and cutting winds; nor 
should a very low situation be chosen, if circum¬ 
stances afford any choice. It should be situated 
conveniently for access from the house.” {Aber¬ 
crombie. ) 
“ Avoid low situations and bottoms of valleys, 
because there is often a sourness in the earth that 
cannot be eradicated. {Switzer.) 
From these various opinions it would seem that 
the most proper situation for a kitchen garden, 
when circumstances will admit, is a gentle declivity 
to the south and east, and in the rear, but close to 
the dwelling-house, easy of access from the stables, 
and if possible entering it from the house, on the 
southern or south-western.side. L. T. Talbot. 
IMPROVEMENT OF WORN-OUT LANDS. 
An opinion has prevailed, that, when lands are 
worn out by culture, without manuring, they be¬ 
come worthless, and cannot be restored. I here¬ 
with furbish an example of the fallacy of that 
opinion. 
Four years ago, I purchased a farm of little more 
than forty acres, near the north edifice of Union 
College, and about a mile and a quarter from my 
dwelling in town. It had been called the Penny¬ 
royal farm by way of ridicule. This farm was 
chiefly occupied with thorn bushes, briers, and 
other worthless shrubbery. It had been cultivated 
by the former owner so long as it would produce 
buckwheat, or anything, without any manure. 
A small patch, enclosed with the garden, was in 
rye, and had been sown with foxtail (commonly 
called timothy), and I sowed foxtail again on the 
rye ; the next season grass. When the hay was in 
cock, my farmer asked his man to take the hay as a 
reward for mowing it, which he reluctantly ac¬ 
cepted. The other parts of the farm were pastured, 
producing some sour grass, moss, and bushes. We 
plowed a few acres of the sward, and planted it 
with Indian corn. A part was manured with pou- 
drette, and some with plaster, ashes, and manure. 
Where the poudrette was applied, it took the lead 
greatly for awhile, and eventually all was of equal 
growuh, and a good crop. The following crop was 
oats, and good. W e then put on a good coat of 
barn-yard manure, plowed and sowed it with winter 
wheat, the yield of which was very fine, and 
about thirty bushels to the acre. No better wheat 
was seen in this region. We have put on the cul¬ 
tivated part of the farm from two to three hundred 
wagon loads of yard and stable manure annually. 
The farm is high land, and an inclined plane to 
the west. The same rising slope east, with the ad¬ 
joining part of this farm, has a stone quarry, about 
two feet below the surface. The depth of soil in¬ 
creases as it declines to the west. The rains and 
melted snows flowed over the whole surface, when 
I took possession. The soil is generally of stiff 
clay. In April, it was so wet, that when walking 
