RIVER GARDENS; 
sweet and lulling sensation, as by a kind of silent 
music. But, instead of stopping to admire the 
effect of the first steps in our plantation, let us 
first ascertain whether all the necessary conditions 
in the preparation of the vessel have been properly 
complied with. 
In the first place, it should be filled with water 
some days before the introduction of the plants, 
and so long as any prismatic scum makes its appear¬ 
ance at the surface, the water should be changed, 
t 
as that is a certain indication that the cement, or 
other materials used in the construction of the tank, 
are not, as yet, thoroughly cleansed and seasoned. 
When, at last, the water remains perfectly clear, 
then, and not before, we may begin to introduce 
our plants. It may be as well to observe, en pas - 
sant , that the scum just alluded to may possibly 
arise from some improper materials employed in 
the ornamental rockwork intended to imitate the 
picturesque bed of the river, on which the garden 
is about to be planted. Any pieces of rock con¬ 
taining metal are bad, as are also all kinds of dross, 
such as clinkers from glasshouses, etc., and should 
be removed, if found to produce the effect described. 
Picturesquely formed stones, gathered from the 
pebbly beds of brooks or the rocky shallows of 
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