268 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST, 
[ December, 
be provided by tlie proprietor, who could, if so disposed, charge a small per¬ 
centage for them as rent. There would be no injustice in this, and properly 
managed, the fruit-trees on the walls of cottages and other houses would often 
pay the whole rent, and leave a handsome balance over. There would also be 
this advantage in making the tree-furnishing the landlord’s business. It would 
be to his interest to make a good preparation for the trees, so as to have them 
grow well. For once let this habit of furnishing the walls of houses with fruit- 
trees be thoroughly established, and there would soon be a run for those houses 
only that were well clothed. It is the want of preparation that blights the prospects 
of the fruit-grower. There are many people who will thrust in a fruit-bearing 
tree, that is expected to live and yield its annual harvest of fruit for half a cen¬ 
tury, with less preparation than they would bestow on an onion-bed ; and yet they 
are the first to complain of the difficulties and disappointments of fruit-growing. 
Difficulties, indeed! but to whom, or what ? Not to the planter assuredly, for 
he thrust the roots into a hole, and never troubled to see what was below and 
around them ; and under such conditions can we wonder that the difficulties 
often master the tree ? Common-sense would suggest that the longer a plant is 
to remain in one position the more careful should we be that all its surroundings 
are suitable to its nature, and likely to minister to perpetual health and constant 
fertility; and further, that the party interested in its permanent well-doing 
should select the best varieties, and surround them with the most favourable and 
durable conditions of healthy and lasting life. In other words, the landlord who 
has a permanent interest in the property, and not the shifting tenant of a few 
months or years, should not only provide the means of training, but carefully 
plant the fruit or flowers that would impart a higher value to house property. 
I dwell the more upon this, because I know it is a practical difficulty in the 
extension of the culture of choice fruits. Tenants, unless protected by some 
compensatory rights, are not likely, as' a rule, to clothe the property of others 
with choice fruit-trees, that they can neither take with them, nor receive fair value 
for either at the hands of their landlord or the incoming tenant. Besides, land¬ 
lords have much greater facilities than tenants, for procuring proper soil, and 
selecting the best varieties of fruits. 
While on the matter of soil, I cannot help remarking upon the utter neglect 
of the quality of the soil left around dwelling-houses by builders and contractors. 
Unsuspecting tenants hire a house and garden, and pay for it very much accord¬ 
ing to the size of the house, and the area of the garden. The quality of the latter 
should always be tested. Often a great portion of it will be found to consist of 
sheer dead subsoil or stubborn brick earth, the excavations of cellars, founda¬ 
tions, wells, &c. There ought to be an Act of Parliament compelling every con¬ 
tractor or landlord to provide a good surface-tilth around habitable houses of at 
least from 1 ft. to 1A ft. in depth. At present, many gardens, especially in the 
neighbourhood of large towns, are little better than blanks—barren spots on 
