Manchester Botanic Garden. 
107 
sired: but as our rule was to j)reserve as much as possible the natural 
undulations of the ground, a person on the spot will comprehend the 
reason why we have so disposed them. Jt is now only two years 
since w'e commenced the ground work, the walls were begun a month 
earlier. Most of the land required draining, by which means a good 
supply of water for the aquarium was obtained. This water enters 
the aquarium at the east end, and passing by the front of the rock- 
work, it flows the length of the garden. 
On trenching the fruit-garden, much of the subsoil was removed, 
the level being very irregular; this was a sharp sand, and gravel 
being very scarce, it was used to fill up the walks. In clearing out 
the ditches and removing the old hedges, much good soil was pre¬ 
served ;—this, with vegetable matter from the marl-pits, and good 
foam from the site of the aquarium, furnished an excellent compost 
for the fi’uit-garden. 
The dell, which has one part of the rock-work, was formed by ta¬ 
king out sand for the bricklayers, which was found to be excellent for 
the purpose. 
The other dell, which has the principal rock-work, was formed by 
excavating to receive the overflow water. It will be perceived by the • 
Plan, that we have a considerable quantity of grass-plat; this of course 
will he diminished in time, as more clumps are required for the arbor¬ 
etum, and many choice arboretum plants will be put out singly on the 
grass, as our means of shelter increase. At the commencement, manv 
good plants of common shrubs were given us, most of which form 
belts and clumps for shelter, (as marked. No. 13 in the Plan,) and are 
put in by the mixed way of planting; but they are so mixed, that at 
the proper time for thinning, groups can be left for the principal species 
of the same genera to remain. 
Mr. Loudon, in his last number of the Gardener’s Magazine, speak¬ 
ing of our small plants, says, that “ they are composed of one common 
mixture throughout the garden.” In this particular we must beg 
leave to observe there is a mistake; a great many groups are planted 
with the common ti'ees of their own genera, as the Chesnut, Fir, 
Pine, Alder, Ash, Acacia, Sorbus, Pyrus, &c. Many shrubs and trees 
have no plants near them, but those of their own family, as the Rhus, 
Ribes, Spirea, Berberis, Ilex, the collection of Salix, Cistus, with the 
whole order of Caprifoliae, &c., &c., while such as the Ulmus, Tilia, 
Acer, Fagus, Betula, &c. are principally nursed with common kinds of 
their own genera. A few plants of other sorts, which we had at the 
time of planting, were here introduced, but were not intended to 
remain. 
