8 
LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 
The melon-ground, you see, is separated from the kitchen-garden by 
what is called the south border walk, and a narrower border behind a 
neatly-clipped evergreen privet-hedge, which forms the north or back 
boundary of the melon-ground. The hedge is about seven feet high, 
and serves as a sufficient and necessary screen to the dung and litter 
often necessarily lying about in such a place. The situation of the 
melon-ground, as has already been alluded to, is particularly con¬ 
venient, as being near the stables, and also near the cart inlet from 
the park, by which leaves, mould, tanners’ bark, or anything else, may 
be laid down for the purposes of the gardener. The wall against the 
stable-yard supports a range of open sheds, in which mushroom-beds 
are made, or compost or bark is laid to be kept dry. The vacant parts 
of these sheds are also convenient for holding hotbed lights not in 
use, dower-pots, mats, and various implements required on the 
spot. 
The pine-pits and cucumber and melon-frames are placed in one, 
and occasionally in two ranks, parallel with the hedge, and about twelve 
feet distant therefrom. The frames for forcing culinary vegetables, 
strawberries, &c., also range with the others, so that the whole has a 
neat and orderly appearance. Wide-paved trenches are made in the 
ground for the reception of the earliest crops of cucumbers and melons, 
the beds being made within pigeon-holed walls, with two-feet spaces 
all round for the reception of linings when necfessary. 
Cucumbers are never forced early, because there is generally a winter 
supply for the table obtained from plants grown in boxes against the 
back wall of the pinery. The gardener makes what he calls “ a seed- 
bed” about Christmas, to raise plants to be put out at two or three 
different times in the course of the spring. His earliest frame is one 
foot narrower than the common size, and the lights for this are glazed 
in lead. The compost he uses is one-third fresh light loam, one-third 
leaf-mould, and the other third of dry well-decomposed dung. He 
forces chiefly by linings, and is particularly careful to keep up a brisk 
moist heat, always allowing as much fresh air as possible. His supply 
of fruit begins about the end of March, and continues till after 
midsummer. 
From nine to twelve lights of melons is the usual quota cultivated. 
For these the beds are very substantial, the frames large, and the com¬ 
post strong loam, highly enriched with dung. These beds begin to 
yield about the first of June. Besides these common hotbed produc¬ 
tions, many articles are raised on dung-heat; as asparagus, potatoes, 
carrots, cabbage-lettuce for stewing, radishes, and all other salad plants. 
