288 
often coloured, and passes with common observers for 
real flowers. Their triangular seed vessel is called a 
nut in the language of botany, each nut having one 
kernel or seed. The Water-pepper of our own ditches is 
Polygonum Hyilropiper, well known as an acrid plant, 
whose loaves are so much so as to raise blisters on the 
skin, and if used in the green state is said to be a power¬ 
ful diuretic. In Trance and Belgium Polygonum tinc- 
torium is cultivated for a dye, and is said to yield a blue 
little inferior to indigo. The Snake-weed of our meadows, 
Polygonum bistorta, in the form of a decoction, makes a 
good gargle for relaxed sore throats. In India and 
I South America, several species are in use in various 
ways medicinally; but the greater portion of the nume¬ 
rous species are mere weeds. One of the greatest 
favourites of them, among cottage gardeners, being the 
Red Persicaria, Polygonum persicaria. They belong to 
the third order of the eighth class of the Linnsean sys¬ 
tem, 8 -Octandria 3-Trigynia. 
Polygonum cuspidatum is one of the prettiest species 
known; and though now announced in Belgium as one of 
Dr. Siebold’s novelties, it has been cultivated for some years 
in the gardens of the London Horticultural Society, growing 
there in an artificial swamp; to which it was introduced 
from China as Houttuyniu cordata. It is, in fact, a 
Japan plant made known by M. Thunberg in 1820. Stem, 
eight feet high or more, straight, branching, smooth, 
round, hollow, purple spotted. Leaves, broad, oval, trans¬ 
parently red edged, smooth. Flowers, in two’s and three's, 
in panicles from the axils of the leaves ; they are greenish 
yellow on red footstalks. It appears in May, but is cut down 
by the first frosts. Although it grew in a swamp, yet it 
prefers a dry light soil; and Dr. Siebold relates that he saw 
it employed in Japan for fixing loose sand, which it did 
effectually by means of its running roots, which are unin¬ 
jured by the severest frost. B. J. 
THE FRUIT-GARDEN. 
Platform Planting. —Although some observations 
were made on this most economic and safe way of 
planting in an early number of this work, we feel bound 
to go into farther detail on the subject, and this in time 
to be of service to spring planters. We do hope that 
no person will in these times be so unwise as to make 
what are termed borders” for fruit-tree planting,— 
borders—at least, in the old acceptation of the word— 
which generally involved an amount of expense the 
trees could never repay, and which in many cases, 
from being made deep and rich, became a positive 
injury. Certainly, if any one has a vast amount of 
fresh or maiden soils come to hand, for which there is no 
other use, and has a kitchen or fruit-garden of a very 
inferior staple, he may do well to generally improve it in 
this way; but to fancy that fruits cannot be successfully 
grown without seriously damaging rich old pastures, by 
the removal of the turf in such enormous quantities, is 
a most preposterous idea. 
Turfy material, everybody knows, is highly eligible 
for fruit-trees, but by no means indispensable, inasmuch 
as organic matter in the shape of tree leaves, straw, or 
litter of any kind, and even the carpenter’s shavings, 
may be used up for this purpose. Those who live near 
to wastes may procure the very furze and coarse weeds, 
and chop them uj> altogether to blend with the soil. 
We do not affirm that these things blended with the 
soil will render it equal to loamy turf, but we know that 
they will constitute a pretty good representative, and 
will at least serve to eke out a plan which will save our 
[February 0. 
suburban amateurs much expense; for many of these 
articles are at all times within their reach. 
Economy, then, is the basis of the platform mode; 
and in order to convey an idea of what platform planting 
means, w r e may observe, that it signifies so forming a 
station for any given fruit-tree as that, in the event of 
any improvement being needed in the soil, about four or 
five barrows of sound loam shall suffice for any tree; 
and that this shall be so husbanded in its application as 
to secure to the fruit-tree a space of ground which shall 
always belong to the tree, unmolested at all times by 
the spado, unless for some special purpose connected 
with the treo itself. Such a space may be about seven 
feet square: this we have proved to be amply sufficient; 
but as it frequently happens that on marginal borders 
the trees are within about three feet of the walk, the 
form of the excavation for the platform may be a 
parallelogram. Such is our practice; and the trees on 
the marginal borders being within three feet of the walk, 
we allow four feet on each side of the tree lengthwise, 
thus making a hole of six feet by eight. 
Having been during the last week making a line of 
platforms along a border, in order to plant some apples 
on Paradise stocks, which are not only of first-rate 
quality in the dessert, but, what is of equal importance, 
known to suit the climate, we can scarcely do better 
than detail our mode of procedure. It so happens that 
we have access to abundance of loam ; but, although 
such is the case, we still repudiate the idea of a profuse 
use of it, rather wishing to show forth in practice what 
we advocate in theory. We have, therefore, gone to 
work in as economical a way as though we had a town 
or suburban garden to plant. The soil is a poor and 
weak sandy loam, containing very much red coarse sand. 
The subsoil at thirty inches in depth is a clean red 
sand; and from a depth of one foot from the surface 
the soil merges gradually into this red sand. 
Now, here is a point on which we would caution 
young beginners, some of whom we have known in our 
day to make sad mistakes. The observations about to 
be offered apply to other kinds of planting than fruit- 
trees, but especially to the latter when planted according 
to the rather close limitations of the platform mode. 
These remarks may be thus embodied :—Never, if pos¬ 
sible, carry prepared soil below the level of the regular 
surface soil—rather increase it above the ground level. 
We do not wish it to be understood that our platform 
trees must for ever be confined to the prepared soil; the 
time will come that their extremities will ramble into 
the adjoining soil in quest of food; and, such being the 
case, we would not have them revel in clay, or mere 
sand, or any other suspicious material, winch they may 
do if the above precaution is not attended to. 
To return from this digression, the holes for the 
platform being marked out, all the best surface soil was 
excavated on one side, and the remainder on the other, 
to the depth of about twenty-six inches. On this 
bottom brickbats or stones were placed, closely, side by 
side, and a wheelbarrowful of sifted cinders, the size of 
horse-beans, swept into every crevice. Next, a barrowful 
of tree leaves were spread on the cinders, and then two 
ban'ows of sound or adhesive loam on the leaves—the 
reason for which proceedings will be given in the sequel. 
And now two barrows of loam being used up, three 
more were wheeled beside the excavation, and on the 
other side two or three barrows of half-rotten leaves or 
garden rubbish, weeds, &c. This done, the holes were 
filled up by throwing the whole in alternately, using 
twice or thrice as much of the ordinary surface soil as 
the loam, and tossing a little of the half-decayed vege¬ 
table matter all through the mass. 
In planting the trees, the roots were spread on the 
surface level, to which height the holes were filled, the 
surface first being made quite flat, in order that the 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
