thp: cottage gardener. 
J.-VNUARY 22 . 
20 C > 
priTie won. In si.K months more, tlie noljleman was a 
refugee, earning liis bread by making fancy bas/;ct.<i, and 
making them so cleverly as to obtain tlie patronage of all 
Ibe wealthy inhabitants of the foreign capital in whicli he 
liad souglit an asylum from the political troubles of his 
native land. 
Alas! there is in this wide universe but little that is 
universal. Most of us require two strings to our bow (beau?) 
—sometimes more; and after all, of the many acquirements 
on Avhich Ave set our hearts, the most valuable is that by 
Avhich we earn our daily bread. We have all, some time or 
other, a rainy day, or a dead season. We are all liable to 
be frozen oirt, or frozen up. 
In the earlier part of last year’, I sent you a sketch of my 
new layering pot, Avhicli has been noticed, since then, in 
other journals, both in England and on the Continent. As 
you Avere the first to publish that, I now send you tAvo more 
j off-hand sketches, for the purpose of shoAAing other modes 
, of performing the operation of layering above ground, on a 
j more extensive scale than could be attained by the pots. 
Tig. 1. shows three open boxes, or whatever they may be 
called, mounted on a stotit stake. Tlieir average length is 
about thirty inches; their width, that is, the measurement 
from front to hack, about six inches; that of tlie front and 
two ends, from four to six inches high. I only give these 
measurements provisionally, for I have not yet had models 
prepared, in order to see if such dimensions might be suf¬ 
ficient; but I imagine that something of the form indicated 
AA'ill be found the most suitable for ordinary purposes. The 
hack and bottom of the box are made of stout deal, say 
three-quarters-of-an-inch thick; the front and ends are 
formed by short laths nailed on at regular distances, so as 
to be separate from one another about half-an-inch. The 
lowest of the three boxes shown is drawn to something near i 
this Scale with respect to length, and the other two are 
shorter; for I have presumed, tliat in layering the branches 
ot young trees, especially of Coni/crfc, more shoots can be | 
obtained near the bottom than at the top. It is A'ery easy, 
hoAA'ever, to determine the length of the boxes, Avhen the 
tree to be operated on has been chosen. Perhaps it Avill be 
found, from the position of the branches of the tree selected, 
that no more than three boxes can be used on the same 
stake Avith advantage; and, in many cases, tivo Avill be suf¬ 
ficient. Put, of course, I leave all such points to be settled 
by experience and practice. With respect to drainage, I do 
i not think that holes in the bottom can be necessary, seeing 
that there are so many openings at the sides; and as the 
' shoots layered are nourished by the parent tree till they 
are established, I apprehend no injury to them from the 
Avater dropping from one box to another, and such dropping 
can only be at the ends in Avet weather; for I suppose the 
fronts of all the boxes on one stake to be the same plumb- 
line. In ordinary circumstances, a single nail should be 
sufficient to secure one of these boxes to a stake, and it is 
desirable to avoid all unnecessary hammering, and preserve 
the box as long as lAossible. It must be observed, too, fhat, 
i by means of these openings, the operation of layering can 
be performed Avith unusual facility and dispatch. It is not 
necessary to be very nice about stopping up the openings so 
as to prevent the soil from running out. Every gardener 
knOAvs hoAv to deal Avith such a case. 
Noav, here is a little Avork for the handy young men of 
gardens and nurseries, or, indeed, anybody Avho likes to 
handle a saAV, plane, and hammer; and I AA’ould just ask 
those Avho, from their practical knowledge of such matters, 
I are best fitted to give an opinion, Avhether light stands of 
j this kind, Avhich may be easily made, .are not preferable to 
I the scaffolds Avhich are usually erected for the support of a 
j feAv pots ? Or to the still more troublesoAue process of half 
I uprooting a young tree, and haying it on the ground for the 
I purpose of layering a feAV of its higher branches ? 
[ With regard to the stake, I think I need not speak of its 
j length or strength ; but it should he made so as to afford seme 
1 little support to the box. This could be effected by making 
I a notch, on Avhich the box might rest at the back. When 
! AA'e consider that the box itself is not provided Avith ends 
I that might add to its strength, some assistance of this kind 
j seems necessary. The same object could be attained by a 
I division in the centre of the box. But, after all, I think, if 
i the back and bottom are made as at first directed, no 
i auxiliaries Avill be Avanted, even when the Aveather is Avet, 
and the soil in the box is more than usually heavy ; for it 
Avill be observed, that each box is only about four inches 
from front to back, inside measure; at least, that is Avbat 
1 suppose to be sufficient in ordinary circumstances. Noav 
