3G8 
paler beneath ; flowers, single, at the end of the stem, sepals 
shaped like the leaves, petals broader, and both pinkish- 
white; lip, yellow within and pink outside, its margin 
wavy. B- J • 
THE FRUIT-GARDEN. 
Composts. —It may appear early in the season to offer 
advice about the collection of composts, hut, from long 
experience, we well know there is no period equal to the 
end of August and through September. At that time 
there is the greatest chance of a run of dry weather ; and 
sufficient heat in the materials collected to facilitate a de¬ 
composition of the organic matter, of which, indeed, soils 
then contain more than at any other period of the year. 
It has before been observed, that all composts should be 
handled when dry; no experienced cultivator will ever 
be found handling soils when wet, unless it be a case of 
sheer necessity. If a mass of loamy soil in a wet state 
were to be thrown on the ground, and the foot placed on 
it, such would not be fit for the potting-bench until it 
had been dried, and fairly disintegrated ; and the latter 
operation would, for many purposes, have lost it a cha¬ 
racter in point of texture which could not be restored. 
The abuse occurring to soils through being handled 
when wet is pretty well illustrated by the puddling of 
embankments, &c.; for here treading, &c., effects the 
purpose intended, that is to say, the closing up the pores 
so as to render the soil retentive of water; and this is 
the very principle to which all vegetation is averse. 
Soils thus closed not only retain water, but refuse tbe 
free penetration of the atmosphere ; and the facilitation 
of the free admission of air constitutes the main prin¬ 
ciple of all cultural operations. 
Thus much premised, we will proceed to some remarks 
having a bearing on the formation of vine-borders, and 
the selection of soils for fruit-trees in general. For our 
own part, could we obtain such loam as we have seen, 
(aud could now lay hands on, had we permission), one 
kind alone would suffice for every purpose. The cha¬ 
racter of this would be nearly intermediate, between 
strong or clayey, and that termed sandy loam. Not 
one gardener, however, in a score, can obtain this sort 
of horticultural carte Handle; and the greater the pity 
in many instances that have come within our knowledge; 
for we have frequently known soil worked up in the 
making of vine-borders, which the operator knew to be 
unfit, but which he was obliged to accept, or none. It 
was stated in the commencement that one kind of loam 
might suffice: it need not be inferred, however, that 
there is no difference in soils, or that what suited the 
vine was equally adapted for every fruit-tree. Such is 
not precisely the case ; and we merely placed the ques¬ 
tion in that position for a moment, in order to widen 
the subject; for it has been too much the fashion to 
insist on a certain loam, or a certain compost, by men 
who give rules without pointing to principles. In all 
these things simplicity of plan is the great expediter of 
business, as well as (generally speaking) the best road 
to success. 
Since our labours are required, in the main, very much 
for what may be termed small gardeners, that is to say, 
those who do not possess domains of such vast extent 
as to enable them to select with ease a soil for any 
required purpose, we must endeavour to point to what 
may be termed make-shift compost. 
In the immediate neighbourhood of towns it is gene¬ 
rally very difficult to get what the gardener terms loam, 
which, somehow or other, enters into nine-tenths of 
the composts of all our best gardeners; malt/re the 
rather general adoption of peats by some of our conti¬ 
nental neighbours. A great amount of other materials, 
however, are to be had in such situations, which are 
at once capable of considerably swelling the bulk of the 
[July 31. 
compost heap, and of much improving, in certain cases, 
its mechanical texture :—materials, too, which are for 
the most part perfectly innoxious, if we must modestly 
claim merely a negative character for them. Of such a 
character is sawdust, shavings, strawy-litter, brick-rub¬ 
bish, lime-rubbish, old plaster, the debris from some 
manufactories, &c., &c. But to return to the loam; for 
we begin to perceive that this subject may not be settled 
in one paper. We will, therefore, pursue the subject 
seriatim, and complete it as soon as a chance offers. 
Some choose loams by colour chiefly, but more by 
texture. By texture is meant principally the degree of 
adhesiveness the soil possesses. Some soils are so open, 
or, in other words, contain so much sand, that it is 
difficult to make them adhere, even when wet. Others, 
again, are so adhesive, that with both chemical ancl 
mechanical agencies combined, they only separate with 
difficulty. These, of course, have a high per centage 
of the clayey principle. Between these, then, there are 
many grades, chiefly characterised by the amount of 
sand they contain. Any one may soon ascertain both 
the amount and character of the sand any given soil 
contains by simply washing and straining it repeatedly. 
We are not assured of what amount of sand a good and 
generally useful loam should contain in the eyes of 
practical men; probably from twenty to thirty per cent. 
This, however, may be readily ascertained by any one 
about to procure soils, as they may readily obtain a 
lump of loam know'll to be fertile from any nurseryman 
or gardener, and wash it for themselves. We recom¬ 
mend such little experiments especially to our younger 
friends, who will speedily gain a wrinkle thereby. How- 
ever, it is not the mere amount of sand which charac¬ 
terizes a loam : there is the character of the very sand 
to be taken into consideration. It will generally be 
found, that those soils which possess a large and coarse 
sand are more easily divisable than those with a very 
fine sand; the latter generally produces a more unctuous 
feel in the fingers; in fact, something of the character 
of alluvium, or water deposits. It is an old and good 
criterion of a good loam, as to texture, to take a lump 
in the hand, squeeze it close, and drop it from a 
yard or so in height on the hard ground. If it break 
entirely in fragments it maybe considered too sandy; 
whereas, a medium loam will only become about half 
divided. 
As to colour, most people talk of a hazel loam; but 
in our opinion there are loams of other colours equally 
fertile. Of course it is best obtained from old or rest 
land; such is generally termed virgin soil; and the 
longer the land has rested from the plough the better. 
Neither can it be too abundant in coarse herbage ; such 
is of infinite service, and if it abound, there is small 
occasion to add manurial matters. When obtained it 
should be piled up in a sharp ridge to exclude rain, and 
in a couple of months or so it will chop down in a 
delightfully mellowed condition; taking care to choose 
dry weather for all operations connected therewith. In 
a future paper the subject will be pursued. 
R. Ebrington. 
THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 
We are now on the threshold of propagation for 
another year, and first of all we begin with the strongest 
sorts of Geraniums, though there need be no hurry yet; 
I only broach the subject in order to dispel, if possible, a 
very general belief which obtains among some of our 
amateur readers, that gardeners are in possession of 
some deep secret, by which, whatever kind of cuttings 
we take in hand, they are sure to grow or root with 
tis; and that it is next to needless for such as are not 
in the secret to attempt cuttings without the aid of 
glasses, hot-beds, and all the rest of it; and I recollect 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
