Tart V.] 
THE PARK PINETUM. 
263 
Dig a pit five feet in diameter, but go no 
deeper than the good upper soil; throw the 
earth out; add and mix as much good soil as 
you can afford. Having to wheel it myself, I 
used to think three barrows of road-sand from 
the nearest ditch a quantum, and half-a-dozen 
barrows a liberal allowance. In replacing the 
earth, put the turf at the bottom, and form a 
flat, low eminence brimming over the pit on to 
the undug ground outside, so that, when the 
loose earth in the pit sinks to its former level, a 
raised outside rim remains. This rim prevents 
inundation from without, and facilitates irriga¬ 
tion from within. It also prevents cracks, in 
drought, between the old and the new ground. 
These cracks the roots have a difficulty in cross¬ 
ing. They admit the drought, and harbour 
mice, which will sometimes make a thoroughfare 
entirely round the plant. If the pit is dug 
deeper than the upper soil, the roots are enticed 
and entrapped in a cup whose sides are imper¬ 
vious to them. 
The roots of the pot pinus should be carefully 
unwound; if not, they can never escape from 
the circular growth which the pot has given 
them, and the plant will die a self-strangled 
Laocoon. 
