The soil of the borders is at lirst made higher by some inches above the walks, than that of the quarters in the interior of the garden : the reason is, that the quarters. annually receive a large accession of manure, whereas the fruit-t•ee borders are afterwards to receive comparatively little that can add to their depth. Some judicious gar deners contend, that such borders are to be manured only with composts, rendered as homogeneous as possible by frequent toning and intermixing. Others do not hesitate to use well-rotted dung : this is dug in with a three-pronged fork, so as to avoid injuring the roots of the trees ; and it is generally applied in the month of November, after the winter dressing of the trees.
51. The borders, particularly those next to south walls, arc in most places cropped with early peas, or turnips, or some other plant which does not extend its roots deep into the earth ; avoiding, therefore, cauliflowers and beans. But many gardeners dtapprove of this, especially in the case of peach and nectarine borders; and certainly if a crop be taken, it should be of the lightest kind, such as salad herbs, and perhaps a few scattered patches of orna mental annuals next the walk. Tn order to avoid using the fruit-tree borders, therefore, it is a custom, in some well ordered gardens, to have low reed hedges or palings run across some of the quarters ; to these the earliest peas or beans are closely attached, as they advance in growth, so as to enable them to escape the frosts of March and April more effectually, even than in front of a south wall. It need scarcely be remarked, that fruit-t•ee borders are kept carefully clear of weeds, and that fre quent stirrings with the hoe, or the three-pronged fork, and frequent rakings are practised, the maintaining of the surface in a fresh and porous state being found of singular advantage. When the season proves very dry, they are watered perhaps three times in the week, after sunset.
52. In many situations and circumstances, it is found impossible to form a soil for fruit-trees, with the care, and at the unavoidable expence, which have here been sup posed. In these cases it is necessary to adapt the kind of trees to the soil. On soils naturally very light, gravelly, and sandy, peach and nectarine trees do little good : it is better to plant apricots, figs, or vines, which agree with such soils, and, when trained against a wall having a good aspect, will, in the southern parts of the island, afford excellent crops of fruit. On such soils, even espalier and dwarf-standard apple trees are short-lived, subject to blight, and produce only stunted fruit. Next to renew
ing the soil, the best remedy is to engraft and re-engraft frequently, on the best wood of the trees, giving the pre ference to grafts of those kinds which experience has shewn to be most productive and healthy in that par ticular place. In shallow soils some have been in the practice of making troughs or hollows, and filling them with rich earth, for the reception of the trees : but this is not to be approved of ; the roots of the tree will probably be confined to the trough, and it is possible that water may be retained in it. In thin soils, therefore, it is more proper to raise the surface into little hillocks than to dig hollows. If a tree be planted on the general surface, and have earth heaped around it, it will spread its roots in every direction, and to a great distance, in the shal low soil ; and some subsoils, such as decomposed trap rock, or chalk, are themselves calculated to afford much nourishment.
Division of the Garden, S'c.
53. It is, of course, understood, that the wall-tree borders extend all around the margin of the garden. It naturally follows that a gravel walk should run parallel with them. On the other side of this walk, in very many gardens, there is a row of espalier-trees, (or, to speak more correctly, counter-espalier trees), fixed to trellis rails. If the enclosure be tolerably extensive, the centre is traversed by a broad walk. If it be of the largest di mensions, and possess a cross wall, or cross walls, the arrangement of the walks falls to be altered accordingly ; a main walk proceeding directly to the doors in the cen tre of the cross walls. The rest of the garden is divid ed into compartments, and most of these compartments, in some of our best gardens, are laid out in beds four feet wide, with narrow alleys. So many alleys, no doubt, occupy a good deal of room ; hut the advantages of con veniency and neatness, in enabling the workmen to clean and gather the crop without trampling the ground, seem to compensate the sacrifice of space. For currant, goose berry, and raspberry bushes, the quarters are of course, reserved undivided ; and narrow beds are unnecessary in the case of large perennial plants, such as artichokes or rhubarb. Border-edgings are not in use, excepting for the walks next the walls, and the cross walks in very large gardens ; for these, dwarf box is almost universally employed. In the interior quarters, however, parsley may sometimes be observed forming an edging ; and thyme, winter savory, or hyssop, are occasionally employ ed in the same way, and harmonize very well with the culinary crops around.