764 PRACTICE OF GARDENING. P a r t HI.
plants of the same sort, as in the case of pulling tuniips, onions, &c. A.s soon as any
plant has furnished its crops or produce, the root and other remains ought to be immediately
removed to the dung or compost heap. '(See 2406.)
2968. Gathering fruit. This operation in the case of the small fruits, as the gooseberry,
strawberry, &c., is generally performed by the under-gardcncra; but wall and
esjialier frait ought to be gathered by the head-gardener. Wlicrc the utmost delicacy
is desired, the beny-gathcvcr (fig. 415.) ought to be adopted for the small fraits,
and also for plums, apples, and other fraits on espaliers. For the finer fraits, as the
peach, nectarine, &c., the peach-gatherer (fig. 416.) , lined with velvet, ought always to
be adopted.
2969. Preserving esculents. The ice-house, as wc have repeatedly obsenrad, is found
[larticularly useful for preserving esculent roots, and likewise celery during winter.
“ Where parsneps and heet-roots are left in the ground over winter,” Neill observes,
“ they must be taken up at tho approach of spring, as they become tough and woody
whenever there is a tendency to form a flowcr-stalk. These roots, may, therefore, at this
season, be placed in the ice-honsc, and preserved there for a considerable time. In the
summer season, during hot weather, vaiious kinds of vegetables, as peas, kidneybeans,
cucumbers, &c., can be kept fresh in this manner for several d ay s ; and fruits gathered
iu the morning, wliich is tho most proper time, may bo here kept cool, with all thoir
freshness and flavour, until required for the dessert in the afternoon.” (Supp. to Encyc.
B rit, art. Hort.)
2970. Packing fru it and vegetahles to be sent to a distance frequently forms a part of the
gardener’s duty. Fraits of the most delicate sorts, it is well known, arc sent from
Spain and Italy to England, packed in jai-s with sawdust from woods not resinous, or
otherwise ill tasted. One large bunch of grapes is suspended from a twig or pin laid
across the mouth of the jar, so that it may not touch either the sides or the bottom; sawdust
or bran is then strewed in, and when full, the ja r is well shaken to cause it to settle;
more is then added, till it is quite full, when the supporting twig is taken away, and tho
earthen cover of the jai- closely fitted and sealed, generally with fine stucco. In this way
grapes may be sent from the most remote parts of Scotland or Ireland to the metropolis.
Wlien the distance is less, they may be sent enveloped iu fine paper, and packed in moss.
For extraordinary large bunches of gi-apcs, the mode adopted liy the Jewish spies (Numbers,
chap. xiii.), and afterwards by Speechly, may be followed ; that of canying them
suspended on a pule or staff resting on men’s shoulders. The simplest mode for short
distances is to wrap each bunch in fine soft paper, and lay it on a bed of moss in abroad
flat basket with a proper cover.
2971. The more common fru its , cherries and plums, may be packed in thin layers, with paper and moss
between each. Peaches, apricots, and the finer plums, may each be wrapped separately in vine or other
leaves, or fine paper, and packed in abundance of cotton, ia x , fine moss, or dried short grass. Moss, it
will be recollected, is apt to communicate its fiavour to fine fruits, and so is short grass, if not thoroughly
dried and sweetened. Cotton is best for preserving the bloom on peaches and plums.
2972. Common culinm-y vegetables are seldom sent to a greatdistance. T h e great art is to preserve them
fresh, for which purpose they ought to be laid loose in a close box, in the manner ofbotanic specimens;
o r closely packed in hampers, so as to exclude th e air. T h e i?rassica and lettuce tribes, if pulled up by
the roots, and, as it were, replanted in a box of sand, with a wickerwork cover, may be sent a journey
of two or three weeks without injury, as practised in Russia. Celery, turnips, &c., may be packed in
sand ; potatoes and other roots loose; legumes, and other summer crops, generally in moss, fern, or
dried turfy peat.
S e c t . X . Miscellaneous Operations o f Culture and Management.
2973. The miscellaneous operations and duties o f the gardener are nmnerous, and in
the foregoing general view of kitchcn-garden culture many particulars are necessarily
omitted. Among these may be mentioned propagation of various kinds for the renewal
of crops, mulching perennials, blanching leaves and stalks, rolling walks, preparing composts,
regrafting trees to introduce better sorts, or a variety of sorts on one tree, performing
operations on their roots or stems to render them more fraitful, &c.
2974. A garden may be managed so ds to produce good crops, and yet not so as to he agreeable
to the eye. In general, it may be obsciwcd, that the English gardeners excel in the
former, and the Scotch in the latter part of practice. Tlic Dutch and Flemish seem, in
some degi'ce, to combine both; and this ought to be attempted, and persevered in till perfection
is attained, by eveiy British gardener.
2975. T'he first requisite to good management is a proper establishment o f labourers, and
resources, as to manure, seeds, repairs, &c., adequate to the extent and character of the
garden. The next thing necessary is the entire independence of the gardener, as far as
respects his province. The constant irksome interference of masters and mistresses,
stewards, or others, is justly complained of by every gardener who understands his business.
Where the proprietor is, as it were, head-gardener, in that case he ought to make
use of mere workmen, or of such gardeners as arc not over ambitious in their profession.
In general, it may be observed, that gardens so managed, arc ill managed, and often not
well cultivated.
B o o k III. OPERATIONS OF CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT. 7 6 5 '
2 9 7 6 . The next requisite is a taste for order and neatness. This taste is generally
acipiired in youth from the instmction or imitation of parents or masters ; but it_ may be
greatly increased in grown-up persons, when they perceive its advantages, and iu hcad-
gardcncrs, when a demand for it is created by their employers.
2977. Industry and steadiness arc perhaps in no kind of life more necessary than in.
that of a gardener. Whole crops may be easily rained by a day’s neglect ; and not only
wholc a-ops, as in the case of neglecting cncumbcr-frames, for example, but tho whole
produce of a year, or of several years, as in the case of neglecting a peach-house for one
hot day.
2978. Unremitting attention and application. Unless a man is endowed with, and has
well cultivated the faculty of attention, he can never excel in any thing. Without an
cver-active attention, a gardener will not see what is out of order or unsightly in Iiis
garden, and of course will not think of coiTcctiiig it. Many people are so deficient in
this respect, that thcir knowledge is entirely confined to the few objects with whieh thcir
mode of procuring a living obliges them to be conversant. Something more than this is
wanting in a gardener who would be master of his business ; and it must be confessed,
to the honour of many gardeners, that they excel in point of general observation and
knowledge.
2979. The management o f a garden, Marshall observes, consists in attention and
application ; the first should be of that wary and provident kind, as not only to do well
in the present, but for the future ; and the application should be of so diligent a nature,
as “ never to defer that till to-morrow which may be done to-day.” Procrastination is
of sei'ions consequence in gai'dening ; and neglect of times and seasons is fraitful of disappointment
and complaint. It will often b.appcn, indeed, that a gai-dcncr cannot do
what he would ; bnt if he does not do what he can, he will be most justly blamed, aud
perhaps censured by none more than himself. (Introd. to Gard., p. 59.)
'rél
C i iA P . V.
O f the genei'cd Managermni o f Orchards,
2980. A private orchard is, sometimes, treated entirely as a kitchen-gai'den, in wliich
case the foregoing chapter contains the general outline of management. Vegetables and
small fruits, however, are seldom well-flavoured when grown under the shade aud drip
of trees, and, therefore, orchards are commonly cither hut slightly cropped, or laid down
in pasture, after tlie trees have been a few years established.
S e c t . I. General Culture.
2981. Stirring the soil. It was formerly laid down as a rule hy nearly all the best
autliors on gardenmg, that orchards bore better when dug or cropped ; but experience
proves that both digging and cropping have a tendency to injure the fibrous roots of
the trees, and to prevent them from extending themselves close beneath the surface of tho
ground. It has also been found that trees beai- mnch better when the fibrous roots lio
near the surface. It is, however, beneficial to loosen the ground with a fork to the
dejith of 2 in. or 3 in., to admit the rain and air to tho roots.
2982. Manuring. The natural defects of the soil, tho habits of ft-uit trees, and the
preference of a species for a particular soil or manure, are to be considered. The hotter
dungs are not liked by fruit trees ; and those of the horse and tho sheep, if not wanted
where they would be beneficial alone, should he mixed with twice as much of the cooler
dungs, and three times as much fresh earth or road-drift, or with twice tho hnlk of
earthy matter, if the cooler dungs are not to be obtained. The residuum of neat’s clung,
properly reduced by keepmg, is a good simple manure for most fruit trees, and excellent
in a compost; but where tho soil is naturally cold, a little ashes of coals, wood, straw, or
burnt turf, or a minute proportion of soot, ought to be incorporated with it. Hog-dung
is accounted to have a peculiar virtue in invigoratiug weak trees. Eotten turf, or any
vegetable refuse, is a general manure, excellent for aU soils not already too rich. One
ofthe best correctives of too rich a soil is drift-sand. Eor an exliausted soil, where a
fruit tree that has heen an old profitable occupant is wished to be continued, a dressing
of animal matter is a powerful restorative ; such as hog’s or bullock’s blood, offal^ from
the slaughter-house, refuse of skins and leather, decomposed can'ion ; also urine diluted
with water. The drainings of dung laid on as mulch are highly serviceable. In a soil
which does not effervesce with acids, a little lime, forked in about a spit deep, is beneficial
to fruit trees. (Abercrombie.)
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