i only useful when small plants are used, and In hilly or rocky situations.” (Plant.
from a n o th e r: it i
Kal., pref. xxiv.)
5818. Pontn/prefcTS planting by pitting, I
a general cases ; the holes heing made during the preceding summer or winter, sufficiently large, but not .« so deep into a _ rtro.retentive ro...1 ro.subsoil . I. .* 1 as .. to . ro render 1 ro ro Xl.them receptacles
. . . ^
for water. When the plants have been brought from a distance he strongly recommends puddling
them previously to p lan tin g ; if they seem very much dried, it would be still better to lay them in the
ground for eight or ten days, giving them a good soaking of water every second or third day, in order to
restore their vegetable powers; for it well deserves notice, th a t a degree of moisture in soil sufficient to
support a !)lant recently or immediately taken from th e nursery, would, in the case of dried ones, prove
so fur insufficient, th a t most of them would die in it. T h e puddling here recommended may also be
of great service in all cases of late planting where smal! plants are used ; Pontey’s method is (after
puddling) to tie them in bundles, of two or three hundreds each ; and thus send them, by a cart-load at
once, to where wanted ; where such bundles, being set upright, close to each other, and a little straw
carefully applied to th e outsides of them, may remain without damage, in a sheltered situation, any
reasonable time necessary to plant them. Where loose soil happens to be a t hand, th;it should be
substituted in th e place of straw.
5819. ..4 jDtoirf/e/or irees is made by mixing water with any soil ra th e r tenacious, so intimately as to
form a complete puddle, so thick that when tiie plants are dipped into it enough may remain upon the
roots to cover them. T h e process of puddling is certainly simple, and its expense too trifling to deserve
notice; its effects, however, in retainmg, if not attracting, moisture, are such that, by means of it, late
planting is rendered abundantly more safe than it otherwise would be. It is an old invention, and hence
it is truly astonishing that it is not more frequentlypractised. “ If we could but persuade people to adopt
it generally in spring planting,” says Mr. Pontey, “ I believe the prejudice in favour of autumn practice
would soon be done away.” (Prof. Plant., p. 167.)
5820. Pontey's methods o f planting are in general the same as those of Sang: he uses a mattock and
planter of similar sh a p e ; and also a two or three-pronged instrument, which we have elsewhere denominated
t\\o planter's hack (1701.). “ This instrument,” he says, “ has been introduced of late
years as an improvement on the mattock and planter (Jig. 928. b, c), being b etter adapted to soils full of
roots, stones & c .; they are likewise easier to work, as they penetrate to an equal depth with a stroke less
violent than the former; th ey a re also less subject to be clogged up by a wet or tenacious soil. The
length of the prongs of both should be about 8 in., and the distances between them, when with three
prongs, IJ in., and with two prongs, about 2 in. ; th e two-pronged hack should be made somewhat
stronger than th e other, it being chiefly intended for very stony lands, or where th e soil wants breaking,
in order to separate it from the herbage, &c. These tools are chiefly applicable to plants of any
size np to about 2 ft., or such as are generally used for great designs, where they are used as a substitute
for the spade, in the following manner :— T he planter being provided with a basket holding the
plants required (the holes being supposed prepared, and the earth left in them), ho takes a tree in one
hand, and the tool in the other, which he strikes into the hole, and then pulls the earth towards him, so
as to make a hole large enough to hold all its ro o ts; he then puts in th ep lan t with the other, and pushes
th e earth to its roots with the back of th e p lan ter; after which, he fixes th e plant, and levels the soil at
th e same instant with his foot: so th a t the operation is performed by one person, with a degree of neatness
and expedition which no one can attain to who uses th e spade. It is known to all planters, th a t but
few labourers ever learn to plant well and expeditiously in th e common method, without an assistant:
this method, however, requires neither help nor dexterity ; as any labourer of common sagacity, or boy
of fifteen, or even a woman, may learn to perform it well in less than half an hour. The facility witli
which these tools will break clods, clear the holes of stones, or separate the soil from herbage, the roots
of heath, &c. (the former being previously mellowed by the frost), may be easily imagined.” (Prof. Plant.,
p. 173.) T h e adoption o f a small mattock for inserting plants, we recollect to have seen recommended
in a trac t on planting in the Highlands, by Maclaurin, a nurseryman, published at Edinburgh about the
year 1802. T h e under foot-spade (fig . 315.), and the perforator (fig. 317.), are implements th at may be
advantageously used in slit planting, or in planting by perforation (1695. 1700.).
5821. An expeditious mode o f slit planting is described in the General Report o f Scotland, as having
been practised for many years on th e Duke of Montrose’s estate. It is as follows : — “ The operator,
with his spade, makes three cuts, 12in. or 15 in. long, crossing each other in th e centre, a t an angle of
60°, the whole having the form of a star (y?g-.929.). He inserts his spade across one
of th e rays («), a few inches from the centre, and on the side next himself; then 9 2 9
bending the handle towards him.self, and almost to the ground, th e earth opening in
fissures from the centre In the direction of the cuts which had been made, he, a t the
same instant, inserts his plant a t the point where the spade intersected the ray («),
pushing it forward to th e centre, and assisting th e roots in rambling through the
fissures. He then lets down the earth by removing his spade, havin{( pressed it into
a compact state with his h e e l; the operation is finished by adding a little earth, with
the grass side down, completely covering the fissures, for th e purpose o f retaining the
moisture a t th e root, and likewise as a top-dressing, which greatly encourages the
plant to push fresh roots between th e swards.” (Vol. ii. p .283.)
ClIAP. IV.
Formation o f Plantations, in which Ornamerd or Effect is the leading Consideration,
5822. In designing ornamental plantations, the situation, form, the disposition of the
trees, and the kinds employed, are the principal considerations.
5823. The situations to be planted, with a view to effect, necessarily depend on th e kind of effect
intended: these may he reduced to th re e—to give beauty and variety to general scenery, as in forming
plantations here and there throughout a demesne ; to give form and character to a country residence, a
in planting a park and pleasure-grounds ; and to create a particular and independent beauty or effect, _ _ 1 ____________ ro..J_____; __________rort_____ro___i _____ ________Xroroi ro-.IXlro____ro roXlrororo roi.:__ in pliinfftS i"! extensive area or wood, unconnected with any other objecXt, _a_nrodi Jdii_s_p__o__sii_n__gr oojt the interior
in avenues, glades, and other forms. In the first two cases, the choice of the situation must always be
relative to other objects ; as, for example, in ornamenting general scenery, to fields and enclosures,
buildings, roads, & c .; and to the maiision-garden and other parts of a residence, in laying out a country
s e a t: but in forming independent plantations th e choico may be absolute, and guided by no other consideration
than the effect to be produced. One o fth e greatest beauties produced by planting, either on
general scenery, or on the ground’ s of■ a resi"d ence, i• s that of varying t he form of th- e suirrffaaccee ooff tthhee country,
or increasing the variations already existing. To do this with most effect, it is an obvious and long-
established principle, that, other circumstances bcingthc same, the hills are to be m ore generally planted
than the hollows, or even the plains. By planting a hill, or the least rise of ground, th a t hill or
increased in effect; but by planting the low grounds between hills or protuberances their effect is do
stroyed. It is to be observed, however, that tlic latte r practice is often what we observe in natnml
scenery. In hilly tracts in a state of nature, and under the dominion of no other animals than cattle or
sheep, the vales or dells (Jig. 930.) are generally filled with wood and the tops of tho hills bare, wliich,
.hroortw. .Ireov.reorro arog.r. Tereoa...b. rloeTO rtoortr otroh orosrte. r oiw.’roh.Xo v1_i_e_w__ or stuX_d.-y n_a/>t ure 1.c hiefl*y. in d.e. tail,r o*y et to. the Pg eneral _o bserveOrT ..iVt tends to confound form, and introduce monotony of surface. 'Art, tlierefo're, when pranVing for'general
effect, c- r for heightening the character of surface, adopts a contrary practice (Jig. 931.) to what is general
in wild nature ; for few things in a wild state are suitable to the views of man in a state of civilisation
and refinement; and when he admires rude scenery, it is from views of its novelty or rarity in cultivatecl
countries ; or with reference to some other a rt or object, or some different state of the same object. At
the same time, a hill crowned with wood occurs in nature occasionally, both with and without naked
hollows or plains a t its base, and never fails to excite a superior degree of satisfaction or pleasure in
th e spectator. To plant hills, therefore, in preference to valleys, may justly be designated an imitation
of one of the more interesting features of nature ; but it does not follow from this th at all hills are to be
planted.
5824. With respect to form., it may be absolute, or independent of every consideration but the taste of the
designer ; or it may be relative. It is absolute in plantations intended to create particular beauties within
themselves: as in labyrinths, woods pierced with avenues, stars, &c., in the geometric style ; or in compositions
and groups, thickets and glades in the interior of a wood, laid out in the modern manner. It is
relative to the shapes of the ground and to existing objects in the forms adapted for improving general
scenery ; and to these considerations, and to the situation and form of the mansion, gardens, waters, &c.,
in laying out th e grounds of a country-residence. For either of these objects the general principles of
operation are to heighten beauties already existing ; to conceal defects ; if possible, to create beauty; and
to connect detached objects, either in reahty or appearance, so th a t the scenery, from whatever point it may
be viewed, may appear a whole ; in short, the end is a harmonious and expressive whole, and the means
are the grouping and connecting of the parts. Some tracts of country, or those parts of a demesne exterior
to the park, may be deficient in woodiness ; there trees may be introduced in masses on elevated sites,
or the sites of hiils ; in groups connected with buildings ; in thinly scattered trees, in pastures, and by
brooks ; and in rows in hedges, and by other fences or roads. Where disagreeable objects are to be concealed,
the course is evident; and where nothing is interesting, attempts must be made to create interest.
A road through a dreary country may often have much of its dulness taken away by one or two rows of
trees on each side, the stems of which will bre.ak and vary the distant scenery. The lines may vary ...
form and direction, may swell into strips, or clumps, or thickets ; form recesses, or be interrupted, accordmg
The route through some of themost dreary tracts in Germany and Kussia, and the
ing to circumstances.
well-known Strada di Campagna, in Italy, are in this ' ’ ' ' ’ ’ ’ ” • -• • •
way rendered tolerable. In'all this, though the
main object maybe beauty, yet utility m ust never be lost sight of. All plantations by arable lands should,
as much as possible, be bounded by straight, o r a t lea.st not very irregular lines, and connected with the
hedges or other fences already exi.sting ; few single trees or groups should be planted in the area of such
fields. In pastures, the worst soils and most exposed situations should be chosen, and such forms
adapted as may shelter the stock from all quarters, but especially from the storms and winds which more
generally prevail. In planting near cottages and villages, care should be taken not to render the atmosphere
unhealthy by stagnating the air, or to lessen the value of their yards and gardens by curtailing
their extent, or by excess of shelter and shade. Roads or lanes should on no account be injured, nor
the wator of streams and ponds rendered dark, discoloured by leaves, and unwholesome to mon or cattle.
In short, the planter, for effect, should never lose sight of utility, or plant in opposition to i t ; for though
he may produce particular sorts of beauty, and especially that lately so fashionable and justly admired
disposition of objects, called picturesque, which may he admired by a number for a tim e ; yet there is a
much more elevated and universal beauty, th a t of moral relation, or, in short, refined utility, which,
while men retain their social feelings, must ever be the most interesting to m ankind in general, aud will
therefore finally prevail.
5825. The outline o f plantations, made with a view to the composition of a country-residence, is guided
by thesame general principles ; whether the tr-ees are to b e disposed in regular forms, avowedly artificial;
o r in irregular forms, in imitation of nature (fig. 932.). The first thing is, in both modes, to compose a
principal mass, from which the rest may appear to proceed, or be, or seem to be, connected. In common
cases, it answers best to include or connect with this mass the house, kitchen and flower gardens (e) ;
from these other masses and groups should proceed, either connected, or, better, only seemingly so when
viewed horizontally. Their forms should be such, and so disposed, relatively to the ground and other
objects, and to each other, as to throw the pasture surface into broad masses (a, b, c, d), whieh become
wholes in their turn, and their connection and variation are heightened by the variety in the glades