XXXI.
THE CARE OF YARDS AND
GARDENS.
FIRST, let us say a few words on the
Preparation of Soil. If the
garden soil be clayey and adhesive, put on a covering of sand,
three inches thick, and the same depth of well-rotted manure.
Spade it in as deep as possible, and mix it well. If the soil be sandy
and loose, spade in clay and ashes. Ashes are
good for all kinds of soil, as they loosen those which are close, hold
moisture in those which are sandy, and destroy insects. The best kind of
soil is that which will hold water the longest without becoming hard
when dry.
To prepare Soil for Pot-plants,
take one fourth part of common soil, one fourth part of
well-decayed manure, and one half of vegetable mould,
from the woods or from a chip-yard. Break up the manure fine, and sift
it through a lime-screen, (or coarse wire sieve.) These materials must
be thoroughly mixed. When the common soil which is used is adhesive, and
indeed in most other cases, it is necessary to add sand, the proportion
of which must depend on the nature of the soil.
To Prepare a Hot-Bed, dig a
pit six feet long, five feet wide, and thirty inches deep. Make a
frame of the same size, with the back two feet high, the front
fifteen inches, and the sides sloped from the back to the front. Make
two sashes, each three feet by five, with the panes of glass
lapping like shingles instead of having cross-bars. Set the frame over
the pit, which should then be filled with fresh horse-dung,
which has not lain long nor been sodden by water.
Tread it down hard; then put into the frame light and very rich soil,
six or eight inches deep, and cover it with the sashes for two or three
days. Then stir the soil, and sow the seeds in shallow
drills, placing sticks by them, to mark the different kinds. Keep the
frame covered with the glass whenever it is cold enough to chill the
plants; but at all other times admit fresh air, which is indispensable
to their health. When the sun is quite warm, raise the glasses enough to
admit air, and cover them with matting or blankets, or else the sun may
kill the young plants. Water the bed at evening with water
which has stood all day, or, if it be fresh drawn, add a little
warm water. If there be too much heat in the bed, so as to scorch
or wither the plants, lift the sashes, water freely, shade by day; make
deep holes with stakes, and fill them up when the heat is reduced. In
very cold nights, cover the sashes and frame with straw-mats.
For Planting Flower Seeds.
--Break up the soil, till it is very soft, and free from lumps. Rub that
nearest the surface between the hands, to make it fine. Make a circular
drill a foot in diameter. Seeds are to be planted either
deeper or nearer the surface, according to their size. For seeds
as large as sweet peas, the drill should be half an inch deep. The
smallest seeds must be planted very near the surface, and a
very little fine earth be sifted over them. After covering them with
soil, beat them down with a trowel, so as to make the earth
as compact as it is after a heavy shower. Set up a stick in the middle
of the circle, with the name of the plant heavily written upon it with a
dark lead pencil. This remains more permanent if white-lead
be first rubbed over the surface. Never plant when the soil is very wet.
In very dry times, water the seeds at night. Never use very
cold water. When the seeds are small, many
should be planted together, that they may assist each other in breaking
the soil. When the plants are an inch high, thin them out, leaving only
one or two, if the plant be a large one,
like the balsam; five or six, when it is of a medium size; and eighteen
or twenty of the smaller size. Transplanting, unless the plant be lifted
with a ball of earth, retards the growth about a fortnight. It is best
to plant at two different times, lest the first planting should fail,
owing to wet or cold weather.
To plant Garden-Seeds, make
the beds from one to three yards wide; lay across them a board a foot
wide, and with a stick, make a furrow on each side of it, one inch deep.
Scatter the seeds in this furrow, and cover them. Then lay
the board over them, and step on it, to press down the earth. When the
plants are an inch high, thin them out, leaving spaces proportioned to
their sizes. Seeds of similar species, such as melons and
squashes, should not be planted very near to each other, as this causes
them to degenerate. The same kinds of vegetables should not be planted
in the same place for two years in succession. The longer the rows are,
the easier is the after culture.
Transplanting should be done
at evening, or which is better, just before a shower. Take a round stick
sharpened at the point, and make openings to receive the plants.
Set them a very little deeper than they were before, and press the
soil firmly round them. Then water them, and cover
them for three or four days, taking care that sufficient air be
admitted. If the plant can be removed without disturbing the soil around
the root, it will not be at all retarded by transplanting. Never remove
leaves and branches, unless a part of the roots be lost.
To Re-pot House-Plants,
renew the soil every year, soon after the time of
blossoming. Prepare soil as previously directed. Loosen the earth from
the pot by passing a knife around the sides. Turn the plant
upside down, and remove the pot. Then remove all the matted fibres at
the bottom, and all the earth, except that which adheres to the roots.
From woody plants, like roses, shake off all the earth. Take the new
pot, and put a piece of broken earthen-ware over the
hole at the bottom, and then, holding the plant in the proper position,
shake in the earth around it. Then pour in water
to settle the earth, and heap on fresh soil, till the pot is even full.
Small pots are considered better than large ones, as the roots are not
so likely to rot, from excess of moisture.
In the Laying out of Yards and
Gardens, there is room for much judgment and taste. In planting
trees in a yard, they should be arranged in groups, and
never planted in straight lines, nor sprinkled about as solitary trees.
The object of this arrangement is to imitate Nature, and secure some
spots of dense shade and some of clear turf. In yards which are covered
with turf, beds can be cut out of it, and raised for flowers. A trench
should be made around, to prevent the grass from running on them. These
beds can be made in the shape of crescents, ovals, or other fanciful
forms.
In laying out beds in gardens and yards, a very pretty bordering can
be made, by planting them with common flax-seed, in a line
about three inches from the edge. This can be trimmed with shears, when
it grows too high.
For Transplanting Trees, the
autumn is the best time. Take as much of the root as possible,
especially the little fibers, which should never become dry. If kept
long before they are set out, put wet moss around them and
water them. Dig holes larger than the extent of the roots; let one
person hold the tree in its former position, and another
place the roots carefully as they were before, cutting off any broken or
wounded root. Be careful not to let the
tree be more than an inch deeper than it was before. Let the soil
be soft and well manured; shake the tree as the soil is shaken in, that
it may mix well among the small fibres. Do not tread the earth down,
while filling the hole; but, when it is full, raise a slight mound of
say four inches deep around the stem to hold water, and
fill it. Never cut off leaves nor branches, unless some of the roots are lost. Tie the
trees to a stake, and they will be more likely to live.
Water them often.
The Care of House-Plants is
a matter of daily attention, and well repays all labor expended upon it.
The soil of house-plants should be renewed every year as
previously directed. In winter, they should be kept as dry as they can
be without wilting. Many house-plants are injured by giving them too
much water, when they have little light and fresh air. This
makes them grow spindling. The more fresh air, warmth and light they
have, the more water is needed. They ought not to be kept
very warm in winter, nor exposed to great changes of atmosphere. Forty
degrees is a proper temperature for plants in winter, when they have
little sun and air. When plants have become spindling, cut
off their heads entirely, and cover the pot in the earth, where it has
the morning sun only. A new and flourishing head will spring out. Few
house-plants can bear the sun at noon.
When insects infest plants, set them in a closet or under a barrel,
and burn tobacco under them. The smoke kills any insect
enveloped in it.
When plants are frozen, cold water and a gradual
restoration of warmth are the best remedies. Never use very cold water
for plants at any season.
|
