. The book of the garden. Gardening. 584 FRUIT GARDEN. just as the blossom ia beginning to appear,'and on these the trusses of fruit will lie quite dry, secured from the splashing of mud during heavy rains, the moisture will be retained at the roots at the time it is most required for the plants, and all the advantages of increased heat will be secured to the fruit which more cumbrous and expensive means can afford. As soon as the crop is gathered, these tiles or slates should be removed, as being no longer useful. A refine- ment on this mode of preserving the fruit was proposed a few years ag
. The book of the garden. Gardening. 584 FRUIT GARDEN. just as the blossom ia beginning to appear,'and on these the trusses of fruit will lie quite dry, secured from the splashing of mud during heavy rains, the moisture will be retained at the roots at the time it is most required for the plants, and all the advantages of increased heat will be secured to the fruit which more cumbrous and expensive means can afford. As soon as the crop is gathered, these tiles or slates should be removed, as being no longer useful. A refine- ment on this mode of preserving the fruit was proposed a few years ago by Mr Roberts, who described his principle in a pamphlet. Of the utility of his plan there can be little doubt, were the expense of tiles employed not considerably greater than the value of ten crops of fruit. Fig. 243 represents Mr Roberts' plan ; a a bed Fig. KOBERTS* MOD£ OF GBOWING STRAWBERRIES. of young strawberry plants, with the tiles placed around them; 6 shows a bed with tUes placed down without the plants, c shows the end of a strawberry bed, with the fruit and foliage upon the tiles. In this latter circumstance, the utility, in â our estimation, of Mr Roberts'principle only con- sists. To place them around the young plants must be obviously injurious, as they would de- prive the roots of a considerable quantity of rain during their growing season. But to place them around the established plants, just as the blossom is appearing, is as obviously an advantage, as the fruit would lie dry and clean on their upper sur- faces. These tiles, as shown at h, have a semicir- cular hole cut out of their inner sides respec- tively, so that in placing them aroimd the plant, the leaves being carefully held up, one tile is placed on one side, and another on the other. Another advantage these tiles have over paving tUes or slates, as noticed above, is, that they stand on flange-like edges, thus allowing a cir- culation of air to act under them, and prevent- ing the cold a
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectgardening, bookyear18
