The abridgement of the gardeners dictionary / [Philip Miller].

  • Miller, Philip, 1691-1771
Date:
1763
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The abridgement of the gardeners dictionary / [Philip Miller]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    925/958
    weather, which, in the winter time, is always joined with froft. Generally a moift and cool fummer betokens a hard win¬ ter likely to enfue. 7'he reafon is, that the vapours of the earth, not being difllpited by the fun in the fummer, do rebound upon the winter. A hot and dry fummer, efpecially if the heat and drought extend far in September, betokens an open beginning of win¬ ter, and cold to fucceed towards the latter part of the winter, and in the beginning of the fpring ; for all that time the former heat and drought bear the fway, and the vapours are not fufticiently multiplied. An open and warm winter portends a hot and dry fum¬ mer ; for the vapours difperfe into the winter fhowers, whereas cold and froft keep them in, and transport them into the late fpring and fummer following. When birds lay up Haws and Sloes, and other {lores, in old r.efls and hollow trees, it is a fign of a hard winter ap¬ proaching. If fowls or birds, which ufed at certain feafons to change countries, come earlier than the ufual time, they {hew the temperature of the weather, according to that country from whence they came ; as the winter birds, fieldfares, l'nipes, woodcocks, &c. If they come earlier, and out of the northern countries, they intimate cold winters likely to enfue with us. And if it be in the fame country, they {hew a temperature of feafon, like that of the feafon in which they come ; as bats, cuckoos, nightingales, and fwallows, which come towards fummer if they come early, it is a fign of a hot fummer to follow. Cold dews and morning rains, about Bartholome-m-tide, and hoar froft in the morning about Michaelmas, loretel a hard winter. WOODS and' groves are the greatefl ornaments to a country feat, therefore every feat is greatly defective without them j. wood and water being abfolutely neceflary to render a place agreeable and pleafant. Where there are woods already grown to a large fize, fo iituated as to be taken into the garden or park, or fo nearly adjoining, as that an eafy communication may be made from the garden to the wood ; they may be fo contrived by cutting of winding walks through them, as to render them the moll delightful and pleafant parts of a feat (efpecially in the heat of fummer), when thofe walks afford a goodly {hade from the fcorcning heat of the fun. As I have already treated of the ufe and beauty of wil- dernefi’es, and have giving directions for the making and planting of them, I (hall not enlarge much upon that head in this place ; therefore I {hall only give fome {hort inftruc- tions for the cutting and making of thefe wood walks, in thofe places where perfons arefo happy as to have any grown woods fo fituated as to be near the habitation, and are either taken into the garden, or walks made from the houfe or garden leading to them ; as alfo how to plant or decorate the fides of thefe walks with fhrubs and flowers, fo as to render them agreeable and pleafant; and then I (hall more fully treat of the method to raife and improve w oods, fo as to be of the greatell advantage to the poffdTor, and a pub- lick benefit to the nation. Where peifons have the convenience of grown woods rear their habitation, fo as that there may be an eafy com¬ munication from one to the other, there will be little occa- fion for wilderneffes in the garden ; firjee the natural woods may be fo contrived, as to render them much pleafanter than any new plantation can poffibly arrive to within the compafs of twenty years, where the trees make the greatefl pregrefs in their growth ; and in fuch places where their growth is flow, there cannot be expedited fliade equal to the grown woods in double that number of years; but there is not on¬ ly the pleafure of enjoying a prefent {hade from thefe woods, but alfo a great expence faved in the planting of wilder- nefies, which, if they hre large, and the trees to be pur- chafed, will amount to no fmall fum. If the wood is fo fruated, as that the garden may be con¬ trived between the houfe and that, then the walk into the wood fhould be made as near to the houfe as poflible, that there may not be too much open {pace to walk through in order to get into the fliade ; if the wood is cf fmall extent, then there will be a neceility for twilling the walks pretty much, fo as to make as much walking as the compafs of ground will admit; but there fhould be care taken not to- bring the turns fo near each, other as that any two walks- may be expofed to each other, for want of a fufficientr thicknefs of wood between ; but where the wood is large, the twifls of the walks fhould not approach nearer to each other than fifty or fixty feet; or in very large woods they fhould be at a greater diftance; becaufe, when the under wood is cut down, which will be abfolutely neceflary every tenth or twelfth year, according to its growth, then the wa’ks will be quite open until the under wood grows' up' again, unlefs a border of llirubs, intermixed with fome ever greens, i- planted by the fides of the walks ; which is what I would recommend, as this will greatly add to the pleafure of thefe walks. Thefe wood walks fhould not be lefs than eight or nine feet broad in fmall woods; but in large ones fifteen feet' will not be too much, and on each fide of the walks. The border of fhrubs and ever-greens may be nine or ten feet- broad ; which may be fo managed, as to fhut out the view from one part of the walk to the other at thofe times when the under wood is cut down ; at which times there will be an abfolute occafion for fuch plantations, and at all times they will afford great pleafure by adding to their variety,- as alfo by their fragrant odour. The former method, which was pradlifed in cutting 1 thefe walks through woods, was to have them as flrait as poflible; fo that there was much trouble to make ' fights through the woods, for diredlion how to cut them;- ! but where this was pradtifed, every tree which flood in the | line, good and bad, was cut down, and many times boggy | or bad ground was taken into the walks, fo that an expence j of draining and levelling was neceflary to render them pro- ; per for walking on ; befides this, there were many ocher in- , conveniencies attending thefe flrait cuts through woods, as, firfl, by letting in a great draught of air, which in windy weather renders the walks unpleafant; and thefe cuts will alfo appear at a great diftance from the woods, which will have a very bad effedt; therefore the modern pradtice of ! twilling the walks through woods is to be preferred. In the cutting of thefe walks there ftiould be particular care taken to lead them over the fmootheft and founded: part of the ground, as alfo to avoid cutting down the trees; fo that whenever thefe ftand in the way, it will be better to lead the walk on one fide than to have the tree Hand in the middle.; for although fome perfons may contend for the j beauty of fuch trees which are left Handing in walks, yet | it mull be allowed, that unlefs the walk is made much- ' broader in thofe places than in the other, the trees will oc¬ cafion obftrudlions to the walkers or riders, efpeciallywhen feveral perfons are walking together, fo that it will be much j better to have the walks entirely dear from trees; and where any large fpreading tree {lands near the walk, to cut I away the fmall wood fo as to make an opening round the ! trees, where there may be fome feats placed for perfons to rell under the flrade. The turns made in there walks ftiould be as eafy and natural as poflible ; nor fliou d there be too many of them, for that will render the walking through them difagreeable ; therefore the great {kill in making of>