May I, 18S4.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



791 



excellent plan to buy yearling seedlings once transplanted, 

 and keep them iu a nui-sery for two or three years where 

 soil and climate are of similar character to those of the 

 proposed plantation. It is neither necessary nor desirable 

 to have the ground highly manured ; a strip of arable land 

 near the scene of our future operations, clean, and in ord- 

 inary condition, will answer ihe purpose, provided it is to 

 a free working nature. It should be well ploughed 6 in. of 

 7 in. deep, and then inclosed with rabbit proof fencir.j. Pre- 

 vious to bedding out, the surface may be well harrowed, and 

 weeds removed. Planting may be carried out during the 

 winter, i.e., from November to the end of March. We 

 advise placing the plants in rows six inches apart, and the 

 same distance in the rows. This admits of hoeing with a 

 4 in. hoe, and it is of great importance that all weeds be 

 removed. An acre of land will hold over a hundred and 

 seventy thousand plants. The trench may be made by insert- 

 ing the spade six inches deep and working it backwards and 

 forwards. Then the plants are placed carefully against one 

 side of the opening, the rootlets being straightened out and 

 fii-mly secured by trampling with the foot. If left sUghtly 

 on an inehne, they will soon recover an erect position. The 

 next year they shoidd be replanted on fresh groimd, nine to 

 twelve inches apart each way, and if reset a third time, at 

 least a foot to each will be required. When replanted, care 

 should be taken to sort them out according to si2e, so that 

 the plants may have an equal chance of growth. Exactly 

 smiilar arrangements should be carried out with other kinds 

 of timber. — Field. 



LA'WKS. 



Amongst the numerous things in a representative English 

 garden that present themselves to those who hail from 

 lands of sunnier skies than we are favoured with, there 

 are none that attract greater attention than our green 

 grass, which soil and climate alike favour. Kespecting the 

 latter, which we so often grumble at for its fickle be- 

 haviour, it is well to bear in mind that to its changefulness 

 we owe the perpetual greenness of our lawns, the long 

 spells of uninterrupted brightness in the sunnier climes w e 

 frequently are inclined to covet being fatal to the justly- 

 prized verdure which is undoubtedly the first feature in a 

 garden, as in its absence the brightest flowers are like pearls 

 in an unworthy setting. Still, with ohe favourable con- 

 ditions of alternate sun and shower, with the soil suited to 

 the growth of grass, our lawns are still far from being in 

 all cases what they should or would be, if then- construc- 

 tion and after-treatment were not at fault. 



Confining the question to the means requisite to secure 

 good permanent grass, it is all but neetUess to add that 

 in making a lawn, as in all other things connected with 

 the construction of a garden, local circumstances necess- 

 arily influence the proceedings. A course that would be 

 expedient to follow in one place would be wholly unsuited 

 in another. Whether turfiing or sowing be adopted, if a 

 satisfactory lasting green sward is looked for, there must 

 be a sufficient depth of soU, of fair quality, neither too 

 dry nor too wet. In the southern counties, where the rain- 

 fall is so much less than iu the north, when the subsoil 

 is of a sandy or gravelly nature, unless there is sufficient 

 fau-ly holding top soil the grass is sure to burn in dry 

 summers. A depth of 15 inches is not more than needful 

 to avoid this, and in making a lawn where a dry bottom 

 such as abovenamed exists, and the surface-soil is insuffici- 

 ent, enough of a suitable description should be added to 

 brmg It up to the required depth ; the cost incurred will 

 m the end be found to have been w ell spent money. The 

 patchy, unsightly appearance often seen in lawns, where 

 the grass in places is poor and weedy, or burns in dry 

 weather, is frequently traceable to faulty construction. 

 Where inequalities of the surface have required removal, 

 sufficient of the under-surface is frequently not rt moved 

 to allow the needful depth of top soil, thus entailing the 

 mischief named. The effects of this kind of defective work 

 are oftenest seen where the subsoil is of a clayey nature, 

 for although grass does not burn so readily on a cool bottom 

 of this mature, still it must have enough dtpth oi soil to 

 sustain the roots and admit their descending low enough 

 iu starch of the moisture required dming spells of dry 

 weather. 



On the other hand, there is frequently too much moisture 



present in land that has to be converted to a lawn, and 

 with some who happen to be engaged iu such work, there 

 is often a reluctance to dram, if it can be avoided, on 

 accormt of the subsidence that not unusuaUy takes place 

 afterwards, the end of which is not seen the last of for 

 years, but 01 which there is not the slightest reason to have 

 misgiviiigs if only suiilcieut care be taken to ram the mater- 

 ial m properly as the work of filUng the drains proceeds. 

 In draining a lawn, as hi the case of land for auy other 

 purpose, it is necessary to be guided by the nature" of the 

 soil, and also to bear iu mind the particular pmpose re- 

 quired. The deep, 5 or 6 feet <h-ains that sometimes find 

 aOyocates, filled up with solid earth, and that can only draw 

 off the water slowly, are all but useless in a lawn where 

 the land is at all of a retentive nature, and the object is 

 to get quit of the water with the least delay, so as to 

 make the surface fit to walk on in the least possible time 

 after a heavy rainfall. ^Yith this intention, whatever depth 

 the character of the laud may require the drains to be, 

 they should be fihcd up over the pipes with some kind 

 of porous material to within a foot or 15 inches of the 

 surface, or, in some cases nearer, so as to take the water 

 off readily. The advantages in lawn draining, where trees 

 are present, of filling in over the pipes with rubble, ballast, 

 chnkers, or similar open material, are twofold, as in ad- 

 dition to its accelarating the passage of the water it enables 

 the drains to act even if the roots, as they usually do, get 

 into the pipes so as to choke them. In heavy retentive 

 soil it is mistaken economy to underdo the work by plac- 

 ing the drains too far asunder ; if 15 feet apart they will, 

 as a matter of course, dry the ground so much quicker 

 than if a greater distance intervene. 



.Sowing. — In the importaut question of turfing or sowing, 

 here again local circumstances will in each individual case 

 decide. Where a lawn of considerable size is being made, 

 sowing effects a great saving in expense, beyond which it 

 has many advantages, not the least of which is that where 

 the requisite judgment is brought to bear iu selecting a 

 mixture such as best suited to the natme of the soil, the 

 result will be more satisfactory than with turf, such as is 

 procurable in most localities, for if the land has been pro- 

 perly prepared and effectually cleaned fiom weeds, there is 

 a certainty of an immunity from weeds and coarse grasses, 

 such as have usually more or less to be contended with 

 where turf is used. The idea that there needs be much 

 waiting in getting a good close surface when sowing is 

 adopted is a mistake ; providing enough good seed of the 

 right kinds is used, and the work collectively is done as it 

 should be, an exceptional surface will soon be the result. 

 Again, where the nature of the land and the climate are 

 such as to favour burning in dry suicmers, sowing has much 

 to recommend it, as grasses which can be selected natuially 

 strike deeper into the soil than are procurable in tmf from 

 cultivated land which is always sown with a view to pastur- 

 age, rather than with any. intention of its being used for 

 the purpose in question. Eut when sowing is determined 

 on, care should be taken to give time for all the seeds of 

 the worst kinds of weeds, such as Docks and Plantains, 

 that are near enough the surface to admit of then vegetat- 

 ing, to make their rppearance, and be destroyed. By this 

 means future hand-weeding, which otherwise would be ne- 

 cessary, will be avoided. This is a matter of no slight im- 

 portance, as the getting out of these and similar pests 

 necessarily entails the disturbance of the young giass, 

 which can Ul afford to have its roots interfered with. As 

 to the time of sowing, there is little to choose between 

 the latter end of March and the latter part of September. 

 Much depends on the unforeseen in regard to the weather; 

 the lains usually looked for about these periods are requisite 

 to get the seed to vegetate evenly. 



The weight of seed required per acre necessarily depends 

 on the character of the laud iu its needing a greater or 

 less proportion of heavy or light seeded grasses. Where 

 tuifing is decided on the best will invariably Le found the 

 cheapest. A good clean article, free from weeds and coarse 

 grasses, i.s cheaper at the top figure of its worth than 

 weedy indifferent material is, if obtainable for nothing, as 

 more than the first cost will have to be expended in 

 after-weeding. 



Tt;EiixG. — When possible turf should always be laid iu 

 autumn after the ground has been well moistened by the 

 rains we generally get then, as when cajrictl out at this 



