TRANSACTIONS OF GALESBURG HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 225 



Mr. T. J. Hale introduced the subject of lawns and flower gardens 

 by saying that he had previously spoken on it at some length, and he 

 could, however, give his experience of last winter. He had just been 

 employed in repairing his lawn. The lawns looked patched this spring. 

 The severe winter has specially killed the white clover, and blue grass to 

 some extent. The lawn needs constant renovation and care. After going 

 over it with the wooden rake, and sowing the blank spots, he hoped that 

 in a few weeks it would recover from the effects of winter. His success 

 in lawn culture has been gratifying. His preparation of the ground gave 

 him grass earlier than in most lawns. Hunnewell has proved that in this 

 country and our climate a perfect lawn can be secured. He does this by 

 making up alternate layers of brush and earth and setting the brush on 

 fire, and thus burning the seeds that are in the earth ; he then uses the 

 earth as a top-dressing for his lawn, which prevents the introduction of 

 foreign seeds. This is a difficult process, yet the perfect lawn can not be 

 otherwise secured. Some try turfing, but this is a failure. A true surface 

 and a pure grass can not thus be obtained. Some seedsmen sell a mix- 

 ture of what is called lawn grass seed, but such mixtures are not favorable. 

 Pure blue grass — Poa pratensis — is the best seed for a lawn. A good 

 lawn, however, can not be obtained in one year. If the year is moist, 

 and otherwise favorable, the lawn may look well the first year, but this is 

 not commonly the case. A few years of care and an occasional restora- 

 tion are necessary, but when a good turf is once secured it can be retained 

 by moderate care ; winter-killed patches should be sown early, and« on 

 the surface, and may or may not need to be raked. Dandelions and plan- 

 tains should be exterminated, which may be done by cutting below the 

 crown of the plant. Some think that we are making too much of lawns, 

 but such small things make up the comfort of living in cities. Were all 

 our houses to be surrounded with nice lawns, Galesburg would become one 

 of the most beautiful and pleasant of cities. How little there is, gener- 

 ally, about houses in town or country that is beautiful or pleasing. In 

 this city the taste is manifestly improving, doubtless under the influence 

 of the Horticultural Society. 



Prof. Standish agreed with the last speaker in thinking that nothing 

 is so beautiful as a well-kept lawn. It is like a carpet of good colors 

 and forms ; the green of the lawn is the most pleasing of colors. As to his 

 own lawn, it was injured by allowing persons to walk over it. Last win- 

 ter, while the ground was frozen, he allowed a man to v/heel coal across his 

 lawn, not thinking that it would do any harm, but it has killed the grass 



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