76 Nebraska State Horticultural Society. 



weeds down at all times, since they rob the plants of moisture. Keep- 

 ing the surface of the ground loose with a hoe will also check the los3 

 of water by evaporation. The trees and shrubs and many of the larger 

 flowers may be mulched to advantage, using straw, hay, or any coarse 

 material which can be obtained in the neighborhood. If nothing better 

 can be had, mow the large weeds and use them for a mulch. They 

 ought to be mowed anyway. A good time to apply the mulch is just 

 before school is out for the summer. The very best way to keep the 

 weeds down and hold moisture while school is in session is to cultivate 

 the surface soil with a hoe or rake; then apply the straw just before 

 school is out and let this mulch keep the weeds down and hold the 

 moisture in the ground for you during the vacation. 



The trees and shrubs will need some pruning. The shade trees in 

 front of the school house should be pruned up high enough so that tlie 

 limbs will not interfere with the people who may walk under them. 

 Trees, however, which are massed at the sides of the grounds to serve 

 as a background for the shrubs and flowers and also as a protection 

 from winds, should not be pruned up very high. They should rather 

 be encouraged to make a dense growth. The shrubs will need litt' 3 

 pruning except the removal of weak or injured branches. Sometimes 

 old shrubs that are not doing well can be helped by thinning out th? 

 top somewhat. 



Most of the flowering shrubs and all of the hardy herbaceous 

 perennials will need some fertilizing. True, they will grow in ordinary 

 soils without this, but if some patron can be induced to supply the 

 school with a load of fine, well-decayed barnyard manure, it will im- 

 prove the shrubs and flowers wonderfully. It is ordinarily best to work 

 this into the ground with a spading fork. Sometimes coarse stable litter 

 will serve for both a fertilizer and a mulch. In this case of course it 

 would be spread over the surface of the ground and allowed to remain 

 during the summer, fall, and the following winter. It should be spaded 

 in, however, the next spring and the ground kept cultivated during 

 early summer. 



If lawn grass is to be grown on any part of the school grounds, it 

 should, of course, be mowed occasionally. It is best, however, especially 

 in dry situations, not to mow the grass too short nor too late in summer. 

 A dressing of fine barnyard manure applied in the fall will be found 

 beneficial to almost any sod. In very dry places it would be best not 

 to attempt to grow the common lawn grasses, such as blue grass and 

 white clover, but to seed the ground to brome grass or even alfalfa. 



What School Gardens Are. 



School gardens may or may not be located on the school ground. 



