(296) 



character, viz : the weeding and necessary cultivation of the 

 beds in the fruticetum and borders and of the large rose bed, 

 and of the circles around the trees in the arboretum and pine- 

 tum ; the weekly mowing of grass around the conservatories, 

 on the triangle, and on the areas in the vicinity of the station 

 and of the museum, such portions as could not be advantage- 

 ously cut with the horse-mower ; the pruning of shrubs and 

 trees ; and the trimming of paths and roads. The larger part 

 of the mowing was accomplished with the horse-mower by 

 one of the drivers detailed for the purpose. 



Upon the cessation of outdoor gardening operations, the 

 laborers detailed for this purpose were transferred, two of 

 them being placed with a gardener who is in charge at present 

 of tree-felling, the remainder again reporting to the superin- 

 tendent. A number of trees in the vicinity of the lakes and 

 the nurseries and in the wooded areas have died from one 

 cause or another, or have been blown down, and their removal 

 is necessary. Two dead trees along the lower lake, four in 

 the hemlock forest, blown over during a heavy rainstorm, and 

 several in other parts of the grounds, have already been re- 

 moved, and the wood secured has been stored in the vicinity 

 of the propagating houses for fuel. 



The gardener in charge of the herbaceous grounds, with 

 the assistance of a wagon and driver, has been kept busy for 

 several weeks mulching with manure the beds in the her- 

 baceous grounds and fruticetum, the west border and adjacent 

 rose bed, and the shrub beds in the vicinity of the museum 

 and station. The remaining outside gardener, unless other- 

 wise employed, is detailed for work in the conservatories. 



Another important work being prosecuted is the forming 

 of leaf-mold piles. The same force employed in mulch- 

 ing the beds, with the addition of an extra gardener, are en- 

 gaged part of the time in this necessary matter. Two of 

 these piles were made the early part of the year, resulting by 

 fall in a fine quality of leaf-mold. Too much of this material 

 cannot be secured, as it is extensively used both at the prop- 

 agating houses and in the conservatories. 



