1880.] 



A ND HOR TIC UL T URIS T. 



99 



been without Crocus bloom since October. C. 

 Imperati is about to open ; C. aurea will follow 

 it closely. Saxifraga Bursereana is showing its 

 scarlet buds and will soon be in bloom. — al- 

 though our Snowdrops make little progress. We 

 get earlier spring flowers than we did in Shakes- 

 peare's time. 



MAKING LAWNS. 



BY WALTER ELDER. 



To propei'ly make a lasting lawn, and to keep 

 ic in good order, taxes the highest skill of the 

 horticulturist, and when well executed, is the 

 masterpiece of ornamental gardening. Without 

 it all other improvements look insignificant. It 

 forms the green carpet upon which all orna- 

 ments are to be placed, and its bright verdant 

 hue imparts beauty to all. 



Instructors upon lawn making, generally ad- 

 vise subsoiling the ground. If this be done, it 

 should be a year previous to laying down the 

 lawn. It is not always best to do it, as the sub- 

 soil may be a stiff clay, or barren sand. I have 

 seen subsoil brought to the surface so poor that 

 not even beans, peas or corn would grow, — the 

 germs rusting and decaying away. The seeds 

 of grasses are small and succeed best in mel- 

 low and fertile soil. Several species of grasses 

 should be sown, and very thickly, to make a 

 close, green turf. Red top or herd grass, blue 

 grass, orchard grass and a little white Dutch 

 clover. The land should be manured the pre- 

 vious year to sovving the grasses. After digging 

 or plowing, harrow or rake fine, level up all 

 hollows, and roll firmly down. Then sow the 

 grasses, rake fine or harrow, then roll again. 

 The sowing time will be according to climate and 

 latitude. Between New York and Baltimore, 

 say from early March to middle of May, and 

 from early September to early in October, and all 

 the Fall after that. When grasses and weeds are 

 well up, roll well, and let them all grow until the 

 earliest weeds shoot up flower stalks, then mow 

 down with the scythe or horse-mower, and scat- 

 ter the cuttings evenly over the surface. When 

 they wither, roll again, and then rake all ofi". 

 On sandy lands, the summer mowings should be 

 seldom. On sloping lands and terraces or banks, 

 the grass should be let grow long in hot, dry 

 weather, unless artificial watering is at hand. 

 The lawn should not be weeded the first year, 

 but cut down all weeds when they bloom to pre- 

 vent them bearing seeds. Weeds may all be 

 taken out in late fall, and more grass seeds sown. 



Men with table knives, can get out a vast num- 

 ber of weeds in a short time. A thorough dig- 

 ging out of weeds, with table knives, will keep 

 the lawn nearly clean. Do it in late fall or 

 early spring. The lawn should be firmly rolled 

 down every spring. It is good to sow some 

 more grass seeds in late fall or early spring, so 

 as to ensure a close turf the next summer. 



Barnyard manure, so fermented and rotted 

 to kill all seeds of weeds in it, is the best fertilizer. 

 It should be spread equally over the surface in 

 fall or winter, as salt is a most excellent fertilizer, 

 when applied at the rate of five to ten bushels 

 to the acre. Marl mixed with plaster of paris 

 is beneficial on sandy lands. Guano, and all 

 the concentrated fertilizers are good, but their 

 effects are different upon diff'erent lands. Lime, 

 wood ashes and stone coal ashes should all be 

 compounded with soil a year before using, and 

 spread over the lawn in fall. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



The Polyanthus. — There are few more 

 beautiful plants in the early spring than the old- 

 fashioned Polyanthus, in its numerous varieties ; 

 but though hardy enough through the winter, 

 they are liable to suffer through the heats of 

 summer. In partially shaded rich garden bor- 

 ders they continue many years. 



Abies Mariesii — A New Japan Fir. — The 

 Gardener^s Chronicle figures and describes a new 

 species from Japan, having the general appear- 

 ance of Nordmann's Silver Fir, and named in 

 honor of Messrs. Yeitch's collector in Japan. It 

 is from Mount Nikko, at an elevation between 

 3500 and 7000 feet. 



Fragaria vesca. — This pretty species is a 

 native of our country, as well as of Europe, 

 though not as often met with as the Virginian 

 or common strawberry. It is the parent of the 

 Alpine class of garden fruits. It may be readily 

 distinguished by the smaller and more plaited 

 leaves. In riding through Fairmount Park, 

 Pliiladelphia, in mid-winter, the writer came on 

 a bank from which the snow had just melted, 

 and which was covered with these plants; the 

 evergreen leaves shone beautifully through the 

 melting snow, and suggested the beautiful effect 

 which they might give in the hands of those who 

 are just now interested in the " wild garden." 



Planting the Partridge Berry. — Peo- 

 ple often plant this in gardens for the sake of 



