THE 



GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



AND 



HORTICULTURIST. 



DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE, ARBORICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS. 



Edited by THOMAS MEEHAN. 



Volume XVIII. 



JULY, 1876. 



Number 211. 



.LOWER ^ARDEN AND ^LEASURE MROUND. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



New sown lawns are liable to be crowded with 

 weeds. There seems no better remedy than to 

 hand-weed, filling the holes made with earth in 

 those oases where the roots are large. In some 

 cases this hand-weeding will have to be done for 

 two or three successive years. The seeds of the 

 common Plantain, for instance, do not all ger- 

 minate the first. It is often three years before 

 they all grow. The greatest labor is during the 

 first year of sowing, however. The increased 

 encouragement of the grass helps to keep down 

 weeds. 



Ornamental hedges that are thin at the base 

 receive much encouragement from cutting back 

 the strong top shoots. Indeed, this applies to all 

 growths, trees and shrubs, evergreens included. 

 Any check to the more vigorous shoots while 

 growing encourages the weaker ones. Remark- 

 ably beautiful specimens of anything may be 

 had by noting this. The branches are rendered 

 uniform in vigor by this sort of watchfulness, 

 and can be made regular from bottom to top. 



Plants set against walls and piazzas frequently 

 sufier from want of water at this season, when 

 even ground near them is quite wet. Draw 

 away the soil around each plant so as to form a 

 basin ; fill in with a bucketful of water, allowing 

 it time to soak gradually away, and when the 

 surface has dried a little, draw in loosely the soil 

 over it, and it will do without water for some 

 weeks. This applies to all plants wanting water 



through the season. If water is merely poured 

 on the surface, it is made more compact by the 

 weight of water, and the harder the soil becomes, 

 the easier it dries ; and the result is, the more 

 water you give the more is wanted. 



It must, however, be borne in mind that much 

 injury often results to the newly planted trees 

 from summer watering. The cold water cools 

 the ground, and we need some warmth in the 

 soil to encourage new roots to push. Still, trees 

 must have some water when the ground is dry, 

 but it must be used with caution. 



Amateurs may have some rare or choice 

 shrub they may desire to increase. They may 

 now be propagated by layers. This is done by 

 taking a strong and vigorous shoot of the present 

 season's growth, slitting the shoot a few inches 

 from its base, and burying it a few inches under 

 the soil, or into a pot of soil provided for the 

 purpose. The young growing point of the shoot 

 should be taken out in the operation. By the 

 English mode of making the slit, a great num- 

 ber of the shoots will be broken and spoiled. 

 Anything can be propagated by layers ; and it is 

 an excellent mode of raising rare things that can 

 be, but with difficulty, increased by any other. 



GOMMUNICA TIONS. 



ROSE— DUCHESS OF EDINBURGH. 



BY MR. E. LONSDALE, GERMANTOWN, PHILA. 



I send a flower — though it is a little past its 

 best— of the new tea rose. Duchess of Edin- 

 burgh. If you have not already seen it, I 



