196 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[July, 



for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Do 

 not hit them on the nose with a stick, or they 

 will surely die. 



Wherever a tree or a shrub can be planted it 

 is customary to i5ut one in, and it has not always 

 a happy effect. Even while the trees are small 

 the lawn is overcrowded; and as they grow, this 

 becomes worse, until it is thought necessary to 

 butcher some of them, and frequently they all 

 share the same fate and are shorn of their limbs 

 until they show the form of some of the letters 

 of the alphabet. The appearance of a lawn is 

 thus disfigured for years, when it would have 

 been at once improved by entirely removing a 

 sufficient number of trees and leaving the others 

 untouched. A better plan of planting would 

 be — wherever a tree can be omitted, leave it out. 

 The nurseryman might dispose of fewer stock, 

 but there would be a greater number of sightly 

 lawns, and many more handsome trees than are 

 now to be seen. Probably the best planted 

 place in this neighborhood, is that of Mr. Red- 

 wood Warner, on School lane. The dwelling 

 stands at a considerable distance back, and there 

 is an unobstructed view of it from the road, over 

 a long stretch of a most beautiful and well-kept 

 lawn. But even here ,the eftect is slightly 

 marred by a few trees badly situated, which sug- 

 gest the thought that they were left over after 

 the planting was finished, and were put there 

 out of place rather than be thrown away. 



How a fine lawn may be abused by neglect 

 and ignorance, is well shown in Independence 

 Square; it was sodded at a great expense, and 

 for the first year it was really handsome, being 

 frequently cut, which at that time was all it 

 needed. Since then it has been gradually get- 

 ting worse, and bids fair to again become a dis- 

 grace to those having it in charge. The money 

 spent on it should have sufficed to keep it in 

 perfect order. The edgings are seldom, if ever 

 trimmed; and the ground is uneven, being full 

 of hollows and hillocks which render it impossi- 

 ble to cut the grass well ; and bare spots of earth 

 are interspersed with long tufts of grass which 

 no machine can cut. With the labor which has 

 been expended on it, there should have been a 

 surface perfectly covered with good, smooth, 

 velvety sod. 



Manures are as much benefit to grass as to 

 any other plant. After planting of course they 

 can only be used as a top-dressing. Ground bones 

 decompose slowly, and their etlect though last- 

 ing, is not shown immediately. Slaked lime in 



fine powder has a tendency to destroy the moss 

 which sometimes appears among the grass. Bones 

 and lime may be used at anj^ season. Guano 

 and other similar concentrated manures should 

 be applied in wet weather ; at other times they 

 are hurtful. Liquid manures, used while the 

 grass is growing, is an excellent fertilizer. In 

 the Fall a top-dressinir of stable manure may be 

 used, to be raked off" early in the following Spring. 

 Always bear in mind, that being entirely orna- 

 mental, a lawn is made to be admired ; to deserve 

 this admiration it must be well kept ; to receive 

 it, it must be seen. Therefore, abandon front 

 hedges and heavy fencing ; cut and roll fre- 

 quently, and after the first Spring cleaning aI)ol- 

 ish the rake ; avoid excessive planting of trees, 

 shrubs or flowei--beds ; if a tree needs extensive 

 pruning, cut it down at once, and in every possi- 

 ble way encourage the grass and discourage the 

 weeds. The lawn will then give pleasure to all 

 who see it. 



EDITORIAL NOTES 



The Red Maple. — The Red Maple has been 

 in use for ornamenting grounds for many years ; 

 but not to the extent that its beauty and general 

 adaptability claim for it ; but its merits are as- 

 serting themselves. A beautiful avenue was 

 planted with them in Fairmount Park last Spring, 

 and a correspondent of the London Garden^ 

 points out how beautiful are the few specimens 

 in Kew Gardens, and the great beauty a wider 

 use of them would give to an English landscape. 



Additional ]SroTE on the Tree Alpha- 

 bet. — Jonathan Rees, Phcenixville, Pa., writes 

 that "it might be well to substitute other things 

 for Dogwood, Sassafras, and Juniper, if others 

 could be had to do as universally well with the 

 same initials." 



PuuNUS TRILOBA. — The double variety of this 

 Japan plant is now becoming common under cul- 

 ture. The flower is ephremeral, but beautiful 

 while it lasts, being a good companion to the 

 double Almond. It is liable to the same disease 

 as the last named plant; whole branches die in a 

 night, like the " Fire blight" in the Pear. 



The Double Chinese Cherry. — This proves 

 a valuable companion to tbe old pure white kind. 

 The fiowers are very large, and of a rosy pink 

 when opening, becoming white at maturity. 



PitoPAGATiXG Mistletoe. — There seems to 

 be no difficultv about this when there is not too 



