iSgs- 



GARDENING. 



213 





•l/i 



roll it well. The heavier the roller is the 

 better. A two-horse roller is capital for 

 this purpose, but we mustn't use horses 

 to it when the f»routid is so wet that they 

 would leave the imprint of their feet in 

 (.he sod. Use a band roUcron a wet lawn, 

 a horse roller on drier ground. 



The Flower Garden. 



RAISING flflRDY PERENNIALS FROM SEED. 



1. When is "all danger of frost past" 

 so that one can sow seed chiefly of hardy 

 perennials? Will not the end of March 

 or first of April be safe in this climate? 

 Do not the plants do much better if they 

 are well started before the hot days of 

 |unc and even May? 



2. Are thej' not more likely to blossom 

 this year? 



:i. Cannot the seed perfectly well be sown 

 where the plants are desired to remain? 

 Is there any need of transplanting? The 

 other wav saves so much trouble as well 

 .•IS risk. ' X. 



South New Jersey. 



^ggy^p'^p^P^.- 



CbLORADO BLUE SPRUCE. 



top, 2 bushels of Kentucky blue grass' 

 and 2 pounds of white clover, well mixed 

 together, to the acre. I buy each kind 

 of seed separately and mix them myself. 

 But the lawn grass mixtures sold by 

 reputable seedsmen grow very well. 



When to sow the seed.-I prefer Septem- 

 ber, as then the young grass gets a good 

 hold before the winter sets in. But we 

 also sow in early spring. All small patches 

 are sown by hand, but for large pieces of 

 lawn we sow with Gaboon's broadcast 

 seed sower. After the seed is sown we 

 rake the ground lengthwise, then across, 

 with wooden rakes, and even it with a 

 band roller. No more is done till the grass 

 is up between one and two inches, when 

 we roll it again, to cause theyoung grass 

 to stool out better. Don't cut bare the 

 first summer, especially in hot weather. 



ToPDRESSiNG the Lawn.— We do not 

 use stable or farm yard manure for this 

 purpose for two reasons, first because it 

 is unsightly, secondly, because it certainly 

 introduces the seeds of weeds, and this we 

 wish to avoid. On a smooth lawn that 

 needs enriching we use commercial fertili- 

 zer, 600 or 700 pounds to the acre, with 

 exceedingly satisfactory results, using an 

 .\cme Fertilizer distributer, which can be 

 readily adjusted to spread any required 

 amount, of course the dressing may also 

 be sown from the hand. [Mr. Barker 

 doesn't mention what brand he uses, but 

 we know he uses both the Bradley and 

 the Bowker lawn dressing.— Ed.] I shall 

 topdress our lawns now just as soon as 

 the frost is out of the groimd enough to 



let the workmen walk on the grass with- 

 out leaving the impress of their feet. The 

 spring rains will wash the nutriment into 

 the soil. After topdressing we roll the 

 lawns to make them smooth for the mow- 

 ing machine. 



Unleached wood ashes.— I use this as 

 a topdressing withgood results, especially 

 where moss and chiekweed grow among 

 the grass. A good dressing two years in 

 succession will very materially lessen if 

 not eradicate both of these pests and give 

 a good soleof grass. John G. Barker. 



Supt. Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston. 

 March IC, 1895. 



1'KRTir.izKR i-oR Lawn.— A. N., New 

 York, asks: "What fertilizer would you. 

 recommend for a lawn on light sandy 

 soil?" At this time of year unleached 

 wood ashes at the rate of fifty bushels to 

 the acre; nitrate of soda at the rate of 100 

 lbs. to the acre; or Bowker's or Bnidley's 

 lawn dressing as per directions (be sure 

 of this) sent with the fertilizer. Nitrate 

 of soda should be used lightly, and in two 

 or three applications, a month or more 

 between them, rather than all at once. 

 In summer or fall make a pile of good 

 loam and barn or stable manure, say an 

 equal bulk of each, turn it to mix it, then 

 square ofl" the pile to rot and catch the 

 rain. And next November spread it over 

 your lawn one or two inches deep. 



To MAKE A LAWN S.MOOTH.— Have it 

 raked clean, then when the ground is 

 quite moist, say immcdi.-ilely after a rain. 



1. Hardy perennials such as golden 

 alyssum, white arabis(a/f«na), coreopsis, 

 larkspur, gaillardia,pyrethrum,heuchera, 

 gaura, evergreen candytuft, asclepias, 

 foxgloves, hollyhocks, phloxes, poppies, 

 and many others should be sown out of 

 doors as early in the spring as the ground 

 is drj' and mellow enough to work, and 

 without the least regard to subsequent 

 frosts, if any. The sooner they are sown 

 the better they will germinate, and they 

 will make good roots and get established 

 before summer sets in. But don't sow 

 them in wet ground, nor deep. 



2. That depends entirely on what kind 

 of plant it is. Gaillardias, larkspur, some 

 kinds of pinks, some kinds of bell-flowers 

 (Campanu/a), Iceland poppies, pyrethrum 

 and some other perennials bloom the first 

 year from seed almost as readily as if they 

 were annuals. On the other hand there 

 are many that won't bloom the first vear 

 no matter how or when sown. These in- 

 clude Oriental poppies, Koempfer's irises, 

 heuchera, asclepias, globe flower, day 

 lilv, columbine, thrift, golden alyssum and 

 the Uke. 



3. Yes, if you have lots of seed, and 

 will attend to thinning out the seedlings 

 before they begin to over crowd each 

 other. But after the little seedlings come 

 up, and you have got twenty- or a hun- 

 dred little plants in a space only big 

 enough for two, rather than pluck upand 

 throw away the surplus we believe j-ou'll 

 take a trow'el and pry them up carefully 

 and transplant them here and thereinto 

 empty spots in the borders. It iseasy to 

 do, and if done carefully and late in the 

 afternoon, and' they are given a little 

 water at the time they grow very nicely. 



SOWING ANNfALS. 



i. As regards when to sow these in the 

 open ground depends on what kind they 

 are. Annuals are divided into two classes, 

 namely hardy, and tender. Hardy an- 

 nuals " include mignonette, Drummond 

 phlox, sweet alyssum, pot marigolds, 

 pansies (almost' always treated as an- 

 nuals), candytuft, larkspur, Indian pink 

 ( treated as annual), Drummond'scoreop- 

 sis, sweet peas, seabios. cornflower, 

 eschscholtzia, gaillardia, and so on, and 

 these can be sown as soon as the frost is 

 out of the ground and it is dry and mel- 

 low enough to work, no matter what 

 frosts have yet to come. Tender annuals 

 comprise China asters, ten-week stocks. 



