THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



347 



like Big Business ; ten years from now he will be a bigger 

 business than the unimaginative person realizes. — Coun- 

 try Gentleman. 



Of course, you need a foot 

 SEASHORE of soil from some good old 



LAWN MAKING. pasture land. We all know 

 that. But before starting 

 here is something which very few know (at least I didn't 

 know until Paul Huebner told me), a four or five-inch 

 layer of salt hay ! Not a thin spreading, but a good thick 

 covering. Six inches wouldn't hurt. Another important 

 pqint : Before you put the soil on dampen the salt hay. 

 Turn the hose on strong. That solidifies it and keeps 

 the soil from getting through. Mr. Huebner states that 

 it is wonderful how long this salt hay layer lasts. There 

 seems to be some important chemical reaction which 

 cannot be easily explained ; but anyhow — there's the 

 wrinkle. The salt hay layer keeps the good soil from 

 leaching away and your lawn is a success. We have 

 been long familiar with the layer of clay underneath for 

 the same purpose. Salt hay is just as good if not better 

 than clay and far cheaper. This wrinkle takes its place, 

 if I'm spared to tell it often enough, with the crab-grass 

 remedy. 



As for the seeds to sow for a lawn at the seashore 

 there's nothing better than "a good lawn mixture" com- 

 posed of about ten varieties, including: Poa pratensis, 

 Cynosurus cristatus. Festuca duriuscula, Agrostis stoloni- 

 fera, and other dwarf, fine-leaved perennial sorts — such 

 as all first-class seed houses know how to formulate. — • 

 George C. Watson in "Horticulture." 



The horticultural school at 

 THE GERMAN Oppenheim, Germany, besides 



WAY. giving instruction by lectures 



and furnishing practical aid 

 to the farmers, has introduced "model vineyards." The 

 school and the vineyard proprietors enter into a five-year 

 contract by the terms of which the school exercises super- 

 vision over the vineyards and the vineyard owner agrees 

 to follow the directions of the school in every particular. 

 The school makes no charge for this service. There 

 are about a dozen such "model vineyards" in the Grand 

 Duchy of Hesse. 



Rhododendrons are not very 

 SOMEONE'S adaptable plants, if an ac- 



OPPORTUNITY. count were. kept of the suc- 

 cesses and failures, the latter 

 would be greatly in excess, at the same time it is the 

 opinion of all who see a lot of healthy plants in flower 

 they are worth striving for. 



The one serious obstacle to growing these beautiful 

 plants that cannot well be overcome by artificial means is 

 the presence of lime or alkali in soil or water. If these 

 are present, eftort will be sure to end in failure or only 

 very moderate success. 



The soil that suits them best is a peaty one, although 

 good fibrous loam with a liberal quantity of sand and 

 cow manure makes a good compost for them. 



The essentials are well drained position, yet where it 

 is constantly moist, protection from bleak cutting winds 

 in winter and hot dry ones in summer. 



They are not a deep rooting plant, but very fibrous and 

 near the surface, so that cultivation should be avoided. 

 In its place a mulch of decaying leaves or other light 

 material will serve to prevent the weeds growing and 

 conserve moisture. 



The native American Rhododendrons are R. maximum 

 and grows wild through the Alleghenies from New York 

 to Georgia and is even found as far north as Maine and 



as far west as Ohio in favored locations. It blooms in 

 July and is pale rose color or nearly white. 



R. Catawbiense is a Southern species growing in the 

 Alleghenies from Virginia to Georgia ; it flowers a little 

 earlier, does not grow quite so large and the flowers may 

 be described as a lilac purple. 



The imported ones are garden varieties or hybrids of 

 R. ponticum. They have a range of color, bloom early in 

 the spring. 



Some varieties are much hardier than others and on 

 this account better adapted for planting out of doors, 

 while others are only suitable for greenhouse culture. 



There is undoubtedly a future for some enterprising 

 young nurseryman who would make a study of these 

 plants and a success in growing them and their allies as 

 the demand is unlimited. — National Nurseryman. 



DAMAGE BY GAS. 



I\Ir. William Turner, superintendent of the Borden es- 

 tate at Oceanic, N. J., reports a practically total loss of 

 many fine plants and orchids contained in the green- 

 houses, due to a gas leakage. 



After discovering that the plants were suffering from 

 some unexplainable cause which had already run the loss 

 up into thousands of dollars, it required several days to 

 trace the difficulty which was causing the damage, when 

 one morning a deadly gas was found present, so pro- 

 nounced that there was no disputing the fact. Then the 

 question arose where it was possible that the gas could 

 come in as there were no gas pipes nearby. After hunt- 

 ing high and low, and almost giving up in despair, the 

 water meter was examined and from there the gas was 

 found pouring in. The gas company at once found a 

 severe leak in the gas main out in the road, that in turn 

 penetrated into the sewer, which connected all the houses. 

 The fact that the gas had so many outlets made it diffi- 

 cult to detect it as gas, although a peculiar heavy atmos- 

 phere which it is strange to say was not disagreeable, was 

 at times noticeable. 



Although a month has passed, and while some of the 

 houses have fairly recuperated, permitting a fair cutting 

 of sweet peas, carnations, etc., the orchids, however, are 

 still great sufferers ; it looks as though some of them will 

 be restored to health and vigor, but it will take a long 

 time. Other plants which did not show any sufl^ering at 

 first are now developing in a diseased state with their 

 leaves dropping ofif. Mr. Turner believes it will take 

 three or four years at the best before all traces of this 

 damage can be removed from the plants that can be 

 saved. Possibly even after nursing them for some time 

 it may be found that many of the fine plants will have to 

 be discarded. This time alone can decide. 



GARDEN DESIGNS 



-Free=" 



VXT'E have prepared for distribution 



a few very novel and beautiful garden 

 designs that will strongly appeal to every 

 artistic gardener. 



Copy of plans will be mailed you for the asking 

 together with our beautifully illustrated 19 13 catalog con- 

 taining 160 pages of seeds, bulbs, garden tools, etc. 



Drop us a postal for the Garden De- 

 signs and Catalog be/ore you forget. 



J. M. THORBURN & CO., "^^rro.f"* 



