May 10, 1919 



HORTICULTURE 



I. VI 



What The Users Say 



THE WORLD'S GREATEST MUSHROOM 

 PLANT 



We spent 5100,000 in building an<l equipping 

 (lu> largest modern mushroom plant In the 

 world V7e purchased in every instance the 

 I. .'St ..(* everything we could get. and the fact 

 thai we Installed a Kroeschell Boiler to fur- 

 nish nor heat is sufficient evidence of our 

 op| nlon of same. 



Since installing this boiler and operating it 

 we have never had any reason to change our 

 opinion. 



A Quick Steamer 



Water Tube Steam Boiler 



(Signed 1 FALMOUTH MUSHROOM 

 CELLARS, INC., 



FALMOUTH, MASS. 



Kroesctiell Bros Co., 



466 W. Erie St. 

 CHICAGO 



Men Who Know Boilers 



A WELL KNOWN CARNATION PRIZE 

 WINNER 



The carnation range of Mr. Nie Zweifel, of 

 Ninth Milwaukee, consists of nearly 70,000 sq. 

 ft. of glass and the water plant is heated by 

 a No. II and No. 15 Kroesctiell Boiler and 

 Kroeschell Generator. The product of the 

 planl is known throughout the West for Its 

 tin.- quality. Mr. Z. has used different kinds 

 of boilers. As for the Kroeschell. he says "I 

 think the Kroeschell Boilers are the best boil- 

 ers a florist can buy." 



(Signed) NIC ZWEIFEL, 



NORTH MILWAUKEE, 



WIS 



THE THINGS THAT COUNT 



Our Guarantee 



Neat in appearance 



Strong in design 



Easy, very easy to operate. Prices reasonable. Entire 



satisfaction. 



That's what you will find in Advance Ventilating 



Apparatus and Greenhouse Fittings. 



Write today for Catalogue. 



ADVANCE CO., Richmond. Ind. 



Difficult and rejected cases spe- 

 cially solicited. No misleading In- 

 ducements made to secure business. 

 Orer SO years' active practice. Ex- 

 perienced personal, conscientious 

 service. Write for terms. 

 Address 



SIQQERS & SlfiQERS 



PATONT LAWYERS 



Box ». National Union Bulldlnt 

 Washington, D. O. 



with a growth of sod, the necessity of 

 applying humus is not so urgent, as 

 the decay of the grass roots and tops 

 will supply any lack. In such cases 

 the addition of commercial fertilizer 

 in the proportion of 5 per cent nitro- 

 gen, 8 per cent phosphorus, and 10 per 

 cent potash, at the rate of 12 to 18 

 pounds to 400 square feet, will suffice. 

 The fertilizer having been evenly 

 distributed over the plot, the next 

 process is spading up the top soil or 

 plowing in the case of large areas. 

 Never attempt any work on the soil 

 when it is so wet as to be sticky. 

 When spading, the soil should be dug 

 up to a depth of a foot, if the good 

 earth extends that far, at the same 

 time thoroughly mixing in the fertil- 

 izer. All clods should be broken up 

 and large stones thrown out. If the 

 ground is covered with grass, the sods 

 should be buried grass side downward. 

 The surface should now be raked with 

 an iron-toothed rake until a finely pul- 

 verized seed bed is formed. Usually 

 the tramping the plot receives in the 

 process of fining the surface is suffi- 

 cient to pack the ground to the re- 

 quired degrep of firmness, as shown 

 by footmarks being barely discernible 

 when the plot is walked upon. If the 

 ground is not compacted sufficiently, 

 it will be necessary to consolidate it 

 by more tramping or by rolling with 

 a light roller. The surface must be 

 loosened to a depth of half an inch 

 or so with a rake, before the seed is 

 sown. 



When the plot is of such a size that 

 plowing is possible, the work of pul- 



verizing the soil after plowing, pre- 

 paratory to seed sowing, can with 

 advantage be done by using a harrow. 

 It will be necessary, however, to use 

 a rake for the finishing touches as In 

 the case of ground prepared by spad- 

 ing. 



A calm day should be chosen for 

 sowing the seed or there will be great 

 difficulty in distributing it evenly. Do 

 the work systematically. Divide the 

 seed into two equal portions. Take 

 one of these, and, starting at one end 

 of the plot, walk back and forth scat- 

 tering the seed as evenly as possible. 

 Keep the hand low and do not attempt 

 to cover too wide an area at a time. 

 The other half of the seed should be 

 distributed by walking over the plot 

 at right angles to the route traveled 

 in sowing the first portion. This in- 

 sures an even distribution of the seed. 

 If a large plot is to be sown, it is a 

 good plan to mark off the area into 

 several equal sized plots. Divide the 

 seed to correspond, and sow each plot 

 separately. This is very helpful in ap- 

 portioning the seed evenly all over the 

 area. 



When the seed has been sown, the 

 surface should be lightly raked to 

 cover the seed, and then rolled. If a 

 roller is not available, a tamper is a 

 fair substitute for firming the soil 

 about the seeds. A suitable tamper 

 can readily be improvised by sawing 

 about eighteen inches from a plank 

 two or three inches thick and a foot 

 wide. A hole should be bored in the 

 center of this and a handle of suitable 

 length inserted. A stout broom han- 



dle or an old shovel or spade handle 

 can be used for this purpose. 



It is not economical to sow grass 

 seed sparingly. When the grass seeds 

 are sown thinly a splendid opportunity 

 is offered to the weed seeds, of which 

 they do not fail to take advantage. 

 This necessitates much back-breaking 

 work to get the lawn clear of weeds 

 and may require even the breaking 

 up of the lawn and a fresh start. On 

 the other hand, a generous sowing of 

 seed ensures a good stand of grass 

 which will choke out many of the ob- 

 noxious weeds. The quantity to use 

 is one quart of seed to 300 square feet 

 A lawn may be seeded down either 

 in the spring or fall. If made in the 

 spring, the work should be done as 

 soon as possible after the soil is in a 

 friable condition. From the latter 

 part of March until the middle of 

 May conditions are usually suitable. 

 When the lawn is made in the fall, 

 weather conditions largely determine 

 the time of seeding. The seed may 

 be sown at any time from the latter 

 part of August until the beginning of 

 October. 



As soon as the grass is between 

 two and three inches high it should be 

 mown. The lawn mower should be 

 sharp and the blades set as high as 

 possible. If the ground is soft or 

 sandy it is a good plan to roll the 

 grass lightly a day or two before mow- 

 ing. This will compact the soil around 

 the grass roots and prevent the grass 

 from being pulled up when the mower 

 is used. — Montague, Free in Brooklyn 

 Botanic Garden Leaflet. 



