242 



JOUENAL OF HOBTIODLTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEH. 



[ March 19, 1874. 



It is a fact that the majority ol ladies and gentlemen, eyen 

 when residing at their country seats, spend the greater portion 

 of their time within-doors ; and it is therefore necessary, as 

 one means of contributing to their enjoyment, that all dressed 

 grounds seen from the windows of the mansion be kept in as 

 orderly a state as possible. In some places the strength 

 allowed for the purpose of keeping lawns and other dressed 

 grounds in order is insufficient for the extent of ground to be 

 gone over. In such instances it is impossible for those who 

 have the work to do to maintain that order and neatness 

 without which dressed grounds lose their principal charms. I 

 think I am pretty nearly correct in saying, that to keep an acre 

 of lawn in first-rate order the year through requires as much 

 labour as the same extent of kitchen garden cropped in the 

 usual way. It is, however, difficult to make this understood by 

 those who have not had practical experience in the matter, or a 

 knowledge of the strength required to maintain good order in 

 both departments. 



If we would really have a fine lawn, with a sward like velvet, 

 exhibiting the hue of the emerald, we must keep it free from 

 all coarse-growing weeds, such as Dandelions, Plantains, etc. 

 Of all intruders amongst the herbage of lawns, the most diffi- 

 cult to keep under subjection is the round-leaved Plantain, 

 Plantago major. Nothing short of digging it out by the root 

 will be of use. If any portions of the roots are left they will 

 be certain to grow, and each become an independent plant, 

 thereby forming a mass where only one existed before. March 

 and April are the proper months in which to go over lawns for 

 the purpose of giving them a general clearing from weeds, and 

 applying a top-dressing where the condition of the sward re- 

 quires such. After the weeds are cleared off, the holes from 

 which they have been taken should be filled with fine soil, over 

 which, and all other bare spaces, scatter some Dutch Clover and 

 lawn-grass seeds. Then go over the whole surface with a bush 

 harrow, following with the roller. If the surface is dry when 

 the last two operations are being performed, all the better. As 

 a matter of course, regular mowing is necessary to keep up a 

 smooth surface, and this operation should not be neglected. 

 At the present day it is mostly performed with the mowing 

 machine ; but it is a good plan to go over lawns with the 

 scythe twice or thrico during the season. The best machines 

 will leave some bents uncut, which detract from the look of 

 the sward, and their removal requires an occasional applica- 

 tion of the scythe. All inequalities in the general level of the 

 surface should be done away with, as a few of these, whether 

 dipping below or rising above the general level, mar the look 

 of an otherwise fine sweep of lawn. 



In bringing heights or hollows to the desired level, in the 

 first place the turf must be removed from them and put on one 

 side; then, as the case may be, reduce or fill-up to the proper 

 level the spot causing the inequality, and replace the turf 

 again, finishing by making it hard and firm with the turf- 

 beater. In the case of filling-up hollows, allowance must be 

 made for the sinking of the fresh soil. It is therefore neces- 

 sary that the turf on these be left a little higher than that of 

 the surrounding sward. 



When levelling the surface of a lawn by pieceing, avoid as far 

 as possible using any turf but what is found on the spot. If 

 new turf from a pasture field is used, it will likely give to the 

 sward a patchy appearance ; and this is an undesirable feature 

 for the surface of a lawn to assume. Where many inequalities 

 exist on a lawn, the turf should be all taken off, and the surface 

 of the ground properly levelled and made moderately hard by 

 treading the whole with the feet; then, immediately before 

 replacing the turf, go over it with the rake for the purpose of 

 giving a little roughness to the surface before the turf is laid 

 upon it. The person who does the work of replacing the turf 

 should have at hand some fine soil for the purpose of packing 

 with, as the turf wiU not be all of a thickness. Every care, 

 however, should be taken at the time they are being cut to 

 have them of uniform breadth and thickness, more particularly 

 the latter, as if they are not so, much time is wasted through 

 having to remove or add fresh soil as the turfing proceeds. It 

 is therefore essential to making a good finish that the turf be 

 all of as near a thickness as it is possible to have it. As the 

 turfing proceeds it must be beaten down firmly, leaving the 

 surface smooth and regular, and when all is laid, have a good 

 rolling with a heavy roller. 



This plan of obtaining uniformity of surface is much prefer- 

 able and more economical in the end than attempting to do so 

 by dealing with spots hero and there, as all such patching 

 comes short of giving to the surface that fine finish obtained 



by lifting the whole breadth at onoe. — J. Hammond, Brayton. — 

 [The Gardener.) 



NOTES ON VILLA and SUBURBAN GARDENING. 



What can be done with the limited means of a two-light frame 

 towards producing a supply of Jiowers fur the drawing-roum 

 throughout the year, is a question difficult to answer, inasmuch 

 as we often see greenhouses containing extensive collections of 

 plants almost destitute of flowers from October until the follow- 

 mg April. However, if too much is not attempted — for the 

 amateur more frequently fails by attempting too much thau in 

 lieing satisfied with a few easily-cultivated but good plants — I 

 am confident that it is possible to have a few flowering plants 

 at all seasons, with the aid of a two-hght frame and other little 

 inexpensive contrivances which I shall hereafter explain. Be- 

 fore proceeding to show with what plants this desideratum may 

 be accomplished, I will premise that there must be no huddUng 

 of them together merely because they have a solitary flower or 

 a few green leaves upon them, but the whole frame must be 

 given to the plants enumerated, and after they have done flower- 

 ing they must not be returned to the frame, but be either thrown 

 away or preserved in a room or window until the following 

 summer. 



A two-light frame of the usual dimensions will cover an area 

 of 3G square feet, and, allowing ou au average each plant to 

 occupy half a square foot, will hold six dozen flowering plants, 

 or, as they will not all be in flower at the same time, say nine 

 dozen plants. 



Supposing, then, the season when there is the greatest diffi- 

 culty iu producing flowers, and when, in consequence, they are 

 the greatest hxxury, to commence in October and end in April, 

 the following plants will be most suitable. From October to 

 Christmas Chrysanthemums, Pelargoniums, Salvias, Cinerarias, 

 Primulas; Russian, Neapolitan, and other Violets; with Collin- 

 sias, Clintonias, and Mignonette. From December until March 

 the above annuals, with Violets, Primulas, Cinerarias, and the 

 following bulbs : Scillas, Crocuses, Snowdrops, Hyacinths, Tu- 

 lips, Narcissuses, and .Jonquils. From April imtil June the 

 whole of the above annuals, with Schizanthuses and Ten-week 

 Stocks, a variety of Chinese, Tea-scented, Bourbon, and other 

 Eoses, and a general assortment of Pelargoniums. In summer, 

 plants in rooms are not so much cared for ; and if they are, a list 

 of the kinds suitable is not necessary, as there are few persona 

 who are not acquainted with the plants best adapted for that 

 season. 



To give the treatment of all these plants would require con- 

 siderable space ; but as the time to commence their culture is at 

 hand, the necessary information respecting them will be given 

 shortly. In the meantime, persons intending to cultivate them 

 cannot be wrong in purchasing good varieties of any of the 

 above genera. 



After frosty nights and sunless days there is little warmth in 

 the earth. There will be no advantage in sowing annuals in 

 the borders for a fortnight to come. A collection of German 

 and Ten-week Stocks may, however, be sown at the foot of a 

 south wall, or in any other warm place where they can be pro- 

 tected at night in severe weather. 



A kitchen garden should be placed in the rear of the house, 

 and be as near as possible to both it and the stables, communi- 

 cating with each pretty easily and directly, and without the 

 necessity of going through the pleasure grounds. The reason 

 of these things is plain and simple. As a kitchen is in itself 

 generally kept at the back of the house, and the kitchen garden 

 has to be in communication with it, the two should be in close 

 proximity. The manure, also, from the stables, having to be 

 used in the kitchen garden, ought to be capable of being readily 

 applied, and hence the desirableness of connecting the two parts 

 as nearly as can be done. 



All round the inside of the kitchen garden, whether it has 

 walls or not, there should be a border of greater or less width, 

 that according to its aspect the various kinds of suitable plants 

 which take-up httle space or require a peculiar position may find 

 their proper place. Such borders are still more requisite when 

 there are walls to give space for the roots of fruit trees to spread 

 in them, and to bring the trees more thoroughly within reach. 

 They may vary in width from C to 12 feet according to the size 

 of the garden and the kind of tree that has to be cultivated in 

 tliem. Borders with a sunny aspect can be wider than such as 

 are colder and more shaded. 



On the inner side of the walks, and either at the front or back 

 of another small border, a good place for fruit trees treated as 

 espaliers wiU bo found. When walls are not used and there are 

 not enough of them for growing such things as some of the 

 better kinds of Pears, espalier fences will be a useful substitute, 

 and may sometimes be employed with advantage for Apples ; 

 likewise strong wire fences about C feet high are mostly pre- 

 ferred to wooden ones for appearance and durabiUty, and they 

 are also more convenient because of the smallness and round- 

 ness of the bars. In the absence of espaliers, however, these 

 inside borders may be appropriated to dwarf Pears, Apple, 



