beal: managing a botanic garden 515 



Occasionally a plant, like Indian hemp or bind-weed is inclined 

 to roam about instead of remaining where it is given a place. 

 An inclosure of cement is efficient. 



By repeated trials the writer has learned that rhododendrons, 

 azaleas, kalmias, and bluets will not flourish in the garden on 

 account of lime in the soil. 



After three to live years, some species of Helianthus and most 

 kinds of mint seemed to dwindle or poison the soil. The plants 

 or the soil had to be changed. 



After ten years, in spite of all we could do, insects disfigured 

 or killed nearly all umbellifers. We had to give them a rest or a 

 shift. Darwin and Wallace refer to similar incidents. 



Why not cover top and sides over a bog with a screen and grow 

 a nice assortment of mosses? The writer tried it for two years 

 and had to admit the effort was not a success. 



Spring is a busy time; for this reason we did as much work as 

 possible in the fall previous. At this time we w^ould mulch with 

 coarse sedges and avoid scattering seeds which make trouble the 

 next season. 



With few exceptions, unless the writer knew exactly what he 

 wanted, he found little satisfaction in exchanging or buying seeds; 

 it is very much more satisfactory to visit nurseries and gardens 

 when the display is good and secure living plants. 



For growing weeds, grasses, and other forage plants, the writer 

 adopted a formal style of squares or parallelograms, five or six 

 feet across, where he grew about three hundred species. What 

 seems nicer than to grow for comparison numerous species of a 

 genus side by side, as for instance species of Poa, Agrostis, Poly- 

 gonum, Brassica, and Trifolium? Don't do it, or you will soon 

 learn how much misery and perplexity can be got out of a small 

 piece of ground. 



Of weeds, grow those unlike each other in -adjoining plats; 

 mix in, as clover between grasses, or place a Poa, or Panicum, or 

 Aristida, a Bromus, a Festuca, the small kinds among those which 

 are coarser. 



The writer has helped half a dozen or more professors who had 

 admired his plats to start a weed garden or a grass garden. In no 

 case was it worth while, for the species were soon in hopeless con- 

 fusion. Where kept pure and well grown, plats are very inter- 

 esting, but a few things out of place destroy confidence. 



