SHADING. 211 



danger of their being blown away, brush laid over them, 

 or even a little earth sprinkled on them, will keep them 

 in place. Tan-bark and sawdust may serve for some 

 uses, but they are very bad for Stra\> berries, their finer 

 particles being about as objectionable as the soil. One 

 of the best materials to use for Strawberry mulching is 

 the green grass mowed from lawns. This, applied to the 

 thickness of two or three inches around the roots of 

 Strawberries or other small fruits, will be found not only 

 to greatly benefit the crop, particularly in dry weather, 

 but will save greatly in labor by preventing the growth 

 of weeds. One of our best private gardeners in the vicin- 

 ity of New York has adopted this summer mulching with 

 the grass from the lawn for nearly twenty years, and has 

 succeeded in growing all kinds of small fruits in the 

 highest degree of perfection. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



SHADING. 



In mulching the object is to prevent evaporation from 

 the soil, as well as to shield the roots from sudden 

 changes of temperature. It is often necessary to protect 

 the whole plant in this respect, and this is accomplished 

 by shading. Although, on a large scale, we can do 

 little in the way of shading plants in the open ground, 

 yet the amateur will often find it of great utility, as 

 screening will frequently save a recently transplanted 

 plant, which without it would be quite ruined by a few 

 hours' exposure to the sun. For shading small plants in 

 the border, such as transplanted annuals, a few shingles 

 will be found very useful. One or two of these can be 

 stuck in the ground so as to completely protect the deli- 



