354 OENAMEKTAL GARDENING. 



In running a lawn mower, the oi^erator should be par- 

 ticular to always set both sides at the same hight, so that 

 the surface of the grass may be even when the work is 

 done. That no lines of uncut grass should be left, ought 

 to occur to every mower, yet lawns may sometimes be 

 seen that show defects of this kind. 



WEEDS. 



A large share of the annoyance in gardening comes 

 from weeds. It is really surprising how soon slight neg- 

 lect will show multitudes of weeds in lawn, walks, and 

 elsewhere. A little labor judiciously applied, will easily 

 keep a place clear of these. A great secret is to attack 

 weeds when they are small, so small that they will not 

 require removal when cut off. If this is done at the 

 right time, it will be less work to keep a garden thoroughly 

 clean than to keep it half clean. Now weeds are gross 

 feeders, and rob the garden plants of food and moisture. 



The best way to remove spreading weeds, like plantain, 

 dandelion, docks, etc., from the lawn, is to cut them off 

 just below the crown, disturbing the soil as little as pos- 

 sible. Any holes that appear should be filled with earth, 

 and the grass will soon spread over these spots. By cut- 

 ting out every two weeks all that appear, every noxious 

 weed may soon be exterminated, for no plant can live if 

 its leafy or above ground portion is persistently destroyed 

 every time it appears. Coarse grasses, unfit for lawns, 

 sometimes start up from seeds carried in by the wind, 

 and these must be treated as any other weeds. Allowing 

 any kinds of weeds to go to seed in the ornamental gar- 

 den is the hight of mismanagement. 



For ridding walks of weeds, salting is the best plan, 

 except near the edges, where salt will kill the roots of 

 grass or plants that come near, here they must be hand- 

 picked. 



