THE IROQUOIS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



is drawn. In approaching our home, 

 the visitor should not be obhged to pass 

 a barnyard, or come in sight of pig pens 

 or heaps of reeking manure piles. In 

 most homesteads, these suggestions can 

 be observed and at no additional cost 

 or trouble. 



A good lawn is a thing of much beauty. 

 After the new house is erected, the clay 

 and gravel from the cellar should be 

 carted away, for it is almost impossible 

 to secure a good sod upon it or make 

 trees and flower flourish on it. With 

 the plow, harrow and roller a level or 

 sloping surface can be made in front 

 and around the house in a few hours 

 and a suitable mixture of seed can be 

 got from any seedsman for a trifling sum. 

 For a year or two, it will require rolling 

 in spring and a coating of well rotted 

 manure in the fall. A lawn-mower will 

 be necessary, if you would have a per- 

 fect lawn. A sharp scythe, however, 

 will do very well. I would avoid dis- 

 figuring a nice lawn by cutting it up by 

 too many flower beds or too much shrub- 

 bery. Nothing is nicer than the broad, 

 level, velvety-green of nature. Place 

 your flower garden away from the front 

 of the house and your shrubbery in 

 clumps at the sides of the lawn A 

 plam board walk from the gate to the 

 entrance is cheaper and more easily 

 kept in order than a gravel walk. 



And now a few words about the trees. 

 In the first place, they should not be 

 near enough to shade the house. The 

 sunlight is needed to keep off mouldi- 

 ness and dampness, which are deadly 

 enemies to the health of the inmates. 

 Do not plant too many trees about your 

 houses or too near together. Choose 

 trees for home adornment and shade 

 that have straight trunks and that may 

 be trained and have well-shaped tops. 

 The maple is largely planted and rightly 

 so, but let me suggest the propriety of 



trying a few basswoods, with their clean 

 smooth trunks, broad leaves and pendent 

 white flowers. They grow very fast also, 

 which is a great consideration. If the 

 beech were a fast grower I know of no 

 tree I would prefer to it. If you plant 

 evergreens, do not cut away the lower 

 branches. They should form a perfect 

 cone, the base of which rests on the 

 ground. I would not allow trees to 

 rem.'.in on the home grounds till they 

 become too large or begm to decay. 

 Around some houses you will see old, 

 ragged specimens of balsam or spruce 

 that have been trimmed of side branches 

 to the height of twelve feet or .more. 

 Their usefulness has gone. I would ad- 

 vise farmers to be content with our 

 native trees, which he can get from the 

 woods without cost. But if we desire a 

 variety, let us get a few of the Mountain 

 Ash, Chestnut, Sweet scented Locust, 

 and that most beautiful tree, the Cut- 

 leaved Birch, and any others that are 

 hardy. In transplanting, especially the 

 evergreens, care should be taken to cov- 

 er the roots with a wet blanket or in 

 some way keep them from drying. I 

 would not advise planting apple trees on 

 the lawn, for fruit bearing keeps their 

 tops too low and drooping. While 

 young, it must be admitted that their 

 flowers in spring and fruit in autumn are 

 beautiful indeed. 



If the house is at a sufficient distance 

 from the public road, the driveway may 

 be hned on each side with trees. In a 

 few years you will have a leafy arch 

 overhead like the nave of a gothic cathe- 

 dral. The matter of tree planting and 

 culture is beginning to receive better at- 

 tention. If all farmers would follow it 

 up judiciously not only near the resi- 

 dence but along line fences and else- 

 where, the amount of rain fall would be 

 largely increased ; winds would be 

 broken in their destructive career, and 



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