LAYING OUT THE LAWN AXD FLOWER GARDEN. 9 



CHAPTER IL 



LAYING OUT THE LAWN AND FLOWER GARDEN. 



The Lawn* The preparation of the Lawn is usually 

 preliminary to the laying out of flower-beds in grounds 

 having pretensions to what is called Landscape Garden- 

 ing. The preparation for the lawn is too often hastily 

 and imperfectly made ; it is the foundation of all subse- 

 quent operations, and if imperfectly done at first, the fault 

 can never be remedied afterward. The first point is to 

 get the grounds shaped to the desired grade, taking care 

 in grading, that when hills are removed, sufficient subsoil 

 is also removed, to be replaced with top soil ; so that 

 at least 6 inches of good soil will overlay the whole in all 

 places. When the grading is finished, drains should be 

 laid wherever necessary, then the whole should be thor- 

 oughly plowed, a subsoil following in the wake of the 

 common plow, until it is completely pulverized. A 

 heavy harrow should then be applied until the surface is 

 thoroughly fined down ; all stones, roots, etc., should be 

 removed, so that a smooth surface may be obtained. The 

 lawn is now ready to be sown ; when the seed is sown, a 

 light harrow should again be applied, and after that a 

 thorough rolling given, so that the surface is made as 

 smooth as possible. In the latitude of New York, the 

 seed may be sown anytime during the months of April 

 and May, and will form a good lawn by August, if the 

 preparation has been good ; if sown in the hot months of 

 June or July, a sprinkling of oats should be sown at the 

 same time, so that the shade given by the oats will pro- 

 tect the young grass from the sun. Lawns are also some- 

 times sown during the early fall months with excellent 

 results. For small plots, of course, digging, trenching, 

 and raking must be done instead of plowing, subsoiling, 

 I* 



