CHAPTER IX. 



Landscape Gardening. 



WE can do little better than to touch upon the 

 most common and practical points in this 

 work. Elliot and Downing have covered the ground 

 with extended works, and the reader is referred to 

 them, especially the latter, for such instruction as 

 cannot be given here. 



The principle objects that will the most please 

 the eye in a landscape are green grass, trees, flowers 

 and water. Hills and mountains are grand and 

 impressive, but cannot be considered except as 

 they are sometimes introduced in miniature, to- 

 gether with grottos of rocks and earth, rustically 

 arranged. 



To prepare the ground for the lawn, it is not 

 best to try to save the natural sward by the intro- 

 duction of proper grasses. The ground should be 

 plowed carefully, and if not naturally fertile, it 

 should be made so. Drag and plank and finish with 

 the hand rake, at the same time working in blue 

 grass seed liberally, and a smaller proportion of 

 white clover. It will be two, and sometimes three 

 years before a good sward is obtained, but during 

 the time, such trees and shrubs as are wished can 

 be established. 



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