350 WEEDING. 



gravel-walks. In pleasure-ground walks there are no easier methods 

 of keeping them clear of weeds than by the use of Fleming's salting- 

 machine. Walks have likewise been made of concrete, which is so 

 hard as to prevent the weeds laying hold of them. Asphalte, with a 

 sprinkling of bright shingly gravel rolled into it before it has quite 

 cooled down, makes one of the cleanest and brightest weed-proof 

 walks. 



Weeds in lawns or grass-walks include all the broad-leaved plants 

 which spring up among the proper grasses, not even excepting the 

 clovers, commonly sown with them to give the grass a better hold of 

 the scythe in mowing. All these broad-leaved plants, and even all 

 broad-leaved grasses, such as the cocksfoot, ought to be weeded out if 

 it is intended to have a perfect lawn, which to be so ought to resemble 

 a piece of cloth in uniformity of texture and appearance. The worst 

 weeds in lawns are those which have very broad and flat reclining 

 leaves, which the scythe is apt to pass over, leaving them to feed the 

 roots, such as a certain species of plantain, dandelion, &c. ; and these 

 are the more difficult to eradicate, because they have tap-roots, fur- 

 nished with adventitious buds which seldom fail to be developed, 

 unless the roots are cut over two or three inches beneath the surface. 

 The best remedy for plantains, dandelions, dock, thistles, &c., on lawns, 

 is to pickle their crowns with a patch of salt, or scorch them with a 

 drop of vitriol. The common daisy is very troublesome in lawns from 

 the breadth of the tuft formed by its leaves ; but being a fibrous-rooted 

 plant it is easily eradicated, and provided none are allowed to ripen 

 seed, a lawn may soon be cleared of them. 



Weeds in Shrubberies and Plantations. It used to be customary to 

 dig shrubberies annually to destroy weeds, or hoe and rake them many 

 times during the summer for the same purpose. But it is much better 

 to smother them by the close planting of the shrubs and by covering 

 all the earth beneath taller shrubs with a thick carpet of low ever- 

 greens, such as ivy, berberis, periwinkle, laurel, &c. The shrubs 

 should constantly come right down to the turf, and not show a raw 

 edge of earth. Still, in their young state, shrubberies will need both 

 hand- weeding and a vigorous use of the hoe to keep them clean. 



- Weeds in woods and park scenery are chiefly destroyed by mowing ; 

 and it has been found that bruising and tearing oft: the stems often 

 destroy the root more effectually than cutting with the scythe. In thick 

 woods consisting of trees and under growths, the ground is generally so 

 effectually covered with the bushes that no weeds can make their ap- 

 pearance ; but in groves of trees, and in thin plantations, there will 

 always be spaces more or less liable to throw up rampant weeds, which 

 in merely useful plantations ought to be mowed and left to decay on the 

 spot, for the sake of the manure which they will afford to the trees. 

 In cultivated or smooth park scenery, all coarse weeds should be got 

 rid of, so as to present a smooth turf; but in rough forest park scenery, 

 all the plants which it produces should be allowed to grow as being 

 appropriate : of these, the large fern or brake (pteris aquilina) is pecu- 

 liarly characteristic. 



