162 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. 



beauty we have heard so much, and whose possession is so 

 much envied, it is a common remark, and a current belief, 

 that they cannot be obtained in our climate : that our burning 

 sun, our parching winds, our dry summers, and our frosty 

 winters, forbid their possession ; and but for the cloudy sky, 

 the drizzling rains, and the mild winters of Great Britain, 

 their lawns would be no more verdant than our own. We 

 shall not deny that the peculiar climate of that kingdom, 

 tempered as it is by its surrounding sea, with an atmosphere 

 ever moist and humid, is particularly favorable to the perfec- 

 tion of English lawns ; but that we cannot very nearly imi- 

 tate them, with the same care and attention which have 

 chiefly contributed to make them what they are there, we 

 also deny. When through a period of two centuries garden- 

 ing shall have been pursued with the same zeal and skill here 

 as in England, we have but little fear that our lawns will be 

 scarcely any, if at all, inferior to what they are in that 

 climate. The least that we can do, is to make the attempt to 

 produce them ; and, if our well directed eff'orts fail, we may 

 then give up the endeavor, with the satisfaction that the sea- 

 sons, over which we have no control, are the only obstacles 

 to success. 



The great errors into which nearly all have fallen who have 

 attempted the formation of a lawn have been shallow cultiva- 

 tion, inferior grasses, and scanty seeding. To the first of 

 these especially may be traced nearly all the failures to obtain 

 a perfect lawn. The lesser errors are numerous : we omit 

 to roll the surface often ; we do not mow frequent enough, 

 and we do not do the latter properly. All these mistakes com- 

 bined, in connection with our climate, prevent us from securing 

 that foundation, without which it is impossible to expect a 

 smooth and verdant turf. 



What then are the Requisites for a Fine Lawn, and 

 how shall we proceed? is a question which will naturally fol- 

 low what we have said. We shall endeavor to answer it as 

 fully as our space will allow. 



First then. Deep Cultivation is the one main thing to be 

 attended to, and without this the object might as well be 



