MOSS ON LAWNS. 



322 



MULBERRY. 



Moss on Lawns. 



All remedies are useless until the lawn is 

 well drained ; when this is done, rake the 

 grass with a sharp-toothed rake in different 

 directions to drag out the moss, and roll 

 with a very heavy roller in wet weather. 

 Nitrate of soda, at the rate of one and 

 a half to two cwt. per acre, should be sown 

 in tine spring, over the mossy grass. Very 

 fine coal ashes, also, may with great benefit 

 be spread over those parts of the lawn 

 where moss abounds, especially if done in 

 wet weather, or before a soaking rain. 



MOSS Rose. See Rose, Moss. 



Moss, Uses of. 



In sending out plants it is sometimes 

 of service to envelop their roots with it. 



MOULD SCUTTLE. 



Sometimes it is used as a covering to mould 

 in pot plants to prevent it getting dry by 

 too rapid evaporation. Bulbs, as, for 

 example, hyacinths, may be grown in it, 

 and some kinds of orchids. Baskets for 

 hanging plants are sometimes thickly 

 lined with it before putting the plants in 

 position. 



Mould Scuttle. 



All kinds of carriers are desirable and 

 necessary for garden use ; and for carrying 

 sifted mould from one place to another, 

 either for potting or for lightening or 

 altering the character of soil in a spot in 

 which it is desired to place any particular 

 plant, and which cannot be approached by 

 the wheelbarrow, there is nothing more | Mulberry. See Medlars. 



handy than a wooden box whether round 

 or square, it matters little, that is to say, 

 whether it be a box or a pail with a 

 piece of strong wooden hoop nailed across 

 it to form a handle. This contrivance is 

 handy, and all the more so because it is 

 shallow, and the earth, if necessary, easily 

 taken out with a trowel. It will suit many 

 an amateur who is anxious to help himself, 

 but in these times, when galvanised iron 

 pails are sold at such a low rate, some will 

 prefer to buy and utilise these as mould 

 scuttles, instead of putting a handle to a 

 box to fit it to serve as one. The ends of 

 the hoop should be turned under the 

 bottom of the box and nailed to it. 



Mowing Machine, When to use. 



A scythe works better in the morning 

 when the dew is on the grass, or^ when 

 it has been wetted by a slight shower of 

 rain, so when mowing is effected by means 

 of the scythe it is better to get the work 

 done early in the morning. The mowing 

 machine, which works on an entirely 

 different principle, acts more smoothly 

 and pleasantly when the grass is dry, and 

 may therefore be used even at midday, 

 when the sun is at its hottest. Neglected 

 lawns that it is sought to bring into better 

 order, should first be cut with the scythe 

 early in the morning, and run over with 

 the mowing machine later in the day. 

 With some machines it is said that any 

 kind of grass can be cut, whether long or 

 short, but with the generality of machines 

 it is better to deal with short grass than 

 with long. To produce a soft elastic velvet- 

 like surface of fine short, close grass, a lawn 

 should be run over with the machine at least 

 once a week. 



Mowing Machines. See Lawn 



Mowers. 



