HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



375 



LAT 



some particular stimulus; as the adventi- 

 tious buds occasionally developed in 

 trees. 



Lateral. Proceeding from, or fixed on, or 

 near the side of a stem or other organ. 



Lauracece, (Laurinece, Lauri, Laurels.) A 

 natural order of Dicotyledons belonging 

 to Lindley's Daphnal Alliance of perigy- 

 nous Exogens. They are trees, with ex- 

 stipulate, usually alternate, dotted leaves. 

 They are tropical, aromatic, and fragrant 

 plants. Cinnamomum Zeylanicurn yields 

 Cinnamon Bark. C. cassia supplies Cas- 

 sia Bark. Camphora officinarum, a na- 

 tive of China, Japan, and Cochin China, 

 yields Camphor. Persea gratissima fur- 

 nishes the fruit called Avocado Pear or 

 Alligator Pear. Sassafras cfficinale is the 

 American Sassafras Tree. Laurus nobttis 

 is the Sweet Bay. There are about fifty 

 genera and between four and five hun- 

 dred species. Laurus, Cinnamomum, 

 Camphora, and Sassafras are examples 

 of the order. 



Laurenciacece. A natural order of rose- 

 spored Algae. See Algoe. 



Lawn. Is the name given to the open grass 

 space surrounding a dwelling. The 

 preparation of the lawn should be pre- 

 liminary to the laying out of flower-beds 

 in grounds having pretensions to what is 

 called Landscape Gardening. The for- 

 mation of the lawn is too often hastily 

 and imperfectly done; it is the founda- 

 tion of all subsequent operations, and if 

 badly done at first, the fault can never 

 be remedied afterward. The first thing 

 to be done is to get the ground shaped 



t to the desired grade, taking care in 

 grading, that when hills or rocks are re- 

 moved, sufficient subsoil is also removed 

 to be replaced with top soil; so ,that at 

 least five inches of good soil will overlay 



LAW 



the whole in all places. When the grad- 

 ing is finished, if the nature of the ground 

 requires it, (see Draining,) drains should 

 be laid wherever necessary; then the 

 whole should be thoroughly plowed, a 

 sub-soil following in the wake of the com- 

 mon plow, until it is completely pulver- 

 ized. 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 roll- 

 ing given, so that the surface is made as 

 smooth and firm as possible. In the lat- 

 itude of New York, the seed may be sown 

 any time during the months of April and 

 May, and will form a good lawn by Au- 

 gust, 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 protect the young grass 

 from the sun. Lawns are also some- 

 times sown during the early fall months 

 (September being the best) with excel- 

 lent results. The formula for seed for 

 lawn grass now known in New York as 

 Central Park Mixture, is as follows: 

 Eight quarts Rhode Island Bent Grass; 

 three quarts Creeping Bent Grass; ten 

 quarts Red Top Grass; ten quarts Ken- 

 tucky Blue Grass; one quart White Clo- 

 ver. For small plots, of course, digging, 

 trenching, and raking must be done, in- 

 stead of plowing, sub-soiling, and harrow- 

 ing. In sloping banks it is often neces- 

 sary to use sod, as the rains wash the 

 soil off before the grass seed has time to 

 germinate. It is sometimes even neces- 

 sary, in sodding very steep banks, to use 



