332 



ORNAMENTAL PLANTS 



covered with such furniture as trees and flower beds." A 

 lawn dotted all about with flower beds is like a picture 

 spotted with blotches. Few spots in the homestead can 



be made more inviting 

 than a clean, well-kept 

 velvety lawn. The grass 

 should be fine, well- 

 matted and even. Ken- 

 tucky blue-grass with 

 a sprinkling of white 

 clover will soon form a 

 good sod -if the soil is 

 not too sour. If the sod 

 becomes thin and poor 

 and choked with weeds, 

 it is probably best to turn 

 it down with a plow or 

 a spade, and start anew. 

 In doing so, care should 

 be taken to secure several 

 inches of rich surface 

 loam into which a thick coating of well-rotted barnyard 

 manure has been worked. It is often advisable to grow 

 a nitrogen-enriching crop, like cow peas or crimson clover, 

 to further enrich the soil. This crop may be turned under 

 in early fall ; and then, after leveling, rolling, and firm- 

 ing the soil, the plot is ready for the lawn seed. 



A FLOWER PROJECT. 

 Zinnias. 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS 



1. Why do farmers need ornamental plants? 2. Is it important 

 to know where to place ornamental plants? 3. What is meant by 

 the English style of planting ? 4. In what sense can a well-planted 

 yard be compared to a picture? 5. What is the Italian style 

 of planting? 6. What care should ornamental plants receive? 



