STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. gg 



house and garden there should be a narrow plat of grass, and a 

 more extensive lawn in front of the house, in which circular or 

 fancy shaped beds may be cut for small shrubs of select varieties. 

 Stumps of trees can be covered with running vines. Eustic boxes 

 and seats, if they are artistically made, and vases also, add much 

 to the beauty of a lawn or garden. The surface should be level, 

 and terraces ascending or descending may be introduced on either 

 side to make it so. 



In beds No. 1 and No. 4, the centres of which are raised about one 

 foot above the surrounding surface, plant hyacinths and tulips, 

 for spring blooming; a circle of hyacinths at the centre, with 

 tulips filling the other spaces. They need a rich soil, and are per- 

 fectly hardy ; set bulbs in the fall, three or four inches deep, and 

 cover well with boughs to protect them through the winter. Fill 

 the beds with verbenas of all the leading colors, (without removing 

 the bulbs); set about one foot apart, and peg down as soon as set 

 out, if the plants are large enough. I would recommend buying 

 the plants of florists instead of raising them from seed. If one 

 chooses, young roots may be potted in September and kept in a 

 cool room during winter, and cuttings may be made in February 

 for bedding out in June. 



Bed No. 2 and 3 — Geraniums. Scarlet, white, pink, salmon and 

 carmine — set in ribbon style. I recommend keeping them in pots 

 plunged about two inches below the surface, and a flat stone 

 should be put at the bottom of each pot to prevent the roots from 

 going through the outlet ; they should be plunged one foot apart, 

 and should be watered every day if there has not been rain, but 

 on no account apply water to the leaves, blossoms or buds. The 

 advantages of treating geraniums in this way are, they can be put 

 out in beds earlier, will blossom more freely, and if frosts are ex- 

 pected early (as we sometimes have them), the pots can be lifted 

 and sheltered, and put back again in the morning, and have your 

 beds look pretty all through the autumn. Keep in pots during 

 winter, or take them from the pots and pack in boxes of sand ; 

 and in either case keep in a cool, dry place, and water once a 

 week. Or they can be hung in the cellar, shaking the earth lightly 

 from t^e roots, and hang where it is cool, but where they will not 

 freeze ; or, if preferred, buy of florists, as they are not very ex- 

 pensive. I am wintering forty or more for plunging in my garden 

 next summer. 



In Bed No. 6, I would have snapdragon, in all of its beautiful 



