30 THE GARDEN BEAUTIFUL 



disturb to obtain a quart or so of surface soil. The 

 easier way is to buy a small amount of some com- 

 mercial preparation from a seed store. These are 

 effective and simply applied. All clover lawns should 

 be so treated if the growth is weakly or of poor color. 



LIPPIA CANESCENS 



In many sections Lippia canescens, distributed in 

 California as L. repens, is rapidly forcing out all 

 other plants used for lawn making, yet people in 

 semiarid sections or where the water supply is 

 limited continue to struggle with blue grass. Lippia 

 is no doubt the most drouth resistant plant we have 

 in our gardens and should be treated accordingly. 

 That it will stand any California conditions is evi- 

 dent from the following extract from the annual 

 report of the Arizona Experiment Station : 



"The fog-fruit has again proved its superior qual- 

 ities as a lawn plant, since during the past summer 

 it was able to endure all ordinary drouth conditions 

 without harm, also maintaining itself for eight 

 months on the mesa with less than two inches of 

 rainfall. When grown side by side with Bermuda 

 grass it proved superior in every respect. To secure 

 the quickest as well as the most satisfactory results 

 on the lawn, the soil should be spaded, mixed with 

 well-rotted manure, and the plants freely watered. 

 During the present summer the lawns of lippia along 

 Third Street, Tucson, planted in ordinary mesa soil 

 and exposed to our intense conditions, have pre- 

 served a carpet of green which has often been beau- 

 tifully variegated with the rose purple blossoms." 



Every year adds to the reputation of lippia for 

 lawn purposes under conditions unfavorable to 

 grass, for it may be found thriving in almost all 

 soils and in as varied locations. For those who wish 



