o. 



58 



Garden and Forest. 



[September 19, 1888. 



greatly increases the expense of maintenance, but pre- 

 vents the attainment of the best results even with the 

 best of care-taking. With a soil of proper texture and 

 sufficiently fertile, it is only required to follow the direc- 

 tions which have been given in former numbers of this jour- 

 nal for making a good lawn, taking special care to have it 

 firm and level. It often happens, however, that a tennis 

 court is wanted where the soil conditions are unfavorable, 

 and then the proper preparation of the soil maybe a difficult 

 and expensive task. This preparation of the soil involves 

 two distinct qualities — its mechanical condition and its 

 chemical composition. The soil should be porous enough 

 to absorb sufficient rain water, and to afford ready passage 

 for roots, and yet compact enough to prevent the water ab- 

 sorbed from quickly draining away and evaporating too 

 rapidly ; and it should, also, be so firm as not to be stirred 

 up by the grinding action of feet upon it, which would 

 otherwise break the roots and crowns of the grass. In 

 short, the soil should be porous, and yet have a "binding" 

 ipiality. Sand is porous, but will not bind. Clay will bind, 

 liLit is not sufficientl)'' porous. A proper mixture of the two 

 will produce the mechanical quality desired. 



It is safe to assume that most soils need enriching. For 

 this purpose there is nothing better than rotted barn-yard 

 manure. But it is often more economical to add a mixture 

 (if properly prepared peat, muck or leaf mould and com- 

 mercial lawn fertilizer, than to use barn-yard manure ex- 

 clusively. The question as to how much manure should 

 be added to a soil is so much one of expense and judg- 

 ment, that no definite rule can well be given. An ordinary 

 farm field, in fair condition, may have manure, at the rate 

 of twenty cart loads to the acre, plowed in when it is laid 

 down to grass, and a top-dressing of a like amount every 

 three years or so. Ornamental grounds of large extent, in 

 which a better result is desired, and yet in which a careful 

 economy must be observed, may have at least twice that 

 amount pilowed in at the start, and an annual top-dressing 

 of half as much to the acre may be applied. A tennis lawn 

 or any other ground upon which turf is to be maintained, 

 that is subject to much wear, may, however, well have 

 more. 



The soil of a tennis lawn should be deep, that the roots 

 of the grass may easily descend to permanent ground 

 moisture, just how deep, up to three or four feet, be- 

 ing a question of expense. The topsoil, or mould, 

 and subsoil of good quality, taken together, should 

 extend to that depth if practicable, in order to retain 

 sufficient moisture to last over droughts. It is more 

 economical in the long run so to prepare the soil in the 

 beginning as to store up natural moisture, than it is to 

 supply it artificially upon the surface when needed. 



In some instances, however, there will be, at times, 

 too much natural moisture in the soil, and under- 

 drainage is the remedy for such cases. In the case of stiff, 

 clayey soil, another and very important advantage in 

 under-drainage is to make it more porous and pervious to 

 roots. Drainage is best effected by laying land tiles at least 

 two inches in diameter, at a depth of three or four feet and 

 thirty or forty feet apart, care being taken to give them a 

 sufficient pitch and a proper outlet. 



For deep preparation of the soil, trenching should be 

 resorted to. This process consists in throwing back the 

 topsoil on a strip from three to ten feet wide, so as to ex- 

 pose the subsoil, which is then dug up and turned over, 

 or thrown back if it is desired to work more deeply. The 

 lumps are pulverized, clay or muck mixed in, if the origi- 

 nal soil is too sandy, or sand and peat, if too cla)rey, and 

 stones, stumps and roots of large size thrown aside, and 

 all necessary grading and leveling done. Then the topsoil 

 of the next strip is thrown upon the strip of subsoil thus 

 prepared, great care being taken to sift out all tlie roots of 

 weeds and coarse grasses. And so on. 



It not infrequently happens in New England and other 

 parts of the country that have been subjected to glacial 

 action and deposit, that both the topsoil and subsoil con- 



sist of dry, coarse sand and gravel, upon which it is almost 

 impossible to maintain good turf, after the ordinary prepa- 

 ration, without an extraordinary amount of manure and 

 almost constant watering during dry weather. In such a 

 case, it is an economy to throw back the soil strip by strip, 

 as for trenching, and to place at a depth of three or four 

 feet below the surface a layer of clay about six inches 

 thick, which may be put in dry, if broken to a fine powder, 

 or, which is usually easier, it may be wet and " puddled" — 

 that is, worked into a comparatively homogeneous mass 

 of mud. In either case it forms an impervious bottom to 

 the lawn, thus preventing the rain which falls or the water 

 which is applied from settling down too deep for the roots 

 of the grass to reach it. The sides should, of course, be left 

 sufficiently porous to allow excessive moisture to drain off. 



Another case would be where the soil was almost pure 

 clay, and where no muck or sand or finely divided min- 

 eral matter could be obtained without excessive cost. In 

 such a case, the ground having been thoroughly under- 

 drained, the usual way is to mix in almost any sort of 

 vegetable libre, such as leaves, half decayed twigs, leaf 

 mould from the woods, sods, weeds, the tops and refuse 

 of vegetables, and the like. 



After the subsoil has been thoroughly prepared, the 

 topsoil is manured and deeply harrowed several times. 

 The ground should then be leveled, rolled and allowed 

 to settle. If the previous work has been well done, the 

 settlement will be uniform ; if it is done late in autumn 

 the ground will become none too firm during the winter, 

 and it should not be deeply plowed, but harrowed and 

 leveled as early in spring as it can be worked. If good 

 sod can be procured, the court will be ready for use as 

 soon as the grass is green. The sods, of equal thickness, 

 should be rolled down very firmly, to bring the grass- 

 roots in close contact with the soil. It is a good plan to 

 sow the seed of Kentucky Blue Grass and the finer varie- 

 ties of Redtop upon the sod as it is laid, and to repeat this 

 sowing every spring. A dressing of some "complete" 

 fertilizer — that is, one that contains nitrogen, potash and 

 phosphoric acid — can also be applied every spring ; or 

 fine manure can be spread over the lawn-in autumn, to be 

 raked off in spring. In case no sod can be procured, 

 the seeds of the grasses above named can be sown after 

 the ground is leveled and rolled, then lightly raked in 

 and rolled again. If the seeding is done in early spring, 

 the court can be used the same summer ; but no seeded 

 lawn is at its best the first season after sowing. Seed can 

 be sown in early September, if the preparation of the soil 

 has been made se\'eral weeks before, so as to allow time 

 for settling. 



No pains or expense should be spared to obtain the 

 purest and freshest, seed, which can best be done by 

 applying to reputable dealers, who have sufficient call 

 for it to warrant them in keeping it. Much disappoint- 

 ment has come from using inferior seed. — Ed.] 



To die Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — I was pleased with yom- description of the Sluplicrdia 

 argentea, and its bright, eatable berries. We grew it abund- 

 antly forty years ago, but found that it had a bad habit ot let- 

 ting its branches get ahead of its roots, causing the trees 

 to fall over when ten or twelve feet high. 



A notable object here now is Citrus trifoliata in fruit. It 

 bids fair to make one of the best hedge plants. Let me add 

 that Bcrberis Thunhergii makes a good hedge; but, in place of 

 all hedges, give me a fence covered with Lonicera Hallcana. 

 It is a compact mass and as fresh now as in June. Tiie inevi- 

 table gap spoils the hedge, but does not hurt a belt of thick 

 shrubbery, which gives flowers at various seasons. The value 

 of autumn flowers is worthy of consideration. A specimen of 

 Tamarix Clnnensis, as high as the house, is now waving here 

 its graceful racemes of delicate colored flo'\\'ers to the slight- 

 est breeze. It has been blooming smce July and will continue 

 blooming until frost. The large orange flowers of Tecoina 

 grandiflora fire now at tlieir best and very showy. When 

 grown as a pillar it is most striking, and, in time, will make a 

 tree to support itself. 



