LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



success in its results. No beating is given to the sod — the 

 roller doing all tlie pressure needed to form a good surface. 



Seed for Lawns. — Let the ground be first thoroughly prepared, 

 that is, dug at least one foot — better to be eighteen inches — 

 ■ deep, and all of this depth to be of good, rich, loamy soil, not ten 

 inches of poor clay or sand with two inches of top dressing, but 

 all the depth of good loam suitable for growing a heavy crop of 

 corn or a bed of carrots ; make the whole depth and quality of 

 soil uniform, without regard to the rise and fall of the grades ; 

 in other words, do not form the soil in one place fourteen inches 

 deep and in another only ten, and then calling it an average of 

 one foot ; because the lawn hereafter will tell of your work by 

 its exhibit of rich gre^n grass in the deep soil places and of 

 yellow dried spots in the shallow ones ; but make it all an even, 

 regular depth, whether on a rising knoll or a low level grade. 

 Rake and pulverize with the roller all the top surface as fine as 

 an agh heap. When ready for sowing, procure for one acre — or 

 in proportions according to the surface to be seeded — two 

 bushels of Blue Grass, two bushels of Red Top, half a bushel of 

 Creeping Bent, and one-eighth bushel of White Clover ; mingle 

 them well together, and then divide into three equal parts. Sow 

 first one part ; then go over the ground with a fine rake, say 

 from north to south, raking the whole surface back and forth to 

 lightly cover the seed ; then sow another third portion of the 

 seed and l^peat the raking cross- wise, or from east towest ; then 

 sow the last remaining portion of seed, and with a heavy roller, 

 roll or press the whole surface, both for the purpose of cementing 

 the seed in the soil for vegetating, and also to prevent measur- 

 {ibly the wash liable' to accrue from rains. We sometimes see 

 advice of one bushel of seed to an acre ; again, of two or three, 

 with a sprinkling of rye, as they' say, to shade the young grass — 

 the adviser probably forgetting that the strong, rank roots of the 

 rye do more injury by extraction of moisture and food from the 

 roots than the benefit, if there is any, obtained from its shade. 9 

 Loudon, we believe, was in the practice of using 'from six to 

 eiglit bushels of seed to. the acre; Downing, from four to six; 

 aad our experience of twenty years over many and many an 



