54 THE PHILADELPHIA FLORIST. [June 



.*> agree as to these matters. When the sod vegetates, roll it well, or 

 ^P tread it; then cut it frequently for the first season, water with a little 

 guano water, and sprinkle it with charcoal or some chemical manure, 

 such as nitrate of potash and gypsum — soapsuds cannot be beat. Do 

 not let the dogs and cats destroy it, nor allow the bones from the cui- 

 sine to be deposited on it, for the gardener's hook suffers thereby no 

 less than the grass itself. 



We have done with grass plats for the season ; fall is the best time 

 to lay down lawns, however, against which time we shall prepare a 

 more extended routine of cultivation and preparation. We observed 

 a few days ago a systematic process for sowing lawns at the Pennsyl- 

 vania Hospital ; we admired the equality of surface and care exhibit- 

 ed in sowing the seed — all who observed it had a good lesson on lawn 

 culture. Almost all annuals have been sown ; some of our gardening 

 cotemporaries furnished lists of the most desirable sorts. Annuals, 

 when sown out doors in May, give little satisfaction ; our spring does 

 not suit their quick development, and the frosts of autumn reach them 

 before they are fully in bloom. The better plan is to sow the best 

 sorts in the fall in boxes, keeping them from frost during winter to 

 bloom in March, April, and May, such as Stocks, Wallflowers, Sweet 

 Williams, (Dianthus barbatus), Chinese Pink, Carnations, Schizanthus 

 Nemophilas, Collinsia bicolor, and the new sorts Mignionette cinera- 

 ria, a perennial; Calceolaria, perennial; Pansies, imported seed ; Ipo- 

 mcea limbiata, J. Burridgii, Ipomcea Quamoclit, cypress vine ; Eutoca 

 viscidea, Phacelia tanacel/folia, Asters in sorts ; Clintonia pulchella, 

 Grammanthes gentianoides (see plate) ; but the variety is endless, and 

 we are a little late in advising; — lookout, however, for this list in the 

 month of October, act thereby, and you will not be disappointed. 



Verbenas are in crowds in our market, Roses in hosts — some tall 

 for the rear rank, the dwarfs must he kept in the front ; "yard long" 

 Prairis are in demand for running, they will supercede the running, 

 creeping or trailing plants called Vines — no matter whether they pro- 

 duce the alcohol or not. The old Vitis vinifera however, maintains 

 its character, and we hope always may, it is so practical in its associa- 

 tions ; and its juice no doubt helps the poet out of many a puzzling 

 measure. The yards have had sufficient attention we hope, both from 

 practical gardeners and practical writers^ some have been neglected, 

 and still lay gasping for some pure air, and sun, and moisture — oh ye 

 wicked gardeners, why cannot you do all at once! The windows are 

 in full display — Jasmines, Heliotropes, Fish Geraniums, Rose Gera- 

 niums, Waterloos, Apples, Pennyroyal, Nutmeg, and all the other fa- 

 \ miliar sorts are in bloom ; Pansies, Verbenas, Roses, Callas, and a raul- 

 Q^ titude of others luxuriating through the wide streets and squares of ^P 

 mD famed Philadelphia, with plenty of air and light, and no doubt suffi-Gj 



a&9*>_ , ^QSM 



