28 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



August, 1909 



Some Tools Which Have Proved 

 Satisfactory 



A ROLLER is an absolute necessity for the 

 proper maintenance of the lawn and walks, 

 and those made in sections which serve to make 

 turning easy are the best, although their cost pre- 

 vents many from owning them. One of the lowest 

 priced machines made is twenty inches in diameter, 

 and while it is hardly broad enough for lawn rolling, 

 is suitable for foot paths. It is rather light in weight 

 for its size, but it could be considerably improved 

 by filling with concrete, which would make it much 

 heavier and thereby add to its effectiveness. 



A good example of a home-made roller is shown in 

 the illustration in the next column. A section of 

 iron pipe was filled with concrete, the axle extending 

 through a piece of f-inch iron pipe placed centrally 

 in the pipe before it was filled with concrete. The 

 handle and fittings are all of f-inch galvanized iron 

 pipe (one inch would be much stronger). This 

 makes a cheap and effective roller, although it would 



A one-section lawn roller, the cheapest purchas- 

 able form. Hardly broad, enough for lawn rolling 

 but excellent for footpaths 



be greatly improved by making it in sections. If 

 second-hand iron belt pulleys could be procured 

 cheaply, several broad faced ones coupled together 

 would make a very neat 

 and serviceable roller. 

 They could be filled with 

 concrete to give the roller 

 the necessary weight. 



LAWN RAKES 



The sharp steel teeth 

 of the garden rake, if used 

 on the lawn, are apt to 

 catch and tear the roots 

 of the grass; therefore a 

 rake must be used that 

 will glide over the grass 

 without tearing it and at 

 the same time gather up 

 and carry along anything 

 lying on or lodged in it. 

 The oldest form of rake 

 used for the purpose is 



the wooden toothed. There are a number of 

 different forms of it — some constructed with wooden 

 teeth, head and braces; some have wire or stiff iron 

 braces; while in others the head is metal and 

 the teeth wood. The iron braced wood rake is, 

 for all practical purposes, in the garden as good as 

 any, and is comparatively light in weight. Wooden 

 rakes may be had in sizes ranging from twenty 

 inches to four feet in width. 



A RAKE THAT IS SELF-CLEANING 



There are also several forms of self-cleaning 

 wooden rakes. In one the head is attached to the 

 handle by a spring hinge, which, when pushed 

 backwards, unloads the contents of the rake. 

 When drawn forward the action is similar to any 

 other. Another is made with an unloading head — 

 in other words, the rake is double, the forward one 



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This lawn roller was home-made from a piece of 

 iron pipe filled -with concrete, the handle being 

 made of M-inch galvanized pipe. Cheap and very 

 serviceable 



being free to move in two clasping rings. When 

 raking the teeth of the loose rake lie between those 

 of the stationary one, and when pushed backward 

 the teeth catch in the grass and, moving forward, 

 force out anything that may be lodged between or 

 on the rake teeth. The two rakes are practically 

 self-cleaning. 



THE BEST LAWN BAKE 



The rake that I have found best suited to lawn 

 work is the wire rake which has become extensively 

 used and is sold under many names. The wire rake 

 has proved durable, is double sided and serves for 

 many uses; it will glide over the lawn without catch- 

 ing and tearing out the grass, owing to the curve 

 of the hair-pin like teeth, but at the same time these 

 teeth are so close together that the smallest leaf 

 or bit of trash will hardly pass between them. 

 The round ended teeth will gather up leaves and 

 trash and move over the sod with an easy move- 

 ment that no other rake possesses. The open 

 ended teeth are curved at their ends so that they will 

 glide between the grass blades without catching. 

 Altogether this is the most satisfactory lawn rake, 



Wooden and wire-toothed lawn rakes. There is nothing better than the latter for lawn work 



Get a wheelbarrow with the tire not less than 

 three inches wide. This will prevent the barrow 

 from sinking into the ground and making un- 

 sightly tracks 



in my opinion, and may be had with from twenty 

 to forty-two teeth and from seventeen to thirty-six 

 • inches wide. 



For gathering and dragging of long grass, brush, 

 etc., there is a 20-inch steel rake with curved teeth 

 eight inches long and two and one-half inches apart, 

 which might prove a handy tool where quantities 

 of rough material need gathering and dragging 

 along. This is called a pine needle rake and it Was 

 originally made for that purpose. 



THE WHEEL BARROW 



A wheel barrow is indispensable in the country 

 or suburban home, especially if there is a kitchen 

 garden. One thing in connection with a wheel- 

 barrow that many people do not consider until after 

 using one is the width of the wheel tire. It should 

 be broad enough — not less than three inches — to 

 prevent the barrow from sinking into the lawn or 

 garden, a narrow tire making unsightly tracks in 

 the soil and requiring twice the effort to propel it. 



For wheeling bulky material of light weight and 

 where no leaf cart is owned, a rack can be easily 

 made of planed laths so as to fit the barrow when 

 the sides are off. This permits of the quick removal 

 of leaves, brush, etc., without greatly increasing 

 the weight of the load. 



Pennsylvania. J. Lukens Kayan. 



Growing Cuttings from Old 

 Geraniums 



IN The Garden Magazine for November, 1905, 

 I read "Old Geraniums do not lift well. It is 

 always best to start with new stock." My experi- 

 ence with "old geraniums" last winter was so 

 remarkable that possibly it may be of assistance to 

 someone else. 



In May, 1908, I bought six geraniums from our 

 village store and set them out in a sunny bed. They 

 did fairly well all summer, but had little care or 

 attention paid to them. On October 20th they 

 were lifted and cuttings made from them, each about 

 three inches high. These were planted in tomato 

 cans which had been first pierced in the bottom, 

 partly filled with excelsior and then with a moder- 

 ately rich earth. 



On April 6th, 1909, each plant was two feet high, 

 many of the leaves measured five inches across, the 

 flower stems were twelve 

 inches long and great 

 trusses of exquisite bloom 

 were making the bay 

 window ablaze with 

 color. 



I attribute such success 

 to the following causes: 

 A sunny bay window hav- 

 ing eastern, southern, 

 and western exposures; 

 neither furnace heat nor 

 gas in the house; frequent 

 pinching back; and an 

 application once a week 

 of water in which meat, 

 particularly liver, had 

 been washed. 

 Helen M. Sweeney. 



New York. 



