July, 1918 



THE GARDEJN AND FIELD. 



683 



How to Prepare a Lawn. 



Tlierc is nothing more restful and 

 rifroshing for tired eyes than a well- 

 kept grass plot, no matter what its 

 size may be, and nothing provides a 

 better setting for the highly-colored 

 Howers of many kinds that abound in 

 most gardens. 



— Preparing the Soil. — 

 As in every other gardening opera- 

 tion, a good beginning is absolutely 

 essential if success is to crown our 

 efforts, and it is quite useless to sow 

 or plant a lawn on soil that has only 

 been prepared in a haphazard manner. 

 Artificial draining is not often re- 

 quired, but if it is needed it must be 

 done before anything else is seen to. 

 Levelling will be the next task, and 

 this needs a certain amount of care 

 so as to ensure as nearly as possible 

 an equal depth of good soil over the 

 surface. This good soil ought not t > 

 be less than 9 inches in depth all over 

 the plot; twice as much is better. If 

 the soil is very heavy or sticky it will 

 be necessary to add such substances 

 as road scrapings, leaf-soil, burnt 

 earth or garden refuse, or well-decay- 

 ed old manure, so as to render it 

 more friable. 



— Levelling. — 



Levelling should be carefully done 

 and is best accomplished with a spirit 

 level, a piece of straight edge, and a 

 number of pegs. Drive the first peg 

 into the ground until it shows the ex- 

 act height you wish, and work from 

 this. After levelling thoroughly, dig 

 the soil, taking care to remove the 

 roots of any perennial weeds that 

 may be present. Mahy opinions ex- 

 ist as to the wisdom of manuring soil 

 for lawns, but as in most other things 

 this will be ruled by local circum- 

 stances. It is certainly preferable to 

 secure a site that was manured well 

 for some other crop previously, but 

 where the ground needs manure, this 

 may be incorporated when digging, 

 taking care to use short material on- 

 ly and see that it is evenly distributed. 



Digging finished, the ground must 

 be allowed to settle for a few weeks. 

 By this time, if much levelling was 

 needed at the outset, some parts of 

 the plot will have settled down more 

 than others, and additional levelling 

 will be necessary. Select a day wh^n 

 the soil will not cling to the boots for 

 this work, and after levelling, tread 

 the whole of the bed so as to make it 

 firm but not hard. When this is 

 finished the surface in general should 



be quite level, and a raking with a 

 coarse-toothed rake is all that will be 

 needed before sowing. 



— Sowing the Seeds. — 



A still day must be selected for 

 sowing, and it is imperative to scat- 

 ter the seeds evenly over the surface. 

 Some sowers prefer to go over the 

 plot twice, using half the quanitiy of 

 seed each time, working across the 

 first course taken. After sowing, give 

 the bed a raking over to cover the 

 seeds and then roll it with a light 

 roller, doing this in two directions ; o 

 as to ensure every portion being 

 rolled. 



— After Treatment. — 



The young plants will usually pre- 

 sent themselves in three or four 

 weeks, and growth will subsequently 

 be fairly rapid. If the weather is dry 

 copious waterings will be needed or 

 the young plants will quickly perish. 

 The first mowing should be given 

 when the young grass is about three 

 inches high, and this operation needs 

 a good amount of care. A sharp 

 scythe is usually better than a mow- 

 ing machine, but the latter may be 

 successfully employed providing, the 

 knives and blades are perfectly ad- 

 justed so that the cutting is clean. 

 Close cutting must not be performed, 

 it only being necessary to remove the 

 tops of the plants. Throughout the 

 summer light rollings and mowings 

 will be necessary, and waterings must 

 be attended to. 



« 



The Strawberry Tree. 



(Arbutus Unedo). 



In this shrub flowers are some- 

 what like those of thej Lily of the 

 Valley, but rather longier and not 

 so white. Some varieties have 

 their flowers tinted red, especially 

 the variety A.U. rubra. The leaves 

 are not unlike those of the Sweet 

 Bay or true Laurel, being leath- 

 ery, dark green and glossy. 



The fruits are produced in 

 bunches, and are very rongh on 

 the surface of the berry, which 

 turns red, reminding one of a 

 Strawberr}^ or Raspberry, hence 

 the popular' name, Strawberry 

 Tree. The rough surface and the 

 colour also closely resemble the 

 fruit of the Strawberry-Raspberry, 

 although in this case the berried 

 fruits are not quite so large. 



The specific name, Unedo, means 

 " I eat one," in allusion to the 



tem])ting appearance of the fruit, 

 which would induce one to eat 

 them, but feel satisfied with one. 

 .'\lthough not very agreeable to the 

 ordinary palate in the raw 

 state, it may also be used in tarts, 

 and for preserving, when its agree- 

 able acid flavour proves different 

 from other fruits we have, and 

 might be used for that purpose. 

 Occasionally one may get cooked 

 fruits of this tree in London re- 

 taurants. As an ornamental 

 shrub, however, every garden of 

 any size should have a specimen or 

 two planted. — Exchange. 



♦ 



Azaleas After Flowering. 



These plants are apt to be neg- 

 lected after flowering, others com- 

 ing into flower and needing room. 

 This must not be done if plenty 

 of healthy foliage and flowers are 

 expected the following season. 

 When flowering is over the seed- 

 pods should be picked ofi carefully, 

 cutting back any shoots that spoil 

 the symmetry of the plants. They 

 will soon begin to make their 

 growth, when if any require pot- 

 ting into larger pots it should be 

 done then. Do not give a too 

 large shift, and pot very firmly. 

 The pots used should be quite dry 

 and clean, and see that they are 

 carefully drained with from i inch 

 to 2 inches of potsherds, accord- 

 ing to the size of pots. Plants not 

 requiring potting should have the 

 surface cleaned off and be top- 

 dressed with compost. 



♦ • 



Raffia or roffia is a product 

 of at least two Palms. The 

 raffia so largely used by gardeners 

 is prepared from the leaves which 

 are tough, but made very pliable 

 in process of preparation. 



The owner of an English estate 

 some years ago, purchased three 

 Water Lilies at a cost of ^7 to 

 beautify a lake in his park. They 

 have increased to such an extent 

 that boating is almost impossible. 

 He has ofJered ^'i,ooo for their 

 removal. A case of having too 

 much of a good thing. 



Plants with white blossoms have 

 a larger proportion of fragrant 

 species than any others ; next 

 comes red, then yellow and blue ; 

 after which, and in the same order 

 may be reckoned violet, green, 

 orange, brown, and black. The 

 flowers of spring are white and 

 highly fragrant ; those of autumn 

 and winter are darker, and with 

 stiU less perfume. 



