November, 1913 



THE GAKUKN AND FlKLD. 



of s;UiK' boiiij;- pressed down level. 

 l)etals np'.-ead wideh- open, and 

 the llowers come in ach ance ol tlu 

 leaves. The plants may bloom 

 freely fron;' the time they are i -! 

 in. high, and^^l^ ft. is usually the 

 limit of the heigjht of plants we 

 see in gardens, ilt is a Japanesc 

 si>ecies. 



Manv of the jMagnolias, especial- 

 ly those which attain the size of 

 trees, arc dillicult to transplant 

 owing to the lleshy character of 

 the roots. M. Stellata is one of 

 the easiest, however, to trans- 

 plant, being more of the nature of 

 a dwarf shrub than a tree, and 

 producing more lib'rous roots. On 

 account of the lleshy character of 

 the roots, the best time to trans- 

 plant Magnolias, is just before 

 growth commences. 



The usual methods of p'ropgagat- 

 ing Magnolias are by sieeds and 

 by la\ers in the case of establish- 

 ed plants. The young shoots may 

 have a tongue cut in them similai 

 to that of Carnation and be pegged 

 down on the soil. A little Dresh. 

 soil consisting of loam, leaf mould, 

 and sand would encourage the pro- 

 duction of roots. 



^ 



Hydrangea Paniculata 

 Grandiflora. 



When well grown this is one of 

 the best of shrubs as it keeps in 

 flower for a considerable time and 

 is very showy. The type, H. 

 paniculata, is a Japanese shrub 

 that grows 6 feet or so high and 

 several feet through. The leaves 

 are ovate, 4 inches to 6 inches 

 long and serrated. The flowers are 

 white or cream-coloured and borne 

 in large terminal panicles, most of 

 the blooms being small and fertile, 

 the others large, showy and ster- 

 ile. The variety- grandiflora is 

 very much like the type in habit, 

 but the inflorescences are com- 

 posed mainly of sterile flowers, 

 and are much larger than those 

 of the type. When 'they first open 

 they are white or cream-coloured, 

 but with age they become suffused 

 with red. When young, healthy 

 plants are grown in very rich soil, 

 it is possible to obtain exception- 

 ally fine heads of flowers often as 

 much as 18 inches long and i foot 

 through at the base. To obtain 

 inflorescences- of these dimensions 

 it is necessary to restrict the 

 plants to a few growths, cutting 

 hard back each year. Grown to 

 a full-sized bush the flower heads 

 are more abundant, but are much 

 smaller. 



Making New Lawns. 



Double digging and manuring is 

 as good as trenching, and is less 

 costly, m many uistaiiccs single 

 digging is suUicient, the manure at 

 tnu same time being well blended 

 with the soil, if tue so'il is in 

 good condition, the manuring is 

 confined to the surface, and is 

 given in the shape of top-dressings, 

 rl the land is uneven, or if. banKs 

 or terraces ha%ie to be made, the 

 good soil should in all cases be 

 sa^ ed for the surface, which should 

 be made firm by treading, rolling, 

 or rainmiug. 'ihe same pressure 

 should be given to the whole sur- 

 face, so that the settlement may 

 be equalised. All made-up surfaces 

 should be rammed. bteep banks 

 are an abomination, and it is bet- 

 ter to cover these with wichurai- 

 ana Roses or other creeping plants 

 or shrubs than to plant grass, 

 which generally becomes unsightly. 

 Where a perfectly level lawn is 

 required, the spirit level must be 

 used and a series of stumps driven 

 in at equal distance apart, show- 

 ing the level of the lawn when com- 

 pleted. A good toolman can ex- 

 peditiously work this out in a 

 perfectly true manner. If possible, 

 the preparatory work of levelling, 

 etc., should be done in time for 

 the seeds of wc;eds to germinate, 

 so that the grass may be set on a 

 perfectly clean surface. All roots 

 of perennial weeds may be taken 

 out during the digginj/ and pre- 

 paring of the surface. 



♦ 



Wall Gardening. 



The kind of wall that is best 

 su t6d for wall plants is that 

 known as the " dry wall," by 

 which is meant a wall made of 

 rough stones without mortar, and 

 built against a backing of good 

 soil. Such a wall is usually, con. 

 striicted at some place in the gar- 

 den where a sudden change of level 

 occurs, and may with great advan- 

 tage take the place of some rough, 

 sloping bank. I have myself con- 

 structed such a wall, and the me- 

 thod of procedure was as fol- 

 lows :— The line for the wall is 

 marked out half a foot or so from 

 the bank, and a trench taken 'out 

 to the depth of half a foot. In 

 this trench the first course of 

 stones is placed along the whole 

 length ; these should be iairly 

 large, oblong, with a broad, flat 

 base and fairly flat upper surface 

 for the 'reception ol second course. 

 The stones in the coucse touch 

 each other, but no mortar is used 



in the joiiils. In laying a course 

 it is well to use a hammer for 

 roughly shaping the stones as they 

 come to hand, and, in place of the 

 bricklayer's pibj of mortar, to 

 have a pile of soil at hand with 

 which, as far as possible, the joints 

 are filled. When the first course is 

 laid there will be a considerable 

 gap between it and the 'bank be- 

 hind ; this space is filled with 

 good soil, leaf mould, and man- 

 ure, the latter not coming quite 

 as far forwa'rd as the stones. 

 In laying the second course, care 

 should be taken that ehe stones 

 are set somewhat further back 

 than those in the first course ; in 

 no case should they overhang. ' In 

 laying the course it is important 

 that a fair number of stones 

 should be placed with their long 

 sides at right angles to the line 

 of the wall, with the object of 

 " tying " the wall and so adding 

 to its strength. The space behind 

 this course is again filled up, and 

 the third course laid with similar 

 precautions as to overhanging the 

 course below. In some places 

 considerable ledges may^ be left, 

 when it is thought that their pre- 

 sence would conduce to the happi- 

 ness of some particular plant. In 

 this connection some stress should 

 be laid on the importance of put- 

 ting in the plants as one builds the 

 wall, as in this way one is en- 

 abled to build and dispose the 



ALSTON'S PATENT STEEL 



JAMES ALSTON, 



Queen's Bridg^e, Melbourne. 



iolt Agontg for South Ausiralik— 



H. C. RICHARDS 



8 and 8, Blyth StrMt, Ad«Uid«. 

 tf ate Oafaenu »d Co. 



