778 



OPEN FLOWER-GARDEN. 



to a greater depth, it would render walking un- 

 comfortable on account of its not binding. In 

 extreme cases, where gravel is scarce, and the 

 annual fall of rain much, asphalt laid on a sound 

 and dry bottom of stones or coarse gravel will 

 make a comfortable walk, and its colour may be 

 modified by a mixture of fine sharp gravel laid 

 on at the time of its formation; and concrete 

 walks have been recommended by Mr Beaton, 

 whose mode of construction is as follows : " A 

 layer of stones, brickbats, shells, or clinkers, 6 

 inches deep, to form a dry bottom ; a layer of 

 chalk or lime, in the proportion of one to ten of 

 the stones or other foundation, and well rolled 

 and watered, to the thickness of 3 inches, with a 

 rise of 2 inches in the centre ; over this, half an 

 inch of gravel and lime or fine chalk ; water and 

 roll well again; add one-eighth of an inch of the 

 best coloured gravel, finely sifted, and again roll 

 until quite solid. Have the walk 2 inches wider 

 on each side than you desire, as this checks the 

 turf and weeds from encroaching, and prevents 

 the rain water getting to the foundation of the 

 walk." Such walks are valuable on steep decli- 

 vities, and prevent the possibility of the surface 

 being washed away by heavy rains. Such walks 

 are easily kept, as weeds will not grow upon 

 them, and they also require neither hoeing nor 

 rolling. In regard to keeping, the less the sur- 

 face is disturbed the better, and therefore hand- 

 picking and rolling are better than hoeing and 

 raking. Hand-weeding is no doubt a tedious 

 process, and even where boys are employed it is 

 attended with considerable expense. To obviate 

 this, Mr Fleming of Trentham has invented an 

 ingenious machine, consisting of a boiler, fur- 

 nace, and chimney attached, and mounted on 

 broad wheels, by which it is easily run along the 

 walks. In every gallon of water put into the 

 boiler, about two pounds of common salt is dis- 

 solved ; and the mixture, while in a boiling state, 

 is dispersed equally over the surface of the walks 

 by means of a common garden watering-pot, hav- 

 ing a rose upon the spout ; and all plants, seeds, 

 and insects which are touched with the hot solu- 

 tion are immediately destroyed. The only care 

 necessary to be taken in its application is to pre- 

 vent the solution falling on the box or grass verges. 



With a view to effect a somewhat efficient 

 weed-destroyer on gravel walks, without disturb- 

 ing the surface, we have in course of construction 

 a roller internally heated to almost a red heat, 

 and that heat maintained by means of a fire 

 burning within it. This is drawn over the gravel 

 as in the ordinary mode of rolling; the weeds 

 are burned over by the surface. Where, from 

 the nature of the material, gravel walks are 

 not kept in a hardened state, various kinds of 

 implements have been employed both in this 

 country and on the Continent ; one of the best 

 of these is that invented by Mr Carnegie, and 

 manufactured, as is also Mr Fleming's salting 

 machine, by Messrs Shanks & Son of Arbroath. 

 Some gravels bind exceedingly well, as that 

 known as Kensington gravel, on account of the 

 ferruginous alumina with which it abounds. 

 River and sea gravel do not bind, in consequence 

 of the absence of alumina; and few pit-gravels 

 bind, for the same reason. 



The weeds most troublesome in gravel walks 

 are those of various species of grasses, particu- 

 larly Poa annua, which seeds very abundantly. 

 Other grasses rise in gravel walks in consequence 

 of their seed being blown by the wind from the 

 adjacent lawns, and also from the verges of the 

 walks, when they are allowed to go so long 

 unmown as to give time to the grasses to ripen 

 their seeds. Care, therefore, should be taken 

 that the verges, to the breadth of 2 feet on each 

 side of all gravel walks, be mown frequently, and 

 also that the creeping rooted grasses be eradi- 

 cated. In damp shady places, gravel walks are 

 often liable to become covered with various 

 species of mosses, but these can be readily de- 

 stroyed by watering with lime-water in a cla- 

 rified state, so as not to discolour the gravel. 

 The surface of gravel walks should, if it can be 

 avoided, never be disturbed, unless it be once in 

 one or two years, when it may become necessary 

 to turn the surface to the depth of 2 or 3 inches, 

 to bring up a fresh body of gravel, and to bury 

 that which has become discoloured by use. It 

 is well also, at such times, to add a portion of 

 fresh gravel, which, if the operation be per- 

 formed during winter, will give the whole a 

 refreshed and new appearance. Frequent sweep- 

 ing and rolling tend greatly to the suppression 

 of weeds. 



Our finely-kept grass lawns and firmly-com- 

 pressed gravel walks are two of the most -strik- 

 ing features in our English gardens, and the very 

 first thing that strikes all foreigners, for in no 

 other country in the world do such things exist. 

 Much care is necessary to produce a fine lawn, 

 and on its after-keeping much of its beauty 

 depends. No lawn can be fine if badly con- 

 structed in the first instance ; and no keeping 

 can maintain them in proper order if plants are 

 allowed to exist in them other than those species 

 of grasses which are of an agreeable green 

 colour, and of a dense and dwarfish growth. 

 Amongst the greatest pests in a grass lawn is 

 the dandelion, Leontodon taraxacum, the broad- 

 leaved rib grass, Plantago latifolia, the cocksfoot 

 grass, Dactylis glomerata ; and even the humble 

 and beautiful daisy, Bellis perennis, however 

 beautiful its flowers appear during April and 

 May, when our lawns are bespangled with them 

 in myriads, still the spreading of their dense 

 and fleshy foliage destroys the finer grasses with 

 which they become intermixed, and they propa- 

 gate themselves rapidly by seed. In the forma- 

 tion of lawns, the ground should be thoroughly 

 cleansed of root weeds before sowing. It should 

 be dug or trenched to an equal depth, to prevent 

 unequal settlements ; and to secure this, it 

 should be repeatedly trodden, rolled, and levelled, 

 until at last a firm and uniform surface is at- 

 tained. The selection of proper grass seeds is 

 the next important matter, and this requires 

 more than ordinary attention — that the kinds of 

 grass be suited both to the pui'pose and to the 

 soil, and that the mixtures of these grasses be 

 proportioned to suit the end in view. 



The following list of grasses and their pro- 

 portions, adapted to various soils, has been care- 

 fully drawn up by the Messrs Lawson of 

 Edinburgh, from whose excellent * Treatise on 



