GARDEN NOTES FROM ENGLAND. 



215 



most likely to occur just after daybreak, and sometimes 

 at nightfall. In sowing the seed, our practice is to take 

 a strip not more than five feet wide each time across the 

 plat. As there will always be a slight movement of the 



Sod Cut in Strips vs. Squares. 



atmosphere, sow in one direction only, and that away 

 from the wind, as the man is represented as doing in the 

 illustration on opposite page. The air is supposed to be 

 slightly in motion in the direction the arrow points. 

 Where one chooses to take extra pains, the seed can be 

 divided into two lots ; one to be sown in one direction, 

 and the other crosswise of the first tracks. 



The seeding done, the final step in the lawn-making is 

 to pass over the surface with a roller for the purpose of 

 bedding the seed in the soil. We have, on a small scale, 

 tried mulching lightly after seeding, with good results. 

 The materials used have been clean straw, and also 

 horse-manure shaken clear of the bedding. The advan- 

 tage of the mulch is found in case the sowing is succeeded 

 either by heavy packing rains or dry weather. Of the 

 two materials we prefer the manure, which may remain 

 permanently if the coat be light. The straw mulch 

 should be removed as soon as the grass appears through 

 the surface. 



After-Management. — The new lawn should be mown 

 regularly from the time the grass and weeds are an inch 

 high until the close of the season. A good rule is to cut 

 every time the growth reaches a height of about an inch. 

 The numerous weeds will mostly be annuals, the seeds 



of which were in the soil ; and if none are allowed to 

 grow and seed, they will cause trouble only for one sea- 

 son, and the grass, if vigorous, will soon crowd them 

 down. Such perennial weeds as plantain and dandelion 

 should be removed with the spud. These cause little 

 trouble, however, in a lawn thickly occupied with thrifty 

 grass. Once each year or second year the lawn should 

 be treated to a coat of fertilizer of some sort. 



Leveling an Old Lawn. — Where an old lawn has 

 a good coat of sward, but is too uneven to admit of the 

 easy use of the lawn-mower, it may readily be improved. 

 Supposing that in such a lawn — represented by figure 

 herewith — there are two slight protuberances at A A, and 

 two depressions at B B ; take out a slab of sod at the 

 center of each place, and from these points cut with 

 a sharp spade diverg- 

 ing lines through the sod 

 outwards to the edge of 

 the unevenness, as shown 

 in the engraving. Then 

 roll back each strip of 

 sod until the entire sur- 

 face is turned back. Now 

 cut the surplus soil at A A 

 down evenly across the 

 openings and put it into 

 the depressions at B B. 

 Level the new surfaces 

 with care, packing t h e 

 loose soil quite firmly, re- 

 turn the rolls and slabs 

 of sod, and beat well with 

 the back of the spade. 



This must be varied according to the size of the protuber- 

 ances. By treating the more prominent humps in this 

 way, and beating down small humps when the soil is 

 soaked, it is possible to work a great change for the better 

 in a rough lawn, without much labor. 





^^^^ 













To Level a Rough L.i 



GARDEN NOTES FROM ENGLAND. 



NEW EARLY SPRING AND AUTUMN FLOWERS. 



MONO the new varieties is Phil- 

 adclphus Lcmoinei, a delightful 

 garden shrub, a cross made by 

 M. Lemoine, about 1887, between 

 the charmingly free, graceful 

 and dwarf P. microphyllus and 

 the commoner P. coroyiarius. 

 It resembles the former, and is 

 quite as pleasing, being dwarf — 

 not more than three feet in 

 height — and spreading. The shoots have a graceful bend, 

 setting off in June the profusion of spotless white flowers, 

 as sweet as orange-blossoms. The way to plant it is as a 

 distinct bed, permitting the graceful shoots to spread at 

 -vill ; and if the bed is on the grass the effect i= height- 



ened by the contrast of the white blossom and green turf. 

 Here in England this new shrub is perfectly hardy, and 

 went through the past severe winter almost unharmed. 

 Such shrubs give charming beauty and distinction to the 

 garden in early summer. In the opening days of leafy 

 June we long for sweet blossoms, pure as snow, fragrant 

 as the orange. 



The white daphne is a handsome hardy shrub, blos- 

 soming in early February in moderate climates. There 

 are several varieties of D. Mezeretim : this I think is one 

 of the rarest, and of distinct and unusual beauty. The 

 shrub is like the common form in habit, but the flowers, 

 instead of being purple are white, large, and stud thickly 

 the short, stiff branches. A large bed of it makes a 

 charming feature — bold, effective and showy — as the row 



