390 TASTE AND TACT IN ARRANGING HOME AND OIHER GROUNDS. 



plants in a small bed of rich soil. I plant the Crescent 

 in rows about four and a half feet apart, and train the 

 runners to fill the vacant spaces during the season. This 

 allows plenty of room so that the plants will not be 

 crowded. The first runners are nipped off until the 

 plants are able to produce strong ones. In the spring all 

 are taken up, but the small, weak plants are discarded. 



It is usually thought best not to follow strawberries with 

 strawberries without an intervening crop, but this rule does 

 not apply to Maine. Several of our strawberry-growers 

 have planted the same land in strawberries for many years, 

 resetting with plants the next spring after taking the 

 crop off. Mr. Dawes, of Harrison, has done this for 

 eight years without any signs of the crops diminishing. 

 S. S. Smith, of Oxford, has raised strawberries for i6 

 years on the same ground without any signs of deterior- 

 ation. To raise a crop of strawberries on our soil re- 

 quires liberal manuring. The ground needs to be made 

 rich enough to produce about 60 bushels of corn to the 

 acre ; to do this, soil not previously manured requires 

 not less than 40 tons of manure to the acre. But after 

 the ground is in such condition it does not require so 

 much to keep it there as to bring another piece into 

 proper condition. 



The most of our land here is infested with witch-grass, 

 and it is always necessary to exterminate it completely 

 before the strawberries are set. I find that the easiest 

 and most effectual way to do this is to plow the ground 

 about four inches deep just before it freezes in the fall. 

 Plow very deep the next spring and immediately plant 



thickly to fodder-corn. By turning the grass in deep 

 we prevent its getting started well, and one or two hoeings 

 will keep it in check until the corn gets big enough to 

 shade the ground. In the fall, after the corn is taken 

 off, I never find any signs of witch-grass. 



Blackcap raspberries succeed in this section, but are 

 not much grown. The red raspberry and the black- 

 berry seem more at home here than in warmer latitudes. 

 Our most popular red raspberry both for home use 

 and for mirket is the Cuthbert, and it usually succeeds 

 without winter protection^ The Shaffer is rapidly grow- 

 ing in favor, and on high land usually goes through the 

 winter without protection. It is exceedingly productive, 

 and not only the best raspberry for canning but the 

 best for any domestic use. When allowed to remain on 

 the cane until quite ripe and dark brown in color, it is of 

 the best quality. 



The Snyder is still the most profitable blackberry for 

 market, and the Agawam for domestic use. Bjth are 

 hardy and are not usually protected in winter. None of 

 the new varieties approach the Snyder in -productive- 

 ness, nor the Agiwam in all the requisites of a domes- 

 tic berry. The Erie equals the Agawam in quality and 

 is of large size, but is not so productive nor hardy. 



There are no indications at present that any of the 

 new varieties will supersede the Crescent strawberry, 

 the Cuthbert raspberry or the Snyder blackberry for 

 market, unless one of these varieties should fail as sud- 

 denly as did the Wilson strawberry a few years ago. 



Androscoggin Co., Maine. S. G. Shurtleff 



TASTE AND TACT IN ARRANGING HOME AND OTHER 

 GROUNDS— XXI. 



DRIVEWAY APPROACHES ANl 



THE engravings annexed, fig. i rep- 

 resents a diagram of a subscriber's 

 grounds in Ontario, Canada. It was 

 sent to the editor accompanied by the 

 following letter : 



" I see you are doing grand work in teach- 

 ing, through American Gardening, the 

 young and rising generation how to lay out a place artistically and 

 to the very best advantage as regards climate, conditions of site, 

 etc. I am about to change my place somewhat, and would be 

 greatly pleased if you would be so kind as to give me the benefit of 

 a suggestion or two. The sheds are to be moved back a bit ; the 

 driveway could enter from the side street, and the present one be 

 planted in nice shrubs. The ground is high, falling a little on all 

 sides from the first row of grapes near the house, but most of all 

 toward the southwestern corner of the lot, where the soil is heavy 

 gnd rich ; the knoll is all gravel. The lot has a frontage of 142 feet, 

 and a total depth of nearly 300 feet." 



Our intelligent reader having already discovered the 

 defects of the old arrangement of his grounds, anticipates 

 in his letter two of the most important changes it would 

 occur to us to suggest, namely, the removal of the stable 

 from near the side of the house to a point farther back, 

 substituting flowers instead, and having the driveway 

 enter from the side street instead of from the front. It 



GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS. 



is a great pleasure to observe that in numerous instances 

 the readers of these articles on home improvement, 

 as a result of what we may assume is better knowledge 

 of these matters, have observed the defects in the earlier 

 arrangement of their grounds, and set about remedying 

 them on rational principles, either with or without further 

 aid from regular landscape-gardeners. In the present 

 case the change of the stable and roadway as mentioned, 

 from the position shovi'n in fig. i to that occupied in fig. 2, 

 at once opens the way for substituting a large measure of 

 grace and beauty about the place, where before stiffness 

 and regularity of arrangement prevailed. 



It is noticed by comparing figs, i and 2 that the course 

 of the front walk is also changed for the better in the 

 latter. We wish here to point out the gain that in many 

 cases would result from substituting a graceful curve for 

 the straight walk in the front footpath to the house, 

 which, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, prevails. 

 The gain would be five-fold in nature : First as we ap- 

 proach the home from the street, it is a direct relief to 

 the eye to have the house, in which straight lines and 

 square angles everywhere abound, set off, by way of con- 

 trast, with a gentle yet bold curve in the outline of the 



