THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 
359 
WEEDS ON LAWNS. 
HE beauty of a grass plot or lawn is so much dependent 
on its being free from weeds, that I think my commentary 
would be incomplete if a few observations were not 
made on this branch of my theme. I have sometimes 
seen operations upon a large scale in order to eradicate 
moss ; but I think, that unless excessive in quantity, it forms a 
luxurious carpet, and in extensive grounds is useful to cover the 
surface where little else can grow. In the more distant and seques- 
tered portion of pleasure grounds, I prefer the mossy bank, overhung 
with umbrageous foliage; but in the formal quadrangles of mansions 
and colleges, neither moss nor weeds should grow. Such plots, 
with the margins of walks in terraces, their slopes, and the formal 
patches of grass, which frequently form part of a design, should be 
tree from moss, daisies, and all broad-leaved plants, including the 
coarser grasses, such as the Couch-grass ( Triticum repens), and the 
Cocksfoot (Dcictylis cjlomeratci). There is no plant which detracts 
so much from the beauty of our English lawns as the common 
Daisy {Beilis per emus'). Sorry am I to lay such a charge upon this 
“ modest, crimson-tipped flower,” associated as it is with our happy 
recollections of childhood, when all that was gay and pleasant seemed 
made tor us alone, and we dreamed not that the same field which 
yielded us daisies and buttercups, produced also nettles and thistles. 
But while I would do it ample justice as a wild flower, which — 
“ Opens with perennial grace, 
And blossoms everywhere,” 
I confess to have found it my greatest plague, particularly in the 
earlier spring and summer months ; after the lawns have been neatly 
mown, “ swept and garnished,” a few hours of sun have studded 
them with these flow r ers, producing a frittered effect, and destroying 
that agreeable contrast which a well-kept lawn always gives to 
masses of flowers, particularly those of a scarlet colour. In gardens 
where there are many large trees, the better grasses will not thrive, 
but even if annually renewed, as annually perish; in such places the 
daisy and moss alone will thrive, and therefore in all such spots I 
would not disturb them, but take their verdure as the best instal- 
ment we can have for the effect of turf. On the contrary, wherever 
level open spaces prevail, more particularly in scenes which are 
highly artistic, the daisy has no place. The quadrangles of the 
colleges at Oxford have long been celebrated for the beauty of their 
grass-plots ; and I remember that at All Souls’ College I have seen 
the most perfect specimen of a well-kept lawn I ever beheld ; not a 
daisy, or broad-leaved plant of any kind, but one uniform, dark 
green, velvety surface, such a one as perfectly accorded with the 
artificial expression of the venerable buildings, and was evidence 
of the design and influence of highly civilized and erudite men. 
Beautiful as were the daisies and golden dandelions of our childhood, 
December. 
