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AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Apbil, 
The Claytonia, or Spring Beauty. 
— ■ 
Besides the Wood Anemone, figured on this 
page, another favorite of our early rambles in 
the woods is the Spring-Beauty (Claytonia Vir- 
ginica). This genus commemorates the name 
of Clayton, one of the early American botanists. 
The botanical name is, iu this case, a smoothly 
sounding one, and we wish it could be generally 
adopted, as we like to have the memory of 
those old fellows kept alive, and their names 
pass into the popular language. However, the 
plant merits the name of Spring-Beauty, as it is 
just as pretty as a flower need be, and were it 
not to be found so commonly in our moist woods, 
especially at the West, our liorists would think 
as much of it as they do of Cyclamens and 
other exotics. The engraving shows its under- 
ground tuber, from which arise the two long, 
narrow leaves and slender stem. The flowers 
are of a pale rose color, and marked with deli- 
cate veins of a deeper color. It belongs to a 
very hardy family, the Portulaccas, and would 
doubtless make itself at home in the garden. 
Making a Lawn or Grass Plot. 
What a carpet is to well-furnished rooms, a 
lawn is to the grounds, be they large or small. 
As the finest furniture looks finer upon a well- 
chosen carpet, so every plant, whether the 
humble annual, or the stately evergreen, shows 
all the better when it is set off against a well 
kept turf To make a good and permanent 
lawn, the preparation must be thorough. 
Drainage is all important, and if needed for 
the adjoining garden, it must be provided for 
the lawn. The pre- 
paration of the soil 
must be as carefully 
attended to as if for 
some garden crop. 
Trenching must be 
practised on small 
places, and deep plow- 
ing on larger ones. 
By the use of a sub- 
soiler, or by running 
a plow two or three 
times in the same fur- 
row, sufiiciently deep 
tilth may be secured. 
Manure will usually 
be needed to enrich 
the soil, and when the 
work of preparation 
can be begun sufli- 
ciently long before- 
hand, a crop of oats 
may be sov/ed in the 
spring, and plowed 
in, to be followed by 
one of buckwheat 
which is also to be 
turned under. Thor- 
ough harrowing is re- 
quired, and all inequalities of surface must be 
remedied, by the use of the shovel or scraper. 
In small plots, the final dressing of the surface 
can be done w ith the hoe and rake. Sow the seed 
as early in spring as the ground can be made 
ready, and roll. Mixtures of grass seeds are 
sold by seedsmen as lawn-grass seed, but our 
experience with these has not been fuvoiable. 
Some consider that Red-top and White Clover 
in the proportion of three of the grass to one 
of clover, make the best mixture for a lawn, 
but our own experience agrees with those who 
prefer a lawn of one kind of grass only. Wher- 
ever it will flourish well, the Kentucky Blue 
Grass (see page 115) forms a most perfect turf 
Whatever seed is used, it should be sown very 
thickly, as the closeness of the sward depends 
on thick seeding. Three or four bushels of seed 
to the acre are none too much. It often helps 
the grass much to give it a top dressing of 
plaster, when it has made a growth of one inch 
or so. Weeds will make their appearance 
from seeds already in the soil, and from those 
sown with the grass seed. It will save nuich 
after trouble to remove the weeds while young. 
When the fine lawns on Central Park were 
first established, long lines of men could be 
seen upon their knees, removing every weed 
that sprang up among the young grass. When 
the grass has become well established and of 
sufficient length, it may be mowed, leaving the 
mowings as a mulch to the roots. It is advis- 
able, whenever the lawn borders on a walk, 
road, or flower-bed, to lay down an edging of 
turf, six or eight inches in width, as this gives a 
much neater appearance, and enables us to 
keep the edge of the lawn well defined. Small 
grass plots are more readily made by laying 
close and fine turf from an old pasture, but the 
same care should be given to preparing and 
levelling the ground, and the sod should be laid 
in a neat and workmanlike manner. If the 
piece to be covered is not very large, strips may 
be cut to reach across it. Provide a board 9 to 
12 inches wide, and with a sod-cutter, or a sh.irp 
spade, cut by each edge of the board through 
the turf Then loosen the strip at one end, 
sliding a spade under it, and roll it carefully, and 
convey it lo the place where it is to be laid. 
The Wood Anemone, or Wind-Flower. 
" Do tell us more about wild flowers," writes 
a correspondent, who is enthusiastic upon the 
subject. If we had unlimited room, we would 
gladly devote more space to illustrating the 
beauiiful natives of our woods and fields, but as 
it is, few can be described aside from those which 
we can recommend for cultivation in the garden. 
The request shall be gratified so far now as to no- 
tice two of our earliest and most beautiful spring 
flowers. The Wind-flower, or Wood Anemone, 
(Ammone nemorosa), is always a favorite, both on 
account of its early appearance and its delicacy 
and gracefulness. Its name. Anemone, refers to 
the wind, from some old notion that it opens 
only when the wind blows. However this may 
be, its slender habit and its ligjitness make it the 
sport of the winds of spring, and it might, for 
this reason, if for no other, be properly called 
Wind-flower. A simple stem bears three deeply 
cut leaves, and above these, on a slender stalk, 
is the flower, which, before opening, is a 
pretty white bell, often tinged with pink. 
Doubtless the flower might be cultivated, if 
proper care were taken to give it a suitable 
place, but we much prefer to leave it in its na- 
tive woods, where its wild look is more in keep- 
ing with its surroundings than in the garden. 
The other flower, the Spring-Beauty, is figured 
and noticed In the left hand column of this page. 
