62 
P^VRK AND CEMETERY 
The Spring* Garden— I 
Preparatory Work, 
This is not intended to be an essay on landscape, 
nevertheless for the sake of completeness I may say 
TULIPA, HORT. VARS 
a few words on the preparation of the ground. In 
the first place have it well surveyed and a map made 
indicating the topography. Then if any clearing of 
old fences or interfering growths is necessary, have 
it done. While this is proceeding the planting plan 
may be determined, and you will be in a position 
to arrange any drains that may be needed. If the 
ground admits of it, many of these may be led into 
a lake formed for the growth of water lilies. An- 
other set may be led to the willow ground. Ordi- 
narily, however, but little of draining is necessary 
if the estate has been well selected. Neither ought 
much grading to be needful ; it is most useless and 
expensive work, often enough resulting in much 
worse engineering than nature started out with. 
When this preliminary work is complete, the whole 
ground had best be ploughed, the subsoiler run 
in the furrows, harrowed with an “Acme” or other 
approved harrow, as much of rough stuff and stones 
collected as possible and carted off. 
When conditions suit cross-plough and harrow in 
all the well rotted manure, you can (30 or 40 loads 
to the acre). Your ground will then be in conditon 
to grow grass and trees and shrubs. 
The roads may now be pegged out. An easy 
way of tracing the curves is by setting a pair of cart 
wheels on an axle of their width, and driving over 
them. The marks the wheels make will surelv be 
good curves, and the pegging can be so arranged. 
You may now build your roads if convenient, and 
i 
finish all grades up or down from them. You may 
or may not have sown the main part of your ground 
to grass while the roads are being made. But if 
this has been deferred until the roads and grades 
and buildings are completed, give another light 
ploughing, harrowing and raking, collecting all the 
stones you can. There are sure to be successive crops 
of these on most ground. 
Don’t buy grass mixtures. You will be sure to 
have mixture enough in a few years. Buy red top 
or blue grass for most parts of the middle Atlantic 
states, as pure as you can, and sow separately or 
mixed, as you prefer, but do the mixing yourself. 
Sow about four bushels to the acre. 
White clover comes into most ground whether 
or no; for my part I like it because it grows green 
after a drought more rapidly than grasses. If sown 
it should be separately, one quart to the acre. 
When the seed is sown you can follow with a good 
brush harrow or a rake, and then roll well. 
If all this work is done as early as possible in 
spring, you can peg out your groups, plant them 
while the grass is growing, and by the middle of 
June yon can begin with the lawn mower. I am 
assuming that whatever the size of the place ade- 
quate labor will be available. 
This is a rapid sketch of the work necessary in 
the formation of a fine place, and from* time to 
