PARK AND CEMETERY. 
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that evaporation is considerably diminished. 
This mulch may consist of straw, manure, 
dead grass, or loose pulverized soil. All 
except the latter must be added to the soil 
each year and because of the amount of 
work that they involve are not as desirable 
as the soil mulch. When they become wet 
by the rains they also become packed and 
tend in the course of time to re 7 establish 
the process of evaporation by supplying 
again the conditions favorable to capillarity. 
Owing to their organic composition they 
form admirable conditions for the breeding 
of insects and for the starting of many 
fungous diseases. The soil mulch on the 
other hand requires renewing after each 
heavy rain, but it has the advantage that 
it is clean and does not require any spe- 
cial effort in placing it where it belongs. 
With these few remarks upon the de- 
sirability and advantages of a mulch we 
may take up the improvement of the soil 
itself, so as to increase its ability to hold 
or absorb water when it is supplied. The 
ability of a clay soil to hold water for long 
periods of time and its tendency to give it 
up slowly is perhaps as well known as the 
ease with which a sandy soil gives up 
water. On the other hand a sandy soil will 
absorb nearly all the rain that falls upon it 
while the clay soil will not absorb it nearly 
as fast. Both of these kinds of soil then 
possess certain advantages and disadvan- 
tages that we should like to see in our ideal 
soil. That is, we- should like to have a soil 
that would readily take all the rain or 
water from a hose that we could give it 
but that would hold on to it as well as the 
best of the clay soils. Fortunately the ad- 
dition of humus or well-rotted vegetable 
material will answer the same purpose for 
each of these extremes of soils. It readily 
absorbs water and its presence in a soil in- 
sures a maximum amount of absorption 
when water is supplied to the soil. This 
condition we can supply to the soils of dry 
climates, and when we have this condition 
satisfied we can proceed to outline our 
EFFECTIVE USE OF WATER PLANTS. 
treatment for the production of floral dis- 
plays. 
Briefly, then, what we must do in con- 
nection with the growing of plants in a 
climate like ours, is to treat the soil as a 
reservoir for the storage of water, and then 
when we have provided such a reservoir, 
which may, by the way, take several years 
of time, to jealously guard against the loss 
of such water supply by the mulching of 
the surface, preferably by a soil mulch. The 
only loss of water from the soil should 
take place through the leaves of the plant 
and this loss we must allow if we are to 
grow healthy plants. Some loss of water 
through plant evaporation will take place, 
and if this were not so, we might expect 
to retain nearly all the water that gets into 
the soil by means of the mulch. The mulch 
will insure that the greater part of the 
water loss will take place through the 
plant. 
Unfortunately, for our deduction, a lawn 
cannot be irrigated, but a healthy growth 
of grass in itself acts as a mulch and pre- 
vents the wind from readily removing the 
moisture from the surface of the soil. A 
lawn must be watered with the hose and 
for this purpose on large areas the two and 
a half inch hose used by the fire depart- 
ment is perhaps the best way. Sprinklers 
that will thoroughly water an area with a 
diameter of sixty feet or more to a depth 
of several inches in the course of half an 
hour are now on the market and prove in- 
valuable where it is desired to keep the 
lawn in first class condition. Some authori- 
ties will argue that watering a lawn in- 
duces the growth of wild or weed grasses, 
but, to my mind, a lawn answers its pur- 
pose in the landscape if it is green, no 
matter what its botanical composition. 
The shrubbery borders can be treated in 
exactly the same way as the flower border. 
When water is applied it should be done 
thoroughly once in two weeks during the 
dry season and as soon as the soil can be 
easily worked the soil mulch should be re- 
established. Some method of watering 
other than sprinkling with the hose should 
be used. Many sorts of sprinklers can be 
used that in the course of an hour or so 
will thoroughly soak the soil and the time 
that this will take can be ascertained that 
each part of a shrubbery border can be 
given the same amount of water. By al- 
lowing a definite length of time for each 
setting of the sprayer the personal element 
can be eliminated. A system of under- 
ground pipes with spray nozzles at the 
proper distances apart are now on the 
market and should answer all the require- 
ments. It should always be kept in mind 
that it is not necessary to water the same 
areas day after day. The theory should be 
to water thoroughly and then to protect 
the water by the application of the mulch. 
This factor should not be forgotten for 
upon its rigid adherence the success of the 
treatment depends. 
So much for the treatment of the soil 
and the application of water. This, how- 
ever, is not all. Many plants and a great 
many, do not thrive in a dry atmosphere, 
and even with plenty of water at the 
roots they either do not flower or in some 
other way prove unsatisfactory. Obviously 
the only thing to do with such plants is 
to eliminate them from floral displays 
wherever they canont be given all the at- 
GENERAL MASS OF YELLOW FLOWERED PERENNIALS. 
