140 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
hillside is unusually steep, we would not 
advise in its preparation deep plowing, but 
rather think it would be advisable to cut 
this up with a disc harrow, running it 
along the slope of the hill and afterwards 
harrow with a spike tooth harrow on two 
occasions, so as to finely pulverize the soil. 
After this is accomplished we think it 
would be advisable to sow Blue Ribbon 
evergreen lawn grass at the rate of from 
60 to 80 pounds per acre. This should be 
done as quickly as possible and within a 
short time, so as to prevent any rains from 
washing and causing the ground to settle 
in the meantime. 
After the seed is sown we think it will 
be advisable to roll this ground so as to 
have as firm and as compact a seed bed 
as possible, thereby preventing any seed 
from remaining uncovered or any rough 
clods or other unevenness to appear on 
the surface. We would also advise a good 
application of pulverized sheep manure, 
heat treated, so as to eradicate any 
growth of weeds which might be contained 
in the manure. This should be applied at 
the rate of about a ton per acre. 
After the grass has begun to grow and 
has attained a height of from one-half to 
one inch, we would advise using nitrate of 
soda at the rate of 100 pounds per acre. 
This would cause the grass to take hold 
and grow very rapidly and form a sod 
within a very short time. We think it will 
be necessary to augment and assist the 
growth of the grass so as to prevent 
trenches from occurring after rains. A 
mixture of raw bone and nitrate of soda, 
four to one, would tend at the same time 
to hurry the growth of the grass, and its 
growth would be maintained by the 
amount of raw bone still in the soil. In 
fact, we think this would be advisable, 
rather than an application of nitrate of 
soda. This mixture should be applied at 
the rate of about 500 pounds per acre. 
If the party does not intend to sow in 
grass seed except for the purpose of pre- 
venting it from bleaching and washing, we 
suggest the following mixture after the 
soil has been properly prepared as above. 
The following mixture should be applied 
at the rate of 34 pounds per acre and sown 
any time during the month of April in 
your section : 
10 pounds Kentucky Blue Grass. 
4 pounds Red Top. 
10 pounds Perennial Rye Grass. 
10 pounds English Blue Grass. 
This could be fertilized just as the lawn 
grass and would in a very short time form 
a sod sufficient to keep the ground from 
bleeching and washing. This mixture 
could be secured at very little cost and 
would serve in the event that an inex- 
pensive sowing was required. 
Wood, Stubbs & Co. 
Louisville, Ky. 
PRINCIPLES OF LANDSCAPE ARRANGEMENT 
Address before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 
by Arthur A. Shurtleff, Landscape Architect, of Boston 
A public park or private estate should 
be accessible readily by road and rail not 
only to those who are to frequent the land 
for pleasure purposes, but also to those 
who furnish labor and material. The pub- 
lic will visit a park which is conveniently 
situated ; a half-mile walk or a five-cent 
fare cannot be exceeded without grave 
danger that, as the novelty of the park 
wears off, pleasure seekers will forsake its 
precincts altogether. Although the choice 
of a private estate is involved to a less 
degree by considerations of distance from 
the city, the owner must carefully weigh 
this factor to determine how many hours 
of his life and how much of his income 
he will devote to mere traveling. The 
transportation and cost of labor and of 
materials are also to be reckoned with as 
a large item both in the first period of 
construction and in the final budgets of up- 
keep. 
Breezy northern slopes are desirable for 
grounds which are to be used only in 
summer, but for winter enjoyment south- 
ern slopes and protection from the wind 
are essential. In cold weather furnaces 
and artificial light cannot bring cheer to a 
building placed on a site deficient in sun- 
light and unduly exposed to the wind. 
Likewise, electric fans and awnings are 
poor makeshifts for the breezes and the 
shade of trees which afford natural relief 
from summer heat. The slope of the 
grounds should not be so steep or so want- 
ing in contour as to prevent the construc- 
tion of roads of moderate gradient be- 
tween points of strategic importance. 
These gradients should be tested carefully 
with an instrument, not only to learn their 
steepness, but to make possible the prep- 
aration of a general working plan for 
pleasure and service roads. 
The grounds should be carefully exam- 
ined to discover the presence of rock. If 
ledge occurs where roads are to be built 
or cellars excavated, serious items of ex- 
pense will be involved. The cost of re- 
moving ledge is from ten to twenty times 
that of ordinary earth excavation. Out- 
crops of ledge which furnish stone for 
buildings or road foundations, or which 
add picturesqueness to the landscape, are to 
be highly prized. 
Boundary lines should be free from jogs 
and offsets, and should embrace all land 
needed for the development of immediate 
landscapes, and for the control of distant 
outlooks. Park margins should be care- 
fully adjusted to the contour of the ground 
in order to permit the construction of 
boundary roads of moderate gradient. 
Such marginal roads not only assist in po- 
licing the park, but they insure the or- 
derly development of adjoining private 
property by forcing the nearest buildings 
to face rather than to back upon the pub- 
lic land. 
The nature of the soil should be studied 
both upon the surface and at a depth (by 
means of test pits dug for the purpose) to 
ascertain its water holding capacity and 
the size of its aggregate. A sandy or 
gravelly quality is very precious because 
it renders possible cheap roads, cheap con- 
crete, dry cellars, and ready sewerage dis- 
postal, although, on the other hand, grass 
and trees may suffer for lack of water in 
such ground. A heavy clay soil may be 
endured for its economic uses and for the 
good grass which it generally produces. 
The top soil or loam should be deep and a 
liberal supply of yellow loam should lie 
beneath it. This combination with ade- 
quate rainfall furnishes the mainstay of all 
vegetation. Light cultivation under such 
conditions will bring good soil speedily into 
bearing, but heavy cultivation extending 
over a period of years is often required 
to bring a thin soil into a productive con- 
dition. A liberal water supply must be ob- 
tainable within easy pumping distance of 
the building sites and the young planta- 
tions. For ordinary economic uses, water 
should be free from, hardness to insure 
ready solution of plant food and saponifica- 
tion. Drinking water should also be free 
from organic matter. 
Land for public park or private estate 
should be chosen with consideration of the 
appearance as well as the condition of its 
woodlands, meadows, brooks, ponds and 
fields. These features are the materials of 
scenery, and they must compose or be ca- 
pable of composition into landscapes pleas- 
ing to the eye. If the land of your choice 
fulfills all severely practical requirements, 
and at the same time possesses fine land- 
scapes, your search has been well reward- 
ed, and you may undertake problems of 
design and construction with the assurance 
that no unforeseen topographical difficul- 
ties can thwart you. Problems of design 
are difficult in themselves, and they need 
for their best solution all the initial assist- 
ance which topography, soil exposure and 
landscape can provide. Design should aim 
to render the territory highly convenient 
and useful for the special purposes of the 
park or private estate with the least first 
cost and with the least cost of maintenance. 
Good design would miss its aim did it not 
preserve and create appropriate and at- 
tractive landscapes, landscapes in which 
roads, buildings, fields', woodlands, water, 
bridges and all other elements enter with- 
out affectation to form compositions pleas- 
ing to the mind and to the eye. 
