1861.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
149 
which give the lawn a crowded appearance, 
may, some of them, he removed to the bounda¬ 
ries of the premises, or worked into groups. 
Now, let us take a sharp look at our walks 
and roads. As originally laid out, the curves 
were excellent, but in some places the frost or 
accident has defaced the margins, and through 
Fig. 3. 
neglect, the grass has crept out into the gravel. 
These things must be rectified. The original 
curves must be restored by cutting out the mar¬ 
gins neatly, re-sodding the banks where broken, 
and scraping the walks as clean as when first 
made. Here is a walk which has never been 
properly filled up with gravel: it has too much 
of a ditch-look about it, Fig. 1. It must be 
filled with gravel, until it presents something 
like the appearance shown at Fig. 2. 
In the grading of the borders of walks and 
carriage ways, much skill and taste can be shown. 
Fig. 4. 
On perfectly level ground, the slope should oe 
very slight, as in Fig. 2, with a depression at the 
edges of the walk of two or three inches, just 
enough to carry off the water from the middle 
of the walk. Where there is a ridge of earth 
near the walk, it may be graded down with a 
long slope, like Fig. 3, or Fig. 4. Where 
the walk runs through a low and damp soil, it 
may be raised a few inches above the surround¬ 
ing soil, and the surface graded up to it, like 
Fig. 5. 
Fig. 5. 
The turf used for finishing off all these mar¬ 
gins should be of the best kind. It should 
be laid by an experienced hand, and rammed 
■down hard and smooth. The above work hav¬ 
ing been done, the whole lawn should be rolled 
with a heavy roller. And if it be rolled and 
mowed every ten days through the Summer, 
the labor to perfect the lawn will obviously be 
mot in vain. 
-- ■ - # - ►-». - 
Managing' Strawberries. 
We now refer to only one point, viz.: wheth¬ 
er they succeed best when kept in hills, or when 
allowed to cover the entire bed. In favor of the 
latter method, it is argued that the vines being 
spread over the entire surface, the foliage acts as 
a mulch hi Summer, and a protection in Winter, 
thus saving the necessity of using tan-bark, saw¬ 
dust, straw, or other covering. By this mode, too, 
it is thought the fruit is kept cleaner, and is more 
abundant, even if it be not so large. Then, also, 
and most potential of all reasons, this method 
saves trouble! 
On the other side, it is held that to mulch a 
bed with growing plants, defeats its own end, for 
they absorb more moisture from the ground 
through their roots, than they preserve in it by 
the shade of their leaves. This is like keeping 
a cistern full of water by the shade of the pump, 
while the pump-handle is kept continually at 
work! As to the quality of the fruit; certainly 
it is worth some trouble to raise large, fine-look¬ 
ing berries. And even as to quantity, it is not 
so certain that the massing system has the ad¬ 
vantage. The forces of the vine are so much 
expended in making runners, that few fruit 
stems are formed. When the runners are clip¬ 
ped off, new stools or clusters of fruit-stems are 
produced around the collar of the mother plant, 
which bear very abundantly. On vines so man¬ 
aged, we have often counted twenty or more 
fruit-stems, with an average of ten berries on 
each, and they of magnificent size. Two hun¬ 
dred berries to a single plant, is about enough 
for mortal man to ask for! We doubt whether 
in the helter-skelter system, a larger bulk of fruit 
is raised on ground of the same extent. Let 
the reader make careful experiments this season, 
and make a note of them. 
-—.— w —*—- 
Impure Squash Seeds. 
From all parts of the country, we hear com¬ 
plaints of impure seeds of the best squashes. The 
famous Hubbard turns out a failure, with one 
man; the Honolulu is little better than a half- 
ripe pumpkin, with another; the Boston Mar¬ 
row is a cross between many sorts, with a third. 
This is a great annoyance. These several 
squashes have their distinctive excellences, and 
it is very desirable to keep them separate. 
One way to preserve the different sorts from 
mixing, is to plant only one kind in a garden, 
and the spot should be a hundred feet or more 
from all other gardens. Even then, the bees will 
be likely to carry pollen from one to the other; 
a strong wind may do the same. 
The only way to secure absolute purity, is, first 
being sure of good seed, to cover several flowers 
of the kind wanted, with a bell-glass, or with a 
bag of millinet, or in some other way prevent 
bees and other insects from alighting upon the 
blossoms. Keep them covered until the fruit is 
set; to secure impregnation, dust a little pollen 
on the center, with a camel’s hair brush, from a 
barren bloom of the same vine. After the fruit 
sets, no harm can come to them. 
And what is thus true of squashes, is true like¬ 
wise of melons, and pumpkins. They will mix, 
if not protected, and if they mix, they deteriorate. 
How to Transplant. 
Those who have provided early plants of cab¬ 
bages, tomatoes, etc., in hot-beds, cold frames, 
or boxes of earth, will of course transfer them 
to the garden or field as soon as the soil and 
weather will permit. A little care will save an 
immense loss. Before lifting the plants, it is 
important to thoroughly soak the ground in 
which they are growing. Let this be done sev¬ 
eral hours before transplanting. The greater the 
amount of soil that can be made to adhere to 
the roots in taking up, the better. Take them 
up only as fast as they can be set out; two 
hours exposure to sun or wind is often a loss of 
some days in the growth, if not a total loss of 
the plants. “ No pains, no gains ” here. 
Most persons prefer setting at evening, and 
when the ground is wet by rain-. We prefer a 
dry soil, so that it will not be packed by tramp¬ 
ing. When the hole is made, have a pint or 
more of water poured in. Before the water all 
soaks away, the plant is set in and the hole filled 
up with dry earth. Most of this is wet by the 
water, so that the plant is surrounded with 
moisture, and yet the surface is left loose, and 
open—not packed or baked. We are certain 
that the trouble required is abundantly repaid, 
whether the number of plants be large or small. 
What will pay in a garden, will pay in a field. 
Most cultivators, however, take up the plants^ 
thrust them into a hole, and let them 
do the best they can. When this is 
done, the ground should be wet by rain 
or artificially. An implement, called a 
dibble, shown in the annexed cut, is con¬ 
venient. It is made of wood—a large 
one is best. A simple straight pointed 
stick will answer. One with a handle, 
like our engraving, is more convenient. 
It may be made from an old shovel handle. 
Hints on Sowing Garden Seeds. 
Nature covers lightly. She scatters seed from 
the ripened stalk, for rains to wash into the earth, 
or the falling leaves to cover. The gardener 
often plants too deeply. Seeds which push up 
a large head, as squashes or Lima beans, and 
others with a feeble stem, like onions, parsnep.s v 
etc., can not well force their way through 
several inches of stiff soil, packed down by 
heavy rains. A covering one half inch deep is 
sufficient for most seeds—less than that will 
answer for many. 
In covering, see that lumps of dirt or small 
stones do not take the place of fine earth. This 
often happens when the seed is covered by 
raking the drills lengthwise; a better way is, to 
pass the back of the rake crosswise over the 
drills. The old fashion of cutting up the garden 
into beds four to six feet wide, thus wasting a 
large portion of the ground in useless paths, is 
now nearly out of date, and very properly. A 
few long rows of beets, carrots, onions, etc., 
across the garden, are more easily worked than 
beds of short rows. 
THE HOlEJSmm 
Blinks from a Lantern — XXVII. 
VISITS A CONTENTED FARMER’S WIFE. 
I am getting to admire the moderns very 
much, especially the women. I find in my jour- 
neyings, that there is almost as much diversity 
of character among them, as with the men. 
This was impossible in my day, even among the 
Greeks, with whom literature and the fine arts 
were carried to the highest degree of perfection. 
But letters and philosophy were not for the 
Greek woman. She was a drudge, in the field 
and in the kitchen, and the same unvarying 
round of duties made, every where, a similar 
type of character. Xantippe scolded her hus¬ 
band, but it was only the fame of her husband 
that made her conspicuous. The women were 
all scolds and croakers in my day, and if the 
husbands were not universally the objects of 
their petty malignity, it was because all hus¬ 
bands had not the meekness and good temper 
of Socrates. The sex had then, as now, an eye 
to personal safety. 
But Mrs. Grimes, (mentioned in the April Ag¬ 
riculturist ,) is by no means the type of the mod- 
