M'A\ YORK, NOVEMBER 15, 1913. 
WEEKLY $1.00 PER YEAR. 
SHRUBS FOR THE HOME YARD. 
Value of a Good-looking Home. 
There can he no question as to the high value of 
pleasant lawns and attractive groupings of shrubs 
about the farm home. The necessity of tree shade 
and protection is universally admitted. If nature 
has not already pro¬ 
vided these requisites 
in the way of grove or 
forest as a setting for 
the farm dwelling, tbe 
deficiency is supplied 
as rapidly as may he 
by the planting of ap¬ 
propriate shade, fruit 
and nut trees, but the 
collection of decora¬ 
tive shrubs is too often 
relegated to the ever- 
busy housewife, who 
must depend on the 
slow process of “slip” 
and suckers procured 
from her more for¬ 
tunate neighbors. 
Brassy lawns must now 
be had as a matter of 
course. Suitable seed 
may be procured from 
any dealer or mail 
order house, and ef¬ 
fective lawn mowers 
have become- so inex¬ 
pensive that they are 
as common about farm 
homes as other gar¬ 
den implements. Flow¬ 
ering shrubs, however, 
and those notable for 
neat habit and orna¬ 
mental foliage, are not 
as commonly planted 
as their great merits 
deserve. Once estab¬ 
lished they give little 
trouble and are al¬ 
ways in evidence in 
their respective sea¬ 
sons to greet the 
home-lover with their 
developing beau¬ 
ties. Beds and bor¬ 
ders of annual and 
herbaceous plants are 
exceedingly decorative 
aud desirable. They 
should neve r be 
omitted if sufficient 
care can be given 
them, but require un¬ 
remitting attention 
during the busiest sea¬ 
son for good results. 
Shrubs, however, if 
well planted may en¬ 
dure occasional neglect 
without great harm 
and the necessary at¬ 
tention in the way of pruning and cultivation may 
ho given when other work is not pressing. The list 
01 available species is large and is being rapidly ex¬ 
tended by additions from the temperate regions of 
Ventral Asia and other newly explored countries. 
Jr is well, however, to start with the tried and re- 
hable varieties commonly planted in the neighbor¬ 
hood. Novelties may be added later. Arrange¬ 
ments should be in bold groups or rather dense 
clumps about the borders of the home yard, rather 
than dottings over the lawn, as in this manner 
open vistas and stretches of green sward may be 
preserved. Every home planting is an individual 
problem not to be determined by outside advice. 
A FINE SPECIMEN OF SPIRAEA VAN IIOUTTEI. Fig. 
There is a wealth of information as to the char¬ 
acter of the different varieties—their degrees of 
hardiness, times of flowering, habit, height and as¬ 
pect of growth and general availability for special 
purposes, climates and soils—to be had in the cata¬ 
logues of prominent nurseries that should always 
he consulted before extended plantings. Large 
shrubs for immediate effect may frequently be had 
at bargain rates at the end of the shipping seasons 
in Spring and Fall. They are useful, but require 
careful handling to establish well. The smaller 
sizes, particularly the pot-grown specimens kept in 
stock throughout the year by progressive nurseries, 
are far more generally useful and, it is to be hoped, 
may soon be widely 
available through a 
cheaper and more ef¬ 
fective parcel post. 
The planting of 
shrubs, like orchard 
and ornamental trees, 
should be carefully 
done. Generous holes 
should be dug and the 
top-soil returned to the 
bottom or well packed 
about the roots; the 
less fertile sub-soil may 
well be placed at the 
surface, as it can 
easily be enriched by 
subsequent top-dress¬ 
ing. The top soil 
should be thoroughly 
marked a n d firmed 
about the roots, and if 
these should be, as is 
often the case, too 
dense and fibrous to 
handle well rather dry 
sand may be used to 
work among them and 
afterwards well satur : 
a ted with water. Bone 
meal or fine old yard 
manure are the best 
fertilizing materials 
for use while planting, 
hut recourse should be 
had in most instances 
to subsequent addi¬ 
tions in the way of 
mulches and top-dress¬ 
ings. Pruning should 
be moderately severe 
at first, so that the 
mangled roots are not 
overtaxed by too great 
a spread of branches, 
but afterwards should 
only be sufficient to 
thin old and weak 
wood, or to shorten in 
rampant new growths. 
Shrubs in home plant¬ 
ings should, as a rule 
be allowed to retain 
their natural habit 
and not be chopped 
back to stiff brushes 
as in formal garden¬ 
ing. Spring and Fall 
are both available sea¬ 
sons for planting, the 
only requisites being 
that the soil is in 
the shrubs dormant in 
1> road-lea ved evergreen 
later in Spring with 
The proper location 
499 . 
fairly moist condition and 
growth. Coniferous and 
shrubs can be moved much 
safety than deciduous kinds, 
as well as the grouping of shrubs is an important 
matter. Moisture-loving species should have moist 
situations if they can be had and those from arid 
