88 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[June, 
and ■with which some well-decayed manure 
should be mixed. In October the fasciculated 
roots are to be planted at 12 to 16 inches 
apart. The top of each fascicle ought to be 
10 inches from the surface of the soil. These 
should be covered with the same compost, and 
sheltered during the winter, as already men¬ 
tioned, with a layer of leaves, which are taken 
away when cold is no more to be feared. 
Humidity being the sole thing to dread, I 
cannot too strongly insist on perfect drainage 
in order to obtain a good result. Thus treated, 
the plants will push on freely, will throw up 
their numerous stems which attain from 20 to 
40 inches in height in the course of the spring, 
and will be covered with flowers from June 
onwards. 
Alstroemerias are increased by dividing the 
tufts, but only in the early spring, in March ; 
it is Avell to keep the young multiplications in 
pots and under frames to prevent them from 
perishing. The Alstroemerias are so close to 
the Bomareas that certain authors have con¬ 
founded the two genera. This similitude 
might perhaps be utilised by fertilising the 
two genera one with the other, in order that 
our ornamental flora of the open air might 
thus gain some interesting novelties. — Ed. 
Andre [Rev. Hort., 1884, 228). 
DAISIES ON THE LAWN. 
HE presence of Daisies and Plantains on 
grass turf is a sure indication of 
poverty of the soil, and those who 
have to deal with weedy lawns should 
make due note of the fact, for not until it is 
properly understood and acted upon will it be 
possible to achieve much success in their im¬ 
provement. Poor soils will not produce a 
satisfactory growth of grass and clover, and 
as these die out, in consequence of the soil 
being exhausted of its alkalies and phosphates, 
the Daisies and Plantains take their place, to 
be followed in due course by weeds of a still 
more objectionable character. 
As the Daisies form a green surface, the 
owner of a lawn of which the soil is in a very 
exhausted state has not so much to com.plain of 
as is generally supposed, and would indeed 
appear from a superficial consideration of the 
matter. Nevertheless the presence of Daisies 
is not to be desired for two sufficient reasons. 
In the first place, a weedy lawn indicates to 
some extent indifferent management, and in 
the second a surface of Daisies is much less 
satisfactory both to the eye and the foot than 
grass. Every efifort should indeed be made 
to keep the Daisies and Plantains under, if not 
to entirely annihilate them, and the steps 
taken should be rather in the direction of 
promoting a vigorous growth of grasses and 
clovers than in killing the Daisies. Why this 
course should be taken will be sufficiently 
explained by a brief statement that when the 
grasses and clovers grow with a proper degree 
of vigour the weeds will not be able to make 
much headway; certainly not sufficient to 
present a very objectionable appearance. It 
is still too much the practice to ignore the 
necessity for applying regular dressings of 
fertilisers to the lawn. As the result, it is 
a quite common occurrence to see lawns that 
are either in a very weedy state, or so impov¬ 
erished that they become broAvn after a short 
period of dry and hot weather. To have 
grass in perfection it must be cultivated, 
which briefly stated consists in maintaining 
the fertility of the soil by dressing with 
manure according to the necessities of each 
case, and assisting the grass during periods of 
droughts with copious waterings. 
We have proved on more than one occasion 
that Daisies may be eradicated and the texture 
of the turf improved by a very simple course 
of procedure. This consists in sprinkling 
guano over the daisied turf at the rate of three 
and a half pounds to the square rod in dry 
weather. The lawn will have a decidedly 
brown and, in fact, objectionable appearance 
for some time after the guano is applied, and 
the gardener will do ■well to explain the matter 
to his employer before he resorts to remedial 
measures. But in due course a luxuriant 
growth of grasses and clovers will take the 
place of the daisies and plantains, and form a 
turf of splendid texture and emerald bright¬ 
ness. That such things as daisies and plan¬ 
tains should be killed outright by sowing 
strong manures over them is due to the 
breadth of their leuA’CS, wliich receive and 
hold the manure as a poison, and by the 
time they are dead to the very roots, the 
manure is carried dowm into the substratum 
by the rains, and the grasses and clovers, 
feeling the stimulus, flourish anew, and quickly 
take the place of the daisies and plantains. 
Applied in dull showery weather the guano 
will promote a more vigorous growth of the 
