1S84.] 
APPLE MBS. BAEKON. 
89 
grass without turning it brown, but the daisies 
will not be killed. In destroying plantains alone 
it will suffice to put enough guano over each 
one to cover it ; but if the work is done as it 
should be in dry weather brown patches will 
be produced, and these will be quite as ob¬ 
jectionable to the eye as when the grass is 
wholly brown. The length of time that elapses 
before the new growth commences after the 
guano has been applied depends entirely upon 
the weather or the assistance the grass receives 
from the watering pot or the hose. Should a 
heavy shower of rain fall so soon after the 
guano is applied that it is washed down to the 
roots before it has had time to brown either 
the grass or the daisy leaves a second dressing 
will be beneficial; but there must be no hurry, 
and it will be well to wait tw'o or three weeks. 
In the improvement of lawns that are thin 
“without being weedy, it is excellent practice to 
apply during the early part of the year three 
dressings of either guano, superphosphate of 
lime, or nitrate of soda, at the rate of three 
pounds to the square rod; the first dressing 
to be applied about the middle of February 
and the other two at intervals of three or four 
weeks. A mixture of well-rotted stable manure 
and fine soil spread over the surface to a depth 
of about one inch some time during the winter 
will afford much assistance to the grass, but 
its appearance is not pleasing and prevents its 
being so generally adopted as it might be with 
advantage to the lawn. 
The manner in which the grass is mown is 
a matter of prime importance, and with refer¬ 
ence to this point it must be said that in many 
instances there is plenty of room for improve¬ 
ment. In some cases the turf is cut too close, 
and the roots thereby too much exposed to the 
heat of the sun for the preservation of a fresh 
and bright appearance during droughty weather. 
On the other hand, allowing the grass to attain 
a considerable height and then cutting close is 
still more injurious. The best process for 
keeping the turf in good condition is to set the 
machine rather higher than is the custom and 
to use it more frequently. Especially is this 
practice desirable in di’y hot weather. 
Another point of management which receives 
but little attention is watering. Throughout 
the summer water is used freely for all sorts 
of purposes except for refreshing the grass. 
In the dry heat of July an irrigated lawn well 
kept in other respects becomes one of the 
most enjoyable features of a garden, but it is 
one rarely experienced, for the simple reason 
that the cultivation of turf is not carried out 
with the same degree of skill as is brought to 
bear upon other departments. Irrigation is 
not useful merely in maintaining the lawn in 
its proper colour during the summer in which 
it is carried out. It has a more permanent 
effect, for by preventing that exhaustion of the 
grass which follows on a period of heat and 
drought it afibrds material assistance to the 
grass in contending with daisies, which are 
not slow to spread on all sides as soon as the 
grass becomes thin and weakly.— [Gardeners’ 
Magazine.) 
APPLE MBS. BAKRON. 
[Plate 612.] 
MONGST large and handsome culinary 
Apples of high quality, the variety 
here figured, which now bears the 
name of Mrs. Barron, but has been 
hitherto called the Yellow Bellefleur, is des¬ 
tined to assume a prominent position. For 
some years it has been cultivated in the Royal 
Horticultural Gardens, Chiswick, under the 
last-mentioned name. Yellow Bellefleur; it 
proves, how'ever, to be quite distinct from 
and much superior to any variety under that 
name, that we have ever met with. It proved 
also to be quite distinct from any variety ex¬ 
hibited at the Great National Apple Congress, 
held at Chiswick last year. That being so, 
and several years’ experience having proved its 
high qualities, the name of Mrs. Barron, which 
it will henceforth bear, has been suggested for 
it and adopted. 
The fruit may be described as of the largest 
size, of oblong shape, and slightly angular 
especially near to the eye. Skin of an almost 
uniform pale yellow^, changing to warm orange 
as the fruit ripens. Eye large, open, set in a 
shallow puckered basin. Stalk short, stout. 
Flesh pale straw-colour, very tender, and 
remarkably sweet for so large a fruit. 
Excellent for tarts. In season from October 
and onwards, keeping well into February. 
Tree of remarkably stout vigorous growth— 
the young shoots thick and strong. A very 
free bearer. An excellent variety for good 
orchard culture, where plenty of space for 
growth would be obtained.—B. 
