528 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
April 18, 1896 . 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Making of Lawns. 
{Continued from p. 496.) 
We now come to the consideration of the process of 
levelling proper. In the constructing of tennis lawns 
it is imperative that the ground should possess a 
perfectly true surface. In making bowling greens, 
however, it may be remarked en passant that some 
people prefer to have them rather higher in the 
centre, and sloping gently towards the sides in order 
to bring the skill of the players into relief in placing 
their balls upon the slightly-curved surface. To 
obtain a true surface, wooden pegs should be driven 
in at the corners of the plot and at regular distances 
in between. A long light piece of wood having 
straight edges may be placed upon these pegs, 
shifting it from one to the other and adjusting it by 
means of an ordinary spirit level, until the whole of 
the proposed lawn has been gone over. 
Slopes. — In many gardens, both small and large, 
we see one or more sloping banks describing a more 
or less acute angle with the level surface. It is a 
very common practice in making bowling greens to 
construct a sunk panel, with grassy slopes surround¬ 
ing it. Such slopes certainly look well enough, when 
they are well kept up, but it must be borne in mind 
that they require a great deal of close attention. It 
would be the height of folly to go to the trouble of 
making them in places where it will not be possible 
to pay them the attentions they require to make them 
look really well. Where such a bank slopes toward 
the south, and there is no shade near, it is almost 
sure to burn in the summer, and no matter how 
assiduously it may be watered, it will still look 
brown. Of course it stands to reason that slopes 
facing other points of the compass will not be quite 
so badly off in this respect, but the difference is one 
only of degree and not of kind. Again, there is 
always considerable difficulty in keeping the grass 
mown. It may be argued, of course, that the scythe 
instead of the mowing machine may be used, but the 
former does not produce nearly such a trim 
appearance as the latter. By all means indulge in 
a few grassy banks, if the formation of the ground 
and the character of the house favours them, and if 
they can be kept in good order afterwards ; but if not 
then, they are far better left alone. 
Purchasing the seed. — The old proverb about 
" spoiling 'the ship for a ha’porth of tar," may b e 
quoted at the outset as being an example of the folly 
there is in trying to save (?) a few halfpence upon the 
bill for the seed. It is by no means the low-priced 
article that is always the cheapest in the end. Many 
people have the bargaining instinct strongly 
developed, and are only too eager to snatch at a 
chance for buying a job lot of seed, with the result 
that, after a while, the so-called lawn is a beautiful 
wild-flower garden in which the grass proper is 
conspicuous by its absence. Anything like job lots 
should be avoided. The best plan, and one which 
we would strongly recommend to all who have the 
intention of purchasing seeds is for the intending 
purchaser ( .o put himself in the hands of a good firm, 
and pay the price asked for the genuine article. 
Rest assured that much disappointment will thus be 
saved. The order may, therefore, be sent in to the 
chosen firm for a mixture of the seeds recommended 
by them for an ordinary lawn, and the thing is done. 
Some, however, may like to know what kinds of 
grass they are going to get, and so we have appended 
a short list of the best subjects to grow. 
Cynosures cristatus.— This is commonly known 
as the Crested Dogstail. The foliage is very narrow 
(narrowly-linear), ribbed, and hairy. This grass is a 
well-nigh indispensable factor in all mixtures for 
sowing down lawns. It will stand drought capitally, 
and is, therefore, especially suitable for planting in 
positions where the subsoil is very chalky in 
character. Its roots, moreover, find no difficulty in 
penetrating the soil, no matter how hard it is, and as 
a consequence it will do well almost anywhere. A 
good mixture of grass seed will include at least 
twelve per cent, of this. 
Festuca duriuscula, commonly known as the 
Hard Fescue, is of great assistance in forming a close 
sward. It commences to grow early in the year. It 
will thrive upon land of ordinary texture, but not 
upon very clayey or retentive soils. About eight 
per cent, is a good quantity. 
Festuca ovina tenuifolia. — \ fearfully long 
name this, and our readers may remember it better 
as the Fine-leaved Sheep’s Fescue. The foliage of 
this grass is exceedingly fine. As it evinces a habit 
to grow in dense tufts, it should never be used by 
itself, although it comes in very useful when about 
4 per cent, of it is introduced into the mixture. 
Poa pratensis, or the Smooth-stalked Meadow 
Grass, is commonly used in parts of the United 
States for sowing by itself. It has the quality of 
recouping itself very quickly from the effects of long 
drought, and no matter how burnt up it may appear 
after a few weeks of hot sunshine, a shower or two 
of rain will soon put a different complexion upon 
matters. It does not root nearly so deeply as many 
of the Poas, and this makes the way in which it 
stands dry weather all the more remarkable. It 
thrives best on soils of a medium texture. 
Poa trivialis, the Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, 
is very much like the last-named in appearance, but 
it possesses different qualifications altogether, for 
whereas P. pratensis does best in the open, P. 
trivialis flourishes in shady positions. It will also 
stand the drip from trees without the least apparent 
harm. These facts should be borne in mind when 
sowing down spots that are overshaded by trees. An 
ordinary mixture may contain about four per cent. 
Poa nemoralis sempervirens. —The reader will 
observe that long names are fashionable amongst the 
grasses, and the Evergreen Meadow Grass may 
possibly prove a handier title if not quite such a 
distinctive one as the first given. This is also an 
excellent subject for growing in shady spots, although 
it will do equally as well in the open. Four per 
cent, of this will be about sufficient. 
Lolium perenne Suttoni is one of the very best 
subjects to employ. It is a very rapid grower, and 
soon develops into a dense sward. It stands pro¬ 
longed drought wonderfully well, and even if burnt 
is not very long in recovering itself. This may enter 
into the mixture to the extent of nearly forty per 
cent, if desired. 
The sowing of Clovers is regarded by many as 
essential to the production of a really good lawn. 
True it is that they come in very handy on land that 
burns a great deal during the summer, for under 
such circumstances Clover retains its greenness for a 
long time after the drying-up effect of the sun is 
apparent upon the grasses. For bowlmg greens 
and tennis lawns, on the other hand, it is well to 
exclude Clover altogether, as it holds the moisture 
too long, unless, as previously intimated, the soil is 
particularly addicted to burning during the summer 
months, in which case of course, it will be advisable 
to sow a sprinkling of clover. Trifolium repens 
perenne, the Perennial White Clover, is one of the 
most useful. It is of exceedingly robust constitution, 
and will grow almost anywhere and under any 
conditions, often at the expense of the grasses, hence 
it is not advisable to sow too much of it. Trifolium 
minus, often called the Yellow Suckling, is rather a 
better species than the preceding. It is naturally 
inclined to make a dense dwarf carpet, and is, there¬ 
fore, particularly valuable for our purpose. It grows 
with great quickness, and will make itself perfectly 
at home on dry and gravelly soils. During a dry 
spring and summer, therefore, when the grasses are 
somewhat thin and weak, this small plant comes to 
the rescue with its small rich green leaves. 
In extremely hot dry situations, where even the 
hardiest of the grasses mentioned, as well as the 
Clovers, refuse to grow, some use may be made of the 
Yarrow, or Milfoil (Achillea Millefolium). This is a 
common roadside plant and yet, no matter how dry 
the position in which it is growing, its leaves seldom 
lose their lively green colour. A little of it may be 
introduced into the seed mixture if desired, but we 
would strenuously advocate caution in this respect, 
for the Yarrow will grow with such astonishing 
freedom that, unless the grass be kept closely cut, it 
will usurp far more than its allotted share. 
Quantity of seed. —With regard to this, there 
exists a good deal of diversity of opinion, and we can 
only give a few general hints which are of necessity 
subject to modification. Where it is desired that the 
ground should be covered as quickly as possible with 
a glossy green carpet, not less than three bushels of 
seed to the acre must be allowed, although four 
bushels per acre is by no means an extravagant 
quantity to use. In order to make this more 
intelligible to the majority of our amateur readers, 
who certainly do not want to sow down acres of 
lawn, we may say that for a plot of land 100 ft. in 
length by 50 ft. in width, half a bushel of seed will 
be sufficient, if the time can be spared to allow the 
grass to grow nice and strong. A bushel of seed, 
however, will produce a sward very much quicker 
than will the smaller quantity, and this fact alone 
will be sufficient excuse for the extra expense in the 
minds of those who are spoiling for a game of tennis 
or bowls, as the case may be. 
Sowing the seed. —With a few remarks on the 
actual sowing of the seed we must bring this even 
now too lengthy article to a close. To make 
assurance doubly sure two sowings should be given, 
the second crossing the first nearly at a right angle. 
A quiet day should be chosen. After all the seed has 
been sown the whole of the ground must be raked 
over lightly and rolled down twice. The rollings, as 
the sowings, should cross each other at right angles. 
If these instructions are carried out, there will be 
little danger of a failure, and the blades of grass will 
soon begin to make their appearance in ever-increas¬ 
ing numbers under the beneficent influences of April 
showers and May sunshine.— Rex. 
-•**- 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
Anyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
“ Amateurs' Page ” on the top of their letters. 
Mildew on Roses.—A William Allan Richardson 
Rose that is growing in my greenhouse has the 
points of the shoots smothered with mildew. Can 
you tell me the[cause ? and what will effect a cure ?— 
Rosarian. 
An oft-repeated wail this, and we should advise 
our correspondent to take what comfort he can from 
the fact that -hundreds of other peoples' Roses are in 
the same plight. Mildew is almost sure to make its 
appearance upon Roses grown under glass at some 
time during the spring or early summer. The evil 
is often greatly aggravated by the roots of the trees 
being allowed to get into a bad state. Sour stagnant 
soil cannot be too strongly deprecated. Again, 
careless and irregular ventilation, causing cold 
draughts, and I more or less serious fluctuations 
of temperature, is greatly to blame. We have had 
some searchingly cold winds of late, and these will 
not have done your Roses any good, Rosarian. 
Attend carefully to airing and watering, then, in 
the first place—in this case both prevention and 
cure. Dust the affected shoots with flowers of 
sulphur. For this purpose a little sulphur blower is 
both a handy and a cheap instrument to use. - 
Red Spider on Strawberries.—We presume, B., 
Lewisham, that you have been giving your Straw¬ 
berries a dose of "go-as-you-please” treatment. 
With the bright weather we have been having of 
late, a very few hours’ neglect with regard to water 
is quite sufficient to bring on an attack of Red 
Spider on Strawberries growing under glass. You 
must syringe your plants well, twice a day, except 
when they are in flower, or when the fruit begins to 
ripen, and, above all, don’t let them get dry again. 
Species and Varieties —Will you kindly explain 
how a new species is obtained, and the difference 
between a species and a variety ?— Reader. 
To go thoroughly into this question would require 
a considerable amount of space. To quote Ben- 
tham’s definition—" a species comprises all the 
individual plants which resemble each other 
sufficiently to make us conclude that they all, or 
may have been all, descended from a common 
parent." The species composing a genus differ from 
each other in comparatively minor points, but these 
are pretty constant. A species will thus reproduce 
itself naturally from seed. A variety is subordinate 
to a species, and we may get numerous varieties 
differing from each other in the size and colour of 
the flower, and leaves, and heig ht of the plant, such 
as in our Roses, Carnations, and Dahlias. These 
varieties have usually to be propagated by cuttings, 
layers, or grafts, as they cannot be depended upon to 
come true from seed. With regard to the way in 
which new species are formed, the constant modifi¬ 
cations of plant forms, brought about by change of 
climate or immediate environments that are going 
on constantly around us, have to be reckoned with. 
Thus two plants originating from the same seed pod 
will, if placed under different conditions, develop 
