216 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 2, 1899. 
01 NTS FOR UmATEURS. 
Making a Lawn. —We are famed for beautiful 
green lawns, we in " bonnie ” Britain. Everybody 
who has a little patch of garden likes to have also a 
dot of lawn—a green place. And these green 
places, grass plots or lawns as you please to call 
them, ought by all means to be augmented, increased 
if possible and certainly introduced into many 
gardens where redundancy of red soil or gravelled 
stretch is so greatly paramount that the softness and 
refreshing coolness or quietude which ought to be a 
feature of every garden, is in the cases we wot of, 
absent, conspicuously and sadly absent. Why ? 
Even in the little back-yard of a suburban residence 
I would, if I could, have twc-thirds of the garden 
laid out in lawn or grass, the other third being 
devoted to borders and beds. But beds are to be 
tabcod in limited areas. The children require all 
the space to roll and romp about upoD, without any 
encroachment or curtailed limit from the introduc¬ 
tion of beds. Even where there are no children, the 
elders like to be able to walk in peace as they wish 
without having to give attention in front to guard 
themselves against plunging into the beds. Without 
diverging too far from the subject in hand it might 
here be suggested to plant groups of shrubs, not tall 
growing or ungainly plants but samples such as the 
Cornus, Cryptomerias, small purple Berberis and 
others which were named last week. Plant them in 
free and easy knots with their tails flowing away in 
winding and lessening trail—this manner of planting 
being quite becoming and in taste, even though the 
area be small. 
But to the making of that lawD. The first con¬ 
sideration before you will be as to the drainage. No 
lawn can or ought to be expected to maintain a 
green sward if the foundation is a bog or something 
approaching to that. No; make sure that your soil 
is well drained. Of course, on the other hand, if the 
land happens to be of a dry, loose and sandy nature 
and texture, the opposite course of practice is 
naturally the proper one, namely, to add some 
humic material or that which will preserve a 
sufficiency of moisture to sustain growth throughout 
any of our long and trying, droughty summers. The 
need for drainage can generally be settled upon by 
anyone with good common-sense, even ahhough 
they have not practical experience to guide them. 
The condition of the ground after rain has fallen in 
quantity will be a pretty safe medium for guidance. 
On light soils even after quite a quantity of rain has 
fallen the land is workable after the interval of a few 
hours, or a day and a night at the most. In medium 
soils the surface becomes dry after a moderate period 
of fair weather, say,about a day or two, yet the deeper 
strata will be found just a trifle too stiff, adhesive 
or moist to be properly and beneficially worked. 
Then as a last type, the heavy soils (for there are a 
number of grades) take two or three days or even 
longer than a week, according to the weather. 
The above deductions are based upon the experi¬ 
ence of such soils during balmy spring weather. 
We have no need to say more under this heading in 
connection with the quick drying lands. Then fcr 
medium soils give moderate drainage. If the area 
is ODly a limited one such as one finds in small 
suburban gardens- — half a rood or so—the work may 
be of ,an elementary character. By this we mean 
that tile drains are not necessary, although for 
security and perfection when completed these may 
well be adopted. 
Cut drains four feet deep and about twelve feet 
apart to run in the direction of the land slope. A 
thoroughly firm and level foundation must be pre¬ 
pared for the stones or tiles. This is of the utmost 
importance. Then when the drain has been cut, 
which will cost from sixpence to a shilling per two 
and a quarter yards of run, according to the soil, the 
drainage material may be fitted or built in. Flat 
stones do very well, one laid evenly and solidly as a 
sole plate and two laid slopingly to form the sides, 
these meeting at their top edges, thus forming a 
triangular drain. Wooden drains are not to be 
recommended. Spruce branches in some very im¬ 
material instances are used in place of drain tiles, 
stones, or any other firmer material. These Spruce 
branches should be tightly packed in at the bottom 
of the run. Then over them turves should be 
placed in saddle fashion, or straw if turf is scarce to 
secure. Good stiff clay ought then to be moulded 
over the straw and the drain soil filled in. retaining 
the best quality for the surface. Very good and 
lasting drains could be instanced with only such 
means as this. The branches by-and-bye disappear 
from natural decay but not before the clay has 
become moulded and the form of the drain’s course 
*' set ” firmly. The branches too, are not so great a 
block to the flow of the water as might be supposed. 
Yet, notwithstanding all this, tiles are to be 
recommended, and in our last type of soil, the 
heavy loam or clay, these or perfectly built stone 
draius are alone the material which I can advocate. 
The operations of course in the heavy soils are pre¬ 
cisely the same. The distances apart and depths of 
the drain may be lessened to 3 ft. in the latter 
respect and say nine to fifteen feet between them. 
The fitting of the joints so as to prevent dislocation, 
rupture or clogging, must be perfect. Turves ought 
to be placed over the tiles, and the soil over them 
made as firm as the surrounding and touching land. 
Do not scatter the surplus soil over the land after 
having filled up, but mound it over the top. The soil 
in the drain line is sure to sink as it becomes more 
consolidated. 
Preparing the surface—When the drainage of 
the land has been seen to, the succeeding work is 
obviously the preparation of the surface tilth. This 
should at least be dug one foot deep. As I have 
already hinted, the quality and mechanical condition 
of the soil will be the ruling factors in determining 
whether any extraneous elements or composts need 
to be added. Certainly light soils would be none the 
worse for an addition or increase to their moisture¬ 
holding properties, and this can be given by 
incorporating leaf mould, vegetable mould, old 
decayed grass mowings or short strawy manure. 
Cinders, road - scrapirgs and the miscellaneous 
conglomeration of " suitabilities " which the amateur 
gardener can think of may be added to the heavy 
soil, and these materials will increase its porosity. 
After having dug the land over and probably 
having left it exposed for a month or longer so that 
sun, wind, air, rain, snow or frost, shall have baffled 
against and broken down the superficial layer of soil 
then comes the final hoeing, levelling, raking and 
rolling. The rolling is to obtain a level surface but 
before either sowing or turfing it, the whole should 
be gone over with a small teethed rake. And this 
brings to mind the bint that to obtain a proper level 
or an even gradation the cross-bars and borning- 
rods may be tequired. The hints, however, are but 
as a guidance to the amateur who may desire to under¬ 
take the small contract of his own land, not for the 
large operations whose completion could only be ful¬ 
filled by professional or master-bands. Fuller hints 
on obtaining accurate levels in different cases and on 
an elaborate scale may be given later, if necessary. 
Meantime, I would propose that after obtaining a 
fair level by eye judging, get hold of a garden line or 
long cord. Attach this to tall, strong stakes, both 
to be of an equal length and the line or cord then to 
be fastened at precisely the same height on each of 
the two stakes. When these are stretched apart and 
inserted to the line level, any prominences or 
depressions may be corrected by using the back of a 
rake or the spade. Slide the line over all the 
surface. 
Turfing. —Where turves of an even texture and 
purity are to be secured, the work of laying a 
lawn is .very frequently accomplished by their use. 
Good clovery sods or stretches of short grass turf 
upon country roadsides are very frequently drawn 
upon. Meadows where the soil is firm, produce nice 
lawn turf. Pieces should vary in length but ought 
so far as possible to have straight edges. By saying 
vary in length ” it is meant that half of the turves 
are to be oblong, the other half square, so that the 
edges may not form one continuous straight line 
when the turves are laid. 
A surface sprinkling of very fine cinders is some¬ 
times spread before turfing. Then, when so much 
has been carefully and closely laid, the finished 
portion of ‘'lawn” must be very firmly beaten by 
means of turf-beaters got for the purpose. A soaking 
should be given to the turves when they have been 
well fixed in, beaten, and settled, then frequent roll¬ 
ing will be afterwards needed. 
Lawns from Seeds. —This is probably the easier 
method but of course it takes a couple of seasons 
before a passable veldt is developed. It goes on 
improving of course and one of the great benefits 
one gets from sown lawns is, that if the seeds have 
been bought from the proper sources the owner 
may rest assured of having a pure grass lawn, a 
lawn of beauty and a joy (not “ for ever”) but for 
a long time. The selection of grasses, and Clovers 
should be regarded as of the highest importance. 
The least amount that can be sown is seventy-five 
pounds per acre or one pound to every two rods or 
perches of land. A heavier sowing is recommend- 
able. Calm weather should be chosen for this work, 
and in the operation do it twice over, sowing at 
right angles during the second turn. All that is 
necessary after having finished the sowing, is to rake 
the surface lightly over so as to just cover the seeds. 
The roller may again be put over the ground once 
or twice to bring up an even, firm “ back.” Birds 
must be kept off for a time else the bulk of the seeds 
may never more be seen, To summarise the whole 
let it be understood that (1) a lawn must be carefully 
prepared ; (2) the drainage and land preparations 
should be completed one, two or three months before 
sowing or laying turves takes place; sowing to be 
done anytime in March, April, May or June. (3) 
Only the best quality of turf or seeds ought to be 
used.— Beacon. 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
A nyone 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. 
Making a Greenhouse — J. S., N.B. : Certainly, 
certainly, is what we would say if we were by your 
side. Handy men who have a rudimentary know¬ 
ledge of carpentry and plenty of enthusiasm may, 
we think, safely accomplish that which you propose. 
Indeed, it is done day and daily. Your own experi¬ 
ence will guide you in laying out the plan—the brick 
foundation, the sole beams upon which to erect your 
standards, rafts, and astricles ; then for a roof why 
not endeavour to secure some frame sashes ? By this 
you would be very greatly helped. It lies with your¬ 
self, of course, as to ho w refined the finished struc¬ 
ture may be. It would be entirely beyond us to try 
to detail everything, but this advice we can impart : 
Have a clear notion of the work to be done, and 
how to begin, what next to do, and how to end. 
The making of a sroa'l house of the conventional 
span-roofed shape simply resolves itself into being 
able to measure exactly, plane, mortice, dove-tail a 
liitle, and by the use of the semi-circular chisel or 
gouge to groove the wood if need be. Use the best 
21 oz British sheet glass. Choose a position facing 
north and south. 
Soil Analysis.— Precision : If you are a Fellow of 
the R.H.S. ; otherwise you should correspond with 
Messrs. A. Voelcher & Sons, 22, Tudor Street, 
Embankment, London, E.C., who are specialists in 
the analysis of soils. 
Adiautum farleyense.— Jerome : A temperature 
of from 65^ to 8o° wiil be sufficient. During warm, 
sunny weather, when the sun’s rays have become 
stronger, shade from 10 o'clock till 3.30 in the after¬ 
noon. A. farleyense is often too much shaded. 
Pot the plants into turfy peat, broken charcoal, some 
lumpy, rather solid loam, with a fair proportion of 
leaf mould and silver sand. Give the plants a light 
position near the glass during winter. A still air, 
not dry nor too moist, is what this variety enjoys. 
The water supply must be adequate, but not too 
liberal. 
Foxgloves in the Garden. — Robt. Jones : Yes, 
they do amazing well anywhere. Once you sow the 
seeds no further repetition in this respect is needed. 
They sow a yearly shower of seeds themselves. 
Any soil will do, but of course “ as you do to me, I’ll 
do to you ” — if you treat the Foxgloves well they will 
be all the finer. Sow in March, on the edge of the 
shrubbery. Notice within the funnel or flower 
corolla the hairs which bar the entrance against 
small insects but are not strong enough to prevent 
humble bees, these doing the fertilising in this case. 
The smooth surface beyond is also dangerous and 
intimidates the creeping fry. These are small things, 
but interesting. 
Cockroaches. — W. J. Islan : The common Cock¬ 
roach (Stylophyga or Blatta oriental is) is difficult to 
