Conducted by W. C. EGAN 
A HEDGE FOR A ROADWAY 
I want to plant a hedge on both sides of a roadway leading from 
my house to the street. 
My neighbor has one of arbor-vitae but the heavy snows in 
winter break it down and the dogs have made scratching holes 
in it, so I want something else. How about the privet ? 
W. T., Deerfield, Ill. 
The winters in your section are too severe for a privet hedge. 
A winter like 1898-99 would be very liable to injure it severely. 
The Japanese barberry, Berbens Thunbergii, would probably 
suit you better than anything else, provided the situation is one 
where the drainage is good and you have room enough to allow 
it to grow untrimmed. This shrub will in time grow about five 
feet high and six to eight broad, and one of its charms is its winter 
berries, which are abundantly produced on wood two or more 
years old. Cutting it back limits their number and also destroys 
the pleasing effect of the manner it disposes of its arching branches. 
This shrub is hardy almost beyond question, is clothed with 
verdure early in the spring, and its fall coloring is unsurpassed. 
In the winter its pendulous branches are completely lined, on the 
under side with brilliantly colored coral berries furnishing food 
for the early spring birds. Do not plant nearer than four feet 
of your roadway. 
CRAB-GRASS ON THE LAWN 
I made a new lawn this spring and bought the best mixture of 
lawn grass seed I could obtain, still my lawn is full of crab-grass. 
Where can I buy seed that is pure ? 
E. C. O. 
The chances are that there was no crab-grass seed in the mixture 
you bought. All the grasses grown for seed for lawn sowing ripen 
their seed and it is gathered before it is time for the crab-grass to 
even bloom, consequently no seed of it could be gathered. 
In all probability the crab-grass is indigenous with you, or had 
gotten into your soil in some way and it is almost impossible to 
eradicate it. 
PLANTS THAT WILL BLOOM IN THE SHADE 
Please give me a list of plants that will bloom in a rather shady 
situation close to a ravine bank, which is densely wooded. The 
branches of the trees overhang the bed some, but the sun shines 
into it a few hours in the morning. J. B. M. 
For that portion under the drip of the trees, plant, one foot 
apart, in irregular groups the Mertensia V'irginica (Blue Bells) 
and in between the groups and in between the plants set Crocus 
Scillas or any of the spring blooming bulbs. In the front of them 
use trilliums and hepaticas each in groups by themselves. All 
plants mentioned so far are permanent ones, blooming early and 
are not disturbed by the drip from the overhanging branches, and 
are benefited by the shade afforded by plants in front of them. 
In front, place some long spurred columbines and peonies, and 
among them plant lilies, especially Liliurn speciosum or L. Cana¬ 
densis, which are more likely to remain than the exotic forms. 
The front may be planted with any of the following plants treated 
as annuals: pansies, balsams, snapdragons, petunias, bellis, 
Godetia, forget-me-nots, lobelias, and the flowering tobacco plants. 
PLANTING OF TREES AND SHRUBS 
I want to plant some trees and shrubs on my grounds and as 
there are no experts here I must depend upon myself. The only 
information at my command is an article that says, “Make the 
holes large enough.” I am in a quandary as to what the author 
means as the statement is indefinite. Will you please state what 
size the holes should be ? Suburban. 
Much depends upon the condition of your soil. If it is naturally 
rich like the cornfields of Illinois or has been cultivated as a 
farm or garden, holes five feet in diameter for trees and four for 
shrubs, both two feet deep, should be opened up, the soil freely 
pulverized and returned to the holes. A little manure at the 
bottom and sides may be used. 
If, however, the soil is hard, thin and poor, the holes should 
be six and five feet in diameter and two or more deep. The top 
six inches may be retained, mixed with manure and placed at the 
bottom of the hole, and fresh, friable soil from some garden or 
corn field brought in to fill up. 
If the ground is rocky and only a layer of soil a few feet deep 
overlies solid rock, the holes should be eight to twelve feet in 
diameter for vines if good results are expected. 
USE FOR GRASS CLIPPINGS 
Are the grass clippings from the lawn of any use ? G. R. S. 
They may be used in mulching strawberry beds, newly planted 
shrubs and trees, and groups of the tall hardy phlox, or any shallow 
rooted plant. They help retain the moisture in the soii and protect 
the roots from the effects of the hot sun. 
They are useful in keeping down rank growing weeds around 
manure piles and in fence corners if put over them in very thick 
layers. When dumped in heaps, cut grass heats rapidly, killing 
any weeds under it. When fall comes, break up the matted lumps 
and pile away in some corner. Break up again the following 
spring and again in the fall and you will have a black mould useful 
in lightening up heavy soils. 
WINTER PROTECTION FOR MOSS PINKS 
My man put heavy cow manure over my bed of moss pinks last 
fall, and I found nearly all the plants killed this spring. I have 
a new planting now. How shall I protect it next fall ? S. E. B. 
I presume your moss pink to be one of the forms of Phlox 
subulata. This phlox, like most evergreen perennials should not 
be mulched in winter with any heavy, compact material. The 
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