House and Garden 
of roots, and be sufficient. When the 
trees are larger a trench is dug at a few 
feet from their center, circling the trees 
and severing the roots met with in the 
operation. If the trees are large and 
tap roots are supposed to exist, the dig¬ 
ging goes under them until the roots are 
met with and cut. The soil is then 
thrown back; and, in one or two years 
if dug for transplanting there will be 
trees well supplied with roots. 
When trees are large the root pruning 
is better than a transplanting. There is 
no disturbance of the roots in all their 
parts. A number will always be found 
undisturbed, the tree itself is still in 
solid ground; and no matter how large 
a tree or how many roots were cut, I 
have never known one so treated to die. 
There is really no time in which this 
mode of pruning may not be done, nor 
no tree, evergreen or deciduous, on 
which it may not he practiced. This is 
a good time to do it, as roots are still 
forming; and even when growth is over 
for the season it may still be done, and 
all will then be ready for the next sea¬ 
son’s development.-— Florists' Exchange. 
PREHISTORIC IRRIGATION IN EGYPT 
VX 7 HILE modern English engineers 
are steadily carrying out a plan 
for irrigating Egypt that is to restore 
prosperity to its sun-parched fields, an 
English antiquarian has found at Hiera- 
konpolis the records of a primitive sys¬ 
tem of irrigation that was carried out no 
less than six thousand years ago. The 
changeless East has rarely vindicated the 
repetition of its history in such convinc¬ 
ing sort. Before the pyramids of Gizeh 
were planned, or the mighty steps of 
Sakkara completed, at the very dawn 
of those earliest dynasties of primeval 
monarchs who ruled in the hoary dawn 
°f Egypt’s history, the limestone mace- 
head of King Nar-Mer recorded the 
turning of the first sod in some primitive 
scheme of canalization. Even then four 
distinct types of population can be traced 
and on the pivot of an ancient door is 
carved the bent figure of a bound cap¬ 
tive, supporting its weight upon his back, 
exactly like those Romanesque or early 
Gothic figures to which Dante compared 
the suffering souls in his Inferno. Even 
so long ago, the vase of sculptured, 
diorite shows a skill in working hard 
material that would be difficult to sur¬ 
pass to-day; and the toilet dish from 
Evergreens for Every 
Place and Purpose 
Are found in our Nurseries, and they are of 
the choicest quality, for careful and frequent 
transplanting with the best scientific culture 
has produced the choicest stock. There are 
here EVERGREENS 
Lawn specimens 
Mass planting 
Woodland planting 
Hedges 
Edging 
Windbreaks 
Screens 
Formal gardens 
Seaside gardens 
Windswept tracts 
Smoky cities 
Swamp and marsh land 
FOR: 
Rapid growing 
Slo w growing 
Giving shade 
The best columnar, glob¬ 
ular, prostrate and 
weeping varieties. 
House decoration 
Dry soil 
Heavy soil 
Light soil 
Shallow soil 
We invite you to visit our Nurseries 
Nurseries are located 35 minutes from New 
and make personal selection of stock. Our 
York City on the main line of the Erie Railroad. 
To those who are at a distance 
and other stock with descriptions an 
our catalogue will bring a glimpse of our Evergreens 
d prices. Send for a copy. 
BOBBINK & ATKINS 
NURSERYMEN AND LANDSCAPE GARDENERS 
RUTHERFORD, :: NEW JERSEY. 
-—- 
Decorative 
Cloths 
THE 
HOLLISTON 
MILLS 
Elsed by the highest class decora¬ 
tors in the country and found 
superior to any other wall covering 
NORWOOD, MASS. 
U. S. A. 
Absolutely sanitary—will not hold dust—colors are fast, lasting and match perfectly. 
New York Office No. 67 Fifth Avenue 
SEND FOR SAMPLE BOOKS-FREE 
In writing to advertisers please mention House and Gabden. 
3 
