GARDEN 
SUGGESTIONS 
<3J)C/ 
QUERIES 
CONDUCTED BY F. F. ROCKWELL 
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Summer Care of the Lawn 
NE important job which requires 
weekly attention throughout the 
summer is the care of the lawn. Many 
persons make the mistake of keeping the 
lawn too closely cut, with the result that 
in dry weather the grass roots are exposed 
to the baneful influence of the hot sun 
and of drying winds. Cut your lawn 
frequently, but do not set the machine too 
close. To keep the lawn looking clean at 
all times have a grass-catcher attachment 
on the mower. A careful watch for weeds 
on the lawn should, of course, be kept. 
Cut them out well below the surface with an 
old knife as soon as they are large enough 
to be seen. A roller on the lawn is advis¬ 
able, but it should be used judiciously. 
Lawns that have been rolled for a long 
time are likely to become over-rolled; 
there is “surface cohesion” or close pack¬ 
ing of the top of the soil, which prevents 
the admission of air and healthy root de¬ 
velopment. The remedy for this condition 
is the use of the spiked tamper. A home¬ 
made one which will answer the purpose 
may be made by taking a piece of 2" 
plank some 12" x 12" and inserting 4'' 
spikes an inch and a half or two inches 
apart. It is better to bore boles a little 
smaller than the spikes before driving 
them in to prevent splitting the wood. 
Perforate the whole surface thoroughly 
with this, give a top dressing, lightly rake 
it in and water the whole thoroughly late 
in the afternoon. For an excellent sum¬ 
mer top dressing mix a bushel of good 
garden soil and a bushel of natural humus. 
Spread out in a low, flat heap, add a mixed 
dressing of high-grade lime and mixed 
fertilizer or of bone with a couple of hand¬ 
fuls of Nitrate of Soda. Mix this thor¬ 
oughly and let it stand for a few days. 
Pulverized sheep manure may be used in 
place of the fertilizer. In this case use 
several quarts to the two-bushel heap. 
Mix this thoroughly and let it stand for 
a week before using. Sprinkle this lightly 
over the lawn, adding seed to the bare 
spots, and give a thorough watering, fol¬ 
lowing with a rolling as soon as it has 
dried off. 
Constant tillage during the growing sea¬ 
son is also essential: never let your soil 
form a hard surface crust, as it prevents 
the air from penetrating the ground and 
thereby retards the growth of your plants. 
The presence of humus in the soil, in 
the shape of well-rotted horse manure 
that has been finely pulverized, is of great 
assistance in the prevention of surface 
crusts. The natural manure being largely 
humus (decayed vegetable matter) is of 
vital importance in maintaining and in¬ 
creasing the fertility of the soil. 
Humus is essential to plant growth, and 
the action of the soil towards moisture 
holding, heat, light and penetration of the 
roots is greatly influenced by it. The 
mechanical cultivation of the ground is 
more easily accomplished where humus 
predominates. All the plant foods — nitro¬ 
gen. phosphoric acid and potash — are 
more or less controlled by humus. Well- 
rotted horse manure is extremely valuable 
for the available plant foods it contains, 
including bacteria, those micro-organisms 
A window arrangement that will permit access to the 
flowers and yet prevent insects from entering, can be 
made in this way from mosquito netting 
that have the power to take nitrogen from 
the air and convert it into an available 
plant food. Bacteria also store up surplus 
supplies of nitrogen in the form of nodules 
on the roots of leguminous plants. It is 
conceded by all growers that rotted horse 
manure is invaluable in properly prepar¬ 
ing the soil when a garden is contemplated, 
to insure good results. 
Care of the New Asparagus Bed 
Do not let your taste for this delicious 
vegetable tempt you to keep on cutting from 
the new bed. Though an occasional dish 
may be had the second and third year 
afcer planting, the cutting should be very 
limited, as the plants have not yet reached 
maturity and established themselves suf¬ 
ficiently to withstand the strain upon their 
vitality which is made by continuous cut¬ 
ting throughout May and June. Stop cut¬ 
ting early, and then remember that you 
now have to begin to grow your crop 
for next spring. Cultivate between the 
rows thoroughly; give a good dressing of 
manure or fertilizer and work it in. and 
be sure to get all the weeds out from be¬ 
tween and around the plants with the hand 
hoe. The result should be a vigorous 
growth of beautiful, feathery, green stalks 
which will shade the ground, so that you 
will have little trouble with the weeds dur¬ 
ing the latter part of the season. If the 
asparagus beetle puts in an appearance, 
spray thoroughly with Arsenate of Lead. 
This, if used in time, will be effective. 
The same treatment accorded the 
rhubarb patch, which is usually one of the 
most neglected spots on the place, will 
result in your being able to gather next 
spring stalks which will make you realize 
what the quality of rhubarb really is when 
properly grown. The small, stringy stalks 
from overcrowded, neglected plants, which 
one generally sees, absolutely fail to do 
justice to this truly delicious vegetable. 
Another summer job which demands 
attention about the place is pruning. The 
spring and fall primings are, of course, the 
most general, but there are a number of 
things to be looked after through the sum¬ 
mer. The rambler roses, for instance, 
which are usually well through blooming 
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