LAHDSOAPE GASDENIN&. 
Owners who hiiild in now jq 
are destitute of trees, often fee 
cover the baldness ’'y ® =stakes 
the whole surface. In this way tw 
are conunitted. . . , 
Handsome landscape planting consists 
leaving at least a portion of the grounds as 
open lawn, so that there maybe an ag - 
able distribution of trees and open space, 
and thus the eye may have a wider lange. 
The thick planting grows tall, the trees ai 
crowded and drawn up without side limbs. 
The owner often lacks the nerve to thm tbom 
out in time, or some of liis family drea o 
see their favorites, as they regard a the 
trees, remorselessly saeriBced. It is there¬ 
fore well, in setting out ornamentals, to 
bear in mind how large they will become, 
and how far their branches will e.xtend, if 
allowed free scope, in future years. If 
a greater munber is indispensable, plant 
smaller kinds. 
Among these smaller ones may be named 
the different varieties of the Horse-chestnut, 
the Mountain Ash, the Judas tree, Sweet 
Gum, Hawthorn, Vii-gilia, Aeercampestre, and 
Magnolia iripctala and Sotilangeana. Among 
the smaller evergi-een trees are White 
Spruce, Cembrian Pine, Red Cedar, and 
Siberian Arbor Vitse. The larger shrubs 
mav come in near the boundaries of the 
larger plantings, or next the open lawn, and 
these may include the Tartarian Honey¬ 
suckle, the Philadelphus, the larger Lilacs, 
the Purple Fringe, and the Purple Barberry. 
Hardy climbers may be moderately in¬ 
troduced in the more remote or secluded 
portions of the grounds, such, forexamiile, 
as the Virginia Creeper, the Trumpet Creeper, 
the Aristolochia, the Akebia, and the com¬ 
mon White Clematis. But stiff wooden 
structures to support them should be en¬ 
tirely excluded. A festoon or two on an old 
tree would be more pleasing. 
Much labor is often needlessly expended 
in heav}' grading, in the attempt to reduce 
the surface to an exact plain. If naturally 
uneven, all that is necessary is to round off 
the sharp angles, partly filling abrupt de¬ 
pressions. The curved surface thus obtained, 
if judiciously managed, will be made more 
pleasing than a dead level. The ground 
must be smooth enough for the lawn-mower, 
— the great leading implement for beautify¬ 
ing home grounds. 
Farmers may object to these improvements 
on account of the expense. But those who 
regard as a matter of importance making 
their homes pleasant and comfortable to 
their families, and attractive to young per¬ 
sons who are growing up, and who arc about 
to choose between a wholesome and useful 
country life on the one hand, and one either 
of a roving character or xvith the uncertainty 
of the city on the other, ought not to hesitate 
in devoting some attention to pleasing sur¬ 
roundings of their dwellings. The expense 
may be varied indefinitely at the option of 
the owner. If he has a mortgage on his 
farm which he is endeavoring to reduce lie 
may still secure much that is desirable with 
very little outlay. 
A half acre or more may bo spared from 
his hundred-acre farm without any great 
willing to do as i 
are spending a great 
loss, and he I’uu baud lawu- 
of summer, or foot-walks should 
less than five doUau- keptm 
be few, that they of keepiug 
order, and the ,,eed not be more than 
them neatly trimmed nee ^^^ 3 , 
one dollar. ^ f^It to satisfy the 
the gronnds are Ph'«‘®f would do. 
most parsimonious, fo 1 ^ 
With a little moie h j 
lar or elliptic.al flo'vor-heds mig^ 
the smooth turf, aw = „,j,o is in 
beauty to the place. should bo 
,obt,orwholia^2::^i:manVofivhom 
deal on ivorse than use 
„e«». to rewnemmt . 
Dr. Franklin’s “Poor Richard. 
These remarks are intended, howev , 
those who can well afford to make hber^ 
provision for pleasant surroimdings foi thei 
dwellings, with shnibbery and flowers near 
the house, and handsome shade trees on the 
more remote portions of the gi-ound; and 
who, if ample proidsion is made besides for 
such fruit as Strawberries, Raspberries, and 
the summer ripening varieties of Peaches, 
Apricots, and Pears, will find little difficulty 
in affording home attractions to their gion- 
ing-iip boys, and (Rawing them from a roving 
and profitless life. 
Those who have largo farms and plenty of 
land to spare, and especially those who 
occupy the broad plains of the West, may 
give their home gioimds a park-like appear¬ 
ance by devoting several acres to planting 
shade trees, and grass may be kept short by 
the grazing of sheep. Let the trees be 
planted far enough apart for full develop¬ 
ment of their rich forms, and ivhen they are 
full-giwvii, such trees as the Oak, Chestnut, 
Black Walnut, Elm, Maple, and many others, 
properly grouped and distributed, with broad 
sweeps of open lawn, will impart richness 
and magnificence to the landscape, and all 
will remain year after year with little or no 
attention. Wliere there is some natural 
growth of these trees already on the farm, 
enough may be carefidly retained to impart 
this fine result at once without waiting for 
the trees to grow.—./.,/. Thomas, hc/bre llw 
IVeslern X. Y. IlnrUciMural SocMi/. 
plaut®^> uiid if the work is done careftmy 
„ 33 d mulch applied duiing summer, and ^ 
Uberal coat of manure next fall, the pw 
will grow readily and soon fill out the gap 
HARDY RHODODENDRONS. 
.•Are there any really hardyRhododea 
drolls'?” is uu inquiiy on hand. As was 
stated in a former number of The American 
GAKD kN, none are as hardy as a White Oak 
yet with but very little attention to theij 
natural habits and requirements some of the 
most beautiful kinds maybe gi-own out doors 
to perfection. 
The best hardy varieties we are acquainted 
with are: album elcgans, very large white; 
dBUcalissinmm, white and blush; Mveres- 
Hamm, rosy lilac; Leo’s Purple, very large 
dark purple; and rosexm elegans, delicate' 
rose. These will give as much variety of 
color as is possible in a small collection, and 
will, with fair attention, thrive anywhere. 
Where these fail it is useless to try others. 
In inaldng an additional list of about a 
dozen varieties no two growers would prob¬ 
ably agi'ee entirely. From a comparison of 
some of the best collections in the vicinity 
of New-York, Philadelphia, and Boston, our 
choice would be : Alexander Dancer, alrosan- 
gvinemn, blandnm, Blandganum, Charles 
Dickens, Gen. Grant, giganteum, ghriosnw, 
grandiflunim. If. II’. Sargent, Mrs. Milner, 
piiypnreinn elcgans. 
MENDING HEDGES. 
One of the most annoying sights in a Inwn 
or garden is a defective hedge. When only 
single trees or bushes are missing, the 
branches of the adjoining ones may genorally 
Im trained so as to fill out the gaps, but 
when several successive ones are waiUing 
their places have to bo filled with new plants’ 
The (lifficulty which presents itself in this 
ease is that the roots of the adjoining and 
well established plants take so niiich mois- 
uro and nutriment from the soil in which 
10 young plants are placed that they can 
make but a puny and sickly growth „ 
generally die in the course of a year or’so 
lo iiisiiro success a trench must bo di.. 11 
ontire length of the mm mi . . ‘’"8 
throe feet wide and as ,h,op as" the r“''i' 
the hedge run; all roots that lomoR n"^ 
wayhayo to bo cut off dean ami ^ 
Thotronch should thoubT li 'lX^r^’f 
-h soil, in Which the young treert toli 
PLANTING FORESTS. 
It is a matter of common observation that 
whenever any tree grows in an isolated 
position in the open field it will form a very 
short trunk and a large spreading top, and 
that while trees groxvn for their fruit yield 
the best returns when of this character, 
(piite the reverse is true when the object of 
its production is timber. By observation of 
natural forests, and from the experience of 
planters in Europe and elsew’here, we learn 
that the best timber results are produced by 
planting the trees closely enough at the start, 
so that after a year or two of cultivation a 
constant shading of the surface will be main¬ 
tained during the growing season, and at the 
same time each individual tree will ha'® 
enough room to make a healthy growth, 
thinning out by removing alternate hee® 
from time to time, ns more space is reqmrc 
— Porcst TiCaves. 
BOX EDGINGS. 
If there is any old Box on the place, the 
clumps may bo dug up and torn in even 
sized pieces so that some roots remain a 
each piece, otherwise it may bo obtaU'C* 
from any nurseryman. A ditch is dug a 
the walk whore t.he edging is wanted, a"'^ 
the slips are placed along the straight cd^* 
that about an iiioli of the top remains a a 
the ground. Fine soil is then drawn u'^ 
the ditch, (irmly pressed down with the 00 , 
and all leveled. It the weather is very • 
the planlJh should be watered evenings an^ 
a light mulch applied during summer. 
earlier in spring it is planted the bettor a^ 
the chaiicoH for success. To preserve 
troshnoRs and uniform shape it has <) 
sheared every spring, taking care never 
hut below last year’s growth. 
