196 
THE 
Aiggust. 
TKANSPLAITTIlirG &BASS. 
Few persons may h.ave cousidei’ed that 
grass can be propagated in any other way 
than by sowing the seed, or by sodding. - „,„atin<r. As a goner 
But I have learned, after many years’ exi^e- ^ 1 ‘ ° 
rience, that there is no more satisfactory 
way of making a beautiful lawn of clean 
grass—a lawn that will be absolutely free 
fi'om weeds—than by establishing a firm 
and complete turf by transplanting the roots 
of gi-ass. When a lawn is sodded—whicli is 
an exceedmgly expensive way to produee 
grass—there will usuallj'' be numerous 
weeds in the sods, which will cause an un¬ 
told amount of trouble; but when a lawn is 
properly prepared by digging, and pulveriz¬ 
ing the soil, and grass roots are planted, no 
troublesome weeds will ever appear. 
This method is of special value in dry, 
sandy soU, and the grass best suited for this 
puipose is the Bliite Bent-grass, Ac/rostis 
alba. I have fi-equently observed how rap¬ 
idly this grass would spread in piu-e sand, 
where it was not disturbed, covering in a 
single season several square rods with beau¬ 
tiful green tiu’f, where there was nothing 
but sand. Those who find difficulty in es¬ 
tablishing lawns free from troublesome 
weeds, may dig up their lawns, manure them 
generously, rake the surface over and over, 
for several months in succession, and then 
dig up the roots of the Agrostis alba, and 
transplant them just as Cabbage plants. 
Small pieces of roots are planted about 20 
inches or two feet apart each way, in mel¬ 
low ground, and the surface is kept clean 
and free from weeds, between the grass- 
plants, until the spreading roots have cov¬ 
ered the entire lawn. 
In many parts of 2s ew Jersey the soil is so 
sandy and barren, that even Horse Sorrel or 
the White Daisy will not grow. Yet this 
grass if allowed to grow ad libitum, will 
soon change an arid sand-plot to a luxuriant 
green carpet. 
The White Bent-grass resembles the Bed- 
top, Agrostis vulgaris, except in the coloi- of 
the panicles, which are red in the Bed-top, 
and of a very light color in the AVhiCe Bent. 
Its roots spread by stoles, or stolons having 
Joints every inch, or a few inches apart. 
Every joint, if transplanted dui'ing tlie gi’ow- 
ing season, will soon send up tender blades 
of grass, and begin to throw out young 
roots; and as the i-oots spread, .spears of 
grass will come from almost every joint, 
until a firm tui-f has been establishcfl all 
over the gi-ound. .Such a lawn, if well cul¬ 
tivated until the gra.ss covers the whole .sur¬ 
face, will be ]wmanent, and entirely free 
from weeds and unsightly sjjots. 
S. E. T. 
EFFECTIVE PLANTING. 
One of the most desirable results of well- 
tlirectcd efi’orts in landscape gardening is the 
forming of beaiitlful natural pi(;ture.s. 'I'be 
curving of paths through closely-slnived 
lawns, the planting of 8j)ecimen shrubs, and 
the cutting out of geometi-ic (lowei’-beds is 
common enough, and constitutes, with level 
grading, the bulk of the art as seen iu-ound 
villages and cities, but unfoi-tujjately little 
or no attention is given to background relief 
:.„«rvci!iWo t-.n attain withoidmaiy 
ill thing a man 
buys Cut-Leaved Birch, a Weigelia or Hy¬ 
drangea, not because he has 
llarly adapted to any of “^em, but because 
his neighbor has one; because 1 
pretty in the agent’s plate book; 01 
it is included in somebody’s list of trees and 
shrubs suitable for suburban grounds. 
In re-arranging old grounds very marked 
effects can often be produced by using the 
older plantings for a background to the new. 
In many places beautiful old evergreens 
stand in positions where they can be made 
to serve as background from three 01 foiii 
directions for some tree with marked chai- 
iicteiistics. If the side next the street is 
available, a White Dogwood, a Hawthorn 01 ^ t , i. , 
Siberian Crab may be planted in range; ing which they environ, contemplated 
a 
from some other vantage point a Purple 
Beech or a White Birch may be brought in 
line; while from the house side it may serve 
as a background to a Cornus sangiiinea or a 
Snowball. 
The many waj's in which evergreens can 
be utilized as backgrounds make them par¬ 
ticularly valuable. The American Arbor Vi¬ 
tal makes a high, close screen, taking but lit¬ 
tle room at the base, and while it may be 
made to hide a barnyard in the rear, its front 
side may bring out in strong relief any bright 
or beautiful object, from a Peony, or group 
of double IIoll 3 'hocks, up to a Syringa or a 
Pear-tree. If the evergreens that are scat¬ 
tered in unmeaning profusion on many front 
lawns could be gathered in irregular groups 
at the rear and sides of the house, leaving 
irregular nooks for the pl.acing of showy 
shrubs and llower-beds, the general effect 
would be greatly improved, while at the 
same time the care of the lawn would be 
simplified and cheapened. 
I cannot endeavor to enumerate the end¬ 
less changes that can be ))roduced by judi¬ 
cious i)lanting, noi- is it nece.ssary, as chance 
examples may be seen everywhere, often as 
a Dogwood in the edge of a forest, or :i Ifi- 
lae in front of ii Cndi Ajiplo, conniion to be 
sure, yet beautiful notwithstanding. 
__ B. Piuncu. 
A EARMFDL 
end we must make judicious use of the gifts 
which God has given us in the forests, nei¬ 
ther squandering them on the one hand nor 
making idols of them on the other. It is the 
wanton waste of life, be it vegetable or ani¬ 
mal, which is a crime against nature. Our 
actions, however, must be governed by a re¬ 
gard for the interests of man, and not by a 
false sentiment for the “rights of the trees.” 
If a tree be iu the way,—if, for instance, it 
shades a dwelling so as to make it dark, 
damp, and unhealthy,—it should come down. 
To keep a tree in the wrong place is a van¬ 
dalism only second to that which destroys 
tree-life indiscriminately. 
A hue and cry is now and then raised 
through a failure to understand this distinc¬ 
tion. A case in ijoint is that of the recent 
cutting down of some trees in the grounds 
of the Capitol at Washington, which caused 
the eminent landscape-architect having the 
matter in charge to be vigorously denounced 
for his action. The facts in the case are, 
however, that the design for the grounds, 
made on a scale worthy of the noble build- 
SENTIMEN- 
Thei’c 
PHASE OF TREE 
TALITT. 
is a sraitimontality which often 
makes itself manifest in regard to trees 
which IS likely, if not eon-ected, to do more 
hai-in than good to tiie eau.se of tree-culture 
and forest preservation. 'I’here is nothin.^ 
s.wed idio,.ta^ tree in itself, says the editor 
ol Outing III the July number, and there is 
no more harm in cutting it down, when 
casion demands, than there is, under 
pre.sent conditions of civilization 
an ox for food. ’ 
'J'he true friends 
oc- 
the 
11 killinir 
seek to jierpetiiate the foia'isUlV,,''nw!' ''1**''"'', 
mankind, that the '-iinber-supp|yn, , vb, 
served and the eqnilihrinin ivisidl J i"' 
lished by nature may be maintained ' ' ' 
'’iiimite and the soil 
the prevention of disastrous Hoods.' 
boiiellt of the 
I "I- the 
and for 
'i'c this 
broad mall from the end of Pennsylvania 
avenue to the foot of the Capitol terrace. 
This was on the line of a narrow path which 
was bordered by some fine trees. Some of 
these were left to furnish shade while the 
rows of trees bordering the mall were grow¬ 
ing. The latter having become large enough 
to give good shade, and it being time for the 
completion of the improvement, and, more¬ 
over, as the old trees were crowding and in¬ 
juring the new ones, their removal was or¬ 
dered. Certain newspaper correspondents 
seeing this, and not knowing what was in¬ 
tended bj' the new design, straightwaj^ tele¬ 
graphed the story of the vandalism over the 
countr}^ 
PRUNING EVERGREENS. 
In nothing has progress iu arboricultm’e 
been better indicated than in the use of the 
pruning-knife on evergreens. Up to within 
a recent period one might prune any trees 
except evergreens, and few articles ever 
took the public more b 3 ^ surprise, says 
Thomas Aleehan in the Gardener's Monthly, 
tlian our first paper showing that pruning 
benefited these plants. Now it is generally 
practiced, and it is believed to be followed 
with more striking results than when used 
on deciduous trees. 
In transplanting evergreens of all kinds 
from the woods, the best wa 3 ’' to save their 
lives, is to cut them half back with hedge 
shears, and when any come from the nursei'- 
ies with bad roots which have accidentally 
become dry, a severe cutting hack will save 
them. And then if we. have, an unsightlj' 
evergreen—a one-sided or spar.sel 3 ’^-elothcd 
evergreen—if it is cut hack considerably it 
will push out again green all over, and make 
a nice tree. It must bo carefully remom- 
hered, however, that in all these cases the 
lemling shoot must he cut away also. 
An Idea prevails that a new leading shoot 
will not come out on the Pine family after 
one has lost its first. But this is a mistake; 
sometimes they will not show a disposition 
to do so; side shoots near the leader's place 
will seem to put In rival claim for the lead¬ 
ership the following year, hut if the.se are 
tlien cut away they will not make a second 
attempt, and the real leader will push on. 
