g | THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER, 
August 1, 1905 
hot water. The practice of immersing the 
flowers in water is not a good one; with few 
exceptions, flowers last much better if kept 
quite dry, and some are absolutely spoiled 
by being wetted. The sweet sultan (Cen- 
taured suaveolens) is an example of this, 
and it will last almost equally well without 
even the stems being in water. In some 
flowers, foliage left on the stems will ab- 
sorb all moisture, and cause the flowers to 
fade quickly ; this is the one disadvantage 
with chrysanthemums on long stems. But 
to get over this, exhibitors often strip off 
all the leaves from the flower stem, and 
use another stem with leaves only. I be- 
lieve there are many who do not recognise 
the disadvantage of leaving the foliage on, 
for one often sees them in the market with 
all the foliage intact—Merropo.itan, in 
“Horticultural Advertiser,’ England. 
The Making of a Lawn. 
Florists are often called upon to super- 
intend the laying out and making of home 
grounds. The trees and shrubs should be 
planted before anything else is attempted. 
The lawns and walks would be the next 
work to undertake. Ifthe gardener could 
always have his own way he would plant 
trees and shrubs early in spring, lay out 
the drives and walks in the fall, and work 
up the goil for the lawn so as to have it 
ready for sowing the following spring. 
= os 
To get a good lawn the first year is only 
possible if the ground is covered with 
selected living sod, which is the most ex- 
pensive way of making a lawn; but if good 
grass sod is obtainable and within handy 
hauling distance, and if good sodders can. 
be set to work at reasonable wages, con- 
tract work of this kind pays handsomely. 
The sod should not be any thicker than an 
inch, only thick enough so that it holds and 
does not tear in handling. The surface of 
the soil must be in fine shape and perfectly 
even, and if the god ig also of an even. thick- 
ness a large surface is quickly covered. 
After the sod is down a rolling or pounding 
ia in order, and, after this, should the 
weather be dry, a thorough watering and 
the job is done. 
Fully as good a lawn can be made by 
sowing the grass seed... Sowing the seed 
very thickly so that all the ground looks 
white, will cause a dense growth of young 
grass to come up. It may please the 
owner and may appear like a good lawn, 
but it ig not. Good lawn grass seed goes 
a good walys, and must not be scattered too 
thickly, and im one year or two a lawn 
started with the young plants at proper 
distances will be a finer sight than the one 
started with a dense growth of newly sown 
grass. The grass seed must be carefully 
raked in and then rolled several times, 
unless it is wet weather, when the rolling 
must be deferred until the lawn is dry 
again. The best success with lawn grass 
seed will be had if the sowing can take place 
in October. If much earlier the young 
grass, although believed to be hardy, is apt 
to succumb to late heavy frosts, and if sown 
much later our hot and dry summer days 
will give it no chance to thicken and 
spread, the roots being too short to derive 
sustenance from a cool and moist subsoil. 
Any amount of watering will not save an 
open, exposed, late-made lawn. Weeds will 
flourish and the grass will die out. 
Why some people can have a fine, vel- 
vety, spotless lawn when others, in spite 
of often repeated sowings and continual 
drenching with hose and sprinkler, can- 
not call forth a decent spot of the coveted 
green, is easily explained. The former 
took the utmost pains in preparing the 
ground for their future lawns, while the 
latter covered a pile of rubbish, tin clip- 
pings from the roof, old paint cans, the 
carpenter’s sweepings, and thei yellow and 
blue clay from the basement excavations, 
with an inch of black soil, expecting that 
grass, of course, will grow anywhere. But 
that is a great mistake only too often made 
even by people who would not mind the 
expense entailed in the proper preparation 
of the lawn had they only known better, 
An evergreen, fine lawn for many years to 
come is secured ‘by working up the soil to 
a great depth, placing the lifeless clay away 
down into the trench if it cannot otherwise 
be disposed of by adding large quantities 
of rich manure to the soil and by sowing 
the seed in April. 
NURSERYMEN 
Send for our — 
NURSERY TRADE LIST. 
Quoting prices for all sorts of young stuff such as— 
Fruit Tree Stocks, 1 and 2 years : 
Small Conifers, 1 to 4 years 
Ornamental rees and Shrubs 1 tof3 years 
Roses. 890 sorts 
Fruit Trees, 1,200 old and new sorts 
New Shrubs and Trees, ete. 
RANSON BROTHERS 
AND 
D. DAUVESSE’S ~ 
Nurseries United 
in 1901. 
BARBIER & Co., 
SUCCESSORS, 
ORLEANS, FRANCE. 
Plants are carefuliy packed, and those we 
yearly seni to the Cape Oolony, Australia, Tasmania, 
South America, &c. have always arrived in good 
order and given satisfaction. 
DIAMONDS, 
DEFY THE EXPERTS. 
S 
estimated amount, 
ment was confirmed 
Barrios Diamonds were firet brought to America by Mme. Algerie 
Barrios, wife of Guatemala’s assissinated president. 
seized her jewels. suposed to be worth 1.000.000 dollars. 
they were but clever imitations and worth less than one-fiftieth the 
Every known test was applied and eventually her state- 
The most expert jewellers were employed hy the 
The enstoms officials 
She declared that 
United States Government to make this test, and the only way they 
discovered the truth was by weight 
experts are certainly clever enough to deceive anybody else, and countless 
wealthy women now have their valuable jewels duplicated with Barrios 
Diamonds that fool Government 
Diamends as a protection against thieves in public. ‘ 
Every stoue is guaranteed to retain its brilliancy, and the 
stantial. 
upwards — 
mountings to give perfect satisiaction. 
~ stand acids, heat, alkali, etc. 
like ordinary diamonds 
Unmounted Barrios Diamonds can be supplied from 5s to 20s, accord- 
ing to size ; 
Ladies and Gentlemen’s Barrios Diamond Rings and Broochos, from 
73 6d upwards 
The engraving is hand chased. 
Gent’s Barrios Diamond Scarf Pins, in new and beautiful designs, 
Also Ladies Stick Pins and Lockets, exact Cuplicates of 
expensive solid gold and genuine diamond lockets, from 5s — 
Specimens of Diamonds , 
and Price List on view at Caxton Printery. . 
; Corner of James Place, Adelaide. ; ; 
garrios Diamonds will 
They can be washed and cleaned 
Mountings are gold filled. heavy and sub-— : 
Tilustrated Catalogue 
