FRUIT AND FLOWERS

Wairoa Bell, Volume V, Issue 219, 13 October 1893, Page 13 (Supplement)

FRUIT AND FLOWERS

FORMATION OF LAWNS. Seeding—Setting Out Grass Plants —Economical Sodding;. The gospel of the perfect lawn includes ieep soil, the proper grasses and frequent mowing. In making a lawn too little Importance is usually placed on thorough trenching or subsoiling and enriching the land. The surface should he harrowed and hand raked until it is in the finest condition. As to the choice of seed, this must vary somewhat with locality and special conditions. Every seedsman has his own special mixture, and a very general one consists in redtop and Kentucky blue grass, in equal proportions, with four or five pounds of white clover to the bushel. The seed is sown broadcast when there is no wind and lightly rolled in This in brief is the usual plan.

ECONOMICAL SODDING. A method described at the annual session of the New Jersey State Horticultural society is as follows: Prepare the soil the same as for seeding down. Then a selected sod of a fine variety of Rhode Island bent grass is taken and divided into single plants of one or two spears, and these are set in rows nine inches apart and also nine inches between the rows, thus requiring 16 plants to the square yard. These plants are pressed firmly into the soil and afterward the whole surface rolled with a hard roller. The after care consists in keeping out every weed. In three or four months, it is claimed, the ground will be entirely covered with a short, thick mat of grass. During the summer make two or three applications of nitrate of soda at the rate of 100 pounds per acre, cast sowing. It must be explained that Rhode Island bent grass as usually seen has long runners, with the plants far apart, somewhat like the strawberry runners, while in the peculiar variety in question the plants cover the entire runners and show no naked stems. The season for planting by this method may be either from September to November or from the last of March to the first of June. To obtain sufficient sod of suitable quality for covering terrace slopes or small blocks that for any reason cannot well be seeded is often a difficult matter. In the accompanying illustration from American Gardening is shown how a surface of sod may be used to good advantage over a larger area than its real measurement represents. This is done by laying the sods, cut in strips from 6 to 10 inches wide, in lines and crosslines, and after filling the'spaces with good soil sowing these spaces with grass seed. Should the catch of seed for any reason be poor the sod of the strips will tend to spread over the spaces between them, and failure to obtain a good sward within a reasonable time is almost out of the question. On the other hand, if one needs sod and has no place from which to cut it except the lawn, by taking up blocks of sod, leaving strips and cross strips and treating the surface as described above the bare places left are soon covered with green, according to the authority quoted. Grapevines on Hoofs. It is quite a common practice to plant grapevines near buildings. If there he any soil in which roots can run, nature will do the rest toward embowering the building with a luxuriant growth of foliage. But it is not best either for the building or the vine, says American Cultivator, to have the latter trained close to the wall, and especially not over the roof. The grapes are apt to mildew, and the roof will hold dampness longer than it should, thus causing it to rot quickly. A trellis eight to ten feet from the wall is a better place to train a grapevine than the wall itself. If the vine is to rim over the roof, have a strong trellis made from the ridge and as far above the roof as possible, so as to allow a good circulation of air. Vines on roofs need pretty close pruning, as an excess of wood and foliage there is more injurious than further down. But in a high trained vine the best fruit will be found always on its upper portion, to which most of the sap tends. Notaljle Ferns. In an address on “Ferns,” delivered before the Massachusetts Horticultural society, Mrs. P. D. Richards, whose acquaintance with the subject is extensive, said: “The lady fern is the favorite fern of the poets. The shield fern is one of the most beautiful species. It can he grown in one’s sitting room and delight the family and visitors. The ostrich fern can be grown in garden or dwelling. The hart’s tongue is the rarest fern in America. The Acrosticbum anrenm, a native of Florida, is the largest growing fern in the United States, attaining the height of 11 feet.” A Newspaper \\ oman In Hoops. The only full fledged crinoline which has appeared in the streets of London was worn one day this week by a young woman on the staff of an evening paper. Her costume was not a burlesque, but a genuine old style crinoline made as attractively as a modern costumer could build it. The young woman walked from the Embankment through Piccadilly, Regent street, Bond street and other fashionable West end thoroughfares, followed most of the time in’ a howling mol) of street gamins. Finally she took refuge in a bus, and the conductor promptly charged her double fare for the extra space occupied. It is now safe to say that the crinoline crisis in England has been passed safely. The Princess of Wales’ refusal to approve full skirts lias vetoed fashion's futile decree.-