will grow almost anywhere, nevertheless it is difficult to secure a first-class lawn. A lawn is composed of very many fine spears of grass, and a few straggling clumps, however good, may be only a detriment to the lawn if the general run is not in good condition. It is as necessary to prepare the land thoroughly for a lawn as for a crop of wheat or potatoes. This is ordinarily done by deep plowing and then by thorough tillage until the surface of the land comes into a condition of fine tilth. Before the grass seed is sown, all irregularities should be filled and the earth firmly tamped or settled. The lawn is to remain indefinitely and cannot be graded again; therefore every care must be taken to shape the contour properly. There should be slopes leading away from all foundations, if possible. The mature trees should be allowed to stand above the level of the sod, showing their brace roots, as they do when growing naturally. If

there are any sour or

wet spots in the area, they should

be drained with permanent tile or stone underdrains. The land should also be rich. It is advisable to plow under a good coat of manure and, if the land is not in good heart, a heavy dressing of

commercial fertilizer will help.

Usually the land Fig. 441. One of the most striking

is graded and

shaped early in the spring. Better results are often

A

of common plant forms.
sedge (Carex Grayi), growing
in woods. Many of the sedges
(which are grass-like plants)
make successful garden sub-
jects.

secured, however, if the rough grading is done
in the fall, before the heavy rains set in, partic-
ularly if the ground is full of old roots and cov-
ered with clumps of heavy sod. The soil can be
moved economically at that time. The rains and
snows of winter will compact the earth, and
the frost will disintegrate the harder parts. In
the spring the final raking and dressing can be
given and the grass seed sown as early as
possible. The earlier the seed is in the ground
the better the root-hold it will secure before the
dry weather of summer. Many persons like to sow
grass seed on a very late snow. It will then be
carried into the soil by the melting of the snow. It
will need to be raked in, however, if the land

cannot be worked soon enough in the spring to allow of such early sowing.

The seeding should be very heavy, since it is the object to secure very many fine stalks of grass. Blue-grass or June-grass is ordinarily used, and at the rate of as much as three or four bushels per acre. Some persons like white clover in their lawns. If so, one to three quarts to the acre may be sown. It is usually best to sow the grass seed without grain. However, the Junegrass is likely to make a rather poor showing the first year and it may be well, therefore, to sow three to five quarts of timothy to the acre. The timothy will come up quickly, make a green cover for the first year, and will be gradually

crowded out by the June-grass. In most cases the weeds will be very abundant the first year, particularly if stable manure was worked into the soil. These weeds should not be pulled, for the pulling will destroy the young grass. Most of them will be annuals and will die out at the end of the first season. The area should be kept mown all summer, and this will keep the weeds down. If strong perennial weeds, as docks, come up here and there, they can be pulled at the end of the first year or the second year. It is best to mow the lawn, if possible, with a good lawn mower, since that keeps the weeds down and tends to even up the growth. The practice of seeding lawns with the sweepings of the barn floor or of the haymow is always to be discouraged.

It is unusual that a lawn of any extent "catches" uniformly the first season. One must reseed the poor spots year after year. There may be very hard and dry places, or those that are densely shaded, on which one can never secure a "catch" by mere seeding. In these cases the area may be covered with sod from an old pasture, cut in thin slices and rammed firmly into the soil. In dense shade it will be impossible to secure a good sward, and some other ground cover may be used; periwinkle (Vinca) is one of the best plants for shade.

The lawn should be fertilized from year to year. Thoroughly rotted stable manure may be worked into it in the fall or early in the spring. The common practice of piling raw manure on the lawn is to be discouraged. Some good concentrated fertilizer may also be very effective.

The common practice of sprinkling lawns has

northern lawn grasses do not thrive except in elevated regions or in small yards that can receive extra care as to watering and fertilizing. The Bermuda grass, however, makes an excellent lawn in the South, although it does not form the kind of sod that June-grass does. Bermuda grass is sown with short pieces of roots, so thickly that the rootlets lie only a few inches apart. The roots may be run through a cutting box, or chopped by hand. The planting is performed in fall or very early in spring. Otherwise the treatment outlined above will apply.

Fig. 444.

The borders of the groups may be marked out on the ground when the grading is done, by the end of a hoe handle. The shrubs should be planted thickly, perhaps not more than 2 feet apart. They will soon grow together, and if the shrubbery becomes too thick, some of the specimens may be removed. Until the shrubs begin to cover the land, the earth between them should be hoed and perhaps spaded now and then to keep it in good tilth; and a liberal application of fertilizer of some kind is to be advised. When the shrubs and trees are first planted they should be well headed

back; but after they are thoroughly established very little pruning will be necessary except to correct a too rampant growth or to check an awkward tendency. In farm yards the practice of shearing bushes should be discouraged. The effect is always best when the place has a free and natural look.

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE ADORNMENT
OF FARM PREMISES
By Charles A. Keffer

The adornment of the farm should have in view two important factors: (1) saving to the inhabitants whatever beauty the general landscape may afford, and (2) the creation of beauty within the

An attractive low plant form. The native wild ginger of the North (Asarum Canadense).

farm domain. The purpose of all efforts at adornment is an improved appearance, the making of the farm home more attractive, primarily for the dwellers therein, and secondarily for the passing traveler. Incidentally, a farm well-arranged and beautified is increased in value, it is an exponent of the esthetic taste of the owner and becomes an educational force in the community.

the garden.

The great majority of American farms have been laid out without plan, in a haphazard way; and when thought has been given to planning, the controlling principles have been production, the saving of labor, convenience and the economy of first cost. As a result, too many farms are devoid of beauty. The barn or feeding lots face the dwelling, or occupy sites from which the drainage seeps toward the house; no shade, no flowers-everything is sacrificed to crops and live-stock. Indeed, throughout rural America utility is so strongly the dominant idea that there is little appreciation of the beautiful, and almost contempt for esthetics. With the

passing of pioneer conditions and increasing prosperity, a growing tendency toward the amelioration of rural life is manifest not only in labor-saving machinery and better buildings, but in the home and its surroundings.

The house area.

The pleasure of the household is the main object sought in farm adornment; hence, the immediate surroundings of the home should be given first consideration. When the farm buildings have been advantageously placed, the work may be confined to the making of a lawn and the screening of undesirable objects in the landscape by judiciously planted groups of shrubs and trees. If the lawn can be merged into a permanent pasture, the partition fence being inconspicuous and largely hidden by a border planting, a spacious, park-like effect will be gained. Economy of maintenance is a leading principle of farm landscape work, since money and labor expended in adornment produce little cash income; hence, the farm lawn should be planned for meadow treatment, rather than the shearing practiced in city gardens. In planting, the trees and shrubs should be massed near the borders, leaving large open areas of grass, so that the field mower can be used to advantage. Mere spottiness (Fig. 430), or any suggestion of orchard-like regu

Fig. 445. An attractive plant form. Foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia), one of the native spring flowers.

Fig. 446. Trees in winter: trace out branching. The first tree is slippery elm-note the horizontal position of lower branches, with upturned tips; American elms in the middle distance; a spruce in the center.

larity, is to be avoided in lawn planting, particularly in the country, where the farmstead is so much a part of the general landscape. The greatest beauty in any lawn is the broad stretches of grass, with only enough trees to provide a measure of protection from the summer sun and the play of light and shade on the green sward. When the farm is located in a forest region, the best effect of planting is gained by so placing the tree groups that they will seem to be supported by the native woodland and form a part of it.

The lawn not only forms a good setting for the house, but it should be the summer resting-place of the family. It should partake of the privacy of a sitting-room while affording the freedom of the open. Hence it should be protected from scrutiny from the highway. When the farm buildings have been set remote from the public road this is easily accomplished, but when the house faces the highway a careful grouping of trees and shrubbery must be planned, so that from the lawn side the border planting may have something of the effect of a natural woodland border, with irregular projections and bays, and an uneven sky-line, the highest plants being set in the broadest masses. Such a planting permits glimpses of house and lawn. from without, and by a little care in placing the lower forms where distant objects may be seen over them, admits the best views the region affords.

When the house stands very close to the highway a good effect is secured by devoting the dooryard entirely to flowers, making the lawn at the sides and rear of the house. Much labor will be saved if perennials are used for such a garden, rather than annuals and bedding plants. Columbine, iris, monkshood, bleeding heart, peony, sunflower, blackeyed susan, larkspur, pinks, hollyhock, hardy chrysanthemums, and many other perennial forms are

available, a late fashion having resulted in the great improvement of plants of this class.

It is seldom advisable to scatter flower-beds in the lawn. When space and labor are available the flowers thrive better and give a better appearance when grown by themselves in a garden. When placed in the lawn they should be set in beds of simple design near walks or drives, or placed in connection with the shrubbery border. During much of the year the beds are empty, and when placed in the midst of the lawn they break the continuity of the grass cover.

Fig. 447. Swamp white oak,

with its characteristic branch form.

The old-fashioned garden, with its flower-bordered walks and its plats devoted to vegetables, is a pleasing feature when well maintained, but economy is served by planting the vegetable-garden so that it can be cultivated with horse - hoes. The flower-garden should have a place near the vegetable-garden, so that labor may be saved in many operations common to both, such as manuring and plowing.

The farm.

The immediate surroundings of the house having been considered, the pastures, fields, roads and fences of the farm should be carefully studied to determine what can be done to improve their appearance without detract

ing from their convenience and use. In a large part of America the farms are irregular in outline, giving to the fields the same character. Whenever possible, the fields should be so shaped as to hide the division fences from the home grounds. Fences are never beautiful, and they are usually unsightly weed gardens in the country; they obtrude ugly lines on the view, marring the beauty of the landscape. By a little care they can in many cases be done away with entirely, or so placed as to be invisible from the house. When necessarily in view, they should be made as inconspicuous as possible. Some form of woven wire fence best answers this purpose. Roads also are in themselves seldom beautiful, and entail expense

in maintenance, so that care should be exercised to reduce them to the lowest practical limit and to keep them out of sight as much as possible.

One of the beauties of all rural scenery is the growing crops, changing from field to field as the rotation progresses (Fig. 425); and few elements of landscape offer more of quiet beauty than the pastures with their herds and flocks. That scheme of farm arrangement that admits of pleasing views of field and pasture from the home grounds adds greatly to the charm of rural life without increase of cost, and may well be considered an important element of farm adornment.

Perfect care is an essential element in good farming, as apparent in the appearance of the property as anywhere in farm management. Well-kept roads, fences free of weeds and in good repair, pastures free from weeds, buildings kept up and painted these are quite as important items of farm adornment as are lawns and flower-gardens. Site and environment.

When a farm is to be newly established, great care should be taken in choosing the site of house and barns, in order to take advantage of every good element in the landscape, and to create beautiful surroundings if they do not already exist. In almost all cases a degree of beauty can be had without sacrifice of that convenience which should always be the basic principle of farm arrangement.

If the surrounding country is beautiful, a high location for the home will permit views that will increase its attractiveness (Fig. 427); but if the surroundings are not good, or if there are undesirable features in the landscape that can not be hidden by plantings within the farm, it is better to seek a lower site, having always in mind the necessity of perfect drainage away from the house on all sides.

in old fields and abandoned orchards.

In treeless regions the dominant characteristic of the landscape is extent-great stretches of rolling prairie, grain and corn and grass, with sometimes a row of trees marking the borders of a tiny stream, and small planted groves protecting the better class of farmhouses. Here the farmer must overcome the barrenness of nature by planting trees freely. Instead of straight belts of forest plantation on three sides of his home, with a row of trees bordering the highway, completely cutting off the splendid stretches of field and prairie, as is the common practice, a better method would place the forest belts more remote from the house, and by the use of a greater variety of trees allow occasional breaks in the sky-line, and a few glimpses of the great prairie world beyond the protected area. By including five to ten acres within his windbreak of forest trees, the western planter may provide ample room for feeding lots, a garden and a lawn, compact enough to meet every requirement of convenience, but allowing the separation of feeding lots and garden from lawn by a careful grouping of wellselected trees and shrubs, in which pines and spruces should have a considerable place, though native species, including the wild. fruits, should form the major part of the plantings. A few trees in the lawn itself will provide shelter from the sun, but the prairie home will not be in the highest degree successful unless it permits vistas of the open country.

Within the forested area only the high hills and mountains command the extensive landscapes that are common to the plains, and here the effort must be to attain extent of view, rather than to restrict it. The consideration of particular objects of beauty-fine trees, forest streams, open glades and meadows is of first importance; and often the appreciation of existing esthetic values in the locality leaves little to be done by the beautifier. The natural adornment of mountain farms may be one of their greatest assets.

In the blue-grass regions of Kentucky and Tennessee a peculiar beauty of many farms is the wood pasture, between the highway and the house, in which great forest trees stand at wide irregular intervals, sufficiently distant from one another to allow a rich ground-cover of grass, where herds of fine cattle and horses graze. These park pastures can hardly be surpassed as a means of farm adornment, and they are quite as well adapted to the great majority of the states east of the Missouri river as to the locality named. They afford, in the pasturage, a source of income equal to any other grazing land, and the only care they require is an annual mowing after the blue-grass has seeded.

farm; so that, while it is of first importance that the immediate surroundings of the farmhouse should be pleasing, every good object in the neighborhood of the farm should be seen to advantage from some point within the domain, and, as far as possible, all unpleasant views should be screened.

The most available materials for farm adornment are grass, trees, shrubs and flowers. These should be so disposed as to demand the least possible amount of labor for their proper care, for no return comes from the land devoted exclusively to ornament. The cheapest arrangement, and in most cases the most satisfactory, provides a lawn bordered with trees and shrubs in masses, with comparatively few single specimens and groups within the lawn itself, and with flowers grown in a garden convenient to the lawn, but not within it. From the lawn, as from the living-rooms of the house, whatever is best in the surrounding landscape may be seen through depressions or openings in the border planting, which conceals all unsightly objects, including outbuildings and feeding lots. A site at some distance from the highway not only insures privacy and freedom from the dust of travel, but permits a larger treatment than is possible when the highway passes close to the house.

Within the forest area an especial effort should be made to develop impressions of extent, by enhancing the beauty of distant objects. In the plains, an effect of protection and coziness is more important and is secured by belts of timber, in the shelter of which are the home grounds.