Your Plants Part 1

Your Plants.

by James Sheehan.

INTRODUCTION.

In the winter of the year 1880, while the author was in attendance upon a large horticultural meeting in a neighboring city, which was attended by nearly all the leading florists and nurserymen in Western New York, the idea of writing this work was first suggested to him.

An intelligent lady, present at that meeting, widely known for her skill and success as an amateur florist, in conversation with the writer made the following remarks: "I have in my library at least a dozen different works on floriculture, some of them costly, all of which I have read over and over again, often having to pore over a large volume of almost useless matter, in order to find information on some points I was looking for.

"It has occurred to me that some one ought to write a work on flowers, for the use of amateurs, that would contain in a brief s.p.a.ce all the requisite information ordinarily needed by those who cultivate flowers in and about their homes. I predict that such a work could not fail to meet and merit a general demand."

In writing this little volume, I have earnestly endeavored to carry out, as near as I could, the above suggestions. How far I have succeeded in accomplishing this end, my readers must judge.

I trust that "Your Plants" will be useful and instructive in the field it was designed to occupy--that of a help to amateurs in the successful cultivation of plants and flowers in the house and garden.

JAMES SHEEHAN.

_Geneva, N. Y., October, 1884._

YOUR PLANTS.

CHAPTER I.

HOW TO MAKE A LAWN.

A smooth lawn is a great attraction of itself, even if there is not a tree or shrub upon it. When it is once made, a lawn is easily kept in order, yet we seldom see a good one. There are three things to be taken into consideration in securing a fine lawn. First, location; Second, quality of the soil; Third, the kinds of seed to be sown.

LOCATION.

This is the most important matter relating to a good lawn. In selecting a site upon which to build, not the least consideration should be the possibility of having a fine lawn, one that will cost as little as possible to keep in a nice and attractive condition. The nearer level the land is, the better. If a house is built on an elevation back from the road, a sloping lawn has a good effect. Where the land is rolling and hilly, it should be graded into successive terraces, which, though rather expensive, will look well. Low lands should be avoided as much as possible in selecting a site on which it is intended to make a good lawn. Low land can be improved by thorough under-drainage. If the land is wet on which we design making a lawn, we should first thoroughly underdrain it by laying tiles two rods apart, and two feet below the surface. Large-growing trees should never be planted on the lawn, gra.s.s will not thrive under them. Fruit trees, like the apple, cherry, and peach, are exceedingly out of place on a fine lawn. The finest yard we ever saw had not a tree on it that exceeded ten feet in hight. Flowering shrubs, low-growing evergreens, a few weeping and deciduous trees of moderate size, with flower-beds neatly planted, make an attractive door-yard.

SOIL.

This is the mother of all vegetation. Nothing, not even gra.s.s, will flourish on a poor soil. The quality of the soil varies in different localities. We often find a fine sward on a stiff clay soil, and also on a light gravelly one. The soil best adapted to the growth of a good sward, is a sandy loam with a gravelly bottom. In making new lawns, there is sometimes more or less grading to be done, and often where a knoll has been cut off the sub-soil is exposed, and it will not do to sow the seed upon these patches until the spots have been thoroughly covered with manure which is to be worked in. If a new lawn of any extent is to be made, it should first be plowed deep, and if uneven and hilly, grade it to a level surface. The surface should have a heavy dressing of manure, which should be lightly plowed under, and then the surface should be dragged several times until fine, and then rolled with a heavy roller. The seed may now be sown, after which it should be rolled again. The spring is the best time to do this work, although if the fall be dry, it will answer nearly as well to do it at that time.

The dryer the ground in preparing it for the seed, and for the sowing of the same, the better. In preparing a small plot of ground for a lawn, the spade, hand-rake, and small roller may be used in place of the larger implements.

SEED.

Much difficulty is often experienced in obtaining a good mixture of gra.s.s seed for the lawn, and different mixtures are recommended and sold for sowing lawns, some of which are entirely worthless. Great pains should be taken to have nothing but first-cla.s.s seeds, which should be obtained direct of some responsible dealer. The finest sward we ever saw was made from the following mixture:

10 quarts Rhode Island Bent-gra.s.s.

4 " White Clover.

8 " Kentucky Blue-gra.s.s.

6 " Red-top Gra.s.s.

Sow at the rate of six bushels to the acre. Gra.s.s seed can be sown in the fall any time from the first of October to the first of December. If the seed be sound, a good sward may be expected the following summer, and a good turf may be expected from spring sown seeds if the season is not too dry. The dryer the ground is when the seeds are sown, the better. To keep the lawn in a flourishing condition, fresh and green all summer, it will need a top-dressing of well-rotted manure applied in the fall, at least once every two years. Gra.s.s roots derive their nourishment close to the surface, hence the great advantage of top-dressing. In some localities where the frost "heaves" the sod to any extent during the winter, it will be advantageous to roll it down in the spring with a heavy roller, doing it just after a heavy rain. When the ground is soft and pliable, this will make the surface smooth, and in proper condition for the lawn-mower to pa.s.s over it.

Frequent mowing will thicken the sward. It is not necessary to sow oats, as some do, to shade the ground until the seeds have started, that is an "old fogy" notion, and is now obsolete.

CHAPTER II.

SOIL FOR POTTING.--ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZERS.

Good, fresh, rich soil, is an element that is indispensable to the growth of healthy, vigorous plants. A plant cannot be thrifty if grown in soil that has become musty and stale with long continued use; it must have fresh soil, at least once a year.

Perhaps the best soil for general potting purposes, and the kind most extensively used by florists, is a mixture of equal parts of decayed sods, and well-rotted stable manure, and occasionally, especially if the sod is clayey, a little sand is added. The sods for this purpose may be obtained from along the road-side, almost anywhere, while good stable manure is always readily obtainable. Select some out-of-the-way place in the lot, or garden, and gather the sods in quant.i.ty proportioned to the amount of potting to be done. Lay down a course of the sods, and on top of this, an equal course of well-rotted manure, and so on, alternately, until the heap is finished; the last layer being sod. This heap should be turned over carefully, two or three times a year, breaking up the sods finely with a spade, or fork. The whole ma.s.s will become thoroughly mixed, rotted, and fit for use in a year from the time the heap was made. For those who have a large number of plants, we think it will pay to adopt this method of preparing soil for them, instead of purchasing it of the florist at twenty-five cents or more per bushel. Some florists sport a great variety of different soils, which are used in the growing of plants of different natures, requiring, as they claim, particular kinds of soil.

Whatever of truth, if any, there is in this view, it has never been demonstrated to our mind. All kinds of plants have a common requirement in respect to soil, and the differences in growth of various species is attributable to climate and other causes than that of soil. At least that has been our experience.

ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZERS.

This question is frequently asked! Do you recommend the use of artificial fertilizers for house plants, and does it benefit them? I invariably answer yes, if used judiciously. The use of good special fertilizers will help the growth of some kinds of plants, which, without such aid, would scarcely meet our expectations. The term artificial fertilizers, applies to all manurial applications, save those produced by domestic animals.

I have always believed, however, that when any fertilizer is needed, good, well-rotted stable-manure should have the preference over all artificial fertilizers. Where this manure cannot be readily obtained, or used conveniently, then special fertilizers can be employed as subst.i.tutes with good results. In applying manure in the liquid form to plants, use an ounce of guano to every gallon of water, and apply it to those plants that are in a healthy growing condition, about once every two weeks. It is a mistake to try to stimulate into growth, by the use of fertilizers, those plants which give every indication of being sickly or stunted; they will make such a plant sicker, if they do not kill it outright. If guano is used in potting soil, it should be in the proportion of one pound to every bushel of soil.

CHAPTER III.

SELECTING AND SOWING SEEDS.

All individuals of the vegetable world are so created as to reproduce themselves from seed or its equivalent. Every plant that grows seems to possess the power to perpetuate its kind. All kinds of flowering plants can be grown from the seed, providing good, sound seeds are obtained, and they are placed under the proper influences to make them germinate and grow.

The amateur cultivator has many difficulties to contend with in raising plants from seed. Some times it is difficult to obtain pure, sound seeds, but these should always be secured if possible, taking great pains in selecting varieties, and in obtaining them of some reliable dealer. If we sow seeds, and they fail to germinate, our first thought is to censure the dealer or raiser of the seed for lack of integrity in his business, while in reality the fault may be our own, and due to careless sowing.

Those who raise seed for the market take great pains to produce none but good, sound seeds, and in nine cases out of ten, where seeds fail to germinate and grow, the fault is with those who sow them, and not on account of poor quality of seed. This we know from experience.

Three things are absolutely essential in the sowing of seeds, in order to have that success which we all desire to attain:

First; care should be taken to obtain fresh, pure seeds, without which all our after work with them will be in vain.