a slight covering of soil, old tan, &c., thrown over the whole, to imbed the seeds and nourish the young herbage; and when the thing is properly managed, this answers very well; but when the sowing is put off till the spring, and, may be, till late in April, the next summer's heat overtakes the young grass before it can get a firm hold of the soil, and the experiment turns out a failure; the nurseryman is blamed for supplying what is supposed to be bad seeds, and friends are told it is of no use to endeavour to renew their grass-plots by means of seeds, and if they want to make a decent appearance under the scythe, they must take up the old grass and lay down fresh turf. Now, this is one of our most popular errors: the old grass must be very bad indeed, otherwise it is better than nine-tenths of that which can be replaced by ordinary turf in most places. The ordinary effects produced by relaying new turf are rather owing to the opportunity the change affords of stirring the soil beneath it so that the roots obtain a better hold of it, and this is certainly a great advantage when the soil is thin or very poor; but even then the old turf is more likely to suit, if carefully handled, than new turf; and, by scattering some of the soil over the turf as the relaying is proceeded with, and raking back the lumps and stones to be covered over by the next stretch of turfing, an excellent bed for grass seeds is immediately obtained; and if the seeds are sown as soon as the turfing is finished, swept or raked gently, and then rolled, a very good carpet of most beautiful grass might be enjoyed for years afterwards. Now, the whole secret of the thing is, that the seeds be sown late in the autumn, whether the old turf be removed or not; and, if it were possible, the grass seeds should be sown in October, just when the farmers begin to plant their wheat. The farmers are more wise in their generation in this respect than the gardeners, and their wheat is as truly a grass as the Poa (a genus of grasses), which encumbers our soil with weeds, although the fact is not believed by some writers-as I might show, from the pen of a classical scholar, in the pages of one of our best gardening books printed this season, where it is stated that the wheat has branched out from a species of carex ! We must make allowance, however, for such lapses, until natural history is taught with the classics.

But, to our sowing. Few gardens are so situated as to allow of grass seeds being sown in them in October; the constant sweeping away of fallen leaves would either also clean off the seeds or otherwise disturb them; but, as soon as these are off, and the last mowing for the season is finished, the seeds should be sown, and with a liberal hand, at once; and as it is necessary to add some fresh compost to many of the flower-beds or borders every winter, the exhausted soil, removed to make room for such compost, is ready at hand to cover the seeds with, so that the old grass can hardly be seen for awhile. This is exactly the process I have adopted here for many years to keep the lawns in good order; but here, or any where else, I could never get a satisfactory return from seeds sown in the spring, except those of the white clover, and the small yellow clover, and even these are better when sown this way as early as February, but on fresh-stirred or trenched ground they would do equally well if sown as late as the end of April. Our practice here is to let the covering of soil remain in a rough state till the beginning of February, and then to take advantage of the first fine dry weather to sow the clovers, and to rake down the whole surface, gathering up every

stone and clod; then to give a good heavy rolling twice or three times during the month. After a mild winter, seeds that were sown at the end of November will have sprouted and come up as thick as hairs on a cat's back, (to use a homely phrase), and thus they have the start of the clovers, which are easier to establish; and at that early season the grass grows so slowly that it is much more hardy to resist the first trying weather than if it had sprang up quickly, as it usually does when sown late in the spring. When alterations take place, and old shrubberies are grubbed up to make room for an extended lawn, the whole surface ought to be dug as low as where trees or shrubs were removed from, in order that the whole may settle equally; and, when the ground is thus properly wrought, a very respectable lawn may soon be made with few seeds by the process called inoculating-that is, getting some nice smooth turf from commons or road-sides, and cutting them into little bits, and planting them over the surface at a few inches apart, and, by that means, a square yard of turf will cover four or five square yards of surface. If a good sprinkling of grass seeds, and a little white clover seeds, are sown over the white, and then well rolled, a cheap plot of grass might soon be had. Soot is the best manure in the world for lawns, and should be applied in the spring and autumn in a liquid form. Worms dislike soot as much as salt. Coal-ashes, sifted very fine, are also an excellent manure for this purpose, and should be laid on before Christmas, as it is not good policy to stimulate the grass in the spring, so as to face a hot summer with a tender blade.

The unpractised would hardly believe the great difference there is in mowing over a touchy surface with the scythe and cutting it with the mowing machine. The scythe is far more destructive on such ground than the machine, and more so in the hands of a careless or bad mower; but the necessary sweeping after the scythe scratches the surface a good deal, and ought to have part of the blame, whereas the mowing machine cuts and gathers the grass with the same turn, and also rolls the surface in some small degree. Altogether, I like the machine much better than the scythe, and use it constantly here as a helper to the scythes, and alone for the last two cuttings in November, because it leaves such a close smooth surface that the best mower cannot imitate, and no old bottom grass is left to make the first two or three mowings in the spring hard and harsh. The worst of the machine is, that it rattles along with a noise as bad as that from a railway train, and you cannot work it near a house in the morning, when people are asleep, lest they should awake in a hurry and mistake it for an express train which had lost its way, and was coming right upon them; but in the afternoon, when people get more out of the way, it is a safe and useful instrument.

After all this, we may sow and mow, sweep and clean, and take all possible care of our lawns, from March to November; and yet, if we neglect them during the winter months, they will soon get patchy on very wet or very dry soils. On deep sandy loam, however, very little care is necessary, except keeping the surface clean; but, it is not too much to say that on touchy soil the grass should be rolled every time it gets dry, after a frost or very heavy rains. large places this rolling is done with a horse in boots; and I have revived a very old machine here for rolling-which is really a very useful help in the garden-which I can recommend. It is in shape like a huge hand-barrow, with raised sides all round,

In

a foot deep, and the two hind handles cut off, the two fore handles being the shafts into which the horse is yoked; and, instead of legs, it rests on two heavy rollers, the one two feet in advance of the other, and the foremost roller in two parts to allow of turning sharply without scratching or marking the grass. Now, with such a roller-cart or barrow-for it is a hybrid between the two-a good load of compost may be carried over the grass to make up a flowerbed any day in summer, or, in short, may be used all over the garden instead of carts or wheelbarrows, and will roll the grass or walks all the time. Besides the convenience of the thing, it often saves the men's time, and relieves them from many heavy jobs.

The

Some years since there was an outery in the gardening papers ahout killing and getting rid of moss on lawns, and all sorts of prescriptions and experiments were recommended and suggested to convert our velvety carpets-the pride of English gardening. and the envy of foreigners-into "a threadbare macintosh." I should consider it an irreparable misfortune if the "bottom" of moss, which I indulge with every care in my power on the beautiful green banks and knolls in the gardens, was destroyed; but moss requires just as much care as the grass itself to keep it in its proper place, and if allowed to get the upper hand it would become a great nusiance; but would the grass itself be better if once neglected? use, and not the abuse of moss, is what gardeners pride themselves in so much, and here is where the superiority of the mowing machine over the scythe becomes so apparent. It is almost needless to say, that moss grows with us in the dull season, and its growth is arrested by our summer's heat. All the attention it requires is at the beginning of these two seasons. The first fortnight of dry hot weather at the beginning of summer dries up the moss to a cinder, even on low damp soils, and the common practice is to leave it untouched till the grass is well up again after the first rain, when the dead moss proves a thick felt under the scythe, rendering the operation of the mower more easy and pleasant. In the course of years, however, the annual coats of this brown musty felt accumulates, and by-and-by the finer grasses cannot make their way through it, and consequently soon perish, leaving the moss to take possession of its place, which it will readily do, and soon will acquire the mastery over all but the very coarsest herbage. It is then that people begin to exclaim, How can I get my lawn cleared of moss?" The easiest time to kill a giant, they say, is when he is fast asleep. Moss is not much of a giant, it is true; but when it is at rest during a summer's drought is the proper time to keep it down-not kill it. Now, like all great secrets, keeping down moss is one of the simplest things in the world, when we once know it; all that is necessary is to go over the ground with old brooms, and scrub them very earnestly against the surface, backwards, and forwards, and sideways, just as mowers go over the ground. Now, the parched up herbage of moss flies off in a volume of dust before a good brooming, if there is such a word; but after a mild winter we often gather large quantities of this burnt moss, and on the return of moist or rainy weather the young grass and fresh moss have an equal chance to grow; but, as grass gets up much faster than moss, it is thus enabled to keep head against the moss.

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I have said already that we give the two last cuts of the season with the mowing machine, and this shaves the moss so clean and even that no more of it is left than will just nurse the grass through the

winter. Moss is a great protection to the finer grasses when thus managed; the worms do not like it, and it renders the lawn elastic, and more comfortable to walk on after rain or frost; whereas, without a bottom of moss the very best-kept lawn is soft and soapy, and hardly fit to tread on in damp weather without gutta percha soles. I have heard and read as many silly things as most people, but I must confess that nothing in the way of gardening has ever fallen under my notice half so preposterous as the idea of getting rid of moss. Talk of "velvety carpets," indeed! D. BEATON.

GREENHOUSE AND WINDOW

GARDENING.

VIOLA ODORATA. There are few of our lady friends to whom a small bouquet of sweet scented violets would not be desirable in the chilly days of winter and the earlier stormier periods of spring. A great gardening author once stated, that if three flower-pots were kept in a window during the winter, one of the three should be devoted to the culture of violets. Right well did he know how dear that little flower was to the human heart! Years have rolled on, and life, with its stern duties, has somewhat shaded and blunted the little of romance and poetry within us, and yet the sight of the diminutive simple violet, when in a musing mood, has conjured up associations that enabled us, as of yore, to traverse the brake, and walk the dell, with companionsmany of whom are gone-all are scattered-while their arch quizzing looks, and pealing voices, when to a favourite fair one the first-found flowers were stealthily and bashfully presented, are as present to our mind as they were upon the occasion when youth was young. And where resides the charm? The Heartsease (viola tricolor) is not only frequently odoriferous, but it is often strikingly beautiful, from the variety of its markings and the harmonious combi nation and contrast of its colours; and yet, much as it is loved, and sweet and musical as is its name, it holds not the same place in our sympathies as the diminutive violet, that has little to attract the eye; but which, like other objects, human as well as floral, would pass unnoticed in the crowd were it not for the beneficence they shed-the fragrance which they yield. In this love of the violet-not merely from its poetic associations, but from its own usefulness and fragrance-we are furnished with a demonstration, that however men may be tickled with gaudy show, brilliant splendour, and pompous pageantry, yet in their heart of hearts they consecrate the highest place to retiring virtue-to unobtrusive generosity -to those "who do good by stealth, and blush to find its fame."

At one time wine was made from the flowers of the sweet violet. A blue solution of its petals was, and is, used by chemists as a test for acids and alkalies; and even now the dried petals are used as a laxative, and a mitigator of pain in the case of children. When gathered with stalks and placed in water, they will keep fresh and give out their perfume for a week; but if the flowers are dried in the shade, before they are too much expanded, they will retain their fragrance for a very long time. I am not aware that this is generally known; I found it out by accident. A waistcoat had not been worn for a twelvemonth-when put on it was quite fragrant with violets-on close examination, a few withered flowers were found in the pockets, which were quite

ravages of slugs, &c., strew over the surface of the bed, when cleaning it, several times during the winter, with dry charcoal dust, quick-lime, and burnt earth, or even dry sand-an application that will be useful to all the others, whether in the open air or under glass; and by attending to their wants, in protecting, air giving, and watering, you will be well rewarded. R. FISH.

HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT.

EXOTIC ORCHIDACEE. BASKETS FOR ORCHIDS.-In our last week's number the baskets for orchids requiring peat were described, and the genera mentioned that ought to be so cultivated. Several other kinds will not do so well in peat in baskets, and it is of these we now intend to write. The genera that require the treatment we shall describe presently, are Aerides, Saccolabiums, Sarcanthus, Renantheras, and Vandas. Amongst these are some of the most beautiful and most deliciously fragrant of the whole tribe. They are all, or nearly all, natives of the hottest parts of the globe, and of that class we have denominated East Indian," requiring the hottest house. They are mostly strong growers, sending forth roots frequently as thick as the stem itself. Though they will grow on logs, or even if hung up in the moist air of the orchid house, with their roots unattached to anything, yet we have always found them to flourish and flower best in baskets. The material we fill the baskets with is sphagnum, or white bog moss. First, put a thin layer over the bottom of the basket, then carefully bend the long roots round within the basket; add moss from time to time, working it in amongst the roots. Do this lightly and carefully, so as not to break them. Not more of the stem itself should be buried in the moss than two or three inches. As the leaves are rather weighty, the stems of some of them will require sticks to support them. Some species, Aerides odorata and crispum, for instance, run up a considerable height without branching, sending out roots all the way up the stems. In order to cause them to break, or, in other words, to produce more shoots, the main stem may be bent down, and, in a short time, will then produce them, and so become in time a bushy plant. Each shoot in two or three years will flower nearly as well as the centre one. It requires, however, a considerable time to obtain from a small plant a good specimen. Perhaps there are no plants that exercise the patience of the cultivator so much as orchids. A plant of Phalaenopsis amabile will be at least seven years before it can be increased. Thus, if the amateur has been fortunate enough to obtain a small branch of that rare and beautiful plant, the Saccolabium guttatum, and ties it to a log, hangs it up over the cistern, syringes it daily through spring, summer, and autumn, dipping it occasionally in the water; then, if it does well, it will produce a root or two, and, perhaps, two or three leaves the first year. ing made these roots, it may, about the middle of March, be safely put into the smallest sized basket in sphagnum. In this it thrives for another year, and is now a plant with several roots and half-adozen healthy leaves. The third year it will be ad visable to enlarge its quarters by removing it into a larger basket-one about 10 inches square. It grows well this third year, sending forth more seekers for food, and obtains, perhaps, two pairs of leaves more. The fourth year it progresses again. "And will it

Hav

not flower this year?" we think we hear our readers exclaim. The reply is, It probably may; but if it does it is more than we expect. The fifth year it is pretty certain to do so. Now, flowering plants of the division we are writing about are very expensive. When it is considered what a length of time they take to bring them to that state, it need not be wondered at that they are so high priced. A good flowering plant of Saccolabium guttatum, a plant mentioned above, is worth, or rather it will cost, seven or eight pounds; and even that is not a remunerating price when the time (six or seven years) it takes to grow it to that state is taken into account. Some orchids take even longer. The first plant that flowered of the truly magnificent Vanda Batemanniana was at least twelve years old. However, not to discourage the new beginner too much, nor tax his patience too severely, let us add that there are plenty of species which flower much sooner, if well managed in respect to hard growing and thoroughly resting,two points of culture to be strictly attended to with all orchids. The splendid Phaius Wallichianus we have flowered finely at two years old, and several Dendrobia at the same age. There are some species of Dendrobiæ that do better in baskets than in pots. The finest plant ever seen of that fine species, Dendrobium macrophyllum, was grown by Mr. Basset, gardener to R. S. Holford, Esq., of Weston Birt, near Tetbury. This fine plant was grown in a basket suspended from the roof: it had six strong shoots, or pseudo-bulbs, from three to five feet long. Each shoot was nearly as thick as a man's finger, and produced numerous flowers on each. That rare species, Dendrobium Devonianum, the flower of which has been said, on account of its extreme beauty and delicacy, to be " not a flower of earth, but of heaven," thrives best in a small basket. A good specimen of this beautiful species may be seen in the collection of A. Kenrick, Esq., at West Bromwich, also in the fine collection of S. Rucker, Esq., at Wandsworth. D. fimbriatum, also, is a basket plant. Good specimens, so grown, may be seen at Messrs. Rollinson's, of Tooting, and at Messrs. Henderson's, of Pine-apple-place Nursery, Edgeware-road. These instances of successful cultivation are given for the purpose of showing the best way of cultivating the species in question, and also to stimulate the young beginner to strive so to grow his plants as to come up to the mark of excellence. " What man has done, man may do again," was a motto over the door of the village school where the knowledge of A and B, and all the rest, was first beaten into the head of the writer of these lines. It may be said, however, in addition, that what man has done hitherto may be better done by those that come after; therefore, instead of being content to produce such fine plants as the instances mentioned above, we trust our readers will strive by patience, ingenuity, and perseverance, to surpass them. Every exhibition-grower of plants of every kind should make it a point to be attained as soon as possible (next year for instance), to visit at least once the great metropolitan exhibitions. There they may see how the present generation of cultivators surpass the preceding, not only in orchideæ, but in every kind of plant grown in pots. Those who have never seen any of these exhibitions would, we opine, be rather astonished, as well as highly gratified, with the sight; they might there see the different modes of growing orchids, we are endeavouring to describe, carried out to great perfection. They would see concentrated, as it were, in one focus the greatest amount of gardening skill, and