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tints may prevail over the whole surface, but they are never arrayed in stripes or splashes.

The SECOND SUBSECTION includes all striped apples. These stripes and splashes, of various tints of red, are more or less developed. In some specimens, there may be but an occasional short broken splash; and, on the other extreme, some varieties are so covered with the commingled stripes as to appear wholly red: but a careful examination will demonstrate darker streaks, and shaded specimens from the same tree will show the striping very plainly. This character, though only one of coloration, which is lightly esteemed by botanists, is found to be very reliable in pomology. The last subdivision of this classification is the THIRD SUBSECTION, which includes the apples that are russeted.

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This is the classification adopted in the volume of AMERICAN POMOLOGY devoted to the consideration of the APPLE, and which is soon to be presented to the public. The author bespeaks for it the kind consideration of his friends, the readers of "The Journal of Horticulture," or as many of them as may be interested in the study of pomology.

CLEVES, O.

John A. Warder.

CAMELLIA POLAR STAR.

THIS exquisite new variety is of Italian origin. The flower is bright, rosy carmine, each petal striped with rosy white, or rather divided equally into

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two stripes of carmine and white, presenting the appearance of a star.

whole stock is in possession of Verschaffelt, who has not yet put it upon the market. L'Illustration Horticole.

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THE LAWN.

THE general laying-out of a lawn, and the arrangement of trees and shrubs so as to produce the most striking and pleasing effects, belong to the province of landscape-gardening. They must always be governed very much by local circumstances, and by individual taste in the application of general principles: but the preparation of the land, and the selection of grasses best calculated to produce certain results, though modified somewhat by the character of the soil, will, in general, be the same; and it is to this branch of the subject, in which I have had some experience, and a somewhat extended observation both in this and other countries, that the reader's attention is just now invited.

The preparation of the soil for a lawn can hardly be too minute or elaborate. The object is to produce a fine, velvety, and elastic turf, of uniform surface, free from all coarse herbage, permanent in its character, becoming more and more beautiful, soft, and delicate with age. Good economy, therefore, dictates that the work should be properly done at the outset, if we would save future expense and disappointment. There are few soils that are well calculated for a lawn that will not be benefited by drainage; we might say, none: for though an open, porous, gravelly, or sandy soil, so inclined as to carry off the water, or to allow it to pass down to a sufficient depth below the surface, would not require this outlay, such soils are not well adapted to lawns, though necessity may often compel their use; and a sufficient outlay of another character may overcome the obstacles which they naturally present.

It is not our object to go into details as to the best modes of draining, or to estimate the expense of this improvement, in this connection. It is a subject of sufficient extent and importance to form a separate article in this Journal, and we trust it will be developed as it certainly deserves to be. But we may say, in passing, that tile-drains, laid at sufficient depths, not less than three feet, - and four would be better, will be found in the end most effective and most economical, even though the expense may seem greater at the outset.

The next important step is that of trenching; for though, in comparatively

light soils, the subsoil-plough might be substituted, trenching would be most effectual, and no doubt produce more satisfactory results. Before commencing either of these operations, a liberal supply of manure should be carted on, say from four to eight cords to the acre, of the best manure from the yard, according to the quality and previous treatment of the soil. This manure is to be spread only as it is dug in; and we would add from three to five hundred pounds of plaster of Paris at the time of the application, so as to be trenched or ploughed in together. Begin now at one side of the proposed lawn, and open a trench about two feet wide and fifteen inches deep, throwing the earth taken out into carts or wheelbarrows, to be removed to the opposite side of the lawn, and deposited alongside the last trench to be dug. It will be needed to fill up that trench when it is reached. Then open another trench alongside of the first, of the same width and depth, throwing the earth into the first trench, and at the same time mixing it well with manure and plaster; and so continue through the whole lawn. If there are stones of any considerable size, leave them upon the surface to be removed. If there are coarse bits of earth, sods, cornstumps, or any similar substances, they may be covered in the trenches, so that the six inches of surface-soil may be light, free, and open.

If the soil on which this operation is performed is heavy, the stable manure used may be coarse and undecayed. It will improve the mechanical condition of the soil, and serve to keep it light and open. If, on the other hand, it is gravelly and free, we should prefer fine manure. The operation of trenching, properly performed, has left the surface smooth and even ; the coarse lumps of earth of every description having been buried deeply in the trenches. Some manure is now wanted near the surface in order to give the grass a rapid start, and to promote the growth of the tender roots. We may take good Peruvian guano, spread on uniformly at the rate of about two hundred pounds to the acre, or good superphosphate of lime at the same rate, to be immediately harrowed in. Either of these articles. should be mixed with an equal amount of plaster of Paris. They may be spread and worked in with the grass-seed if it is preferred; but it is better, perhaps, to work them in first. These operations may be performed, and the manure applied, as early as the ground is fit to work in the spring.

The land is now ready for the seed; and it is important to secure the

right sorts, such as will produce a fine-matted turf, such as will endure close and repeated cropping without injury, and such as will produce the desired result as soon as possible. If it were August or early in September when the seed were to be sown, there would be little need to provide any protection; but grass-seed sown in spring is more sure to succeed with the protection afforded by some kind of grain or millet against an excessive drought to which we are liable every year, and therefore we should consider it safer to sow some seed along with the grasses. Barley is better for this purpose than oats, and in some respects, perhaps, better than rye. Three pecks of either may be used; or, if you prefer it, fifteen quarts of millet-seed to the acre. Bear in mind, also, that the grass-seed is to be sown much thicker than would be required for an ordinary seeding-down. The following mixture will produce a good sward: One bushel of redtop (Agrostis vulgaris), half a bushel of sweet-scented vernal (Anthoxanthum odoratum), half a bushel of June grass or Kentucky blue grass (Poa pratensis), and six pounds of white clover (Trifolium repens). These are species that may be obtained fresh from almost any trustworthy seedsman. But, as there is now ample time to procure other species by sending abroad forthwith, we would recommend a still more complete list, as follows: Get "fine top" (Agrostis vulgaris tenuifolia), hard fescue (Festuca duriuscula), crested dogstail (Cynosurus cristatus), sheep's fescue (Festuca ovina), yellow oat-grass (Avena flavescens), red-top, June-grass, and white clover, as above, and mix them in equal parts by weight as nearly as practicable; when about four or five bushels so mixed may be sown to the acre.

If you ask for fine-top here, it is taken from the red-top bin. Most, indeed all, the above-named grasses are found here, some of them very commonly; but there are no pains taken to save them, and so we rely upon importation for the seed. Fine-top is a well-marked variety of red-top, due as much to soil as to any thing. The fescue-grasses are especially adapted to lawns where a fine, close, soft sward is essential; and crested dog's-tail, a grass very rarely if ever found in this country, is also admirable. We have seen acres of it growing profusely, and forming a large part of a park-turf. Its habit of growth is not very unlike the sweet-scented vernal, so common with us; and, if it is not easily obtained, the latter may be substituted for it.

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