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Spraying Don'ts: Mowing

MOWING LAWNS. Mowing of lawns should be governed by the use to which the lawn is to be put. Mowing should not be very frequent in hot weather nor very long neglected at seasons when the grass is growing rapidly. Clipping should cease before the grass stops growing in the autumn, so that a long growth may be left on the lawn over winter. A portion of the clippings should be left on a lawn to act as a mulch, especially if the grass is cut often. Enough grass leaves must be left on each plant so that it can maintain its growth, but on the other hand, growth must not be carried to the point of seed production, which, more than anything else, tends to weaken the vitality of a plant. About two inches is the height most often recommended for grass. It is best to leave mower knives set high and mow more frequently rather than to allow grass to grow high and then cut it low and thus remove too large a portion of the leaf surface of the plant, and also expose the soil to the direct rays of the sun. When a lawn becomes run down it is generally better to remake it entirely, instead of wasting money on patching. It is well to consider that if the original grass could not succeed on the soil, new grass will certainly fail. PERENNIALS-WINTER PROTECTION. In general, the better established a perennial is, the less winter protection it requires. However, even though plants would winter over safely if uncovered, they should be protected from the heaving which follows alternate thawing and freezing. In the case of perennials planted in the autumn this is exceedingly important for the first winter. Snow is a good protective covering, but it is rarely that plants will be so covered during the entire winter. It is accordingly advisable to apply a mulch. Mulching in the fall provides an opportunity for fertilizing as well as protection, especially if good straw manure is used. Straw or cornstalks provide excellent mulch for perennials but both encourage mice. These pests may be killed by poisoned wheat or by pouring carbon bisulphide down their burrows. Where mice are especially troublesome, a compost of leaves, sawdust, lawn rakings, etc., should be used, inasmuch as heavy litter or one containing grain is ideal for attracting animals. Perennials such as lilies, whose crowns are completely underground, require the greatest protection. Perennials such as primroses and foxgloves, which carry over some fleshy foliage, must be covered lightly, if at all, to prevent rotting of the crowns. It is desirable to leave dead tops, stalks, etc., on the plants until spring. The tops will protect the plants to some extent over winter and there is also less danger to the plant from premature removal of tops in the fall before the latter are entirely dead. Cultivation should cease in the fall after danger from weed seeds maturing is past. This will discourage too late growth, and any weeds will serve as a protective covering. It is important that mulch for perennial gardens should not be applied too early. There is a great danger in applying a litter of straw manure or leaves before the warm weather is fully over, and thus encouraging top growth which either rots during the winter or is frozen. Mulch should not be applied until after the first heavy frosts, and preferably not until the ground is slightly frozen in the early winter. The tufted pansy, primrose, and Shasta daisy are very susceptible to injury from a heavy mulch.

Mulch should not be removed until danger from extreme weather is past. The time for removal is governed by local conditions. The mulch should be removed gradually-not all at once-and extreme care should be used in removal in order not to injure or destroy smaller plants or plants which appear late in the spring. Any mulch has a tendency to delay the spring development of the roots. It should be removed, however, before the ground has become so warm that root growth has become definitely encouraged and the sprouts which are starting to grow are becoming weak and spindly.

DIVIDING PERENNIALS, AND RENOVATING BEDS. There are some perennials which are benefited by being allowed to remain permanently in one place, such as peonies, gas plants, and bleeding-heart, but the vast majority of plants are not likely to improve unless taken up from time to time, divided, and reset. This is especially true of plants like the iris and the sneeze-weed which spread underground and form mats, soon exhaust soil fertility, and engage in a severe struggle which hampers their ornamental development. Likewise, crowns of perennials which give the most desirable flowers bloom only two or three seasons and then die. There is also the necessity for renewing the biennials such as foxgloves, canterbury bells, hollyhocks, and sweet williams. Some perennials such as oriental poppies should not be moved but may be divided with a sharp trowel. The general practice is to MAINTENANCE lift and divide the roots of perennials every two or three years. Spreading and shallow-rooted perennials will thrive and flower much better if divided and transplanted each year. If this "dividing" is not undertaken each year the "clumps" become crowded and the individual flowering stocks do not have an opportunity to develop normally. The result is that many dead stocks remain in the middle of the clump and a much inferior type of flower is produced.

Illustrations of this group of perennials which should be divided each season and preferably during the early spring before growth begins are the hardy asters, the sneeze-weed, yellow marguerite, ball of snow, English daisy, and the pompom chrysanthemum. If these plants are not taken up, divided, and replanted in good rich soil, the plants during the succeeding year will not produce large flowering heads, neither will they produce the strong, vigorous growth which they are accustomed to produce. Most of these plants are vigorous growers and heavy feeders and it does not take them long to sap from the soil much of the good food matter which is so necessary to their normal growth. The plume poppy, Shasta daisy, and yellow marguerite will be surrounded by a large number of young plants, which spread out and surround the parent plant, with the result that a number of inferior plants occupy the space which should be occupied by only a few fine, thrifty specimens, providing the parent plants are not divided and transplanted each year. With the yellow marguerite especially, it is much better to discard the old roots and to preserve in the dividing only those roots which are the result of the previous year's development as offshoots from the parent plant. Many times the seedlings that spring up around these plants are equally as preferable if transplanted and given ample space to develop normally. In the group of plants which should be divided at least every two years are included a few of the more vigorous types of the garden phlox together with the boltonia and the bee-balm.

There is a group of perennials which should be divided on the average of once every three years. They will not be benefited through the process of being divided at more frequent intervals. This list includes the common garden phlox, painted daisy, most types of the larkspur, the lily-of-the-valley, a few asters, and the hardy sun-flowers. The common impression with reference to the lily-of-the-valley is that it should not be divided or transplanted after the time of transplanting the original plants. Those persons who have had an intimate acquaintance with the flowering habits of this plant state that it should be divided at least once every three years if an abundance of large blooms is to be obtained.

Such plants as the larkspur should be divided with great care every three or four years and each division of this plant should be left with a good crown attached to which is a quantity of good fibrous root growth.

The greatest success in dividing perennials will be attained with those plants whose roots can be readily pulled apart with no severe ruptures. Those plants which have heavy roots like the larkspur and some of the irises should be subdivided with much greater care. Biennials will renew themselves by seeding if the soil is not disturbed around them to any great extent. A few perennials such as the yellow marguerite and some of the hardy asters will also renew themselves each year by seeds dropped from the parent plant. Every perennial garden is benefited by a thorough spading over at least once in three When a garden is filled with perennials the spading does not in years.