ers,
for the use of amateurs, that would contain in a brief space 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, grass
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 e