LAWN. The. lawns of England have been celebrated the world over for their verdancy; closeness of texture and general beauty. This is owing to four reasons: A most thorough pre paration of the soil, the moist climate, thick sowing of grass seed, and frequent cutting with the la`wn mower. In preparing for a lawn, the grotand should be plowed deep and heavily man ur/d, because deep tilth and decomposed manure lawn, and in this case leave it rough for the win ter. Then when quite dry in the spring, level and sow. Thus you have that most beautiful of rural objeets, a perfect lawn. The following are the, general rules, by which a good lawn may be had and kept intact. To have a perfect lawn, says Mr. William Saunders, it is absolutely necessary to have it properly laid down at the outset. This, however, does not consist so much in enriching the soil as in rendering it friable and porons by draining, subsoiling and pulverizing. The rnain feature in keeping lawns is frequent mowing, and if this is negleeted fine lawns can not be maintained. It will matter but little how much expense and skill may have been incurred in the preparation and seeding of the ground if it is allowed to grow at random afterwards, as the strongest foliaged grasses and clover will event ually supersede the finer kinds if the cutting is uot regularly attended to. On the other hand, lawns that have been but indifferently- prepared may he rendered close and regular by frequent mowing and judicious top-dressing. Early- cut
ting prevents the growth of the coarser grasses and induces lateral growth on the finer, thus cov ering the surface with a dense foliage, which resists the effects of sun and long-continued dry weather. Every lawn of any pretensions should be kept snaooth by a machine. Not only is it economical as regards labor, but it is scarcely practicable to keep it with a scythe so smooth, thick, and velvety as can be done with a good lawn-mower. Another advantage is that the grass is•not removed, but falls down in a shower over the roots, forming a very efficient mulching and enabling us to impart t o our pleasure grounds all the character of the finest lawns, an attain ment that has.hitherto been deemed beyond our ability to realize. When the grass becomes thin and of weakly growth a top-dressing of good stable manure should be laid over the surface in December. It is important that the manure should be well rotted before being used, and as occa sion offers during winter it should be broken up and manipulated with an iron rake. The object in view is to distribute it evenly over the whole surface. Break it finely, so that it will settle down and nourish the grass roots. When spring opens, the rough, strawy portions, if any are left, should be removed; otherwise it would inter fere with the proper keeping of the surface.