"J. B.," Fayette-ville, Ark., says: " Knowing your kindness in giving the troubles and perplexities of other people considerate attention at your editorial table, it occurred to me that possibly you might be willing to give me and others the benefit of a little instruction. I have been examining not only the Gardeners' Monthly, but several other similar publications for authoritative information as to the best way, not only to make a lawn, but its proper care afterwards. I find such a wide difference between the opinions of different writers upon this subject that my search after light has not, so far, enabled me to see clearly. Some say ' cut close ' and often; others, 'cut high,' and not so often. I have even found many writers who advise raking off the grass after cutting. That course might be practicable in a small door vard, but I have seven acres to look after, with only one assistant for a part of the time only. We usually commence cutting early in April, and as a rule, run the lawn mowers over every part of the ground at least once a week. The blue grass grows well until about the middle of June, when crab and foxtail grasses put in an appearance, and from then until frost it is one continued fight between the lawn mowers and scythe and these two enemies of an even temper.

Frequently it is necessary to follow the mowers with a scythe to cut off the foxtails that are too high for the machines to cut. I have been told that blue grass is the natural enemy of these wild grasses, and that they will in time crowd them out. If this statement was true, the large dead, brown-looking places all over the grounds ought to grow smaller each year as the other grass grows in strength, but it is not so. I believe the wild grasses are slowly but surely gaining on the blue grass every season, though we sow new seed nearly every fall or spring. How can I change this state of things so as to give the ascendency to the tame grass? Heretofore we have used stable manure, put in in the fall, but this year bone meal and guano mixed, at the rate of four parts of the former to one of the latter, have been substituted, the mixture broadcasted at the rate of three hundred and sixty pounds to the acre. So much for the grass question, except that I will add Bermuda grass grows well in this section, and would, of course, soon kill out everything else; but it has so many objectionable features that it would be adopted only as a last resort. The next subject about which your kind assistance will be greatly appreciated is the care - cultivating, trimming, etc, of evergreens.

If possible, there is mare diversity of teaching about this matter than that of lawn making. I was taught to keep a space, say three feet each way, from the tree, cultivated for some years before sodding up to the tree. My own very limited experience leads me to think this practice altogether wrong. This class of trees make such an abundance of small roots so near the surface that it is impossible to cultivate the soil without cutting a great many of the roots. But, as I said, my experience is very limited, and so I desire the guidance of a master hand such as yours. I have been very cautious in using the knife about the evergreens, being afraid of the effect upon them. Last year, however, I had to trim severely a Norway spruce, standing some twenty feet high. It got badly injured during a hail-storm, and in order to get it into shape I had to cut in far towards the stem, taking care to preserve a conical form, and to leave the lower branches the highest. Everybody said I had killed the tree, and I thought so myself. This year, however, far from being a dead tree, it is pushing out new growth with more energy than since I have known it. This leads me to think that perhaps the knife would benefit some other evergreens that are a little lazy.

Do all evergreens bear trimming, or is this experience of mine merely an accident?

" Your answer will greatly interest me, and probably many more of your readers. Pardon such a long letter, but being really anxious to learn, and knowing no better source of information, I. have taken a liberty I should not dare to do often."

[We know of no department of education wherein it is so necessary to remember that circumstances alter cases as in gardening. The statement, for instance, that blue grass will crowd out all other grasses, is true when the grasses are left to grow up and mature; but, as our correspondent correctly remarks, it is not true when the grass is in the shape of a closely mown lawn. Or it may be true of a closely mown lawn in the North, where the climate will keep the grass green and growing all the summer long, and where " crab-grass," " fall grass " and other tropical grasses do not find themselves so much at home; while in Arkansas the fall grasses would have the great advantage.

So with mowing. Here in the North there are many small growing plants which infest lawns when the grass is kept low. Then they get light and air, and creep and flourish. If the grass is not cut very low there is too much shade for these little pests, and they get smothered out. We see, therefore, that cutting long or cutting low depends on circumstances. It depends on whether we are plagued with low growing weeds or not. There is no reason for cutting the grass long if we are not troubled with creeping weeds. Just so with leaving the mowings on the lawn. These shade the living grass to some extent, and shade tends to weaken what is growing under it. But there maybe cases where the shade injures so little that it would not be worth the trouble of clearing the mowings off.

Still again, we have an illustration of varying results in the case of evergreens growing in grass. If the evergreen is weak, and we allow tall and rank grass to take away the food and moisture required by the tree, the tree will suffer. It would be what orchardists have got into the habit of calling bad "cultivation;" but if the grass is kept short, and then not much food or moisture abstracted, the shade afforded by the sod, and consequent coolness for the roots of the evergreen would be very favorable to the health of the tree, and would then be called the height of good cultivation.

From this it will be seen how difficult it is to give precise details for lawn management applicable to our whole country. It is wholly a matter for local experience. - Ed. G. M.]