A different type of Windbreak is that which is desired for a shelter belt about the home grounds. The matter of atmospheric drainage does not enter into this problem to any great extent. Such shelter belt is usually placed at the extreme edge of the home yard, toward the heaviest or prevailing wind. It may be a dense plantation of evergreens. If so, the Norway spruce is one of the best for general purposes. For a lower belt, the arborvitæ is excellent. Some of the pines, as the Scotch or Austrian, are also to be advised, particularly if the belt is at some distance from the residence. As a rule, the coarser the tree the farther it should be placed from the house.
Persons may desire to use the Windbreak as a screen to hide undesirable objects. If these objects are of a permanent character, as a barn or an unkempt property, evergreen trees should be used. For temporary screens, any of the very large-growing herbaceous plants may be used. Very excellent subjects are sunflowers, the large-growing nicotianas, castor beans, large varieties of Indian corn, and plants of like growth. Very efficient summer screens may be made with ailanthus, paulownia, basswood, sumac, and other plants which tend to throw up succulent shoots from the base. After these plants have been set a year or two, they are cut back nearly to the ground every winter or spring, and strong shoots are thrown up with great luxuriance during the summer, giving a dense screen and presenting a semi-tropical effect. For such purposes, the roots should be planted only two or three feet apart. If, after a time, the roots become so crowded that the shoots are weak, some of the plants may be removed. Top-dressing the area every fall with manure will tend to make the ground rich enough to afford a very heavy summer growth.
WINDOW-GARDENS. _The Summer Window Garden_.--This type of gardening is particularly suited to those who live in the crowded city, where the want of other space makes the Window-Garden the only one possible.
Handsomely finished boxes, ornamental tiling, and bracket work of wood and iron suitable for fitting out windows for the growing of plants, are on the market; but such, while desirable, are by no means necessary. A stout pine box of a length corresponding to the width of the window, about 10 inches wide and 6 deep, answers quite as well as a finer box, since it will likely be some distance above the street, and its sides, moreover, are soon covered by the vines. A zinc tray of a size to fit into the wooden box may be ordered of the tinsmith. It will tend to keep the soil from drying out so rapidly, but it is not a necessity. A few small holes in the bottom of the box will provide for drainage; but with carefulness in watering these are not necessary, since the box by its exposed position will dry out readily during summer weather, unless the position is a shaded one. In the latter case provision for good drainage is always advisable.