MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 27 
The lawn should be tamped or rolled after seeding to bring 
the seeds into close contact with the soil and to prevent undue 
evaporation of moisture. The roller should also be used in 
early spring to compact the soil which has been loosened by 
the action of thawing and freezing during the winter, and 
also to make the lawn smooth for mowing. 
For quick results sod may be used, and steep banks and 
terraces should always be sodded rather than seeded, as 
should also the edges of roads and walks along a newly made 
lawn. It is important that the sod be cut as thin as possible 
and kept clean and free from weeds, and that the ground 
be properly prepared before it is laid. Sod properly cut and 
laid grows very easily, provided it is set firmly in the surface 
of the ground by the use of a roller or tamper and that it is 
thoroughly soaked with water until established. 
Grass should be cut as soon as it is a few inches high, eare 
being taken to see that the mower is very sharp so as not to 
pull out any of the young grasses. This cutting should be 
continued throughout the season, and it is particularly essen- 
tial to have the grass short during the winter. 
A good lawn will carry through the season without any 
artificial watering, but if a greensward is desired during the 
hot summer watering becomes essential. When watering, the 
soil should be saturated to a good depth and then not watered 
again until thoroughly dry. The general custom of a daily 
superficial sprinkling is most injurious to the lawn. 
Most annual weeds are eradicated by the mower. One ex- 
ception is the crab-grass (Panicum sanguinale), which is most 
destructive to lawns. It first becomes noticeable at the end 
of May or the beginning of June, and from that time on it 
grows very rapidly, spreading the more it is cut and throw- 
ing out stems which root at every node. Crab-grass may be 
held in check by cutting the lawn as little as possible during 
the month of July and the first part of August, and when cut- 
ting to adjust the mower to cut as high as possible. The 
leaves of the lawn grasses will then shade the soil sufficiently 
to keep the stems of the erab-grass from coming in contact 
with the soil, thereby preventing them from taking root. 
Then, about August 10th to 15th, the grass should be cut 
short, the lawn raked with a sharp-toothed iron rake to make 
the remaining crab-grass stand up, the grass cut very short 
again, and the raking repeated. After this the lawn is seeded 
lightly, cut again, the clippings allowed to remain to protect 
the seed, and the lawn watered thoroughly. It will be found 
that this operation has destroyed most of the crab-grass. 
