486 



Reading-Course for Farmers. 



the groups and single plants should be marked out. If the yard is to be 

 attractive, it must have a heavy and dense cover of sward. While grass 

 will grow almost anywhere, nevertheless it is difficult to secure a first- 

 class lawn. A lawn is composed of very many fine spears of grass, and a 

 few straggling clumps, however good they are, may be only a detriment 

 to the lawn if the general run is not in good condition. It is just as neces- 

 sary to prepare the land thoroughly for a lawn as for a crop of wheat or 

 potatoes. This is ordinarily done by deep plowing and then by thorough 

 tillage until the surface of the land comes into a condition of fine tilth. 

 Before the grass seed is sown, all irregularities should be filled up and the 

 earth firmly stamped or settled down. The lawn is to remain indefinitely 

 and cannot be graded over again ; therefore every care must be taken to 

 shape the contour properly. There should be slopes leading away from all 

 foundations, if possible. The mature trees should be allow^ed to stand 

 above the level of the sod, showing their brace roots, as they do when 

 growing naturally. If there are any sour or wet spots in the area, they 



should be drained with permanent 

 tile or stone underdrains. The land 

 should also be rich. It is advisable 

 to plow in a good coat of manure 

 ^nd. if the land is not in good 

 heart, a heavy dressing of commer- 

 cial fertilizer will help. The land 

 should be at least as rich and as 

 well prepared for the growing of 

 a good sward as for the raising of 

 corn or beans. 



Usually the land is graded and 

 shaped early in the spring Better 

 results are often secured, however, 

 if the rough grading is done in the 

 fall, before the heavy rains set in, 

 particularly if the ground is full of 

 oLl roots and covered with clumps 

 of heavy sod. The soil can be moved 

 economically at that time. The 

 rains and snows of winter will com- 

 pact the earth, and the frost will 

 disintegrate the harder parts. In 

 the spring the final raking and 

 dressing can be given and the grass seed sown as early as possible. The 

 earlier the seed is in the ground the better the root-hold it will secure be- 



'^r^^mmtM^^M 



Fig. 302. — A well-formed evergreen. If 



the loiL'cr brandies were removed, tlie 

 tree would lose its beauty. 



