THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



485 



lawn grass seed for the weeds. They are not in the seed 

 but in the soil. 



Xow, then, having got your ground well drained, 

 plowed, harrowed and smoothed, with a foot of good top 

 soil, well manured and all inequalities such as rocks, 

 roots and stones, cleared ofif, you are ready for the seed. 

 The seed to use is the best kind of seed that the experi- 

 ence of the great experimenters from Hortus Gramineus 

 Woburnensis down to Faunce de Laune, Flint, Lawson 

 and the rest can tell us about. 



SOMETHING ..\BOUT THE BEST GRASSES TO SHOW FOR A GOOD 

 LAWN. 



Xearly every seedsman says his mixture of grass seed 

 for lawns and pleasure grounds is the "perfect" mixture, 

 but perfect lawn grass seed for all purposes has not yet 

 been found, and never will be found. So, when a seeds- 

 man talks that way, he talks in a Pickwickian sense. The 

 most a seedsman can do is to have an ideal and try to 

 reach it. The nearest he can come to making a perfect 

 lawn grass mixture is to use the best varieties for this 

 climate, using the experience of the past as to what does 

 best here, and the proper proportions of each sort. 



From first to last, it is an endless chain with links 

 closely interlocking. The good, the indifferent, the bad 

 grass mixtures — the world is full of them ; but the good 

 are hard to find. Are they worth finding? You can get 

 good lawn grass seed if you want it, but you must take 

 the trouble to find it, and, when found, you will have to 

 pay the price. Good seed is worth a good price. 



Many good gardeners tell us that a mixture is unneces- 

 sary; the Kentucky Blue Grass is all that is necessary 

 to make a perfect lawn. This is so far true that seeds- 

 men have now come to make this grass (Poa pratensis) 

 the foundation of their lawn formulas. The reasons for 

 adding other varieties to the Poa pratensis are various, 

 one of the principal being that this fine species does not 

 stand our hot Summers so well as some others, and also 

 because it does not reach its full development until the 

 third year. Then again, it will not do as well as will its 

 cousin, Poa nemoralis (Wood Meadow Grass) under the 

 shade of trees. 



Comes another condition : On an upland where the soil 

 is light, there is nothing better than the Sheep's Fescue, 

 fortified with some of the more tender sorts than can 

 shelter under its wing. 



For a tennis-green or golf-course, or for any piece of 

 grass where there is much walking over, Crested Dog's 

 Tail and Hard Fescue should always be used in good, 

 liberal proportions along with other sorts. Some species 

 start earlier in the Spring than Kentucky Blue, and some 

 continue later in the Fall. Sweet \"ernal is greatlv valued 

 on account of its early growth. Rhode Island Bent is a 

 valuable permanent species, especially where the land is 

 at all inclined to be wet or fundamentally acid. In New 

 Fngland and along the Atlantic seaboard this grass is 

 often sown alone to make a lawn, and it is included in 

 liberal proportions in making up a good lawn mixture. 



To make a good putting green, many authorities claim 

 that only two varieties ought to be used ; Festuca teni- 

 folia and Cynosurus cristatus. with a slight addition of 

 other fine-leaved sorts. 



To make a good grass for shady places, use Poa nemo- 

 ralis and Festuca rubra as a foundation ; then make up 

 the balance with a good lawn grass mixture. 



To rnake the outlying links, the cheaper kind of seeds 

 will do. as no fine turf is required. Timothy, Orchard, 

 Red Top, etc., will be all right, and are less expensive. 



For a terrace, use sod. three years old. grown from a 

 good lawn grass mixture. 



This splendid oak stands en tlu- estate of the late Juh'us 

 E. French, at Wickhffe, O. It was entirely hollow at the 

 base, because of the decay of several years. It was phys- 

 ically weak and growing weaker. Within a short time a 

 heavy wind would surely have blown it over. It was 

 treated by the Davey Tree Experts and has been saved. 

 The picture shown above was taken four years after 

 treatment, and shows a wonderful growth of new bark 

 over the filling. The new bark is seen inside the white 

 spots. 



This tree is a living monument to the science of Tree 

 Surgery, originated and developed by John Davey, and to 

 the skill of the Davey Tree Experts. Your trees can be 

 saved by the Davey Experts also. 



Let a Davey Tree Expert 

 Examine Your Trees Now. 



Sometimes decay can be seen from the outside- Some 

 times it can't. Hidden decay is often just as dangerous 

 as that exposed to view. Sometimes a tree owner realizes 

 the condition and needs of his trees -Sometimes he don't. 

 More often he don't. Generally it's a revelation. 

 In most cases they say "I wouldn't have believed that trees 

 needed such treatment, nor that such things could be 

 done with trees as you have done." 



Cavities, if not properly treated, continue to decay and 

 destroy the trees. Outward appearances do not always 

 indicate the extent of the cavity, nor the condition of 

 decay. Our expert examination will reveal exact con- 

 ditions. 



We will gladly have one of our Experts examine your 

 trees, without charge, and report on their exact condition. 

 If your trees need no treatment you want to know it; if 

 they do need treatment you ought to know it. 

 Write for booklet 



THE DAVEY TREE EXPERT CO. 



KENT, OHIO 



l^RANtH OrFICFS: 



225 Fifth Ave. New York. N. Y. 



Phone Madison Square 9546 

 Harvester Bids., Chicago. 111.. 



Phone Harrison 2666 

 >Jew Birks Bldg.. Montreal Can.. 



Phone Up Town 6726 

 Merchants' Exch. BIdg.. San Francisco. Cal. 

 Telephone Connection 

 Representatives Available Everywhere. 



JOHN DAVEY 



iFather of Tree 5u'-gtr>| 



