I04 



imsH iiAin)i:Ni.\G 



siinici.-ut suitable plant fo.xl iii.-..i|Miia(.;.l witli 

 it, ti. .sustain vouuk' ^'rasst-s Imi- ;i (•..u.si.lnnl.lf 

 ixiiotl. Thf sci'ils an- sown <>u tliis, aiul wli.u 

 (lu- I'lauls arc well start. -d tlu- ral)rii' is Iraiis- 

 |(rr<-(l t.« tlif grouuil wlii-rc it is |.fiinaii.ut ly |.> 

 riifiain. 'I'lu-rc are many advautauccs altatlnil 

 ti. this lu.'tlioil, somt' of wliirli 1 will r.l'.i' 1m. 

 Assmaiuii. aci is soiuftiiuus the rasf, thai a 

 structun- has Ihm-u cn-iti'd — t-itlu'r a lu-w huihl- 

 iii^' or an adilition to an I'xistiiiK hoiist- the 

 work, luav In- foiuplclt'd at a time wIk'u it is 

 iiupossil.l."' to lay ilowii turt. an,! iiia.ivisaM.- to 

 sow i,'rass soi'tl. lu sucii a tas.' the prc'|.arf(l 

 labrir can hf trauslfi'rcd to th.' .l.-sirr,| pia.-.-. 

 auil i;iv»' the ui'ci'ssary liuish to the worU. 



Another i^n-at atlvantajic of this lUfthod ..\.t 

 any idher is that most weeds canuol grow 

 through the fal)rie. Anyone who has liad ex- 

 perience of a seeded lawn under ordinary eon- 

 ditiuns knows only too well how trouhU'somc 

 weeds an- in the early stages. lieiug indigenous 

 they grow with greater vig.uir than the grasses. 

 and' oe<'asion an enormous auiouut of labour to 

 root them out, at the sajue time damaging the 

 young grasses very considerably during ttie ]»rocess 



liesides these weeds, there are always smn.' 

 native grasses that will grow at the .sauie time 

 as those that were sown, and as these are dilji- 

 cult to discrinunate in the early stages they arc 

 allowed to grow with the others until their true 

 character is develoi)ed. when thc\ li.i\c also to 

 be rooted (Uit. Tho.se disadvaiitai;. > .n, .uoi.l.-.l 

 by tliis special system, and if a lawn is (lisiicd 

 to be exclusively of any one i)articidar Icind of 

 grass, it can easily be grown uiuler tlu'se con- 

 ilitions. One point to be observed when tliis is 

 desired is tliat the initial preparation of tlie 

 ground is such that will siiit the ])articular kind 

 of grass it is intended to gnnv. For examjjle, 

 liie preparation necessary to grow Pestuca 

 riihia will not answer so well for I'oa i)ratensis. 



City lawns i-oxdd be produced more ra])idly 

 and liiore satisfactorily by this nu'thod than by 

 the means generally adopted. The great lengtji 

 of tiiue taken by tiie usual systeui of seeding in 

 se<-uring a lawn has caused tiirf in many instances 

 to be introdiu-ed froui country districts. This is 

 laifly a success, and the I'eason is not difficult to 

 111 id. There are Init few grasses that will grow 

 well in towns, and these are seldom introduced 

 with country turf. The kinds introdiu-ed vary 

 with tlie district they are iniported from, and it 

 is very rare, outside a city radhis, to find turf so 

 exclusively composed of Poas as that fouiul 

 within the city boundaries. 



The species of Poa whicli are best suited for 

 such ])laces have been a matter of discussion for 

 many years. My experience favoui's Poa tri- 

 vialis for tlu» niore open sjiaces and Poa ])ra- 

 tensis where there is more shade. Where the 

 shade is exceptionally dense, I have used with 

 great success the ])erennial dog's-tail (Cynosurus 

 cristatus). Close to the stems of large trees 1 

 have found this to svicceed better than any other 

 grass. Poa annua is sometimes recommended, 

 but rarely used, no doubt in some measure 

 owing to the difficulty in obtaining the seed. 



This, in my opinion, is a wise provision of 

 luiture, for, as its naine implies, an anmial grass 

 cannot be good for a permanent lawn. Poa dis- 

 tans is sometiuies confused with Poa annua, b\it, 

 although they are in some res])ects alike. Poa 

 distans is a ])erennial. 



'rrKI'IN(. I. A UN-. 



L.iwus that .ire to \h- lurfci o\er reijuire \ cry 

 nuich the same initial pn-paratiou as that ad- 

 vise.l for see.l.'d lawiis. The ground shoul.l he 

 dcepl\ .lud "-.irefidly dug as long l)eh)re laying 

 down' 111. • luif as p.Vssible. and the siirface ho»-il 

 o\.r on .■\ii\ favoui'ahle occasioji. .lust before 

 laving the luff, the >urfac.. s.dl ought to he 

 sifted to .-1 liii.- tillii. .Old well rammed with iron 

 rammers. Wh.-ii this >> .lo,,.' .-o that the ground 

 presents .1 pcifclU i-\,-ii .in.l lirm f.icr. the 

 lui'linu cm I"- coiiim, nrrd. 



.Now. thrif aic man\ w a \ .s ol doinu' this, hut 

 I hr hrsl m.-l hod is to .-'ut t he 1 Mil Ml s.juar.'S td' a 

 d. Unite .si/.e. One foot, sipi.i le is as useful as anv 

 thai can he siiuuested. 'I'mf cut like this is 

 easiU h.in.lled. ;.nd is in eviy iesi)ecl belter 

 tiiaii' the piimiliv.' met iiod of icdiing t.lu-m in 



lenUths of three feet hy one lo(d. I loWl'Ver 



rai'efullv it is <ut in such* lengt hs. th.-re .are rri- 

 l.iin to" he some iii-egularities that .ire d(dri- 

 mental to the ,i(cur;u-v recpiii-ed foi- lirst -class 

 lawns. Some who adopt this s\slem will tell 

 von that these iireunlarities wilTroll out to I he 

 d.'sire.l smoothness. But even if this could he 

 done it catmot he considered good workmanship, 

 for if a mound is compressed to the level of a 

 hollow there still exist two distinct conditions 

 that will pre\(ut the even growth of grass, 

 which for the ideal lawn is as lu'cessary as t he 

 le\('l state of the ground. 



When the turfs are cut iido the one-fool 

 stpuires already mentioned, each turf is trimmed 

 to an even thickness. This is done by laying 

 tliem grass side down on a sliallow tray, the 

 depth of which varies according to the" tliickni'ss 

 desired. The trays need to ))e nuule so tliat the 

 cut turf can slide in and out, Init otherwise to lit 

 the turf so tJiat there is nt> room for inovenuMit. 

 Tiien, with a sharp two-haiulled knife, cut the 

 iinder side to the gauged thickness. If the s(dl 

 has previously been |>re])are(l to a lirm evenness, 

 the turfs can very (piickly he laid down, titting 

 them closely to each other and ]>resenting, when 

 linislied, an accurately deatl evenness tiuit re- 

 (piires only tlioughtful cultivation. 



This cultivation mvist necessarily vary some- 

 what with varying soils and conditions. The 

 first thing to do is to give the newly -laid turf a 

 dressing of chemical manure, and after this has 

 been done apply a light s])rinkling of finely- 

 sifted soil or .shar]j sand. The chemical manure 

 inchu:es root growth, which unites the turf 

 together, and the line soil or sand fills up any 

 joints tliat may be o])en. Occasionally at tlus 

 stage it is well to sow some grass seed, 

 especially if the turf laid down is inclined to be 

 weakly or thin in texture. Very little rolling, 

 if any.- is necessary in the early days of the lawn, 

 and when rolling is done the gr(»und ought to 

 be in a fairly dry comlition at the time, and only 

 a light roller used. I know this is opposed to a 

 very general ])ractice which consists of using a 

 heavy roller when the ground is wet, so that it 

 may " leave a good impression behind." 



Such an im])ression, however, is distinctly 

 hxirtf\U to the future lawn. All gardeners are 

 aware that it is necessary for the welfare of a 

 plant that the rooting medium should be of an 

 even firmness throughout. No one would exjtect 

 a plant to renuiin healthy, or to grow fretdy, 

 where the svirface is too' tightly compi-essed. 

 After all, grasses are i)lan1s, altliough the treat- 



