450 



JOtntNAIi or HORTICULTUKE' and <X>'PrAGE'bARDiNEB. 



[ Jtmo 19, 1S66. 



hne dotted here and there are not desirable), and deep-rooted, 

 BO that burning, and consequent browning, during hot dr)' 

 ■weather may be avoided. These Mend quickly iu the turf, 

 grow uniformly, and l)ear constant mowing. Further, those 

 grasses suitable for an open, exposed, or shaded situation, and 

 for either a heavy or light soil, can be selected, and wo secure 

 at a less cost a turf more closely approaching the standard of 

 excallence than by any other process. 



On the other hand, in laying turf there are many disadvan- 

 tages. Often after levelling the ground sufficient time is not 

 allowed for it to become consolidated before the turf is laid, and 

 it siixks into an uneven surface ; the opportunities for draining 

 and for grubbing up the roots of perennial weeds are small ; 

 hut even if the ground be drained, levelled, and allowed eufli- 

 cient time to consolidate before the turves be laid, these are 

 Irequently composed of the coarser gi'asses, with a considerable 

 proportion of weeds, or of grasses not suitable to the soil or 

 situation where the turf is to be laid. Even admitting, how- 

 ever, that good turf can be obtained and properly laid, there 

 is a great diilerence iu the expense as compared with sowing. 

 Earely, indeed, is anything considered regarding the suitability 

 of the turf ; few ask themselves, Will it suit the soil and situa- 

 tion ■? How seldom, indeed, are the roots of perennial weeds, 

 that may be counted by the dozen in every square foot, noticed 

 until after the turf is laid ? It takes two men twelve days to 

 cut the turf from an acre, this at 2.<!. fid. per day amounts to 

 £3; horse, cart, and man aU that time carting it a mile, 6.'. 

 per day, £3 1'Jk. ; three men to lay it, one at 3s. 6rf. per day, 

 £2 2.1. ; two at 2s. Oil.. £3 — making an outlay of £11 14«. neces- 

 sary to lay an acre of ground with turf. Under any circum- 

 stances the carting of turf to lay down a lawn may be charac- 

 terised as seeking an early result at any cost. A lawn may 

 be laid down with grass seeds, and well, for £.5, labour included 

 (but not that of levelling and cleaning the ground), and the 

 results are much better — no weeds, but a lawn of the best grasses 

 suitable for the soil and situation. Very often more money is 

 sunk in obtaining turf to form a lawn than would, were it de- 

 sirable, be necessary to pay the labour of foi-ming slopes, 

 terraces, and other accompaniments, which would be new fea- 

 tm'es, and give additional beauty to a place. A much better 

 use for the turf where it can !>& had is to jiile some of it up for 

 compost for the growing of Pines, Vines, and ornamental plants. 

 Whenever a lawn is taken up for the purpose of improvement 

 it would be much better to use the turf for the purposes named, 

 and to sow grass seeds, than to relay it. The only advantages 

 resulting from laying tm-f are that it looks green at once, can 

 be used very nearly the same as an old lawn in the first year, 

 and is firmer and more pleasant to walk upon. A lawn ob- 

 tained by sowing is of little value as a lawu during the first 

 jear, as it requires twelve months to become established, after 

 wjiich it is in evej7 way superior to a lawn formed by laying turf. 



There are very many lawns which, as such, are far from 

 satisfactory, being one-third weeds and inferior grasses ; others 

 ■consist of but little grass, a thick covering of moss being the 

 verdwe mainly constituting the lawn ; and others, again, are 

 ■very uneven in surface. The best plan that could possibly be 

 .adopted with such lawns would be to take off the turf an inch 

 thick, and use it after proper preparation for renovating fruit- 

 tree borders, and the quarters in the kitchen garden. The soil 

 of lawns after the turf has been taken off should be forked over, 

 and the roots of weeds picked out. A bushel of salt, lime, and 

 soot will make the latter into good manure in twelve months, 

 that quantity being sprinkled on a cartload. Drain the ground 

 as early in autumn as possible, so that the fiUing-in may have 

 tiine to settle before seed time, also that there may be time to 

 level the surface, form tenaces, or do whatever else may be 

 desired. The ground will be settled down by spring, and all 

 fhat it will then need is to make it even by lowering the 

 heights, and tilling up the hollows, rolling and treading so as 

 to make a firm surface, and to sow it in April with a mixture 

 of grasses suitable for the soil and situation. 



' Before laying turf to form a la^svn it is necessary in the first 

 place to see that water does not remain stagnant in the subsoil, 

 otherwise moss will be encouraged, and the grasses, being late 

 before they begin to grow, do not root deeply, and will, con- 

 sequently, be burnt up in summer. It is also desirable to lay 

 tml from an open situation in a similar position, that from 

 under trees in shady places, and that from either wet or dry 

 ground in spots of a similar character. The turf should also be 

 JEree from weeds, especially the coarser grasses, and more par- 

 ticularly those ha^ving underground creeping roots, such as 

 Cbnch grass, the bents, &c. I have found but few swards con- 



taining White Clover fTrifolinm repens), and the common 

 Bird'8-foot Trefoil (Lotus comiculatus), that were not inter- 

 mingled with grasses suitable for lawns. When these were 

 absent the herbage was found too coarse for forming a fino 

 sward. 



The best time to lay turf is early in spring before dry wea- 

 ther sets in, but any time during open showery weather from 

 the middle of September to May will answer for this kind o( 

 work ; but the less there is to do after the grasses commenoe 

 growth up to that of its ceasing the better, so as to obviate tUe 

 necessity of artificial waterings. 



Where the ground is thin an addition of fresh soil is bene- 

 ficial, and to loosen that on which the turf is to be laid to a 

 good depth would \cry much contribute to the freshness of the 

 lawn in summer, for the roots being deeper would not BO soon 

 be affected by dry weather. Where the soil is wet, and of a 

 strong natnrc, in addition to loosening it, it would be well to lay 

 the turf on a thin layer of tine ashes from 1 to 3 inches thick, 

 whereas if light some fine soil is better. The turf-layer should 

 have some loose soil or ashes by him in which to bed the ttirf 

 as it is laid, and to spread thinly over it BO as to fill up the 

 crevices. The back of a rake should then be run over the turf, 

 and when rain has fallen it should be beaten firm with a turf- 

 beater. This may be made of a block of any hard heavy wood, 

 as oak, elm, or ash, and may be 2i inches thick, and from a 

 foot to 1 foot 3 inches square, with a handle in the middle, and 

 a cross handle in it to raise it by, as shown in tip. 1. This, 

 taking a greater breadth at a time, is not bo hable to beat the 

 surface into holes, and does not cut the turf so much as a 



Kg. 1. Fig. 2. 



narrower beater. It does not, however, make the surface 



nearly so firm as the beater represented in fig. 2, which 18 



simply the stem of a tree 



9 inches in diameter cut 



transversely and the edges 



rounded a little so as not to 



cut the surface, the upper 



part being made small for 



the hands. This is the 



firmest beater of any. I'ig. 3 



is a smaller form of beater, 



with the handle fixed ob- 



hquely, and, in beating, is 



used in the same way as the 



back of a spade. 



After the ground has been 

 rendered firm by beating, a 

 good watering will be of ser- 

 vice if the weather be at all 

 dry, going over the ground 

 with a heav7 roller the day 

 afterwards. The best rollers 

 nre those of large diameter 

 and narrow, as they can be 



Fig. S. 



