56 THE COMPLETE GARDEN 



It is not practicable to seed lawns late in the fall where large trees drop 

 leaves which if not removed within one or two days are apt to smother 

 the young grass. This is an important point to keep in mind. 



The best grass generally for the foundation of a lawn, except on acid 

 soil, is Kentucky blue grass. This does not fully mature until the 

 third year. It is better, therefore, to use Kentucky blue grass in a 

 mixture. Other grasses such as redtop and the creeping bents will 

 produce a quicker effect and will keep out the weeds until the blue grass 

 is fully established. Kentucky blue grass during the first year grows 

 thinly, and continues to become thicker with successive mowings. 

 When it is fully established it will crowd out some of the less per- 

 manent grasses in the mixture. The ideal lawn is one composed 

 mostly of blue grass and it is also the most difficult to establish. 

 Many people who wish to develop a good lawn in a short space of 

 time resort to the use of a considerable portion of white clover. Clover 

 is of no real value in the making of a fine lawn other than that it helps 

 to produce a quick effect, thereby crowding out many early weeds, and 

 that it produces a soft carpet effect with little difficulty, where the 

 process of establishing a permanent lawn of blue grass might be slow. 



The immediate development of a carpet of green over the surface 

 of a lawn area is no indication that a permanent lawn has been es- 

 tablished. The construction of a permanent lawn which requires only 

 a normal expense in future maintenance involves not only the question 

 of selection of grass seed of permanent types but also questions of ade- 

 quate drainage, especially on heavy types of soil, and thorough prepara- 

 tion of the subsoil and the topsoil as a foundation of the lawn. Un- 

 fortunately many persons ignorant of the real requirements of a 

 permanent lawn give much credit to those persons who are able, by the 

 use of quick growing and temporary types of grass seed together with 

 clover seed, and quick-acting fertilizers such as sheep manure (which 

 soon releases all of its food value and leaves the lawn in an unfertile 

 condition), to succeed in producing an immediate effect of greensward 

 in a remarkably short time. The permanent and desirable types of 

 grasses will not develop within such a short period, and lawns of this 

 temporary character, while exceedingly satisfactory during the first 

 year, will usually prove unsatisfactory and expensive in their main- 

 tenance cost during the succeeding years. Not only do certain types 

 of grasses die out due to the nature of the grass and the lack of proper 

 food supply but the lawn is seriously injured during the hot summer^ 



