GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 17 



If nitrogen is needed in the form of commercial fer- 

 tilizers, it is better to apply it on the surface after sow- 

 ing the seed, and after the plants have begun to grow 

 rather than before. If applied sooner there is the haz- 

 ard that it would be washed down into the soil and sub- 

 soil before the grass roots could take it up, and this haz- 

 ard is proportionate to the amount of the rainfall at such 

 a time. It may be applied as nitrate of soda or sulphate 

 of ammonia or in various other forms. When phosphor- 

 ic acid is wanted, it may be furnished in the form of 

 mineral phosphate, ground bone or basic slag, and ap- 

 plied while preparing the soil, more especially when 

 about to harrow it not long prior to the sowing of the 

 seed. Potash may be applied in the sulphate or muriate 

 form, as Kainit, or as wood ashes, and like phosphoric 

 acid, it may be profitably incorporated in the soil near 

 its surface. 



Seasons for Sowing. — Xature teaches some lessons 

 with reference to the seasons at which seeds may be 

 sown that may be studied with profit. She usually scat- 

 ters the seeds of grasses in the autunni. Sometimes 

 sprouting follows at once, and when it does the young- 

 plants become strong before the arrival of winter. But 

 the seeds thus sown do not always sprout in the autumn, 

 owing to want of moisture. They are, however, in 

 that condition which promotes sprouting in the early 

 spring, as soon as j^lant growth begins, because of the 

 abundance of the moisture that is pretty certain to be 

 present at that season. It follows, therefore, that the 

 best time to sow the hardy varieties of grasses is in the 

 autumn. But, when thus sown, sufficient time should 

 Grasses — 2. 



