GRASSES OF IOWA. 491 



LAWNS AND LAWN MAKING IN IOWA. 



A discassion of the subject of grasses would be incomplete 

 without some reference to lawns. There are few subjects of 

 more general interest to the business man and owner of a home 

 than the preparing and maintaining of a lawn. Nothing adds 

 so much to the beauty of a home as a well-kept lawn. The 

 owner of a few feet of ground delights in the smooth even turf 

 as much as the owner of acres of ground Nor does anything 

 add so much to the beauty of the home .as a green well-kept 

 lawn, whether this consists of a few feet or a broad and large 

 lawn with acres of ground, with its broad vistas and beautiful 

 shrubbery here and there. A good, well-kept lawn should not 

 only please the eye but be restful to those who make use of it. 



How to obtain a good lawn is not understood by everyone. 

 Lamson-Scribner says:* "Firmness and permanency may be 

 secured, but they are results which cannot be obtained by hasty 

 and unskilled preparatioQ. A perfect lawn cannot be made in 

 a season, and the highest excellence sought comes only 

 through intelligent care for a period of years. A green sur- 

 face may be secured within a few months under favorable con- 

 ditions, but a soft, velvety turf, which is both a delight to 

 view and to walk on, comes only with years of patieat care. " 



"In regard to the preparation and general treatment the 

 published paper of Lamson Scribner may be used in this con- 

 nection. 



Preparation of the Land. — "In what follows, proper grading 

 and thorough drainage are presupposed. A well-drained soil 

 is of the first importance and is absolutely necessary to suc- 

 cess. Where the process of grading has involved much filling 

 in; time should be allowed for the settling of the soil, and dur-* 

 ing this period a hoed crop may be cultivated on the land to 

 advantage. If the land is very weedy, the cultivation of corn 

 or potatoes for a season will assist in reducing the stock of 

 weeds. It must be remembered that the lawn when once 



♦Yearbook D. 9. Dept. Agrl. 1897: 355-372. 



