62 THE COMPLETE GARDEN 



southern portions of Florida this is perhaps the most satisfactory 

 method of making a good turf which will be more or less firm and which 

 will be green through the winter months. Italian rye will burn out as 

 soon as the weather begins to get warmer during the middle or latter 

 part of March, and can be reseeded on the foundation of Bermuda 

 grass, in the same manner, during the succeeding fall. 



Lawns composed of the northern mixtures of grass seed, of which 

 the Ross's Southern Mixture is typical, can be seeded at any time 

 during the cooler months between November and March. These 

 lawns may be maintained in the same manner that any northern lawn 

 is maintained if an excessive amount of care in watering is devoted to 

 them during the hot summer months. It is preferable to reseed each 

 season. This type of lawn is prepared and seeded in a manner similar 

 to the lawns of the north and will establish itself under normal condi- 

 tions in a period ranging from four to six weeks. This seed is sown at 

 the rate of one pound for each two hundred square feet of lawn area. 

 The operation of seeding lawns with mixtures of northern seed 

 adapted for southern use, and also with Italian rye, is the same as 

 sowing seed for the development of lawns in the north. 



It is not advisable to try to develop Bermuda grass and St. Augustine 

 grass lawns through seeding. A better lawn can be obtained with less 

 difficulty by planting small clumps of Bermuda grass and St. Augustine 

 grass (Plate VIII) in little drills ten inches or twelve inches apart or by 

 staggering at intervals of twelve inches to eighteen inches. The greater 

 the desire to have a close mat of Bermuda grass or St. Augustine grass 

 the closer should the individual roots be planted. For small lawn 

 areas, tees and greens on golf courses where the time is short in which 

 to develop a good turf, these roots or clumps may be planted as close 

 as six inches from each other. The usual method is to find a patch al- 

 ready growing. The best method of gathering Bermuda grass is to dig 

 underneath the roots with a grub axe or mattock and to gather up the 

 roots with some type of a fork, such as a potato fork. As much soil as 

 possible should be taken up with the roots, where the grass is 

 naturally in rich, fertile soil; otherwise the soil can be shaken from 

 the roots. The best method of handling these roots is to place the 

 entire mass in potato sacks, especially if the source of gathering the 

 grass is at a considerable distance from the place where the lawn is 

 being made. Just previous to planting, the grass should be either 

 torn apart leaving roots and tops on the same stem, or it should be 



