Fig. 21.-^5. Lawn View. 



RENOVATING AND MULCHING LAWNS. 



LTHOUGH this is not the proper 

 '*^ season for applying" a mulch to 

 '^ lawns, a compost suitable for this 

 i,5j!s», purpose should be in course of pre- 

 paration, so as to be in readiness to be ap- 

 plied to the lawn in early autumn. 



The too common practice of applying late 

 in the autumn — or perhaps in early winter — 

 a heavy coating of raw stable manure is 

 productive of very little good to lawns, to 

 say nothing of its unsightly appearance dur- 

 ing a great part of the winter, when there is 

 no snow to cover it from sight. Another 

 objection to this kind of mulch is that it is 

 often the means of introducing a crop of 

 weeds on the lawn, from weed seeds and 

 roots that have not been destroyed by a 

 proper preparation of the material previous to 

 its being used. Even as a fertilizer this mulch 

 is of very little benefit, as owing to its un- 

 sightliness, objectionable odor, etc., its 

 application of necessity has to be deferred 

 until snow and hard frost appear. This, and 

 the necessity of removing it early in the 



spring, gives it very little opportunity to 

 convey any of its fertilizing properties to the 

 lawn. 



Oftentimes the mulch mentioned is ap- 

 plied with the idea of protecting, and pre- 

 venting the finer grasses and clover from 

 being winter killed. A very slight mulch of 

 this kind will doubtless in many cases assist 

 in this way — especially where the sod has 

 been recently put down — but if the mulch is 

 applied too heavily as is often done, its ap- 

 plication is productive of more harm than 

 good, as it forms the basis for a thick coat- 

 ing of ice and frozen snow, that is not bene- 

 ficial to the existence of many of the finer 

 grasses and clover. 



Imperfect subsoil or under-drainage is 

 also in many cases the cause of clover and 

 the finer lawn grasses being killed out on 

 lawns in winter. If the under-drainage of 

 the lawn is imperfect, no amount of mulch- 

 ing or top-dressings will be of any benefit, 

 or produce a good close sod, until the lawn 

 has been thoroughly under-drained. 



