206 THE PLAN OF THE PLACE 



lawn sprinklers usually does more harm than good. 

 This results from the fact that the watering is 

 generally done in clear weather, and the water is 

 thrown through the air in very fine spray, so that 

 a considerable part of it is lost in vapor. The 

 ground is also hot, and the water does not pass 

 deep into the soil. If the lawn is watered at all, 

 it should be soaked; turn on the hose at nightfall 

 and let it run until the land is wet as deep as 

 it is dry, then move the hose to another place. 

 A thorough soaking like this, once or twice in a 

 dry summer, will do more good than sprinkling 

 every day. If the land is deeply prepared in the 

 first place, so that the roots strike far into the 

 soil, there is rarely need of watering unless the 

 place is arid or the season unusually dry. The 

 surface watering by means of lawn sprinklers 

 engenders a tendency for the roots to start near 

 the surface, and therefore the more the lawn is 

 watered, the greater is the necessity for it. 



Every spring the lawn should be firmed by 

 means of a roller, or if the area is small, by 

 means of a pounder or the back of a spade in the 

 hands of a vigorous man. The lawn-mower itself 

 tends to pack the surface. If there are little 

 irregularities in the surface, caused by depres- 

 sions of an inch or so, and the highest places 

 are not above the contour -line of the lawn, the 

 surface may be brought to level by spreading 

 fine, mellow soil over it, thereby filling up the 



