CHAPTER XLI 

 THE LAWN 



ONE who is fond of gardens will soon find an interest in 'the 

 lawn, which should be one of the beauties of any place. To 

 make one is not so difficult as at first appears. I shall not 

 speak of the sodding of a lawn, except to say that the sod 

 should be close, cut thin, and laid on good soil. 



This good soil should also be prepared for the seeded lawn. 

 On a few inches of poorly prepared soil one cannot make a 

 lawn that will stay green through a drought. As with the 

 garden, one should have a foot of good loam if possible. 

 And the subsoil is also important, for the loam should be well 

 drained ; if the spot is very wet, it may be wise to lay tiles. 



The loam should then be deep. It should also be rich, and 

 as free of weeds, and especially of witch-grass and other 

 perennial roots, as possible. In order to kill these out, the 

 lawn-maker will sometimes grow a hoed crop, such as potatoes 

 or corn, for the whole or a part of a season. Good cultiva- 

 tion should kill out all roots. But it will not kill weed seeds, 

 which are to be found in all soils. I will speak of these later. 



The season for planting the lawn is either early spring or 

 late summer. Where the winters are mild, the late August 

 or early September planting is likely to be very successful. 

 But a "bad" winter, which is likely to come anywhere, may 

 injure the new lawn. On the other hand, fall sowing is best 

 where the summers are very droughty. 



Dig the loam as deeply and carefully as for a garden. 



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