CONSTRUCTION NOTES 301 



similar to the lawns of the north and will establish itself under normal 

 conditions 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. 



Planting and maintenance. The operation of seeding lawns with mix- 

 tures 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 develop Bermuda grass and St. Augustine grass lawns 

 through seeding. A better lawn can be obtained with less difficulty if the 

 small clumps of these grasses are planted in little drills 10 or 12 inches 

 apart. The usual method is to find a patch of Bermuda grass or St. Augus- 

 tine grass. This patch is dug over and the grass pulled up by the roots, 

 together with a small amount of soil, all of which is placed in a pile, and 

 the tops and roots are chopped into small sections. These sections of roots 

 or small clumps are planted from one to two inches deep, being more shallow 

 if the soil is moist. It requires approximately three cubic yards of these 

 roots to plant one acre of lawn. These roots should not be permitted to 

 dry out, either while piled waiting for shipment or while in transit to the 

 place where the lawn is being made. If the lawn which is to be developed 

 is large, then a simple method of planting these grasses is to spread them 

 broadcast over the ground and to cover the roots by disk-harrowing or by 

 shallow plowing. 



While the Italian rye only lasts during one season, the Bermuda grass 

 and St. Augustine grass will make a lawn nearly as permanent as any 

 northern lawn, provided the proper maintenance and attention in rolling 

 and watering are given. These types of lawn should be watered at least 

 once in ten days or two weeks, at which interval they should be thoroughly 

 soaked. In order to maintain a Bermuda grass lawn in its best condition, 

 the lawn should go through the process of renovation every second or third 

 year. This process consists of a light harrowing, done for the purpose of 

 cutting the roots and producing a new stoloniferous growth. The harrow 

 should not be permitted to go more than two or three inches into the 

 ground. 



If the lawn area is composed of a combination of Bermuda grass and 

 Italian rye, or of a southern mixture of northern grass seed, it should be 

 thoroughly soaked with water as often as once every two days. Superficial 

 watering under these conditions of hot sun and dry climate is more injuri- 

 ous to the southern lawn than a similar watering would be to a northern 

 lawn. Where an excellent lawn turf is desired from November to April, it 

 is much preferable to top-dress the Bermuda grass foundation with a thin 

 coating of muck, or rich soil, and to seed each fall with Italian rye as a 

 filler. If a true northern lawn is to be maintained during this period of the 



