23 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



an acre in extent, which we made lately, six bushels o~ 

 lawn grass seed was sown on the 25th of April, harrowed 

 well in with the ordinary farm harrow, then rolled firmly 

 with a heavy farm roller. The result was that by July 

 1st, or about sixty days from the date of sowing, a per- 

 fect lawn was obtained, having had to be twice mowed 

 over by machine previous to that date. 



The question of fertilizers for the lawn is an important 

 one. If the soil is naturally a deep, rich loam it is not 

 necessary that any manure at all be used the first season 

 of sowing, although in every case it would be an advan- 

 tage, and is really essential if the soil is poor or light. 

 Perhaps the best way to apply well-rotted stable manure 

 is to spread it thick enough to cover the ground after 

 plowing or digging, and then harrow or rake it in, but 

 when cost is of no special object, the best plan to insure 

 permanency for the lawn is to use, as above, from 2,500 

 to 3,000 pounds of coarse, ground bone per acre, or in that 

 proportion over lesser areas, as the bone decomposes 

 slowly. This quantity, harrowed or raked in deeply, 

 would insure a "velvet lawn," under ordinary circum- 

 stances, for six or eight years without further application 

 of manures. 



When the land has not been fertilized before sowing, 

 it is necessay to use some top dressing of manure each 

 season to keep up the fertility of the lawn, and nothing 

 is better for this purpose than to spread over it late in the 

 fall (November or December), short stable manure, 

 enough to partially cover the surface. This should be 

 allowed to remain on until such time as the grass shows 

 signs of starting in the spring, when the rough portion 

 of the manure should be raked off and a heavy roller 

 applied, so that the surface of the lawn be rendered 

 smooth and firm for the mower. If the top dressing of 

 stable manure has been omitted in the fall, fine bone dust 

 and nitrate of soda in equal parts, or any good brand of 



