WHAT GRASS FOR A LAWN 119 



a great saving of effort. About all the beginner has to look out for 

 is raking so that the surface does not look like the waves of the sea 

 but that is avoided by raking expertly, lapping the strips and not 

 trying to get along with strips too wide for good work. 



What Kind of Seed? It is the conviction of the writer that the 

 best textured, best colored and most beautiful of all lawns in California 

 are those of the Kentucky Blue Grass, but such a result is secured at 

 the price of the best skill, the most persistent work and the most 

 abundant watering. His choice for his own place however is a lawn 

 of Kentucky Blue Gnass and White or Dutch Clover. The clover 

 shows a green when the Blue grass is disposed to brown a little 

 in frosty weather and thus gives a better winter effect from 

 the mixture than from Blue Grass alone. Besides the White 

 Clover is a quicker space-filler and thickens the carpet sooner but 

 does not prevent the Blue Grass from sufficiently asserting itself later. 

 In fact the two go along well together for years if given even fair 

 treatment. It is possible to get a good stand with a pound of seed 

 to 300 sq. ft. of surface, but it is better to increase the amount to 

 one pound to 200 sq. ft. The seed costs less than disappointment. 

 Where the seeds are sown together, some use equal parts of each, 

 others twice as much Blue Grass as White Clover. It depends upon 

 which you wish to preponderate. 



It is possible to get a very satisfactory lawn from White Clover 

 sown alone and some prefer the aspect of the persistently appearing 

 white blossom heads. Our taste is for a clean green-sward such as 

 comes from the mixture for the blue grass keeps the clover from 

 rioting, if frequently cut. On the other hand we greatly like 

 white clover for a laundry yard or a backyard lawn, because 

 it responds very rapidly to less water than Blue Grass requires, and 

 because, owing to the tenderness of its stems, it is quite easily cut 

 with a dull lawn mower, such as the most conscientious amateur 

 is apt occasionally to have. 



If you wish to get a lawn very quickly, and one that will maintain a 

 respectable appearance with a little less care and water, Australian Rye 

 grass and white clover sown together will probably give the best results. 

 The Rye grass lawn never has the beauty of the Blue Grass, and yet Rye 

 grass is very widely used in this State, because it will be fair looking with 

 less water and labor. It has, however, the common habit of drouth- 

 resistant grasses, viz., to become bunchy, and its persistence in seeding 

 causes it to make wiry seed stems instead of foliage, and these are exceed- 

 ingly hard to cut. The amount of seed is the same as already given for the 

 other mixture. 



