Lawns and Tennis Grounds from Seed 



tiller out to the same extent as the larger pasture varieties, a liberal 

 seeding is imperative. We recommend a sowing of four bushels per 

 acre, and should the lawn be wanted in the shortest possible time the 

 quantity may with advantage be increased to five or six bushels per 

 acre. The additional outlay will be well repaid by the rapid clothing 

 of the ground ; and in favour of thick seeding it may be urged 

 that the more closely the plants are crowded the finer will be the 

 herbage. 



Small plots of land cannot be sown economically without incurring 

 the risk of thin or bare patches. It is therefore necessary that a very 

 liberal seeding should be allowed when sowing small lawns. The 

 quantity of seed required to produce a dense plant on a full-sized 

 tennis court affords an excellent example of what we mean. The 

 dimensions are 78 feet by 36 feet, 1 and for fast play a margin of 

 about 21 feet must be allowed beyond each base line, with at least 

 12 feet outside each side line. This will give a total of 120 feet in 

 length by 60 feet in width. In many gardens a tennis lawn of this 

 extent is impossible, and players have to be content with smaller 

 margins. For the area named, three pecks of seed evenly sown will 

 suffice, if time can be given for the full development of the plant, 

 and feathered foes are kept off the ground. But a tennis lawn 

 is generally wanted before the ground is prepared, and as the only 

 means of ensuring the speedy formation of a fine dense sward is by 

 very thick seeding, the sowing of a bushel of grass seeds on a plot 

 of land of the dimensions referred to is not only reasonable, but 

 under urgent circumstances even a larger quantity can scarcely be 

 open to the charge of extravagance. When sowing very small lawns 

 it is a safe rule to use not less than one pound of seed on every pole 

 of land : this is equal to about one gallon of seed to three poles. 



Sowing". Grass seeds may be sown at any time between the 

 middle of March and the end of September. But from the latter 

 half of May on to about the second week in August, hot, dry weather 

 often proves destructive to the young plants. They cannot acquire 

 sufficient stamina to endure continued drought or fierce heat unless 

 constant watering is possible, and it is not conducive to sweetness of 

 temper to see a good plant wither away. From the middle of March 

 to the first week of May is the best period for spring sowing, the 

 earlier the better; and from about August 10 to the middle of 

 September for summer or autumn sowing. The clovers from an 

 autumn sowing are liable to destruction by a severe winter, even if 

 See plan on page 396. 



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