ROSE TIME 



latter by feeding on the daddy-long-legs when they June 

 come through at the end of summer. But rooks do ^~^5 

 not work freely on lawns, and although the starling 

 is not so shy, he cannot do enough in himself. The 

 gardener cannot very well attempt to exterminate the 

 underground enemy, but he can help the Grass im- 

 mensely by persistent rolling and annual top-dressing. 

 The former helps to spread and propagate roots, the 

 latter nourishes them. 



Young lawns from seed may give a good deal of 

 trouble if the seed germinates slowly as a result of cold 

 weather in April and May, because the weather, which 

 retards the germination of Grass seeds, may have very 

 little effect on the growth of strong-rooted weeds. 

 Then, although the ground may become green, it is 

 with weeds and not with Grasses. This is an unfortunate 

 state of affairs, and it teaches the sufferer from it the 

 paramount importance of thoroughly cleansing ground 

 of weed roots when preparing it for a lawn. So far 

 as annual weeds are concerned — that is, those which 

 spring from seeds that lie dormant in winter — they 

 cannot, it is true, be removed like the others, but they 

 do not give so much trouble when the top soil is turned 

 thoroughly over as when it is merely broken up, because 

 they are buried considerably below their usual depth. 

 If weeds come amid the young Grasses they should be 

 picked out by hand, or they will overgrow the weaker 

 plants. The tops of the young Grasses should be 

 skimmed off with a scythe in preference to being cut 

 with the mower, and the scything should be followed 

 by a rolling, as this helps to "mat" the roots, and the 

 plants to throw up more spears. 



A little Clover is good in a lawn, but the sower 

 should mind what he is about when spreading the seed. 

 227 



