140 COME INTO THE GARDEN 



spading; but never use it on a lawn under any 

 circumstances, for the weed seeds which it con- 

 tains will work more ruin in a single season than 

 can be undone in many, if ever. Sheep manure 

 only is suitable for lawn fertilizer; stable ma- 

 nure is fit only for the garden, where it can be 

 used literally in the earth. 



Lawns 



The growth of a thick rich turf carpet is 

 never a matter of exceptional soil nor of much 

 enriching; rather it is a matter of careful me- 

 chanical preparation of the soil in the first 

 place, of selection of proper seed to suit the 

 peculiarities of the site, if it have peculiarities, 

 in the second, and of proper care third and 

 finally. Nothing can be done with subsoil ex- 

 cavated from the house cellar and piled upon 

 top of the good top soil in grading after build- 

 ing operations are completed; on the other 

 hand, very rich soil is as likely to be a disad- 

 vantage as not, in that it stimulates to so rapid 

 a growth that there is not sufiicient root de- 

 velopment to withstand drought. But any or- 

 dinary soil, even a poor soil, offers opportunity 

 for as fine a lawn as one could wish, if a proper 

 start is made. 



