172 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 



The roots spread by an underground system and go down so 

 deep that for planting on banks or where the soil is apt to wash, 

 nothing is better. 



The best way to plant Bermuda is to get the roots, cut them 

 up fine, and drill the sprigs in furrows twelve inches apart each 

 way. Then the ground should be rolled. The cuttings grow 

 easily in the Spring and can be planted at any time except in 

 extremely dry weather in Midsummer and in the Midwinter 

 season. This planting will give an even turf that should be rolled 

 regularly and cut often. This grass alone will give a beautiful, 

 soft, blue-green Summer sod that will stand the hardest wear. 

 When September comes the Bermuda begins to turn brown, and 

 quick, hard work is necessary to keep the lawn in trim. The 

 sod should be cut very closely with a good lawn mower, raked 

 as smooth and clean as is possible, and over it a seeding of Winter 

 grasses should be made. 



Italian Rye grass, Lolium italicum^ and White Clover, Tri- 

 folium repenSy used in the proportions of three to two, make a 

 delightful Winter combination. The Rye grass is an annual 

 and must be sown anew each Fall, but there is no grass known 

 to us that makes so fresh and green a lawn. Closely cut and 

 regularly rolled, it is impossible to describe its beauty. Clover 

 is always lovely and does not have to be sown again each season. 

 Also it grows under the trees where the Bermuda will not thrive. 



Pacey's, or English Rye grass, Lolium perenne^ is not quite 

 so desirable as the Italian for fresh beauty in the Winter months, 

 but it is a perennial and will last four or five years. This is also 

 about the length of time allowed by many good gardeners for the 

 making over of the Bermuda lawns, so that if the Bermuda is 

 used in the Spring, and the Clover and Rye in the Fall, the lawn 

 should last for several years, with just enough reseeding of the 

 bare spots to keep it even and neat. 



Cottonseed meal and bonemeal used in the Spring are most 

 valuable aids to strong growth and even sods. They should be 

 used in preference to stable manure, unless the latter can be 

 ploughed in deeply, and, even then, this must always be followed 

 by a warfare against weeds that must be waged even more vigor- 



